That Messi goal!

Some time in the early 90s playing against the Aussies, Kapil Dev produced a magical spell of 3 consecutive out-swingers. I did not see this match, only read about it later in Sportstar. The 1st ball bowled out Alan Border (so technically an in-swinger), and the 3rd bowled out Dean Jones. Apparently it was the 2nd that was the best of the lot. It swung just a bit, and quite late. Dean Jones, who was in a purple patch at that time, played at it and missed. The ball missed the off-stump by a whisker on its way to the wicket-keeper. The writer opined that only Don Bradman could have got out to that.

Meaning the ball was so good, that even the best batsman in the world would have got out to it. And it was so good, that only the best batsman could have got out to it. Dean Jones, great batsman that he was, was not good enough and reacted a bit late.

Sometimes you need to have the best batsman at the other end to witness the excellence of the bowler. And vice-versa. Similarly it takes one of the best defenders playing currently, backed by one of the best goalkeepers to showcase the magic of Messi's 2nd goal against Bayern in the CL semi-final 1st leg.

The 1st goal was typical Messi. He has, so many times, picked up the ball near the right wing, and then cut across parallel to the goal, looking for an angle to shoot with his left foot. Sometimes this would mean skipping past 1, 2, 3 defenders until he found a straight line from ball to goal. He didn't have to do any of that here. Dani Alves did most of the work in cutting the ball across from the left and passing it. Then he moved it to his left foot and let go. Neuer thought he was going for the far end upper corner, and got beaten on his near-side lower end. This partly helped set up the 2nd goal. 

The 2nd goal was genius. Messi picked up the ball and started moving down the line near the edge of the D. When he neared Boateng, he opened up his left shoulder and arm very slightly as if to start cutting across like he normally does. Boateng, either seeing this shoulder movement, or knowing Lionel's propensity to cut across, started to shift his weight to his right, and deny any space for the maestro to shoot with the left. In less than an instant, the striker decided to change directions and go past the defender's left. Boateng, almost immediately noticed this and tried to change direction as well. But his weight had already shifted to the right, causing him to lose balance and fall.

That fall showed how good this World Cup and Champions League winning defender is. Most defenders would have just stood there, and then reacted much later. A very good defender, would have played on the probability, and moved to his right, then ended up looking bewildered as Messi ran towards his other side. Only the best defenders, would have  1st moved right, then immediately tried to change direction, and lost their balance. No one playing fairly could have stopped him.

It took the skills of Boateng to emphasize the magic of Messi's movement. And he wasn't done yet. He topped this with a delectable chip using his weaker foot that outfoxed the giant frame of Neuer. Something that Danny Welbeck tried and failed, the previous season.

Making to World Cup winners look like amateurs. What better way to drive home the point of who's the greatest?

On Chelsea scaling their Everest - Ramblings

• My 1st memory of a penalty shoot-out is the 82 semi between W Germany & France. Sort of remember being impressed by the German precision in slotting into the far extremes of the net. Can't recall the Germans ever losing out on a penalty. On the other hand, have seen many English players doing a Ramos, including Terry & Beckham. So didn't think Chelsea stood a chance at the end. Was amazed to see Cech guess the correct direction every time. The Lineker axiom stands disproved.
• Chelsea has one of the most expensively assembled teams. Cost way more than Bayern or Barcelona. Surprised to see them always treated as underdogs. Or to not even make an attempt to play ball. They effectively neutralized Bayern's home advantage by refusing to keep possession.
• Feels odd that some English football fans will have fond memories of Munich.
• Torres had about 30 minutes to make his case for a place in Spain's Euro squad. IMO not enough.
• Everyone interviewed post match seemed non-committal on Di Matteo's continuation as coach. None of the players said they would like to see him as coach. All went on about how great a job he has done in terms of results. Stress on results. Seems a decision has already been made. Probably he losing the job is best for his reputation at this stage. Chelsea are very unlikely to repeat their success next year. They'll have to off-load quite a lot of players, and rebuild.
• Chelsea can use their CL success to boost their international fan base, especially with the London Olympics around the corner.
• Was nice that players weren't going to the ground all the time. One of the negative Spanish league traits.
• Avram Grant takes them to the finals for the 1st time. Di Matteo becomes 1st coach to win a Champions League with Chelsea. Just look at the list of those who couldn't. Maybe Roman Abramovich should permanently hire a caretaker coach.
• Feeling sorry for Spurs, but not too much. Entry to Champions League by placing 3rd or 4th in the domestic league is a sort of bonus, not a right. If you want to play the CL, win your home league.

