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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Why you should avoid the TIMES NOW channel if you are looking for football news and analysis

Because the football guys at 'TIMES NOW' don’t know that penalties converted in a shoot-out are not counted as goals scored. Check out the following picture.

Yes, the great football experts at TIMES NOW added the 3 penalties converted by Turkey and one by the Croats to the score line and showed it as 4 goals scored by Turkey and 2 by Croatia. The statistics also show that Turkey had only two shots at goal. So how did they manage to score 4 goals when only two shots were on target? How does one score a goal in football without the shot being on target?

What I cannot understand is that how no one in the news channel noticed it - the presenters, the camera guys, the production guys and everyone else who is involved in bringing news to us. Surely someone in the organization must know a little about football.

Now to give you a cricket perspective of this football blunder. Imagine a Twenty-20 game which has a bowl-out. Team A loses 9 wickets during the game and team B hits the stumps five times during the bowl-out. Then TIMES NOW’s analysis would have shown Team A lose 14 wickets in the game. That is how bad they are. Continue watching TIMES NOW if that is not bad enough for you

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The Roger Federer - Tiger Woods 'best sportsperson' debate is now over - The fierce tiger just gobbled up the Swiss cow

The fierce tiger got the better of the meek Swiss cow

Roger Federer will go down as the most talented tennis player of his generation and one of the most talented of all time. He will also be considered one of the best tennis players of all time. Another claim that he can make involving the word 'greatest' will also have the word 'choker' associated with it. He has been building a strong case over the years and the meltdown in the French finals on June 8, 2008 sealed the deal for him.

It is high time we stopped the comparisons with Tiger Woods about ' who is the greatest sportsperson on the planet'. Tiger has comprehensively bested Federer on one important parameter and clinched the verdict. Mental fortitude and ability to perform in the clutch are important pre-requisites for great players. And that is where Federer has drawn a blank and Tiger has scored full marks. Federer is like the student who scored 7 A's and an F and hence is not eligible for the big scholarship. The stage was set up perfectly for him at the French- a chance to beat his arch nemesis and cement a place in history. And what did he do - rather than raise his game a few notches, he dropped it way below - so much so that the spectators had a good reason to ask the Swiss for a refund on their tickets. Can you imagine Sampras succumbing to the pressure like that? Never!!!

Additionally great players don’t get dominated by anyone for too long. They always figure out a way to overcome the fiercest of adversaries. Roger has failed on that count as well. His rivalry with Nadal is becoming more one-sided in Rafa's favour with each passing day. Rather than come close to solving the Nadal puzzle Roger is moving away from it. Rafa on the other hand is tantalizingly close to unlocking the mystery of beating Federer at Wimbledon. That is another F for Federer.

Now for proof of why Tiger scored A’s on the same parameters to close the debate.

Tiger Woods overcame a badly damaged left knee - bad enough for him to use his club as a walking stick and delivered in a pressure cooker situation with the US Open on the line. His powers of concentration were at their peak as he made more than one tournament saving putt. His victory was more a reflection of his never say die attitude than of his talent. The last 6 holes on day three proved conclusively that he has the ability to raise his game to superhuman levels whenever the situation demands. His performance was a story of sheer grit, physical hardiness and mental toughness - the exact requirements to qualify as a great champion and fully deserving of an A for mental strength.

Tiger has had his fair share of dangerous rivals. Ernie Els challenged him for a while. Then Vijay Singh ran him close managing to snatch Tiger's world number one ranking. And finally there was Phil Mickelson – who almost out-hit Woods off the course. Each rivalry made for an interesting duel. But in the end Tiger out duelled them all; to the extent of totally shattering their confidence. Tiger gets another A for this as compared to Federer’s F (for being on the receiving end of his only major rivalry.)

The debate could not be settled by arguments about talent or dominance of their chosen sports. It finally came down to a battle between a tiger and a Swiss cow. The tiger was too fierce and the cow was too meek. That was the only difference between two supremely talented individuals but the difference was good enough to settle the debate once and for all.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Introducing Eldrick ‘Tiger’ Woods – THE GREATEST SPORTSPERSON ON THE PLANET

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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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Choosing between cricket(Asia Cup) and football( Euro 2008) - let the TV commercials decide it for you

The third most important football tournament in the World (after the World Cup and the UEFA Champions League) is on right now and the 19th most important Cricket tournament in the World will start shortly. Ok fine, I just made up that number. But with a million cricket tournaments and series' in a year, and many of them one-off events, it is impossible to do a real ranking.

With these two big tournaments on simultaneously, Indian Sports fans have a problem of plenty this summer. And we haven’t yet spoken of Wimbledon and the US Open golf event. I am just sticking to the most popular sport in the world and the most popular sport in India. With little time on his hands how does the Indian sports fan prioritize his sports watching on the telly? The Euro is a more important football tournament but we are a cricket mad nation and our national team happens to be playing in the Asia Cup.

Well, I have a new way of resolving this dilemma. It’s called 'LET THE TV COMMERCIALS DECIDE'

There are two TV commercials dominating the sporting airwaves tight now. One is the Nike football commercial called ‘Take it to the NEXT LEVEL’ which makes a pitch for football and the Euro tournament. Then there is the Star Cricket commercial which calls on cricket fans to start cheering for India in the Asia Cup.

Watch both and watch the tournament which has a better commercial.

Watch the Nike commercial.

This commercial really takes a football fan to the next level. You almost experience what it feels like to be a player on the field. You score, you tackle, you get tackled and you even get to kiss the babes.

The ad also leaves you guessing – who is the player in the ad – the guy through whose eyes we see the entire ad unfold. He is a goal scoring Dutch forward who plays for arsenal. Points to one Robin Van Persie. But this player is right-footed and can’t be Van Persie. Anyways this is an outstanding ad.

Now take a look at the Star Cricket commercial

I am sorry but this ad is not fully available on the internet. None of its 4 versions. It’s actually so infantile that I have a feeling Youtube refused to upload it on their site. You can’t miss it on TV though. There are no other ads which show grown up men shouting INDIA, INDIA for no rhyme or reason. One guy enters a parking lot and looks around as if he’s a car thief and then starts shouting INDIA INDIA. The other versions show similarly demented men shouting in offices, homes and elevators. The ad line says – time to start cheering for INDIA.

But shouldn’t we wait for the games to start at least. Do we have to act like the village idiot to show our loyalties? People in this country have enough intelligence to know that the IPL is over and they need to cheer for the national team in the Asia Cup. I guess the commercial is meant for people who don’t understand that – people who behave like the guys in the ad.

Final Decision – The commercials have clearly made the decision for me. However, you can watch the cricket if you are planning to watch each and every cricket tournament in the year and do the ranking analysis for the Asia Cup and other tournaments. In case you do. You know what to do next. Start shouting.

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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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