Football Game FC Seoul vs FC Tokyo

Yesterday we decided to go to the FC Seoul vs FC Tokyo Football (soccer) Game at the World Cup Stadium. We went with some colleagues from work, family, and some colleagues who are working for our company in China.

Thankfully, I was able to convince our hotel to give us a bus and driver for all of us to get there, so at 5pm we left the hotel in the convenience of an Air Conditioned bus which is much needed with the 34degrees weather and high humidity at the moment.

After the regular Seoul traffic we got there in 1 hour and to our complete surprise the banquet staff from the hotel had organized a private box for us!! (Our hotel also caters for all the VIP boxes at the FC Seoul Games at World Cup Stadium) So we went through the VIP section, up the elevators and placed in our own Air Conditioned suite with a lovely table, bathroom, and enough food and drinks for about 30 people. To top it off you can sit outside the room in about 20 chairs to watch the game even better.

As you can imagine we had a wonderful time enjoying the game, the private box, and the food! Before I forget FC Seoul Won 3-0!

We got back about 945pm after a very enjoyable evening.

Have attached some photos of the night. One thing to note is the wild Korean fans! They are fantastic. I promise for the full 90 minutes the main FC Seoul fan section never stopped with singing, dancing, and celebrating. A lot of fun.

Aussie Aussie Aussie !!!

Life in Korea has taken a back seat to all the World Cup festivities these days. I work in a hotel that has the following nationalities -

Korean 1792 staff, Geman 1 staff, French 1 staff, British 2 staff, Australians 4 staff.

So as it happened everyone in the hotels has a team represented in the world cup! Of course plenty of excitement around the hotel, lots of joking, and even more World Cup discussion than work discussion!

Okay, so lets rewind with a few updates on Aussies -

1 - Jeff Ogilvy won the US Open Golf over the past weekend! Great stuff
2 - Australia kick Englands ass again in the Rugby.
3 - Leyton Hewitt won Queens Tennis Tournament
4 - Australia 2 drew with Croatia 2! Giving the aussies a place in history to make the sweet sixteen! Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi !!!!

The following is an article written by a French reporter, Pierre Littbarski in Germany. I took it from smh online, and I thin kit is a great article written by a non-aussie -

AUSTRALIA have made significant leaps forward at the World Cup, with many of the world's best judges believing the adaptable, high-energy style of football they play is emerging as a leading trend in the game.

While some have tried to portray the Australians as an over-physical side, the reality is they have played some very good football and have impressed everyone in Germany.

The performances against Japan and especially Brazil have been very impressive. They are tactically and technically very good and have been playing without fear.

Against Brazil they went onto the field thinking they could win. A lot of teams don't do that. Sure, Brazil won the match - but with a bit of luck, Australia could have drawn or even won the game.

They are not intimidated by anyone, have an attitude that is typically Australian and play with a smile on their face - but a sting in their boots. It is an ideal mix. But Australia's game is not just based on attitude. They have also played some very good football. It has surprised many people who thought the old Australian style of chasing and defending would still be alive.

Instead, they have been very positive in their play and win, lose or draw against Croatia, they have made many friends and new admirers in high places.


Great photo of Harry Kewell, courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald as the other one on this post, and the last post.

Aussie victory in World Cup

Australia 3 Japan 1

Let me start by saying! You bloody rippa!
Ok, so the bad thing was I did not get to see the game. Can you believe I was actually working at midnight in Manila! Oh well. When I got back to the hotel, I caught the highlights and went to sleep very satisfied.

Here is comments and photos of the game -

Let us summarize the last 10 minutes of the game! Unbelievable -

84mins GOAL! Japan scrambled the free-kick away for a long throw-in but Kawaguchi flaps at it and Cahill is there to pounce and score Australia's first ever World Cup goal.

86mins Right down at the other end Japan look dangerous as Cahill definitely commits a foul in the box but he gets away with it as the ref awards a corner rather than the penalty it should have been.

88mins Fukunishi has the chance to end it as the defence opens up for him but he cracks his shot wide.

89mins GOAL! Unbelievable hit from Cahill. What a five minutes he has had. This time, he picks the ball up on the edge of the D and smacks his shot in off the post. It's safe to say he is better in the opposition's half.

90mins +1 Moniwa is pulled off to allow Masashi Oguro, the Japan forward, on.

90mins +2 GOAL! Aloisi makes sure of the three points. Cahill was involved again, feeding him 20 yards out and the big man just ran and ran before slotting into the bottom corner.

FULL-TIME. That's it, Australia somehow snatched victory in the final moments of the game. Tim Cahill completely turned the game on its head after coming on from the bench. He scored two, set up another one and could have conceded a penalty. It's Australia's first ever World Cup win. Japan do not deserve to lose by such a scoreline but they paid for not taking their chances.

Australia in the World Cup

YES, after 31 years Australia has finally qualified for the World Cup! You know us aussies are supper patriotic and even though I am not the biggest soccer fan, I am still so happy. It was not covered on TV here, so I had to get live updates thru the internet!

But I guess the ironic thing, and the link to Korea on this is that the coach of the Australian team, Gus Hiddink was the former South Korean coach!

So, after a shitty weekend where we lost the rugby to England, this was a very nice mid-week gift.

Oh, and sorry for no updates on the blog for a while. Just super busy, and to be very honest not that much exciting going on. The weather has dropped to close to zero (0) at night and max 8 - 10 in the day. So I walk to work at 730am freezing my ass off and go into my office to thaw out for 15 minutes. Now I know most people say what is the big deal, but after living in places like Middle East for 3 years, and Hawaii for 8 years, then you understand I am not used to the cold!

Desperate Football Fans

This is great. I was reading through my regular travel emails and this article was in it.

1st Point - Name of Airline Company "Rum Air"

2nd Point - I guess this crew were just trying to give their 289 passengers the best service possible?! right?

Enjoy -

Desperate Football Fans!
Plane makes unauthorised detour to football match A faked fuel emergency allowed an aircraft load of football supporters from Gambia to attend the country’s world youth tournament match in Peru on Tuesday.
A Rum Air plane carrying 289 fans from the West African country made an unauthorised detour to Peru’s northern city of Piura, bypassing immigration formalities in the capital, Lima.The plane landed in time for fans to see the match against Qatar, which their team won 3-1 to reach the quarter finals of the World Under-17 Championship.The phoney emergency alerted fire fighters and police who raced to the airport, while hospitals were told to prepare for possible casualties.A Peruvian airport authority spokeswoman said the plane with 12 crew on board had raised the alarm, saying it did not have enough fuel to fly to Lima and would have to land in Piura instead.Immigration officials there checked documents and the fans went straight to the stadium to see the match.The plane was impounded, but it was not immediately clear what penalties the airline could face.