Return of the Special One

As the Germans look forward with pride towards the Champions League this season where two of their premier teams made it to the final, the most followed, the most happening and the most theatric first division league of global football drew to a close in England last weekend. This time though, the movements of managers make it to the headlines with more impact than those of the players. As the legendary "Sir" Alex Ferguson calls it a day at Old Trafford, United fans at Manchester can console themselves that a person as experienced as David Moyes is on his way to replace Ferguson. Now that various hints about the return of the Special One to Stamford Bridge were given by current manager and the Special One himself, United fans should have lost hope of bringing back CR7 and his special manager to replace Ferguson and aim for the Champions League crown next season. But this possibility still holds mathematically, as there is no solid evidence for Jose Mourinho's much anticipated move back to his old club, which he describes as 'the one club in England which loves him'.

It does not escape anybody's notice that Chelsea FC are in the right shape to be mould into a world-class team. The job that Roman Abramovich's scouts and Roberto di Matteo started about an year ago, was completed quite well by Rafael Benitez. They have been able to make a core of young players with complete backing from the seniors in the squad. The three musketeers of Chelsea: Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Junior seem to have got a D'Artagnan now in Fernando Torres. Although for the past two years Torres has struggled to justify his 50 million pound signing, of late, especially in the Europa league and the closing matches of the permier league and the FA cup, he has shown flares of his glory days, and signals his return to top form. This will probably  persuade Abramovich to not leave Torres to any other club, such as his old club Athletico Madrid as the rumours say, for a probable negative return of investment, unless Falcao comes to Chelsea in exchange for Torres. And more importantly, he delivers. It is a sorry fact that many European greats such as Michael Ballack, Deco and Andriy Schevchenko have failed to deliver at Chelsea as much as was expected from them, and Torres, the next probable candidate to join that list of under-performers at Chelsea, struggles now to jump out of the jinx. Torres feels that he has got a lot to contribute to Chelsea's victories in the future.

Mourinho will be more than happy to coach a squad as good as Chelsea's now. And it will be dramatic now that Chelsea extended Frank Lampard's contract for another year (there was no reason why they wouldn't), Mourinho returns and more than everything, Cristiano Ronaldo joins Chelsea and Mourinho. The mid-field will then become the strongest that ever existed at Chelsea. Ronaldo and Hazard can take care of the wings, while Mata can take care of the centre. With Torres and Ba up front, Lampard wouldn't find a place in the starting line-up, but that is fine. He and Victor Moses make good substitutes, and if well used, they can be Chelsea's trump cards. Both are capable of influencing game-players by penetrating opposition defense with precise through passes. Oscar, sadly, cannot start the match too, which will be a real issue to be solved. Ramires or Luiz can act as interceptors and bolster centre-defense, while Ashley Cole, Cahill, Ivanovic and Azpilicueta can guard the back. In one way, the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo would be a challenge ahead of Chelsea, for this is going to disrupt Chelsea's current squad composition. Easily said, Mourinho's return is the talk of the town and will not happen so easily unless he is convinced that he will enjoy a much greater freedom than that he had been having in 2007, during the closing stages of his three-year stint at Stamford Bridge.

Roman Abramovich - a boon or a bane to Chelsea FC?

If any of you Chelsea fans anticipate a monopolistic Chelsea regime in the English Premier League, please don't waste time on such dreams. It is better you switch channel and watch anything but a Chelsea game. Not that I have not had such agony as a Chelsea fan before. I have experienced worse times. Something made me hang on and later I saw shades of green on my hopes. That euphoria was only seasonal, and to be frank I never expected that to die before this winter. Roman Abramovich, you will kill the game of football. You already have killed Chelsea. Despite having won a Champions League and a few Premier League titles and many more FA Cup and League Cups, Chelsea FC appears to me as an under-achieving team, not worth its value in terms of money spent. Had Abramovich not laid his eyes on Chelsea, and had Chelsea been spared of his machiavellian plans, Chelsea would have faired better.

Photo courtesy: www.wikipedia.org

 Yesterday's loss against West Ham United (1-3) was the right shock treatment that Chelsea needed. I now wish that Chelsea be not graced by luck anymore. It needs to undergo the hardest times ever. Let it face such hard times, let it survive, and let it come out with harder mettle. For this Abramovich has to change his ways, or he will soon find himself changed. Guess who would change him from his throne? Himself! If Chelsea continues its run like it has been of late, soon the club will be in huge losses - revenues from advertising and broadcasts will plummet and Abramovich will be forced to sell Chelsea FC. Abramovich has sacked many famous managers, without giving breathing space to any of them. Alberto di Matteo was the most unfortunate of all, he was a promising man and very much liked by all in the Chelsea team. By sacking di Matteo, Abramovich has placed the last nail on Chelsea's coffin. I have lost all hope but love for the team forces me to watch how Rafael Benitez guides a demoralised team through the rest of the season.

