I would usually refrain from writing a football match review that I have not watched on TV. However, I decided to highlight this match for several reasons.

Firstly, I had just watched an uninspirational performance by Manchester United against Manchester City in a derby match in City of Manchester Stadium last Sunday. To be able to see a totally fired-up performance by the same team against their bogey team (Blackburn Rovers) really made up the time I wasted watching the derby match.

Secondly, this match is the kind of matches which we would like to see every time, through the highlights I must say that it was highly entertaining and there were good display of skills and motivation to win by both teams (honestly though, Blackburn was trying hard to just equalise and deny MU an easy win). Sometimes cup matches are more interesting than Premier League matches, especially when there are high scoring matches and sensational upsets. Yes, cup matches are indeed more unpredictable than league matches. There is less discipline, more creativity, more goals, less drama and more upsets, what else…?

Click here to see for yourself this exciting game

There are in total 8 goals and let me just run through the goals briefly:

1. First goal is credited to Carlos Tevez. On another day, it will be considered an own goal by Aaron Mokoena. Ryan Giggs took a free kick on left hand side of opponent’s goal, at the far post Tevez and Mokoena were trying to overpower each other to get a solid touch on the ball and that resulted in a goal. United 1 – 0 Blackburn.
2. Second goal was scored by Portuguese teenager Nani (anyone else thinks he looks like an Indian?) after exchanging a clever one-two with provider Tevez. United 2 – 0 Blackburn.
3. Benni McCarthy was subbed in after half-time and he repaid the faith of his manager by scoring Blackburn’s first goal. His goal was a solid volley shot, United’s defenders were at fault (and by the way, why was right back Rafael on the left hand side of the goal?). Perfect co-operation from Santa Cruz and McCarthy. United 2 – 1 Blackburn.
4. Fourth goal was a penalty scored by Tevez, he was fouled in the box but I think it is a soft foul, there was not any solid contact (I might be wrong here!). United 3 – 1 Blackburn.
5. Fifth goal was scored by Tevez yet again. If the previous one-two with Nani was admirable, then this was an absolute beauty and art. First Anderson have a one-two with Tevez, then when in the box Anderson faked to shoot but laid the ball across the despairing Paul Robinson and a defender for Tevez to finish easily. United 4 – 1 Blackburn.
6. Sixth goal was scored by Matt Derbyshire, got the ball from a short through pass, made a turn in the box (which assumedly confused on-rushing goalkeeper Ben Foster and other defenders) before quickly stabbing the ball into the empty goal. Another goal from the left hand side of United’s goal. United 4 – 2 Blackburn.
7. Benni McCarthy strikes again scoring the seventh goal of the game in the 90th minute. The assist came from Matt Derbyshire, not surprisingly from the same side of United’s goal. McCarthy was expecting a low cross and made a quick contact with the ball to send it through the on-rushing goalkeeper into the goal. Evra nowhere to be seen. United 4 – 3 Blackburn.
8. Apparently hat-trick hero had not had enough, Tevez scored the eight goal of the match and United’s fifth in the 93rd minute to round up an excellent display. Someone (care to speculate?) lobbed a glorious through ball into the box, Tevez ran swiftly and powered a wonderful volley into the lower corner of the far post. United 5 – 3 Blackburn.

There goes my short highlight. Before I end this post, I should include some of my personal thoughts (which would be advantageous for either managers if they take note of my points):

• I don’t have any problems with Paul Robinson but I must say that he was involved in many unacceptable blunders and high-scoring games, often being the humbled goalkeeper. I am not judging here, perhaps those are coincidences?
• Rafael and Evra are both excellent players and they provide great offensive options. However Ferguson needs to really analyze what went wrong with the defense and plug the leak sooner rather than later.
• Ben Foster is still not ready to replace first choice goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. However, no one knows for sure what will happen if van der Sar were to play in this match.
• Tevez is a wonderful player, depending on situation he might even be a better choice ahead of Berbatov. While goal is not guaranteed from playing Tevez, there will not be a shortage of silky runs, slick one-twos and instantaneous creativity.
• Santa Cruz and McCarthy are among the best strikers in the league currently. Any managers planning a swoop for them in the January transfer window?

What are your thoughts? Do share them with us, we would like to know.

Best Manager – Latish
Many observers had them overlooked over the season. But Latish has brought in new faces into the team and propelled them from the once beating-boys to top of league, with a record-breaking run of 7 straight wins in the league.

GK – Dave
Replacing Izat and Prem before him, Dave has considerable boots and gloves to fill. He managed to edge out Azim (Volgopharm), the current Volga team GK, for the award with 5 clean-sheets to his name. When the manager took the risk of converting him from a defender to a GK, many doubted his appointment. But the
decision paid off in the form of multiple saves that kept his team in the game in many occasions. A calming presence and authority between the posts.

LB – Tank
When Latish brought in a defender of his stature, everyone knew to expect something from him. Tank, probably one of the all time great defender made the LB position his own with tough, yet well-timed tackles and even bothering defense with his long-shots from outside of the box. His abilities will definitely
alert scouts from the Volga team.

CB – Sibol
Having the experience of playing in the Volga team last year indeed propelled Sibol into greater heights. He made his mark in the league with solid defending and authority in the box. People may underestimate him due to his height, but he has made up for his shortcomings with fast reflexes and reliable ball control. Hailed as the best ‘ball-clearer’ in the league. Stand out from the rest and named in this years All-Star.

