Champions League elimination round

 The Champions League Group stages (the last ones in this format) have just ended. 

The elimination of two English sides was one of the first surprises: Manchester United were shambles, and ended bottom of Group A, which was totally dominated by Bayern Munich, while FC Copenhagen took first spot after having defeated Galatasaray on a cold day in Copenhagen. Copenhagen, although a reluctant surprise, will now face the defending champions, also from Manchester. City have been awesome, winning all their group matches, and will (hopefully) be too much for FC Copenhagen.

Another English team that ended bottom were Newcastle. After trashing Paris St. Germain, it appeared they had something to offer, but only two draws and three defeats and they were out. It is all the more improbable, because a victory at home in their last match against AC Milan could have put them through as Borussia Dortmund and PSG tied 1-1 (in an exciting match), but AC Milan won, and took third spot.

While the Spanish sides of Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid all won their groups, the former greats of Sevilla were as much a shadow of themselves as they have been in this season's La Liga. They ended bottom of the group behind Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven and Lens.

German sides will be represented by three sides: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, while from Italy's Serie A, Napoli, Inter and Lazio have made it through.

All in all we are looking at some interesting knock-out matches starting in February:

• FC Porto-Arsenal
• Napoli-FC Barcelona
• Paris St. Germain-Real Sociedad
• Inter Milan-Atletico Madrid
• PSV Eindhoven-Borussia Dortmund
• Lazio-Bayern Munich
• FC Copenhagen-Manchester City
• RB Leipzig-Real Madrid
  

Real demolition

Although Manchester City were probably slight favourites against Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League semifinal, it was somewhat of a surprise that the English side was in fact far superior to the defending champions. 

High pressure, possession and passes, and only Thibaut Courtois saved the Spaniards from only being behind 2-0 at halftime, on two goals by Bernardo Silva. One would have expected Real Madrid to hit back in the second half, but they basically proved powerless against the continued pressure and a total midfield dominance by Manchester City (in particular Rodri was brilliant). Manuel Akanji made it 3-0, while Julian Alvarez sealed it to 4-0 shortly after coming on for Erling Haaland. 

Manchester City will face Inter Milan in the final on June 10th in Istanbul, and are surely favourites to take their first Champions League title. Inter Milan nevertheless looked strong in their defeat against their local rivals from AC Milan, and it is bound to be an exciting and closely fought final.

The semifinalists

The Champions League 2022-23 semifinals will be two of the most exciting semifinals for a long time, with a potentially historical final.

Real Madrid-Manchester City

Surely two of the sides everyone expected to see in the final. The defending champions of Real Madrid have not been as lucky as last season, but have rather looked solid in particular in their defeat of Chelsea. In the meantime Manchester City must surely be seeing themselves as potential winners of their first CL title in particular as they were quick in trashing a usually strong Bayern Munich, who is looking to reconstruct the team under Tuchel. Both of these teams are potential champions.

Inter Milan-AC Milan

After so many years during which Italian teams have been absent, there will surely be a finalist from Italy this year. Last time an Italian team was in the final was Juventus in 2017, and last time an Italian team won was Inter Milan in 2010. Inter are again in the semifinal and it will be a local derby as they face AC Milan, who took out the Seria A leader of Napoli. As everyone knows, when these teams play, anyone can win, so it will surely be a clash to watch.

If the final happens to be Real Madrid-Milan, it will be the two most winning sides in European champions' history, so that itself will be historical. But no matter what happens, history is in the making.

Zero-sum game

I don't want Spanish teams to be eliminated from the Champions League. On the contrary, I would love to see Valencia and Malaga, who both lost their first last-16 matches, to go through.
But there is nothing I wold like more than to see Real Madrid and FC Barcelona eliminated. So it was with delight that during a trip to Colombia I saw both struggle in their initial last-16 matches in the CL. Real Madrid fought their way to a 1-1 result at home to Manchester City, while FC Barcelona fell to a superior and intelligent AC Milan side 2-0 in Milano.
Both Manchester United and AC Milan know that there is a long and difficult match ahead, but truth is that they will be doing the football world a favour.
I am just tired that this rivalry defines football, blinding to the many other great teams. These two teams only exist for each other. Granted, it is fun to watch them play each other (as today, where Real Madrid trampled over a poor FC Barcelona side), but their glory is not a zero-sum game where ones loss is the others triumph! In fact, the loss of either side, in particular in the Spanish league, may propel other teams forward and give renewed excitement to a pretty lame league.
The same seems to be the case in the CL where the "dreamed" final between Real Madrid and Barcelona has fortunately not taken place, and hopefully won't.