Chelsea lose... Referee wins..

Final Score: Chelsea 2-3 Manchester United 

English Premier League @ Stamford Bridge, 28th October 2012.

An experiment by the referee to send off FernandoTorres instead of giving him a free-kick, costs Chelsea dearly, and they lose to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge after a decade. The referee, wanting to display strongly his objection to diving, went wrong in the 69th minute, but not for the first time in the game. The fatal verdict backset Chelsea and there was nothing much for the 9-men Blues to do. All they could do was hope for a miracle. And it was depressing to see Mata being sacrificed and being substituted because of someone else's fault. The playmaker, the sole architect who usurped ManU of the lead through a brilliant free-kick, played a critical role in the making of the second goal too. Had Mata stayed in the field, there would have been more hope for Chelsea to strike back a goal out of nothing. 

The match was really a heavy-weight one, as the commentator said. Luiz's own goal and van Persie's presence of mind put ManU ahead by two goals to none by the 12th minute. A dejected performance from the Blues till the 35th minute was completely forgotten when the same individuals started a comeback as a different team, spearheaded by Mata's spot-kick goal. Ramires rose and headed the ball hard into the net past de Gea, and Chelsea got the equalizer they wanted. Hazard was impressive too, with his ball control and clear passes. But he failed to rise to the occasion when he had a nice chance to beat de Gea, but couldn't shoot the ball into the net, moments before Ivanovic was sent off in the 63rd minute for challenging from behind Ashley Young, who was comfortably advancing towards Petr Cech's box. Somewhere along the match ManU were relieved when Johny Evans accidentally deflected a Mikel cross towards ManU goal, and the ball hit the post and went out. 

ManU, for the past couple of years, seems to know one good secret that comes handy when they play against Chelsea. That is to provoke Chelsea players. And that was exactly what ManU guys did today. Ivanovic, Torres, Mikel, Luiz and Ramires claimed yellow cards not completely by their own effort - there was considerable effort from the ManU players too to provoke these Chelsea players to come down harsh on their opponents and get booked. And this kind of a security strategy worked well for ManU, because the players who were booked tried to play safe to avoid a second yellow. And it was unfortunate that, still, two of them had to be sent off. Luiz did a second big tackle towards the end of the game, but  he was spared of the second yellow because the referee would have been screwed by criticism, if he had chosen to send one more player off the field. 

And the deciding goal, by Hernandez was in fact offside. It was a very close call though, because only in replay it became clear that at the time when the pass was made, Cicharito was at least a feet ahead of Chelsea's last defender. Sir Alex Ferguson could claim that his choice of introducing Hernandez to exploit Ivanovic's send off gave him good returns. Mr. Ferguson and his lads can go home to Old Trafford, singing songs of praise on the referee. 

But the league, though moving to a closer contest than a one-sided one, is still open with more than three-fourths of the season's games still left. 

Roger Federer, the poet

Over the past many years scientists at CERN have kept themselves busy in their quest for a god particle (please read it as the Higgs boson particle if you belong to any scientific community). But they seem to  have overlooked something - not a particle, but a phenomenon - a phenomenon with exuberant energy, resplendent renditions and uncomparable consistency. A phenomenon that defined elegance in action through gentle slices and a genteel face. A phenomenon that has scintillated on the lawns of the All English Club better than anywhere else - yes, the phenomenal Roger Federer.   

The center court at the Wimbledon had begun to fade its greenery from lively to sober after two weeks of action in the Championships. The grass on either side of the courts were stampeded to a design on the lawn - an hour-glass with an invisible neck. But the beauty of the game evolved along, spending short laments on the ousted giants and  extolling lumps on promising novices. The likes of Julien Benneteau and Lukas Rosol kindled amusement in the fans, and it became heartening to see the flag of unpredictability held high by the top seeds too. The semi-finals line up was analyzed as an unbalanced one, for the first and the third seeds, veterans of the game clashed on one side whereas the fourth and the fifth, comparably less favoured, clashed on the other. Djokovic - Federer match was a beautiful melodrama, complete in every aspect of valour, vigour and vengeance. It is  a crime to not praise Andy Murray and Jo Wilfried Tsonga who together exhibited a memorable clash of heroes who always were shadowed by superheroes. After the match, Murray and Tsonga departed like familiar friends who just showed how good people who play second fiddle really are. A mocked moaner for years, Murray came out of criticism unscathed, and now stands tall to play host against Federer in the Gentlemen's Finals of Wimbledon 2012.
Djokovic faced Federer for an incredible 27th time in his career, and was favourited to win through another mesmerising comeback if not with ease. And match results very well showed how hard it was to be a loyal supporter, be of Federer or Djokovic or anybody else or any sports team or anything. From a slew of victorious highs, a fan plummets to unfathomable dooms at the taste of defeat. And against all odds and gods, a fan hopes his favourite wins, no matter what. Djoker and Fedex started the game on Friday evening with thousands of such fans for their support, and the audience gathered at the centre-court, as usual, were well articulate with their frequent oohs of amuse and aahs of delight. Everybody who foresaw in every Djokovic point a guillotine chopping Fedex out of the tournament (similar to what happened at the Rolland Garros last month), was very, very wrong. This time. Or many more times to come. The maestro Federer stroked the ball to every nook and corner of the court, gracing every grass on the court, and all  that Djokovic could do was to let out guttural cries of despair as he panted for air amidst his scrambled runs for ball right and left, up and down. Federer, the God's man, dictated from his stolid stance like a conductor of an orchestra - staves flew from his racquet and music was in the air. The men drilled each other through remarkable rallies, and the one who persevered more earned a point. Most rallies saw atleast half a dozen backhand slices from Federer, and half of them flew so close and across the net that there was a momentary delay of paused breaths and stopped heartbeats of the bemused crowd before they let out cries and chants of amazement.

 Image Courtesy: www.telegraph.co.uk

 Djokovic won the second set only to prove he is ranked number one in the world. Federer won three sets (in none of them, more than ten games were played, no tie-breakers) to win the match and many hearts he had won and then lost in the past, and more importantly, to establish that he is the all-time best in tennis. It is not an early conclusion that I have drawn here. It is time. It is time Federer is crowned with the eternal glory, for all the beauty he has imparted to this game. But for fans' sake, Federer should win his 17th Grand Slam this Wimbledon, or else it will become an elusive one soon. Although Federer considers that he has achieved much more than what he thought he would, and everything additional is a bonus, the insatiable fans need more - trophies, triumphs and some trifling tragedies to keep the humbleness intact. 
Long live Roger Federer the poet, words fail to describe the majesty of Federer's compositions. The divine execution of the anti-choker-the Djoker forms the befitting epithet of the God's man. Roger that.

Germany vs Italy - UEFA Euro 2012 Semi final

Highlights of the UEFA Euro 2012 2nd Semi Final: Germany vs Italy

Image courtesy: www.uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Now how did Schweinsteiger get a nod despite his ankle injury? His diminishing form thanks to his injuries has posed a real threat to his place in the team.

And I expected Marco Reus instead of Toni Kroos. the best feature about Germany is their highly predictable quality of game and highly unpredictable origins of attacks. Germany coach Joachim Low seems to have decided not to gamble this time.

First Half:

1": The match started with Italian team catching Germany unawares. German players are made to scramble out of their stability and formation, as Italy gets too good.

5": Montolivo brilliant in his dribbles/ getting past defenders. Mauel Neuer, stands strong.

20": Excellent work by Cassano to get past 2 German defenders, and to cross the ball to a ferocious Balotelli -GOAL- poor defending by Badstuber. What was he waving his hand for? To ask Balotelli not to jump?

25": 5 minutes into the game after the first goal, Italy looks settled - they can hold on for the rest of the time.

29": Good build up by Mario Gomez and Mesut Ozil - but unfortunately slips from Ozil and ends up waste in Buffon's hands.

32": Badstuber failing to hold Balotelli again and again.

34": Pirlo almost opens up another goal for Italy. His calm at the most pressing times is highly impressive - fans would not be yet out from the hangover of his penalty chip against England in the quarter final.

35": Buffon brilliantly saves a Khedira shot, and lets out a sigh of relief and a gasp of air.

37": GOAL - Balotelli fires yet again into the German net - weak German defense leaves Neuer a loner, helpless.

Balotelli rips off his shirt, there is not "why always me?",but a six-pack instead, which means a yellow card, but Balotelli wouldn't care. He is now in the top of the list of Golden Boot contenders.

If Germany have to prove their might, they got to pull out a come-back.

Why did I write off Italy from Euro 2012 contenders list?

Low did not gamble this time : and this is proving costly for him.

40": Cassano turns an actor now to try get the referee's favour - Badstuber has already been warned for his previous challenges. But this time it was clean challenge from the German.

45+1": A corner is to be the last act of the first half. But Marchisio clears it away.

Half-time: so the match is half finished, and the team which came to dictate is now struggling to speak. And the team which spoke less enjoys lesser pressure at half-time.

Second Half: 

Reus is in for Podolski!!! Exactly whom I wanted!!!

Klose in for Gomez !!!

46": Badstuber fights for the ball nastily with Pirlo

47": Reus could have done better there: a powerless shot made it easy for Buffon.

49": Captain Lahm sends a shot wide over Buffon and the cross bar.

51": Schweinsteiger, so far a shadow, now comes visible. But unfortunately, he has to give away the ball for a free kick.

If Germany wins this  match, they can win any match. The situation demands so much.

55": An excellent Klose effort came close to the goal, but Bonucci slacks it down to a corner. Otherwise a sure goal - even Buffon couldn't have rescued the ball from so close a range.

57": Diamanti substitutes Cassano. Cassano was not good of late as he had been in the first few minutes of the game.

59": Kroos brought down by Bonucci and Bonucci is booked.

60": Superb free-kick by Reus is blocked by Buffon.

63": Montolivo replaced by Thiago Motta

I would like to have an hour left in the game, but technically there is only half of it left. These stupid rules!!

65": Germans showing signs of unrest - missed passes drain the beauty of the game.

70": Muller in for Boateng. That means a switch to 3-3-1-2 formation.

72": Kroos wrongly caught for offense. He was at the receiving end in fact! Stupid refereeing.

73": Neuer lucky enough to escape out of his blunder - he almost gave the ball to the approaching striker.

World class football from both teams- left and right attack!

But recent Italian attacks are strengthened by vulnerable German defense.

My mind says the match is over, shut down the laptop and have enough sleep.

But my heart says keep watching. Go Germany!!!

The low level of offense here in this match (or probably in the whole of Euro 2012) is not at all comparable with the high level of offense in English Premier League. Players are very disciplined here.

Chelsea FC had Drogba to pull back one against Bayern. Germany needs two Drogbas.

80": The same style wing play again by Germany - this is not going to fetch them the result they want.

81": di Natale shoots wide. A great chance wasted by the Italian to give his team a 3-0 lead.

83": Daniele de rossi booked yellow for foul play against Shweini. And the following free-kick leads to a corner. And another corner. Both dont produce any result.

85": Di Natale flagged off-side.

86": A good chipping cross misplaced and makes German strikers jump like flying fishes.

87": Excellent one-two inside the Italy box by Reus, but Balzaretti tackles splendidly.

89": Motta booked yellow.

90+1": Penalty! GOAL - Germany scores out of the penalty chance gifted by Balzaretti's handling the ball.Buffon jumps to the wrong side. 

Germany bring down the gap from 2 to 1, but they lose in the end.

I see Italian fans in the screen rejoicing, and that reminds me it  is time to close the browser and log off. A tiring night.

And the favourites are down. Italy take the credit. Italy keeps historical records intact for the future.They even bettered the records.

And scoring two goals was not a silly task. Defending the German attack was damn tough.

Final score: Germany 1-2 Italy

Italy are into the finals of the Euro 2012.

The Rise of the Mannschaft

Image Courtesy: Wikipedia

Gdansk witnessed much more than a political satire a week ago, in the second quarter final match between Germany and Greece. In UEFA Euro 2012, the world saw the premonition to the rise of another dictator, after almost a hundred years, this time in the most beautiful of all sports, as the Mannschaft. An overwhelming German attack left behind a familiar Greek tragedy, and Germany coach Joachim Low signed off with an epilogue “today it was the time to bring in some fresh faces and different types of players who could do a job and I think it worked very well.” The incessantly chanting Greek fans found a Prometheus when Samaras cancelled the lead secured by German skipper Phillip Lahm, but their hopes were soon blown off by the acrobatic Sami Khedira. It is mind-blowing to see the multi-faceted yet united march of the German team, and the fact that the team is rich with men from 11 different nationalities is an unbelievable fact to comprehend.

Low had much surprise in store when he declared the starting eleven without Mario Gomez, Thomas Mueller and Lukas Podolski. Miroslav Klose impressed by standing up to his coach’s expectations with excellent ball control and a goal - another feather to his cap. He is now just four goals short of the legendary Gerd Muller who tops the list of the all-time highest goal-scorers in German football. The classic German formation of 4-2-3-1 was again a success. The old 4-1-2-1-2 formation in FIFA World Cup 2002 where Kevin Kuranyi shared the front row with the Klose is long gone, and the breath-taking attacks set a new definition to the game.

