The Rise of the English Clubs in World Football

The worlds most popular sport, football (or soccer to the Americans), have glorified the names of ordinary men and produced numerous incredible tales of triumph. It is a sport like no other; capable of changing the lives of otherwise destitute people and even reshaping the political and economic landscape of whole nations. The team embodies the hopes and spirit of the people who supports it; creating myths, legends and small talk in a stormy Saturday night at the bar.
Since the spread of the religion that is football to the far corners of the globe and the creation of leagues to pit the best teams within and between different geographic regions, there came a time when it became possible to compare and contrast the best teams there are out there. As such, we come to know of the great Brazilian players with their technical skills and the organized Italian defence with their astute tactics. The rules may have changed over the centuries and as such, perhaps different skillsets and football philosophies became the determiner for success in winning matches. Nevertheless, the beautiful game still manage to capture the imagination of billions.

The Best League in the World
In the turn of the 21st century, certain football philosophies and teams came to predominate the game. Of course, in terms of league, the European leagues are miles ahead of the other leagues in the world due to the huge difference in capital and structure invested into the leagues. Interestingly, although the English Premier League, self-proclaimed as the best football league in the world, had the most capital and fan base worldwide, the teams had not produced the teams that dominate European competitions. With their embarrassment of riches and astonishing wages offered to players, the English Clubs are still unable to produce the greatest team in Europe and the best players do not play there. (See Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo).
Early 2000s
Perhaps around 2000 to 2005, English teams had some fantastic teams such as the vintage Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal 'Invincibles' but most would say the Italian clubs spearheaded by AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus were the best teams then. These teams then had the best players playing for them. AC Milan, who won the 2002-03 Champions League, Europe's premier football competition, had Rivaldo, Rui Costa, Paolo Maldini and an up-and-coming Andrea Pirlo. AC Milan won again in 2006-07 with players such as the original Brazilian Ronaldo, Cafu and the developed Andrea Pirlo. A particular characteristic of these clubs, emulated by the Italian national team, the Azzuris, who won the World Cup in 2006 is their tactical astuteness and robust defence.
Late 2000s to 2010s
Around 2005 to 2017, another kind of football philosophy came to emerge and dominate the footballing landscape. That is, the rise of 'tiki-taka' football. Some might say this football philosophy died way earlier around 2015, but no, this football mentality which wins games are still embodied in many winning teams as of 2018. The league that encapsulate this idea of football? No less, the La Liga. In 2010, the Spanish national team won the World Cup and in 2012, they won the Euros employing the tried-and-tested philosophy used by Barcelona. Barcelona itself is predominated by Spanish players who were trained in the football philosophy in the famed football academy, La Masia, who have produced football greats such as Andreas Iniesta and Lionel Messi. This football style, greatly attributed to the legendary Johan Cruyff, is simple in philosophy. 1) Positional Awareness 2) Movement. 3) Pass. Ultimately, this translates to the goal of Retaining Possession. The idea is that if the opponents cannot get the ball and have fewer chances, they are more likely to lose. As such, Barcelona and Spanish teams often have high percentages of possession of around 60-70% on most games. In reality, it takes a high calibre of players to be able to play this style of football; one who is comfortable with the ball and who has excellent tactical understanding.
The English Teams
Throughout this period, the English teams do have their own football philosophy. It had developed all the years in England, with the manic supporters and their clamour for entertainment. The people wants hype and speed. Arsene Wenger showed them how. English clubs are known for their physicality and pace of the game. Both elements combined makes for a widely more watchable and entertaining game than the slower paced games of other leagues. The wingers move at pace, the defenders tackle with no remorse. This unique football environment tests the best of foreign players who wish to try their luck in this league and many has failed. Particularly, Andriy Schevchenko, regarded as one of the best strikers in the early 2000s failed miserably in Chelsea colours. Radamel Falcao endured a torrid career in England, first for Manchester United and then Chelsea. From a staggering FIFA rating of 88 to a woeful 80 by the end of his time in Chelsea colours. When he left, 'El Tigre' incredibly regained his form and reputation as one of the 'hot' strikers in the world under Monaco in League 1.
This could be the reason for why chances to play in the Premier League are passed up by the best players of the day: their innate footballing talent are not being appreciated by the league. But on a more troubling note however, is the possible realisation that perhaps more-athlete, less-technique will not win you games.

Now
In the past 2-3 years, however, there seems to be a revival of sorts of the English teams. With every revival and improvements, there must be a shift in football mentality. As the game is now, the one in charge of the football mentality is the coach, more than anyone else. The coach brings his entire team -physios, trainers, goalkeeping coach, scouts, scientists etc- and models the team to his regime and idea of football. The club owners take a chance with the couch and his ideals and is paid for in service and results.

