Football Books you should never read

1. ‘How to take a penalty’ by Martin Palermo. This comes with an instruction video as well.

2. ‘How to save a club from relegation’ by Ian Dowie. This has separate versions for managers and players.

3. ‘How to settle down at a new club’ by Rivaldo and Denilson. This one stands out from other books on the same topic because the co-authors cover 4 continents and various countries with different cultures.

4. ‘How to make money from the football business’ by Juan Soler, Ken Bates and all the Portsmouth owners.

5. ‘How to deal with joint ownership issues at a football club’ by George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

6. ‘How to buy footballing happiness with money’ by Roman Abramovich.

7. ‘How to promote your national league’ by the chairmen of Rangers and Celtic football clubs.

8. ‘How to behave yourself on the bench’ by Sven Goran Eriksson.

9. ‘How to avoid injuries before important tournaments’ by Santi Canizares.

10. ‘Football is a team game’  by Didier Drogba.

11. ‘How to play fantasy football with “Real” money’ by Florentino Perez.

12. ‘Playing football means more than anything else’ by Winston Bogarde.

13. ‘How footballers can become role models for kids’ by Joey Barton.

14. ‘Having super-rich owners is every football fan’s dream’ by the fans of Crystal Palace.

15. ‘How to surprise your opposition ( as well as your own team) by squad rotation’ by Claudio Ranieri and Rafa Benitez.

16. ‘New rules make football an interesting game’ by Sepp Blatter. This has a forward by Brian Glanville.

17. ‘Playing for your enemy – importance of loyalty in football derbies’ by Ronaldo and Peter Beardsley.

18. ‘How defenders can avoid scoring own-goals goals’  by Stan van den Buys.

19. ‘Honesty is the best policy in football’ by Erich Mielke. New edition has a new section from Luciano Moggi.

20. ‘Dribbling is not everything’ by Denilson.

21. ‘Goalkeepers should mark their territory’ by Rene Higuita.

22. ‘Goalkeepers have the best fashion sense in football’ by Jorge Campos.

23. ‘How to make friends with the manager’ by Jaap Stam.

24. ‘There is no place for human error in football’ by Tofik Bakhramov.

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Is cricket ‘really’ growing as a global sport?

Is cricket ‘really’ growing as a global sport?

Different people will have different answers to this question.

An Indian cricket administrator or a commentator or anyone associated with the IPL will answer with a resounding yes. They will then embellish their argument with a stream of stats – indicating how cricket is growing.

Ask someone in the West Indies and he won’t be so sure. However, he will bear witness to the growth of other sports – the likes of basketball- and mourn that this growth has resulted in the decline of cricket in the Caribbean.

Speak to the handful of cricketers keeping the sport alive in a country like Kenya and they will ruefully talk of missed opportunities – how the sport failed to capitalize on the wave of popularity generated by the World Cup semi-final run.

The geographical distribution of the answers is actually the best indicator of whether the sport is growing globally or not. But we will come to that later.

We will first look at the stream of stats, which indicate why Indian administrators think that cricket, is growing.

These stats are about revenues, broadcast numbers and player earnings.

Cricket must surely be growing, if the Indian cricket team has the richest shirt sponsorship deal in sport, if the number of countries seeing the World Cup live is growing exponentially and if the per hour earning of an IPL superstar is more than what his English Premier League counterpart makes. ICC’s associate membership is also growing.

Surely the game is reaching more corners of the planet than it ever reached during the heydays of the British Empire.

Cricket is growing and there was absolutely no need to add a “really” to the topic.

But before we give a conclusive verdict, lets try and answer a few more questions.

How many native fans (we are not counting the Patels and the Sardarji’s spread all over the globe and others of their ilk from the test-playing nations) whose countries are not playing in the world cup watch the cricket regularly?

How often does cricket news make it to ESPN.com or CNN.com?

How many cricketers are global sports icons and endorse products globally?

How well is China doing in the sport?

How many new nations have made the breakthrough- of becoming good enough to play with the big boys- in the last 20 years? For cricket, that would mean gaining test-playing status.

The answer to all these questions is zero or none or something close to that.

The last question is the important and most telling of cricket’s underperformance.

The test playing pool remains the same. The last deserving entrant was Sri Lanka almost 30 years back. And the Lankans had been playing the sport for at least 50 years before that. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have also joined the club but have done little to justify the membership.

Things at the associate level also have pretty much remained the same. The likes of Holland, Hong Kong, Scotland and Bermuda have been around forever. There are no new nations making the break-through even at the associate level. And that has to be considered a more robust yardstick to measure the spread of any sport.

The China question is also important. Whatever matters in the world, is taken seriously by the Chinese, including everything considered worthwhile in sport. The dragon nation takes it up with manic fervor and becomes an important player in no time. That we haven’t heard of China and cricket, beyond the “Chinaman” is proof enough that Cricket isn’t worthy enough yet.

How do the other sports perform on the same parameters?

Lets not even waste our time with the likes of football and tennis. Lets look at a sport like basketball. The field is just getting stronger. There are new powers like Turkey. Others like Argentina, Spain and Italy have also gotten better. Russia declined but these new powers took their place. Basketball also passes the China test with flying colours thanks to Yao Ming. It has global superstars like Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal. India is a basketball minnow and no Indian plays in the NBA but an increasing number of fans watch the sport throughout the season.

Basketball clearly has what cricket doesn’t.

The geographic distribution of the original question starts to make sense now.

Cricket is prospering in some of the test-playing nations, giving them a rose-tinted view of how the sport is doing globally. India, Sri Lanka, England and Australia belong to this category.

Other members of this club have fallen on hard times. The West Indies have declined beyond unimaginable proportions. And no one has stepped in to take their place, making the sport weaker overall. This is tantamount to a de-globalization of the sport.

Others with promise have also withered away. Kenya looked good but their huge step forward in the 2003 World Cup was followed by a hundred small steps backwards.

The decline of these old powers and lack of suitable replacements conclusively proves that cricket isn’t growing globally. Because if cricket were a truly global sport, then it would have helped the existing powers (at least most of them) survive and nurtured new ones to powers of strength.

It’s very simple. Everything finally comes down to revenue. A global sport creates enough wealth for everyone involved to keep the sport developing across the globe. There is enough money for the global body to support the sport in fledgling nations. FIFA might be corrupt but it is financing football infrastructure and providing equipment and coaching in poor African countries (as well as in India). How many cricket pitches has the ICC built?

A global sport also has a large enough audience; spread across countries – thereby generating sufficient revenue- to support a large pool of players. It can provide decent employment to promising players from anywhere in the world. This ensures that there is enough interest in the sport and talent is not lost.

