My last Sunday

This is my last Sunday in Sweden for a while. It feels awkward. I've never liked Sundays anyhow (see any random Sunday-dated post in the archive). The weekend is almost over but I am lucky not to be having any anxiety about an early Monday morning at work tomorrow.
The weekend has been nice. I spent yesterday afternoon at my uncle's. Today I went out for some shopping in Stockholm but I didn't manage to find anything (except for a lovely dark blue coat). But I'm not really in need of a dark blue coat right now.

Sweden played against Albania in Tirana in the WC2010 qualification campaign last night and the game ended with a draw. It's a tough group and I sincerely hope that this draw won't turn out to be crucial by the end of the campaign.


Iran tied against Saudi Arabia away in Riyadh last night. The final score was 1-1 and I guess it's a fair result, considering the fact that Saudi Arabia is one of Asia's powerhouses in football. I am not very optimistic about the outcome of Iran's qualification campaign for the World Cup finals in South Africa in a little less than 2 years. Unless players such as Javad Nekounam (the tireless midfielder from Spanish outfits Osasuna who scored the late equalizer last night), Masoud Shojaei (the new Ali Karimi, another creative and technically gifted midfielder who recently joined Osasuna too) and of course, the whole defensive line perform well.
Speaking of Iranian football, a bomb hit the Mid-East. Ali Karimi returns to Tehran to play for his old club Perspolis. He is reaching his thirties and will not improve anymore as a football player physically (perhaps tactically but honestly, that has never been a strength among Iranian footballers). He has already shown the world the talent he holds, but he has at the same time shown the world the lack of professional attitude in his personality, and therefor I don't see why he shouldn't come home. I mean sure, he would probably make more money in Qatar (where he has been playing since after the World Cup finals two years ago) or in the Emirates. But now that he's back in Iran, he can help the domestic football and inspire youngsters to try to reach the same heights as he once did with Bayern München.
One obvious difference now is that he won't have to play before 500 towel heads every week. A Tehran derby attracts some 100000 spectators to Azadi Stadium and was recently listed among the 50 most prestigious games in the world by World Soccer (El Clasíco, the Milan derby and several other big games were also listed there).

Thank you for reading.

Massoud Shojaei joins Osasuna

New week, new challenges. I had a long and pleasant weekend. It was really difficult to get up this morning. I had no break after my last exams and I am starting to feel pretty tired. I wouldn't mind to take a few weeks off and getting the fuck out of town, somewhere peaceful and quiet. No Aiya Napa or Ibiza kind of place in other words...

Anyway, here I am, and I have to accept that fact. Even though it's Monday, it's raining and even though I'm tired.

The guy on the picture above is Massoud Shojaei from Iran. He will be playing with the Spanish side Osasuna next season. I remember when he bloomed out a little more than two years ago in some youth tournament. He was compared with our at that time biggest star Ali Karimi. They are very similar and both very technically gifted. Let's see if Massoud can make an impression in Prímera Division next season. He will be playing alongside one of my favorite players (Javad Nekounam, another Iranian midfielder) and hopefully he will be able to establish a professional career in Europe. He has the skills to do so. His mind is the only thing that could stop him from becoming a successful Asian player on the European football scene. They are not that many at the moment...