The Great Coaches that started the Shift
 1. Mauricio Pochettino, the Developer
He started coaching with Espanyol who were third from bottom in the La Liga and guided them to comfortable mid-table positions in the league. He then went on to Southampton in 2013 and couched them for a year before being poached by Tottenham Hotspurs in 2014 where he have continued working ever since. He is valued for his development of players, turning average or undervalued players into world-beaters. His work came to light when he coached Southampton where he developed an attractive yet decent team made from mostly homegrown players such as Luke Shaw who have since moved to Manchester United. In fact, during and just after his tenure, Southampton had become a sort of farming ground for the bigger Premier League clubs.
Currently, with a stronger financial base and greater ability to retain players, his team, the Spurs, has become a major title contender in the EPL, one of the Top 6, with players such as Harry Kane, Delle Alli and Christian Eriksen.
Pochettino's style of play is to play good football, a sort of combination of 'tiki-taka' football coupled with a good defensive shape and ability to launch quick counter attacks. Thus, it is seemingly an English hybrid of the Spanish style of play.
 2. Jurgen Klopp, the Geggen Presser
Klopp started his official managerial career with Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga but he is more affectionately known for his work with Borussia Dortmund. The Bundesliga is dominated by the Bavarian giants, Bayern Munich, who have significant economic advantage and global presence, no less due to their history. However, in 2008, Klopp took a team that had placed 13th to a respectable 6th before going on to be title challengers in the next few years. He actually won the Bundesliga title in 2011 and 2012 where he won the domestic double when he beat Bayern Munich in the DFB Pokal Final, the FA Cup equivalent of the EPL. This was an incredible feat considering Bayern Munich operated with a net worth of USD$2.7 billion compared to Borussia Dortmund's USD$808 million (Stats as of 2018). Eventually of course, Dortmund sold many key players to Bayern Munich including Mat Hummels, Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze.
Klopp is famous for his tactics dubbed 'Geggen Pressing'. Geggen pressing is a tactic of pressuring the opponent in numbers and pace with atleast two players often pressing the opponent's players with the ball. The tactic requires the forwards to press the defence, thus ensuring the opponent cannot move out of their own half, and keeping a high backline, thus you often see the defence nearer to the halfway line than their goal. The constant pressure aims to force the opponent's player to pass prematurely thus they may lose possession and lose their team shape.
A characteristic of Klopp's team is their excellent attack with skill and pace and their woeful defence although it really is no fault of his defenders, with his style of play which leaves sometimes acres of open spaces behind for an opponent's counter attack. Back in Dortmund, he had Marcus Reus and Robert Lewandowski upfront. In Liverpool now, he have the excellent Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane (whom he must have spotted his talent from his time in Klopp's Southampton). All are devastating players with speed, shooting and dribbling abilities.
His Liverpool team now, with no surprise, (as of 23rd May) challenges for the Champions League title against Real Madrid.
 3. Antonio Conte, the Defensive Master
Antonio Conte came to Chelsea following Chelsea's woeful 10th place finish in the 2015-16 season and was back then an almost unknown entity. Formerly a player in a world-class Juventus, he went on to coach several smaller Italian teams such as Siena, Atlanta, Barri and Arezzo with different success rates before coaching Juventus where he rose to prominence. Following that, he coached the Italian national team where he surprisingly took a squad without any star names and bereft of talent since Italy's heydays, to the quarter finals of Euro 2016.
Conte is reknown for his famous 3-4-3 formation with three defenders at the back and the use of wingbacks to overload defence or attack where required. His teams are drilled in a specific manner to restrict any spaces left in their own half by defending deep before counterattacking when the opportunity arrive. Most of the time, the team plays in a 5-3-2 in their defensive shell. Some might call it parking the bus but against smaller and less technical teams, this formation often becomes a 3-2-5 and they will have the majority of possession. The idea is, if the opponent can't score, we just have to score one to beat them and there will be lapses in the opponent's defence.
The tactic he introduced opened up the idea of tactical changes in England where before, the managers are reluctant to move away from the favoured 4-4-2 which they felt were crucial to not get a beating due to the pace of this league. Conte showed that it was possible with his remodelled Chelsea team and they went on to win the EPL in 2017.
Maybe perhaps, it is not the ideal world-beating formula but this tactic is seemingly the importation of the Italian model of the 2000s (which are still used in Serie A) which had grown out of fashion. Conte's teams produce excellent defenders (including midfielders who are made to defend), such as Georgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Arturo Vidal and N'Golo Kante.
 4. Jose Mourinho, the Charismatic Manager
The affable manager started his managerial career at Benfica when he moved up from his post as assistant manager to Jupp Henckles (of Bayern Munich fame). Everywhere he went, he experienced success over success. After Benfica, he went to manage an unknown Uniao de Leiria where he guided them to a fourth place finish. Afterwhich he went to Porto where he won the Champions League in 2004. After Benfica, the Special One enjoyed success at Chelsea where he created a stellar team and a permanent slot for Chelsea as a Top 6 team in the EPL. At Inter Milan, he again won many trophies including the Europa League and made Inter Milan into a top team in the European stage, getting into the finals of the Champions League in 2010 where he lost to Barcelona. After Inter Milan, he went to Real Madrid where he had a topsy turvy spell of success. In truth, he did win a trophy or a title every season during his time there but due to the high standards of Real Madrid, his last season in 2013 where he won the Spanish Super Cup was deemed as his career's low. After Real Madrid, he went to Chelsea again where he won the league in his second season in 2015 before being fired the next. He then went on to Manchester United where he won the EFL trophy on his debut season.
Mourinho is perhaps one of the most successful managers in the modern era but to put a finger on his style of play, it is perhaps harder than it seems. With Chelsea and Manchester United, he is accused of 'parking the bus' by getting his players to defend in numbers constantly with limited focus on attack. However, that is never closer to the truth. His teams only defend where they had to and if they could they wouldn't. It is really due to the style of play in England that it seems that the team is constantly defending. Mourinho style of play is simply put, get the best players in the game to join the team and watch their talent shine through. Most importantly, he trusts his players to understand the game and play as they see fit. It is not a hard kept secret that every top player wants to work with Mourinho. Having him be interested in you shows that you are a good player. All his past players have a good word of him and spoke fondly of him. Mourinho keeps contact with all his past players and develop a great relationship with every one of them. His charisma is what brought the teams he manage success. Of course, his teams have to have the potential to buy the top players. As such, he would naturally go into the teams with the financial clout to develop a Mourinho all-star team such as Real Madrid, Abramovich's Chelsea and Manchester United.
Some players who have joined a Mourinho team includes Ricardo Carvalho, Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Diego Costa and Willian.
 5. Pep Guardiola, the Total Football Dominator
Guardiola was an excellent midfielder in his playing career and started his managerial career couching Barcelona B in 2007. In the following year, he became the manager of the main team. In that year, he offloaded many famous and important players such as Ronaldinho, Deco, Eto'o and Thuram to name a few but he still won the treble, including the Champions League. After three successful seasons, he took a sabbatical in New York City before returning to manage Bayern Munich a year later in 2013. He won the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal in his debut season and in 2014 and Bundesliga in 2015. He then moved on to Manchester City where his incredible team dominated the league by the end of the 2017-18 season with a whooping 100 points, 19 points above second placed Manchester United.
Guardiola is the epitome of perfect football designed to win games. It is not surprising, considering how much of his playing and managerial life revolved around Barcelona. His football philosophy centred around La Masia's, hence Johan Cruyff's idea of Total Football, as mentioned above. The players he retained or recruited all possess similar attitudes that he wants or requires: technical ability and tactical astuteness, which is required to play Total Football. Although Manchester City already has a formidable squad with the likes of Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne, Guardiola still recruited many more players, at lofty fees, in order to create a behemoth of a team. He famously dropped club favourite Joe Hart for the supposedly technically better Claudio Bravo (although he endured a tough first season) before recruiting Ederson Moraes, an excellent keeper good with his feet and at shot-stopping.

