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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Sri Lanka lose the battle but the war is still on

The fans and the experts have been nonplussed by Sri Lanka’s decision to ‘rest’ their top bowlers for their Super 8 clash against Australia. The so called 'dress rehearsal' for the final turned out to be a damp squib in the end. The ambiguous explanations offered by the Lankan team have done little to solve the mystery behind this strange move. With a little historical perspective though, their strategy becomes crystal clear.

In the 1954 Football World Cup, the mighty Hungarians were the overwhelming favorites, having been unbeaten in all competitions for over four years, and boasting a line-up including great players like Puskas, Kocsis and Hidekguti. The Hungarian juggernaut continued to roll in the World Cup, crushing teams by an average of five goals. There was no way they could be stopped.

The West German manager, Sepp Herberger had other ideas. He knew his side had a good chance to make the finals; where their only chance lay in ambushing the Hungarians. In their second round clash with Hungary, he put out his B side and promptly lost 8-3. Thus, he also managed to keep his players fresh for the other games, which were vital to their qualification for the next stage. Things went as per plan, and the Germans made the final, where they scripted a historic 3-2 victory.

The Sri Lankan coach, Tom Moody, being an Australian himself, is aware of the batting strength of the Aussies. They can be deceived once, but will be extremely well prepared the next time round. His first task is to make the semis and avoid the Australians in the round of four; rather than exposing his bowling aces in an effort to gain a Pyrrhic victory in the Super 8’s. The extra rest for Murli and co will stand them in good stead for the coming games as well. The Sri Lankan bowling with its unorthodox variety can conquer the Aussies on its day. Moody wants to make sure that day is the final.

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Sepp Blatter to the rescue

Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president is on an India visit these days. His visit, the first by a president of the governing body of world football, is aimed at “reviving the sleeping giant” that is Indian Football. He feels that Football has ‘saturated ‘in Europe and South America, and growth can only come from new geographies like India.

Blatter’s strategy is to put in place a world class technical and administrative infrastructure. A professional environment will soon beckon world class coaches and footballers, improving the overall standard of the game. A FIFA technical committee will do a detailed study and come up with a detailed improvement plan. FIFA will provide extra funds in addition to the regular 1 million USD. Absolutely brilliant, isn’t it.

It is so thoughtful of Mr. Blatter to come down to India and give this brilliant panacea for India’s footballing woes. If only, the AIFF president, Mr. Priya Ranjan Das Munshi had figured this out, himself. But let’s not blame Das Munshi. He’s only been 19 years in the job, and has to perform his day job as a politician to support his family as well. I just hope he helps himself to some of the extra funds to ease his financial burden. And with Mr. Blatter around, he is surely going to fly (all over the world that is). He has already made up for letting India slip more than 50 places in the FIFA rankings, during his tenure, by becoming the first Indian to be a match referee at the World Cup. Mr. Blatter played a vital role in this; making Indians feel part of the World Cup, and the least our grateful nation can do, to return the favour, is to continue to blindly support him and his supporters in all future FIFA elections.

Though, a Swiss national by birth, Blatter has never been given his due in Europe. The European associations have been baying for his blood all along, and if not for the support of the developing nations, the world would have missed out on the contributions of this great man. Their good karma has paid off and Blatter has played a yeoman’s role in developing the game in these countries, as highlighted by the India example.

The media is another of Blatter’s fiercest critics. Come to think of it, a journalist once said, "Every day Sepp Blatter has 50 new ideas to improve the game and 51 of them are bad.” But in true visionary fashion, he has been unflustered by the criticism and executed two ‘killer’ ideas to change the face of the game.

The first was the World Club Championship. He made sure that football fans across the globe don’t waste their time wondering; which is the best club side in the world? And the players got to travel across the globe to play in this tournament. As usual the critics whined about ‘too much football’, but football celebrated its first World Club Champion. Just can’t seem to remember who it was though.

Blatter’s second moment of inspiration was, when he expanded the World Cup to include 32 nations, from the earlier 24. That, most of the extra spots went to the developing nations was a manifestation of his social credo; the desire to give the poor and downtrodden nations their due. I have a feeling, Arjun Singh secretly worships Blatter. The inclusion of more minnows also ensured that there were more goals scored.

God has finally taken pity on the state of sports in this country, by sending his messenger in the form of Sepp Blatter. This is a petition to make him the next president of India. Kindly pass this on to show your support for this mission.

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Cricketer Bazaar

Imagine being given a jigsaw, with a few pieces missing. As a consolation, you have some other pieces from other jigsaws. This is the kind of challenge, an international manager faces. His club or domestic counterpart can go shopping for the remaining pieces, as long as he has a fair idea, what they look like. All the international manager can do is cut and scrape the other pieces, and somehow try to fit them in. If only, he could trade his extra pieces for the ones he really needs.