Let me illustrate this point with a few examples.

The West Indies are struggling because youngsters are taking up other sports with better money making opportunities. The lack of infrastructure is also a problem. After the arrest of Mr. Sanford, the WICB has had no money. The contracts of international players are very average. Chris Gayle can ditch the national contact and make millions in the IPL but lesser known West Indian cricketers have no such opportunities. If there were ten professional leagues like the IPL even including ones, which paid one-tenth the salaries, then many more young West Indians would have been enticed into cricket.

Look at the contrast in football.

The tiny nation of Trinidad and Tobago has no national football league but it went to the World Cup with a team made up entirely of players playing in the lower leagues in England.

Look at basketball. Everyone cannot play in the NBA. But there are enough professional leagues around the world. A promising Indian player can make a good living playing in the Russian or Spanish or even the Turkish leagues.

Thanks to FIFA, a poor child in a war torn African nation will get to play with a proper ball on a respectable pitch and get coached by a decent coach. A promising cricketer in Kenya or Namibia will not get any such chance. Sierra Leone and Liberia will produce world-class footballers. But nothing of the sort will happen in cricket.

It is not enough for fans of newer countries to be able to watch the World Cup of a particular sport. A promising player from that country should get the coaching and infrastructure to hone his skills and then find gainful employment.

In spite of the positive indicators, cricket suffers because the growth is extremely skewed. It has grown at a massive rate in India, reaching many more homes and finding talent from the remotest corners but not so much elsewhere. The IPL is a great opportunity for lesser players to make a great living but only for the ones who come from India. The cricket boards of countries like England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been financially strained. As the revenue is in India, the Indian board calls the shots on most matters and limits the ICC from “really” taking the game global.

One of the prime examples of India’s interests not being aligned with ICC’s globalization missive is how the BCCI single-handedly sabotaged cricket’s chances of being included in the Olympics. The BCCI did so by refusing to participate in the Asian Games. Other sports like Squash have the full support of all the federations and the top players in their efforts to join the Olympic movement. Cricket isn’t so lucky.

The Olympics can do wonders for the globalization of a sport. There will be a new audience, more people will take up the game and revenues will be generated. By missing the Olympic opportunity, cricket just made its task much more difficult.

In spite of all its riches – in terms of money, talent and a huge audience- India also needs the sport to go global. Even they will suffer if the strength of the game deteriorates. And that is bound to happen if existing test playing nations like the West Indies and New Zealand continue to decline and new countries aren’t able to rise up to that level.

There is no money in domestic cricket and – as the recent India – WI series showed- Indians don’t have time for sub standard international opposition. The BCCI needs to take the lead in growing the sport worldwide.

It could well learn from the USA and baseball. For the longest times, the sport has been limited to the US and a handful of central and South American countries like Venezuela and Puerto Rico. Major League Baseball has done a lot to nurture the game in these small and poor nations by providing scouting, training, infrastructure and a chance to play professionally.

The sport has always been popular in Japan but thanks to the MLB the sport also has a rabid following in Korea. The rise of Korea has strengthened the game globally and found a new paying audience for the sport. Korea has lots of players in the MLB and won the World Baseball Classic.

After being dropped once, the sport has made a strong comeback in the Olympics. Thanks to the Olympics the sport is finding fans all over the place. The newest nation to make a splash was the Netherlands.

The MLB is doing all of this in spite of having a large enough domestic market to support the game. And they are not done yet. They continue to take the sport further, even going to countries where hardly anyone understands the laws of the game.

A few years back, the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball came and scouted for pitchers in India. The number of MLB fans in India would be less than a few thousand. Undeterred, the Pirates selected two promising players and took them to the US. The two have been offered professional contracts and are currently progressing through the Pirates’ farm system. If one of them manages to play at the highest level, it could spur a new wave of interest in the sport in India.

The MLB will build on this interest by getting more teams to visit India, by building infrastructure and providing coaching to promising youngsters and increasing the number of live games shown in India.

This is how cricket needs to operate. They have found an interesting format in the form of Twenty-20 and are no longer hampered by having to teach an educated audience the merits of playing a game for five days and still ending up without a result.

In the recent NBA finals in basketball, the star performers included a German and a Puerto Rican in addition to all the resident Americans. Cricket can claim to be a truly global game when the IPL finals feature a Chinese, a Kenyan and an American.

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FIFA finally gets the World Cup mascot a pair of shorts

The mascot for the 2010 football world cup in South Africa was unveiled on Sept 23. After the shockers that were the last two World Cup mascots, I was expecting something similar or worse than a set of comic alienoids or a half clothed lion football man.

The 2006 mascot - Is it half-clothed or half-naked?

But thanks to I don't know who, we have been spared - FIFA's latest mascot, Zakumi, is a return to sanity and propriety

Such fears never arose in the good old days. Check out all the World Cup mascots till date and the rationale behind each.

Is it a mere coincidence that the mascot horrors have come in the reign of Mr Sepp ' mad bundle of ideas' Blatter. I am wondering what could be an appropriate punishment for him - making him dress like the 2006 mascot probably!!!

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These guys should not be in their jobs

The guys in goal that is. Is there anything more embarrassing than this. They are like a policeman who got mugged by an 80 year old granny !!!

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Mirror Mirror on the Wall – who’s the richest club owner of them all

For a long time the owners of Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan were the richest owners in football. Technically, Barcelona and Real Madrid had no owners but had purses which were just as deep.

Then Roman Abramovich came in. He took the battle to the Spaniards and the Italians giving Chelsea more financial muscle than any other club. The likes of Man United, Liverpool, West Ham, Aston Villa and Man City have since got billionaire owners of their own but nobody has quite matched the Russian oligarch.

The Russian is the current big daddy of super rich owners

This was followed by the part ownership of Queens Park Rangers by Laxmi Mittal. Mr Mittal is the richest man in Britain and has more billions than Roman but unlike the Russian he hasn’t quite got down to throwing his millions around. While his disinterest in football is bad news for the club, people in India don’t mind – as long as the Mittal Champions Trust continues to be endowed magnanimously. There are other super-rich part owners as well – but minor compared to Mr Mittal – the likes of Alisher Usmanov and Bernie Ecclestone.

The Sheikh has quickly taken ownership of the British transfer record

Now a real challenger has emerged – in the form of the Abu Dhabi group which has bought Manchester City. While the full extent of their money power will be known only during the January transfer window and much beyond that, they have already shown a glimpse of their ambition and their recklessness. Their last-ditch signing of Robinho can beat anything that Abramovich has expended for thus far.

