Porsche vs Ferrari

which is better? orange or apple? apple or android? cars or motorcycles? questions like these have haunted minds of people all around the world for centuries, brilliant of foolish alike. each have their own preferences and debate endlessly while the rest of the world who just don't care either watch in amusement or mind their own business. a few days back a friend of mine engaged me in one of those classic questions on facebook and to avoid being a digital clown on the internet and essentially spamming notifications on those who have unfortunately forgotten to unsubscribe from that post, i've moved the argument here, on a blog that no one actually bothers to read. the famous question is this: porsche or ferrari?

this is a question that haven't been around too long, only a couple of decades, but it will continue to bug car fans until flying vehicles like those in star wars appear. anyway, on to the eternal debate:

firstly, let me state that my respect for porsche is boundless and it is not for no reason that they are one of the top names in the vast world of automobile manufacturers. i like the way the germans try to make everything as cost effective as possible. the statement from some porsche fans that say that porsche have the highest power delivery to fuel consumption ratio might be slightly over the top, but their achievements and their ability to manufacture great cars are doubtless. they are the symbol of typical german realism and engineering excellence.

 

but that is also why i respect, but don't love them. because to be realistic means not to dream too much, and i like dreaming. as opposed to their german rivals, the red stallions are flamboyant, ignorant, and mad. they don't want to be in the top of charts, but to have their posters pinned on every child's walls. they are no law-obeying loyalties, but wild souls that don't like to be bounded by senseless (to them anyway) restrictions. they pay no attention to the polar-bear-lovers and tree huggers and just want to burn all depleting sources of petrol and leave a cloud of smoke of burned rubber in their wake. in place of common sense, ferrari have passion.

   

at this point i will concede that one of my only source of reference is Top Gear UK, the british automotive show hosted by 3 crazy blokes who love cars.some of you might say that it is unfair to do that and you are right. however, since every other show is either too factual to be any interesting or just downright horrible i shall ignore all of you.

anyway, there you go. porsche vs ferrari. germany vs italy. common sense and realism vs passion and madness. 

ferrari is mad. they are insane and irrational. but that's the point. while porsche wants to please their customers, ferrari just ignore them. if you demand them to build a car that the community wants or a car that is eco-friendly, they'll just ask you to bugger off and annoy somebody else. they are uncompromising. they are true to their own philosophy cast all other opinions away.enzo ferrari, founder of, ferrari, even rejected a proposal by a man who eventually founded Lamborghini (which i think is a mistake). even the latest FF, which they say will suit the demand of the people by being a hatchback and has 4WD and hence, usable everyday, has a V12 in it. a V12! why would you want something like that in your daily car? you'll empty the tank by the time you finish reach the grocery! 

Ferrari FF (supossedly "daily car")

ferraris are purpose built. they want to be astonishing and magnificent. and they ARE. they have no intention of building small affordable cars or off-roaders just to increase sales. they only build supercars because that's the only thing they want to build.

they are filled with passion and soul. they don't want their customers to enjoy their journey. they want them to be astonished each and every time they press the ignition button. 

that, is what ferrari is all about.

The Winning Mentality Arsenal Lacks

there's a significant difference between Arsenal and teams like Man Utd, Barcelona etc that I've observed  this season. They always win, no matter the situation. People can say that they were lucky, they had the help of the referee and whatnot but they win nonetheless. Arsenal is the exact opposite: gallant losers. We want to play beautiful football. We take pride in playing cleanly and fairly. We hold our heads high even if we lose because it was a good game. But fact is, a win is a win and a lost is a lost. And the results are what that matters and really unfortunately, we've been ending up on the losing side for the past 8 years.

so what's the matter?

quality of the players? many arsenal fans will say yes and complain that arsenal don't really have world class players and they do have a point. but the players we have aren't really as bad as many fans think. on the attacking front, giroud isn't the fastest player but he can hold up play, can score and is very good at assists. he was the top scorer for montpellier last season in ligue 1 and it proves a lot. walcott really improved a hell lot this season with his composure, finishing, decision, timing etc and it is proven as he is the top scorer of the club. in midfield, cazorla is a magician and wilshere is en route to becoming a legend for arsenal. i'll just skip the defense because no matter how you think about it, its horrible.

