Lionel Messi: The next Maradona?

Euro cup is just 2 days away and I cant hold the urge to write about football, however all I can think of about writing at the moment is a player who will not feature in the Euro cup at all. The urge has to be honoured and if its Lionel Messi alone that I can think about, so be it, at least this post is going to be about football.

Messi needs little introduction, considered one of the most gifted footballers and a forward in the legendary Barcelona team, Messi couldn’t ask for more. Born in 1987 with 24 caps for Argentina, 7 goals for his country and a debutant in Aug 2005, Messi has climbed the ladder of fame in some hurry.

Many compare his skills with the legendary Maradona, The stunner in a copa del Rey goal against Getafe in 2007(much like Walcott’s magic run against Liverpool) where he ran more than half the field and beat 6 players and ended with a tight angle finish which gave the goal a well deserved icing, And to him a comparison to Maradona’s 1986 goal that finished English dreams of winning the world cup that year.

From whats been said about him, its clear he is a legend in the making with some exciting and promising talent. To play for a team like Argentina in the world cup and to earn a tag that says the modern Maradona is too heavy a burden to carry because of the expectations, but Messi has disappointed very few.

Messi’s life so far has been a story to tell, he was born in a town called Rosario, His footballing skills very evident from the start and he played for the club Grandoli and later at Newell’s Old boys. His footballing was smooth until deficiency of the growth hormone almost put a halt to him playing. Expensive treatment was required and his father couldn’t afford it, and with little hope he took Messi to barsa in spain. Barsa were impressed with his ball control and pace and agreed to pay for his treatment.

With overflowing talent, the climb is quick and he was 17 when he was in the playing 11 for Barsa and at 18 part of the Argentina’s World Cup squad. The climb is tough especially in Barsa which can boast of talent like Henry, Ronaldino, Eto, etc. Matching them at such a young age shows Messi’s class.

But as Lord Murphy said “ if something has to go wrong, it will” and Messi ‘s career has been plagued with injuries, he tore a thigh in UEFA Champions League against Chelsea in 2006. 2007 followed with a broken metatarsal. Another tear in the thigh this year against celtic this season made him leave the field in tears, and although his thigh injury crippled Barsa’s Uefa league, his hat-trick against rivals Real Madrid was a joyous story to tell. The end of 2006-07 for him was a fabulous 11 goals in just 13 matches.

Although a Spanish citizen he plays for Argentina, his country of birth. If lady luck smiles and he manages to keep his injuries at bay , for football lies another legend in the making.