The Rise of the English Clubs
With these five managers, gone is the era of pure athleticism and here emerges an exciting era of clashing football philosophies that could stand a chance of winning other European clubs who employ various other football philosophies. Just a few years ago, English clubs are constantly out of the Champions League in the early stages, and deservedly so, but with the introduction and maturing of these new football philosophies in the English Premier League landscape, one might wonder how far the English clubs can go now. Who will triumph? The homegrown talent world-beater? The fast paced, high octane boss? The hardworking, hard-knuckled manager? The charismatic Special One? Or the Football maestro? The next couple of years would be an exciting time for English football clubs.

The Malay Identity

What is a Malay?

If you live in the region of the Malay Archipelago located at the southeastern tip of continental Asia, this term should be a term you would be familiar with. It is a term used to define a significant group of people in Southeast Asia but it is also a term used to define their language which constitutes a part of their complex identity. That said, I had the opportunity to delve into some literature on the concept of Malay as a racial group or identity and I thought it might be interesting to share the insights I have gathered on this subject which may surprise even those who assumed they understood the meaning of this term or call themselves 'Malay'.

By Looks

By looks, a Malay is often identified as a light brown-skinned individual, of stereotypically Asian height (1.70m for men and 1.65m for women), with black hair, light built, with facial features resembling individuals identifying themselves as Filipinos, Burmese or even Thais. 

Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1725-1840), a famous German scholar, had a more concise description of what he thought a Malay looks like. In his 1775 doctoral dissertation "De generis humani varientate nativa" he wrote : Malay variety. Tawny coloured; hair black, soft, curly, thick and plentiful, head moderately narrowed; forehead slightly swelling; nose full, rather wide, as it were diffuse, end thick; mouth large, upper jaw somewhat prominent and distinct from each other. He classified Malay as a "brown race", one he used on all Austronesian people; from the Philippines and other Pacific islands.

It certainly beats the description of 6th and 7th century Chinese records describing the Champas, Khmers and Malays as Kunlun people; black wavy haired barbarians of mountains and jungles from the remote part of the geographically known world.

By Geography

The bulk of people identifying themselves as Malay lives in the region of the Malay Archipelago located in the southeastern part of Asia. A majority of them concentrates in the area of the Malay Peninsular which is now known as Malaysia but across the thousands of islands in this area, many others also identify themselves as Malay, namely in Singapore, Brunei Darussalam and in parts of Sumatra, Indonesia. In fact, Malay identity and influence extends as far as the island of Madagascar and the Comoro islands in Africa where the main language used, Malagasy, can be considered as a variety of the Malay language. (I learnt a little Malagasy at a Language event one day and I was surprised at how similar it is to Malay!)