Juventus champion!

Last time Juventus won the Italian championship was in 2006, but due to the "Calciopoli" scandal that same year they were stripped of the title, and relegated. They returned to the Serie A in 2007, but had so far been unable to win the title. Until now. It had been coming, but with today's 2-0 victory over Cagliari, and Inter's 4-2 victory against AC Milan, Juventus has again taken the crown as Italy's best team!

Juve on top

I must admit that Italian football has been something I have followed less and less since the scandal in 2006 that relegated the great team of Juventus. Back in the Serie A in 2007, Juventus is now leading the Serie A. I came after their victory against AC Milan a couple of weeks ago, and today, when AC Milan did not manage to defeat Fiorentina, Juventus did what they had to do, and defeated Palermo 2-0 away. With seven matches left, Juventus is one point ahead of AC Milan on first spot, and has it all in their hands to take the title. That said, there are some very exciting matches coming up, not least the next match at home again Lazio.
But I do hope Juventus takes the title!

Best teams of 2011

Here is my (personal) list of the best football teams of the year 2011:

10) Borussia Dortmund: The Germans won the 2010-11 Bundesliga title playing entertaining football and a very young team. They have nevertheless disappointed in the fall.

9) Manchester City: Proof that money can buy a team, they have nevertheless also worked hard under Roberto Mancini to become a new power in English football. They won the FA Cup and won a resounding 6-1 against their arch-rivals of Manchester United in the Premier League.

8) AC Milan: The Italian giants won the Serie A for the first time in seven years, and seem stronger than they have seemed for many years!

7) Real Madrid: Real Madrid's succes is apparently only measured against their arch-rivals of FC Barcelona. This year saw some crucial matches between these two sides, of which Real Madrid only managed to take the Spanish Cup title. Still, in the second half of the year the team under José Mourinho (whom I still consider the best coach in the world) seems only to have been getting better, although still not enough to beat the Catalonians.

6) FC Porto: The Portuguese side was awesome in the Portuguese league to take the title, and only sealed their strength by taking the UEFA Europa League title as well. In the second half they have looked weaker after selling out some stars, and were eliminated from the Champions League, but are still a strong team.

5) Universidad de Chile: The Chilean side won the Chilean torneo apertura playing very entertaining football under coach Jorge Sampaoli. In the fall, they were extraordinary in taking their first international title, the Copa Sudamericana, playing attacking football that surprised their opponents!

4) Venezuela: Venezuela have always been the footballing midgets of South America, but have this year, under coach César Farias grown to be a team to be reckoned with. In this year´s Copa América they were very unlucky not to make it to the final, and have in the fall taken the first steps to a World Cup by, among others, defeating Argentina for the first time in their history.

3) Santos: The Brazilian side won this years' Copa Libertadores title in a convincing way, and playing positive football they are raising the flag for Brazilian football in an otherwise meager year. They lost the World Club Cup final to FC Barcelona, but that does not take away their extraordinary year.

2) Uruguay: Forget Brazil and Argentina! There is no doubt that Uruguay is the best side in South America! They showed that their 4th place in the 2010 World Cup was no coincidence by taking the Copa América title in a convincing way on Argentina soil, and are clearly ahead in the World Cup qualifiers after some resounding victories!

1) FC Barcelona: No matter what you think about them, FC Barcelona plays awesome football, and has continued so this year, taking the Champions League title after a great victory against Manchester United and taking the Spanish League title. In spite of the pressure from Real Madrid, they crushed them when everyone thought Real Madrid had a chance, and took the World Club Championship after crushing Santos in the final.

Champions League fever!

