"Intro" from the past

DA SB-LC EXPERIENCE (Finale)
What I like about working in SB-LC was the fun atmosphere that was created from the partners and managers. Most of the times, due to that, i don't really feel like I was working. The best part was that all of them, while having fun at the same time, continuosly produce the best customer service and maintain high standards in their work.

I'd say Rae and Eric Woo were the best managers to work with. Though they are strict, most of the times, they just join in the fun that the partners were having while working. In other words they can just be like one of the partners.

And of course who won't enjoy working when you have partners like the crappy Andi, the playful Rajis and the zany Leonard around. Also the farty David, who's always fun to bully..Not forgetting the hardworking Minah Maria, Christine, Aliza, Marlynn, Dilah, Azlin..with them around, you won't have to worry bout anything.

Though there were some politics here and there but in the end, everything was sorted out. We were quite a close-knit team.

There were some memorable regular customers too. There was the family of 4 in the mornings who always came with thier cute kid. There was the Bone-Dry Cappucinno French lady, the Hooters girl, the really beautiful "caramel machiatto" Jap lady, the girls working at crazy elephant, the weird american guy, the big boss of some big name business company...err, all whose names i've forgotten. Then also the continous flow of japanese tourists who pronounce "F" as "H". So "coff-ee" becomes "co-hhee".

From the experience, I managed to see the "bad side" of Singaporeans. They can be really petty. The foreigners are most pleasing to have as customers with their friendly and easygoing nature. Normally, most of the complaints would surface from proud, rich, stuck-up Singaporeans especially those aunties and ah-peks from the smallest fault u can have like the drink is too hot, the service is too slow(though it is understandably peak period and there are others waiting patiently before them who have no complaints), the cappucino have too little milk! Well, the cappucino IS like that, half milk, half foam..what do you expect! The thing is, they don't even know what a capucinno is in the first place!

Well there are more stories like the day the story of the "kerepek" was born out of my kan-chiongness but that would take up 2 more parts i think.

Anyway, all good things must come to an end. In 2003, I had a bike accident which puts me off for ard 5 months! When I came back, the whole management had changed and the most of the old partners have left SB-LC. I was discouraged further when I was told by the latest manager then that my resignation papers were already set, while I didn't even discussed with her bout resigning in the first place! And that was the final blow.

I learned a lot from the whole episode. In the end, the 2 most feared stations, the Lamazoco bar and Counter became my favourite stations to work in. I also improved in my self-confidence and overcame the fear of interacting with people. As a result, I had no problems adapting to new work environments.

I'm really glad I took that fateful interview and had the SB-LC experience.

Posted on Tuesday, 17 May 2005 at 09:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)




DA SB-LC EXPERIENCE (part deux)
And so work began. It wasn't really a full day work initially. The way it works is that you'll go step-by-step for each and every station to be specifically trained on it for the day. That would make the learning process of the job easier and more thorough.

Thinking bout my training period back then, I was super blur and kan-chiong. But it was a fun learning process, minus the lecturing from supervisors of course.

Initially, for the first few stations, I did ok..then comes the "harder" stations.. *drumroll* my top 2 hardest stations during training..
2) the counter and drink calling
1) the Lamazoco station!!(the backbone of the whole area where u pull out the espresso shots and steam milk)

The counter(or pos as they call it). This was really hard for me initially as I've to take each and every order with cool, friendly interaction with the customer and making him/her feel at ease and sending out the orders within a short period less than 2-3 mins.

The problem was my nervous nature then when interacting with strangers then and my kanchiong-ness to keep up to the time to send out orders. In addition to that, you have to call out the drinks to your other partners following the way it has been set. Initially its hard to process the customers orders for drink calling, for example,

Customer: Can I have 2 lattes and 1 cappucino.. 1 latte with hazelnut and no foam, the other with almond syrup...hmm, do you make decaf? if yes can i have the almond with decaf.. then, for the cappucino, i'd like it with more foam than normal...

Trainee Me: *In a daze* err..(calling out the drinks) dry cappucino...

Lamazoco partner: Recall!! (happens when u call out the drink wrongly)

Customer: Oh i'd like to have it here...

Trainee Me: oh ok... for here dry cappucino, 2 latte..one no-foam hazelnt latte, one almond decaf latte

Lamazoco partner: Recall!! (not really helping)

Trainee Me: (Beads of perspiration start to appear)

Customer: (Getting agitated)

Lunch queue gets longer, other customers start folding arms

Lamazoco partner: (Finally helping) what size??