Their presence and diasporic spread in these regions are intrinsically linked to history and the sea-faring nature of the Malay people.

By Constitution

By modern standardisation and categorisation, according to Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia, a Malay is one who profess the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay customs and is accepted by society as a Malay. This definition actually leaves a wide perception of who can be a Malay and does not tell us what a Malay looks like. From current relevant societal viewpoints, it could refer to ethnic Malays, Bugis, localised Javanese, Boyanese and other Malay speaking individuals from the Malay Peninsular. In fact, many of such individuals may also adopt dual identities, that of Bugis and Malay, for example.

By Genetics

The Malay genes are a mix of a mainly proto-Malay population helming from Yunnan, China defined by their Austroasiatic language and a more recent Austronesian population coming from Taiwan defined by their Austronesian language. Their genes also indicate contact with South Asia, West Asia and austroloids, people who are part of the first expansion of Homo Sapiens out of Africa. The region of Southeast Asia is a region located in the middle of the sea trade route between major ancient powerhouses such as India and China. As such, contact between diverse groups of people are a given and this explains the heterogeneity of the Malay DNA.

The Malay Identity

Race and identity are flexible and intangible constructs created in the collective human mind. Just as a person is able to move from one job to another, thereby obtaining different work identities (from postman to bartender), a person too have the possibility to choose their race, in theory. However, as race is often (inaccurately) attributed to how one looks, racial identity takes on a more relativistic form based on, among other things, facial features and skin colour.

An easy way to debunk "race" as defined by "genes" or "physical features" is to simply look at genetic variation studies and the history of past empires. In a landmark genetic study conducted in the US, it have been found that there are more genetic variation within a racial group than between racial groups. And if one asks a Nicobar Islander, Filipino and a Malay person to stand side by side to one another, you will have an extremely hard time to identify who is who unless someone starts speaking. (Even then, language can be learnt.)
On the other hand, we can look at ancient empires such as for example, Ancient Rome. Who are the Romans? Historically, they came from an Italic settlement in the Italian peninsular circa 8th Century BC. After hundreds of years and expansion, they defeated their neighbouring cities and villages and eventually replaced and assimilated the existing Ancient Greek civilisation. After centuries, a phenomenon happened. Those who had opposed the Romans - the Gauls, the Greeks, the Macedonians etc-, came to call themselves as Romans. The process is long, but eventually, this became a reality believed by everybody. This shows the temporality and fluidity of  identity. Thus, the only explanation for the creation and adoption of the Malay identity would have to be explained by cultural factors and history.