This round of the 2011-12 Champions League has been splendid, as teams are struggling to get over the last hurdles to the next round of the tournament.
The Premier League leaders of Manchester City have not had an easy time in Group A. A great Napoli side, with two goals by the perhaps best striker in Europe right now, Edison Cavani, defeated City 2-1, and just need to defeat Villarreal to make it to the next round. Bayern Munich made sure they made it to the next round by defeating the poor Spanish side 3-1.
The other Manchester side has also been struggling in group C, and last nights' 2-2 at home against Benfica will make the last match an all-or-nothing against the big surprise of Basel, who will look for the sensation of eliminating Manchester United at home in Switzerland!
In group D, Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid are looking as a serious candidate for the title after trashing Dynamo Zagreb 6-2.
Another Spanish side, Valencia, also trashed another team, Genk, 7-0, in group E. But things are looking bleak for Valencia: Bayer Leverkusen defeated Chelsea 2-1, and are now leading the group before facing Genk in their last match. In the meantime, Valencia will have to pull an unlikely victory in London...
In Group G one of the biggest surprises is on the way, as the Cyprus side of Apoel Nicosia made it to the next round after their 0-0 tie to Zenit St. Petersburg. The Russian side will now face an all-or-nothing match in Portugal against FC Porto, who in spite of defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 0-2 away, must defeat Zenit to make it to the next round.
Finally, AC Milan and FC Barcelona gave us the best match of the CL this season as Barcelona won a great match in Milan 2-3, and are now sure to go on to the next round on the first spot, while AC Milan takes second spot. Still, it is these kind of matches that the CL is all about, and one can only look forward to some feverish dramas in the final round!

Towards the championship

The European leagues are entering their last stage, and one can begin to see the shape of the champions more or less in many of them:

• In Germany, Borussia Dortmund destroyed 4th placed Hannover 96, and are 7 points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen with six matches left. They have had an extraordinary season, and it would be a pity if they don't win it.
• In Italy's local derby between AC Milan and Inter, AC Milan won 3-0. Pato played an extraordinary match in this important step for the Milanese, although the Serie is hot: Napoli took second spot after defeating Lazio, only three points up to first place! It will be an exciting ending!
• In the Netherlands Twente defeated PSV Eindhoven 2-0 in a hugely important victory to retake the title. There are five matches left, and a five point difference between Twente, PSV Eindhoven and Ajax Amsterdam on first, second and third spots respectively.
  
• In Portugal FC Porto defeated second placed Benfica 1-2 in Lisbon, and now 16 points ahead of Benfica and five matches left, is certain to win the championship. The Portuguse league has been completely dominated by a mighty Porto side that might still go through it undefeated!
  

More quarterfinalists

It seems that all Italian teams are on the way out of the Champions League: today it was AC Milan. After losing 0-1 at home to Tottenham, the Italians were unable to score in London, and 0-0 was enough for the English to progress to the quarterfinals for the first time ever. Last Italian team left is Inter, who lost 0-1 at home to Bayern Munich, so they will surely have a difficult time keeping up Italy's place in the Champions League.

Schalke 04 defeated Valencia 3-1 to make it to the quarterfinals. On a personal note, this is of course disappointing, but I knew it would be hard after 1-1 in Valencia, and knowing the fact that Valencia has always had it difficult with German sides. That said, Schalke 04 are surely a strong team that will give any team a good fight!
It was to be no different, but I am happy that Valencia this season, after selling out previous' season's stars, did it far better in the CL than I was expecting, and that they seem to be heading back there next season.
Amunt Valencia!

While I was gone

I have been travelling, and although watching football as much as possible, have not been able to post much here. Still, many interesting things have happened in the world of football!

• In the Italian Serie A, AC Milan and Napoli played a match where the southerners had the chance of taking over the first spot. However, they faced a concentrated Milan side where Brazilian Pato was extraordinary and Milan won 3-0 to become entrenched at the first spot, where only a rather unstable Inter seems able to threaten them for the title.
• The team of the moment is surely Germany's Borussia Dortmund. Last week they defeated Bayern Munich, in Munich, 3-1. They are a young, hugely talented side who are now heading straight for the Bundesliga title!
• In Spain, Barcelona has again pulled a bit more away after Real Madrid only managed 0-0 with La Coruña. In spite of winning in Valencia, Barcelona is looking a bit more shaky, also looking ahead at the play-off match in the Champions League with Arsenal.
• The Champions League started with excellent matches. Arsenal's 2-1 victory against Barcelona was excellent, and although my sympathies surely lie in Catalunya, I hope that Arsenal can put up a great fight! I was in Aruba when I saw Lyon and Real Madrid play 1-1, ahead of what will be an interesting match in Madrid. Also, I was unashamedly delighted to see that Chelsea defeated FC Copenhagen, although at the same time, I am nervous about Valencia's options after 1-1 with Schalke 04, no matter how much I sympathise with Raul!

