Crowd Behaviours - Inspiring and Intimidating

My latest rant comes in the wake of England fans booing Ashley Cole in Wembley on Saturday. I am forced to write about crowd behaviours that I have come across in the past. Personally I don't give a toss when England play. I was a huge fan of England till the 2006 FIFA World Cup. I was not up for any more heartbreaks with a team of world class players that wouldn't play as a world class team. Coming back to the point, I did not see the England game.

This morning I read in the papers that England fans booed Ashley Cole after he bottled a pass and "Borat" scored the equaliser to make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan. Yes, I agree, fans pay to watch and if their team does not perform it is a gut-wrenching feeling, first of all, because it is your national team and most importantly because you've paid a heavy price for the ticket(trust me ticket prices in England are stupidly high, that's why I don't watch games in the stadium).

However do any of these reasons justify your act of booing some one who is wearing your national colours and acting as an ambassador for your country and all it represents. Do you as an England supporter want to portray yourself as an irresponsible, inebriated, imbecile, who will thwart and intimidate his national team so much that they're scared to play on home turf?

Certainly qualifies as intimidating.

Being an Indian, it is blasphemous not to follow cricket. As a teenager I used to follow the sport with a certain degree of interest. The highlight of it all was the 1996 cricket World Cup where we made it to the semi finals. Yes the match that is the issue of debate here.

The game was played in Kolkata, which believe it or not, is the football capital of India. India won the toss and chose to field and had the Lankans tattering with the early dismissals of Jayasurya and Kaluwitharana. Then came D'Silva who guided the Lankans to a safe total.

When India came to bat, the wicket was turning big time and soon we were looking like a bunch of archaelogists, buried in ruins, when the first artefact landed on the field. A bottle thrown by an angry "football fan" who accidentally was watching a cricket match. This was followed by a few more missiles forcing the match referee to hand the game over to Sri Lanka, who went on to be World Champions.

Crowd behaviour - Appaling.

Of all cricket rivalries I've seen, India against Pakistan stands out for a lot of reasons that I'll not get into. In 1999 Pakistan were on a two test tour of India. The second test in Chennai was a closely fought one and Tendulkar took India to the point where we needed under 20 runs with 3-4 wickets in hand.

Needless to say we lost! However what I remember most about that game was aound 50,000 cricket followers in Chennai, bonafide Indians giving Pakistan a standing ovation for a job well done! I've never come across such a response from an opposing crowd during any game!

Crowd behaviour - Examplary!!!

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait...But Sorry Mate.

I am not a beer drinker. However, I do appreciate the punchlines that define the major beer brands. The Guinness punchline "Good Things Come To Those Who Wait" has more than a touch of philosophy embedded in it. It is a one-line advice to impatient, spoilt, haughty, rich owners of Newcastle United. Greame Souness, Glenn Roeder, Sam Allardyce and now Kevin Keegan. Four managers in what? A little over two seasons? In a normal office job, that would be the probation period for a manager, after which his skills would be analysed, targets set and performance monitored. But the hiring and firing policy adopted my Mike Ashley would make Sir Alan Sugar and Donald Trump swell with pride, but no son, this is not how you run a football club. When a team loses, its the manager who gets bollocked. Then why not give the manager, the desired freedom to do his job? Money can buy you players, but it cannot win the hearts of supporters.

When Sir Alex Ferguson took over United, he had to wait for four years before tasting any success, in the form of an FA Cup win against Palace. Then in 1991, United defeated Barcelona in the Cup Winners' Cup but the title still evaded Sir Alex, till The Premiership was born. So it took 7 seasons for the first title to arrive at Old Trafford. We have 22 years at the helm and 10 titles, 5 FA Cups and 2 European Cups. Not to mention the numerous bits and bobs.

Arsene Wenger took over as Arsenal manager in 1996 and tasted instant success in 1997-98 when Arsenal overcame a 12 point deficit to snatch the crown away from United. After that his reign was barren till The Gunners won it again in 2000-01 and in 2003-04 their most successful season ever, in which they were unbeaten throughout. So thats 12 years as manager with 3 titles and 4 cup wins amongst the less significant trophies like Charity/Community Shield.

