The Master and the Pretender

Yes, this is turning into a football blog, but if so, so be it! The past 2 weeks have been incredible to watch football-wise, and while boring everyone with depressing details of my academic achievements during the study holidays is an option, I think I'm making the right decision here.

On Tuesday night, Barcelona completed the job they should've done at the Emirates. They only played about 60% as good as they had in the 1st leg, and went behind to an astonishing early goal courtesy Nicklas Bendtner : but a little genius who leads the European scoring charts raised his hand up to be counted. If there was ever any debate over who is the world's best player : the bullish and bang-in-form Rooney, arrogant prince 'CR9', or the magician who enthralls the Nou Camp week-in, week-out, then that debate has been settled once and for all! Messi demolished Arsenal in a first half delay that had the commentators gasping for breath and scanning their thesaurus for plaudits that had not already been showered upon him. The first goal was a bullet, powerful, precise, squeezed between 2 defenders' legs in a split second into the top corner before Almunia could move. The second goal was the result of a trademark Barca breakaway, and credit goes to the youngster Pedro for a delightful pass that put Messi through barely 2 metres from goal. The third was a touch of class, a delightful chip passing inches over a desperately advancing Almunia. The fourth goal in the second half merely the cherry on top! Barcelona outpassed Arsenal, and proved why the level at which they perform, Arsene Wenger can only hope his young team will do in 7 years' time. It showed how Barca were not only more adept at passing and retaining the ball than Arsenal, but were also more clinical in front of goal, and more composed in their reaction to going down! To their credit, Arsenal didn't let their shoulders drop and kept soldiering on, but having less of the ball, and less penetration due to the absence of Fabregas, Song, Van Persie and with Rosicky putting in a shoddy performance, Arsenal had little hope of rescuing anything from the match! At the weekend, Real Madrid host Barcelona at the Santiago Bernebeu, with last season's outcome being a 6-2 demolition by the visitors. Madrid may be top of the league, but any layman could tell you they don't play nearly as well as this Barcelona team do, even on their off days!

Wednesday night saw United being dumped out of the Champions' League by a remarkably patient, cunning Bayern Munich side. Though they won 3-2, Robben's wonder strike which produced the 2nd goal levelled the tie on aggregate and sent Bayern through on away goals. It was a first half that United dominated : putting to bed fears that they'd be suffering a hangover from their miserable 1st leg loss at the Allianz Arena and the despair of dropping 3 points at home to Chelsea! United produced a sparkling display, and Nani in particular, was brilliant, producing two magical pieces of skill that we would expect from the likes of CR9 and Messi. 3-0 up and cruising, young Rafael retaliated to a challenge by the all-at-sea left back Badstuber, needlessly earning a yellow card! Olic sneaked in a goal just before half time, proving to be a thorn in United's side once again, thanks to poor defensive work by Carrick. Rafael proved his naivety at this level by pulling back Ribery when he was already on a yellow card. The 2nd yellow was inevitable, and United found themselves a man down, and needing to keep Bayern out to progress. A well worked corner shattered those dreams. Ribery picked out Robben straight from the corner, who volleyed, almost Zidane-like (2002 Champions' League Final) with power and precision straight into the bottom corner. No goalkeeper in the world would've stopped that Howitzer!

