An Obituary to a Great Career

Michael Ballack Retires from Professional Football

Michael Ballack’s retirement from professional football has gone down without a lot of fanfare. Rather unfair this, as here was a man who bridged across 2 eras of German football and at times held it up solely on his muscular shoulders when the European powerhouses threatened to slip into a chasm of mediocrity. Make no mistake – German football was in a crisis in the early noughties. The era of Klinsman, Mattheus and Bierhoff was over. Bayern Munich lynchpin Effenberg was at odds with the national team. To make matters worse, there was that night of terror in Munich when Michael Owen ripped apart the old enemy in a 5-1 thrashing. At this time, we in India read about a young man from Bayer Leverkusen named Ballack who was scoring an extra-ordinary number of goals from his midfield position. A naturally gifted shooter off both feet , strong in the air and a penchant for the odd tasty challenge in defence, Ballack was to remain the engine room for the German national team for the entire decade. 

2002 was his Annus Mirabilis. His Leverkusen team defied all odds to reach the Uefa Champions league final where they were taking the fight to the aristocrats of European Football, Real Madrid. That is till Zinedine Zidane decided to take matters into his own hands and unleash that left footed volley from the edge of the box. However, the performance of his team had catapulted Ballack to superstar status, and he lived up to his billing in the ensuing world cup. His crowning moment came in the semi-finals against South Korea where he scored the winner however the game would prove bittersweet as just before his goal a yellow card for a tactical foul had ensured that he would miss the final. There is still speculation on how the final would have panned out had his enforcing midfield presence been there – as it happened Brazil cantered home thanks to a Ronaldo brace but German football had found its newest superstar, and essentially the first since the Klinsman-Mattheus days.

A rather injury curtailed latter half of the decade, first with Bayern Munich and then with Chelsea probably denied him from fulfilling all of that early promise of 2002. However, a national team return of 42 goals from 98 international appearances is an outstanding result for a midfielder. Much more acclaimed strikers have poorer strike rates. Add to it a World Cup runners up and a third place finish along with league titles in Germany and England and the baby-faced German easily slots in as one of the classiest players of the previous decade.

The national team of today , with the likes of Schwienstieger, Muller,  Goetze and Ozil have been predicted to accomplish great deeds – however this team might never have been realised had they not emerged through that evolutionary bottleneck of the early noughties, where at times the national team seemed synonymous with the name Ballack. Hats off to a great career!

The Cup of Dreams

Memories of a Legendary Ryder Cup

The 2012 winning European Team

Pretty much everything that could conceivably be written has been done before , during and after that incredible Ryder Cup at Medinah. Adding my humble words would just like adding a dollop of sugar over the perfectly iced cake. However, I cannot - not write at least something before the emotions wear down. So here goes – my memoires of not just the greatest Ryder cups yet –but one of the more compelling sporting occasions I have ever witnessed.

From the opening tee on Friday till Tiger’s (eventually immaterial) missed four footer in the shadows of Sunday ,  a encyclopaedia could possibly be compiled on the variety of facial expressions. Ian Poulter, of course, would hog a good few chapters in this. I don’t know if it was Arsenal’s defeat against Chelsea that inspired this ardent Gunners fan, or the Sevie spirit ‘in the sky’ message or just the genes that he’s been born with. One of the early comments I heard on Friday was the the Europeans have 4 world number ones in their squad – Rory McIlroy who’s the current No. 1 , Luke Donald and Lee Westwood , the past number ones and Ian Poulter , who always feels that he should be number one. On the evidence of his Saturday and Sunday play , who would disagree? It’s a bit too much to attempt to decipher his single greatest contribution to the event was, but I’ll settle on that remarkable serial birdie finish on the Saturday fourballs – a spectacle which gave his teammates hope and planted that seed of doubt in the till then dominant and supremely confident Americans’ minds. Westwood summed it up perfectly – “For 2014 , the European qualifying for the Ryder Cup will be different – 9 automatic spots , 2 captain’s picks and Poults.” I've never seen Sevie play this event - even his genius and passion could not have been too far ahead of the fiery Englishman.

