Colette Wong

“Where is Aleksandar Duric?” I found myself asking on Wednesday night as I watched Singapore fumble their way to a lucky goalless draw against Vietnam in the first leg semi-final of the Suzuki Cup in Hanoi. Where Vietnam launched strike after strike on Lionel Lewis’ goal, Singapore hardly created a scoring opportunity. The Lions were badly missing the services of their injured striker Alex Duric. So imagine my surprise when I bumped into him while Christmas shopping this morning.

I was doing the shopping. He was sitting down, drinking a coffee, crutches propped on the wall beside him. I went over and said 'hi'. Naturally, the topic of conversation was the nail-biting match against Vietnam the night before.

Alex is a talkative and easy-going guy. But as laid-back as he is, there was no hiding the frustration and helplessness he felt as he watched his team struggle against Vietnam knowing that he could have been there to help, had it not been for the injury he picked up in the opening group match against Cambodia. Goodness knows how long he’ll be sidelined for. He says he’ll be lucky to be walking without crutches by January.

I felt for the guy. Duric has been around for ages but it’s easy to forget that he hasn’t been playing international football very long. He officially became a Singapore citizen last September so this was his first AFF Suzuki Cup appearance for his new country, and he was pumped up for it.

But at 38, it’s not likely he’s going to get another shot at winning this trophy again.

Has Andy Murray reached his peak?

Andy Murray has just bought himself a spanking new Range Rover and what a fine choice of car it is.  It's a tough, hardy machine that will survive the toughest terrains. And after being subjected to the stormiest of conditions, it'll emerge good as new, if not better.

Sounds a bit like the Scot actually!

If you look back at the last year, Murray came closer to a beat-up jalopy than a new Range Rover.  He was struck down by a back injury, a knee injury and a wrist injury, one after another.  Persistent set-backs like that are enough to suck the life and motivation out of an athlete.  But not Andy Murray.

He's built himself back up piece-by-piece and today, Britain's number 1 is in the form of his life!

But is this as far as he can go?

All of Britain is holding their breath to see if this fiery young Murray can go one better than Tim Henman and finally bring home a first Grand Slam title since Fred Perry in 1936.  Henman came close on quite a few occasions, having reached the semis at all the Grand Slams bar the Australian Open. 

While Murray recently declared that Henman was ‘much, much better than me', the 21 year old from Dunblane has already achieved what Henman could not; he's won 2 Masters Series Titles, and no one is discounting the possibility that a third is on the cards for him this week in Paris.

So already in his young, injury blighted career, Murray has done more than Henman who never reached a Grand Slam final. Murray on the other hand stunned the tennis world when he set up a Championship showdown with Roger Federer at the US Open earlier this year.

But we're not surprised anymore.  Murray has returned from injury this year and battled his way back into the tennis headlines.  Today he's ranked 4 in the world, and by his own admission says he's had the best year of his life.

And he's going to get better.  This is a man who possesses one of the best backhands in the business and his serve is nothing to laugh about.  But as imporatnt as the technical aspects of his game, is his temperament, and Murray has shown he has what is needed to handle the pressures that come with rising expectations.

So yes, I believe Murray has all the right ingredients to win a Grand Slam title.

He may have to wait a couple of years, but life is already good for the young Scot.  Top 4 in the world, he's on a 12 match winning streak, and has only lost twice in his last 25.

And let's not forget that spanking new Range Rover.

Now if only he had his drivers' license, life would be perfect!

So, there goes my 10 bucks. Oh well....

I admit it would have been a bit of an injustice had Italy reached the final four on the way they played. I'll be sure to ask Roberto Donadoni for my money back if he is ever within the vicinity.

Yes, I attribute Italy's demise to The Don. I never had a good feeling about him, which begs the questions, "Why did I place my money on Italy?"

Foolishness.

I was suffering from the same lack of sensibility that overcame the Italian Football Federation when they appointed him to coach the world champions to the Euro 2008 Championship. Why would they choose a man with as little coaching experience as Donadoni? A season at each of Lecco, Livorno and Genoa, followed by an ill-fated return to Livorno, did not amount to the background necessary for taking on the Azzurri, the world champions no less.