These are two prime examples of managers who have moulded teams and made champions out of ordinary players. It was Alex Ferguson who took a bunch of "children" and contrary to Alan Hanson's remarks, won the double in 1996-97. The board gave them enough time and was patient enough to get results. Thats why Arsenal and United have won 41 trophies between them under the reign of Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex, respectively.

What has changed today? Nothing much apart from the fact that a few filthy rich, spoilt brats who want to show off their wealths and make a statement that money can do anything for them have started to own football clubs. One of the earliest victims of this generation of arrogant, irresponsible owners was Claudio Ranieri, the former Chelsea manager. He was sacked in the second year of the "Roman empire" after he successfully managed to mould Chelsea into a formidable side. Ranieri brought in players like Joe Cole, Wayne Bridge, Makelele ,Lampard, Zenden, Gallas and was responsible for development of youth talent like John Terry. After he built a good team, he was sacked in just four years for Jose Mourinho. This is one reason why my sympathies are always with Ranieri and I've grown to dislike Mourinho.

Coming back to my question of what has changed today? Nothing at all. Well people argue that there is so much more competition these days. Hang on, what competition are we excatly talking about? In sixteen seasons of its existence, four clubs have won The Premiership. Manchester United a whopping 10 times, which is 62.5%. Next come Arsenal with 3 titles, 18.75%, Chelsea with 2 titles, 12.5% and Blackburn Rovers once, 6.25%. So what about the other 16 teams? What does the fact that Manchester United have won it 10 times under one manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, over the "changing times" from early 90s to late 2000s tell you? What kind of competition are we talking about? I do not understand, someone please put these figures before the other owners, maybe, just maybe it will give them some sense.

I would like to end my arguement on the relatively happy note that the 1-1 draw against Chelsea was a lot better than the 2-1 loss at Anfield. With this we have completed two of the three toughest away games and retrieved a solitary point. This should be the start of United's season and truly Glory Glory Glory Man United and I hope the Reds go marching up up up!

A Night of Missed Opportunities

I cannot think of a better way to sum up United's opening match of their title defence. At home to Villareal, the same team that took home the solitary point back in 2005 and went on to the semi finals. As a hardcore United fan, I had hoped that after the agonising defeat at Anfield, the lads would bounce back and give Villareal a walloping in front of the home fans. There were moments of brilliance, great overlapping play and even a few screamers, but there was no real penetration from United. They did not look as sharp as they should have. I hope this night is not a template for the rest of the season.

To be fair United have usually had miserable starts to their season in the past and then gone on to win silverware. This season looks like another one of those, well we've made a hopeless start at least. I hope we capitalise on it, in the months to come. I am not sure how true it is, but I do believe that pre-season does set the mood for the days ahead. This has been one of the most uncertain and unpredictable pre-seasons I've ever witnessed, in which all that did not happen gained more publicity than what did.

Ronnie did not go to Madrid, nor did Ronaldinho arrive at Man City. Robinho spurned Chelsea for Man City and Ronaldinho went to Milan. United reported Real Madrid to FIFA, Spurs reported United to The FA and Real Madrid reported Chelsea. Anil Ambani did not buy Newcastle, and then the Toon saga, that still drags after Mike Ashley made a mess of his club.

Nevertheless we thought pre-season was over and the real action will prove United to be a formidable force. Ah aah...not to be. The number of shots-on-target United got against Villareal were phenomenal but the only real chance came off Tevez, deep into the second half but Villareal's resolute defending did enough to protect the goal. On the other end, we saw some magic that reminded me of Argentina's goal against Serbia and Montenegro, scored by Esteban Cambiasso.

The night was, however ruined by some of the worst refereeing in recent times. Fouls overlooked, cards not shown when needed and we witnessed a level of mediocrity in which the officials seemed to revel. On the positive side, Ronaldo got a great welcome from the Mancunian crowds and hopefully our fortunes should improve against Chelsea. Oh let me not get started on the John Terry saga and how his ban was overturned, as I am planning to have a peaceful sleep tonight and looking forward to a busy day at work tomorro. This is me signing off with a promise that I shall try to be more regular in the days to come, cos I love my sport!

Germany vs Austria: How To Waste 90 Minutes of Your Life (If you did not see France vs Romania)

As usual I start with a little insight into how my day was and what I did. Makes me more involved in what I am writing. I go out of work early, after a difficult day. Anyways thats my worry for tomorrow. After venting my frustration on the treadmill and the machines, cooked my dinner and it was waiting to be devoured. Now where's the remote? Ahh there it is!