The premiership is the perfect platform for Anil to display his global ambition

And then there are more pretenders. Anil Ambani – the fourth richest man in the world lurks. The Ambani has great ambition and will hold nothing back (meaning no expenses will be spared) in his quest for success.

Paul's an old hand at money games and knows no limits

Paul Allen is another – Microsoft’s co-founder has been linked to Southampton in the past and can be counted upon to make an entry if some other club becomes available. He has less money than Mittal or Abramovich but is far more profligate – has already contributed to changing the money dynamics in the NBA and the NFL.

While the likelihood of the richest man in the world – Bill Gates – jumping in the fray is quite slim, we cannot rule out two others – men who have more money than any of the current owner or the pretenders – the Mexican Carlos Slim and Anil Ambani’s brother Mukesh. Carlos Slim could do on a far larger scale what Thaksin Shinawatra dreamt of - use a premiership club to boost his own popularity in his football-mad homeland. Mukesh Ambani has already tasted blood with the IPL and always loves to take on his younger brother. So Anil’s entry into European football could quickly lead to a purchase by the elder brother as well.

The battle of Britain could be like no other. That there is a fair correlation between spending and foot balling success has already been proved and is a fact known to all the rich guys. The coming times could well become a battle of the purses. I now wonder - If it ever comes to a ‘let the richest man win’ win kind of situation - then who will be the winner? What do you guys think ?

This article was originally published on Goal.com

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Why are we Indians so bad at football – the mystery of 153 - part 2

This is part 2 of the article. You can read the first part here.

Indian parents and careers in sports

Indian parents play an extremely important role in defining the careers of their children. Usually their approach is to take the safest, most proven path to a great life i.e. through education. When the child is 16 or 18 and its time to make your first career related choice, the parent of a talented kid will look at the worst case scenario of a sporting career before letting his child take the sporting path. There is an exception if the parent is an extremely successful sportsperson (or associated in some other capacity) and is more open minded about sports as a career and can also groom and guide his child to improve his chances

Other than that the parent will only let his kin take up sports as a career if

• The child is extremely gifted at sports and has already made quite a name for himself by the time a decision has to be taken. He is certain to go all the way and have a wonderful career.
• The child comes from a poor background and has little chance of getting an education. In such a case, sport is the only way to get away from life’s miseries. The parent usually has no choice in this case. The poor kid will at least land up a decent job in the sports quota of a public company
• The child’s sporting achievements can actually improve his chances of getting a good education. This happens a lot with middle class families who know the ancillary benefits of sports like securing a college admission or a scholarship.
• The child excels at a sport which is adequately rewarding even for those who fail to reach the top of the pyramid and therefore there is no risk of failure

Now to understand why, other sports have an advantage over football when it comes to parental support.

Few footballers qualify for the first situation. It comes down to precocious talent and except for Baichung Bhutia; we haven’t had one in years. On the other hand look at the amount of junior talent in cricket, tennis, football, chess, golf, badminton and squash.

The second scenario is common to most sports including football in India. Football still has a slight disadvantage as compared to cricket, hockey, athletics and boxing as the large public entities like the services, railways and the police are active participants in these sports and recruit heavily but not so much in football. Sometime back there were two exceptions in Kerala Police and Punjab Police which had strong sides in the national arena and encouraged football a lot. Sadly for the sport, that is no longer the case.

The third scenario largely applies to sports which are popular in the US. A young golfer, tennis player or squash player has a great chance of getting a US scholarship based on his sporting achievements. The strong support system in the US gives the player a better chance of making it big. Additionally he has his US degree to fall back on if things don’t work out. Look at most of the top players in these sports in the recent past – Jeev Milkha Singh, Mahesh Bhupathi, and Shiv Kapur – they have all benefited from this option and so has their sport

The last option is available in sports where even the second and third rung talent can make decent money from the game. This can happen if the domestic structure is cash rich and players can make good money through playing/coaching/managing/scouting/reporting/commenting/amalyzing or if similar opportunities are available abroad.

Cricket and hockey players have been playing in the foreign leagues since ages and now there is good money in the domestic game as well. Golf is another sport which has a cash rich domestic circuit. Running a coaching academy is another money spinner for tennis and cricket players. Even chess has many prize money events and offers scope for coaching. But what about football. The only time you make money is when you play and only the top club stars make good money. The sport clearly lags behind cricket, hockey, tennis, golf, and chess when it comes to making a livelihood out of sport.

As we have seen, Indian parents don’t a have very good reason to let their children take up football as a career. At least most of the sports have one scenario in which the parent will encourage his child to go all the way.

Therefore the answer to my question is this

Indians are fundamentally not very well endowed to play the sport; have no system to nurture the precocious few; have a cultural issue which afflicts a team game like football; have no ‘real’ support for the game (our passion is misleading); have not developed a football identity in spite of having played the sport for so long; and most importantly our career planning mechanism usually vetoes football as a profession owing to its poor ‘livelihood quotient’.

The journey to 153 is now complete

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Why are we Indians so bad at football – the mystery of 153 - part 1

This article was originally published in the Advanc'edge magazine brought out by IMS and was written before India's stunning AFC Cup win. This is the first part of the article


The idea for this article came when a friend asked me this – why does a country where so many people stay up nights to watch and be passionately involved in football cannot attain global standards in the game

The simple answer would be that football is the most popular sport in the world and our passion for the game is nothing compared to the passion exhibited by fans in South America or Europe or even Africa for that matter. If there was some way to rank nations in terms of their passion for football, India’s ranking would be in the neighbourhood of their FIFA ranking of 153. Therefore my friend, we have nothing to complain about our failure to attain global standards as our passion for the game is not at par with global benchmarks.

But then , there is another side to it as well- we are a nation of 1.2 billion and even if a small percentage of the population was dedicated to the sport, we will have a large enough pool of players (more than the population of many nations) to be able to field a quality side.

Also the fervour for football in India compares favourably to most sports. A tournament in faraway Europe evoked such passions that national dailies were forced to give cricket news (involving the national team no less) second class treatment in favour of football news. Few sports can claim to have matched football in that regard but most of them can make another claim – India fares far better at them as compared to football. Therefore my friend’s original question can now be reframed as

A) Why are we ranked number 153 in football in spite of our huge population (and supposed ability to have a large pool of players) and all the passionate support for the game

Or

B) Why for all the passion, our football team fares poorly as compared to teams in many other sports which enjoy far less viewer interest?