Ferguson blamed the 'typical German' mentality of the Bayern players pressuring the referee to send Rafael off. But across all these quarterfinal ties, what anyone would've noticed is that even purists such as Barcelona aren't averse to rolling around on the floor and feigning injury to win free kicks and convince the referee to brandish cards. Chelsea were undone similarly by Inter, Barcelona outclassed as well as out-foxed Arsenal, while United shot themselves in the foot to be honest! United were the poorer team in Germany, failing to keep possession against a Bayern team with only Ribery for inspiration, and despite dominating the first half at Old Trafford, let Bayern back in it in the 2nd half! Someone should explain to Sir Alex that losing 3 out of 4 halves in a 2-leg tie, doesn't make you the better team over the two legs ! The very fact that he'd blame luck and the opposition rather than analysing his team's own frailties should be worrying! As for Bayern, their 'star' Ribery, to me, is THE most overrated player in European football! Comparing himself to Zidane, having a price tag of 50 million pounds labelled against his name : what exactly has he achieved to deserve that? Of what I've seen of him he's self-centred, lazy to hustle the opposition to regain the ball, reluctant to track back, often attempts too much when he does get the ball( reminiscent of the Cristiano Ronaldo of old) and generally has no effect on the team when the team itself plays poorly. When United went down to 10 men, he suddenly appeared from the shadows and began to play, just as Bayern began to keep the ball better! Until then you wouldn't have known that he was the hottest talent produced by France after Zidane! Ultimately, it's big occasions where the big players step up...I have not seen Ribery do that, and for that matter, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, barring his 2 goals vs Arsenal, comes on that list as well! The World Cup might give him the platform to do just that however, with an uninspiring French side led by a national hate figure of a manager, but until then, his greatness will remain in his mind, and he will always be the pretender to the throne upon which Messi is seated today!

I cannot see Bayern winning the Champions' League Trophy. They're patient, and they wait for their opportunities, but against Barcelona or Inter they won't get many. United have lost themselves an assured 3rd consecutive final appearance!

Top DROGS Again!

The doubters came, and the doubters were proved wrong! After the meek surrender to Inter Milan in the UCL Round of 16 and the barrage of criticism following the complacent draw at Blackburn, the Chelsea squad proved how tough they are!

After comments flew in left and right that this team lacks energy, lacks creativity, has no spark, lacks the pace and the hunger to to handle a title run in, they bounce back with 3 wins on the trot. 5-0 vs. portsmouth, 7-1 vs aston villa (the tightest defence in the league according to stats until then) and finally a well deserved 2-1 victory against reigning champions Manchester United at Old Trafford!

The 1st half seemed like almost a play-by-play of United's defeat to Bayern. Chelsea kept the ball and just didn't let United near it. They frustrated them by stringing together 20-30 passes in each move and movi ng from side to side. Malouda continued his incredible form and Joe Cole seemed to be newly confident after a few good recent performances, and the 2 combined to give
Chelsea a deserved lead after a delightful flick by Cole left Van der Sar beaten all ends up. Two penalty appeals arrived, both of which should've been given and on the basis of which Gary Neville should've had a yellow card, and since he picked up a yellow card around the 60th minute as well, United should've been a man down.

Irrespective, United came out of the tunnel fighting. They made the game much more interesting in the 2nd half, threatening from the wings in particular as Valencia broke into space countless time but was under sustained pressure and produced few truly magical crosses! United kept pushing forward, but more than skill or flair, they played more with a steely determination, fighting to scrape through with a draw. When Drogba came on, his 2nd touch of the ball yielded a goal! Although Drogba was clearly offside, the linesman for some reason didn't raise his flag. The finish from Drogba though, was exceptional! Shocking yes, but as United scored only minutes later with a scrappy goal that came off Federico Macheda's chest and then his arm, the referreing errors seemed to even themselves out. Inspite of the great lift that United must have felt following that goal, they still failed to set up camp in the Chelsea half, and Chelsea maintained their composure and weathered the storm to pick up a much deserved win!

5 games to go....2 points ahead....4 goals ahead on goal difference....and the Blues March On!

Football at its Best!

The Arsenal-Barcelona showdown in Champions' League quarterfinals proved as mouthwatering as predicted. Prior to the game, I felt Arsenal would sneak a 2-1 win given that it was at the Emirates and Barcelona weren't the kind of team to sit back and defend simply because it was an away leg.