Anyway, back to work and to football!

Roma overtakes Inter

Only a couple of months ago it seemed given that the Italian championship would end up in Milan: Inter was top of the table with AC Milan following suit. Nobody seemed to be looking at AS Roma under coach Claudio Ranieri. But then results started to flaunder for the Milanese, and a couple of weeks ago, AS Roma seriously entered the fight for title when they defeated Inter at home. With this weekend's results AS Roma has gone to the top: AC Milan only tied in Catania, and so did Inter, 2-2 against Fiorentina. This meant that AS Roma, with a 2-1 win over Atalanta, now takes the top spot with 18 points, one more than Inter, and now has all the opportunities to take the title with five games left.
Who would have thought...?

How about Olympique Lyon and Wayne Rooney?

I have always liked Olympique Lyon, and over the last years I have always thought that they would get closer to glory in the Champions League, but so far wrongly. Now the team is surely not what they used to be: the did not win last season's French championship, and are currently only 4th in the French league. So it would seem that their chances against mighty Real Madrid in the first round of the CL play-offs was meager. However, last night Lyon outplayed the Spaniards, and if anything, the 1-0 victory is only too fragile before they go on to play in Madrid. Also, the victory is surely a merit to Lyon's skills and fight, but on the other hand, the Spaniards were poor to say the least, and in particular Kaká is running the danger of being a total flop.

In the other play-off match last night, mighty Manchester United played mighty AC Milan in San Siro, where they had never scored a goal. But things were to change, as United scored three, two of them by super Wayne Rooney who is surely emerging as perhaps the best striker in the world at the moment.
Manchester United won 3-2, thanks to Rooney, but also somewhat thanks to a well-playing Van der Saar and to good ole' luck. AC Milan, and in particular Ronaldinho as well as David Beckham (playing against his old club) played a great and offensive match, but the team missed way too many chances, and it now looks like the Milanese are heading out of the tournament.

The Milano derby

One of the greatest derby's of world football took place yesterday in Milano, namely that between Inter Milan and AC Milan. This one had been looked forward to as Inter's lead in the Serie A had seemed to be threatened by an AC Milan side that lately has started playing outstanding, in particular Ronaldinho who seems to have flourished like in his younger days. However, today was all about Inter Milan, who truly showed who the best team is; in the first minutes they overran AC Milan, and the Argentinean Diego Milito brought Inter ahead. Even though Wesley Sneijder was shown a very strange red card, Inter continued to dominate and the Macedonian player Goran Pandev brought Inter ahead 2-0 on a beautiful free kick.
In the last minutes of the match AC Milan was given a penalty as Lucio was thrown out for Inter Milan. However, in front of his countryman Julio Cesar, Ronaldinho missed the penalty.
The title seems on its way to Inter who with this victory cements their leadership of the Serie with 9 points ahead of AC Milan on second place.

Thank you Maldini

You can like AC Milan or not, but anyone should acknowledge that they are one of the greatest clubs of all time. And one of the greatest players ever to play on this great club, Paolo Maldini, has just played his last game for the team.
Mr. Maldini played more than 900 matches for AC Milan, and ends his spectacular career at the age of 40 and undisputed captain of the team (although strangely, some AC Milan fans were there at his final match to insult him, as he had some disagreements with these tifosi during his time at the club).

And what a career!
Seven Serie A titles; eight champions league/cup finals, of which he has won five, and one World Cup trophy with Italy in 2006.
Together with many football fans, I will miss Mr. Maldini: he just seems to have been there almost since I started watching football, and I guess it just is there to remind us that time changes, and even great players have to end at some point.
Thank you Mr. Maldini!

David Beckham as Real Madrid coach?