Tennis: The Justine Henin Retirement

Its not often that we find players retiring at young age, especially when they are on top, Schumacher had age gripping and his contract had pushed him to the wall, Its not everyday that a sportsperson retires when he is no. 1 and he was different this way. Well about Borg, the less said the better. It was not the best of habits that forced him to retire and in his case it was talent furiously wasted for no good reason. Justine Henin’s retirement is so different “it’s a page that’s turning; I don’t feel sadness, its more relief, I know it’s a shock for many people, but it’s a decision and I have thought hard about it. Its not a decision I took after a single loss in Berlin, its something that I’ve been thinking about for several months already, I d say perhaps since the end of 2007. It’s the end of a marvelous adventure, an end of something that I‘ve dreamed about since when I was 5 years old” .
When she was smooth in her 32 undefeated streak, everyone was convinced there was more to come. 2008 was not as easy for her as earlier, but an opportunity to win 4 times straight at the French open and with Wimbledon yet unconquered, calling it quits when fitness and age still spreads the welcome carpet ,is really very strange. Speculations are many, some say it’s a burnout that causes most Belgium players to retire early, also perhaps it’s the attitude. Kim clijsters too retired at 23; but her retirement was more due to injury.
Reactions poured in soon after the announcement and not surprisingly all were stunned. What Henin blames it on is the loss of interest in the game, the loss of desire to keep on winning tournaments. All this has once again proved that there’s one thing that’s constant in life and that’s change! A change in fitness, age and mindset can trigger off decisions that can end a lot in life and make you take paths in life that you never thought you would. Its beyond doubt now that apart from skill, pace, fitness is one main underlying and important factor, the desire to win, that mental urge that forces you to go ahead. This hunger is the primary fuel required to win grand slams and henin says its this fuel that she has run out of. The desire to train, the desire to compete is all lost now and what remains is this unobvious choice that has shocked the world.
Lets look at it with a different perspective. From a girl who was attending the French open between Steffi Graf and Monica Seles, who made her mom a promise that she would one day be there, to what she is today, she has come a long way and overachieved what she had promised. The promise was one title and it happened not once but 4 times and the its been a hat trick off late. Perhaps that promise was the only motivating factor and now that its over and done with. Anyone who has crossed $15 million in career earnings and just 25 years of age has to enjoy that money too. Also important are various other factors and other small things that we take in life for granted. I agree the news did startle me a bit but her statement did seem convincing, she says she wants to run without looking at her watch, wants to skie and rediscover all those pleasures that she has not been able to do due to training. And now that her family is no longer estranged, she feels a sense of belonging. She says she wants to drive her nephews and nieces to activities and have enough time to spare. No wonder then that the announcement was a dry-eyed one, her coach and mentor had more emotion though, for her was grateful to her for making him something.
With a build of 5’6” she has given enough trouble to the Williams and a lot others, it was more of a competitive sprit that was the more of Henin, added to that were other facets like brilliant footwork, her characteristic one handed backhand and she ,much like Roger Federer is a complete player.
From a very young age, life had a lot to teach Henin. She lost her mom to cancer at 12. Had to deal with an estranged father, who disapproved her relationship with her childhood sweetheart Pierre Yves Hardene. It was mainly because of her mentor and coach Rodriguez that she remained focused. Her achievements include 41 career titles and most significantly 7 grand slam singles 4 French opens 2 US opens and 1 Australian open. Plus the 2004 Olympic gold medal.
Henin admits its not that she hasn’t tried a comeback, the last few months she has been trying. But the flame of competiveness is no longer burning and distractions, other desires are many. Many still believe she is too young but as she says “in life there’s no rule” and what we want is perhaps not what she needs anymore.

IPL: Calling Bangalore team Challengers is the 2nd best joke of the decade, the 1st however remains calling Pakistan a Democracy

“ Ha I took your money & u need 3 years to sack me, Ha I made u Duh!” is what Vijay Mallya says the former Indian captain and now the Royal Challengers Captain Rahul Dravid is singing. The king of sad times VM crying foul seems so odd when a tournament like this has been such a success and his team a total failure. While sacking Charu Sharma didn’t seem so unobvious, I don’t think it will make any difference to the team at all. The frustration here is understandable $111.6 million isn’t any small sum and all franchises seem so much like students checking their board results while watching their team in a T20 match.
Apart from the IPL, VM has another visible investment in sport, Force India. I totally agree that it is a new team and needs chiseling, but the team supposedly on the move is always a lap behind or doesn’t finish. Quite frankly it has been enough races to gain experience already and force India seem no threatening force to any of the other teams at all. The podium finish that was promised this season seems so far away.
Coming back to the IPL , VM crying foul seems absurd and misplaced. He is so neck deep that even if he wants to sack Dravid, he has to honour the 3 yr contract and pay him the amount. I have to admit with due respect to Dravid and Kumble, that these 2 test icons are total misfits in the whack or get whacked contest. Ricky Ponting admitted “T20 is a lottery”! how true! This new form of the game, is not based on persistence, holding on or resistance nor does perseverance grip the result of the game the way it normally does in other sport. Mallya in his quote to the media has admitted it was his mistake, Dravid is an iconic player so he trusted his judgment. But Mr. Mallya If you really have been following cricket the way you claim you have, have seen him judging? His style of captaining always called for his head, many believe and rightly so that it was because of his tactlessness that India were thrown out of the world cup and that too by a minnow (Bangladesh). The last thing you should have done is trusted a tactless captain and that too for a team selection in a T20 tournament which he opted out of.
Investment in sport is like investing in lottery, you cant put huge sums of money, for the chances of profit are very low, above which in the former there are so many things uncontrollable and a million things that can go wrong. Players are like rogue employees who have a head of their own and any minor incident of dissent or something of insignificance can by media’s hunger made into a snowball of controversy.
Frankly I m saddened by what T20 has done to the game. It is a threat to test and one-day cricket. The game is too quick and is over even before anyone gets the hang of it. It can get exceedingly frustrating to bowlers and the present generation of cricketing icons to whom in spite of their class and pedigree, T20 isn’t bread and butter. The game should try and implement many of cricketing ingredients that have been missing like singles, twos and threes. The present form seems like a tennis match with only 1 set. Once this distilling is done, perhaps we’ ll have true champions winning and luck will play a lesser role.
A final word to Mr. Mallya, Remember what Dravid said in the Bank of Baroda ad “Advice is given by everyone; point is who you take it from.” Well next time you know whom not to take it from at least!
pic courtesy news.yahoo.ca