Now for the answers. First the ones to do with the nature of the game itself

Football is a physically demanding sport

Top quality football requires a high level of stamina, strength, speed, fitness and agility – Indians are typically lacking in all of these. We typically fare better at sports whose physical demands are far less - like cricket

But how come we do a lot better at tennis and hockey which are also very physically demanding. Well we could have done a lot better at these sports if not for our physical ineptness. Our decline in both hockey and tennis has coincided with these two sports taking on a more physical nature. We have always depended on the dribble in hockey and on touch play in tennis

Run of the mill African players manage to become stars in Indian football owing to their vastly superior physical conditioning as compared to the Indians. Other sports where we have done well in the recent past – Chess, Golf, Shooting, Billiards - none of them are very physically demanding

Indians don’t have a lot of natural football talent

Extravagant talent can make up for lack of physical prowess and a lot of other things as well. Like it does in the case of the South Americans. The dribbling and juggling skills of average Brazilian kids would put International players from other nations to shame.

Sadly for us, we don’t have the natural talent to cover for our physical shortcomings. I have never seen an Indian player, not a single one, whose natural talent could take my breath away. The fact that there are more than a dozen Indian-origin players playing county cricket but a mere one (Michael Chopra) playing in the premiership is also proof of a genetic lack of talent.

As compared to football, we still mine outstanding talents in other sports – Vishy Anand in Chess, Sachin Tendulkar in Cricket and Dhanraj Pillay in Hockey. Very clearly, we aren’t naturally blessed to play the game of football.

These two reasons are primarily why India can never be placed in the top 40 of FIFA’s ranking. But we are ranked 153. So obviously there are other reasons which help us cover the distance from 40 to 153. Time to look at them now


The lack of good coaching infrastructure for young kids with talent for football

Suppose you are the father of talented young footballer in India. Where will you send him to hone his football skills when he is eight years old - A football coaching centre in your city? Chances are that unless you live in a Mumbai or a Kolkata, there will be no such centre available in your city. Your kid can either learn from you or pick up another sport. He will have a far better chance of sporting success if he was into cricket or tennis or chess or even golf for that matter.

So what does a lack of good early coaching do to a potential footballer?

The footballer will suffer from poor technique, all his life. And most Indians, even national and international players actually do. The next time you watch a national tournament or see the Indian team in action, watch the players struggle with the most basic stuff – trapping a ball cleanly, heading and executing a simple flat pass. Most players develop their own make shift technique and manage with it somehow, till, they get exposed by a technically superior opponent.

The footballer also suffers from lack of football intelligence. Football involves a lot in terms of formations, positional sense and tactics. The team is usually more or less, than the sum of its individual parts depending on how well it does in these departments. A good coach exposes his wards to all these different aspects of the game and prepares them to adapt to different situations in their future football life. Sadly, young Indian footballers are not so well educated.

The fact that football is a team game and not an individual sport makes it worse

Prakash Padukone went to Denmark and practised regularly with Morten Frost. Both players improved tremendously. In an individual sport you need just one good practise partner to improve. Now consider the case of a team sport like football.

First, your team needs to have a lot of good players for you to get better. You will never learn to become part of a cohesive unit unless you do that. And then for this cohesive unit to get better you need to play against good opponents. So, a young footballer needs to play with 21 equally talented players to improve in all aspects of the game. This could only happen at well run youth clubs or coaching academies. Sadly, young footballers can’t do what Eklavya did in the Mahabharata – practise alone. This problem is something which afflicts hockey also.

And then there is the problem we have as a nation when it comes to team sports

Fundamentally all team sports have a problem in India because as a nation we always aspire for individual glory and are rarely willing to sacrifice it for the greater good of the team. The only team sport where we have improved is cricket and that is hardly a team sport in the truest sense. The need for teamwork and synergy is far less in cricket.

But forget cricket, other true team sports like hockey also have some advantages over football

Hockey has an identity but football doesn’t

The whole hockey world and sports fans all across the country know that Indian Hockey teams play in a 5-3-2-1 formation. This attacking style is adopted by teams all over India; at all levels. This is the bedrock of Indian hockey. Young players grow up with this formation in mind.

On the other hand football has no identity in this country. Even the biggest football buffs would be hard-pressed to answer questions about India’s style of play or its formation on the field. And not just about the current crop; questions about more successful teams of the past will also be difficult to answer.

An identity is important as it gives the young sportsman a clear path of his sporting life ahead. A hockey player can settle in a playing position at a young position and will possibly live with it for the rest of his playing life. He gets accustomed to a style and is already living and breathing it by the time he comes to the senior level. An Indian footballer on the other hand never learns a system. Every successful football nation has an identity. Dutch kids take their first steps with ‘total football’ on their minds while Italians are imbibed with the principles of ‘catenaccio’ from an early age.

Sadly, we have no football identity of our own in spite of the long history of the sport in this country. Getting closer to 153

But what about all the passion. Well time for another harsh reality of Indian football

Indians are passionate about football but only of the kind played by the very best

We don’t love football as such. We love top quality football – the kind played in the World Cup or the Euro tournament or by the top clubs in Europe and South America. Our passion is a seasonal occurrence. We are not football romantics who would stop on the road to watch a bunch of kids run after a ball. Except for some ardent souls in West Bengal, Kerala, Goa and the North-east, we do not have any local affiliations. In Europe, fans are crazy about their local side, even if it is the worst side in their country. In that sense we are football connoisseurs (who appreciate the finest quality) and not football lovers who love the game itself.

The unadulterated madness for cricket has created a cricket revolution in this country. Football, sadly, will never see a revolution as the passion is selective and highly diluted. The influx of foreign leagues on TV has been a bane for the domestic game. Earlier football lovers looked forward to watching top domestic tournaments like the Durand Cup and Federation Cup. Now you reject it as sub-standard and don’t care

But, In spite of everything, 153 is unjustified. So, we now come to something which is critical to the popularity of any sport in this country – the livelihood factor of a sport. This is the final step to 153

The second part of this article is in the next post.

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The Commonfan’s Football Poll – What should Man United do with Cristiano Ronaldo

The statistical relevance and bias prevention steps for this poll are the same as the last Commonfan Poll. So if you agreed with that one then read on. If you didn’t, I hope you are wiser the second time round.

