Its not over till the fat lady sings

When winning is the only option , losing is never taken seriously. And when loss is imminent , its better to be bashed out and save the trouble . Surprising as this may seem but having watched Indian Cricket team for the better part of my childhood the aforementioned statement seemed the only conclusion to our dismal performance whenever we were under  the gun ( 2003 WC Final being the blatant example ) . But sometimes nature can be understood only through experience . So when i went down the glory road , and witnessed winning comebacks after being down and out on umpteen occasions( Spurs , West Ham , Blackpool )  , my fickle inner philosopher realised that maybe its not over till its really over . And when City led 2-0 at half time , it was obvious  we weren't going down without a fight .

Imagine my surprise when Vidic and Ferdinand were substituted  by Jones Evans at half time . Nevertheless in Fergie we trust ( if not we really oughta do ) . What ensued  was a footballing lesson ( for City as well as for me ) . Smalling scored with a cheeky touch , followed by Nani's even cheekier finish to restore parity and then the  winner in injury time ( it finally seemed that Nani was ready to give up the tag of his lineage of Solomon and Bin Tughlaq) . Order restored , the shield done and dusted .

 But something seemed out of normal  . Maybe it was the fearlessness with which we played . Its been some time since i saw United play that positively . Obviously we were good against Blackburn , but i witnessed a different approach of the whole play . One of the aspects that i have a strong dislike for in our build up  play is the amount of passes to the GK . On several occasions  Ferdi and Vidic pass the ball back to VDS ( or used to) and he launches the ball forward without any intent watsoever . We lose possession and the plot is lost . The build up play always starts from the defence and our CB have been afraid in recent years to make risky passes . The most they do is pass it to Carrick whose main flaw has been this very aspect . His dip in form ( or as we see it ) hinges on this crucial fact that he seems afraid to give away the ball . We all seem to be obsessed with creativity in midfield . Maybe its just the absence of fear to make that telling ball.

One of the main reasons that Barca is a brilliant passing team is due to the huge amount of contribution Pique and Puyol make . And Jones and Evans did the same for United that day . They weren't afraid to make runs and leave the defence weak . Tom Cleverly showed his smooth passing skills setting up Nani for the equaliser after a string of passes . Anderson too utilised every amount of space he got to make strides into the City defence something he has refrained from doing in the past . For the first time in I don't know how much time our midfield stood out and the defence contributed actively to the play . Seems a good indication of what lies in store .

The Copa Conundrum

We are (read were) not a footballing nation , 146 out of  208 ( now 209) say the lads at FIFA and you have gotta take Mr. Blatter's good old word for it . But i was surprised , pleasantly so , seeing the movement ( not that one ) that picked up when no sane channel in our otherwise insane DTH services was ready to telecast the Copa America , up until the wee hours - 12:00  from kick off , some guys caught up our elusive P.M.  and lo magic there it was ...my hopes soared just like the economy after '91 ( i can vouch that the latter was our very own MAN's doing , not quite sure about the former) . Nimbuzz's NEO Sports was the ONE that came into the foray to catch the attention of even more elusive football afficonados(i me myself being one of them) of a cricket crazy country . My net connection heaved a sigh of relief , i was quite prepared to test its limits through live streaming ... the same i had done sometime earlier through the Euro U-21 while my dongle creeked upon its very hinges  , straightened and angled in a certain fashion coz my inner scientific senses believed that perhaps the waves would be constructive ( this i had ascertained after rigorous testing) at that particular position.And with Bob Dylan's the times they are a changing ringing in my head it all began .

And Copa is unique , it is in itself a different realm in football , it brings the latin flair , unspoilt by the European blood , to the forefront . There is nothing total or tiki taking about it , but a conglomeration of raw individualistic talent and belief that Ayn Rand would have been proud of . What Quentin brings to hollywood and Kanti Shah to bollywood , Latinos add that spice to football .

But all of it has been disappointing, up until now at least . La Albicieste and the Samba Boys in particular managing draws in their opening games and just 4 goals between them . Why ???
Some days ago , our national team's coach Armando Colaco pointed out that " Indian National team cannot play like Barcelona" , what a heart break ( he forgot what tiny minimal percent of Barca ) . But it seems the Argentine coach Sergio Batista wasn't listening ( you don't expect him to ) . He was out there to prove ( unknowingly ) Mr. Colaco wrong . Like General Mireau who was hell bent to take the Ant Hill ( Paths Of Glory) while his lowly brethren were pissing in their pants at the German bombings ( quite an optimist , can't blame him he was french ) , Mr. Batista declared " we'll epitomise Barca "  .
 Well worth a try , they had Messi , the linch pin but they also had their ingenious coach who thinks that Jesus was born on December 25 , so the elderly chap who was part of the clan of El Diego that won the WC in '86 starts with Banega Cambiasso and Mascherano in the mid .  Three def . mid . in a 3 man mid and they expect to emulate Barca . I am inclined to dive into a Hitleresque rant  ( courtesy Der Untergang ) but the gaffer learned his lessons this morning and was aptly rewarded with a 3-0 win over Costarica .