Theo Walcott: A tribute to his magic run

Often it is seen in Arsenal that that most players bought are not the big names and are made so, the emirates is a training ground and provides for nurturing talent and makes superstars, and when they get into this kind of manufacturing , the products they come out with leave us in awe!
In case of Theo Walcott, its been no different, for a normal football fan he is bit of sidelocks, short hair, and a delicate young man, but those who saw him at anfield recently called that event a stunner! He had the gaze, the speed , the run was much similar to that of a gazelle while escaping from its hunter, it was fragileness, swerving, talent .. (the list goes on..) at its best. And the icing on the cake was the “selflessness” and “take the glory “pass to Adebayor, who finished it for him. What Liverpool players could do best was to stand and watch. The season’ s anger and fury was all dropped on Liverpool. This kind of football was before only seen in playstations with the player two being a newbie perhaps. When he was asked about the stunner he himself had few words to say, in all honesty he said “ I don’t know how it happened. I wasn’t thinking, Gerrard miskicked the ball, then I got past Alonso, then Aurelio-he should have taken me down really- and then Mascherano tried to keep up- I ve seen it on telly loads of times and he is busting a gut trying to catch up-bless him, then I got past Hyypia as well and crossed to Aby. It was mixed emotions for myself. Shame we went out.”
“It was lack of concentration really, wasn’t it? We were all on a high and we aren’t focused. I think I was still up the other end of the field celebrating” Although Arsenal lost that day any Liverpool fan will admit sometimes maybe with grudging respect that run was amongst the best he/she would have seen. Anybody would have appreciated Walcott ‘s effort. Sven Goran Eriksson said “ it was a bit like maradona wasn’t it??” Walcott laughs” That ‘s a lot to live up to! “ he says “ but people did take notice of that run.” Although he is such a impact player, he has always been a super –sub and is trying hard to forego this image. His starts for long have been from the bench, the run was more out of anger he says “ Maybe I was just angry because I hadn’t started. I just wanted to show what I could do. I ‘ve only started two games in a row before I ‘m dropped again. I ‘d be thinking too much. It would all get caught in my head and put pressure on me. But lately my mind’s been clear. I don’t know why I m just enjoying more” when he asked the boss, what he should do in order to start, the reply was quick, “ u ve to be aggressive, not kicking aggressive, but running with players, doing defensive duties and providing that extra in the midfield when the ball is not with the team. Walcott feels, he has been doing all this but still hadn’t got the chance. Walcott also admitted in conversation that he will ask the question this time and will knock on the boss’s door if denied an opportunity again, he still feels though that for a young player to ask a boss directly, it is pretty scary.
More games will do Walcott more good. For a player who was intimidated when he first trained at arsenal 2 years ago (when he 1st met Henry and Pires) and wondering if he was worth it to this day, he has come a long way to believe that he too deserves to be in Arsenal and start for them. Else why would Wenger have bought him for such a sum?? He says. His present wish is to move from winger to striker position and with more games coming up next year, he believes he can achieve what he is looking up to.
However Walcott has till now been a trifle off glory. Firstly the world cup call dint see him play, although he scored in the Carling cup, Arsenal couldn’t manage a win however he did manage his first 2 goals in the Premier League against Birmingham. Come next season he is the man to watch!
interview courtesy: the daily telegraph