Some call him The Don; a tough, strong name for a pretty gutless coach if you ask me. I could hardly believe it when I read he had left it to the players to decide amongst themselves who would take the penalties against Spain. The coach of the world champions was obviously ill-prepared for penalties. And boy, did he pay for it.

Yes, they were missing the suspended Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso for the quarter final. Yes, they lost their inspirational captain Fabio Cannavaro on the eve of the tournament. But Italy have enough experience in their squad to have made up for these shortcomings. What they needed was a clever tactician to make it work. Donadoni was not it and I shall be happy to see the back of him.

These are good times to be a sports fan.

To be more specific I would single out this week to be as good a time as any, a week which has been bursting at the seams with jaw-dropping, soap opera like drama. It started on Monday when a wounded predator called Tiger won the US Open. The dramatics began even before a ball was struck at Torrey Pines , when one Mister Woods, just 9 weeks off an operating table, defied his doctors orders and chose instead to challenge himself to a possible 14^th Major title. That he was able to complete 72 holes is amazing enough. That he was able to win his 3^rd US open title, on the 91^st hole, to push the playoff with Rocco Mediate into sudden death... that is the stuff movies are made of.

And speaking of movies, it was a Hollywood ending, not for Hollywood's NBA team however, but their fiercest of rivals, the Boston Celtics who claimed their first NBA title in 22 years, and their 17^th overall. That they did it in Boston in front of their adoring fans added to the pomp of the occasion. That they did it by pummeling Kobe Bryant and his LA Lakers by 39 points in Game 6 for the title was pure brilliance and it erased any doubts amongst the neutrals or Lakers-leaning supporters that the best team did in fact win.

But I laughed out loud when I read the story of Raymond Domenech, the French coach who, shortly after France's demise from the EURO 2008 Championship, proposed marriage to his TV presenter girlfriend on live TV. This, just minutes after the hopes of an entire football nation went up in smoke in their 2 nil loss to Italy. Domenech was philosophical about the timing and method of his proposal. He said, "Everyone was so sad and I thought to myself, ‘Life has its beautiful moments'." How very Hollywood. Unfortunately, it's not going to save your job, Monsieur Domenech.

I would like to add at this point that my $10 bet for Italy to win the European Championship is growing roots. It's not going anywhere for the moment, which I am delighted about. If I do end up winning the office pool, I have decided that I'm going to donate the money to the charity of Gianluigi Buffon's choice. Do you not agree with me when I say that Italy's number 1 is just an absolute delight to watch?

He single handedly, or single-leggedly, kept Italy in the tournament when he denied Adrian Mutu from the spot, in what would have effectively translated to the Azzuri's exit. But it's not just for his talents in goal I am effusing about. It is about his nature, his spirit; that he makes an effort to kiss and shake hands with everyone post-match; his teammates, his rivals, he acknowledges them all. To me, Buffon is the embodiment of sportsmanship, and it is so lifting to see this in a sport that can too often be dominated by less savoury issues, like money, greed, cheating, etc etc.

So here's to many more good times in sports, and Italy winning Euro 2008!

I should have known to follow the instincts of everyone else participating in the pool, most of whom went for Spain, Portugal, Germany and the Dutch. Only 6 percent picked Italy, which I thought was quite strange considering they are the world champions. Shows how little I know!

However....

My $10 is still in the pool, alive and breathing, even if it is on its death-bed. With two more group matches to go, there's no need to pull off the life-support just yet. I'll do that if Italy don't get three points from their next match with Romania. The central Europeans were supposed to be the weakest team of the lot. But a look at the Group standings will show you that it is in fact Italy. How quickly the mighty have fallen.

But I am an optimist. Even where there's little light, I continue to believe. I may be scraping the bottom of the barrel here, but these are my reasons:

1) Italy really were not tooooo bad against Holland. The scoreline didn't quite do them justice. They did have their chances, and had Luca Toni not imagined the goal to be 10 feet wider on both sides and two metres higher, Italy might have been right in there with the Dutch all night.

2) The Netherlands were simply amazing. Total Football is alive and kicking. Sure, the first goal was something out of the twilight zone, but the other two were brilliantly executed on the counter-attack. Marco Van Basten's tactics worked against the Italians. I'm hoping the Romanians and the French will not be as creative, and if their bore draw is anything to go by, then the door to the quarters is more than slightly ajar.