And then came the Selecao . I love watching them on the field , they bring an aura of unexpectancy and ofcourse a following of beautiful maidens ( one of the reasons why they have a huge fan following during the WC and  obviously  because they can play )

But this time i had other reasons as well , one of them being Neymar . The 19 year old prodigy who clamoured throughout the year along with the usual suspects of Robinho and Pele about how good he was and other bullshit about beating Messi for Ballan' D or . These bloody Brazilians are good at creating hype but they are outspoken too , never ever seem to shut up ( like our Barca boys , each and every ****ing one of  them wants Fabregas to join Barca , it is  ohk initially as they seem like long lost brothers separated in the woods of La Masia , but common Xavi , then Iniesta , then those arse Pedro and Valdes and some other and then another and the loop starts again as if  Fabre is the centre point of some gay orgy that they are going to have there )
But when Pele says you listen and believe the opposite ,  its the curse of the Black Pearl ( I was quite apprehensive ( read devastated) when he said that that Hernandez could beat Messi but after Spain 2010 he has lost his black touch) . So i was excited what Neymar had in store besides his ridiculous hairstyle that is second to none except for Ronaldo in WC '02 . To say the least i was utterly disappointed . I never saw what Messi was like when he was 19 but one guy i did watch closely at that age was Cristiano Ronaldo . The step overs , the cruyff turns  , dummies and the pace inch perfect . Well Neymar wasn't close to him . Perhaps i hoped for too much but that is what happens when the Samba Boys are at work .

While Argentina and Brazil couldn't whet my appetite Colombia , Peru,Chile and Paraguay provided the magic i was craving for . Free flowing traditional wingers ( Estagarribia and Sanchez in particular) , hold up strikers , Falcao and Guerrero, running along the wings who will take a shot in 1 V 1 ignoring the shouting teammate , albeit in a better position , the centre backs showing trickeries that would put their European striking counterparts to shame  and the midfielders cutting through the defences ( but never that deadly final pass) , all Atlas in the making carrying the burden of their earth mafik teams .

Maybe the europe returned players have lost their Latino spirit and impose too much of their mechanical minds upon their uncorrupted brethrens , on the lines of the new pseudo intellectuals of our Indian middle class .. . Just hoping for better football

Its that time again

Its been a fortnight since the shattering loss at the hands of Barca and i have pretty much recovered from the horror dreams that have haunted me since . To be perfectly honest , Barca played well as they usually do , but perhaps United were below par ,especially in the centre of the midfield, Carrick went missing (having made a habit of it in the big games) and Giggs looked every day of his 37 year old frame towards the end .
To add to the grief of true United afficonados Paul Scholes announced his retirement from professional football. Everybody could see it coming , but you dont't realise till it hits you in the face . It was always sheer joy to watch him play , he made ' the beautiful game ' look mesmerisingly beautiful . Those 40 yard long passes for giggs , becks ,Ronaldo and recently Nani ....just sheer class  . And the way he controlled the game from the defence , the short passes , that perfect volley and the odd run into the box   , the eyes just lit up in expectancy . Hope he'll light up OT once again with his managing abilities.
With his departure the onus is on SAF to refurbish the already weak midfield . Gibson is on his way out that leaves us with four genuine midfielders Carrick , Fletch , Anderson and Cleverly ...none of them in the category we need to match up with Barca . Phil Jones deal has been patched up and done , De Gea will be on his way once the U21 Euro ends and talks with Ashley Young are in the advanced stages . And it seems Fergie will sign one more player than his quoted quota of three ,that much needed link between midfield and the frontline. Modric and Sneijder are mouthwatering prospects but the ever reluctant Harry Redknapp  comparing selling Modric with selling the club and Sneijder with his huge pay package and his position at Inter   , it seems likely that only a hefty sum can lure either one of them to OT . Reports claim that Fergie personally called Alexis Sanchez about his move from Udinese , and that has brought many greats to OT including the likes of Roy Keane , Scholes. Having already seen the histrionics of the Gianpaolo Pozzo , this might well turn out to be the transfer saga of the summer .
So that leaves us with Jones , De Gea , Young coming in and one more (guess who?) . Macheda , Cleverly and Welbeck will be significant loaness coming back and the departure list maybe a long one  with the likes of
Gibson , Bebe , Kuszak , Oshea and Wes Brown going out and to add to it the retirement of Scholes and VDS. Academy products like Paul Pogba and Joshua King are expected to make forays into the first team .
It will be interesting to see how United line up next season ... Ferguson's determination to overwhelm Barca might well pan out with a formation of 4-3-3 with Jones , Young and Fletcher being United's reply to Busquets , Iniesta and Xavi . Jones has the experience of playing in the destructive role in the mid and Young has flourished under Capello in the centre . Nani might be pushed a little up the field so that he can finally fill into the boots of Ronaldo and Rooney , Hernandez can square up the forward line . Perhaps this set up would still lack one marquee player required to take the team to the next level . Well the die has been cast , all that remains is whether SAF can stop Barca's domination and bring home the 20th