Some fans might react to this news just like how English fans reacted to the news of their national team’s shock 0-1 defeat to the United States in 1950. They might think that there are printing errors in the newspapers or websites that they are reading, or disruptions in the radio or television signals. The final of Copa America have been contested between Argentina and Brazil in the past 2 editions since 2004, and this is a period of 7 years. Fans are sure to have got used to this final match-up. It might be weird to see the semi-final consisting of Venezuela, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. This is so even though these teams have their superstars as well such as Jose Paolo Guerrero (Peru), Juan Fernando Arango (Venezuela), Diego Forlan and Luiz Suarez from Uruguay, as well as Roque Santa Cruz and Nelson Haedo Valdez from Paraguay. Still, Copa America seems to have just lost most of its gloss with the demise of BOTH Argentina and Brazil. Their demises can be summed up by the abbreviation “IOU” which is in this case stands for Ineptness, Overhyped, and Unfocused.

The first component of the IOU is Ineptness.  For fans of Brazil and Argentina, especially those in those countries, associating these teams with the word “inept” is certainly an outright blasphemy. However, ineptness can be identified within the two South American footballing giants  and they have themselves to blame for their predicaments. For Argentina, it was widely expected that they would have steamrolled past their group matches against Colombia as well as the two minnows Bolivia and Costa Rica. Argentina failed to win their first two matches, and in these matches Argentina struggled to find the winning formula suited for them. It seemed that they were without clear and coherent plan as they mixed and match tactics and formations on these two matches. The inclusion of Tevez is another one, in which the manager Sergio Batista had made it clear Tevez will not feature in his plans. However, Batista, seemingly being indecisive or succumbed to the relentless media pressure, includes the Manchester City (for now) forward at the very last minute. For Brazil, their ineptness stems from the fact that they do not look like a team at all. They simply do not operate as a unit, more of a hastily assembled individual stars with little team chemistry. The focus is on individuals instead of the team, such as how in the tournament it could be seen –and not helped by the media hype- that Dani Alves and Maicon are jostling really hard just to grab the right back berth in the team as their own. Only victories in their respective last group matches propelled them through the group stage.

At this point, it seemed that order had been restored.  Despite their atrocious starts, both Argentina and Brazil managed to get through their groups and now it seemed that the much anticipated and hyped final between the two giants are on again. Turned out that their slow starts were not merely “warming up” before the competition gets to the crucial knockout stages. They were duly knocked out in the quarter finals stage. While many would ardently argued that the manner that both team lost was a lottery (ie. Penalties), with the stars at their disposals, Brazil and Argentina should have the firepower to see off Paraguay and Uruguay respectively before 90^th minute.

The second component is Overhyped. To be air to both teams, the catalyst of this is undoubtedly the media. Almost if not all of the spotlights in this competition are aimed at the two teams alone. The other 14 teams seem to be left in the dark with no attention whatsoever to them. As mentioned earlier, Copa America is only hyped as the battle of supremacy between Argentina and Brazil. The media does not stop there, however. They even create another battle to be hyped up at the micro level, which is the battle between Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s rising star Neymar. This battle is so hyped up that the media have started to compare this battle with the gigantic battle between Diego Maradona and Pele himself.

While it is true that the Argentine and Brazilian superstars are supposed to be able to professionally handle such media pressure, it cannot be denied that such pressure will adversely impact the whole teams’ morale. Every inch of their movements are being assessed thoroughly. Any misplaced pass, any small trip, every blade of grass covered by the players, especially Messi and Neymar are put under scrutiny. No matter how professional of superstars they all are, they are after all human beings. They will be affected by the gaze of the whole world on them. Sub standard performance follows, and knock-out the next to follow. While they are being scrutinized 24/7, other less heralded teams in the competition such as Peru and Venezuela can go about doing their business in the competition with less pressure away from the glaring spotlight and media scrutiny.

The third and last component of the IOU would be Unfocused. While players of teams like Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Paraguay simply focus on the task at hand, focusing on how to bring glory to the shirts that they have rightfully earned, the Argentine and Brazilian players are already focusing on the glaring and glamorous lights of Milan or Madrid rather than the competition. We could see how firstly, Neymar and Ganso are already busy looking forward to their European adventures as top clubs all over Europe are constantly jostling with each other to get their signatures, while players like Aguero are more focused on stating how unhappy they are in their current club and wanting “new challenges” in a more glamorous and richer club. All of these European transfer speculations can only be detrimental to the performance of these Europe based players and also those about to make the great leap forward in their careers by securing moves to top clubs such as AC Milan and Real Madrid.

However, to be fair, especially for the last part (unfocused), the sub standard performance of Argentina and Brazil can be attributed to the fact that most of them have been in a grueling season. They have played as many as 50 high stake matches week in week out, and the last thing they want to do is to still be toiling around those pressure cooker matches during what is supposed to be their well-earned summer break. This issue can be related to the “club vs country” debates that are always perennially raging across the football world.

A Copa America without Brazil and Argentina will feel dull and incomplete. However, we have to give credits where it is due. This Copa America somehow shows how football has won. This phrase is almost always used when less heralded underdogs have risen against the supposedly superior teams. Copa America has been hyped up as the battleground of only Argentina vs Brazil, and the stage and arrangements have been set so that they will meet in the final of the competition. Despite this, the underdogs have risen, and they have deserved their slots in the semi-finals with their tough fighting spirits until the end. Let us enjoy the semi-final stage onwards where those who have been in the shadows have finally risen to take their deserved spotlights.