Poulter: The Look that Killed

The precocious McIlroy wasn’t in the best of form over the first  days , but perhaps all he needed was a miscalculation of his tee time – arrive 8 minutes before – hit a few practice putts , munch a roll –and a few hours later pocket a point for Europe ....easy as you please. Justin Rose- that putt on the 17^th deserves a place in golfing immortality....Martin Kaymer – where have you been for the past 2 years lad ? Paul Lawrie , making mincemeat out of the hottest player on the circuit , Fed Ex Champ, Snedekar – who writes these scripts ??

Oh you poor Americans....what were you thinking on Saturday...actually , Mr Love....what were you thinking Saturday afternoon by benching the ‘jalapeno’ partnership of Phil-Bradley. Sure – Bubba was a great choice for one of the early matches...but surely even an inconsistent Tiger Woods should have been one of the early tee-offs. The aura of Tiger is not yet lost ....and he is still a fearsome beast in one-on-one golf. The best putter in America (Stricker) faltered horribly...while Mr “Nice Guy” Furyk maintained his unblemished record of choking over the home-stretch in events in 2012.

The Iconic Message in the Sky

Sport ,in most cases, follows the expected script – occasionally , the unexpected makes for great viewing – and once in every few years , the seemingly unthinkable and all but mathematically impossible happens : Boston 2004 – Headingly 1981 – Kolkata 2001 – Istanbul 2005 – Miracle on Ice “Lake Placid” . The 2012 Ryder Cup belongs right up there – an absolute privilege to have witnessed a rare iconic moment in sport written in front of you. Is there anything left to view this year in sport that would match this emotion – well – the baseball post season is starting , and the St Louis Cardinals and David Freese look like they might be able to secure another backdoor birth...hmm.

P.S. : In the midst of this historic weekend - I heard that India had beaten Pakistan in a T-20 match somewhere. 

The Fergie Factor

The English Premiership has had me hooked from the time they started broadcasting it in these parts of the world in the early nineties. Even in those embryonic days of regular club football viewing, the name Alex Ferguson (the ‘Sir’ came after the treble in ’99) stood like a colossus, a larger than life figure, a bigger name than all the big name players in his first team at Manchester United. His words carried greater weight in the footballing world (referees, media, administrators) than those of the Ayatollah in Iran.  Since those days, till last night’s daylight robbery for United over Liverpool, I have watched the Premiership intently, as an Arsenal supporter, but otherwise essentially a neutral student of action on and off the pitch.

They say in football, decisions even themselves out for a team over a season. Somehow, for Fergie’s team, they never seem to do. Over the past few seasons, I have seriously given thought of maintaining a stat sheet over the entire season counting the number of incorrect potentially game changing refereeing decisions that go for and against Man U over the course of the entire season. I have never managed to do so, but a random look at this season and the count stands at 2 incorrect penalties awarded and an incorrect red card (still waiting for a decision to go against them).  Wenger, Mourinho, Ancelotti and Mancini  (the other premiership winning managers that I have seen) have all made claims to their side being short changed, but for their teams the whole ‘decisions even themselves out’ factor probably holds true – if anything Mancini has probably been at short end of the stick more often than others.

What then ticks for Fergie and United- I will not go as far to claim that officials are bought off. That would be puerile. However, the undeniable fact remains that the intimidation factor of Sir Alex far weighs heavily in the mind of an official while having to make a split second, game changing call. Imagine the position of the referee while having to officiate on the Welbeck or Valencia ‘dives’ this season.  Even he is wavering towards the side of a non-call, his sub-conscious probably starts weighing up the implications of a post game Fergie rant vs a Brendan Rogers rant, and within the fraction of decision making time, the damage is done. If I had a dime for every time I’ve seen Paul Scholes go unpunished for the type of challenge Shelvey was sent off, I’d have been a far richer man.  