3) Italy are the world champions. They were not necessarily the best team in Germany but somehow managed to pull off Hudini-like escape acts. They have grit, perseverence and a great football brain. All that combined with a bit of luck, and I think my money should survive the group stage.

When asked why he was so fluent in Italian, Jose Mourinho replied nonchalantly, "I am very intelligent."

Yes, the Special One is back and you can't wipe the smile from my face.

He may have tried to distance himself from that self-prescribed tag in his first news conference as Inter Milan coach by saying he is a "normal manager at a special club." But despite the uncharacteristic humility he exuded at that presser in Italy, Mourinho is extremely special.

Not just in my eyes, although I have to admit I am a huge fan of the Portuguese man. How can one not be drawn to a person who emits such charisma, intelligence and mystique? I hang on to his every word, not because what he speaks is truth, but because he is so entertaining; unpredictable; delightfully obnoxious.

No, Mourinho is particularly exceptional because he is excellent at what he does as coach/manager of football teams. His achievements are well documented and Inter Milan have put a price on his special powers by giving him a contract worth more than $13.7 million per season for three years. That makes him the best paid football manager in the world, and by some distance, the best paid in Italy. (Carlo Ancelotti of AC Milan takes home US$7 million per season, but Roma coach Luciano Spalleti who finished runners-up to Inter only earns US$3.15 million).

And contrary to what many may think, I believe Mourinho deserves every cent he's getting from his new employers. His popularity and image will generate returns for Inter they will probably never have obtained before. If anyone has the ability of boosting the ‘Inter Milan' brand, making it as popular as AC Milan and giving it the same global reach as their city rivals - Jose ‘The Special One' Mourinho has.

Roger Federer is without a doubt the undisputed world number one in men’s tennis. But the outcome of the just-completed Australian Open begs the question if we are witnessing a changing of the guard.

Novak Djokovic clinched his first grand slam title by beating unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a terrific final at Melbourne Park that was pure pleasure to watch. But was the presence of the unseeded Frenchman who still has zero ATP Tour titles to his name, and the 20 year-old Serbian in the Aussie Open final simply a fluke? Sunday’s final was the first time since 2005 that neither Federer nor Nadal was part of a Grand Slam final pairing. The last time the Swiss legend failed to reach the final of a Major was the French Open that year. Yet the 26 year old was swatted out of the Aussie Open by Djokovic, his first straight sets loss at a grand slam since the third round at Roland Garros in 2004.

Why? Is the Great One losing his greatness? Is this the beginning of the end?Simply put, the answer is no. One does not go from complete dominance to has-been in one fell swoop. Roger is still the best and he will be for a few more years. Melbourne was a blip on the radar, caused by a bout of food poisoning which affected his preparation just 2 weeks before the start. Had the lead up to the Australian Open gone according to plan, I doubt Serbia would be celebrating their first Grand Slam Champion today.

But I’m not so confident that Rafael Nadal can maintain his world number 2 ranking for much longer. His demolition at the hands of Tsonga in Thursday’s semi final left me perplexed. The Spaniard was peaking at the right time. He had worked hard in the off-season. And according to him he isn’t nursing any injuries at the moment. Still, he couldn’t get the better of the world number 38. Nadal is just 21 but he appears to harbour signs of someone who is jaded. His viciously powerful game is a recipe for injuries. We’ve seen that with his knees, but what next? Ankles? Shoulders? The man can run the legs off even the best, but all good engines eventually reach their sell-by date. If Nadal doesn’t slow down a little, he could reach his sooner than his time.

Which is no disrespect to Tsonga. His power game, his serve, his agility on court, his fighting spirit, his unashamed confidence, everything about him was impressive. But the 22 year old right-hander is just emerging. He had a terrific run at the Australian Open, but I don’t foresee he will be a regular participant in Grand Slam finals in the very near future.So I really don’t predict a changing of the guard anytime soon. Yes, Djokovic is a relatively new kid on the block and his rise has been phenomenal. But it will be a few years at least before he gets even a whiff of that number one ranking which so rightly belongs in the hands of the Federer Express.