manager? arsene wenger has been at the helm for 16 years and the only reason he's capable of doing that is because he's really really good at it. again, fans would argue that in half his tenure he has made sure that the trophy cabinet is empty but also remember that in his first half of his tenure he has kept it full. besides, he was the one that created the "Invincibles" and even alex ferguson haven't been able to do that in is 25 years at united.

transfer policy? i admit that i was really frustrated in the past few transfer windows. seeing our star players leave one by one and being replaced by players i haven't really heard of, like nacho monreal and giroud. not every purchase have been successful, namely andre santos and gervinho but most were undiscovered gem, like cazorla. many fans outside spain haven't really heard of him because the teams he were playing for (malaga and villareal) are constantly overshadowed by la liga's powerhouses, namely barcelona and real madrid. not to mention current first team members like arteta (everton), koscielny (fulham), mertesacker (werder bremen) just to name a few. as former director david dean said, arsene wenger doesn't pay to buy world class players. he molds them. and then sell them off

so what is really lacking in this arsenal team that fails to meet expectations time and time again? as arsenal legend ian wright, along with many other famous people say: winning mentality. there's no doubt that arsenal wants to win. everyone wants to win. but how much are you willing to give just to win? are you willing to give up all your strength to win the ball off the opponents' feet? are you willing to risk an injury to take that shot? are you willing to give it all you've got and make that tackle?

i'm sorry but the only player i can see doing that is young jack wilshere. the others seems like they play because they get paid to play. like they're forced to. even for our captain thomas vermaelen! he used to be the guy shouting at the back four, keep them concentrated, and runs forward like there's no tomorrow but since he's became the captain, i can't see it anymore. i really don't see the spirited centre half that scored the winner against newcastle in the final minutes of the game last season. sagna no longer runs like he's life is on the line when chasing wingers. the guy with weird hair that scored the goal that started the comeback against tottenham that finally ended 5-2 last season is no more. all of them used to play for arsenal because they love to play. and they loved to play for arsenal. but now they play like they are forced to do something annoying, like homework.

we used to have 11 players on the pitch, filled with passion like wilshere's but now that's no longer the case. every time i see an arsenal game i feel like it is wilshere against the rest of the world.

A Typical United Fan

so i was having a beer with a friend the other day at a party. one guy in his twenties (i think) came up to me and we eventually ended up talking about football. it was a bit hard in the beginning because both of us speak horrible german but then he turned out to be english so the conversation went much easier. and then he revealed that he was a united fan and i was like, "here we go again..."

it started out pretty normally, talking about who is the best team in the world, best goals ever, best game ever seen, etc etc etc but then he started talking about the best team in the whole wide world and then he said, and i quote, "we can beat any team in the world with 7 men even without playing the keeper!" i'm sorry but what the f*ck!!

having confidence in your team is great but seriously, what the f*ck was going on in his mind! manchester united indeed is a great team i have to admit but to say that they can win against any team in the world with 7 men AND without the keeper, that is WAY out of the line man! he must've been out of his mind!

anyway, i then reminded him about the champions league final a few seasons back when they were practically raped by barcelona time and again and then he snorted and remarked furiously, "barcelona is only good at passing the ball. we lost to them because the captain didn't play... barcelona was lucky and the ref was helping them!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbOOcqjwDCw
(you can watch the match full highlights from this link)

i was stunned and stared at him for one full second then laughed my ass off, spilling half of my priceless beer because of this idiot. the captain was (and still is) nemanja vidic and he said he didn't play! now that i watched the match highlights again, whoever assisted rooney for united's solitary goal was even offside and he claimed that the ref helped THEM! besides, the game was so one-sided that it wasn't even a match anymore, it was utter humiliation. that retard must have been watching the replay of one of his FIFA games...

i couldn't help myself anymore so i asked him one last question,
"who is the current captain of man utd?"
"roy keane"

i simply left.

there you go. typical manchester united fans. i'm not saying that all united fans are idiots, in fact, a friend of mine is a united fan and he is not an idiot, just that the number of retarded united fans are more than twice the number of idiotic fans from every other team in the world added together.

there you go, if you want a club that is great in almost every single way, but piled with fans with rotten brain, manchester united is your answer.