By History and Anthropological studies
The concept of Malay as a race is actually a very recent innovation. It came about and is developed primarily by Western influence that arrived in this region around the time of the Melakan Empire in the 14th Century and after its fall in 1511 as a means for categorizing between the locals and the foreigners who mostly came to trade. Melaka is a port city and the strength and richness of the empire almost entirely depends on the sea trade. Melaka is often portrayed as the epitome or golden age of the Malay people and understanding the Malaccan Sultanate is essential in understanding the Malay identity.
Melaka is founded by Parameswara in around 1402 at the mouth of the Bertram river located on the Malay peninsular. He was the last King of Singapore, the last vestige of the ancient Srivijayan Kingdom who had fled upon the Majapahit Empire's invasion of Singapore around 1398. During the early years of the Melakan Empire, the people who took up residency in the port city do not call themselves Malay and only a small proportion of them called themselves that, perhaps a class of people who had significant political and economic clout in the city. In fact, 20 languages were recorded to be spoken in the city by 1411 with people identifying themselves as Bugis, Javanese, Minangkabaus, Chinese etc.
It took years before the Malay identity finally is established to mean the 'locals' who had taken up permanent residence in Melaka for some time and the 'foreigners'. This phenomena was recorded by Dutch traders around the 16th century in their observation of Melaka. When looking into trade records, locals were increasingly and often termed as Malays while those who helmed from regions outside of the Melakan Empire were categorised as non-Malays. The Malay identity eventually gets latched onto the physical features and attributes of the majority of the local people who may have come from many other areas in the Malay Archipelago.
Just like the Roman Empire, people can choose to be identified with an identity that they feel is strong and significant but also an identity that they CAN be a part of. The Melakan Empire, with its richness and influence in the region would definitely had attracted the admiration of the rural population in the region. The influence and power of the Melakan Empire is such that the Malay language became the lingua fraca of most of the Malay Archipelago, eventually even making Indonesia adopt the language as its official national language despite most of the population identifying themselves as Javanese. Furthermore, the logical categorization brought about by trade (locals vs foreigners) would mean that it is possible for a Bugis, for example to be a Malay, thus they can adopt a Malay identity. But not all with the same physical features and attributes can consider themselves Malay.
Court Culture
A very significant part of the Malay identity lies in the court culture developed during the Melakan Empire and further promulgated and propagandized after Melaka's fall in 1511 as a rallying cry against the colonial powers that had usurped the former Malaccan Sultanate. As the Melakan Empire flourished and expanded its influence across the Malay Archipelago, even rivalling and winning the once great Majapahit Empire in the region, the arts and culture soon flourished and a court culture based in Melaka soon developed. Poetic traditions, literature and 'adat' or ''tradition' became a reality and an essential identity of the Melakan Empire and the Malay identity. In truth, the majority of the Malay then are not part of the ruling court culture and are illiterate; thus they are simply subjects of a recognised king. But the people recognised this court culture and system and are filial to the governing power of the kings.
Their belief in the rights of the court culture (and king) often translates to answering the war cries and rallying cries of the Malay kings to defend and fight for them. A particularly well-known figure in Malay folklore and history (sometimes history and lore gets intertwined), is that of the legendary 'laksamana' or commander, Hang Tuah. The story of Hang Tuah is an extremely lengthy one compiled into an enormous script titled 'Hikayat Hang Tuah' and includes his childhood, appointment as commander of the Melakan Army and his many adventures. Hang Tuah became the face of the Johore Sultanate (the remnants of the Melakan Empire after the last ruler fled south to Johor) to rally the people who still believed in the rights of the 'local' king against the foreign invaders, the Portuguese. In fact, the Malay Annals, or (Sejarah Melayu), the manuscript that details the supposed history of the Malay people, was written after the fall of the Melakan Empire. Thus, after the defeat in 1511, Malay identity suddenly gained a special place in the hearts of the native commoners as they viewed themselves as belonging to a more 'native' and 'organic' political system which better represents them than the system introduced by the new colonial power.
Adat and Traditions
The 'adat' or traditions, explains the complex ways for a Malay to carry oneself in front of people or in front of their king. It is influenced by both history and contact with surrounding empires such as the Majapahit Empire and the Siamese Kingdom to the north. As arts and culture were allowed to flourish, the traditions followed by the Malay people becomes more refined and realised such that it soon became a way of life, not only to the ruling courtesans who spread these beliefs but to the average commoners. It became a sort of marker and symbol of pride as well as having the effect of viewing oneself as being 'cultured'. In particular importance is the idea of duty to an authority but also of being elegant and polite.
Spread of Malay Identity
In due time, over the course of around 200 years, anyone who is influenced by the political system of the Malaccan Sultanate (for example, those in Indonesia who became part of the Melakan Empire and had created their smaller courts modelled after the Melakan system) and subscribe to the traditions and culture of the Malay people soon regard themselves as Malay. Thus, in Brunei now, there is still a King following very much the old traditions created during the 15th century and the people identify themselves as Bruneian Malay. This also explains the significance of the system of Malay kings in Malaysia now and why they must exist despite their obsoleteness in the modern context; they form the central idea behind the Malay identity. The recognition of the Malay style of court culture and traditions also separates those who do not subscribe to this form of ruling as non-Malays. Thus, Filipinos, Thais or other Pacific Islanders have never identified themselves as Malay.

Towards a National Identity
The fact that the Melakan Empire fall only about 100 years after its founding meant that the Malay identity never really took root as the supreme racial identity for all the people in this region. It also meant that the smaller racial groups such as the Bugis, Boyanese and Minagkabaus fail to lose their local identities (like the Gauls to Anciant Rome) and is allowed to exist and even develop. Through the 19th century, the phenomenon of nationalism starts to take root in this region brought about by no less, the colonial powers that had came to dominate and control the region. At first, divided into colonies owned by different colonial powers, when independence came, the artificial political division translates into different countries each with their own national identity.
The story of the 20th century is the story of new identity formation centred around the different 'countries' such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. While history and legislations have worked to enforce past identity markers to categorise people, we are moving into a phase where people would soon be more comfortable identifying themselves as part of a 'country' rather than a 'race'. From past history of ancient civilizations, it would only be a matter of time before 'Malay' loses its own value and significance as a racial identity marker and is instead, identified by the country, Malaysia.
In Singapore, interestingly, it could be our legislation to identify race as a demarcation of groups of people that may have ensured the prevalence of such identity markers. Without such constant demarcation, it might result in chaos if the different cultures cannot somehow merge due to innate differences or it might actually blend into a beautiful uniquely 'Singaporean' identity.
Racial categorization have resulted in a shifting of identities in Singaporean society. A well-studied example is the grouping of distinct Chinese communities helmed by various clan associations into a homogenous pan-Chinese identity. Another would be the grouping of distinct 'local' identities such as the Boyanese or Javanese into a pan-Malay identity, thus, seemingly continuing the work of the Melakan Empire.

The Malay Term
After an explanation on the conception of Malay as an identity marker, perhaps we can look at the term 'Malay' itself. Etymologically, Malay is an English term and it comes from the Malay word, Melayu, which is still being used today. There are two possible etymological reconstruction for this word. 'Melayu' may have been derived from Old Malay, an Austronesian language, with the sub-parts 'me-' + 'laju' meaning 'to accelerate' or it could be from Sanskrit, an Indo-European Language, with the meaning 'mountains'. Either way, the Malay Annals attribute the name as deriving from the Melayu River found in Sumatra along the important sea route which Melaka gained their riches from. Along this river is said to be the fabled mountain, Gunung Sri Guntang, where the story of Malay kings ancestors are mainly centred upon. Furthermore, circa 6-7th Century (thus way before the Malaccan Empire), there exists a kingdom called 'Melayu Kingdom' in the region which is said to be at some point, part of the Srivijayan kingdoms. The term, thus, have existed a long time before the racial identity marker have come to exist.