Poll – What should Man United do with Cristiano Ronaldo?
Results - Send him to a first division club on loan – 35%
Sell him to Barcelona to spite Real – 28%
Sell him to Real for a fortune – 21%

I am totally sick of the Ronaldo – Real Madrid saga and I am sure other United fans are too. Forget United fans, I think every football fan has had enough of it. The voting clearly shows what they think about the three protagonists in the drama

The biggest villain as clearly shown by the votes is Ronaldo himself. He is full of himself and probably thinks he is god’s gift to football; a mediocre Euro 2008 notwithstanding. Every morning he makes a new statement and then sits back to enjoy all the attention that brings. He surely feels he is at the centre of the football universe right now. So it’s not surprising that the fans would love to give him a taste of some solitude and isolation, away from all the media glare. How about a little club in the English first division - preferably some place cold where Ronaldo is forever wrapped in mufflers and woollen caps and the media can barely identify him. That will serve him right!!!

The other villains quite obviously are Real Madrid – who think they can get away with anything. They think they have a divine right on every footballer on the planet – they will just make a wish and the player will come running to them. They might have the seal of Spanish royalty but we aren’t ready to treat them as kings. Man United could spite them real bad by offering Ronaldo to Barcelona. As part of the deal, Ronaldo should be allowed to take all the penalties Barca get against Madrid. I would love to see Calderon’s face when Ronaldo scores against Real at the Bernabeau.

United should let Real Madrid have Ronaldo if they can get a fortune in return

And finally, a fair portion of fans also think that United could do well to make the most of this opportunity. I guess most of these are United fans like me, who can see the benefits of a mega transfer kitty - which Ronaldo’s move to Real could bring. United could use that money to buy a right-back, a striker and also pay for Carlos Tevez’s transfer fee. They haven’t managed to ad a single player to their squad this year. The heavy expenditure made last year seems to have tied down Fergie’s hands this season. And how good is a disgruntled superstar. And nobody will pay more for Ronaldo than Real Madrid. The first two options will give us (United fans) a lot of wicked pleasure but option three is most beneficial for the club. Man United and their manager should just shed their pride and sell Ronaldo to Real Madrid for a fortune.

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Note to budding footballers in India -Want to become a professional player – then do what the Kiwis do

In India, the path to becoming a professional footballer is a rather difficult one. Let’s not even get into what makes it difficult. I can probably write more than a few thousand words about it and we will still not be done. So we will concentrate on an alternate path – one which has been laid out by some footballers from New Zealand and is a lot easier than the current one.

This is what the Kiwi footballers have recently started doing.

They move to US Universities on a football scholarship. Play in the collegiate system and then try getting into the MLS. A good stint in the MLS brings them on the radar of the European clubs – not the big ones but more of the middle of the road variety – which is still far better than toiling in the obscurity of their domestic league or the A-League in Australia

This is why it works

Football is decently popular at the collegiate level in the US and there are enough scholarships on offer. A decent junior from New Zealand has a very good chance of winning a scholarship to one of the numerous universities. The competition is far less intense than what one will encounter at one of the coaching academies in Europe. The infrastructure, training and coaching facilities are world –class. But the competition is not too great – making it easy for someone with a modicum of talent to shine and get picked by an MLS club.

The college system serves as the main feeder for the MLS clubs and again there are plenty of opportunities. It’s far easier to get noticed by an MLS club when you have played in the US. Again the level of competition is nothing compared to the tough trials at European clubs. An MLS career in itself is good enough. If you are really good you have a chance to get noticed by European scouts. The MLS is flush with veterans from Europe who act as pseudo-scouts for their old clubs and also enrich a young player’s football intelligence with their experience.

You can end up getting a direct contract rather than going through the grind of trials. The competition is just good enough to help you improve and too tough to leave you frustrated.

The US collegiate system has already worked wonders for Indian Tennis and Golf and it could do the same for football as well.

The gulf between Indian players and their European or American counterparts starts to really swell around the age of 16 as fitness, stamina, coaching and exposure to quality competition starts becoming increasingly important in a players development. At around this age an Indian footballer still has a fighting chance to win a scholarship to the US. Once he gets there, he will have access to everything that players in the US have and players in India don’t – world-class coaching, fitness and training facilities. He can then compete on an even keel with footballers from other nations and win a spot on an MLS side. That would be more than anything that an Indian footballer has achieved till date. We can have football’s version of a Jeev Milkha Singh or a Mahesh Bhupathi. A path like this will appeal to those who get de-motivated by the road to becoming a professional footballer in India and its rewards.

The mantra is simple. Go the Kiwi way.

This article was originally published on www.goal.com

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What will be the lasting memories of Euro 2008

The final of the Euro 2008 was played last Sunday and most soccer fans are already over it and involved neck deep in the transfer activities that will go a long way in determining the destiny of their favourite clubs in the coming season. It is therefore a good time to look back and try and identify what could possibly be the lasting memories of Euro 2008.

After all, the euphoria is already over (except for in Spain) and we can no longer re-collect the amount of tiny details that we could do a week back. The short-term memory bank of Euro 2008 has already been wiped clean and the condensed reminiscences that are still with us are finding a place for themselves in our long term storage.

So lets pick out the memories which will define Euro 2008 and remain entrenched in our minds forever – much in the same way as the Van Basten volley of 1988, the double strike of Olivier Bierhoff in Euro 96, the Danish fairy-tale of 1992 or the heroic performance of the Italian defence in Euro 2000.

To ensure that the process is robust, I am not going to be relying on the internet and I saw enough of the tournament to not miss anything important.

So here goes (in no particular order)

The ‘wonder goal’ scored by the Dutch against Italy

Most of us never saw the ‘Total Football’ of the 70’s (in person that is). But we caught a glimpse of what it would have been like as the Dutch scored a spectacular counter-attacking goal against Italy. Holland had a disappointing exit from the tournament but their performance in the first 270 minutes was a thing of sheer beauty. We should be hearing more of Van Basten the coach in the future.

The ‘heart-breaking’ Turks

Grabbing one win with a sensational late goal is usually gratifying enough. The Turks managed three in a row!!!. Their late comebacks were heart-breaking for the opposition fans - the Swiss, the Czechs and the Croats. No one would have broken so many in the course of one tournament. Their exploits could usher in a new term – doing a Turkey, every time someone gets a late winner. And all this with nearly half the squad injured or suspended.

No suffering as an English fan

I am an Indian. But we identify a lot with the English – having been ruled by them for so long and then from watching the comprehensive coverage of the EPL week in and week out. Not having our home nation India to cheer for, we invariably end up supporting England at most major tournaments and needless to say, we are a dejected lot when all is said and done. Therefore for once, we could watch the tournament in peace without the threat of a heart break looming large (I am not counting the 1994 World Cup as we had no EPL coverage then). Unluckily for us and luckily for England (now that Capello is on board) this might be a one off. The memory will surely last.