Secondly, I mentioned in the introduction that Indonesia is still over-reliant on “Bules”, actually the “s” should be removed as they did not rely on Christian Gonzales and Irfan Bachdim, but actually Indonesia, for at least 75 minutes of the match just now solely relied upon the former, as both “Bules” were tightly guarded by the Malaysian back-line, and Irfan, just like the first leg, was reduced to flailing for the scraps and tumbling down onto the pitch. Thus, for that 75 minutes period, the gameplan for Indonesia was excruciating to watch. It was just about lumping long balls towards Gonzales and nobody else. Just think about Internazionale prior to Mourinho era, in which Ibrahimovic is the Gonzales here. But, Christian Gonzales could not do it alone, not under the tight watch of the Malaysian back-line.

Admittedly, a friend asked me about a prediction of the scoreline for this match. I just replied to her that “If Bambang Pamungkas starts the match instead of Gonzales or Bachdim, Indonesia will win 5-1” and even though it was just a passing remark which was light-hearted, I believe that prediction was quite realistic had Indonesia not rely on Gonzales that way. It was not pretty to watch. But we have to admit that Indonesia was not really Bolton Wanderers, even though their final ball was always a long punt towards Gonzales, the build-up prior to that was “Barcelonesque”. The passing and one-twos were really amazing but too bad the final ball was “Boltonesque” instead.

Indonesia started believing themselves and being more adventurous only for the last 15 minutes of the match, when Bambang was already in the match, having replaced the ineffectual Irfan Bachdim, and Arif Suyono was injured and had to be stretchered off to be replaced by Tony Sucipto, which leads to M. Nasuha to be pushed to the left wing. It was a blessing in disguise and turned out to be a masterstroke. In the previous analysis on the 1st leg, I described the Malaysian playing style as passing from left, center, right to the left, center, and right side with all the permutations and combinations. Indonesia started to resemble that, albeit mainly concentrating on the left flank through Nasuha’s silky skills when it was too late. They managed to score 2 goals to win this particular match with 15 minutes left, and no longer relying solely on Gonzales, and they also came close in quite a few occasions if not because of Khairul Fahmi’s brilliance. Indonesians could only imagine what could have been had Indonesia started with Bambang form the start and not rely too much on Christian Gonzales…

Thirdly, this match was about breaking thresholds. At the beginning of the match, when Indonesia piled the pressure early with the Barcelonesque football, it seemed that the 3-0 advantage that Malaysia was having is still not safe enough for them to comfortably win this trophy, especially when Indonesia earned a penalty. Indonesia went on to miss that penalty, and in the second half, when Malaysia took the lead and increased the aggregate to 4-0 for them as well as silencing the Gelora Bung Karno stadium, it again seemed insurmountable for Indonesia, but then things changed again when Indonesia relied on the “Bules” less and then they scored the equalizer, and it once again seemed that Indonesia could make it. But still, the 3-0 advantage held by Mlaaysia at the beginning of the match did all the damage especially so that Indonesia shifted to the higher gears too late.

Lastly, Indonesia might have just failed to do it in front of ~80000 fervent and hardcore fans precisely because of that. While it is true that Gelora Bung Karno is a cauldron of a football cathedral which is one of the biggest stadiums in the whole world, having that number of supporters in the stadium will also have a double-edged sword effect. While it sure intimidates the opponents, it also piles a lot of pressure of the home side. Just like in chess, in which White is claimed to have a lot of advantage as they are allowed to move first and thus take the initiatives in the opening, but it also puts a lot of pressure for the White player as in a subconscious manner, White plays to win, and they feel they have to win. They try too hard to win, and they might even lose to Black. This is especially true for Indonesia as the pressure was really on them to defeat Malaysia as first, they do not want to lose in front of their fans, second, they do not want Malaysia to win the Cup on their turf, and they want to put one over Malaysia.

Thus, while Indonesians are complaining about Indonesia being “Close but no Cigar”, we have to look at this objectively and grant credits to Malaysia where it is due. Malaysia have successfully reformed and reorganized their football so much in the past few years. Just a few years back, Malaysian football  was frowned and looked down even by their own fans. They put their faith on other sports such as Silat and Badminton as their football was really hopeless. However, they started a very brave reform in which no foreign players are allowed in their domestic competition, the M-League and also to give more chances to the young players who are carefully nurtured. Giving the helm to K. Rajagobal is also a masterstroke as he was promoted from the Malaysian national team youth system and thus it was just like promoting Pep Guardiola from Barcelona B to the senior team, and true enough, he has done wonders by winning the SEA Games in 2009 and now the AFF Suzuki Cup. While their reforms, especially the barring of foreign players in their league was laughed upon, now their critics have been silenced and Malaysia could now look to a brighter football future, especially with the players barely coming out of their 20s, and surely there are more waiting on the production lines.

What caught me as a meaningful aspect of this competition is how this competition really unites Malaysia and Indonesia. As for Malaysia, it was really pleasing to see that when they scored the one goal in the match, we could see how the coaching staff, consisting of different ethnic compositions which are present in Malaysia (Chinese, Bumiputera, and Indian) celebrated in unison, and also during the trophy presentation. This proves that football really unites countries. Same goes for Indonesia, in which the hype and fun of the competition is always shared by Indonesians of different backgrounds. Everyone sings in unison, each one as a fervent supporter of the Garuda Merah Putih!

This competition has undoubtedly left a telling mark in all aspects of life in this region, and the next incarnations of this competition as well as other competitions involving the ASEAN region, which is undoubtedly a growing region in terms of football. While many have lamented on how the traditional superpowers of the region such as Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand are sort of waning lately, but they will bounce back stronger after this while other countries traditionally not viewed as strong football nations such as Indonesia, The Philippines, and of course the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 Champions Malaysia are also emerging, making this, in my opinion, not a power shift within ASEAN, but actually it is a power shift within the whole of Asia in which the ASEAN region is starting to stand up and be counted and sooner or later, the whole of Asia will have no choice but to sit up and take notice, and of course to take this region more seriously and with much more respect. Amen to that!