Trainee Me: For here dry cappucino, for here...ouu..sir, what size would you like for the drinks?

Customer: Its tall for the lattes and grande for the cappucino (sounding as if he has said it before)

Lamazoco partner: Call out how many drinks first..

Tranee Me: 3 drinks, 1 cappucino, 2 lattes...for here grande dry cappucino, for here tall no-foam hazelnut latte, for here tall decaf almond latte..

This time all the drinks were finally in order and the bar has start making the drinks until...

Customer: Er, can I have them with low-fat milk too?

Yea.. Thats the worse case scenario..and it happens too when ur still learning as a trainee. So I had to learn from scratch. The time taken for the scenario above would be more than 5 mins which is really very2 slow for the service. But with such situations happening, it does makes u learn a lot faster.

Next is the Lamazoco Bar. Here, once the orders start coming in, its really tough. You have to complete the drinks within 2-3 mins. And its good if you interact with the customers too. And the problem starts when u dun get the right espresso shots to make the coffee. You have to keep going at it till u get the "perfect shot". In addition, to that, you have to steam milk and prepare just the right amount of milk and not waste much esp. when the supervisors are watching. With my kanchiong-ness back then as described above during the pos station, you could imagine how disastrous it was. Well wont go into details..hahah...(to be cont)

Posted on Tuesday, 17 May 2005 at 06:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)




THE LIANG COURT STARBUCKS EXPERIENCE (PART ONE)
Of all my past part-time job experiences, one of the most memorable ones was working at Starbucks - Liang Court outlet(for those who,"huh? Liang court??!" - Its located at the Clark Quay area). Well there was another memorable one at Tops supermarket where I worked as a fishmonger but thats another story altogether.

My whole experience was really great. It was the only job so far which I look forward to go for almost every shift.

I could still remember that fateful day when I decided to apply for a job as a barista. Then, I was really interested to work behind the counter, to learn how to make a nice if not perfect cup of coffee, to improve my fear of interacting with people. I was kinda challenging myself to take up the job. Back then, even the thought of going for a job interview gives me the jitters. Yeah, it was that bad.

And so, with that tiny bit of info from the small advertisement in the New Paper I set off for Starbucks Raffles City for the open interview. Before that, I heard rumours that it was quite hard to pass the interview but I received assurance from some friends who were already in Starbucks to just be myself and it'll be k.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the store. Timidly, I told one of the staff that I was there for an interview. Thoughts were ringing in my head,"Cmon! You can do better than that!? Its not even the interview!!" So I decided there and then that I had to brush away the timid and nervousness that was oozing out of me instead of a hint of confidence. I would be killing off my own chances if I stayed like that. So what did I do? I just gave the best smile I could muster. All the way, I was smiling like an idiot.

But I guess fortunately due to that, it worked out. The person who interviewed me wasn't the manager from Raffles City but Liang Court. The Raffles City manager was caught up with something and the LC manager happened to be there as well to bolster new baristas for her store. Her name was Rae. Or was it spelled ray? Anyway, she interviewed me for about 30 mins!! Asked questions like where have I worked where customer service was applied, what did I do to ensure the customer was satisfied. why did I want to join starbucks? and a few more questions. I remembered telling her bout my fishmonger experience and noticed that she perked up a little after that. Before the end of the interview, she asked whether I would mind working at Liang Court and said that she'll call me soon. That gave me a hint that I may be hired. She also end off telling me to keep on smiling but to control my smile..look in the mirror and practice a nice smile... hahah, yea, i must have smiled like an idiot.

About a week after, my appointment was confirmed and by sheer stroke of luck, I went to Liang Court instead of Raffles City. I probably won't enjoy my working experience if I had worked at Raffles City. I found out much later that Raffles City was one of the worst starbucks stores to work in.

About a week after, I was told to go to Liat Towers for a month of training on the basics of being a starbucks barista and lil' bit on customer service and its history and vision. I thought the thorough training that they provided was great and really helpful. I guess thats how the company maintain thier high standards within their service all over the globe.

