IBeNimages and Words

I have a new photo blog! Playing around with my wife’s ex cellular phone, the Sony Ericsson K790i, I found there is an interesting feature in this phone. We can immediately post the pictures we snapped using this phone’s camera to the blog. I know this may not be a new thing, as Nokia has done with their N series, working with Flickr. But I’m a late adopter on this.. so…

Unlike Nokia though, Sony Ericsson is working with Blogger to provide this feature. Hence I can snap a picture, add few text and comments.. and voila! It’s on the blog for the rest of the world to see.. Enggak penting sih, but it’s fun. And it’s instant and versatile. As what I did during last Lebaran holiday, I can build a trip journal during the way, and instantly posted those pictures and stories to the blog.

Please feel free to have a look at my Snapped Images photo blog. It’s updated more frequent than this blog, apparently.

Many of my friends asked me, why do I stick with my ugly-antenna-sported of Treo?

Well, among other things (e.g. full QWERTY keyboards which allow me to write this entry on my car), my Treo is very simple and intuitive to use.

This way is known by many gadget enthusiast as "The zen of Palm". This refers to Palm OS, the operating system of Treo which if we traced back the history, was introduced by Jeff Hawkins, some 10 years ago. When Palm OS was launched, it drew a lot of users because its intuitive interface. Designed to replace the agenda book and filofax, Palm OS successfully transformed user experience in those historic tools to a digital one. Take for example, the on-screen Grafitti strokes which made users feel like they are writing on their notepad. Or quickly accessing appointment with just one tap on the screen.

Even though now the giant Windows Mobile OS has been gaining bigger market share than Palm OS worldwide, many Palm OS users, I for one, still do not move anywhere else, because of that "Zen" is maintained until the latest installment of Treo. Try to use Treo for a day, and you will feel the difference it brings compared to the other mobile phone.

This may change, however, with the introduction of Apple’s iPhone. Launched early this year by Steve Jobs, the iPhone promises the "Zen" back to the PDA/mobile device world. With its elegant design, the iPhone interface looks very intuitive and innovative. As an iPod user, I strongly feel Apple won’t go wrong in this department. They will learn from iPod’s interface, that simple interface means superb performance.

The only thing left out from iPhone which I will certainly miss from my Treo is the physical keyboard. Steve Jobs tried to convince the world that iPhone’s on screen keyboard will be different. I personally, don’t buy this. I think you can’t never beat the tactile feel of real keyboard.

But we’ll see in June 11, when Apple schedules for the launch of this highly-anticipated device. I will line up for one, for sure!

It’s a great chance all of you have heard about Tiger Woods. Since his first appearance in the public, back in 1996 when he first won U.S. Amateur championship, he brought golf to a level of popular sports, just like football and tennis. His charisma and talent draw crowds and admirers from around the world. We can see more and more young kids are going to driving range, just because they (or their father) want them to be the ‘Next Tiger’. He is also one single reason why so much money is  poured into professional golf tour nowadays.

And we haven’t talked about his sporting accomplishment yet.

But the question is, where to start?

Tiger has rewritten almost all golf record books. He is the youngest player ever to win a major tournament. He hold record for the longest streak as No. 1 ranked golfer in the world. He joined other golf legends like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer who ever won all major tournaments, so called "grand slam" achievement. And all of these achievements were made before he reach age of 30s, regarded as prime age of a golfer.

But he still has one record to break.

He has now collected 12 majors, still 6 less from Jack Nicklaus total.  But Jack won 16 of his majors when he was 30s. Tiger has won 11 before he is 30. Do the math.

I can’t say enough how I admire this guy. Not only because he is the greatest golfer on earth, but also he is such a great person. Although he has enormous  ‘bragging rights’ he never brag himself up in the public how great he is. He is such devoted philantropist, donating million dollars for his Tiger Woods foundation, mostly helping unfortunate kids for improving their education and welfare. And rarely is Tiger being singled out by his fellow golfers, just because how he respects his fellow professionals, despite his stature in golfers’ elite. The late Earl Woods, father of Tiger, who passed away this year once mentioned,  "It is my mission not only to make him a good golfer, but also to make him a great man".

Mission accomplished.

My Other Candidates of Most Defining Athlete in History:

• Pele (Football): Won 3 world cups with Brazil.
• Michael Jordan (Basketball): 6 times NBA world champion with Chicago Bulls
• Michael Schumacher (Formula 1): 7 times world champion, including 5 wins in consecutive years with Ferrari.
• Who is yours?