Let us for a moment imagine, there was a market, where you could trade players. Purely hypothetical exercise. Let’s set the trading rules first. First, no money to be involved. There's too much disparity in the financial muscle of the different boards. Players for players only. Secondly, only the players currently involved in international or domestic cricket will be considerd. Finally and very importantly, the trade should make both parties better.

What are the potential trading scenarios?

• Players in the reserves would be readily swapped as long as overall strength improves.( reserve for reserve)
• A team would trade a team regular, if they have a comparable player in reserve , and a bigger need is fulfilled by the player they get in return.( regular for reserve/regular)
• A reserve in your side fulfills a pressing need for another team and gives you the opportunity to upgrade a regular.(reserve for regular)

Does the trading option help cricket. Yes it does. One, it helps teams improve in every dept of the game and become more complete. Therefore, it improves the overall competitiveness of the international game. Second, it ensures that a lot of good players, stuck behind a better team mate, finally get to perform on the world stage. An Adam Gilchrist would have found many takers, before the Aussies finally gave him a chance on Healy's retirement.

Let’s now look at the trade scenario for Mr. Greg Chappell.

The obvious trade pieces - International caliber players, presently cooling their heels on the sidelines. VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, Dinesh Kartik, Mohd Kaif, Irfan Pathan, Murli Kartik, Suresh Raina, Wasim Jaffer, Romesh Powar

Immediate requirements - Trade heavyweights - First eleven players , who can be replaced by reserves, to facilitate blockbuster trades. Names in brackets are the guys, who will replace them in case of a trade. Dhoni ( Dinesh Kartik), Sehwag (Anybody will do), Dravid , Tendulkar and Ganguly (I can't see how Laxman would be any worse), Harbhajan(Powar or Kumble). The only untouchables are the trio of pacemen, as we have absolutely nothing in reserve and Yuvraj Singh.

• A quality opener - even Simon Katich would be a major upgrade.
• A fast bowling all rounder - somebody like a Justine Kemp
• An impact strike bowler - how about getting Mashrafe Murtaza or Andre Nel

Will leave it at that now. Let your imagination run wild, and see what possible trades, you can come up with. So my dear readers (the handful , who are forced to read my posts), please, get some comments in.

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When Dhoni scored a duck

I went to the same school as Mahender Singh Dhoni. It is the only trivia question , which can be asked about me.Needless to say , Iam a diehard fan.

Our man had already been a match winner on numerous occasions in One day cricket. And when he came to the crease at the fall of Yuvraj's wicket against SriLanka , I was harbouring hopes of an encore.There was an encore , yes, of his duck against bangladesh.As India fell further down the mire, it was a feeling of deja vu for me.

Flashback to 1995. Mahender Singh Dhoni was the superstar batsman of the school team.On the day of the inter-school final against Kendriya Vidyalaya Hinoo , I was bunking classes to see the match. DAV batted first and Dhoni , the youngest member of the team, was sitting on the lap of a fellow player, waiting for his turn as the one down batsman.

The first wicket fell fairly quickly and me and my fellow bunking buddies were suddenly giddy in anticipation of the pyrotechnics that were to follow.Our man strode to the wicket full of confidence ,completely ignoring the dismissed opener.Took his guard , surveyed the field placings and got ready to take strike.

The first ball was down the leg side.Dhoni went across to play a leg glance and as he did so, he lost balance, falling forward and dragging his back leg out of the crease.The bails were off in a flash and he was given out immediately. The Dhoni show was over.There was a sudden hush among the DAV supporters as we sat in complete disbelief.

The match was as good as over for me. DAV had lots of other stars and were expected to romp home anyways.There wasn't any fun in watching the lambs get slughtered.

More shocks were in store. Our star studded line up was bowled out for less than 75 and the so-called lambs finished the game in a canter, with more than 20 overs to spare and 8 wickets left. Shades of India -Bangladesh.

Next year , I was busy with my 12th boards and hardly followed the inter-schools tournament.Well almost, till they got to the finals.It was DAV vs KV once again.It was a time for revenge.We were hoping the guys delivered this time,just to set the record straight.

The revenge was of mammoth propotions. Dhoni opened and carried his bat for around 240 unbeaten , putting on an unbroken stand of 360 in 40 overs. KV were bowled out for less than 100 and the revenge was complete . This was the defining moment of Dhoni's school career.The beginning of a journey ,which has made him an India Superstar.

Back to March 2007.The journey is not over with another duck. Trust me , Dhoni can repeat the entire "DAV- KV" story all over again. He fits the bill perfectly for a modern day power cricketer. He was the first guy to score a double century in schools cricket and dont be surprised if he becomes the first one in one dayers as well.

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