RB – Vicky
It is a little surprising, that all the defenders in the All-stars are below 170cm. But all of them made it up with their stable composure and stability in the box. Vicky may be one of the most underrated player in the league but he is the ever-present leading man for Naga and he marshaled the defense that held off wave after wave of attacks from opposing teams. An injury-scare in the beginning of the season almost destroyed his season but he stood strong and fully deserved to be in the All-stars.

DM – Ganesh
He is probably one of the most important player in his team. Having the experience of playing in the Volga team indeed helped him mature and take authority in his game. Wearing the armband for the team, he bossed the midfield and created chances for his attackers to roam forward. One of his best virtues is his
ability to calm his players down in messy situations and dictate play when it matters. A true leader on the pitch.

LM – Gerard
True class! Voted as the Player of the Season for his heroics of helping his team win their first league title. He is the only player who has won 3 league titles with 3 different teams. Probably the most accomplished player in the league, with his thunderous shots, dangerous runs into the box and classic goals like the goal against Naga where he skips through 4 players and fired a shot to the top corner of the goal leaving the keeper helpless. He is on the verge of being a Volga legend.

AMC – Khairul Afham
Awarded the “Golden boot” this season with a total of 8 goals in 7 games. His eye for goal is complemented with his natural ability to trouble defenders with his ball control and runs around the box. Helping his team to third in the league is just a mere accomplishment for his ability. Indeed an up-coming star that can only go from strength to strength through the years.

RM – Thomas
Hailed as the one of the best dribbler in the league and could read the game very well. His ability to open up plays and supply strikers with opportunities separate him from the other contenders. Singled-out as the best player in the team by his own boss, Aaron further establishes his credentials as this year’s All-stars.

ST – Mustafa
Considered by many as the best all-out striker in league. With 8 goals to his name and scoring in 6 out of 7 games is truly an act not everyone can achieve. His tenacity and daring runs troubled defenders and his ability to score from ‘half-chances’ when it may seem impossible separates him from other greatstrikers in the league. His wonder goal against Kim in the final game of the season, separated the 2 teams after the whistle which resulted in them being top of the league.

P.S. Please do not nominate your favorite player for each position here, you can do that in the Team of The Season post, instead do comment about the reviews of each player’s performances and abilities as highlighted here.

Team of The Season is also usually known as dream team. A survey has been carried out among managers and captains of all the teams. They are supposed to nominate the best player (from all teams) for each position on the field and behold, the following list is the result of the nominations.

Team of The Season

GK – Dave (Tongkat Sakti)

LB – Tank (Tongkat Sakti)

CB – Sibol (Volgopharm)

RB – Vicky (Nagasaki)

MC/DM – Ganesh (Tongkat Sakti)

LM – Gerald (Tongkat Sakti)

RM – Thomas (Kim)

AMC/FC – Khairul Afham (Volgopharm)

FC – Mustafa (Tongkat Sakti)

Special Accolades

• Best Player: Gerald (Tongkat Sakti)
• Best Manager: Latish (Tongkat Sakti)
• Best Goal: Gerald (vs Nagasaki)
• Most Promising Player: Vinod (Nagasaki)
• Worst Blunder: Kelvin’s open goal miss (vs Tongkat Sakti)
• Crowd-Favorite Player: Douglas (Tongkat Sakti)
• ‘Kangkang’ RM0.50 Master: Firdaus (Nagasaki)

Well that just about sums it up… La Liga Volga Autumn 2008 Team of The Season Review to follow shortly after.

What are your personal nominations for each position and special accolades?

For a start, about 20 senior players have graduated and left Volgograd, they will be missed. The Volgograd Times wish them all the best in their next phase of life (and please visit us whenever you could spare some time from your busy life as a houseman).

Nona Roguy team, which mainly comprises of former 6th course students has unfortunately disbanded. Tongkat Sakti was also made up of many former 6th course students, but it has managed to recruit new players to continue participating in the league. Thanks to the tenacity of its manager Latish, Tongkat Sakti emerged victorious as the champion of the 2008 Autumn League.

There were also many changes in the set up of other teams in the league. There is one new team participating in the league for the first time – Cincai. We are not sure how the team members come up with such name but rumors have it that the following scenario once took place:

Member No. 1: Hey, what should we name our football team?
Member No. 2: Hmm…. (Thinking)
Member No. 3: Aiya, cincai lar…
And hence the name Cincai is adopted (wonder who is Member No. 3?)

If you are observant enough, we could actually say that Volgograd Malaysian students are sports freak! For the last 2 years, there were 2 Volgo Football League seasons per academic year in addition to training sessions for the Annual Malaysian Games in Russia and the games itself. Don’t forget that we also have 6-day study week, where do we find the energy for all this?

We will be the host this time around for the Malaysian Games. The Volgograd Times secret informer has told us that most probably there would not be a Spring 2009 La Liga Volga due to the hectic schedule of the Malaysian Games. With that consideration in mind, we hope to pen down our thoughts about the 2008 Autumn League so that anyone who starts missing Volgo League next Spring could have the satisfaction of reading about the 2008 Autumn League and interesting events related to it.

Next in this series, I would highlight the matches which I think are most exciting and enjoyable during the Autumn 2008 La Liga Volga.

Have you been following the Autumn League? Have you noticed anything new or unusual about the League? What you like or dislike about it?