The Barca after party

At work. Celebrating the success of FC Barcelona, and attractive football. Also to spite a few Real fans:-)

We're turning 19 soon!

And you're invited to the party

A banner at Anfield in 94. Soon after United won their 1st Premier League Championship under Sir Alex.

At Anfield in 2009.

Talk about comebacks!

Update:

Banner unfurled at Anfield by United fans during the Liverpool - Tottenham match.

Cute football quotes

Mostly picked up whilst following the World Cup. Some from memory.

The ball is round. The game lasts 90 minutes. That's fact. Everything else is pure theory. 

- quoted in 'Run Lola Run'. Original - Sepp Herberger.

Three years ago, Spain decided to keep the ball -- and the side still hasn't given it up. - Sid Lowe

If you have a Ferrari and I have a small car, the only way I can win is by putting sugar in your petrol tank. 

-Jose Mourinho

The best players of the world (and Xavi) - WTF headline from Daily Mail

I'm sure I saw him give the ball away once. - Alex Ferguson jokes about Xavi.

The Netherlands is a team in which six players defend, three attack, and Dirk Kuyt runs about. -

Jonathan Wilson

He cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that he's all right.

- George Best on David Beckham

You always lose when your opponents score and you don’t. - Raymond Domenech, who's mastered the art.

Pele should go back to the museum. We all know what the French are like and Platini as a Frenchman thinks he knows it all.

- El Diego

Soccer is a game for 22 people that run around, play the ball, and one referee who makes a slew of mistakes, and in the end Germany always wins. - Gary Lineker

I always score 1 against Germany. - Lineker after scoring 1 run in a cricket match. 

The Spanish Grandmasters

Watching Spain plod through the World Cup rounds, I keep getting the feeling that they play football, similar to a grandmaster playing chess. Xavi in particular being the mover.

• The score is usually 1-0.
• They play a series of small moves, and suddenly the whole layout has dramatically changed.
• They play moves and lines that you just couldn't see until they showed it to you
• Everyone but the aficionado gets bored watching them
• They know they have 90 minutes to win the game, and don't try to hurry it. Thus not giving the opponent a chance to capitalize on any error.
• No useless shots at goal (checks). One is good enough to win most games.

World Cup Round 1 review part 2

Group E
The Dutch have a tendency to self destruct. So no saying when they will undo all the good work . They have been looking good so far. Add Robben to the mix, and you have genuine title contenders. Though Van Persie at times reminds on of the forwards in Chak De India. He just refuses to pass!
Japan were very impressive with their organized play. Danes disappointed. They were not able to put their pace and height to good use in the key matches.

Group F
I think it was Gatusso who said, "With all respect to the other teams, if you can't qualify from a group that contains New Zealand, Slovakia & Paraguay, you need to have tomatoes thrown at you." Or something to that effect. What more can I say?

Group G
Argentina packed their team with so many forwards, that they had to play some of them in the midfield. Brazil played some defenders in their midfield. And at the end of every match, Dunga would complain that they didn't score enough goals because the opposing team wouldn't let them! With the likes of Kaka, Maicon & Robinho they could have put on quite a show if they wanted to. If.
Not to be outdone, Portugal played even more defensively. They split the playing ground into - Ronaldo covers the opponent's half, and the other 10 will cover their own. They were more open in the game against North Korea, where virtually every shot they took went into goal.
North Korea were impressive on 2 counts, despite the thrashing they took in a couple of matches. They held Brazil quite well to a very large extent. And they played a relatively clean and positive game. Cote d'Ivoire were unlucky to be in this group. They'd probably have topped if they were in C or E.