After exactly 2 years, I  finally can fulfill my Gadget Wishlist. The latest gadget addition come from a long-awaited digital SLR camera. I bought myself a highly-acclaimed Nikon D80 yesterday! It is actually an improvement from my initial wishlist , a D70. But luckily I saved enough money to allow me an upgrade. Nevertheless, it then ranks as most expensive gadgets I owned, explaining why it come last.

Past few weekends, I spent favour bit of time browsing the internet. I’ve been looking for a best value combination of DSLR camera and lens. I read many reviews and product specs. Eventhough I always crave for Nikon (I grew up with this brand), I’ve been toying with Sony Alpha which internal vibration reduction gives it upper edge from its competitors. I’ve been considering Canon EOS 400D as well, with the thought of its collection of great lenses somehow come in cheaper price than Nikon.

Until I stucked with an article in internet of a Nikkor lens which I never realised its existence before: Nikkor AF-S DX 18-200/F3.5-5.6 VR. It is a lens with versatile zoom range and with added vibration reduction technology. It also produced great image quality (of course you can’t compare it with prime–fixed focal length lenses). The reviews over internet say it all. Nikon ethusiasts love it. Photography sites give no less than 4 out of 5 rating. Amazon stated this lens as high-demand item which they currently don’t have on stock.

"Sounds like the lens I’ve always wanted".

Unfortunately it comes with two catches: It is fairly expensive and it is rare to find.

For the first, at least I can reach the deeper side of my pocket, but the latest is more tricky.

On Monday, I called three most renowned photographic stores in Jakarta, and found out they had no such item on stock, and were not sure when they will have it delivered. It is indeed a rare item.

Well, call me lucky or it’s been my destiny, my office colleague and fellow Nikon owner, Andre informed me that a small camera store in ITC Fatmawati has one in stock! Without further due, we called them and booked the lens. We went there yesterday, and I finally ended up with buying Nikon D80 from this store as well, all in cheaper price than that famous store in Kemang!

I haven’t got a chance to try out this camera and lens. But I did try the VR technology with this one shot of Andre in the camera store. It was taken in ISO 200, 1/8 speed, handheld. Looks sharp and good colour saturation (you can see those pimples and textures in Andre’s face hehehe).
Well what I’m trying to say here is  with this great camera and lens, I can envision lots of great pictures ahead! Amen.

So I can finally close the chapter of My Gadget Wishlist.

At least for now.

Because I can easily create another list… Playstation 3, XBox 360, Treo 680, Yamaha Drum kit, Archos AV500, Nintendo DS Lite… *grin* 

From few years experience of owning multiple gadgets, I learnt couple of things in how to prolong your battery’s life. Here I share you some of them, which may help you to avoid those ‘batere gue drop‘ problems most commonly found on your notebook or handphones.

First of all, you may know that most gadgets today are powered by rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery.
This type of battery, in theory, does not need to be recharged before it’s empty. But bear in mind, that the battery life of this type will decrease every time you charges. So, eventually it will find its dying day. However, through careful use of your battery, I found that we can expect our battery life (and its performance) to be dependable for at least 3 years.

Here are some tips to prolong your battery life:

1. Don’t wait until your battery empty to recharge. You may have this legacy from the Ni-Cad battery age. This myth is no longer true. In contrary, your Li-ion battery may be dead if you let them empty. Once you have only 30% of battery remaining, re-charge!
2. Avoid charging battery when your device is not used. This is mostly true on the case of notebook’s battery. Have you ever leave your notebook off, while it is still connected to power cable? There you go, your battery life will decrease significantly. It is totally ok to keep your gadgets is connected to electricity while you’re working on them, even if the battery is 100% recharged.
3. Once you charge your gadgets, let it is charged until its full. Try to avoid unplug your gadgets from charging when it’s battery is not full yet. From my experience, I found this can affect your battery life and performance, even though not as significant as 1 and 2.
4. On the first use, charge it to minimum of 12 hours. Your gadgets manual may state that it only needs 4 hours of first charge. But let me tell you, keep it charged all night. You will reach maximum battery performance with this way.

Keep those four behaviors right, and your gadget’s battery will treat you well. Have a try!

Oh, BTW, some of you may noticed from the above photo, that I reached the third milestone of my ‘Gadget Wishlist’ project. Yes, I bought myself a PSP. Well, not bad to help me go through Jakarta’s crazy traffic these days everyday. With a Treo, iPod and now, PSP, I have no idle times to worry. Hehehe….