For once the Spanish were victors

Will not delve too much into why this would be a lasting memory. We all know why

The ‘Master Coach’

It takes a really special manager and an outstanding coaching job to pass the ‘lasting memory’ criterion. Guus Hiddink and his effort with the Russians got full marks on both. The most accomplished manager heading into the tournament was also the ‘best manager of the tournament’ – like a top seed who also ended up winning – doesn’t happen too often in major tournaments. We’ll always remember the Dutchman who brought the Dutch juggernaut to a grinding halt and did that with such attacking verve that we almost forgot that it was the team at the receiving end (Holland) which had been winning hearts for their attacking play. As a neutral fan (who just supports good football) I had been rooting for the Dutch yet there was no sadness when they went out.

The blunders and the ‘what if’ discussions

There is a chance that we might forget the guys who did well but rarely are the villains forgotten. Usually their blunders have a decisive impact on their teams fortunes and spawns a ‘what if’ discussion for the ages. Romanians will talk about Mutu’s missed penalty and what could have been. Same goes for the Czechs and the horror goal conceded by Petr Cech. Portuguese fans will debate the impact of Scolari’s Chelsea announcement and then there will be the regulars – the referees and the usual set of refereeing decisions which could have gone either way.

And finally

Euro 2008 did not have a single player who took the tournament by storm – a clear cut ‘player of the tournament’. Many like Ronaldo were expected to do so but failed. There were some wonderful performances no doubt but no player stood out like a colossus. We will not be associating this tournament with the brilliance of any player. Rather we will remember the team efforts. The ‘total football’ of the Dutch. The crisp passing of the Spaniards. The boundless energy of the Russians and the indefatigable spirit of the Turks.


This article was originally published on www.soccerlens.com

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Why Andrey Arshavin should not go to FC Barcelona

Arshavin and Barcelona should avoid a repeat of Riquelme's frustrating spell at the Spanish giants

Andrey Arshavin has openly expressed a desire to join Barcelona. While players do this all the time, in this case the Spanish Club has opened negotiations with the player’s current club, clearly showing intent to add the player to their squad.

As an opening salvo, the player’s current employers have agreed to let the player go provided Lionel Messi goes in the opposite direction. The offer also includes a payment of 20 million pounds to be made to Barcelona. While the offer sounds preposterous, there is actually some logic to it. But in spite of the logic, which I will come to later, it will be in Arshavin’s best interests if Barcelona rejects the offer outright and there are no further negotiations.

And here’s why

There is no place for Arshavin in the Barcelona playing eleven. A player of his class and age (at 27 he’s not a youngster exactly), should not be wasting his time getting frustrated on the bench. He will hardly have a role to play for Barcelona. And that is precisely the reason why the club should not be wasting their time chasing him and should concentrate on their other more important transfer targets.

Why there is no place for Arshavin in the Barcelona playing eleven

Arshavin can either play as a playmaker or as a second striker. Provided he joins Barca, he will be denied a chance to play in either role by Lionel Messi (the reason why Zenit’s offer could actually improve his chances of playing), Bojan Krkic, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. These guys are proven performers at Barcelona and Pep Guardiola would not break a settled combination. And remember we are assuming both Deco and Ronaldinho will be leaving and not competing for the same spots – something which could still not materialize and worsen Arshavin’s chances.

Additionally, Arshavin is at his best when the attack is built around him; like it is at Zenit and the Russian National team. There is no way he will enjoy the same luxury at Barcelona. In a best case scenario, Arshavin will be forced to play out of position or in a role that he is not too comfortable in and therefore there is little chance that Barcelona will be able to fully benefit from his talent.

Arshavin and Barcelona should learn from the past

In their recent history, Barcelona have had an embarrassment of attacking riches. Many wonderful players have borne the brunt of this surplus. The name which comes most easily to mind is that of Juan Roman Riquelme. He never got a decent chance to show his worth at Barcelona but prospered on moving to Villarreal – a club which built their attack around him. Arshavin with his close control is in many ways similar to the Argentinean. Playing at Barcelona is a privilege but the Russian would be wiser to move to a lesser club. Not only will he get to play regularly, he will also get to play to his strengths.

This article was originally published on www.soccerlens.com

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Guus Hiddink is the Miracle Worker 2.0 - a new and improved version of Bora Milutinovic

Guus Hiddink has done it again. I don’t have words to describe his magical feats at Euro 2008 – have simply run out of clichés. So I’ll make my life easy and do a simple analogy.

Guus Hiddink is the new and improved Bora Milutinovic

First a little something about Velibor ‘Bora’ Milutinovic

Long before Guus Hiddink gained a reputation as the coach with the magic touch; there was Bora Milutinovic. The Serbian had the uncanny and almost ungodly ability to get the football team of any nation to play out of their skin and achieve the seemingly impossible. Succeeding with one foreign team is difficult enough – there are issues about understanding the culture, the football mindset and sometimes even the language. But rather then succumb to it; Bora Milutinovic seemed to thrive on the challenge.

Savour this – He got Mexico to the quarters of the 1986 Football World Cup;Costa Rica to the second round in 1990, the US to the second round of the 1994 World Cup;Nigeria to the second round of the 1998 World Cup and finally China to the World Cup of 2002. He has a flawless resume when it comes to taking the most ordinary of football nations to the biggest football event in the World and then getting them to do well in the main tournament as well. Teams like Mexico and Nigeria at least had a modicum of football pedigree. The likes of Costa Rica and the US were supposed to be lambs to the slaughter but Bora got them to roar like a lion

In his prime, Bora was the closest thing to a ‘Miracle Worker’ – a nickname bestowed upon him by Alan Rothenberg, the president of the US Soccer Federation. Rothenberg had turned to Bora when the US faced the certain ignominy of becoming the first host nation to fail to qualify for the second round of the World Cup. The miracle worker blew his magic whistle (to use a coaching term) and saved them the blushes.

Those who know Guus Hiddink well would now be smiling to themselves in the knowledge of having figured out the rest of the article. But for the benefit of those who haven’t, here’s why Guus is an improvement on even the great Bora.

Because taking Holland into the semis of the 1998 World Cup beats taking Mexico into the quarters in 1986

Because taking hosts South Korea into the Semis in 2002 was more sensational than the achievements of hosts USA in 1994

Because taking Australia into the second round of the 2006 World Cup, where they almost knocked eventual champions Italy out of the tournament is on par with the feats of Nigeria in 1998.

Because Hiddink’s magical journey into the semis of Euro 2008 with the Russians eclipses the Costa Rica’s dream run in the 1990 World Cup.