The other thing to factor in this is that over in the European Competitions, this Fergie intimidation factor is lost and you find a lot less managers bemoaning the refereeing advantage to United in Europe.

Sir Alex has even famously targeted referees before a game making statements in his pre-match interviews about how the gentleman had cost his team points in a previous game -  a gambit that has played havoc in the official’s mind before the starting whistle. Would the man then dare brandish an early card for a cynical foul in the opening few minutes of the game?

These issues are greatly downplayed by the media and the English refereeing association is a bad joke and I fathom ,till the great man stays in the job United will get the rub of refereeing green just that wee bit more often than his rivals. What I’d be really interested in seeing is the first Man U season after Sir Alex hangs his boots. While I’m convinced the decisions will be far more even, there’s even a chance that United may suffer from a few awry ones fuelled, by the sub-conscious relief of officials finally free of the yoke of the Fergie factor.  

Previewing a Marquee Weekend

This is the first real marquee weekend of a still embryonic English football season – at least in England where Arsenal travel to Man City and Manchester United play at Anfield against Liverpool.

Matchday of the Season thus Far

Things appear to have somewhat changed , early though the season is, as compared to May for both the Gunners and City.

Back then, Arsenal were dealing with the impending departure of talisman Robin van Persie and desperately looking around for replacements that would enable them to compete and yet meet their business model at the club. The season began with 2 goalless draws and it portended to be another long and weary season for Arsene Wenger. However, the clinical win at Liverpool, the thrashing of Southampton and the crucial (albeit lucky) win at Montpellier has seen a new wave of Optimism sweep through the Emirates. Lucas Podolski and Santi Carzola have settled into the physical nature of the league like ducks to water – the Spaniard has apparently created an astonishing 18 goal scoring chances in the 4 games thus far. While Podolski’s finishing has been far more clinical than what I expected, even more impressive about the German has been his willingness and not altogether negligible skill in dropping back to defend – a crucial factor considering left back Kieran Gibbs has a tendency to go missing at times. The defence has never looked this solid in years and key players like Wilshere , Sagna and Rosicky are on the verge of a first team return.  There are still many questions to be answered ! Will Giroud turn out to be another Chamakh ? The goalkeeping scenario also appears a bit iffy with Szczesny throwing in that howler last week and then injuring himself. While Manone has been safe , he still has a long way to go before proving himself consistently dependable. All in all, the most promising start to the season for Arsenal in years but Sunday will provide the first real acid test of their title credentials.

City, on the other hand, were conspicuous by their relative inactivity in the transfer window. Javi Garcia, Jack Rodwell and Matija Nastasic were not exactly the first names on the big managers’ shopping lists. Though still unbeaten in the league, City got out of jail against Southampton and have looked indifferent at times through a relatively easy opening 4 games (well, perhaps with the Exception of Stoke away). The crippling blow was provided in the mid-week when Real Madrid came back virtually from the dead to snatch that late win at the Bernabeu. If City are to be counted among the European elite, these are the kind of fixtures they must hit back in. They still have the best squad of players in the league and the game against an upbeat Arsenal should be a real treat for the purists with both continental managers likely to put out attacking sides.

Manchester United have bounced back in typical style after the opening day loss at Goodison Park. The RVP solo show against the desperately unlucky Saints followed by the rather more convincing win against Wigan has got the crowd at Trafford (and millions outside) quite enthused. The Man U midfield and defence still look doubtful at times but the brilliance of their wingers (especially if Nani comes to the party) and the best forward line in the Premiership should , on paper, not have too hard a time at Anfield against a winless Liverpool looking desperately short of squad depth.

But then again – this is Man U against Liverpool – and I do not quite know how, but over the past 2 or 3 seasons , the Reds somehow always manage to turn up for these fixtures (the results notwithstanding). I do not expect anything different this time around. With the backdrop of the recent Hillsborough revelations, there never will be a time for a thin quad to punch above their weight. Another classic in store, though, I hope, there are no more of those dreadful Evra-Suarez – will they-wont they-handshake fiascos.