After 25 days of competition, FIFA World Cup 2006 came to an end last night. As we all know, Italy is crowned as four-time champion in a thrilling finale of a prosaic tournament.

In an attempt to summarize this World Cup coverage, I would like to spend time to give some awards to the following players, teams, and moments. Please bear with me:

Most shocking moment:
Zidane head butted Materazzi. The king has dethroned himself. It remains unclear what words Materazzi used to provoke Zidane, but it certainly gave Zidane a tragic ending to an illustrious career.

Most friendly moment:
After years of ‘cold war’ in claiming No.1 jersey, Oliver Khan shook hand, and wished Jens Lehmann the best of luck before penalty shoot-out against Argentina. Lehmann turned out to be victorious in that shoot-out. Barthez would be envy. ("Where is my dear Coupet?").

Goal of tournament:

Argentina’s goal against Serbia Montenegro by Esteban Cambiasso. 24 passes between the Argentinians, before a clever back heel from Crespo and Cambiasso’s lovely strike finished it. "This goal will feature in every football coaching material all over the world", said the commentator.

Player of tournament:

Wayne Rooney.

Kidding.

If I were asked to choose, I would pick Fabian Cannavaro (Italy), who had been colossal through out the tournament. Magnificent composure and control in defending. A charismatic captain who is fully deserved to lift the trophy at the end of tournament.

Team of tournament:
England.

Kidding again.

Well, maybe Argentina (for their superb display against Serbia Montenegro). Or, Italy, who saw off their troubles back home, and won the ultimate prize.

Position of tournament:
Play Maker. Pirlo, Zidane, Riquelme, at their best, showed how football game should be played. Controlled the rhythm, retained possession, sprayed inspirational pass throghout the field. Joyful to watch.

Most frequent tactics employed:
Diving, we can see them in almost every game. Cristiano Ronaldo will be proud. What a shame.

Most under achiever player:

Frank Lampard. No kidding. Serious. Ronaldinho came close.

Most over-rated team:
England. Period. They deserved it.

That’s all. I believe you may have your own version? So, I’m inviting your comments to conclude this great festive of football. Thanks, and see you in four years time! Well, maybe in two years time. Euro 2008. Here we go England! *tetteeeeppp*

12 Agustus 2004. Peluit panjang dibunyikan. Perancis takluk 0-1 dari Yunani, pada perempatfinal Piala Eropa 2004. Hari itu juga, Zinedine Zidane, kapten Perancis mengumumkan pengunduran dirinya dari tim nasional. Keinginannya untuk pensiun dari tim les blues dengan kejayaan buyar.

3 Agustus 2005. Patriotisme Zidane terusik. Perancis, yang babak belur di Piala Dunia 2002, dan secara mengejutkan dikandaskan Yunani pada Euro 2004, terseok-seok di babak kualifikasi Piala Dunia 2006. Perancis terancam tidak mendapat tiket ke Jerman. Pelatih Perancis, Raymond B. Domenech, seminggu sebelumnya secara khusus menelpon Zidane, dan membujuknya untuk kembali memimpin Perancis menyelamatkan peluang mereka. Zidane tak kuasa menolak. Bukan itu saja, ia juga berhasil menyakinkan Claude Makalele dan Lilian Thuram, dua rekannya yang juga merupakan mantan pilar tim nasional Perancis, untuk kembali membela les blues.

3 September 2005. Keputusannya untuk kembali memperkuat timnas Perancis tidak salah. Zidane memberi kekuatan dan kepercayaan diri pada tim Perancis untuk lolos ke Babak final Piala Dunia 2006.

25 April 2006. Sebulan sebelum Piala Dunia 2006 dimulai, Zidane mengumumkan rencananya untuk pensiun, tidak hanya dari timnas Perancis, tapi dari karirnya yang gemilang sebagai pesepakbola profesional. Zidane telah memenangkan segalanya, kompetisi liga domestik, piala liga domestik, Piala Champion, Piala Eropa dan Piala Dunia. Ia berharap pentas Piala Dunia 2006 akan menjadi pentas penutup karir yang gemilang. Sesuatu yang pada saat itu banyak diragukan oleh para pengamat, mengingat performa nya yang menurun di level klub, dan kondisi timnas Perancis yang dianggap ‘barang rongsokan’ karena banyak menampilkan pemain-pemain tua.