Secondly, the showdown with the Red Devils themselves. Actually, earlier in this decade, again prior to the Blue Moon revolution, Manchester City had been securing credible results in matches against Manchester United, even accruing meaningful victories even at Old Trafford. (One of them, the last Manchester Derby at Maine Road stadium in 2002 in which the Citizens ran out 3-1 winners was the very reason why I started supporting Manchester City back then until today). However, since the Abu Dhabi era, Manchester City have continued to fall way short of expectations when they are up against Man Utd. From the painful and controversial 4-3 defeat at Old Trafford, from the defeat in the Carling Cup Semi-Final, from another painful 1-0 defeat also last season, and this season’s boring 0-0 draw. In any case, Man City have failed to banish Man Utd during their encounters recently, and as we know it, any bad results/performances against Man Utd can be really fatal.

To refresh our memories, we should again take a look at Arsenal. We must remember how in 2004, Arsenal were cruising on their 49 match unbeaten run, and Manchester United was next. They were set to score their 50th match unbeaten against Man Utd, but then they were unceremoniously defeated, and to cut the story short, after that defeat, 5 years and counting, zero trophies accrued by the Gunners. This is a perfect example of how a bad result against Man Utd could be very catastrophic for the defeated teams. This is also true for Man City, as a pattern has been formed here. Every time they are about to meet Man Utd, Man City are on a great run in all competitions. But then, a bad result against Man Utd is followed with a very bad run such that talks about the sacking of the manager surface. Then, Man City would recover, start winning again, then the next encounter against Man Utd, bad result, and so on. Same as before, unless this cycle is broken, talks about title are all nothing more than pipe dreams.

Thirdly, even off the pitch, Man City are always tormented by their neighbors. For instance, when Man City had just been taken over by Sheikh Mansour, Man Utd have been continuing to send barbed comments towards Man City such as when Sir Alex Ferguson labeled Man City as a “Small Team with Small Mentality” as well as “They are just noisy neighbors” among others, and also other comments from the noisier members of the Man Utd squad such as the man everyone loves to hate, Gary Neville. Not even the “Welcome to Manchester” poster could counter the burgeoning mind games from the Red half of Manchester. All of these mind games are always eating up into the team no matter what and it would seem that countering all these mind games can be considered as a Sisyphean work. Unless Man City learns how to be Barcelona and ignore all of these mind games and just focus on the task at hand, again Man Utd would reign supreme and Man City will not win the title. To add on to the point on Barcelona, prior to the last El Clasico encounter with Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho kept on trying to play mind games to derail Barcelona’s morale prior to the encounter. However, Pep Guardiola stood firm and not only he ignored Mourinho’s barbs, but he also managed to keep his whole squad from succumbing to the mind games. The result: 5-0 thrashing of Real Madrid which left Mourinho red-faced in embarrassment.

Lastly, one huge thorn within Man City is none other than their current skipper, Carlos Tevez. “El Capitan” has been a revelation for Man City as he has managed to perform incredibly well for the Citizens. However, it is too bad that after a string of good performances, the Argentine suddenly would go out and declare that he is homesick, he is sick of football, and even talks about returning to Manchester United have surfaced. Whether Man City and their fans like it or not, whether they win the title or just scrapping for Europa League berth simply rests on the shoulders of Tevez. When Tevez performs, the team performs. When Tevez is switched off, Man City lose games.

It is puzzling on why Tevez blows hot and cold, and that his commitments seem to be questionable. Perhaps, Man City have not yet been able to fully convert Tevez to the Blue half of Manchester. After all, he was brought in from none other than Manchester United! The only solution is of course to decrease the over-reliance on Carlos Tevez. Last night’s match against Aston Villa seemed to again remind the fans that Mario Balotelli can be another man to rely on. However, Balotelli is even more volatile than Tevez. Oh well…

The message is of course, unless Manchester City is able to usurp Manchester United in all aspects namely performances on the pitch, off the pitch, as well as managing Carlos Tevez and other stars such as Mario Balotelli carefully, no title talks can be declared. Man City should be happy that they are already in the lofty position that they are now, and to be carried away at this stage would be suicidal, especially as there is one more potentially dangerous Manchester Derby at Old Trafford still to come!

With that in mind, Malaysia were supposed to just be good boys and just let Indonesia put the icing on the cake by just letting themselves to be obliterated just like how this competition started and let Indonesia hog all the glory that has been eluding them for two decades in this competition. Malaysia were not to follow the seemingly designated script though, especially not in front of their ardent fans clad in their Yellow-Black kits. Indonesia were swept aside 3-0, which leaves them needing to win by at least 4 goals in the return leg in Jakarta. Many people were and are still wondering why Indonesia suddenly capitulated when it really matters, when they are within a touching distance to securing a comfortable victory against their bitter rivals in almost all aspects, Malaysia.

Firstly, almost everyone in Indonesia is talking about how their goalkeeper, Markus Horison was obstructed by a laser pointed to his eyes by an irresponsible Malaysian supporter which resulted in at least one of the three goals scored by Malaysia last night. To be frank, yours truly was not able to give an objective assessment on this as I was unfortunately still driving on the road on the way back for a large chunk of the match, but if it is true that a Malaysian fan deliberately pointed laser beams everytime the match ball gets close to Markus Horison, then it is not fair play at all and thus this is one of the other reasons why Indonesia lost this match, and heavily.