Thus is a brief overview of the man-made phenomena that is the 'Malay identity'. This was part of the background literature I was working on for an essay on the Malay Annals and I thought it might be interesting especially for a Malay person to understand their roots. :)

The Slightly Biased Chelsea Match Review I Chelsea vs Liverpool I Premier League I 7/5/2018

Chelsea Match Review

Chelsea vs Liverpool I Premier League I 7/5/2018

Match Overview

It is a 5^th straight win for Chelsea in all competitions and a vital one at that as it means Chelsea are still in contention for a Champions League spot. Chelsea now sit 5^th in the Premier League table with 4^th placed Tottenham on 71 points and 3^rd place Liverpool on 72 points although Liverpool already have played an extra match. Even then, Liverpool holds a 15-goal advantage over Chelsea which, let’s face it, is an enormous goal difference to overturn.

Liverpool maintained most of the possession at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea eager to soak in the pressure. However, once with the ball Chelsea were great in their movement and wise in their decision making. Overall, it is Chelsea’s organised system that ultimately kept Liverpool’s fearsome attacking machine at bay. After Giroud’s goal, it is only a matter of maintaining discipline and patiently waiting for the opportunity to strike. It was a tremendous team effort, in particular, credits are due for Bakayoko who played a greatly improved game today.

Liverpool came attacking from the get-go and thereafter dominated the proceedings in terms of possession. Chelsea rarely pressed but instead, invited the pressure and tried to restrict the spaces to pass and shoot. In doing so, they were compact and limited Liverpool to weak shots from afar which were easily dealt with by Courtois. Despite Liverpool’s dominance, it is actually Chelsea that seemingly have the upper hand as the chances created by Chelsea looked the more dangerous.

The attack, as had been the past couple of game was fantastic. Hazard was his usual brilliant self, and the Chelsea players that get involved with the attack really made an impact. In one particular instance, Victor Moses, always a beast when he comes hurtling at opponent’s defences, took on a defender and managed to cross an exquisite ball into a dangerous position. Sure, it took a slight deflection, but Giroud was there to anticipate the cross and the head-master from France duly headed to the top right corner of Karius’s goal. 1 – 0 Chelsea.

Olivier Giroud 32’

Cesc Fabregas shot a ball across goal, unable to curl it in and players such as Bakayoko and Kante also had shots at goal. Liverpool were menacing at the counter and attack at pace. It is really impossible to stave off an attack like Liverpool’s whose attacking players utilise their superior speed to penetrate defences, but Chelsea did.

First Half: 1-0

The second half was very much the same, with tellingly similar tempo and stories as the first. Both sides had chances to score but they were not significant enough. Despite the overall statistics favouring Liverpool as the better team, the way the team performed, Chelsea can be considered deserving winners for the day.

Full-time: 1-0

Match Highlight

Chelsea played with a 3-5-1-1, in a similar shape as the game against Swansea. Courtois remained as Keeper, as he has been for Premier League games, the defence is marshalled by Cahill and Azpilicueta and Rudiger by his sides. There is a change in wingbacks with the re-introduction of Marcos Alonso at LWB and Victor Moses retained his RWB position. The midfield is packed with the same midfield trio of Kante, Bakayoko and Fabregas. The attack is helmed by Giroud in attack with Hazard playing as a second striker, although during the matches, Hazard can often be found ahead of Giroud.

This formation has been a go-to formation for Antonio Conte since the start of the 2017/2018 season and as Conte has modelled it to do, the structure do stifle the attacking prowess of relatively superior attacking teams such as Liverpool and Manchester City.

Liverpool

Always a threat going forward. Pace, dribbling and passing. It is no surprise that few had kept a cleansheet against this attacking behemoth of a team. However, as the running joke goes, Liverpool defence is really woeful considering their attacking talent. The team employed their favoured gegenpressing style of play with the mentality to pressure the opponent enmasse when they have the ball into making mistakes and that includes pressing their opponents very high up the pitch. However, with Chelsea’s players relatively stable and fluid with the ball, and the fact that they rarely held possession of the ball, this style of play is not very effective.

Man Of The Match

For the third match running, I have to name Eden Hazard as the Man-Of-The-Match. It is really, I feel, not biased at all if you looked at the game and the player. Eden Hazard is his usual brilliant confident self, the genius player whom does tricks, takes on players (and win them) and creates great opportunities on the attack. He is forming a great partnership with Giroud who also deserves plaudits for his composed and world-class performance.

A special shoutout to Bakayoko, who in the first half was a really vastly different player from the past couple of games. He rarely loses the ball (which he used to ALWAYS do), but instead actually gets them (which he would ALWAYS get a foul for). He also showed his attacking potential as he drove up the defence although short of delivering shots of his own. In there, he does not look confident to

Player Ratings

-          Goalkeeper

Thibaut Courtois               7.5

Not really much to handle. Although he faced many shots, they were all not particularly hard to save due to Chelsea’s defence. However, on many occasions, unlike Petr Cech when he was at Chelsea, Courtois often choose to parry or palm the ball away to safety rather than catching them. That may be dangerous but since that danger is not realised in this match, his performance is viewed as brilliant. Good job, Basketballer!