1 Juli 2006. Partai perempatfinal Piala Dunia 2006. Setelah tampil kurang menyakinkan di babak-babak awal, Zidane menjadikan stadion Frankfurt sebagai pentas ‘kembalinya sang raja’. Laksana ballerina, Zidane mengajari Kaka dan Ronaldinho keunggulan teknik, keluwesan gerak sekaligus kekuatan berseni yang dapat melumpuhkan lawan. Assist-nya menghasilkan gol Thierry Henry di menit 57. Brazil tunduk 0-1.

5 Juli 2006. Partai semi final Piala Dunia 2006. Melawan Portugal, Zidane kembali menjadi tokoh sentral. Di menit 33, wasit Larrionda dari Uruguay menunjuk titik putih setelah Carvalho menjegal Thierry Henry di kotak penalti. Menghadapi kiper Portugal Ricardo, ’spesialis penghadang penalti’, Zidane mengeksekusi penalti yang sempurna. Pojok kanan bawah gawang Ricardo. Kendati Ricardo sempat menepis, kecepatan dan akurasi bola yang ditendang Zidane tak kuasa dihadang. Gol! Perancis dan Zidane kembali hadir di partai puncak Piala Dunia. Persis seperti 8 tahun yang lalu di Paris.

Zidane, seorang Perancis keturunan Aljazair, dapat dikatakan sebagai seorang legenda hidup pesepakbola di tahun 90-an dan awal millenium baru ini. Karena kewarganegaraannya yang ganda, di awal karirnya, Zidane sempat dilirik oleh timnas Aljazair, kendati kemudian ia ditolak oleh pelatih Aljazair saat itu, karena dianggap ‘tidak terlalu cepat’.

What a wrong decision.

Zidane akhirnya terpilih sebagai anggota timnas Perancis, dan melakukan debutnya pada tanggal 17 Agustus 1994. Pada saat itu Perancis sedang tertinggal 0-2 dari Republik Ceko. Zidane masuk sebagai pemain pengganti di menit 63, dan mengubah jalannya pertandingan. Ia mencetak 2 gol, dan berhasil membawa Perancis menyamakan kedudukan sampai peluit panjang dibunyikan.

The rest is history.

Partai final yang akan berlangsung di Berlin, hari Minggu ini merupakan partai final akbar yang ke 4 bagi Zidane. Pada 3 partai sebelumnya, Zidane selalu tampil sebagai seorang juara. Final Piala Dunia 1998 ia mencetak dua gol kemenangan Perancis atas Brazil 3-0. Final Piala Champions 2002 bersama Real Madrid, ia mencetak gol spektakuler (tendangan volley seorang Ballerina, menurut Guardian) yang membawa Madrid mengalahkan Leverkusen. Dan Final Piala Eropa 2000, Zidane membawa Perancis menghempaskan Italia, lawan mereka di Final Piala Dunia hari Minggu nanti. Di final akbar ke-4 nya, akankah sang raja kembali ke tahtanya, the place where he deservedly belong?

Mari kita kembali melakukan analisis teknikal, suatu analisis yang terbukti 100% ampuh di partai perempatfinal dan semi final.

Namun kali ini agak sulit untuk mendapatkan pemenang mutlak, karena statistik menunjukkan Italia dan Perancis sama kuat. Di pentas Piala Dunia, Italia memiliki rekor menang-kalah lebih baik atas Perancis (lihat Tabel 1). Namun apabila kita menyimak rekor pertemuan pada pertandingan-pertandingan resmi FIFA selama ini (lihat Tabel 2), Perancis sedikit lebih unggul dari Italia, termasuk yang terakhir adalah kemenangan mereka di Piala Eropa 2000.

Tabel 1. Statistik pertemuan Italia dan Perancis di Piala Dunia :

Italy (ITA)

France (FRA)

4	Played	4
2	Won	1
1	Drawn	1
1	Lost	2
5	Goals	4

Tabel 2. Statistik pertemuan Italia dan Perancis di seluruh turnamen dan pertandingan resmi FIFA (termasuk pertandingan persahabatan):

Italy (ITA)

France (FRA)

Kesimpulannya, di saat analisis teknikal tidak bisa memberikan hasil yang konklusif, pertandingan akan diramalalkan berlangsung ketat dan seru. Mungkin sampai ke perpanjangan waktu ataupun adu penalti. Kekuatan kedua tim dapat dikatakan merata. Keduanya memainkan possession football yang dipadu dengan sepakbola menyerang yang dinamis. Di saat seperti inilah, biasanya seorang bintang akan menjadi ‘faktor pembeda’ dari kedua tim. Seorang bintang, seorang legenda, seorang raja seperti Zinedine Yazid Zidane.