Group H
In the biggest shock of the round, the methodical Swiss beat the flamboyant Spaniards in the 1st round. Thus avenging all the losses a flamboyant Federer has had to take against the methodical Nadal. After that they failed to score at all, and got knocked out.
Spain recovered, and went on to play some of the most pleasing, but not effective, football and top the group. Torres joined the likes of Messi, Kaka & Rooney to have note scored at all so far. Chile were the only ones to take the game into the Spanish half, though they were not able to sustain it beyond the 1st 25 minutes.

Round up.
On the looks of it, the best 4 teams seem to be Argentina, Brazil, Netherlands & Spain, in  ascending order. Since Brazil could meet the Dutch in the quarterfinals, (and hopefully lose:) the 4th semifinal spot is most likely to be filled by Uruguay. The other contenders Germany & Portugal.

World Cup Round 1 review part 1

A brief look at the teams at the end of the 1st round.

Group A

The big story here was France. Am surprised people expected more of them. Raymond Domenech has achieved nothing of significance since taking over in 2004, bar the 2006 qualification and World Cup 2nd place. That too was largely courtesy Zidane and his troop of retirees. Don't know why the French persisted with him for so long. Once qualified, he doesn't include the likes of Karim Benzema & Samir Nasri in his squad. And then leaves Henry & Malouda on the bench. What can Ribery do on his own? It's a bonus they got a point out of Uruguay.

Uruguay looked solid in defence, and Forlan was the 1st player to show that the Jabulani can be controlled for long range shots. Deserved toppers.

Mexico should regret not having tried harder against Uruguay. Topping the group would have given them a pretty good shot at reaching the Semifinals. Would like to have seen a bit more of Javier Hernandez.

South Africa performed better than expected against both Mexico & France.

Group B

Probably the most photo mileage in the group was achieved by a certain Diego Armando. Messi mesmerized all including the goal posts, which he struck at regular intervals. Argentina playing with 3 out-and-out strikers was breathtaking. Made even their match against the sleep inducing Greeks worth watching. 

Korea were impressive with their pace and lack of fear. Park Ji Sung especially impressed. Nigeria disappointed, as all other African teams this time. Enyeama though was outstanding under the bar. The Greeks, with every game, make 2004 look like a miracle.

Group C

Beckenbauer is right. England are idiots to not have topped the group, and pass out on a golden opportunity to stroll into the Semis. In the 1st couple of games they couldn't even get simple passes right. Even Algeria out-possessed them! The only players to earn their place were Gerard, Ashley Cole, Barry & Johnson. Rooney couldn't hold on to a single pass. Whatever Heskey apologists say, forwards score goals. And unlike Rooney, he is not even out of form. This is the norm. If you must play him, play him as a midfielder. And then get a decent forward into the team. Lampard was anonymous. No idea why Capello didn't substitute him at all. Fellow Chelski players might call JT the greatest thing since sliced bread, but he was pretty average. Was totally out of depth in the 1st 2 matches. Too many unnecessary passes back to the goalkeeper.

USA impressed, especially Donovan and Bradley. However as a team overall they seem to lack tactical acumen. Thanks to England's magnetic repulsion of the ball, they now have a good shot at repeating their achievement of 1930.

Group D

The German youngsters showed a lot of promise to start. However they now face a tough run with England next, possibly Argentina after that, and if they make it past that, Spain or Portugal for place in the finals.

Ghana salvaged some African pride. Serbian players seem to suffer from flaying arms. The Aussies are a team a lot of people love to hate. Especially other cricket & rugby playing nations. Not many were sorry to see them lose.