The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| United and Madrid set for epic encounter Posted: 04 Mar 2013 04:02 PM PST
MARCH 5 — Today's the day: Manchester United against Real Madrid at Old Trafford. If you love football, it doesn't get any better. Even though the kick-off time is not particularly Malaysia-friendly, I urge you: if you're going to get up in the middle of the night to watch one game all season, make it this one. Jose Mourinho's erratic behaviour has turned Madrid's season into a soap opera worth watching whoever they're coming up against, so when you throw in the added weight of a knockout Champions League tie against the titans of Manchester United, delicately poised at 1-1 after the first leg, it possesses all the ingredients to become an epic. The game has so many twists and sub-plots, it's difficult to know where to begin. Chief of those is former United star Cristano Ronaldo making his first return to Old Trafford since his £80 million (RM376 million) departure to Madrid in 2009. Ronaldo has remained a phenomenally popular player with United supporters — who are still dreaming that he may one day return to the Red Devils' ranks — and is sure to receive a rapturous pre-match welcome which will very quickly transform into a nervous hush whenever he receives possession anywhere near the United penalty area. The Portuguese star is in the form of his life. He has scored 17 goals in 15 games this calendar year, and in Saturday's victory over Barcelona he produced an unstoppable cameo display from the bench, managing more shots on target than the entire visiting team despite only being on the pitch for half an hour. That Ronaldo has the ability to win the match single-handedly is unquestioned, especially when he's in this kind of form. He can score with his left foot, his right foot or his head from any range or angle, and can turn defence into attack with an unparalleled ability for high-speed dribbling. He could be poised for a memorable evening at his former home ground. One of Ronaldo's former teammates at Old Trafford, Ryan Giggs, will also receive a special welcome as he makes his 1,000th career appearance. It's a truly astounding achievement, especially in an era when the demands of the game have changed beyond all recognition due to developments in sports science, diet and general physical conditioning. Giggs' longevity is a testimony to many things, but most of all to his fitness, adaptability and versatility. When he first broke into the United team as a teenager in 1991 (yep, an amazing 22 years ago), he was a spectacularly gifted but somewhat limited performer. Of course, his dribbling skills and left-footed delivery were always outstanding, but any opponent who succeeded in regularly forcing him inside onto his right foot had a chance of keeping him relatively quiet. For a short period those limitations saw him overtaken by Lee Sharpe in the battle for a regular starting berth, but without ever really learning to use his right foot (which hardly makes him the world's only one-footed footballer), the Welsh wizard quickly learned to add to his repertoire and become a highly effective performer even when denied the opportunity to fly down the flank. Over the years, Giggs has supplemented his initial role on the left wing by playing as a centre forward, a midfielder and a deep-lying support striker, and he's performed with consistent excellence in all those positions. And, of course, he's also maintained a phenomenal level of fitness, a pre-requisite for anyone to be able to play until the age of 39. Giggs has been well protected by his manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who has avoided burning out the Welshman by only using him for selective games in recent years, even though I'm sure he'd love to write number 11 on his teamsheet every week. Ferguson knows a thing or two about longevity, of course, but even he can't go on forever and another intriguing sub-plot to tonight's game is the sight of his potential eventual replacement, Mourinho, making a return to Old Trafford. Mourinho has never hidden his desire to return to the Premier League, and Old Trafford is one of just a handful of arenas big enough to contain his ego. He also has a good relationship with Ferguson — carefully cultivated over the years to maximise his chances of one day succeeding the Scotsman, no doubt — and the possibility of Mourinho taking residency in Old Trafford's home dugout at some point in the future is very real. A famous victory for Madrid tonight would do his cause no harm whatsoever. So what will happen? Who will progress? As far as I can tell, this tie is as close to 50/50 as you can get, and I'm not going to be bold/stupid enough to make any predictions. The game will probably hinge on small details — a refereeing decision, a mistake, a piece of genius, a shot that flies either an inch wide or an inch inside the post — and nobody can claim to know the identity of the winners with any degree of confidence. In the end, it might come down to Ronaldo — the best player in the world on current form. Ferguson, I am sure, will find a way of shackling him as best as he can possibly be shackled because nobody understands his strengths and weaknesses better. But it will be impossible to subdue him entirely. Ronaldo will have shots on goal, however well United contain him; how many they are and whether or not they go in could well be decisive. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. | |
| Posted: 04 Mar 2013 03:48 PM PST
5 MAC — PAS untuk Bali? Sesuatu yang tidak terbayangkan dalam fikiran. Sebuah parti bernuansa Islam mentadbir Bali yang majoriti Hindu. Sebelum menyimpang jauh, elok diterangkan bahawa "PAS untuk Bali" adalah slogan yang dicipta pendukung calon Gubernur dan calon Wakil Gubernur Bali, Anak Agung Ngurah Puspayoga dan Dewa Nyoman Sukrawan. PAS adalah akronim untuk pasangan dua calon tersebut. Pasangan PAS diusung Parti PDI Perjuangan yang dipimpin Megawati dan kini lebih dikenali kerana ketokohan seorang Jokowi, Gubernur Jakarta yang dikagumi dunia termasuk di negara kita. Lawan pasangan PAS adalah Gubernur Bali berkuasa sekarang, I Made Mangku Pastika. Seperti Malaysia, suhu politik di Bali semakin memanas menjelang pilihanraya Gubernur Bali yang akan diadakan pada 15 Mei nanti. Bali adalah salah satu dari 34 provinsi (negeri) yang membentuk Indonesia. Bali merupakan provinsi yang unik di mana majoriti penduduknya beragama Hindu dan sering dicemburui provinsi lain kerana popularitinya dan layanan manja yang diberikan kerajaan pusat Indonesia. Maka masuk akal komuniti Bali perantauan yang berjaya secara ekonomi dijadikan sasaran kemarahan seperti yang terjadi baru-baru ini di Lampung dan Sumbawa.