As Florentino Perez is fighting to regain the presidency of Real Madrid, new credible rumours have come out that he has offered the position as head coach of Real Madrid to none other than David Beckham. Although Mr. Beckham has no coaching experience, he could potentially provide a lot to the team where he played as one of the "galácticos". Mr. Beckham is nevertheless not going to run away from his existing contracts with AC Milan and LA Galaxy; instead, Mr. Perez has made an agreement where Mr. Beckham will be acting as player in those two clubs, at the same time as he will be coaching Real Madrid!
It will surely be busy for Mr. Beckham, but if anyone can do it, it is surely Spice Boy!

My best teams 2007

Happy new year!!!! As all pass the hangovers, we must reflect back on the year gone in football. I must personally admit, that for me this has been a bad football year: I have not been able to follow much, had difficulty updating my site, and so on.
Still, looking back, I must attempt to do a list of what I considered the ten most important/best teams of the year 2007.
Note, it is a very personal list, as is more based on my personal impressions and thoughts on the year gone, and not as objective as I would like it to be. And well, surely some surprises for those who know me!

10. Arsenal: I am in awe at what Arsene Wenger is creating with this team of youngsters. They are very young, and have been on top of the Premier League and on in the Champions League. Surely this is a team heading towards great victories.
9. FC Barcelona: They still play beautiful, but have been unable to win anything this year: Real Madrid took the Spanish title ahead of them.
8. Argentina: Argentina´s national team only lost two games the entire year, and ended top of the FIFA world ranking ever. With some amazing players, they will be a team to watch up to the 2010 World Cup!
7. Boca Juniors: Winners of the Copa Libertadores.
6. Sevilla: Won the UEFA cup, ended top in the Spanish League, and have been playing wonderfully in their first Champions League.
5. Brazil: Any list without Brazil...? While not top on the FIFA World ranking, they managed to win the Copa América defeating the top ranked team, Argentina.
4. Real Madrid: Under Fabio Capello the team was stabilized and won the Spanish title for the first time for many years. Under Bernd Schuster the team has started to play beautiful as well, and they may be on the way of finding their former greatness, not from huge investment but as a team.
3. Liverpool: While not winning, they were again able to surprise in the Champions League, pulling some really intense and entertaining matches.
2. AC Milan: Deserved winners of the Champions League, they have slipped in the second half of 2007, but with a wonderful Kaká and a team of very experienced players still won the Club World Championship in December.
1. Brazil (women): This will surprise many... A women's team as my most important team of 2007!? And for that a team that didn´t win the World Cup? (They lost to Germany). But why I put them here, is that because of them, I think Women's football has become much more entertaining and interesting to watch.

Champions League 2007-2008: My top five favourites

The fixtures for the Champions League last-16 to take place in February/March next year has resulted in the following matches to look forward to:

• Arsenal-AC Milan
• Schalke 04- FC Porto
• AS Roma-Real Madrid
• Celtic-Barcelona
• Olympiakos-Chelsea
• Liverpool-Inter
• Lyon-Manchester United
• Fenerbahce-Sevilla

Liverpool-Inter, Arsenal-AC Milan and Lyon-Manchester United are some of the matches to look forward to a lot.
Although anything can happen in these knock-out phases, but I must at this point make a list of my top-five favourites to win the tournament:

5. Barcelona: Has not been looking that strong in the Spanish league, which seems out of their grasp. But in the CL they have been invinsible, and may put all its resources in for succes.
4. Real Madrid: The merengues seem to be reborn under Coach Schuster, and should be considered a serious contender for the title.
3. Inter: The Italians are not known for entertaining matches, and have disappointed before in the CL. But this may be their year; they are looking strong both in the CL and in the Italian League, and may have one of the broadest selection of star-players.
2. AC Milan: They are again very strong and are looking to defend their title.
1. Manchester United: With a new young and strong team, Manchester United has already been unstoppable in the first round, and I am increasingly feeling that they may be the team to beat to win the tournament!

Let us see! I can't wait!

Kaká

Kaká, AC Milan´s wonderful Brazilian midfielder, has just been given FIFA´s title as World Player of the year 2007.
I think Kaká is absolutely the right choice, as no other player has achieved the things he has achieved this year: Champions League with AC Milan and just a few days before, the Club world championship after defeating Boca Juniors 4-2!
And Kaká has been truly central in achieving these victories. The closest contenders to the title were Mr. Lionel Messi and Mr. Cristiano Ronaldo (who finished second anf third respectively) , but it is clear that while these two players have been spectacular this year, they have not been as important to the success of their team as Mr. Kaká.
I want to congratulate Mr. Kaká, because he is truly a great player.