-          Defenders

Gary Cahill                           7.5

I read an interview article on Gary Cahill the other day and I must say, I really do agree on the unfairness of the press in portraying Gary Cahill as an able defender. I think he is a brilliant defender. Not world-class like Sergio Ramos now or Umtiti, but still a very good defender who can walk into the top teams easily. He is good in his challenges and has cut down on his dramatic errors. Unfortunately, his performance may put Christensen out for awhile.

Cesar Azpilicueta              7.5

Is it just me or is Azpilicueta having a slight dip in form? Sure, he still gives a standard 8/10 performance week in week out, but he does not seem solid to say the least. Still, he is part of the amazing defence for this game though!

Antonio Rudiger               8

Where was this guy last season? Oh yea, a virtual 76 rated unknown in the Serie A. What a waste of talent he is over there. The hustleman is becoming one of our favourite Chelsea players from the current crop of players. His battling style of play and powerful accurate headers (one of which went in but was offside) are becoming trademarks we like to see more of every week.

-          Midfielders

N’golo Kante                      8

A slightly tepid performance from the every ground covered Frenchman. But his high standards still prevail as time and time again he robbed Liverpool off the ball. Without him, perhaps Liverpool may have 70+% possession.

Tiemoue Bakayoko          8

Screw the timid and lost Bakayoko of this whole season. This Bakayoko was smart in his positioning and actually knew what to do with and without the ball. He covered the spaces with N’golo Kante so effectively, the defence had so much less problem. A particular memorable instance in the second half was seeing both Kante and Bakayoko rushing straight at Firmino who had the ball, forcing him to pass out wide. Brilliant performance

Cesc Fabregas                  7

Never have I witnessed honestly, such a forgettable Fabregas performance. Forgettable in that I don't quite remember him playing in this match. I actually forgot to write about him when I posted this post up. Hmm, come to think of it, I do remember him narrowly scoring as his shot went right across goal, needing only a slight curl to bring it into the net.

-          Wingbacks

Marcos Alonso                  7.5

No offence to Marcos Alonso, because it is simply his style of play. He is adept with his dribbling, no doubt helmed from his time at Real Madrid, and possibly the best freekick specialist out there now. But when it comes to defending, he is not great plus he is slow to either track back or contribute in attack. In this match, Chelsea did not get a freekick in his desired shooting range, thus, his effectiveness in this match is limited.

Victor Moses                     7.5

His style of play rather suits this match. He is quite agile and fast in the attack but rather one dimensional in his play. His defending is not bad, rather, more average to be precise. His cross, from one of his runs down the right, lead to the goal.

-          Forwards

Eden Hazard                       8.5

World class. Brilliant. Please, Eden Hazard, do not ever ever leave Chelsea. Screw the Garden of Eden, bring on the Pitch of Eden. Brilliant dribbling, passing and tricks. Klopp must have wondered if only he could add Hazard to his ranks.

Olivier Giroud                    8

Although he scored a brilliant goal which not many could have done (looking back at the angle of his heading and positional awareness), his gameplay was rather limited. Overall, it was all the other Chelsea players coming forward that really made the difference in attack.

-          Substitutes

Zappacosta, Willian and Pedro are the substitutes you will need to freshen the team up against a team such as Liverpool. For one, they are the players with the most pace in the team, which is really required to match defensively against Liverpool’s supremely pacey attack. Many team would envy having Willian and Pedro on the bench.

The Slightly Biased Chelsea Match Review I Chelsea vs Swansea I Premier League I 28/4/2018

Chelsea Match Review

Chelsea vs Swansea I Premier League I 28/4/2018

Match Overview

It was a tale of two halves for Chelsea at the Liberty Stadium in a match equally crucial for either side with Chelsea needing a win to close the gap for a Champions League spot next season and Swansea needing points to bring them further away from the relegation zone. Chelsea were absolutely rampant in the first half but Swansea subsequently grew into the second half and they will go home tonight feeling like they could have nicked a point or three.

In a performance where the Chelsea players were stunningly in sync in the first half, the team decimated the Swansea defence and peppered Fabianski’s goal with numerous shots. Hazard’s constant dribbling through the defence, combined with excellent link up play between Giroud and Fabregas, eventually lead to the first goal on the 3^rd minute. Kante had the ball and played a quick pass to Hazard who then dribbled through the middle and in turn, brought all three Swansea defenders towards him. That left space for Fabregas on the right to ghost in and with an incisive pass, Fabregas was one-on-one with Fabianski. Without hesitation, he swept the ball to the top left corner.

Cesc Fabregas 3’

After the goal, Chelsea continued with the onslaught and had a number of chances go narrowly wide or blocked before it escalates. Hazard continues to play off Giroud and Fabregas joined in on the attack constantly, spraying beautiful passes to the wingbacks or to the front two. There was an almost own goal by Swansea and the Swansea defence had to make a couple of fairly lucky blocks to keep the ball out. In the end, Chelsea, once again, fail to kill off their opponents when they could.