Bukan tanpa alasan, Bali yang relatif aman dimusnahkan pengganas bersarung agama Islam dengan justifikasi yang mengada-ada. Bali yang sebelumnya bersahabat baik dengan pendatang dari luar mulai curiga dan memperketat peraturan. Saya sendiri menerima dampaknya dengan harus melapor kepada penguasa setempat selama tinggal di Bali, apatah lagi Malaysia dikenali di Indonesia sebagai negara pengeksport pengganas. Bali merespon fundamentalisme Islam dengan fundamentalisme Hindu, suara azan sembahyang lima waktu untuk umat Islam yang kadangkala memekakkan telinga dengan sistem pembesar suara murahan ditiru persis. Begitu juga dalam aspek lain seperti pakaian upacara yang seakan menyerupai penganut Islam. Meski demikian fundamentalisme Hindu masih di peringkat luaran dan umumnya Bali masih bersahabat dengan agama-agama lain. Hanya saja pengukuhan politik identiti yang mengarah kepada Bali itu Hindu harus dikawal dan diurus. Jangan sampai organisasi samseng agama seperti Front Pembela Islam (FPI) diadoptasi Hindu Bali. Perihal samseng agama dan kaum ini sesungguhnya mengkhuatirkan dunia perpolitikan Malaysia. Pilihanraya umum ke-13 ini Malaysia akan bereksperimen dengan diri mereka. Malaysia akan berjalan mencari jalur barunya, baik menuju kepada Ketuanan Melayu Islam di bawah Kerajaaan Perpaduan Umno dan PAS, Liberal, progresif dan demokratik di bawah PKR, DAP dan parti-parti di Sabah dan Sarawak, kekal dengan politik stabil Barisan Nasional atau bermain dengan politik baru yang sifatnya eksperimental di bawah Pakatan Rakyat. Satu hal pasti, jika pilihan pertama iaitu pengukuhan Ketuanan Melayu Islam di bawah panji Umno dan PAS menjadi kenyataan, nasib dunia perpolitikan Malaysia cenderung akan memburuk, lebih buruk dari Bali. Suara-suara teriak keras penentang Ketuanan Melayu Islam yang berkumandang pasca-2008 seakan menjadi kunci kepada percepatan sebuah negara Malaysia yang dominan Melayu Islamnya. Teriakan lupa diri kelompok anti-Ketuanan Melayu Islam memberikan sebab untuk kelompok garis keras agama dan kaum meneruskan hegemoni mereka. PAS mungkin tidak sesuai untuk Bali, tetapi PAS adalah parti penentu masa depan negara dan PAS dengan satu alasan sahaja boleh berubah menjadi PAS untuk Malaysia, dan bersama-sama Umno pastinya. Model Bali mengakomodasi semua kepentingan dan menerima budaya Bali Hindu sebagai teras dan budaya-budaya lainnya dengan terbuka. Pemain politik di Malaysia barangkali harus belajar ini, menerima hakikat bahawa teras budaya Malaysia adalah Melayu Islam dan pada masa yang sama mengakui hak semua warganya termasuk mereka yang bukan Melayu Islam. * Ini adalah pandangan peribadi penulis. |
Belakangan, lebih tepat pasca-bom Bali pengukuhan identiti "Bali untuk Bali" semakin kuat kedengaran. Ajeg Bali yang bermaksud Bali yang kuat menjadi popular, sebuah konsep yang menyerupai Ketuanan Melayu Islam yang menjadi langganan umat Melayu Islam di Malaysia. Realitinya di mana-mana politik identiti seakan agama, mengalahkan agama itu sendiri.| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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