Finally, with that little bit of knowledge at hand, it was time to go practical. And i must say it was a quite a disastrous start...(to be continued)

Posted on Tuesday, 17 May 2005 at 02:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)




THE ENERGIZER
I felt really sleepy in the office. With the cold weather making the office air-con even cooler, it was really tempting to find a hidden spot somewhere to just lay back and have a "power nap".(power naps - a deep breathing method of sleeping for ard 15 mins which could make u feel awake instantly)

Then I suddenly remembered. Some of my colleagues from another department had booked the X-box station at a chill out corner located somewhere in this building i'm working in. And so, using coffee break time, I headed down for a "short visit".

After 2 rounds of FIFA soccer game on the X-box I went back to office. (Luckily its only FIFA soccer, if it was Winning Eleven..thats it lah.) And I came back totally refreshed!! Much better than I would be if I had taken a nap or go for a coffee break. Its as though all the sensors on my body switched to high alert mode. Hahah. It always amazes me the effect games has on me. My instant energizer.

Posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2005 at 02:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)




RELATIONSHIPS?
The Islamic concept on love is that it happens only after marraige. For muslims, the interaction between a guy and a girl must have boundaries.

Yeaa. Thats what I believe in. Sadly, most malay muslims nowadays do not practice this or do not even know about this due to lack of knowledge on Islam.

Why is this so? Why does Allah(S.W.T) set this kind of rule? The truth is, only He would know. But, though Not all relationships end up for the worse, the bad consequences of falling in love before marraige or having no boundaries in the interaction between a guy and a girl are clearly there for all to see.

Rising number of abortions. Shotgun marraiges. Divorces. Babies born out of wed-lock. Rape. Casual sex - HIV. It all leads to sex doesn't it? Again, Not all lah but still happens. Who suffers in the end? The innocent child born.

And the future generation. Why do I say so?

Suppose a child is born into a young family. The father is a school drop out. The mother have "O" levels only. They are both highschool sweethearts who were forced to marry to cover the shame of a child to be born out of wed-lock. With the type of education they have, they could only get low income jobs. IF the father is responsible, they would probably do ok. IF not, the family would most probably be full of cracks. The child, having parents with poor conduct,would most probably be brought up and become the same way as their parents, or maybe even worse with all the family problems he/she faces. And the cycle continues throughout the generations for the worse.

Although this is just my own scenario, do we have such cases happening for the past 10-15 years? Do we have kids who grow up to have worse "akhlak"(attitude, personality?) than their parents due to these kind of situations? The answer is YES. And sadly, the numbers are rising.

And all of this arise just from "normal" casual relationships which are actually influences from the west. And once again, of course, not all lah.. But still happens rite?

So yeah..something to ponder.

Posted on Sunday, 08 May 2005 at 09:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)




ROCKPILLAR'S FIRST DAY OUT
Last Sat managed to go Climb Asia. Tried out the new climbing shoes. So far still feel a little uncomfortable cos the shoe havent taken the shape of my feet. And phew, it takes ages before I was able to slip them in.

For those non-climbers out there, just for your info, climbing shoes are not like your normal sized shoes. For the regulars, they normally use 1 1/2 to 2 size lower than normal. The purpose is to enable stepping on small and steep edges better while climbing. Yea, of course its painful but you only use them while climbing and so far after bout 6-7 years of climbing, my feet is not deformed, still the same ol' feet.. so i think its k lah. Any climbers who suffered from deformed feet, pls feel free to share ur "tragic" experience aite.

Anyway, i feel the shoes are good and comfy. Similar to Sportiva Miura. And if you compare to others with a similar design its much cheaper.

As expected, all the finger strength and endurance are gone. Just a month+ of not climbing and all gone. Hmm, but i think i'll be ok after a month. SP wall opening in 2-3 weeks..cant wait! (",)


Posted on Sunday, 08 May 2005 at 09:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)




PHRA NANG MEMORIES
I've finally got the Rockpillar shoes I ordered last sat. Yay. It looks really good with Vibram soles(Vibram? look below) and all. Havent got the chance to test them out on the wall yet. Its now been a month+ since I last climbed. Definitely will have to go back to basics to regain the lost fitness. The good thing is that my finger tendon injury is about 98.736% healed now.

If time permits, I'm gonna head down to ClimbAsia this Saturday. Oh, I had to sit out on this year's Thailand trip due to some other commitments. Quite a number of SP climbers are now at Phra Nang, Thailand. Haiz, envy them.