And for those who are still not convinced here’s the clincher – Bora was a poor club coach failing with Udinese in Italy and with the Metrostars in the US. Hiddink on the other hand won the European Cup with PSV Eindhoven in 1988 and went on another magical run with the same club in the UEFA Champions League in 2004-05 making the semis.

Various people have tried to honour Guus Hiddink by bestowing impressive nicknames upon him – notable being Tsar Hiddink, Aussie Guus and Guus Geluk ( meaning lucky Guus) . But I can think of only one which gives the Dutchman and his achievements the right scale and perspective. He is the Miracle Worker 2.0 – a new and far improved version of the original ‘Miracle Worker’

This article was originally published on www.goal.com

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Important note to Sir Alex Ferguson and Man United – Remember what happened the last time a great player called Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo is becoming a major cause of concern for Alex Ferguson and all United fans. Now here’s a precedent which should cause more concern.

Real Madrid were successful the last time they pursued a player called Ronaldo – Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima - the Brazilian striker who was a three –time World Player of the Year in 2002 when Real got him from Inter Milan. Like Cristiano he was also one of the top players in the world.

The Ronaldo on the left could repeat what the Ronaldo on the right did in 2002

United believe Cristiano has enough reasons to stay at Old Trafford.

Beware !!!

There was a good reason to believe that ROnaldo would also not want to move to Real. He had just been through 20 months of rehab. Inter Milan had been fully supportive, not only paying his full salary but also his medical bills. Ronaldo was expected to feel grateful and stay at Inter. But he got lured by Real. Such is the attraction of Real.

Now for the scariest part

In exchange for Ronaldo, Real gave Inter 35 million euros and the option to take one of two players – Steve McManaman or Santiago Solari. The valuation of these players was put at 10 million euros each, thus making Ronaldo transfer value 45 million euros.

Fair deal? Not really

Inter Milan choose Solari but the player refused to join the club. It took more then six months and a lot of trouble before Inter finally got hold of Solari. The player, however, was a disgruntled man and his frustration showed in his performances. He was a shadow of the player he was at Real. It became a bad investment of 10 million for Inter.

Now for the remaining 35 million. Real Madrid paid one instalment but defaulted on the balance payment. Inter had to go to FIFA and another painful saga ensued. Finally, Real compensated Inter by giving them another player. Needless to say the player was highly over-valued for the deal and did not make a name for himself at Inter. A bad deal became worse for the Italian club.

So as a Red Devil and a well-wisher of Man United, I have just one piece of advice for Sir Alex and his legal team

United should not settle for mediocre players like Solari

You are dealing with a Club who are absolute crooks. They have already made illegal advances. They are fully capable of luring Cristiano to the Bernabeau. Prepare for the transfer well in advance and do your homework. Please ensure that you get your pound of flesh for Cristiano. Don’t settle for Real’s rejects like Robinho or fall for a complicated payment plan.

Just remember what happened the last time a superstar called Ronaldo moved to Real. Please for god’s sake; spare us (Red Devil fans) the same heart break.

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A Commonfan’s Euro 2008 Diary - 11/06/2008 – A lone Englishman and a scouting report on the Portugese

Scouting note for future opponents of Portugal

1. The Portugese defense is poor in the air. The shorter Turks couldnt take advanateg of it but the taller Czechs neraly made the portugese pay. Teams like Germany who are strong in the air would be taking note of this weakness with glee.

Please note - The right-footed guy in Blue is playing left-back for Portugal

2.There's a guy with a poor left foot masquerading as a left back for the Portugese. He has been a right back all his life and has not been a very good one the last few seasons. Wonder why his coach thought he would do well on the left when he was bad on the right. Is it simply because the Scolari has no other defensive options available? That is a scary thought for the team's fans.

The 2006 World was a bad nightmare

Check this

1998 World Cup - 36 goals in 14 games between European nations ( both teams from Europe)
2000 Euro - 85 goals in 31 games
2002 World Cup - 24 goals in 8 games between Europen nations
2004 Euro - 77 goals in 31 games
2006 World Cup - 31 goals in 16 games between European nations
2008 Euro - 23 goals in 10 games so far

Average number of goals per game have been - 2.57, 2.74, 3.00 ,2.48, 1.93 and 2.3

Notice the trend - The 2006 World Cup won by Italy was a nightmare for attacking football. Thankfully, there has been a revival at Euro 2008. The goal average at this tournament will improve further if Italy or France are not present in the second round.That looks a real possiblity and fans of attacking football can rejoice furtjher.

The lone Englishman at Euro 2008

Turkey's Kazim- Kazim was born in England and given the name Colin Kazim-Richards at birth. He got the name as his mother is Turkish Cypriot. A prodigy in England he failed to live upto his early promise and his career floundered. It has seen a revival in Turkey and now Kazim gets to be the solitary Englishman at Euro 2008.

Calling himself Kazim Kazim is a nice move. It makes him more Turkish and less English. Saves him from the curse which befell the the 'Englishmen who are not at Euro 2008'

Rising transfer prices

Ronaldo’s outstanding displays at Euro 2008 would have whetted the appetite of the Real bosses even more. His already high transfer value is now going through the roof. And he’s not the only player increasing his market value by impressing at this tournament.

Deco's signature just became a hell lot more expensive

Deco is another. Already on his way out of Barcelona, he will have more suitors then he can handle if he continues in the same vein. And then there is David Villa. Rafa Benitez would be kicking himself for not signing him when he was available for far less than what he would cost after this tournament.

On the flip side players like Karim Benzema could hurt their transfer valuations if they don’t improve their play quickly.

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A Commonfan’s Euro 2008 Diary - 10/06/2008 – Spain have an embarrassment of attacking riches and Greece are paupers

Spain can keep these guys on the bench and still look good

Spain

Spain started with Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fabregas on the bench and played fluently. How many teams at euro 2008 would love to have them as their starting central midfield pair. Everyone except for Portugal, France, Italy and Holland. And even these 4 teams would be tempted to play at least one of them. That is the level of quality in the Spanish side.

For all the talent in the world, Coach Luis Aragones deserves a lot of credit. His teams play a wonderful brand of attacking football that others in Europe can only dream about (except for Portugal and Holland). He has also instilled a lot of confidence in his young side and they don’t start choking from day one like the Spanish sides of old. In fact, they don’t choke at all. They are lacking in international experience but they force the opponent to beat them and don’t end up beating themselves.