F1: The Ice Age Beckons

It is exceedingly difficult for a Mc Laren fan to write about a Ferrari driver, and especially when we have perhaps equal talent in the form of Lewis Hamilton, but Ice Man is such he simply proves “Ignorance is bliss” otherwise! The very day I heard he is with Ferrari next season, my heart sank, cause dependable technology with a talented driver often causes a lethal combination, a combination that is well capable of sucking the juice out of F1, much like how Schumacher and Ferrari did. Noteworthy here is the fact that Ferrari are almost always locking horns with any other team for the championship at the end of the season, whether it is Renault, Williams or McLaren, they are always competing. It has been a disaterours start of the season, there is no denying that, especially with Hamilton breathing down his neck it really must have been hard, but victories in Barcelona, Bahrain and Malaysia have brought back the era of Ferrari dominance back to the mind of all concerned or following F1. Its still too early I would say with 14 more races remaining we have to wait to see which way the championship will swing, but with the grit and chillness of the ice-man, its perhaps this way. He still believes its only driving that’s his business, Kimi ‘s policy seems simple “ Give me a good car and I ‘ll drive it, If I give a press conference I m sure I’ll screw it!” what concerns the Ferrari crew is the fact that while Schumacher was so involved in learning about the car, the process , the technicality, Kimi keeps it simple, he just reports for testing, drives the car and goes back. His life is led much the same way, unlike celebrity life that is usually expected of him, he simply spends weekends with his friends, and had once slept on the pavement holding an inflatable dolphin, for a sport star of this magnamity, he is way too simple.

The championship of 2007 has seen much pomp and drama, but finally Kimi deserved the title, for a driver who had narrowly missed out in 2003 and 2005, it was something that a driver of his potential should have won and so he did. The term ice-man was perhaps because of the way he drives, he is largely calm and composed, not the dramatic Alonso or Massa kinds, but much more systematic and precision oriented. For Kimi, Ferrari is like family, try the best to get something out of him about malfunction or car problems and u ll for sure be disappointed, in Australia he had finished 8^th, and was 2 laps behind, when all popped the obvious question (what went wrong??), he came out with a total shocker “it happens”.For a man who started his F1 career in horse carts like Sauber, he has come a long way and has definitely proved his potential. His personality doesn’t seem charismatic or he may not be too engaging, but he certainly doesn’t look the kind famous for escapades nor a total party freak that the media claim he is. While the McLaren crew realized that he has to be left alone, a free lifestyle was partially allowed but it seems its with Ferrari that he has found better solace.