I can still picture in my head moments of the time I was there. Back then, it was an adventure. I stayed for 2 1/2 weeks with only $200 dollars!! Cheap cheap. There were about 7 of us bunking in a chalet. Budget lah. Every morning, we'd go out to climb except when it rained and when our bodies were aching too much that we cant climb anymore. Hahah, pure madness.. just fun and hardcore climbing.

On our rest days, we'd chill out at the beach or venture around the island to mingle with the ever friendly locals. The food was superb. It was easy to get food as its a muslim community and all the restaurants are halal and cheap. Due to our tight budget, some of us also cooked. That really saved a lot of money and I actually managed to spend on little sumptuous treats almost daily like the banana prata topped with all kinds of sweet stuff and Magnum ice cream which was about 80 cents there compared to $2.40 in Singapore.

Then there was the canoeing incident when the 6 of us with our own solo canoes, with no safety vest paddled across the ocean to an island which we thought was not so far away. It was a very spontaneous affair. We didn't really ask around how far the island was. Most of us were like,"Can lah, not so far...anyway we have to check it out..looks like a great beach from here". Two of us didn't even know how to swim!

By the time we got there, we were totally drained. We took nearly 2 hours or so. Some of us were actually on our knees, crawling up the beach as if we were castaways who just found land. Anyway, the island was really beautiful. The beach was like the best i've ever seen. Crystal clear water and a great shoreline. It was just too bad that we were not in a good condition to enjoy it.

We had no food and our hunger was unbearable. We only brought plain water along. We tried looking for fruits but only found a pile of old coconuts. And a goat beside it. Just one goat. After a while, all of us were like eyeing the goat. Then, one of us voiced out, "Hey, anyone have a knife?". "Err no...but I have a lighter!?" replied another. That cracked everyone up! Then another guy cant stand the hunger anymore and tried to force open an old coconut. Somehow, with sheer willpower, he managed to do so. And so, we had some hardened coconut fruit. It tasted like the coconut my mum normally used for cooking. Then we realised that we only had about 1 1/2 hours before the whole area became dark.

Suddenly, a boat passed the island nearby. We were desperate. Like madmen, we waved our arms frantically towards the direction of the boat hoping that it would be our ticket back to the main island. It actually worked! One of us managed to convince the boatman to bring back all of us including the canoes back to mainland with a promised $500 baht. The boat ride itself was around 40 mins long! Only then we knew how far it was.

We received weird stares and even became the laughing stock for some when the boat arrived packed with the 6 prominant canoes. But we didn't care, we were just relieved to be able to make it back safely.

Hmm, I don't know about the others but I'm really glad that such an event happened. It just makes life more interesting.

So yea, this was just one of the few adventures I had at Phra Nang. There were a couple more incidents but I gotta knock off now. Yea, it was a blast back then. hahah..

(Hmm, what is Vibram? The Vibram company is a dedicated team of professionals that produces high quality soles for sports. Their roots go back to mountain climbing. Its really crazy the way they designed the soles. Very detailed and almost to perfection with their thorough research and tests before producing the soles. You can check them out at vibram.com)

Posted on Thursday, 05 May 2005 at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)




Final-LY!!!
This is really unbelievable. Liverpool are through to the finals of Champions League. Against all odds.

In my books, Rafa Benitez's status have just been elevated to the level of a legend. In just one season, he managed to inspire a makeshift team from a previous French revolution to perform at the highest level to reach the Finals of the most prestegious tournament in European soccer.

Only in the first season and already, his few signings have been making a great impact and influence on the whole team. More prominantly for now, the electric Luis Garcia. He's scored important goals for the team in the Champions League run and he scored the match winner. And look at how Carragher have been utilised this season. It made him become one of the best central defenders in England. He's undeniably Liverpool's most valuable player this season. An unsung hero.

Even with numerous injuries throughout the season, one of the worst, Rafa never used it as an excuse. He just believed in the whole Liverpool squad. One thing I love about his management is the way he hit out on his own team when they don't perform. Unlike his predecessor, always protecting the players, giving 101 excuses and keep turning a corner. In the end, ended up going in circles back to square one.

Another thing that's memorable this season was when his own assistant, Pako, declared that this term have been a poor season for Liverpool despite then, Liverpool reaching a cup final and a semi-final place in Champions League. That shows that they are high achievers.. winners.