16 teams remaining in the Champions League

The first round of the 2007-2008 Champions League has ended, and we now have 16 teams left for the draw on December 21st.
Due to work obligations, I have had limited time to follow the rounds closely, and have missed (too many) matches. But I have the clear impression that it has been an excellent start to the champions league, wiith some amazing matches, and it seems bound to get even more exciting with the following teams:

• FC Porto: The Portuguese won their group ahead of Liverpool, and as so many years before, may be bound to be underestimated. However, be sure that no team will have an easy time against Porto!
• Liverpool: Last year´s finalists looked very weak in the start, but with three consecutive victories and 16 goals, they look to be searching for another Champions League success, otherwise eluding them in the Premier League.
• Chelsea: In spite of changing coach in the middle of the tournament, Chelsea never really looked in danger i the group, and should be considered a contender for the title, although they are looking weaker than last year.
• Schalke 04: The Germans made sure they would be in the last-16 by a sure 3-1 victory against Norwegian Rosenborg BK in the last match. They will have a hard time however, almost against any of the other teams.
• Real Madrid: Under coach Bernd Schuster, Real Madrid truly seems reborn, and one player as crucial as Raul seems to have been reborn, whiile Robinho is free to do his magic, and Van Nistelrooi and Robben are super-dangerous. With the beautiful football they are displaying again, they are a welcome team by any football fan, and will surely be aiming for the title (well, they always do).
• Olympiakos: The Greeks have performed well to be in the last 16, with some excellent results. Although I do not think they can make it all the way, they will be difficult for any team to play against, specially in Greece where they are supported by a passionate and intimidating homecrowd.
• AC Milan: The defending champions are sure contender for the title again. Kaka & Co. have again been very strong, and their first place in the group was never really in question.
• Celtic: The Scots are a very welcome team in the last-16 with their charming supporters, spirited fight and strategy. It is doubtful whether they can make it very hard, but they shall surely not be underestimated after the results in the first round.
• FC Barcelona: The Catalonians were never threatened and won their group easily. They are looking strong indeed, and with Samuel Eto'o back in the last game against Stuttgart (and even scoring!), they may now be at full firepower, which will surely make them one of the favourites for the title. With their technique and positive football, any game with them is something to look forward to.
• Olympique Lyon: The French started off a bit weak with a home-defeat to Glasgow Rangers, but improved as the round progressed, and ended with an impressive 4-0 victory against Rangers in Glasgow. I have many times previously thought Lyon was a team to watch; I don't think they are as strong as former years, but still... They are a team to watch!
• Manchester United: The English team was one game away from maximum-points in the first round, and are looking very strong, and one of the favourites for the title. In fact, I don't think they have looked as strong since their last victory in 1999, but their weakness may be that they seem to depend very much on a limited number of players.
• AS Roma: The Romans are always difficult to play again, particularly in the Italian capital, but I doubt whether they can make it all the way.
• Inter: Inter always looks strong, and has a very dangerous attacking force and brilliant technical players. In that regard, they are, in my humble view, a contender for the title. However, they are every year, but I think they are looking much more dangerous this season, not only in the Champions League, but also in the Serie A.
• Fenerbahce: The Turkish side did what they ahd to do in their last match by defeating CSKA Moscow to make it to the last-16. With a number of Brazilians and a passionate homecrowd, Fenerbahce should also be a team to watch, although I do not believe they can make it all the way.
• Sevilla: The double-UEFA Cup winners started their Champions League adventure by losing 3-0 to Arsenal in London, but have since won five consecutive victories to win their group ahead of the Englishmen. Sevilla is a very strong team, although not looking as strong as last season in the Primera División, they should be considered seriously as an outsider to get very far in this Champions League.
• Arsenal: They youngsters from Arsenal are leading the Premier League, and with good results in the Champions League, may be considered a contender for the title. However, their young age may also be their biggest enemy, and it remains to be seen how they do against any of the giants.

There is bound to be some amazing matches ready on December 21st. Group winners will have the (minor) advantage of starting playing away when the CL starts again in February 2008. By that time, I will again be in the Mozambican bush, and just hope I will be able to watch!