Welcome back, Zizou. The stage is yours.

Ketepatan prediksi analisis teknikal ternyata jauh lebih tinggi daripada analisis fundamental di Piala Dunia ini. Paling tidak, itulah kesimpulan dari melihat hasil partai-partai perempatfinal kemarin. 100% prediksi analisis teknikal saya tepat sasaran. Saya sendiri sampai heran. Dan sedikit menyesal. Tim favorit saya, Inggris, jadi ikut-ikutan menjadi ‘korban’ ketepatan analisis ini. Hehehe.

Hal ini membuat saya tergelitik untuk melakukan analisis teknikal kembali, dengan mencermati secara lebih detail sejarah pertemuan dan statistik head-to-head dari keempat tim yang akan bertemu di semi final, Selasa dan Rabu malam ini.

Thanks to FIFA and internet technology, statistik pertandingan pertemuan seluruh tim di dunia bisa kita dapatkan pada situs FIFA Match Database. Berbekal data dari situs ini, berikut saya sajikan analisis teknikal dari dua partai semi final yang menghadirkan empat tim yang seluruhnya merupakan representasi benua Eropa:

Jerman vs Italia: Italia menang.

Maaf pendukung Jerman. Kiprah tim Anda cuman sampai di sini. Paling tidak demikian apabila kita mengacu pada rekor pertemuan ke dua tim sebelumnya. Baik dari rekor di partai-partai Piala Dunia sebelumnya ataupun pada partai-partai resmi FIFA (termasuk pertandingan persahabatan), Jerman lebih banyak K.O. dari tim Azzurri. Bahkan, Jerman belum pernah menundukkan Italia di Piala Dunia.  (lihat tabel di bawah). Pertemuan terakhir mereka adalah di partai puncak Piala Dunia 1982 di Spanyol. Italia unggul 3-0 terlebih dahulu melalui gol Paolo Rossi, Marco Tardelli dan Alessandro Altobelli, sebelum Paul Breitner mencetak gol hiburan 7 menit sebelum usai.

Tabel 1. Statistik pertemuan Jerman dan Italia di seluruh turnamen dan pertandingan resmi FIFA (termasuk pertandingan persahabatan):

Germany (GER)

Italy (ITA)

Tabel 2. Statistik pertemuan Jerman dan Italia di Piala Dunia saja:

Germany (GER)

Italy (ITA)

Perancis vs Portugal: Perancis menang.

Perancis tidak pernah bertemu dengan Portugal di Piala Dunia sebelumnya. Namun menilik dari statistik pertemuan Perancis dan Portugal di seluruh turnamen dan pertandingan resmi FIFA di bawah ini, Perancis layak diunggulkan. Suatu fakta yang sangat menarik: Perancis tidak pernah kalah dari Portugal di pertemuan mereka sebelumnya. Gamblers and hustlers, bertaruhlah untuk kejayaan Les Blues. Melihat aksi Zidane semalam yang  benar-benar menghibur saya setelah kekalahan Inggris, bisa jadi ini merupakan akhir karir yang amat manis bagi sang maestro. Long live Zizou!

Tabel 3. Statistik pertemuan Perancis dan Portugal di seluruh turnamen dan pertandingan resmi FIFA (termasuk pertandingan persahabatan):

France (FRA)

Portugal (POR)

Bagaimana teman-teman? Sependapat? Tidak setuju? Either way, terima kasih atas sambutan dan komentarnya di blog saya ini. Keep them coming, guys! Mumpung Piala Dunia masih belum selesai!

Di kalangan pialang pasar modal, analisis teknikal, yakni analisis pergerakan harga saham dengan menganalisis data historis dan tren secara statistik, dikenal sebagai pendekatan yang cenderung ’simplistik’ dibandingkan dengan analisis fundamental (yang lebih memperhatikan strategi dan kondisi keuangan perusahaan sebagai pengaruh terbesar akan harga saham).

Dalam memprediksi hasil pertandingan sepakbola, pengamat sepakbola di seluruh dunia juga memegang dua jenis analisis ini. Pengamat ‘fundamental’ akan banyak mencermati kondisi obyektif pemain suatu tim vis-a-vis tim lawan, kondisi cuaca, dukungan penonton yang akan mempengaruhi dan lain-lain. Sedangkan pengamat ‘teknikal’ cenderung mengacu pada hasil pertemuan kedua tim sebelumnya, dan sejarah-sejarah masa lalu yang mungkin relevan, misalnya sejarah pertemuan kedua pelatih, ataupun sejarah penampilan tim tersebut dalam suatu turnamen.

