Tuesday, June 22, 2010

FIFA World Cup Post

Hopping on the World Cup bandwagon:

Inside a mamak store:


Not exactly a huge fan, but I have been following the matches of World Cup so that I have some topic to talk/write about. As I haven’t subscribed to Astro, I decided to watch the matches in mamak stores.

Since the tournament started, I went to mamak stores many times. There, I ate food which was very oily and spicy. I had also inhaled much cigarette smoke. I think World Cup is bad for my health…

= = =

Considered this:

China is a sports giant. It is very strong in such events as table tennis, badminton, diving, swimming, weight-lifting and volleyball. The Middle Kingdom topped the Medal Table in Beijing Olympic 2008.

Football is hugely popular in China. The country has the single largest audience in the world. Why do you think FIFA wants to play some of the World Cup matches at 1.30pm South African time, or 7.30pm Beijing time?

But the Dragon is absent in South Africa. In fact, China has only qualified to World Cup finals once, back in 2002, when it lost all matches in group stage without scoring a goal.

Can someone please explain why the Middle Kingdom has persistently underachieved in football?


22 comments:

  1. football is abt a big group ppl team work, maybe chinese dun hav a good team work when it come in big group.

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  2. Hmm...because the ball is too big for them? :/

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  3. Read once that the typical Asian build is better for sports that require agility - table tennis & ping pong.

    Westerner builds are better for strength, such as running, wrestling and swimming.

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  4. Somehow, this just pops up when I read your question

    ...because they don't have the Peles, Platinis, Zidanes, Ronaldos, Ronaldinhos, Beckhams, Wayne Rooneys. Drogbas, and the list goes on. They only have Yao Ming and that's a different ball game altogether. LOL!

    Shingo's assessment makes sense though.

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  5. China friend told me the facility in general is lacking and the sport is not as popular as badminton & table tennis....

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  6. Why don't you eat dinner at home or elsewhere and then order drinks while you watch World Cup..instead of having to stomach oily and spicy food?

    Why can't M'sia produce credible sportsmen or sportswomen?

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  7. You know what, I was also wondering the exact same question myself! How come the giant does not have a qualifying team in WC. I thought with such huge population, it would be easy to find talents!

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  8. kikey
    Maybe you're right. But China is quite strong in Volleyball, which has 6 players on court.

    tekkaus
    Basketball is also big, and China has Yao Ming.

    shingo
    That may be true to some extent. But China is not easy the best in Asia.

    happysurfer
    Thanks for your reasoning ;)

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  9. During the last cup, I was visiting Kuching, and my bro took me to aKopitam to watch. There were some construction workers, and they were very rough and loud. As I wasn't really keen, I told him, let's go back.

    I support my own team, so I follow as much as when the All Whites play. The Kiwis still don't like the hugging, they say very sissy, after a goal.

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  10. Grass
    That is funny. I thought football is the most popular sport in China?
    According to Wikipedia, football gets the most coverage in Chinese media.

    Mei Ting
    I don't feel well if I only order drink and sit through the match, LOL...

    Malaysia doesn't have good athlete recruitment and training program.

    witch
    Yes, I have been perplexed by this question.

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  11. i wondered about the same too! it's like malaysia. we had teams last time and now we are not qualified anymore.

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  12. yesterday saw Namewee new MV abt World Cup, so funny, have you see it?

    p/: just find out more detail about Lock of Love in Florence. Feel free to read them :)

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  13. Lack of co-operation, teamwork?
    BTW, mamak stall is the best :)

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  14. Ann
    Hugging... do you mean rugby?

    xin
    Malaysia is weak in many sports, not just soccer.

    Kikey
    Haven't watched the MV yet.

    VanillaSeven
    Well, some players may lack team spirit. But China has always been weak in soccer, regardless of who play.

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  15. I think it is a matter of time before China's get a team that can qualify. The funny thing is that 20 years ago, Malaysia and South Korea were fighting back to back in the Merdeka Cup but now, where is our team??? What happened after the glory days of Soh Chin Aun, Mokhtar Dahari and Arumugam? Here's a faithful Brazil supporter since school days, keeping the fingers cross.

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  16. The world cup is great, but it's not so good you have to be around all that cigarette smoke. Take care of yourself.

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  17. i'm not concern about China, but our own dear Bolehland that can't touch even the edge of the WC apron~~ :p

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  18. good for you huh, everyday mamak stall, mamak food, mamak drinks and mamak air~~ next month must go organic vegetarian already..

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  19. Autumn Belle
    Malaysian football team is also disappointing.

    Brenda
    Thanks. Your advice is noted :)

    SK
    Not everyday in mamak store la...

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  20. I agree mamak's food are oily and unhealthy. And the smoke there just put you off doesn't it? Better invest in Astro for your good health. Haha!!

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  21. I can't even explain why France suck so much this year, let alone why China didn't qualify! It is surprising that N. Korea did.

    I think the country is not passionate enough yet. Look at Brazil and Argentina, people live for football and start playing very young.

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  22. foongpc
    Will invest in Astro! In 2014 :P

    Zhu
    I think Chinese like football too, just not as passionate as Latin Americans.

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