As it turned out, the first half was an exhibition of why Barcelona are the most feared team in the world. The first 25 minutes saw the ball trapped in the Arsenal half of the field, with wave after wave of Barcelona attack baring down on poor Manuel Almunia. To his credit, he stood his ground as Barcelona tortured the Arsenal defence, creating chance after chance for Ibrahimovic and Xavi to give Barca the lead. He pulled off some magnificent blocks to deny Barca what should've been a 3 goal lead on the basis of the play. Arsenal started to get the ball back a bit near the end of the half, but created absolutely nothing, giving possession away at the Emirates, a place where visitors usually suffer the fate they seemed destined for that night. Barcelona, undeservedly, went into the break level at 0-0.

The beginning of the second half saw Arsenal's luck finally run out, as Ibrahimovic poached two stunning goals to give Barca a deserved lead. At that stage, it seemed game, set and match in this quarterfinal tie, as Arsenal would need nothing less than a miracle at the Nou Camp to march on. Until the half hour mark, it seemed Barca would only extend their lead. But with the introduction of Walcott, Arsenal came alive. Walcott's simmering pace finally gave the Barcelona defence something to fear. A glorious heading chance was spurned by Bendtner as Valdes parried, but Walcott himself prevailed eventually, whisking past dani alves on the wing and making a beeline for Valdes' goal, before stabbing the ball home as the keeper came out to stop him. It was the first direct piece of football Arsenal had pulled off the entire night, with their passing game blown away by Barcelona's selfish ball possession. Arsenal fought back, and even though Barca still created chances and controlled most of the possession, an 80th minute penalty scored by captain courageous Cesc Fabregas tied the match at 2-2.

Given that Barca are level on aggregate, the 2 away goals may prove a decisive advantage, but Arsenal will take heart from their fightback and may dream of eliminating the World Champions if luck goes their way at the Nou Camp. Next Tuesday, all I know is that another spectacle awaits!

Game ON !

To be very honest, I'm loving this season of the Champions' League. Yes, Chelsea are out and that still hurts, but that now allows me to view the remainder of the competition as first and foremost a football fan. This year's edition has been the most exciting in several years! It seems that finally, the romance is back, and that the giants of Italian and German football are performing to their potential rather than meekly surrendering to the English and Spanish! The quarterfinals this time around feature only 1 Spanish side, Barcelona ( though arguably the best in the world ) and 2 English sides, Arsenal and Manchester United, along with 2 French, 1 Italian, 1 German and 1 Russian outfit. Granted Michel Platini's vision for European football aims to promote teams from other regions , the likes of Scotland, Portugal, Austria, Turkey reaching the quarterfinals, but this is at the very least a great first step!

I am loving the unpredictability of this tournament! Liverpool have been rank amateur all season and unlike in previous seasons where they struggled for 4th in the league but still prevailed in Europe, this year their European pedigree matched their Premiership pedigree! To be dumped out at the group stages is a scenario Benitez wouldn't have rehearsed for too often. Real Madrid succumbed in the last 16 to Lyon, scoring only once over 2 legs, inspite of the array of world-class attacking talent at their disposal, to go 2-1 down on aggregate. Madrid still need to gel as a team, and watching them play, you would agree that unlike in other teams, the stars in that side take away each others' space, rather than creating space for each other! Lyon were regular contenders at the last 16 a couple of years ago, but seemed to go downhill, losing ground not only in Europe but also domestically. With Bordeaux also in the quarters, the signs for French football are promising! Inter Milan dumped out Chelsea, though this tie might have turned out differently if Chelsea had taken their chances in the first leg or been lucky with a couple of penalty decisions in either leg. Either ways, one can't deny that Inter's performance at Stamford Bridge was superlative. They rugby tackled Drogba to oblivion, body-blocked every single shot on goal, broke the flow of the game, and in Sneijder, they had an in-form passing machine. Sneijder did not get possession often given how fractured play had become, but he seemed to find Milito and E'too at will as they ran and got behind the Chelsea back four. If Milito had timed his runs better and not been caught offside nearly 4-5 times, this match would've been over by the 60th minute. Before the tie, not many would've voted Inter as favourites to go through, but they did!