There is a lot of action on hand this weekend apart from the marquee premiership clashes, with the Singapore GP and the Bayern Munich –Schalke clash being other lip smacking offerings. However , keep an eye on the  PGA Tour championship, which  is already halfway through. All eyes will be on a precocious Northern Irishman to see if he can make an unprecedented hat-trick of Fed-Ex cup playoff tournaments. Also, if the 10-inning game I was any indication, the remainder of the Yankees-Athletics series at the Bronx should be a riveting affair, with both teams still harbouring very realistic playoff ambitions.

Happy Viewing !!!

A September Russian Roulette

Analyzing a Lip Smacking MLB Regular Season Finish

As if last season’s September run in wasn’t enough , the 2012 Major League Baseball season is headed towards another roller coaster home stretch with no team still assured of their place in the playoffs and a whole host still interested , especially with 2^nd wild card spot up for grabs this season. So in essence this is how the playoff spots are decided.

The top teams each from the Eastern, Central and Western divisions of the American and the National leagues gain automatic entry with the next two teams with the best overall records facing off in a one game shootout for the fourth playoff spot. Not only does the Russian roulette of the one game playoff , make it imperative for the teams to top their respective divisions but it gives a number of teams added incentive in September to clinch that 2^nd playoff spot.

American League:

July in long gone, when the New York Yankees (East) and the Texas Rangers (West) were being comfortably tipped to top their respective divisions. The Yankees have managed to lose a 10 game lead and are now willing every weary sinew to try and stay atop the Baltimore Orioles (one of the 2 surprise teams of the season) and the “always dangerous in September” Tampa Bay Rays. The Yanks have had their share of injuries with the core pitching staff of CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Andy Petitte all spending more than enough time on the disabled list. Add to that an inconsistent offence, which has at times been carried on his shoulders by their 38 year old captain, the incomparable Derek Jeter. It’s a miracle that they are still one game atop the AL East and will need the other big bats like Alex Rodriquez and Robinson Cano to step up to win the pennant. Both the Orioles and the Rays have been punching above their weight on the back of some outstanding starting and relief pitching; however over the home stretch you have to believe the Yankee offence would have that little bit extra to scrape through.

Derek Jeter : Captain Fantastic

The AL Central is a neck and neck 2 horse race. The Chicago White Sox have led for the most of the season but the Detroit Tigers are only one game behind. Detroit probably have the best pitcher in the majors in Justin Verlander and the best hitter in Miguel Cabrera and you wonder if it is this quality which might just see them make the grade. It is also imperative for the Central division teams to win their division as both Chicago and Detroit are unlikely to gain the wild card spots if they finish second.

After the start the 2011 World Series Runners Up, the Texas Rangers had , it is startling that the Rangers are only 2 games ahead of the inspired Oakland Athletics – for the uninitiated in India – the same Oakland portrayed in “Moneyball” with the same GM Billy Beane. However, the A’s success this time around hasn’t been due to Moneyball tactics but some outstanding rookie pitching and clean power hitting. If the Playoffs were to begin today , the A’s and Orioles would battle it out for the wild card spot to join the Yanks, Sox and Rangers – however a lot may change since then.

Miggy : Key to the Tigers Challenge

Over in the National League , things are much clearer with the Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds and 2010 World Series Champs, San Francisco Giants having established comfortable leads in their respective divisions. The Atlanta Braves appear to have the first wild card spot all sewn up, and though no one in the Braves camp will have forgotten last season’s September meltdown, surely lightening will not strike twice in successive years for them to squander yet another comfortable lead.

The real battle in the NL is shaping up for the 2^nd wild card spots with likely to be captured by either defending champions the St Louis Cardinals or the star studded LA Dodgers. With veteran ace Chris Carpenter making a long awaited return for the Cards next week and the Dodgers Ace, Clayton Kershaw set for a possible DL stint with a hip injury – pitching might just well be the area which clinches it for the champs ; after all they are no stranger to late September heroics:  Will David Freese please step up !