photo courtesy: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk

EPL:Christiano Ronaldo: Into the Elite Club

The english press can be accused of many things, one is to inflate footballers beyond normalcy and puncture them when they commit the slightest of errors. When Ronaldo broke George Best ‘s record, they crowned him as the best talent, the world had ever seen and in 2006 when Poland beat England and Rooney was sent off, he was the most sort after head in all of England, so much so that Sir Alex had to say to the press Don’t kill him ,he is your man!
However most of the best football heads have nodded in approval, Sir Alex Ferguson says “he is the best of this era”, Paul Scholes, almost always in the united line up said Ronaldo is the best he has ever played with claiming he is better than Robson, Keane, Beckham or even Giggs.
Statistically the most fouled player in football today and understandably so , cause of his smoothness with the ball ,a deceiving pair of legs and of course an Olympian’s running speeds, it’s the best way most players get the better of him, but is he truly the best in the world as Sir Alex and perhaps every Manchester United fan believes?
Of course this year, when the Fifa Player of the year is up for the grabs, Man U fans have strong backing , cause not many come close, he has scored 38 goals this season and for a winger its amazing and beyond standards, but this season there seem to be no contenders, with Kaka quieted by his old teammates , Henry not happy with Barcelona perhaps, Ronaldino not having much, and Fabregas and Messi needing finer chiseling, Ronaldo might steal the Fifa title this year. But can he truly surpass someone like maradona, think this before you classify him as a legend, 38 goals yes, but against whom? When it comes to scoring against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool this season, out of 30 appearances, only 3 goals have been scored! And he has not scored against Chelsea yet!
When it comes to skill show, there is no abandoning him , he is an entertainer no doubt, but he isn’t the worlds’ best as many claim. He is not particularly good when he is marked and needs space before all his skills are displayed, when well marked he can easily be marked absent!
In contrast I ve read that George Best was a terror! So much so that club managers would lie to their players that Best got injured while training or was drunk before the match so he simply can’t perform. And the managers of some of the best clubs did that, also most of his goals have been numbered against some of the strongest teams of the world unlike Ronaldo’s whose goals are against clubs like Lisbon, Dynamo Kiev, Fulham, Everton and such like, with due respect to the clubs. Last year’s champions league semi-final saw him at his worst with united being smacked and thrown, his main contribution was complaining that he wasn’t given the ball.
There is no denying his talent and potential, and if hardwork follows he could easily be the world ‘s best . Maybe a change in attitude form the “go for glory solos” to the “will perform in matches that matter” will help.
Photo courtesy: /www.rickey.org/

Cricket: The Ugly Side of IPL

Cricket in India is huge, the money prospects towering, and the controversies keep mounting as each day passes, Saturday was another controversy day as the Harbhajan – Sreeshant drama unfolded, the BCCI s stand on the topic kept fluctuating and the end of the day saw some conclusion with the Kings XI of Punjab, lodging a complaint with the BCCI, In reaction, Harbhajan was served a show cause notice for slapping Sreeshant, which both players denied had happened in the encounter at Mohali on Friday. The post match session saw a weeping Sreeshant , inconsolable! Harbhajan has time till Monday to reply to the charge. Unconfirmed reports say Harbhajan might even face a life ban and BCCI has video evidence against him that has still not been made public.
Harbhajan claimed that the issue had been sorted out, while Yuvraj Singh and coach Tom Moody both with Kings XI Punjab, expressed displeasure, Sreeshant said , Harbhajan was like his elder brother. Harbhajan has been suspended as of now and is facing official inquiry by Farokh Engineer, the match refree.

The Code of Conduct:

Level 4
The Offences set out at 4.1 to 4.4 below are Level 4 Offences. The Penalty for a Level 4 Offence shall be
a ban of between 5 Test Matches or 10 ODI matches up to a life ban for the Player or Official concerned

4.2 Physical assault of another Player, umpire, Referee, Official or spectator.

It also insists that the adjudicator should take into account the previous record of the person charged, so it wont be easy for Harbhajan to get away!

Statements for Analysis on the indicent

"Based on prima facie video evidence as seen and reviewed by the match adjudicator and referee Farokh Engineer from the tapes provided to him, a decision has been reached to suspend with immediate effect Harbhajan Singh of the Mumbai Indians pending the inquiry into the incident on Monday, April 28, 2008,"
….IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi.

"The Board will not be a silent spectator to such incidents. I advise IPL that if there is prima facie evidence, they should not keep mum and should take strict action. Decisions will be made according to IPL's guidelines,"

"We protected the interest of Indian players when they were innocent. We stood by him. But if there is prima facie evidence against him, he should face the music,"
….BCCI President Sharad Pawar

statements courtesy crickinfo.com