Secondly, Indonesia really lost this match because of their rather over-reliance on the aforementioned two “Bule” players, Christian Gonzales and Irfan Bachdim. As a comparison with a top team, Manchester City is a great example to illustrate this. Manchester City have been really criticized recently because of their over-reliance on Carlos Tevez. Balls are always sprayed towards the Argentine and it is totally left to the Argentine striker to do magic about it. Another team like this would be the pre-Mourinho Internazionale with Ibrahimovic as the sole fulcrum of the team. In last night’s match, the Indonesian national team was no different as it can be noticed clearly that balls are always sprayed towards either Christian Gonzales or Irfan Bachdim. This kind of strategy and mentality are always easy to be read by opponents and Malaysia were no exceptions. Every time a ball is sprayed towards the two “Bule” strikers, there were hordes of Blue shirts ready to intercept them, and when even the bulky Christian Gonzales falter against the hordes of blue shirts, even more so the diminutive and pint-sized Irfan Bachdim. When the two strikers are neutralized, so do the whole team and thus, the rather surprising 3-0 result for Malaysia is not so surprising anymore.

Again as a comparison, Malaysia were very comfortable passing the ball all over the field. They initiate their attacks from everywhere to everywhere. Left, Centre, and Right, just do the permutations and combinations, and rightly so, Indonesia really struggled to cope with that. Just as a side note, Malaysia really have quite amazing players in their squad, and it is no coincidence that they have produced quite a sturdy team, as recently, they implemented a rule which totally forbids foreign players from the M-League. This is much criticized, but looking at how the Malaysian national team is performing at the moment, it seems that the controversial and groundbreaking rule has started to pay dividends as they are just 90 minutes away from winning the AFF Suzuki Cup, and on Indonesia’s soil to boot! The composition of the Malaysian team consists of all local players and I am particularly impressed with the performance and confidence of their goalkeeper, Khairul Fahmi, who is only 21 years old but has a presence and confidence of a seasoned goalkeeper.

This shows than when young, local born players are given a chance equally, one could do wonders. As for Indonesia, the introduction of a local hero, Bambang Pamungkas when he replaced Christian Gonzales came too late as he was only given 10 minutes to do anything, although he came close in one occasion.

Thirdly, Malaysia really had more vigor and energy than Indonesia. They seemed to be more organized and more composed than Indonesia, who misplaced too many passes for comfort, especially in the last 15 minutes in which Malaysia could have easily added a fourth no thanks to a schoolboy blunder by Indonesia’s defense. Even the Indonesian commentators in the match conceded that Malaysia were “really confident and comfortable” especially how they traversed past three or four hapless Indonesian players at one given time, and how their defence kept guard against the threats of Christian Gonzales and consigning the dynamic and explosive Irfan Bachdim to just futilely chasing throw-in bound balls which caused him to hit the turf once, to the screams of agony from girls around where yours truly was.

Another cause for Indonesia’s sudden lethargy is perhaps sheer complacency. A family member of mine suggested that Indonesia might have been tired due to the exertions against the amazing and high-flying Philippines team. But Malaysia have also just defeated the solid Viet Nam in their own semi-final clash. Therefore, a more accurate reason is perhaps complacency due to the general trailblazing performance of Indonesia in this competition, but it might also because of “Argentina sickness” usually observed happening to the Argentine national team in the World Cup especially in this decade in which the team performs extremely well beyond any expectations during the initial stages of the competition, only to bow out unceremoniously when it matters.

All in all, Indonesia still have 90 minutes to turn things around in their own cauldron of a stadium, the Gelora Bung Karno stadium, and they will now need the whole nation to really be behind them when they attempt to overturn the 3-0 deficit and win by at least 4 goals in the return leg in Jakarta. A defeat against Malaysia will be devastating and embarrassing as Malaysia will be hoisting the AFF trophy high in the Indonesian capital, no less! To re-emphasize the point, the match on the 29th of December will be a do-or-die match for Indonesia as the stakes are as high as it could be. However, football being football, even if Indonesia is to suffer the indignity of being defeated by Malaysia on home soil, one positive that Indonesia could take from this competition is of course the relieving fact that once again, football prevails as a tool to unite a nation as one. Personally, this is the very first time yours truly could observe that almost every Indonesian, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, sing in unison as one to support and set aside the aforementioned disparities and differences to really discuss about the national team as fans. It is incredible how football is able to unite a country and this furthers the calls for football to continue to be utilized as a potent tool to promote world peace.

90 more minutes of excitement, drama, and heart-stopping moments is in store for all of us, especially residents of Indonesia and Malaysia. This will not be an ordinary football match, this will be a showdown to be remembered and to be etched forever in the footballing folklore whether it is the Garuda Merah Putih (Red and White Garuda) soaring to glory against all odds or the Harimau Malaya (Malayan Tiger) roaring on to victory. See you in Jakarta!

One could not help but think that it was Real Madrid B or even C team that was on show last night against the mighty Barcelona. But a look at the team sheet revealed that it was indeed Real Madrid’s full strength team that was up against Barcelona last night and the massive 5-0 victory of Barcelona over Real Madrid only further substantiated the already much substantiated fact, and I dare say the status quo that Barcelona is the best team in the whole world. Prior to the match, nobody, even among the Barcelona faithful dared to predict this victory, let alone the margin and the sheer easiness in which it was achieved and it was mainly owed to the fact that a certain Portuguese manager who is known among the Barca faithful as “The Translator”. Yes, the Mourinho effect is that big and also further enhanced by the fact that teams managed by the self proclaimed “Special One” have all been famous for their rock-solid defense.

It is a very well known fact that Real Madrid have been a rather imbalanced machine with superb attacking firepower but porous and pathetic defensive line. Thus, the marriage between Mourinho and Real Madrid seemed to be a match made in heaven. With Mourinho’s knack of strengthening and disciplining the defense of his team, and Real Madrid’s already burgeoning firepower, it would seem that it is finally the time that Real Madrid becomes the perfect titan which is more than capable of overturning Barcelona’s imperious hegemony.

Whatever happened last night, it was not to be as Real Madrid were totally torn to shreds by Barcelona. They were outclassed in every single department, and instead of playing the free flowing attacking football that their fans are yearning so much, they were reduced to frustrated figures on the pitch and it showed throughout the game during various incidents such as Cristiano Ronaldo’s needless shove on Pep Guardiola, Barcelona’s manager as well as Sergio Ramos’ tantrums during injury time towards Carles Puyol. Basically, a look at the cards accumulated by Real Madrid’s players simply explained Real Madrid’s mental state throughout the humiliating match.

From here on, it remains to be seen whether we have seen this season’s champions already after that match or not. Barcelona have leapfrogged Real Madrid in the La Liga standings and are 2 points clear at the time of writing at the summit of the league. With this defeat, whether Jose Mourinho wants to admit or not, Real Madrid’s morale is surely at an all time low and despite the much cited fact that Real Madrid is still far stronger than the rest of the La Liga sides, there is no guarantee that they will still win the remaining matches after losing the El Clasico.

The same can of course be said to Barcelona, however. After this match, Barcelona will be buoyed by this massive victory, and unlike Real Madrid, their morale is sky high right now and they seem set to continue on to stroll easily past the rest of the La Liga sides and that the next El Clasico at the Stantiago Bernabeu stadium seems set to become a dead rubber match in which the Real Madrid players have to be prepared to stand as the infamous “Pasillo guards” to honor the champions, as humiliating as it could be. But like what has been mentioned earlier, there is also no guarantee that Barcelona would not capitulate against the rest of the La Liga especially to tricky sides such as Valencia and even Real Mallorca, and of course, the Mourinho factor lingers on and he will look to pounce on Barcelona with mind-games through the media or otherwise to bring down Barcelona and the acid test will be how Pep Guardiola responds to Mourinho’s jibes from now on.

All in all, great Clasico to start this week and despite the no-contest victory by Barcelona over Real Madrid, La Liga will remain a very interesting two horse race between two biggest teams in the whole world.

Firstly, we are able to look at this underwhelming Derby result as favoring Manchester United, the red side of the Manchester divide. This is the easiest and the most common point of view to interpret the 0-0 draw. The match was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, the home of Manchester City. Away matches are always known as the more difficult ones, and especially so for big matches like this one. Thus, it is generally understood that teams would approach an away match, let alone a big away match by utilizing a more cautious approach in the game. Manchester United did that with their 4-5-1 formation. Ideally, we would expect that the home team, Manchester City to have the attacking impetus in this match by utilizing a more attacking approach and tactics for this match. Add to that the fact that Man Utd were not operating with a full strength squad as they were decimated by unavailability of personnel for this match. Yet, Man City, or more precisely, Roberto Mancini, their manager curiously replied by sending his full strength team with the dreaded and passive 4-6-0 formation which has been stubbornly utilized on every matchday by Mancini.

The end result was telling, with both teams simply playing it out for the drab draw that this match precisely turned out to be. Manchester United, as the away and not a full strength team simply grounding it out for a draw while Manchester City, as the home and superior team fielded simply ailed to take the initiative and utilize their home advantage fully by simply attacking Man Utd into submission. This will be viewed as 2 points lost for Man City and 1 point gained by Man Utd from this big away match. The inferiority complex on display by Man City, mainly through their tactics also simply showed that the order of power within Manchester is still as it is, and that the mooted shift of power in the city is simply a myth and any attempts to alter that prevailing order is at best, futile.

Secondly, we could also see this result as actually benefiting Manchester City, instead of Manchester United as outlined above. While how it actually benefits Man City might not be so apparent at a glance, and it is too easy to castigate every vestiges of this Man City team such that most people are likely to fail from seeing the underlying truth. Background info first and foremost. Anyone constantly reading soccer news as well as writing works about the sport would realize by now that the multi-billion takeover of Man City by the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) has come with a huge and inevitable drawback, which is none other than the fact that Man City from then onwards would be under intense microscope and observations as well as I dare say, surveillance from all corners of the global media. Any chink in Man City’s order will be deemed as a catastrophe and stories will fill the papers and TV screens the next day seemingly reciting Man City’s crumble as a whole club. If Man City lose or draw a match, it will be considered as a trouncing, while a slender victory will be considered as a draw. Any action by a staff, players or otherwise, would be deemed as a rebellion.

What I am trying to refer here is simply the constant menacing by the media about things such as how the City dressing room is in tatters, and that personnel are fighting against each other, and the craziest one being Carlos Tevez, arguably Man City’s talisman and absolute hero being sick with Man City, sick with England, and even sick with his own life and seeks to retire at the age of 26. Again, anyone reading soccer news regularly would have realized y now that these stories will simply pop-up in force each time Man City accrue less than stellar results such as draws and especially defeats. When Man City is victorious, these stories are popping up at a minimal frequency at best. Therefore, despite the 0-0 scoreline and the belief by Man City fans that this was actually a winnable game barring suspect tactics and decisions by the manager, we have to be able to take a positive out of this result and as Man City fans, they have to be thankful that this was not another match in which Man City lose to Man Utd no thanks to last minute goal(s). If Man City had been defeated by any manners, the media pack will be salivating with delight and they will pounce at City relentlessly. Instead of the relative serene and peace, the papers and TV screens will be undoubtedly filled with gossips regarding Mancini’s impending sack, Tevez set to retire, and a host of players organizing a revolt and so on and so forth. Man City will be in tatters, and morale will be at an all time-low. The media is relentless, and a defeat would have sent the rumor mills against Man City in full force. That would certainly be detrimental and not the best and the most conducive environment to just regroup from this game and prepare for the next game against Birmingham City. The relative quiet actually benefits City in this manner, and at least the axe is not getting closer towards Mancini’s neck for now.

Lastly, we could even see this result as a fair result which is mutually beneficial to both clubs. Let us look at the reality facing both of these teams, which is simply that a defeat for either of the team would carry a fatal consequences to the fallen club. A Man City win would mean a further legitimization that Man City need to further substantiate the fact that there has truly been a shift in power from the red side of Manchester to the blue side, and as far as Man Utd is concerned, the media will also be relentless towards them nevertheless not only regarding the power shift as mentioned but also, debates regarding the massive debts that the club’s owners are accruing, as well as the “Red Knights” movements will gather momentum which will not bode well for the stability of this great club.

As for a Man Utd win, this will again show the world that Man City has simply reached an impenetrable glass ceiling that no matter how much money they want to have, and whatever squad they want to assemble, they can never hope to surpass let alone replace their red side neighbors as the bosses of Manchester. In short, a defeat would crash the rising Blue Moon Revolution right back to earth, and the impact will not be pleasant for anyone associated with Manchester City FC.

Therefore, in any case, we could see that this 0-0 draw in the Manchester Derby actually benefit both clubs more than benefiting just one of the clubs. In fact, the 0-0 draw is just what both clubs would need without ruining the other, it is scary to think about it this way, but to quote a pundit in one of the best football sites in the world, “The City of Manchester has witnessed a non-aggression pact”, and that “the sole winner of this derby is Chelsea”. However, looking at this in the perspective of both Man Utd and Man City, Chelsea as only won a battle, not the war, while Man Utd and Man City can have a room to maneuver, breathe, and simply regroup for their respective next games, and get this potentially explosive and jeopardizing game out of the way.

To put it in simpler terms, while the winners of last night’s match would be rewarded handsomely and that it would consign their opponents to the abyss, each team simply did not wish to take the risk to obtain the handsome reward while risking themselves to be consigned to the proverbial abyss. Fair result for both teams, and exactly what they both need in the long term battle throughout the season.

First up, the story of the game. (Rating: nil). Besides chronicling the life of a player’s avatar (character) within the game, especially with the quest to fill up the “Star Book” containing the missions that the players are able to take up in which the fulfillment of each mission would grant the players a special star (as well as a healthy amount of gummies) to be “pasted” in the aforementioned Star Book, there is not much story to look at in this game. Unlike other MMO games, this game seems to be specially designed to create a low pressure and relaxing atmosphere for the players, and thus there is no complicated plot for the players to digest.

Secondly, the gameplay. (Rating: 6/10). The gameplay is not really spectacular here, with the players’ movement governed by the mouseclicks on the place which the players wish the avatar goes to. However, the general movements within the game is painfully slow and rough, especially so for players who do not ave the fastest internet connection around. The game lags considerably especially if the player decides to venture in crowded places in the game. Another setback caused by a crowded place would be the fact that the place might be so crowded such that the player is simply concealed within so many other players that it totally defeats the purpose of gathering in those crowded and happening places in the first place. First, giving a Prop to a particular player is really tough, let alone having a likely chance of receiving a prop from a fellow player. Another problem is of course the chat feature. When a player says something, there will be a chat bubble showing the words that a player is saying. It is quite difficult to catch what a player is saying, especially in the aforementioned crowded situations. Even if the player opens the chat window available, it is still too difficult as what the player is saying is quickly buried by the plethora of other players’ chats, leaving whispering a fellow player he only viable alternative. However, whispering can only be done between two players, and not among a group of people.

Thirdly, the graphics. (Rating: 6.5/10). For the graphics, again, not much to shout about here. The graphic is in a “cartoony” format, and what the older players would term as “kiddy”. The graphic is simply 2D graphic which is rendered such that it shows a 3D universe. Pretty much just like how Xenogears is, minus the 360 degre camera rotation feature of course. Overall, quite satisfactory especially for someone not fortunate enough to be in possession of a spectacular internet connection like yours truly. The setting that enables player to adjust the desired graphical resolution helps a lot.

Fourthly, the sounds (Rating: 2/10). Almost non-existent, and sound is never the main attraction of this game, and thus again there is not much here, only the clicking sounds made when one clicks stuff in this game.

Fifthly, the Replay Value (8/10). It can be monotonous to play this game for a prolonged period of time. But this game does have a huge replay value. Well, this is an online game after all, and a replay value or in other words, continuity factor is a must for an online game to exist. The developers are always working hard to make this game as continuously playable as possible by continuously adding new features as well as limited edition seasonal items such as the recently concluded Halloween festivities and the recently implemented winter themed items. Various places in the game will also be decorated according to the current theme. This makes the game somewhat having many things to look forward to as time passes as new things will arrive.

Sixth, Sociability (11/10). This is where this game excels, and believe it or not, this is enough to override whatever limitation this game might have and simply one sole reason to ply this game, at least at a personal level, yours truly is a firm believer in this. Like how I mentioned earlier, this game is made for the social factor, and it does. The developers of this game, the Japanese company Ameba surely clinched a masterstroke move by cooperating with Facebook to combine the game with the Facebook platform. Nowadays, Facebook is simply the sacred sanctuary for social networking related stuff, and this has increasingly blurred the great divide between the cyber world and the real world.

To be frank, it is very unlikely and it is also not recommended to seek totally new friends out of the fellow players playing this game, but one thing which struck me personally is how this game could make connecting people that much easier. This is especially true if two friends are playing this game, and then these two people surely have their respective set of friends. Through this game, they could introduce their respective friends to one another, and then enabling both of them to  get to know new people out of second degree friends rather than complete strangers, and I think this is where the game, whether intentional or not, excels. Again, with the facebook, tie-in, the aforementioned newly forged friendships could be further engaged as those people are able to add one another’s facebook accounts.

Yours truly really marveled at the wonderful recipe of greatness consisting of Pico+Facebook as I have been out of my hometown for far too long, resulting in a situation whereby I no longer have that many friends in that place. However, I managed to contact a friend whom I have not met for a solid 8 years at least! This guy introduced me to his friend, who plays Pico. I played pico as well, met her in the game, and then inadvertently and inevitably, I met with her friends as well at Pico. Thankfully, she duly introduced me to her amazing friends and then I was able to forge a friendship with each of them, and was on the verge of meeting them in real life in an exhibition. Barring a problem I experienced that day which prevented me to actually attend that exhibition and get to know these new friends even better, I would have done so that day, but fortunately, we are all still meeting at Pico regularly, and I am enjoying every second of it.

Another way of looking at it would be a way for people who are far apart across the world to be able to meet each other in the virtual world, and Pico is a perfect platform to do so. Somehow, Pico accommodates artificial meetings through the players’ avatars in the game, and even if the group of people are far apart and thus unable to meet each other in real life, it is a perfectly great substitute to just gather in one of the player’s house for instance, and have a conversation. They can even play mini-games together such as Reversi, Casino games (Roulette, Blackjack, etc) if they like. This is where Pico, despite its humbleness and simplicity, beats other games, by far…

Even if we are to meet strangers, it is not always that bad as sometimes, through the “create event” feature in the game, we are able to interact well with the new people through parties in the game as well as the unique “Fashion Shows” created by the players. As far as I know, this is usually organized on the players’ own initiative, and it is really meaningful to participate in the fashion shows (I usually participate as a judge, in case anyone is asking)

Yet another interesting feature, which I have mentioned a glimpse of it would be the Camera feature in which players are able to take snapshots of the game and simply store it in a special photo album created by the game exclusively and nicely for the users. It is so much fun to look at the photo album and relive the fun moments that one has in the game, and see how the players’ avatars have developed from when they started playing until now. Very interesting.

Lastly, the difficulty (9/10 HARD). Despite what I have been blabbering about regarding Pico is a very social game and that it is free of the dreaded pressure cooker atmosphere found in other online games in general, I would still say that this game is hard for the very reason that more often than not it requires cooperation even among strangers to get a STAR in the game. For example, one of the STARs in which the players are required to take a seat within the chamber for the mission objective to be triggered. It is really hard to get everyone to cooperate and simply sit down to get it done and over with and help each other. But sometimes there might be people who simply want to spoil the party by not complying and just standing there, preventing the objective to be triggered, and it takes a lot of effort to persuade them to cooperate. Also there are sometimes glitches (I would love to think that it is, rather than players using cheating softwares) in the mini games, for example, one defeat is logged as 8, to just name one, which yours truly has unfortunately experienced…

Overall, this game is a marvelous and enjoyable game in which the more friends one has in the game (newly made or simply real life friends playing this game), the more fun one will certainly get in this game. I could not emphasize enough on how the social element in this game simply overrides any limitations that this game might has, and the only proof required would be the fact that no matter how limited and monotonous the game might seem like at a glance, there are so many players who are constantly playing this game, and even players who are initially disinterested eventually come back for more. The key for this game is the interaction factor with fellow players. I would consider Pico as a heavily enhanced instant messaging service. Or since this game comes with Facebook, I would say that this is the expansion pack of the Facebook Chat feature. Marvelous game.

Sounds familiar? Of course yes. Balotelli scoring the winning goals against West Brom, and then sent off later in the match resulting in his suspension in Man City’s next match which is none other than the dreaded but highly anticipated first Manchester Derby of the season. All of us by now should be aware that Man City cannot hope to win any match let alone against a big team in a big match such as Manchester United without Carlos Tevez at his best. Yes, he is back from injury, but he will not be fully fit against Man Utd and might not be able to carry the team on his own shoulders, not in this condition. Now, Man City have seemingly found another source of goal in Balotelli who has just scored a morale boosting brace against West Brom, but now he is suspended. The prospect of this Manchester Derby as yet another proof that the power has further shifted towards the blue side of the city is now seemingly set for a derby of the usual “order”, one that has been like in the past few decades… Red supremacy, no less…

Secondly, it might not be a coincidence that the return of Tevez coincides with Man City managing to arrest the slump which has spanned for three consecutive matches prior to the West Brom game. Tevez played a huge role yesterday especially for his link-up play which let to Balotelli’s opening goal. However, it was previously suggested that Tevez will not be available for longer than this, and he was even considered as a “doubt” to feature in the Manchester Derby at all, let alone finishing a whole match like he did last night. One could not help but sense a tinge of rush in his return. Seemed that the management decided to rush Tevez back into the fray to arrest the aforementioned slump that Man City is experiencing. Rushing a player from an injury, especially such a crucial player for his team like Tevez is to Man City right now is never a good idea. We should remember how Fernando Torres, until recently experienced a massive slump and a goal drought for a prolonged period of time spanning all the way from the end of last season. Many pundits and fans believe that this was due to Torres being overutilized and when he gets injured, he is always rushed back before he is supposed to be back.

The point is that, while Tevez’s return is a welcome boost for Man City as a whole, we have to remember that he is only human, and that there is only so much a human body could handle, Tevez or no Tevez. Rushing him, combined with the fact that he is always utilized in a heavy duty mode for Man City is likely to result in him being jaded. Being jaded might not appear to be so bad, at least not as bad as having a long term injury. But being too jaded as a player can have serious repercussions in the form of a player who is usually stellar in his performances becoming a very pale shadow of himself. When this happens, it could be very detrimental to the club. When a key player performs very poorly due to this, their results will falter, and as sub standard results are being notched, the inevitable ruthlessness of the media pack will also pounce on the club and especially the player himself, further demoralizing him, and thus extending the poor performance of the club as a whole. Man City cannot afford for this to happen as their season hinges on Tevez’s performance. If Tevez performs well, the club will climb up the league table, but if he performs badly or worse, become unavailable, then Man City will slump. In a nutshell, Man City’s performance is directly proportional to Tevez’s.

Lastly, the fact that this Pyrrhic victory comes before the Manchester Derby will inevitable cause a false celebratory mood in the dressing room. Even if the players and manager do not express this outwardly, one way or another, even if it is through some kind of sub-conscious mechanism, there will be an excitement due to last night’s victory and that complacent might even set-in especially that Tevez is back into the fold. However, even if the above does not apply, we have to realize that a fixture against Manchester United is always a bane for any club, let alone their city rivals (Manchester City). Of course I will again cite on how Man Utd ended Arsenal’s 49 match unbeaten run in 2004 which Arsenal have yet to properly recover from then on until today. Thus, a defeat, especially a cruel one such as one which is achieved through last minute goal(s) from Man Utd might ruin Man City’s season as a whole.

However, Man City being Man City, anything can really happen in this fixture. Not only Man City, but football in general is naturally unpredictable. Man Utd is obviously the heavy favorites to win this Derby game. Despite this, and no matter how negative my assessment is towards last night’s victory could be, there is still something inside me which says that this might even be a comfortable victory for Manchester City, just like how they obliterated Chelsea last season 4-2 at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea were the heavy favorites to win the game at that time.

In any case, Manchester City will have to be careful from now on as Balotelli’s absence, compunded by the fact that Tevez might not be fully fit yet and is likely to be jaded cannot be taken lightly. Other players in the squad will really have to stepp and give their 200% for the sky blue shirt for the Derby if they are to have any chance of getting anything from this huge game.

The certain Argentine player mentioned is none other than Carlos Tevez. As much as Man City fans are reluctant to admit, they are actually too reliant to Tevez to be able to get out of a match without suffering a defeat. The aforementioned three match losing run (and counting) were all matches in which Tevez failed to feature in the sky blue shirt as the Argentine continues to recuperate in his native Argentina. While in most of the matches in which City have won, the Argentine have been playing a crucial role in each of those matches, most notably in the matches against Chelsea and Blackpool in which the Argentine was vital in the victories. Without Tevez, Man City seems to have no other means to attack, with his replacements such as Adebayor and Balotelli are so far not up to standard. To be fair for both of them, the latter is still adjusting himself to he rigors of the Premier League while for the former, admittedly he has been scoring in the past two matches, although it was futile as n both occasions, Man City have failed to hold on to the advantage the Togolese’s goal has given them in both matches. Despite the ultra defensive tactics employed by Roberto Mancini, Man City are conceding at an alarming rate by now. They simply could not score, but they are conceding a lot. Surely that is not the kind of performance the fans, and of course the owners do not wish to see for the massive investments they have poured into this club.

Still, this is where Tevez is crucial. Take the Blackpool match for instance, in which Man City conceded two goals, but he scored a brace and together with Silva’s winning goal in which he was heavily involved in the build-up and thus Man City were able to grab that 3-2 victory over Blackpool. Right now, Tevez is not available and there is nobody there to save Man City when they need Tevez the most. Even if they concede late goals such as how they conceded last night in Poland, if Tevez was available, I would not be surprised if Man City came out with a 4-3 win! With the Manchester Derby looming, and with Tevez still in doubt for that match, te red side of Manchester can only lick their lips in anticipation of a goal-fest, with players such as Javier Hernandez relishing a Gareth Bale moment against Inter at San Siro a few weeks ago. We know what that means.

Secondly, despite Manchester City’s massive attempts to bridge the massive gulf separating them and their red and more illustrious neighbors, at the moment, they are still quite far off, and one major missing component which consigns them into the depths of mediocrity is the fact that Manchester City do not have passionate and loyal homegrown players. For Manchester United, they can always take solace in the fact that no matter what happens to them, even if they are relegated to League One tomorrow, players such as Darren Fletcher, Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, and Paul Scholes will always stay with them and will still give their 110% for Man Utd in their quest to achieve promotion back as fast as possible. While that scenario is not likely to happen, that is the best way how loyal those players are to Man Utd’s cause, while Man City cannot even name one player who is even close to those aforementioned players.

Admittedly, the closest Man City ever had in this Blue Moon Revolution period to a Giggs or Scholes was of course in the form of the much maligned Stephen Ireland. Yes, he might be a bit too petulant to be a good role model and key poster boy for Man City, but at least he was a homegrown player who was quite passionate for Man City. How about the rest? The rest are seemingly just more loyal to their weekly paychecks rather than the cause for the club as a whole. Other set of fans would point to Joe Hart as that figure. But no, I bet if Man Utd comes calling, he will be between the sticks at Old Trafford replacing Edwin van der Sar especially if things continue to be going this way for Man City. Man City simply do not have the kind of players who will not only sweat, but break their legs for the club, just like Giggs and Scholes. That is what they really need, and that is why clubs such as Man Utd and Barcelona are very successful.

Lastly, despite everything, Man City is still a massive squad and quality is evident all over the squad. Yet, they are rather under-utilized at the moment in favor to inept players who proved to be unable to sustain their places in the squad aspiring for greatness anymore. It would be futile and even be outright useless to explain in detail on what it really entails, but just ponder on the following point: When Patrick Vieira and Dedryck Boyata are favored over Adam Johnson and Pablo Zabaleta, something is dead wrong.

The problems highlighted above are actually totally preventable problems in which it can be avoided rather easily, except for the obvious reason in which Tevez is only a human and that the first problem is actually inevitable as no player in this world is truly exempted from injuries. With the bottomless pit of cash that Man City are able to be proud of, as well as the potential that the club was already having even before the takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group, this club could be so much more by now. In any case, things will not improve soon after the recent debacles and especially not with the in-form West Brom and of course the mighty Manchester United coming up in the next two fixtures…