A Girl With A Football Obsession =)

Waking up early on Halloween to watch football sucks.

But it's worth it.

Why do I do all this for you?

BTW, can any United fan look at a picture of Tevez and not feel like punching him in the face?

I thought that the book did a really good job at showing what football really does to some people, and how important it is to us, the fans. I'm actually afraid to become that obsessed with football. I still can't believe how it's taken over my life in less than a year, and how much United started to matter to me. Living in Miami, where no one really cares about European club football (except Barca) I have never met any other United fan. Here, Manchester United belong to me. I don't care about who owns them, who their manager is, they are my team. I've never been to an actual game, but in the past year that goal has made it's way all the way at the top of my "To Do Before I Die" lists :)

I guess what I'm trying to say is, that the book is amazing. If you haven't read it, go read it. Now.

RAWR.

Both of the Bulgarian teams lost their matches, leaving them at the bottom of their respective tables. CSKA has only one point, and Levski has 0, I think they are the only team without a point. Valencia also didn't perform as well as they should have, even though Veeya was playing. Liverpool also lost and I was pissed because they had been playing dreadful football lately. Man United's performance in Moscow also wasn't pretty.

Now moving on to the more important stuff. Let's begin with the only positive thing from this weekend (unless you are a Liverpool/Chelsea fan)- Valencia. They were lovely against whatever team they played and they won 3-0, with Veeya scoring, of course.

The bad: Real also drew with Sporting (I think) and I wasn't happy because I don't like it when Kaka is sad. Ronaldo really needs to get back on that pitch and make him happy again, and they can make football babies. I mean goals...

The ugly: I guess I should give you a warning that the following paragraphs/ pages might be filled with tons of angry United rambling.

The fact that they lost has definitely reflected my mood this week, and anytime any of my friends (who don't give a crap about football) mention United I feel like kicking a kitten. I guess I should probably talk about the game and how stuff went. I was really nervous and I didn't sleep well, but just like before any major game I knew that if they had a chance to win, then United would screw up. It still hurts when my prediction does come true.

Our starting line-up was not weak, and now that we have van der Sar back our back line should have been much more stable. One thing I didn't understand was why Darren Fletcher did not start/ was not on the bench. He is a great player and he could have been a great contribution to the team.

Berbatov and Rooney played up front, but as usual Berba was the link between midfield and Rooney. The first couple of minutes Rooney had some good attacks, but after that he was gone. Berbatov tried to make something happen with Valencia, but he didn't look very enthusiastic. Neither one was at their best shape, Berba's passes weren't as good as they usually were, and Valencia was chasing down balls like he should have been. Giggs wasn't much better either, I think he should have been subbed. I didn't understand why Sir Alex subbed Berba and not Rooney. He should have brought Owen in much earlier and taken out Rooney because he was obviously struggling.

Scholes and Carrick did OK, but not as well as I would have likes. Scholes' passes were flawless, like usual, but that was all he did, he didn't really defend or help create any situations. Carrick did much better, he created many opportunities, but he couldn't execute them.

Our back four were pretty poor, especially whenever Torres touched the ball. I mean you could see the fear on their faces the moment the freckles got the ball. Ferdinand was out of shape, and he should have been able to stop Torres when he broke away and score the goal. Vidic was fine, but some of his tackles were awful, same goes for Evra.

It was pretty bad, and we deserved to lose, but I'm still mad. Berba shouldn't have gotten that frustrated with all the challenges that went against him, that definitely affected his football. Also, Torres!!! AHHH!!! That little b*tch! I mean, I love him and all, but what was with all the diving?! I think all the frustration is out.

They better destroy Blackburn in their next game, or I will be really mad.

At least this is better than 4-1... Right?

I feel so dirty right now! I made a promise to myself that I would never watch that sport, and now I did. And I didn't hate it! I actually kind of understood what was going on, and it wasn't that bad. AHHH!

On a different note, I think that I am now suffering not only from Torrenidis, but also from Kakanidis (no, not a disease which makes you poop). Kaka is just so gorgeous... *drools*

How can you resist him?!

BTW, LESS THAN 12 HOURS!!! AHHH!

It needs to be Sunday, like now.

I'm really nervous, and I don't know if United can pull it off.

I mean, it is Anfield...

And they haven't been playing that well... 

AHHHHH!!!