Right, just in time for the national anthems but, still no Schweinsteiger in the staring line up. Why? That gave me a hint, that the Germans were out for a draw, nothing much, as they wanted to preserve their energy and tactics for the Portuguese. If they were to get a win, they wouldn't mind it. We kick off with the hosts in possession and five minutes into the game, Gomes bottles a sitter. Question time again: Why did Klose cross, instead of shooting? He had a good angle and gained a fraction of a second. Four more minutes later, Fritz sends one from the right, after beating Pogatetz. Now another question: Where are Klose and Gomes? There was no one to poach it. Half way into the first half, Ballack passes to Podolski and the shot is parried by the goal keeper. Half an hour into the game, Gomes wins another corner. Four minutes later, another corner, Klose miscues.

Towards the last ten or so minutes of the first half, Austria looked more lively, more creative and looked more likely to score and even one a corner. The first piece of drama, both managers sent off by the officials. End of the first half and a dull performance by the Germans, for which mediocrity would be a compliment.

At this point, a little philosophy, after four successive tournaments: Never trust the pre tournament favourites.

2002 World Cup - Argentina
Euro 2004 - France, Holland
2006 World Cup - England
Euro 2008 - Germany?

Well in fact, I should correct myself and say, never trust the pre-tournament to win.

Four minutes into the second half and Ballack roars to life. A screamer from the German captain, the Micheal Ballack of Bayern Munich! Looks like another Captain's day out! Yesterday it was sensational Nihat, today its rejuvnated Ballack! What next? Now it looks like someone has injected a tank of red bull into the game. Suddenly we see action at both ends, Germany trying to double their advantage, Austrians, to neutralise it! Game on!

Well at least that is what we thought. There were no more mentionable chances and by the time Oliver Neuville missed his, we were well into stoppage time and Germany had managed to limp through to face Portugal. Since I did not have the misfortune of watching France and Romania's ninety minute friendly, for me this is the dullest game Ive seen in the tournament so far.

However thinking from Joachim Lowe's perspective, the mission was simple. To qualify for the quarter-finals. They did it. Mission accomplished. Thats what matters, end of ninety minutes.

Scripted BY Hitchcock, Played To Perfection!

By far this is the most intriguing and edge-of-the-seat game of the European Championships until now. This game had the possibility of history eing created, because if the game were drawn, we'd head to a shootout to decide the winner. The first twist or rather thrill in the plot came when Jan Koller stamped his authority on the game with a superd header, just after half an hour. The game did not have much until Plasil made a steaming run and popped a peach to double the Czech's advantage, around the hour mark.

This is when the Turks came to life. Suddenly we could see movement on the right flank, with Colin Kazim-Richards making those incisive runs with Tuncay, Aurelio and Altintop and the transformation was a treat to the eye. Here comes the first twist in the tale. Turkey pulled one back with Arda Turan and Cech can do nothing about it. The timing of this was what got me stunned. Only moments before this goal did we hear the Turkish fans go silent, losing all hopes.

Well there's more to it. What should have been a routine punch was messed up by Cezh as he tried to catch a slippery ball from Altintop's cross and Nihat pounced on that little mistake to draw Turkey level, three minutes before time. The situation was similar to the way we started. Turkey and Czech Republic were level on goals scored, conceded and goal difference and also level on points. This meant that if the game ended this way we would see a shootout to decide the winner. Suited me just fine as I'd just prepared another cuppa tea.

The fourth official indicates a minimum of four minutes added time. Twist in the plot again. Turkey break loose, Tuncay to Nihat and he surls the ball past Czech and into the back of the net! Turkey 3, Czech Republic 2! The drama is not over yet. The Czechs come to life again and the Turks somehow get the ball away after a mix up between Volcan and Servet. And then, Volcan gets sent off, for pushing Koller to the ground. Replays confirmed the decision and we will have Rustu Recber in the QF clash with Croatia, looks like it. Now Tuncay dons the gloves as Turkey have used up all their substitutions. However there are no more chills, thrills or spills in this game and Turkey romp home to a memorable win. As far as thrill and excitement go, this ranks 1 for me in the Championships so far.