I'm waiting patiently and gleefully for the end of the season when I'm sure big changes will be made with the topped up financial reserves from the competition's adventure. More signings will be made and the Liverpool squad will slowly make a transition to suit the manager's preferences more. Its inevitable, The Liverpool Rafalution is on the way.

Can Liverpool win the Champions League? Most probably against Milan in the Finals. Hmm Shevchenko, Kaka, Gattuso, Maldini, Crespo..After overcoming good teams with big signings like Juventus and Chelsea..Why not?

In Benitez's own words,"If Milan is the team we will try." In Rafa we trust.

Posted on Tuesday, 03 May 2005 at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)



SIMPLE WEEKEND.
Its the weekends! And I have no idea what to do. Hmm, I guess I kinda have some vague idea what I'll be doing. Put it simply in 3 words.. soccer, read, PS2. Aaah, thats life..

Caught Joey yesterday, a spin-off from Friends based one of my favourite characters on Friends apart from Chandler, Joey. The show was okay, the other characters didn't or havent really stood out but just with joey's antics, it was enough for a nice laughing session for that short 30 mins.

Posted on Friday, 22 April 2005 at 02:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)




THROUGH!
sleep disturbed by annoying hp alarm

time: 0235 hrs

switched on the tv.

friends!!?? the part where chandler had to leave for work in another city. and joey sulking..hahah.

time:0245 hrs

juv vs liv begins

alonso starts! good omen for victory.

ibrahimovic's through, but offside

shot by ibramihovic from just in front of goal, sky high

first relief

tired eyes, sleepy mode

saw cockroack, spray, chased, spray

more awake now.

half-time..halfway there

traore keep giving ball away, idert.

baros through.. one-on-one with keeper..just wide

heartbeat calms

cisse gets to play!

heartbeat throbbing, cannavaro's header hit the post! scrambled away

5 mins left, bites fingernails,

cisse through! cut out by defender

solid defence, professional team display,

juve unable to break down liverpool, draw ensued

liverpool through to the semis

ecstatic celebration

time: 5am

work later, sleep deprived, @##@$!@!#%&^##$!!!

Posted on Wednesday, 13 April 2005 at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
silly ol' me
came back from a jog at the gym. left my pass on the table. took the toiletries from the bag. went for a shower. refreshed, feeling good. headed back to the office. no pass. shiat. aahh, can call office. no one at the office. more shiat. headed back to the toilet. left a crack open. heard footsteps. pretended that i just came out. saw makcik. smiled at makcik. asked the makcik if she could open the door for me. thank makcik. back to office. phew.

Posted on Monday, 11 April 2005 at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)




The NS slacker
Almost every guy I know dread the day when a letter from the govenment arrives in their letterbox which states boldly "on government service"..maybe except for some health freak who savours the pain and torture from doing vigorous exercise(i know some people from dragonboat who's like that..erk!)

Knowing they're about to finish poly/jc/ite or already in their "liberated, free man" status, most could instantly guess the contents of the letter.

Some would leave the letter for a few days before opening, others would open on the spot and some others would have no choice - their ever eager and curious parents already opened the letter for them. And with a resigned expression and feeling, they'd stare blankly to a far away distance and thought," Thats it lah, I belong to the government now for 2 1/2 years." At least thats how I felt then. Heh.

And so they would go to their respective posts which were already decided for them. The Police Force(mata-mata), Civil Defence(merata-rata) and Army(matilah-mati). Some say the decision lies in their fitness, some say in the IQ test results and there's even rumours that son's of government officials can go anywhere they like.

Most I know would rank Police NS as the best to go to followed by civil defence and lastly, The Army. Why is this so? Well, its the most slack out of the 3 during basic training, u don't have to stay in-camp after u completed the basic training, girls dig men in blue, and u have a bigger chance of working just like a civilian - 830-6. To put it simply, its a slackers' haven.

For me, I was one of those vying for these few slack posts. I'm in Pes C to begin with due to a medical history about my leg which involved a freak motorcycle accident. When you're a Pes C, you're unfit for all frontline duties, which meant that I'll definitely be doing a deskbound job. Being categorised as Pes C has already given me the idea that I wont be able to contribute much, so might as well hope that I'll have a duty that will give me lots of free time. It was even better when I found out I was filtered to the police force! The slackest of all. After basic training, I went for interviews to some departments hoping to be selected so that I wont be burdened by the heavy office workload thats normal at police posts or divisions. And I was accepted into one of the departments.

