Aki Riihilahti played for Crystal Palace between 2001 and 2006. During those 5 years the Finnish international footballer established himself as a firm fan favourite and cult figure. As a defensive midfielder he was never the team's biggest 'star' (I put 'star' in inverted commas because apart from an exilerating few months with Steve Bruce as manager the following few seasons were spent under the tergid watch of Trevor Francis). Riihilahti however, perhaps because of the general rubbishness of the club, stood out as a hard working player who was absolutely committed to the club, the sort of player that the fan's would have wanted to be, the one always chasing the ball and running tirelessly. He was however,more than a workhorse, whilst generally going about his business in a quiet, understated way he had the quality and the ability befitting someone capped more than 60 times for his country and had a penchant for attempting long-distance shots on goal.
Big as his personality was on the pitch, it was even bigger off it. Aki became famous for his personal website which featured regular blog postings on life and the universe written in charmingly imperfect English. These regular musings were soon picked up on by The Times who handed Riihilahti a regular column in their sports section.
Despite the huge number of players that have come and gone over the last 8 years i'm certain that Riihilahti is one that nearly all Palace fans will remember especially and have their own particular fond memories of. For me Aki will always be remembered most for this goal (I was sitting behind the goal).
Aki Pasinpoika Riihilahti, the footballer, the writer, the legend.
Wednesday 29 April 2009
Friday 24 April 2009
The Great Names of Dutch Football
The Dutch give us great football, the games against France and Italy were two of the stand-out games of last summer's Euro 2008 tournament for example. However, as well as the sublime skills some of their footballers also posess great, old-fashioned names. Off the top of my head here are some of the best from the '90s to the present day:
FRANK de Boer
NIGEL de Jong
WESLEY Sneijder (above)
ROBIN van Perse
CLARENCE Seedorf
EDWIN van der Sar (above)
EDGAR Davids
ARTHUR Numan
WINSTON Bogarde (above)
DENNIS Bergkamp
FRANK de Boer
NIGEL de Jong
WESLEY Sneijder (above)
ROBIN van Perse
CLARENCE Seedorf
EDWIN van der Sar (above)
EDGAR Davids
ARTHUR Numan
WINSTON Bogarde (above)
DENNIS Bergkamp
Wednesday 22 April 2009
Scottish football: Can't win with the Old Firm, can't win without them
Scottish football is stuck in an intractable mire. Rangers and Celtic dominate the money, support and trophies resulting in a deeply uncompetitive and roundly mocked league where no one else really need bother trying. For years Celtic and Rangers have been trying to join the English Premier League (depending on whether you are a cynic or an optimist the motive is either to get a share of the vast pot of TV money or to enjoy genuine competition). In his blog Chick Young counters the idea that the departure of the Old Firm would reinvigorate the Scottish League for the remaining clubs, fearing it could have the opposite effect.
Thursday 16 April 2009
Corrie and the State of Faith
Ofcom has received about 100 complaints after a character in the soap-opera Coronation Street made 'anti-Christian' remarks during the Easter Sunday edition of the show.
Now I'll make it very clear from the outset that I did not watch the episode in question, and so I don't wish to comment on the specific details of the show. While I find it alarming that people feel 'offended' enough to make a formal complaint to a regulatory body about a character expressing his atheism in a soap opera ( a show which by it's very nature intends to reflect the varying views, problems and lives of contemporary British society) I also do not want to dwell on the validity of their 'offense' in this express circumstance.
What occurred to me most when reflecting on the significance of this story is the question: What does the individuals' need to complain about people expressing religious views that differ from their own say about the status of that person's faith? Indeed, perhaps their need to complain reflected the weakness and uncertainty of their faith rather than it's strength and conviction.
Challenges to Christian orthodoxy are nothing new. Since the founding of the Catholic Church in Rome the movement has schismed and factioned into a number of mainstream churches and countless smaller ones. Christian then, have always had to live with challenges and different interpretations of their faith from those of other faiths, Christians of other persuasions and the non-religious.