I'd like to go back earlier in the game to recollect Koller and Polak's misses and I cant help thinking how significant they proved to be! As of now, I am off to catch a good night's sleep after a fantastic match that would make Alfred Hitchcock proud any day, as I have a long week ahead.

Ciao!

Poles and Germans - What a Weekend !

Just over twenty four hours after Lewis Hamilton snatched a spectacular pole from Robert Kubica, the Pole took full advantage of Hamilton's shunt into Raikkonen by not only gathering the first win of his so far impressive career, but also going ahead in the drivers' championship.

The circuit has not been Ferrari's favourite in recent times going by their impressive record. In the last ten seasons, 1999-2008, they've managed pole only thrice, in 1999, 2000 and 2001 and have won only four times, in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004. So statistically the odds were heavily stacked up against them to qualify or to win. Also none of these qualifying or race results has been with the new regulations. This Saturday was no different from the recent past for the prancing horses. They could only manage third and sixth after we witnessed Robert Kubica taking pole from Hamilton who stole it again in the dying moments of qualifying. Another variable in the equation this time was the track, which has started to break and give way especially at the hairpin. Drivers were given firm instructions to watch it at the apex of the hairpin. On race day Bernie Ecclestone's response was on the lines of it's the same for all drivers like rain or fog. No driver has any advantage. Fair enough, it was time for red lights to go out again.

Hamilton got off to a fantastic start with Kubica hot on his trail, but the biggest beneficiary of the start was Nico Rosberg, who surged ahead at the expense of Alonso. As the race began to unfold, Adrian Sutil, the most unfortunate driver of the season so far had to bring his car to a standstill after what looked like brake discs overheating, (later revealed as loss of gears). Safety car came in and tossed Hamilton's advantage out of the window. Pitlane was closed and uncertainty prevailed everywhere. How much fuel does each one have? When will they pit? Now? Next lap? Three laps from now? There were questions cropping up all over the place. Once the safety car exitted, the pitlane became a hub of activtity as the top three, Hamilton, Kubica and Raikkonen came in. Now what happened here changed the whole course of the race. Kubica and Raikkonen got out of their respective bay and accelerated towards the pitlane exit, coming to a stop waiting for the red light to go green. But Hamilton bolted out of his bay seconds later and ploughed straight into Raikkonen's back, taking himself and the World Champion out of the race. Rightly to his name "Iceman" Raikkonen calmly pointed the redlights(now green) to Hamilton.

For the first time in more than three seasons we now find Rubens Barrichello in the lead! He should have however taken a comfortable fourth but for his spin on lap 59. Adding to his worries however was fantastic Felipe, who did a double overtaking on him and Kovalainen to take fifth. Further ahead, another veteran, David Coulthard took his maiden podium in I cant remember how many seasons. A good result for him, on his one stop strategy. Now before I proceed further about this race, I'd like to post a few lines from my season preview posted before the season even began. Here goes...

BMW Sauber is one team that has been consistent all along in recent years. They’ve been oscillating between fourth and sixth till they came second in 2007, courtesy of Mclaren being stripped off all their points. In Dr. Mario Thiessen, they have a veteran engineer, who has the technical and managerial mindset to guide them to the top. I like the resilience and consistency they’ve shown season after season and that too without any glitz or glamour. You don’t notice them coming till they’ve arrived. My personal favourite to take the fight to Ferrari and Mclaren this season.

It was a year ago, when Robert Kubica had his horrific accident, that almost threatened his career. Who would have thought that a year on, he would redeem himself in such a memorable fashion. A strong qualifying put him on the front row of the grid. When asked about a maiden win, he coolly played down his chances. But with a little red intervention, he was able to score his first career victory, take the lead in the drivers' championship and also lead a BMW Sauber 1-2. Dr Mario Thiessen earlier had mentioned that his aim for this season was to score their maiden win. But to score a 1-2 and have his leader at the top of drivers title and team only three points adrift of top spot in the constructors' title was something he could have never imagined. Wishing Dr. Thiessen and the entire BMW Sauber team a hearty congratulations(anyone hearing) and all the best!

If on one of my favourite sports, a Pole driving for a German-Swiss team had made it a memorable day for them, in another of my favourite sport, a Polish born young man scored 2 goals for Germany against his country of birth in a tournament cohosted by Switzerland. Now that's what I call coincidence.