Two Contrasting Champions

Serena Williams and Andy Murray winning the US Open singles titles were perhaps not altogether the most unexpected occurrences in sport in recent weeks.  Both had clinched the Olympic singles gold for their respective countries and though Andy had faltered somewhat in the hardcourt leadup tournaments , you somehow felt this tournament was destined to be his , especially after Federer was sent packing in the quarters.

An affirmed Legend and another in the making

Serena now surely deserves her place among the absolute top legends of the women’s game – the likes of Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Margaret Court. With 15 grand slams, Olympic gold medals, a fair share of doubles crowns, she has easily been the most consistently dominant player over the past decade and a bit.  It was not always thus – at the outset, her sister Venus burst onto the circuit earlier and more successfully and for a while it seemed that Serena would play bridesmaid to her. However while Venus has had her unquestioned moments in the sun, Serena’s career has comfortably outmatched hers.  The 2 sisters span 2 different generations of ladies tennis – right from their initial rivalries with Graf and Lindsay Davenport following to the battles with the Belgian duo of Justine Henin Hardenne and Kim Clijsters and on through to the modern day , where they (Especially Serena) have maintained their hold over the bumper crop of eastern European talent.

Serena’s game never had the panache of a Navratilova at the net, or the gazelle-like court coverage and powerful yet artistic groundstrokes of Steffi. Yet she used and still does to this day the asset she has been amply been blessed with, a cartload of power, which when accurately unleashed makes her nigh unstoppable. Both her playing style and the number of on and off court controversies she has courted, have ensured that she is hardly the most loved player on earth, especially for a generation like ours, for whom the ladies game effectively came to a halt with the retirement of Graf. Yet to not give the American her due would be a great disservice to a true champion of the game.

Andy Murray has been the tearful runner up in more tournaments than he would wish to remember, like his coach Ivan Lendl, losing his first 4 slam finals. For a long time, especially in the light of Djokovic’s awe-inspiring 2011 deeds, Andy seemed destined to remain a distant fourth in the quartet of modern powers, the other 2 being the incomparable Federer and Nadal. The London Olympics proved the perfect catalyst to spark the flame in the emotive Scotsman which has culminated in one of the oldest clichés in British sport finally being laid to rest at Flushing Meadows – the first British winner in a Grand Slam since Fred Perry. The future looks especially rosy for Murray if he can maintain fitness and consistency.  Still only 25 years of age, Andy has just stepped into what should be his most productive 3-4 years of professional tennis.  His rise in form comes at a time when his main rivals have all been dragged back towards the peloton, making Murray, if not the best player on the circuit , a definite favourite every time he enters a tournament. Federer has had a renaissance year but that aura of invincibility has long gone. There are now a number of players (none of them called Nadal) who believe they can beat the great man. Rafa himself has yet to step onto the court after his shock Wimbledon exit, and as the long term recuperation from injury continues , one wonders just what kind of toll his unforgiving style of play has taken on his body.  He may yet come back at the highest level and is still sure to dominate on clay for still some years but we might never the Nadal of late last decade ever again. Djokovic has struggled to reattain the Olympian heights of last season where he was the best , 2^nd best and 3^rd best player on the Tour. The Serb is still a potent force and his rivalry with Murray could well be the defining match-up for this decade , just like the Federer-Nadal showdown in the one.

All in all , Andy Murray has the world at his feet and having overcome that initial Slam hurdle, more  are likely to be just that trifle easier. The big question now on all minds is that having won the Olympic Gold in the hallowed turf of SW19, can Andy make that one step up and win Big W. He for once will be desperately hoping that this is one area where doesn’t end up emulating his coach Lendl. 

A Romance in Oranje

Chronicle of an everlasting love affair with Dutch football

International football for me, pretty much for the entire duration of my life has been a romance in orange – a tragic romance, but an overwhelmingly faithful one nevertheless.