Half time: 1-0

The second half was a different story though, especially after the 65^th minute. Before which, Chelsea was pretty much still in control with equal chances by both sides to either extend the lead or to equalise. It could be the rain that was pouring at the Liberty Stadium or a drop in intensity. Either way, Swansea grew in confidence after each successful, albeit weak, shots on target from distance at Courtois and the game could have changed in Swansea’s favour. There were some interesting refereeing decisions throughout the match. A couple of offside decisions were not spotted or unnecessarily flagged and some fouls were seemingly unfairly judged. In the end, Chelsea may feel lucky to have gone home with 3 points, but then again, they could have easily had a more comfortable score-line by half time.

Full-time: 1-0

Match Highlight

Chelsea played with a 3-5-1-1 with Hustleman Rudiger, Mr Dependable Azpilicueta and captain Gary Cahill in the defence, the same from the Southampton game. Victor Moses and Emerson also retained their positions in Right Wingback and Left Wingback respectively. The only difference is the midfield, with Willian on the bench and Bakayoko starting alongside Wizard Fabregas and midfield destroyer N’golo Kante. Eden Hazard plays up front right behind Giroud.

This formation had been the go-to formation for Antonio Conte since the start of this season, which Conte reasoned to provide more defensive solidity than the 3-4-3. Despite the case, the Chelsea defence still looked susceptible and porous and it is a good thing Courtois was up to match for this game especially in the second half. The attack though, was phenomenal, characterised by excellent touches and tricks and when they break, it was breath-taking to behold. The substitutes, Willian, Pedro and Morata are all forward players, thus their introduction maintained the energy and fluidity of Chelsea’s attack.

Swansea

Swansea matched Chelsea in having three defenders at the back. They were absolute thrash in the first half, misplacing passes and not having the creative spark going forward but in the second, the whole team came alive. Their frustration is summed up by Ayew’s unnecessary foul on Cahill in the dying seconds of the match.

As mentioned, it was a tale of two halves, and the stats tell the story of the night. Chelsea and Swansea had almost similar possession rates (51%-49%) and equal number of shots on target (3), which is a fairly low number of shots for Chelsea (Well, we played for one half only anyway) in the Conte era against a ‘weaker’ side.

Man Of The Match

Chelsea’s MOTM should deservedly go to Hazard for his brilliant displays on the ball and influence on the match. Honestly, it seems impossible to rob the ball off Eden Hazard and he is an absolute menace when he dribbles straight through the defence at pace. He constantly looks for the space to shoot but defenders keep closing on him in numbers which he then is forced to pass to his unmarked colleagues.

Giroud deserves special mention. His flicks and passes with his head opened up and often started Chelsea’s attack. As a brilliant target man, he made the attack tick.

Player Ratings

-          Goalkeeper

Thibaut Courtois               7

Plays in goal after Caballero’s cameo in the FA Cup Semi-final. Didn’t have much to do in the first half but in the second half, had to make a couple of decent but fairly easy saves. Not tested much.

-          Defenders

Gary Cahill                           6.5

Once again, the lion puts in an acceptable appreciative performance. Could have stifled the attacks more in the second half though.

Antonio Rudiger               6.5

Hustleman overall performance is as solid and pleasing to watch as it gets. Generally good in defence and had a good chance to score from a corner in the first half. However, he also could have stopped done better in the second half

Cesar Azpilicueta              6.6

I would say he played better than the game against Southampton. Made a couple of crucial blocks and often brings the ball forward. 6.6 as an appreciation for that.

-          Midfielders

Tiemoue Bakayoko          6.5

He plays too simple passes and does not contribute much going forward, except towards the end (with that tame shot across goal). Defensively, he do help to cut the passing width for Swansea but then a tree (not Fellaini) can do just that. I think his role is to disrupt and distract as Kante will then steal the ball when being occupied with Baka.

N’golo Kante                      7

Great defensively as usual, although he did commit some mistakes in this match. He seems to have a  knack for driving forward with pace now in attack and this can lead to attacking opportunities.

Cesc Fabregas                    7.5

Great interplay with the front forwards. He plays further forward than his midfield counterparts and passes his balls well (as he should). Great composed goal at the start.

-          Wingbacks

Victor Moses                     6.5

His darts in attack caused trouble, but as much of this season, he could contribute better in defence

Emerson Palmieri             7

This guy is fearless going forward, maybe even against Conte’s wishes. A particular memorable run took him dribbling from defence all the way to a shot straight at Fabianski. Alonso may find it hard to displace him.

-          Forwards

Eden Hazard                       8

Another amazing performance. Great pace, great dribbling and great passes (has his passing improved significantly?)

Olivier Giroud                    7.5

Great, if not the greatest, target man. His assets are exactly what Chelsea is lacking in the first half of this season. Came off with a standing ovation by the Chelsea supporters

-          Substitutes

Since the subs were forwards, and good players at that, the attack was still great, and they created a couple of chances on the break especially with Willian. Pedro looked a little off and Morata can’t be judged with only less than 10 minutes of play. Pity Swansea. I mean, come on, an ex-Barca player, an ex-Real Madrid player and a player as good as Willian on the bench?