I guess I'll just think about Valencia for a while

At least they make me smile :)

And this guy makes me smile too:

He is back bitches :)

And Valencia equalized as I write this 

:D

- a part of the Man United game 

- the Liverpool vs Sunderland match aka the Pepe Reina vs The Red Ball Match 

- Barcelona vs. Valencia!!!!

- Real Madrid vs whatever aka Kaka-Did-Not-Take-His-Shirt-Off vs. *yawn*
- Inter vs. Geno aka OMG Stankovich vs. whaa?

- Milan vs Roma aka PATO vs. ?

- Man City vs Wigan aka Bulgarian scored vs boring 

I discovered that while my favorite Milan player might be the seventeen year old Brazilian who goes by the name of Pato, I still love Inzaghi. That dude is a complete genius! Seriously, he is about a hundred years old in football years, and he is still playing, as a striker nonetheless. 

I was quite happy that City didn't win, I just love it when my Mans are on top of the table :)

Both things are true, the two of the three clubs that I really like, Manchester United and Liverpool are one of the most popular football clubs on this planet. However, I don't think that the reason I started liking them has anything to do with their popularity. I started liking Manchester United because of Berbatov and because on that faithful Champions League match day last year the game which ESPN decided to show was United, and I started following all their games. I started supporting Liverpool because of Torres and because I think he is one of the best, if not the best, strikers in the world and he is a joy to watch. I don't follow any of these teams just because they are good and I expect them to win, but because I actually like the teams.

Then he started talking about how I support NT which I have no reason to support, like Spain, Brazil, England and Germany. I support these teams because some of my favorite players play for them and I would love to see them win the greatest trophy in football. I don't have to be Spanish to like their team, if I only had to support Bulgaria in the World Cup, well then I should just not watch it at all. 

Then, of course, there are the players. Apparently I like all the regular players, like Messi, Torres, Kaka and Rooney and no one original. I don't really understand what's wrong with liking players which are currently the best in the world. Everyone knows about them, and some people might even think they are overrated, but they are still good and no one ca deny that. I enjoy watching players and teams which play good football, I guess that's typical of any football fan. 

Anyway, on a completely different note, the Devils are back on top again. I'm not celebrating yet, because it's too early and they haven't been playing as well as they should be and Rooney is still injured. However, Berbatov is a genius. I don't understand people continue to criticize him, when that man leaves everything on the pitch, he is just so good. If I can't celebrate United's win, I can definitely celebrate Chelsea's loss. I am completely loving Aston Villa right now. They are playing great football and they are doing really well, but they better not try to pull an upset on my Mans. Liverpool were horrendous. I think that's all that I can say, but I guess there was lots of luck that contributed to their loss, but they are definitely lost without Gerrard and Torres. 

Real Madrid did not perform as well as they should have against Valladolid as I thought they would. Their defense was really sloppy and Casillas made several mistakes that could have ended up very badly. But even though they can't defend they definitely know how to score. But Kaka refused to show us some abs at the end when he took off his shirt and revealed this:

I was actually disappointed with Valencia. When I first hear that they were going to play Barca this week I though that they had no chance, but then when I saw Barca actually play Valencia should have definitely won the match. But I don't think that they know how to score without Daveed Veeya. Messi wasn't really there although he did walk around the pitch or something like that. They should have scored and brought Barca off of their high horse. Rawr, I'm upset they didn't win, I even threw a pencil while watching the game, and I'm usually not violent during games, I just curse. This little team has definitely grown on me :)

Oh, and I can't forget to mention Inter completely demolishing Genoa 5-0 and Stankovich's amazing midifield volley goal. 

I was happy with Bulgaria's match too, although it really didn't matter, we won 6-2 over Georgia. I know that it's Georgia, but after losing to Cyprus I'm happy with this. And Berba-daddy scored a hat-trick which made me happy. None of the games were really interesting. France, Russia and Portugal made it to play-offs, and those would be interesting to see. 

I won't be able to watch the United match on Saturday and I'm upset, they shouldn't have all these matches right after an international week! Valencia vs Barcelona will be amazing! I'm definitely watching. So I'm definitely just procrastinating right now... 