Spain should qualify easily as group toppers. I am not counting on them to win it all but they should progress beyond the second round. Their attack was the hero against Russia but their defence will be critical once the knock-out round begins. The form of Ramos and Puyol would be crucial.

My most heartfelt desire is to see a Spain- Portugal or a Spain –Holland game. That would bring even the football gods to earth

Russia

Thank god, the English didn't qualify. We would have never seen the free flowing game we saw last night. The Russians lost 1- 4 but they displayed enough attacking verve and could have scored more than the one goal they managed. Credit is due to their manager Guus Hiddink for playing to win and not playing 'not to lose'. Their approach however could prove costly if they end up tied on points with another team and the qualification decision comes down to goal difference.

Russia's qualification now depends on Hiddink's tactics and mind games

The Russians will compete with Sweden for the second spot in this group. Drawing with the Swedes will not serve their purpose as they have a far inferior goal-difference. They will need to go all out for a win. The Swedes know this. They will just stay back and take a counter-attacking approach - something which they do really well. The odds are all stacked up against the Russians. But they have the best tactician in the world to bail them out of this precarious position. Its time for Guus Hiddink to start his mind games and prepare a few surprises for the upcoming games.

Sweden

The Swedish team reminds me of the New Zealand Cricket team. They have a handful of stars (Ibrahimovic, Larsson and Ljungberg) and then a whole bunch of decent players (most of them happen to be role-players at big European clubs) who combine beautifully to ensure that the whole is always more than the sum of the parts.

They almost always qualify for the big tournaments, do well in the group stages and then get knocked out early in the knock-out rounds. They have regularly failed to emulate their semi-final efforts at the 1994 WC and 1992 European Championship. Another repeat is likely at Euro 2008. A comfortable 2-0 win over the defending champs was a big step towards the second round but they didn’t display enough to suggest that they could be considered serious title challengers.

This strike pair could be deadlier if they had better service

Their biggest strength is the strike force of Larsson and Ibrahimovic. But the duo would struggle to repeat their club form as their more modest international team- mates will fail to match the service that they are used to at club level.

A special word of praise for the Swedish fans. Their section behind the goal was completely yellow – not a single speck of another colour. Every fan seemed to be dressed in the same uniform. Way to go fans.

Greece

The ride is over. With a sound beating at the hands of the Swedes, the Greeks no longer carry the aura of defending Champions. In fact they look ripe for a last place finish in this group. They had a dream run the last time round where their ‘defend first and then snatch a goal’ worked like a charm.

Otto and his boys can rest on past glory

These European Championships are about teams which can go out and take over the game with their attacking firepower. The defensive minded Greeks do not belong here. The fans want to see the likes of Holland and Portugal and wouldn’t min an early exit for the Greeks. But Otto Rehhagel and his boys have nothing to be ashamed of though. Their place in the history books of football is already etched in gold.

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A Commonfan’s Euro 2008 Diary - 09/06/2008 – Unravelling the Group of Death

France
France reminded me of the last French side which played a major tournament without Zinedine Zidane - the 2002 World Cup team, which finished last in the group. At least that side could call on Zizou for their last group game. This team will not have that option an to make matters worse for them, two of their other talismanic players - Thierry Henry and Patrick Viera were also unavailable for the Romania game and could miss more action. The Romania game was a must win and the two dropped points could come back to haunt them.

No more Zidane comparisons for Benzema if he continues to play like this

It was actually painful to see such a fine collection of talent give such a disjointed display. Many of the youngsters have been anointed with Zidane related monikers (like the new Zidane) and its time for them to step up and live up to their Zidanesque billing. But more than anything else, the return of Viera could revitalize the side. He has the ability to dominate the midfield and set the tempo for France.

There is still a lot of football to be played in this group and France is still in complete control of their destiny. They are a veteran side and their experience, especially in defence will be very handy for the crunch games against Italy and the Netherlands. It will be imperative to get the formation and tactics right and the French fans can count on Domenech to get it right. They are still my favourites to make it out of the group of death.

Romania

Romania has had their moments in the big tournaments, most notably their win over Argentina in the 94 WC and over England in France 98. This time, however, they have a far bigger mountain to climb - they are in the group of death and even a second place finish will be reason for massive celebration at home.

Their defence is ably marshalled by Christian Chivu and was rock solid against France. However, their job was made easier by the lack of coordination in the French side and the Italians and the Dutch might not be so generous. Even then the defense is the least of their worries. This team needs to win at least one of their remaining games to have a realistic hope of qualifying and to do that they will need to score goals. And that is where the bigger problem lies.

Their attack is solely dependent on Adrian Mutu. While this was good enough for the lesser nations in the qualifying tournaments, it’s grossly inadequate for the big boys. Expect Romania to go down fighting but with their head held high.

Netherlands

They hammered the defending World champions 3-0 and are on pole position to qualify from this group. Their attack was hugely impressive and if you can shred the Italian Catenaccio defence three times, you can score against anyone in the world. The offensive players were a source of great joy but the fans can draw greater cheer from what was missing from the Dutch squad.

We dont miss you - thanks for not coming

Question marks were raised about the Oranje's chances after the withdrawal of some big names before the tournament. Looks like these withdrawals did more good than bad. The Dutch have self-destructed through infighting at almost all major tournaments. The withdrawals meant there were fewer egos and fewer trouble makers, creating a healthier team atmosphere and reducing the chances of infighting. The depth of Dutch talent ensured that Coach Van Basten had no trouble finding suitable replacements.

A united Dutch side which could go all the way

Marco Van Basten is the common element from Holland’s title winning squad of 1988 - their only international title. His lucky touch combined with an offence which is in top form and a side which is united for a change could land a second international football title for the Dutch. The football purists can brace themselves for a treat of attacking football.

Italy
The 3-0 defeat to the Dutch was a shocker. I had been unable to pick which side will miss out in the group of death before the tournament began. Now I think the Italians will endure that ignominy.

It's risky to bet against Italian sides as they are known to start slowly and have an innate ability to rebound from defeats. But I will take that chance for one simple reason - Italian sides never concede 3 goals in a game. Usually they let in that many in a tournament. I think the last time it happened was in the 1988 Olympics in the third place play-offs against West Germany. That is right – 20 years back when Germany was still divided.

Can someone find the Italian defence please

There is something seriously wrong with the Italian defence. And an Italian team which loses its defensive identity is like a singer who has lost his voice – they are no good.

Roberto Donadoni was a surprise choice to replace Marcello Lippi. Failure to qualify for the second round could possibly end his reign. He can complain about missing Fabio Cannavaro but his pleas will find no takers if the Azurri cannot pull themselves up in the next two games.

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