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ShareI can't wait for May 27 and the Champions League final. The wait is making me so impatient. The days seem to be just dragging along. Of course, there's the Indian Premier League for distraction. But it's really not helping much.
I hope the final in Rome lives up to the expectations. It's a match-up between the two best football clubs in the world -- one known for their attacking prowess and the other for flair.
I've pictured the perfect final in my head, with all the ingredients. A packed-to-the-brim Olympic Stadium, free-flowing football, lots of goals, a couple of penalties, maybe even a red card, a spectacular fightback and the trophy going to the deserving winner.
I want this game to be even more magnificent than the 2005 Liverpool vs AC Milan-final in Istanbul. It has to be. Some of the best footballers in the world will be on the Rome pitch: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Thierry Henry, Andres Iniesta. The setting is perfect. Rome, with its history and architecture, will only add to the final's magnificence. Oh, I can't wait!
Relegation battle
Back in England, Alan Shearer has been saying that Newcastle will survive the relegation battle. I doubt he is feeling as confident as he is claiming to be. Newcastle have to get a better result in their last match against Aston Villa than Hull City do against Manchester United.
Shearer can't take any chances and has to make sure that his team take away full points from Villa Park. It isn't going to be an easy task for a side that has won only 11 of their 37 Premier League games this season. Villa are sixth in the league with qualification for Europe almost secure.
Shearer's problems are magnified by the fact that both his strikers Michael Owen and Obafemi Martins are nursing injuries but are likely to be fit for Sunday's game.
But all of Newcastle's efforts against Villa can go to waste if Hull City beat Manchester United. It will be a sad, sad day for Newcastle if they get relegated. The last time it happened was in 1989.
But surely, it can't happen to Alan Shearer. Shearer deserves a chance in the top-flight, a chance to mend this team, a chance to gain the fan's respect again. He did it as a player. I am hoping he can do it as their manager.
Ticket to the World Cup
On May 15, I received a confirmation from FIFA saying that my ticket application for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa has been processed and that it was successful.
For almost five minutes, I stared at the screen, incredulously. Surely there had been a mistake! I read and re-read the mail and then screamed in joy. I got the tickets to all seven games -- three group stage matches, pre-quarterfinal, quarterfinal, semifinal and final.
I didn't really think I would get them, with the odds of 1:100,000. Add to that the
confusing application process. I was sure I had messed up somewhere.
I've never been this lucky ever. There really is a God.