Somehow managed to escape a lot of crap that others have to endure throughout their 2 1/2 years. Currently, I've quite a lot of time on my side while doing NS at the same. Even able to read books while at work. Hmm, gotta utilise the time more. I guess this is the only period that I'll have as much free time on my side.


Posted on Monday, 11 April 2005 at 02:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)




STUFF TO DO

Woohoo its the weekends. I've a couple of stuff to do but so far procrastination has got the better of me. Hmm, still figuring out ways and means how to fight off this laziness. If only its the other way round. Ya know..well, like if I could put the same amount of excitement and focus when playing PS2 into studying. Hahah, ya right, i'm gonna gain superhuman strength like spiderman when some mutant spider bites me later - it wont happen.

I havent been climbing for around 2 weeks now. I think the rockpillar shoes i ordered should be available by now, hmm, let me check through yazid. Aiseyy, not picking up the phone. K la, I'm gonna pay a visit to Climb Asia later. As for the stuff I have to do.. If I can finish it now then I'll go to climb asia..how's that? naaaaah.

Not going to Climb Asia. Called them up to inquire bout the shoes, they'll only arrive on the 24 April. That will give me more free time to finish my stuff huh? Yea..suddenly, within a few minutes and some phonecalls and msgs even msns, i'll be meeting rizal and zai later @ Orchard. Just like that. Sorry stuff, i'll think about you again tomorrow morning.


Posted on Friday, 08 April 2005 at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)




PONDER THIS!
I saw this somewhere on a notice board today.

Do not look back and grieve over the past,

For it is gone..

Do not be troubled about the future,

For it has yet to come..

Live in the present and make it so beautiful

that it would be worth remembering.

also came across another while staring out of the bus..

dream as if you're living forever, live everyday as if its your last..

yea, something to ponder.


Posted on Thursday, 07 April 2005 at 08:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)




EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY
Was on the bus on the way home. As I stared outside while enjoying a dose of thrice music, something caught my eye. A pretty chic was standing at the bus stop. She smiled to her friend.. woah, what a great smile, she flicks her silky flowing hair, woah.. Then suddenly, she lit a cigarette. Thats it lah. What a turn off.

It seems more and more pretty ladies are lighting up nowadays. Try going near them and breathe normally. There'll be a lingering smoker smell attached to them. What are the benefits smoking? Here it is, it drains your money, it causes health problems, you affect the others more than yourself when they breathe in the smoke you emit, it causes bad breath and the list goes on...Actually I cant think of any good ones. Maybe because its hip? Look macho? give u a sense belonging to smoker friends? give u a high? Well whatever it is, its not worth it. Especially for pretty ladies.

Zai passed me a link to a band called Explosions In the Sky. Currently listening to it. Its instrumental. Its dope. Check out their video. http://www.rectangular.org/explosions/video.htm

Posted on Wednesday, 06 April 2005 at 06:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)




ADVANTAGE LIVERPOOL
Yesterday, the Liv vs Juve match was entertaining with lots of attacking play by both sides. Liverpool were totally dominant in the first half but slackened towards the end. Watching the game in the first half, i was in awe of the way liverpool played. Kudos to Rafa Benitez and his continous reshaping of the Liverpool team. Luis Garcia was excellent. He has always tried spectacular shots on goal and yesterday, he pulled one off. His volleyed goal was sublime. However, the 2nd half shows the erratic form of the current squad. They made their heroics in the earlier half forgettable. Luckily the defense was resolute and only a slight glitch by the keeper enabled Juve to come back with a goal. In the end the score was 2-1.

The match brings significance due the 1985 Heysel tragedy. Some minority drunk liverpool fans caused trouble back then resulting in the death of 39 Juve fans. LFC were subsequently banned for six years from all european competitions. It was only now that these 2 teams met again since then. Before kickoff, a one minute silence was held and the Kop end displayed a mosaic which read 'Amicizia' - Italian for friendship - which was particularly touching.

Most Juve fans applauded the gesture, but not all of them seemed to appreciate the message of reconciliation. Some turned their backs on the display and the simmering animosity means there could be some hostility for the return leg in Turin next Wednesday - especially if Juve cannot overturn their 2-1 first leg deficit.

Posted on Wednesday, 06 April 2005 at 01:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)