Thursday, April 28, 2011

Appalling Barca

They call it the 'El Clasico'. It was Round 3 in space of 2 weeks and fourth game between Real Madrid and Barcelona this season. Barcelona had beaten the Mourinho-led side 5-0 in the first meeting of the season which highlighted the gaping difference between the two sides. That game was a treat to any football lover. Two weeks back, they faced each other this time at Bernabeau and the game finished 1-1 with Madrid coming from behind. A few days later, in King's Cup tournament Real Madrid beat Barcelona 1-0 to make them feel they are on even terms as Catalan giants. The Special One had delivered a trophy in his inimitable style, the tactics and the motto that he lives by - winning is all that matters leaving the task of beautiful football can to Barcelona.

So what was different this time when the two faced off in the Champions league Semi Finals?
It all started with Jose Mourinho who took a jibe at Guardiola's way of dealing with referees. Guardiola then replied back with expletive comments saying Jose is the Master and can play his seperate Champions League outside the field. At this point, Jose's plan had worked and he had the Barca manager rattled under his skin. Put this in perspective and it promised to be humdinger of a match.

The first 10 minutes of the game was cagey as expected. Real Madrid showed little intention to attack. Infact in first 15 minutes of the game, Ronaldo was frustated already and waving to his players to come up in support and close down the Barca's middle-men. But instructions from Mourinho were very clear, forget the bus and airplane... he had set out his team as parking lot for a spacecraft. This was perfect opportunity for midgets like Xavi, Alves, Messi to play their passing game to perfection. Xavi, Villa and Ronaldo had shots at goal from distance and then the game started to settle down into patterns.

An air of shock and disgustness spread as things started to get out of control. A few notorious players pulling up some dirty tricks in order to unsettle the opponents. It started with Angel di Maria diving outside the box to avoid Alves challenge, it was followed by a few harmless series of free kicks easily cleared by Pique and Valdes. Then Barcelona took it to a whole new level of cheating ever seen in football. Pedro diving and feigning injury and his step brother Bussquets following the suit. All this was happening so fast, freekicks awarded at both ends and both set of players trying to outdo each other in winning a foul.

At halftime it was level, but pyschologically Barcelona had won the mini battle. The second half started in much the same way until Pepe went for a high studs up challenge. Frankly speaking the ball was there to be won and he was just a bit late allowing Alves to hold his ankle and sit down on the floor. What followed was a melee of Barcelona players pressuring referee into producing a red card for Pepe. However one cannot be sure what the ref was actually going to give if Barca players would not have surrounded him. When Pepe got his red card I wanted to give a smack on the face of Puyols, Piques and Pedros. They deserved a red more than Pepe. An unfortunate Mourinho also had to go to the stands for appreciating ref's brave decision. This changed the course of the whole game and it just opened up flood gates for Barcelona to attack and it resulted two goals, precious away goals.

Let's give credit to young Dutch lad, Ibrahim Afellay who put an inch perfect cross allowing Messi to score from close range. The second goal was a 'Maradonesque' effort from Leo Messi. A quick turn and busrt of pace and dribbling with his left foot, it was so quick that I didnt even see the 1-2 exchange with Bussquets and then turn of direction to beat 4 Madrid defenders before putting it past Iker Casillas. I would have put my entire month wager to watch that brilliant piece of action from Messi. He truly is a world class player!

And thats what I want to end the discussion with - when you have such world class players at your disposal, what is the need for Barcelona to pressurise the refs in giving a wrong decision? This hasnt happened for the first time... they have been cheating since 2006. I would like to hear from UEFA/Mr. Platini what they think about appalling behavior by few Barcelona players who deserve punishment for foul play? How long can UEFA protect Brand Barca and continue supporting them so that they win the CL every season? OR did 'The Special One' get his tactics wrong? He should have probably attacked more with Kaka and Benzema at home and then stayed put at Nou Camp. Has Pep Guardiola had the final laugh over Mourinho? At the moment, it seems like that because Mourinho has openly ranted in media about disgusting world that (he) lives in and has given up on his teams chances of winning at Nou Camp.

The two teams that I hate the most Man U and Barcelona will be in the CL Finals.
Wembley, Here We Come!!!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

That winning feeling...



Speechless. On 2nd April 2011, Saturday, India beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets to register a famous world cup win. What followed after that was ecstasy and euphoria in the entire nation. The 1.2 billion dreams had come true and people were on the streets dancing and waving the country flag high. The partying on Wednesday after the semi final victory looked like dress rehearsal as the winning feeling on Saturday was even more exhilarating. India had lifted the world cup 28 years after Kapil Dev’s Devils had achieved at Lord’s in England. So this victory meant a whole lot to the new generation. Hence I feel proud to be part of the generation that has won the world cup.



It has taken more than 24 hours for that winning feeling to sink in and only after that I have been able to concentrate and actually think about what I am supposed to write of the final game of World Cup 2011 that we all witnessed. In my last blog, I said Mumbai should make noise and not let the Lankans feel into the game and the people in the stadium obliged my wish. They made so much noise that the match ref could not hear what the captains call during the toss. The repeat toss went in favour of Sanga and the pressure was right back on my Men in Blue. Dilshan and Sangakarra got to good starts and fell away cheaply to Harbhajan and Yuvraj Singh. But one man carried on the Lankan batting right till the end with his superb graceful batting. Jayawardene did not play one wrong shot and just toyed with Indian bowlers by his late cuts, cover drives and exquisite foot work.