Menarik untuk diamati, kalau di babak perempatfinal yang akan mulai digelar malam nanti, analisis teknikal ini bisa diaplikasikan. Karena 3 dari 4 partai memiliki nilai sejarah yang tinggi. Kalau Anda penggemar sepakbola, pasti masih segar di ingatan Anda mengenai perjumpaan akbar yang pernah terjadi di antara tim-tim ini. Coba kita lihat satu persatu:

Jerman vs Argentina

Siapa yang bisa melupakan Final Piala Dunia 1986 di Meksiko? Maradona menginspirasi Brown dan Valdano untuk mencetak gol yang  membawa Argentina unggul 2-0 atas Jerman (Barat). Meski Rummenigge dan Voeller dapat menyamakan kedudukan, Maradona kembali memberikan assist yang brilyan kepada Burruchaga 7 menit sebelum bubar untuk menghadirkan piala dunia yang ke-2 untuk Argentina.

4 tahun kemudian di Italy 1990, giliran Jerman yang berpesta. Di final piala dunia terburuk sepanjang sejarah, gol penalti Andreas Brehme di menit 84 cukup untuk membawa Jerman unggul atas Argentina 1-0.

Analisis Teknikal: Hasil pertandingan 90 menit seri. Dan Jerman akan unggul pada adu tendangan penalti.

Inggris vs Portugal

Dua tahun yang lalu di Piala Eropa 2004 Portugal, saya pernah menulis artikel berjudul "The Old Adversary is Waiting". Hal ini mengacu pada pertemuan ulang antara Luis Felipe Scolari (pelatih Portugal) dengan Sven Goran Eriksson (pelatih Inggris). Dua tahun sebelumnya, pada ajang Piala Dunia Korea-Jepang 2002, pertemuan kedua pelatih untuk pertama kali dimenangkan oleh Scolari, yang saat itu membesut tim Brazil. Saya meramalkan Eriksson sudah banyak belajar dari kekalahan di Jepang, dan akan sanggup melakukan revans terhadap Scolari. Salah besar. Di Portugal, Scolari lagi-lagi mengungguli Eriksson dalam adu penalti.

Analisis Teknikal: Sedih sekali. Mengacu pada dua pertemuan sebelumnya, Inggris lagi-lagi akan kalah dari tim asuhan Scolari. (Moga-moga tidak hehehe)

Perancis vs Brazil

Misteri tidak fit-nya Ronaldo di final Piala Dunia 1998 di Stade de France, Perancis, masih sering dibicarakan hingga kini. Bermain impresif sepanjang turnamen, dan sedang jaya-jayanya dijuluki sang ‘phenomenon’ (dibandingkan julukan saat ini: ’striker gendut’), Ronaldo secara misterius bermain sangat buruk. Hasilnya dua gol Zidane dan Petit di menit-menit akhir pertandingan membawa Perancis menjuarai Piala Dunia untuk pertama kali di negeri sendiri.

Analisis Teknikal: Perancis menang. Zidane kembali mengungguli Ronaldo?

Italia vs Ukraina??

Nah bagaimana dengan partai Italia vs Ukraina? Yah, karena Ukraina adalah tim debutan di turnamen ini, analisis teknikal tidak bisa dilakukan. Tidak ada data historis! Lagian, siapa yang bilang analisis teknikal bisa dipegang? Analisis fundamental juga terbukti tidak manjur. Apalagi kalau dilakukan oleh pengamat amatiran seperti saya. Lihat tuh, prediksi saya sebelumnya cuman 50% yang bener!

Jadi lagi-lagi kembali pada kesimpulan klasik: ‘bola itu bundar’.

Bisa jadi Inggris dan Eriksson bisa balas dendam dengan Scolari, dan ketemu Jerman di final. Wah ulangan final Piala Dunia tahun 1966 tuh. Persis 40 tahun yang lalu. Dan Inggris waktu itu yang menang… berarti nanti…. analisis teknikal lagi! Hahaha…

Ternyata saya memang tidak bakat meramal hasil pertandingan sepakbola. Untuk prediksi gampang saja (i.e. memprediksi dua tim yang lolos dari grupnya, sesuai dengan ranking), saya hanya memperoleh tingkat ketepatan 50%. Berikut daftar prediksi saya sebelumnya, dan kenyataan yang terjadi: