2nd April – Indian football’s day of shame

Come the 2^nd of April, Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata will turn into a concert venue and host the opening ceremony of the money spinning Indian Premier League (IPL). Many would wonder why a cricketing concert would take place at one of India’s premier football grounds with the Eden Gardens lying vacant. Of course, it is to protect the pitch of the grand stadium. So, then it is okay to destroy the pitch at Salt Lake Stadium? Raising that question would count as naivety – if Indian football officials bothered an iota about football pitches in the country, we wouldn't be languishing in the Stone Age in terms of football development.

I was particularly pained when I first heard the fabled Yubabharati Stadium would be used for the purpose.

I remember hearing about it the first time and wondered how the officials could allow such a thing. Then I realized the IPL is a money spinning machine and the head honchos of the ‘circus’, as I would term it have enough cash to topple governments  - so what’s there in convincing a few officials. Righteousness takes the back seat when money speaks. And why wouldn't the IPL officials not splash the cash to book the Yubabharati? It offers a seating capacity that no other venue in the country can offer and with the IPL being the most anticipated cricketing event of the year, it is certain to generate cash to swim in.

One positive I found in the report is that the floodlights will be used for the event. For a stadium that has had issues with the floodlights, this seems to be a welcome change. But the floodlights were tested first when Mohun Bagan played East Bengal in the semi finals of the IFA Shield. For the IFA to host the biggest football match in the country under untested lights is a sure enough sign that they need the cash. The other positive can be the crowd. With the stadium boasting a capacity of 1,20,000, even if half that number turn up, money will ring in the coffers of the BCCI and some of that money could be given for the development of the stadium, which is in dire need of it – and the cash strapped Bengal government is only interested in changing the name of the stadium rather than developing it.

But during this time, the I-League is running in full flow and with the Salt Lake Stadium in the hands of the BCCI, the three Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Prayag United  - all had to travel down to Kalyani to play their matches. The stadium at Kalyani doesn't have one-fourth the capacity of Salt Lake and it has an open stand – and it is 63 kilometers away from the city. The three giants might have been playing there home matches there but it seemed they were the away teams with so few people turning up.

Cricket lovers must be having a gala time – the opening ceremony for their favorite cricket extravaganza is nigh and it will be promoted by Shah Rukh Khan’s own production house and that too, at the biggest stadium in the country. The way things have shaped up is extremely disrespectful – towards the stadium, towards the game. But what’s the point cribbing? No one listens to the football fans anyway – the past years have taught us that.

Being a football fan, the least I can hope for is this is the last time the stadium is lent out for a carnival, the last time The Beautiful Game is embarrassed in the country. Although at this point, nothing would surprise me anymore. What’s next? Shah Rukh Khan’s birthday bash at the Yubabharati? 


DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the FootballWorld fraternity and represents the personal views of the writer and not of footballworld.co.in.
Posted by Subham Mitra on behalf of FootballWorld.

United’s boy wonder is all grown up now

Goalkeepers have the most thankless job in football – their mistakes are magnified to the utmost level while their brilliance is seen as something very normal. This was the very same thing that happened with Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea. From his very first day in England as a Manchester United goalkeeper, all that he has received from an effervescent English media is criticism – most of which has been exaggerated.

One of the primary reasons behind this criticism could be the fact that he stepped into the shoes of legendary Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar or it could also be because he is not British and the English media doesn’t rate any player who is not British.

Either way, the Spaniard is human and like every other human, he is not perfect. It can’t be denied he has had his problems for Manchester United – of course he has suffered dips in form – but how many games have passed when he singlehandedly kept United in the match, making top class saves?

Day by day, the 22 year old is starting to show how wrong the critics are and how talented he actually is. The best thing about him is he is not fazed by the criticism he gets, but takes it in and performs on the pitch. He is very young in goalkeeping years and he has many years at the top level ahead of him – possibly as the best goalkeeper in the world.

Sir Alex Ferguson stated in a press conference: “David has shown his character because he has taken a lot of criticism, sometimes unfairly. It’s like a young kid taking his first steps forward, he wobbles, then gets up, wobbles, then gets up again and eventually he walks. The boy is walking now.”

He has made just 50 appearances for The Red Devils in the Premier League and after the clean sheet against Reading, he has gone 537 minutes without conceding a goal in the league. Not to mention his save success rate at 77.8% is also the highest among all first choice goalkeepers in the Premier League.

Surely, he can’t be that bad, can he? 

The fans, his team mates and most of all, the manager has faith in him and his abilities and it is certain David de Gea will, one day become the best goalkeeper in the word. He is not too far from it even now.


DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the FootballWorld fraternity and represents the personal views of the writer and not of footballworld.co.in.
Posted by Subham Mitra on behalf of FootballWorld.

Since Liverpool last won the league………..

Liverpool was once the most dominant force, not only in the English domestic circuit but also in Europe following on from where Sir Matt Busby and his famous European Cup winning Manchester United team left off in 1968.

Under the likes of legendary managers such as Bill Shankly and Bob Paisely, Liverpool won the English First Division title, as it was called then, a staggering 11 times between 1973 and 1990.

But since then, the club has only gone downhill in terms of their domestic success and although they have had sporadic success in the European circuit and the domestic Cups, it has been 23 years since they won the league the last time.

Here’s a look at the changes the world has gone through since Liverpool last won the league:

The biggest football clubs broke away from the football league to form the Premier League.

The Soviet Union has broken up, spawning a number of independent nation states.

The Berlin Wall has come down and East and West Germany have been reunited.

Nelson Mandela has been released from prison, been elected as the president of South Africa and retired from office.

Plastic fans sing “Next Year is our Year” instead of that famous chant “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

David De Gea, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling have all been born and have played for Manchester United against the Scousers.

Ryan Giggs has played 1,000 career games for Manchester United and has won the league twelve times.

Pink Floyd has been bankrupt and reimbursed by the British government.

Apple and Blackberry have gone from being just fruits to devices in people’s pockets.

Manchester United have knocked Liverpool off their perch.

Manchester City and Chelsea have won the league.

So, for all you Liverpool fans out there, you can sing “Next Year is our Year” to your heart’s content but still you won’t win the league unless the teams on top undergo a dramatic slide – in short, there is a miracle.

PS. I am a Red and I hate Scousers!!! 


DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the FootballWorld fraternity and represents the personal views of the writer and not of footballworld.co.in.
Posted by Subham Mitra on behalf of FootballWorld.

Spark a trend, do NOT celebrate against your former club

In the wake of Cristiano Ronaldo not celebrating his winner against former club Manchester United in the round of 16 match of the UEFA Champions League at Old Trafford, lots of pundits have come out expressing their distaste for such emotional attachments, many of them even saying a goal is the most important thing in football and if you score a goal, you earn the right to celebrate.

Taking nothing away from their opinions (of course, they know a lot more than me or you, having kicked the ball around the park a lot more than any of us), but still, we are also entitled to our opinion and I, for one, think whatever Ronaldo did on the night was a brilliant gesture on his part. Especially for a player who has been branded as arrogant, bordering on the obnoxious, the gesture that Ronaldo displayed after scoring what turned out to be decisive goal as well as after the match when he acknowledged the home fans who sang his name as if he was still wearing the United Red was something that will stay with me for a long time(I should mention here that I am a United fan and have been so for over 15 years, and Ronaldo is also my favorite player of the present generation).

But it is not something that he has done for the first time in his career as well. He scored a goal against his former club Sporting Lisbon during his days with United in Portugal and in a manner of almost apology, folded his hands and asked for forgiveness from the home fans. And Ronaldo is not the first person to have done it as well.

Shaun Wright-Phillips wasn’t wanted by Chelsea. They paid a lot of money for him, they paid him a lot of wages… but they ditched him.

And yet when he scored the goal after 78 minutes that gave QPR unlikely hope at the bottom of the table, a goal that brought about the most unlikely result of the season, how did he show his moment of joy? He didn’t.

It was the same with Adam Johnson when he scored an important goal for his struggling new club Sunderland against his oil rich previous employers who didn’t want him, Manchester City.

It is true goal-scoring is the best thing to do, the hardest thing to do. It is the object of the game. But it is untrue that failure to celebrate it is a fake act of respect to a club that sold you.

If you ask me, it is a manner of showing respect to the fans that used to sing your name when you were there at the club, your feelings of loyalty for the club and what it stands for. The club didn’t sell you, it was the decision of the manager and the board and the fans had nothing to do with it.

But the case is not always as easy as it sounds and we all remember how Carlos Tevez revealed his “RIP Fergie” banner after Manchester City had won the league last season. Not only was he being disrespectful towards one of the greatest managers of the modern game but also towards the fans that used to sing his name from the terraces. That attack was uncalled for.

I remember watching a match between Fiorentina and AS Roma back in 2001 when Gabriel Batistuta scored against la Viola and instead of celebrating, he burst into tears. At that time, I didn't realize why he was crying but gradually I learnt what it meant. Feelings of love is something that cannot be sold.

But the trend began long back in the 1970s when Denis Law, a legend at Manchester United swapped the Red for the Blue of City and his goal sent United down to Division II(United would have gone down even if the match finished 0-0). Law didn't celebrate and he was subbed off immediately.

This sense of loyalty is something that has always been there and no matter what the pundits say, I am with the players who prefer not celebrating against their former employers.

DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the FootballWorld fraternity and represents the personal views of the writer and not of footballworld.co.in.
Posted by Subham Mitra on behalf of FootballWorld.

Ryan Giggs, a phenomenon

Football today is one of the most frantic and professional sports in the world, and much more than a leisure or passion, it has become a business – a business for billionaire oligarchs and/or businessmen to buy football clubs, splash the cash, reap the rewards and then leave. Footballers have also evolved a lot since the game began or what it was even in the early 1990s – this is the time of teenagers who sign contracts worth over millions of dollars, play average football for the next ten years of their career and then fizzle out.

But some things are not meant to change and these are the things that keep drawing millions of people to football grounds all over the world – the passion, the devotion, emotion and love of certain players for the game – and Ryan Giggs embodies all that is right with the game of football amongst a lot more wrongs. The 39 year old Manchester United midfielder joined an illustrious field of players to rack up 1,000 professional appearances when he was named in the starting lineup against Real Madrid in United’s 2-1 defeat in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg match.

Having made his debut as a skinny left winger from Wales back on the 2^nd of March, 1991, Giggs complete an amazing 22 year old cycle of professional football at Old Trafford, a period that has seen him lift the Premier League title twelve times, the FA Cup five times, the League Cup four times, the UEFA Champions League twice, the FIFA Club World Cup once and various other trophies with The Red Devils.

A look at the breakdown of his appearances will demonstrate what a beast the man actually is:
Division 1: 40
Premier League: 612
FA Cup: 73
League Cup: 39
Community Shield: 13
UEFA Champions League: 144
UEFA Cup: 3
UEFA Europa League: 2
UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 1
UEFA Super Cup: 1
Intercontinental Cup: 1
FIFA Club World Cup: 3
Wales: 64
Team GB: 4

Giggs is also the only player to have played and scored in every season of the Premier League since its inception in 1992, and having signed a new contract with United last week, fans can expect another year of brilliance from the Welsh Wizard.

Giggs trained with Manchester City as a youth, but was snapped up by Sir Alex and United when he was 14 years old, a dream come true for the youngster and since then, he hasn’t had to look back. Sir Alex Ferguson once said about Giggs: "I remember the first time I saw him. He was 13 and just floated over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind."

Starting out as a winger, he adapted his game with age to a more central midfield role and even then, he was a success like no other. Having taken to yoga, Giggs is still as fit as anyone on the field and the way he chased back Cristiano Ronaldo during the match last night, it seemed almost incredible that he was pushing 40 years of age.

Ryan Giggs is one of those players that come once in a lifetime, his loyalty, his dedication and his work ethic are embodiments of why football is still considered as the Beautiful Game.


DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the FootballWorld fraternity and represents the personal views of the writer and not of footballworld.co.in.
Posted by Subham Mitra on behalf of FootballWorld.