I was pretty happy with Spain, although you could see that they were really bored and they didn't really feel like playing. Torres just kind of hung around the back and contained himself from scoring so that someone else could. I was really happy with Mata's performance, and his good looks. There was no Casillas though, which made me sad. The best moment of the match has to be when Armenia score the equalizer, there was such joy on the players' faces and the crowd was ecstatic. They all knew that they have no chance to qualify for the world cup, but they were just so happy to score a goal against probably the best team in the world right now. 

America also qualified which is awesome, I mean I don't really care. Even though I live here and I like America I don't support them when it comes to football, because this nation is a disgrace to football. Also, Argentina did not lose! Isn't that amazing? I've only watched two world cups, and I don't think that Argentina has ever not qualified for a world cup. It would have been awful if Messi didn't get to play, but I would have liked to see Maradona get mobbed by all the Argentinians. There is something about that man that just bothers me. 

Portugal were also lucky enough to grab the second spot in their group after winning 3-0 against Hungary, without Ronaldo scoring. It's one of those rare games in which he doesn't score. Maybe he asleep on the pitch? France are also going to play offs after completely demolishing the Faroe Islands 5-0. France and Italy have to be ashamed of themselves. They have been performing so poorly in the group stages that I would never have guessed that those were the teams that made it to the final in 2006. Ukraine also beat England 1-0, but I really don't think that the English cared much about the game. They already qualified for the Cup, why bother? The game that I was actually looking forward to, Russia vs Germany, wasn't actually as interesting as I expected. The group with Russia and Germany was the only really interesting, tight group. Germany had not lost a game and Russia had lost only one game, which was against Germany. Germany won today, and I can't decide if I'm happy that they won, or if I'm sad that Russia lost. I love both sides, and I really, really hope that Russia qualify in the play-offs because they are a great team. 

I still haven't decided which matches I'm going to watch, or how I'm going to watch them. I'm watching Spain because they are showing that live on TV and I'm definitely watching Bulgaria, because I'm Bulgarian. I really want to watch Russia and Germany because that will be a great match and I love both teams. I have to watch Argentina because they have to qualify. How can there be a World Cup without Messi?! I'm not watching England because there is no point, and I want to Italy because Bulgaria qualifying depends on them, but they suck so I probably won't watch them. I don't want to watch France because I'm super disappointed with them, even though they have a great team. i

I guess this is it, a pointless blog, by a half asleep me. 

I'm also reading a book by Jim White called Manchester United: The Biography. I've been trying to educate myself more about the team I love, and the book is definitely doing its job. I love every single page of it, I suck up the information and I try to read as slowly as possible so that I don't have to finish it soon. United have become sort of like my second family, or maybe my real family. Sometimes they are really unfair to me (and to all their fans), and sometimes they are just amazing. Ryan Giggs has become my favorite United player, that man is the heart and soul of United. He is definitely not in his prime, but without him United will be way down the table right now. Berbatov is also brilliant this season, without him we would not have won the Champions League game against Wolfsburg. I understand why many people criticize him, because he was overpriced, and he did not have a perfect starting season. But he has definitely improved this season and he is going to be amazing. 

I started following United midway through the season last year, and I realized that I was a year too late, I should have started watching them last year when they played against Chelsea. I know I would have probably had a mental break down during the Champions League final, but I would have loved to experience that. I would have loved to see them lift that trophy and do their victory lap, I would have loved to be able to support them during that game. I realize that this year they don't have the best team ever and they will have a hard time to staying on top of the EPL table, I also realize that they will not make it to the Champions League final, because they are simply not good enough this year. I would love to see them win, but the realist inside me tells that it won't happen, and that makes me sad. I have to sit in front of that TV and wait for them to get trampled over by Barca or Real.

I realize that being a football fan is one of the toughest things. I love watching my teams, I love watching quality football and I love watching my teams win. But watching my favorite team lose is tough, it's really tough. I wasn't upset when United didn't win against Sunderalnd over the weekend, but I was really upset when Chelsea won against Liverpool and they took United's spot. I was in a really bad mood, and my parents thought that I was just giving them the attitude and being annoying. They don't understand how much football actually means to me. They don't understand how hard it is to watch my favorite team go down a spot even if it's just the first few weeks of the season. And it's not just my parents that don't understand me, it my friends too. One of my friend really likes American football, and I think he might understand my obsession, but he supports the Dolphins, who are not great, so he knows what it's like to have a bad season. My team hasn't had a bad season, and I don't want my first full season as a football fan to be ruined by their loss.