Exposure to other opinions is healthy for it stimulates reflection and greater understanding. Indeed what is the value of a person's faith if it cannot withstand criticism, either considered or vehement? Surely someone of strong faith who has utter conviction in what they believe has no need to feel threatened by differing opinions because, in they're heart they are absolutely certain that they are doing the right thing. Those who are secretly questioning their faith, who are unsure that they are on the right path are the one's more likely to feel defensive and 'offended', because although they might not want to admit it, the questions voiced by the actor in the TV show are the same questions they are asking themselves and to which they are struggling to provide satisfactory counter-arguments.
Instead of jumping up and down on their sofas, perhaps people should think about why they were offended and reflect on what it means for the state of their faith.
Now I'll make it very clear from the outset that I did not watch the episode in question, and so I don't wish to comment on the specific details of the show. While I find it alarming that people feel 'offended' enough to make a formal complaint to a regulatory body about a character expressing his atheism in a soap opera ( a show which by it's very nature intends to reflect the varying views, problems and lives of contemporary British society) I also do not want to dwell on the validity of their 'offense' in this express circumstance.
What occurred to me most when reflecting on the significance of this story is the question: What does the individuals' need to complain about people expressing religious views that differ from their own say about the status of that person's faith? Indeed, perhaps their need to complain reflected the weakness and uncertainty of their faith rather than it's strength and conviction.
Challenges to Christian orthodoxy are nothing new. Since the founding of the Catholic Church in Rome the movement has schismed and factioned into a number of mainstream churches and countless smaller ones. Christian then, have always had to live with challenges and different interpretations of their faith from those of other faiths, Christians of other persuasions and the non-religious.
Exposure to other opinions is healthy for it stimulates reflection and greater understanding. Indeed what is the value of a person's faith if it cannot withstand criticism, either considered or vehement? Surely someone of strong faith who has utter conviction in what they believe has no need to feel threatened by differing opinions because, in they're heart they are absolutely certain that they are doing the right thing. Those who are secretly questioning their faith, who are unsure that they are on the right path are the one's more likely to feel defensive and 'offended', because although they might not want to admit it, the questions voiced by the actor in the TV show are the same questions they are asking themselves and to which they are struggling to provide satisfactory counter-arguments.
Instead of jumping up and down on their sofas, perhaps people should think about why they were offended and reflect on what it means for the state of their faith.
Monday 13 April 2009
I love President Bartlet!
The West Wing, Series 3 finale:
President Bartlet bumps into his election rival Governor Ritchie at the theatre. They converse and Bartlet tells Ritchie that a leading Secret Service operative has just died after inadvertantly walking into an armed robbery at a corner store. Ritchie responds to the news "Crime. Boy, I don't know".
As Bartlet leaves the room he turns to Ritchie and says:
"In the future, if you're wondering, "Crime. Boy, I don't know" is when I decided to kick your ass."
He then casually tosses his cigarette lighter to the waiting attendant and walks back into the auditorium.
If you have never seen The West Wing do yourself a favour and splash out £50 for the complete 7 series box set. There's no way you could regret it!
President Bartlet bumps into his election rival Governor Ritchie at the theatre. They converse and Bartlet tells Ritchie that a leading Secret Service operative has just died after inadvertantly walking into an armed robbery at a corner store. Ritchie responds to the news "Crime. Boy, I don't know".
As Bartlet leaves the room he turns to Ritchie and says:
"In the future, if you're wondering, "Crime. Boy, I don't know" is when I decided to kick your ass."
He then casually tosses his cigarette lighter to the waiting attendant and walks back into the auditorium.
If you have never seen The West Wing do yourself a favour and splash out £50 for the complete 7 series box set. There's no way you could regret it!
1 own-goal, 2 disallowed goals and a Messi missed penalty - a vist to Camp Nou
After many years of abstract talk my brother and I finally booked flights to watch a game at Camp Nou, the home of FC Barcelona. We were in the city for 3 days and of course we spent a lot of time exploring the work of Gaudi, visiting museums and just generally walking around looking at things wonderful, strange and curious. The football, however, was the highlight of the trip. The city's artifacts and buildings are wonderful and incredibly inspiring, but there is something so visceral about seeing one of the world's greatest teams in one of the world's greatest stadiums.It wasn't the best performance from Barcelona this season - a 2 vs 0 victory against Recreativo, but with a goal after 45 seconds, an own-goal, a goal disallowed for both teams and Messi, possibly the greatest player in the world missing a penalty it was always exciting.
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