* of course this post has everything to do with world cup, and then some....

italy may have earned the reputation as playing the most boring type of football in the world due to their defensive method, but the azzuri team will always have a special place in my heart. world cup 1994 in usa has kickstarted my interest in football, and honestly, the main reason could be attributed to the fact that i had my first crush then, on italian player roberto baggio, hehehe.... he was known as the divine ponytail, the fact that he's a buddhist in a country of devout catholics only add to his persona....

beckham doesn't look this good......

initially i only knew baggio, then the whole italian team, then further extended to players from other teams as well. i started to develop an interest in the game itself, not just the players.

why do i say that the italian team will always have a special place in my heart?

the main reason is not because of baggio, but because of paolo maldini, another player from the azzuri team. my husband confessed that he started to be interested in me after hearing me mention maldini's name in a conversation about football between us. he was impressed, since according to him, most girls only know beckham or other players from mu and epl, nobody knows a defender by the name of paolo maldini who played for ac milan in serie a. the conversation took place in 2000, we became a couple a year later, and it all started just because i mentioned maldini's name.

thank you maldini....

for this year's tournament i never expected italy to win, i was actually rooting for argentina since i believed that they could go far for they have a bunch of very talented players like messi, tevez, cambiasso and crespo. their performance against serbia & montenegro solidified my confidence of their abilities. tp dah kalah nk buat mcm mana....