The Netherlands ‘so-so-near-yet-so-far’ loss at the 2010 world cup final....and not just a loss...a loss in the 115^th minute , after Arjen Robben had missed a gilt edged one-on-one with the goalkeeper chance which he normally buries nonchalantly with both his feet tied together and his eyes blindfolded...so continued my seemingly everlasting wait for the Oranje to win at a major international competition since Euro ’88, when Van Basten’s outrageous volley converted me to a dutch football fan for life.

International football from that moment on (culminating in WC 2010) has comprised fleeting moments of pure joy interspersed by the rather more plentifully incessant agony. If Dennis Bergkamp’s three touch bamboozlement of Roberto Ayala in 98 remains the favourite footballing moment in my life, it is mired somewhat like hope in pandora’s box amidst Branco’s incredible free kick , the penalty defeats to Brazil in 98 and Italy in Euro 2000 , Arshavin’s wizardry in Euro 2008 and 2 outrageous goals (in Euro 2004 and WC 2006) from an otherwise average Portugese midfielder bearing the Indianised name of Maniche. Truly, when the Dutch undid the Brazil jinx at last in 2010, coming back from a real pasting in the first half , I believed that the time was nigh when my footballing hopes would be realised akin to those in other sports (Aussie cricket, Lakers in the NBA, Schumi in F1 etc). Andreas Iniesta ensured otherwise deep into injury time and my wait to celebrate dutch footballing glory continued.

Marco van Basten : The Volley of Genius

The one thing football has taught me is that no matter how earth shattering the result, there is always the next game around the corner....and so I waited.... for Euro 2012...knowing full well that Spain were still the strongest team in Europe and Germany, the most promising team on the horizon and well what followed, threatened my support for the Oranje to fatal proportions. The signs were there during Van Marwijk’s entire reign- the fluidity and delight of the Dutch game were replaced by a pragmatic , hard tackling no nonsense football. The team was built around midfield enforcers like Van Bommel and De Jong at the expense of that extra creative player. At the front Robin van Persie has long proved that even when fit, he is not half as good a player in international colours as that in those of his club. Even for battle hardened Holland supporters, it will take time to regain faith in the team after the debacle at the Euros. The Dutch need that one inspirational player to capture the imagination but it is difficult to see who that might be. The core group of RVP , Huntelaar, Schneider, Van de Vaart just lack that little something. Arjen Robben, on talent is probably still the best player in orange but fitness, form and confidence have been all too transient in the enigmatic winger. Dutch football is in crisis and under the dictatorial leadership of Louis Van Gaal, the crisis may either be resolved or deepen along the lines of the French in recent years.

Cutting over to the club football scene - once cable TV featured prominently in our lives in the mid-nineties and the European Leagues became an unavoidable weekly commitment favourites developed in this arena as well. Not unsurprisingly all the teams I have grown to support have or have had strong dutch connections....Arsenal of course , as the home of my favourite footballer through the nineties, the incomparable Bergkamp ; Ajax Amsterdam....well simply because they are dutch and in the mid-nineties were the epitome of footballing artistry (not too dissimilar from the modern day Barcelona) and Barcelona, for in the late nineties-early nougthies they fielded teams with more Dutchmen than Spaniards (counting randomly : Kluivert ,Overmars ,de Boer brothers , Riezeger , van Bronckhorst, Cocu)....while my footballing admiration for Messi’s  team is as great as any that I’ve seen play, their recent holier than thou attitude has somewhat cooled my support for them. Merely the name AC Milan excites the pleasure centres in the brain in fond remembrance of the days of the trio of Van Basten , Gullit and Rijkard. Those days are long gone – Inter Milan and Manchester United have more Dutch players than AC or Arsenal but the early associations have strengthened pretty much into eternal support.

Methinks I shall remain a footballing martyr for life – destined to hope , be disappointed and hope again , but as Ernie recently proved in the Open Championship, maybe once, just that once the never-ending hope of seeing the Oranje win international gold will bear fruit.  

Let the words "Dennis Bergkamp" suffice