India was set a stiff target of 275 to chase. Sehwag and Sachin were dismissed early by Malinga. At 31/2, I will be honest to say that I felt huge disappointment and had lost some hope of winning the cup. I started to feel better when Dhoni came into bat and kept rotating strike and never let the required run rate go beyond 7 RPO. Gautam Gambhir played a masterstroke innings and feel sad for him to have missed out on a century. By the time he got out I knew the match was well within our grasp and I was just gearing upto jump in joy. And then Dhoni provided the killer’s finish and rest as they say is history. The heroes have now become immortals. The victory lap with Sachin sitting on young shoulders of Kohli and Pathan sent shivers down my spine and it was a very nostalgic moment. I am sure the tears of joy will flow again and everytime I see Dhoni, Sachim, Yuvraj and the rest of the team lift the World Cup. We are the World Champions for the next 4 years. Yay!!!!

Here I provide you with my ratings out of 10 for the 15 member squad.

Virender Sehwag – He made a great start to world cup by scoring 175 and it remained the highest score in this world cup. He provided starts to India in every game and picked up crucial catches in the field. He remains India’s best hope in future as well to retain the supremacy in all forms of the game. Rating: 9/10.

Sachin Tendulkar – During the entire world cup, he played with immense pressure to complete his 100th ton. Unfortunately he couldn’t but that doesn’t matter to him as we saw his celebrations in the end. All he wanted was to win the cup and wear the gold medal. His 22 year dream came true. Rating: 10/10

Gautam Gambhir – He got starts in all the game but the hundred remained elusive to him this tournament. His innings of 97 in the final will be remembered for a long time. Rating: 9/10

Virat Kohli – He scored century on world cup debut against Bangladesh. He is the young blood of bold and aggressive Indian team and that shows in the field as well. He is hugely talented and will certainly do well in next tournament as he did now. Rating: 9/10

Yuvraj Singh – He was the talisman of this Indian victory. He bowled superbly his 10 overs in all the games by picking up wickets every time. He was focussed when he was on the crease while batting, he was determined to achieve success for himself and for the team. 4 Man of the Match awards before the final meant he was the favourite to get Player of the Tournament and an Audi sedan version car. He has given joy to the billion people and it’s his world cup. No doubts. Rating: 10/10.

MS Dhoni – He is the captain cool of Indian cricket. He made some brave decisions and he stuck by it. He backed his players and to give 200% in every game and was also humble in accepting the mistakes he made. Cometh the hour, Cometh the man and he proved with a scintillating knock in the finals. Rating: 10/10

Suresh Raina – He did not play the first five games of the world cup. But that did not dent his confidence. He is India’s one of the best finishers and he proved it in the game against Australia and Pakistan. With him playing in the side it helps improve the overall team fielding as well, and again he is one for the future. Rating: 8/10

Yusuf Pathan – He came in with reputation of big hitter in this world cup and a useful spinner. He got his chances but he was barely effective. But there is no denying the talent and he should use this as a learning curve and show the world what he is capable of in the upcoming tournaments. Rating: 7/10

Harbhajan Singh – India’s leading off spinner had a lot of burden on his shoulders. His tactics were to not give runs to the opposition but also look to pick wickets. He was successful in some games but not so much in others. He picked up few wickets but those were the crucial ones in the late slog overs. He always brings passion and commitment to the team and it was evident in the finals too. He has much more to offer to the Indian team. Ratings: 8/10

R Ashwin – This young Chennai lad got the most popularity votes amongst all Indians. He was one member which entire nation wished played every game instead of the seamers. Dhoni always said he has the attitude to play the big games and Ashwin’s mettle was tested against Aussies. He came out in flying colors. Rating: 8/10

Zaheer Khan – He was the lynchpin of Indian attack. Leading wicket taker in the tournament, he bowled superbly with the new ball, old ball and any ball. The captain wanted wicket, he gave it to him. He not only performed above expectations but also helped himself by banishing those 2003 memories. Rating: 10/10

Munaf Patel – He made it to the Indian squad after impressive performances in South African tour. He did well in the world cup as well by bowling within his limits. He didn’t try anything flashy and kept the flow of runs under check. His contribution to the team winning in semi final cannot be counted out. Rating: 8/10

Ashish Nehra – He is the bowler who went from zero to hero in this world cup campaign. He was branded as villain after India’s loss to Saffers but he redeemed himself against Pakistan. He missed out in the finals because of broken finger but his place will also remain etched in history books for his heroic effort in the semi finals. Rating: 7/10

S Sreesanth – He will be obviously disappointed by his performance in the world cup. He needs to put his head in right place to become India’s spearhead bowler. His inclusion in the world cup also came as surprise to many and he will now know he has to fight for his place in this side. Rating: 4/10

Piyush Chawla – He was taken as an additional bowler with leg spin as variety to offer. He did well in the practice games against Australia and New Zealand and we all thought he will be the go-to man in the world cup. For a leg spinner, his googly is the secret weapon but for Piyush it was his predictable delivery. He got it all wrong and he too will have to go back and get his basics right to make place in this 11 member team. Rating: 4/10

Overall winning the world cup is a team effort so to entire team I would say it is a 10 on 10.

Now ofcourse players have to savour the victory and within a week turn up for playing the season 4 of the Indian Premier League. That’s the irony of whole thinf, the players who were unified in dressing room playing for the country will now battle each other in what promises to be 51 days of entertainment and celebration of Indian Cricket.
Cheers INDIA!!!