Lukas Podolski, assisted by fello Polish born Miroslav Klose gave Germany an early lead, in a match dominated by them as Joachim Low's team had a great outing. He followed it with a second after Klose's mis-hit shot and climbed into the leaderboard for goals scored in Euro 2008. The worrying concern for me was Germany's defence. Except Philip Lahm and later Thomas Hitzlsperger, the defence lacked substance. More about it and the Italy Netherlands game, when I am in the mood to write. Time to get some sleep now, long day at office tomorro. Ciao!

Vivid, Vague Memories Of A Time Gone By

FC Porto winning the UEFA Champions League in May 2004 was thought to be the perfect prelude to football's biggest international event in the continent, surpassed only by the magnitude of the FIFA World Cup. Right, this epic event brings back a lot of memories, good and bad, surprising and obvious, tearful and cheerful to name a few. Work commitments meant I missed the opening ceremony. However I promptly booked holidays for the first few games, at least.

My first and foremost memory of the tournament is Portugal's shock defeat at the hands of minnos Greece, who took defensive football to a whole new dimension, giving the Italians a run for their money. Ronaldo's extra time goal could not save the hosts from an embarrassing defeat in front of their people as Greece had popped two goals long before, thanks to Georgious Karagounis and Angelos Basinas. So for me personally the tournament started with a shock! I mean who, in their wildest dreams could have imagined Greece?

Moving on to the first biggest clash, one of those this-should-have-been-the-finals kind of matches, yes; England against France. What a mouth-watering prospect. India, by the way does not have a national football team to compete against the giants of football, as we are a country plagued by cricket. Hence we Indians are left with no choice but support other countries. My favourite team had always been England. Simply because of my love for Manchester United. Right, the stage was set and so was I. The game was pretty much ordinary until Beckham produced a trademark free kick, clinically disposed of by the prolific scoring Frank Lampard. This was the only strike and we England supporters were hysterical until it happened. Penalty for England!!! The hysteria rose!!! Up stepped captain David Beckham. Only to be denied by a diving Barthez. We could breath a sigh of relief as the clock ticked into injury time. Just about, when France got a free kick at the edge of the area. Zidane steps up. Big moments, big players. A phrase tailor made for this occasion. He curls this shot past the wall and past David James, 1-1! Back to the center. We've dropped 2 points think England fans. Now Stevie Gerrard of all people misplaces a pass and the ball lands at Henry's feet, who gets fouled by David James. Penalty!!! We're not short of drama are we? Zidane at the spot. Ball at the back of the net. 2-1 to France and so it stays till the final whistle. That's when I felt sympathetic towards Bayern Munich fans after Manchester United completed their treble in Barcelona in May 1999. Second memory for me- Tearful!

Italy, the home of Ferrari, my favourite Formula One team did not lose a single match in this tournament! Still they got out in the first round. Pathetic display of football combined with Totti's controversy and the allegations on Sweden and Denmark that they did not want Italy to progress summed up a disastrous campaign for the Italians who were led by Fabio Cannavaro for the first time in a major tournament, following Paolo Maldini's retirement.

In 1998, during the world cup in France, we saw the emergence of a new, young England striker called Micheal Owen. His pace and ability made him England's latest football sensation back then. Six years on we were to witness history repeat itself. Come Euro 2004, he shot into the limelight with two goals each against Switzerland and Croatia. Wayne Rooney he is called. He was England's class act in the tournament. He was mesmerising and his temperament was exceptional for a 17 year old. Another one of those nice memories of Euro 2004, Wayne Rooney.

However the most important memory of all happened while the final was being played between Portugal and Greece. Greece were already leading 1-0 thanks to a goal by Angelos Charisteas. A Portuguese fan runs onto the pitch and throws a Barcelona flag on Luis Figo's face and runs off. This is something I will always remember whenever someone mentions Euro 2004 to me.

Overall I was happy that Greece won the championship, but I was not happy about the way they did the job. I would have liked to see a more attacking and free-flowing football, like the way France played. I hope to see some good end-to-end action this time around. However the most fitting thing to have happened to the sporting fraternity of the world was Greece winning the championship as a prelude to the 2004 Athens Olympics. Thats wat sports is all about, the kind of coincidences and the kind of ordinary men who rise to the occasion and become heroes at the end of it all. Long live sports, long life sportsmen.