As a result of the shock exit of the Germans from the Euro 2000 group stage, the whole system of football in Germany underwent a revamp, and a system was established to spot and train talent from kids. And from then Germany has produced numerous young world class players, many of whom feature in the present day Mannschaft, a powerhouse of talent. Marco Reus, Mario Gotze, Mats Hummels, Lars Bender and Andre Schurrle are not just fresh young blood, but they are the ones who extend the depth of the German team. 

 Image Courtesy: www.bbc.co.uk

Only time stands between Germany and the title of the best football team in the world. Three cheers to Germany before the semifinal clash against Italy.

Torres and Chelsea FC's prospects

Chelsea camp should be now a desert, for most players are now busy with Euro 2012, and the remaining must be holidaying in their homes or away. A mammoth task lies ahead the caretaker-turned-manager Roberto di Matteo to scramble the team back and set the pieces correctly to affirm his talent. He would badly need to win atleast the premierleague this time to shoo away critics who find refuge in the copious way luck has favoured di Matteo and Chelsea.

The old guard is now disintegrated, two remain of the three. Chelsea can never again dream anything parallel to the Drogba-centric way of attack. The one that sunk Barcelona FC and FC Bayern Munich. The one that slowly flourished much to the anguish of all tiki taka fans, not because they hated it really, but because it routed most of their games against Chelsea FC with Didier Drogba in the squad. Lampard is no more the lone CAM that propelled the blues, in fact he is not a CAM anymore, he has found solace alongside Jon Obi Mikel right ahead of the other mainstay, John Terry. It is a good sign that Lampard has retreated, primarily because his brilliant interceptions at the back and meticulous passes that follow make the Chelsea counter attack the most dreaded among its kind. More than upon anything else, a Chelsea fan can bestow his hopes on counter attacks. It is more strengthened when they have a magician sprinter in Ramires and an intelligent playmaker in Juan Mata. The second reason why Lampard is better suited at CDM is that his shots are not that powerful as they used to be, and fans are kept waiting for a hundred Lampard volleys before he puts one through to the net. However, he is at his best in spot-kicks even now. Ramires and Mata could move up and down the flanks while the promising Eden Hazard would don the role of the CAM.If he does not prove worth the buy, Roman Abramovich will again be forced to do another of his hasty machiavellian spends, for his midfield will have strong wings with no support in the middle.

It is an inpermeable defense that keeps the Chelsea engine going, no matter what, the quad core of Ashley Cole, John Terry, David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic stand guard in front of the tall giant who checks the net. John Terry, vilified by his infamous acts of rage on and outside the pitch, will definitely find it difficult to get time to attend practice sessions as he would be busy attending trails for allged racial abuse of Andon Ferdinand. And thanks to Wayne Bridge who is now no more than a recluse, out of Terry's way. The inspiring Ivanovic has been a real asset to Stamford Bridge ever since his induction to Chelsea from FC Lokomotiv Moscow in 2008. Real Madrd FC are rumoured to be on hot trail behind the Serbian, although Ivanovic announced that he wouldn't wish to talk about his move to Madrid, much to the relief of the blue fans. But rumours have stirred up so much steam which corroborates this move a likely predicament to the Cobham camp. If it happens, then Luiz will have to move to RB from his current role at RCB, and Cahill will move in to the starting eleven, at RCB. Jose Bosingwa is lacklustre now, and he does not match Cole in speed or precise tackling. The tag of the number one goalkeeper in football was snatched away from Petr Cech by the likes of Edwin Van der Saar and Iker Casillas a few years back. But now the Czech is on an ascent again - he was astounding in the 2011-12 season, especially in its climactic finish.

Up front, the resurgent Fernando Torres now stands as a lone man, leaving a choiceless formation of 4-2-3-1 to di Matteo. Only in the closing games of previous season did Torres find some breathing space, and kept his contract intact with the blues. A disappointing closure to the season would have forced Abramovich to declare 50 million pounds an utter waste. And facebook would soon have declared Torres as their brand ambassador, much to the amuse of the trolling community. Alas, Torres decided to end all these taunts, with his elegant goals in the Euro 2012 group match against the Republic of Ireland. If Hulk is captured before the transfer window draws to a close, Chelsea will be strong in every aspect which the game demands. Fresh young blood in Ramires, Hazard, Cahill and Luiz will ensure an explosive season for Chelsea which will mark a milestone in the club's transformation from a business enterprise to an institution of the beautiful game.

Here is the best Chelsea line-up for 2012-13.