Last night, the surprises continued. Manchester United put in arguably their worst performance of the season against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Their play lacked pace, their passing was horrible, and they couldn't keep the ball for more than 5 seconds. An early free kick and a slip by Demichelis gave them a fortunate lead, but Bayern pressed all night, and Van der Sar was kept busy throughout while Hans Jorg-Butt probably fell asleep at the other end. That said, Bayern's attack was hardly effective, and even though they passed the ball well, their final balls always seemed to go awry. That changed with a bit of luck from Ribery's free kick deflecting off Rooney into the back of the net. Rooney himself was a lonely figure, isolated up front with his midfield thoroughly outclassed all night! And 2 minutes into injury time, eerily reminiscent of the night at the Nou Camp in the 1999 Champions League final, Bayern righted a wrong and this time BROKE United hearts as Olic robbed Evra and shot past Van der Sar to make it 2-1. Truth be told, Van der Sar was probably the only United player on the pitch who played upto even half his usual ability. Shocking for a side in rich vein of form, having won their last 7. Bayern got little more than they deserved, but the 2nd leg at Old Trafford will still be a challenge. At the very least, Bayern have an equal chance now though, since United have no option but to look to score and settle the match early. But this Bayern side was without Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger, and both Ribery and Mario Gomes were carrying injuries. The return leg will feature a much stronger side that will be a whole lot more effective and innovative in attack! United have only themselves to blame for backing themselves into a hole, though most, including me, still believe they will get out of it! For now though, it's Game ON!

Updates

After another unplanned break, I'm back blogging, God knows for how long and how often, because to be honest, I'm tired of making promises that I can't keep!

Life's gone on well. 4th semester university exams are on the horizon and I'm spending the study holidays fruitfully by sleeping, eating, blogging (well, at least now I am), watching TV and in a couple of days, meeting up with old friends! The B.Tech syllabus might seem pointless to some but I thank it sincerely for providing me with at least one valuable trait : time management! Though in the conventional sense this might seem like a contradiction, given the earlier sentence, I've managed to understand exactly how much time (as a rough estimate) I require to efficiently cram my brain with knowledge I need for the short term, but which may not serve any long term benefit. I've always known that I have a threshold of suffering that I can endure when it comes to subjects that don't matter or subjects that I hate (usually the two go hand in hand), so all I had to do was know how long it takes me to fool my mind that I like those very subjects.....the answer comes to me as about a week at most! So that's why the plan to delay my 'study leave' till a week or so before the exam : Not much of a plan maybe, but it hasn't failed yet! As they say, when it isn't broken, why fix it?

Went to Ragam, NIT Calicut's Arts Festival a couple of days ago! It wasn't nearly as good as the last year's edition, and the paltry attendance was a testament to that fact! Most people had already left by the end of the 2nd day. I was meant to reach early on the morning of the 2nd day, but unfortunately my train got delayed by nearly 8 hours, stretching the usual 11 hour journey from Tvpm to Kozhikode to an unbearable 19 hours. By the time I reached, the 2nd days' events were already over, and so was my dream of taking part in roughly 8-9 events! I met up with some batchmates of mine : Rejul, Bilal, Preetish, Rohith and gang and joined them for the Naresh Iyer concert! Personally, I like his voice as a playback singer. His soft, almost childish tone suits a studio recorded song, but as a performer, I have to say he was disappointing. He was horribly off-pitch for most songs, he sang a lot of songs which were HORRIBLE for his voice : can't imagine WHY he took on DALER MEHNDI! His band was mediocre, his backup singer awful, and unfortunately that has to rate as the worst concert I've been to! I remember Benny Dayal being vocally average last year but he chose songs that suited his voice, and nothing he sang made me cringe! Can't say the same for poor Naresh though!

Took part in 2 quizzes the following day since those were the only events whose prelims hadn't already finished : as a consolation for the train delay, God handed me a 3rd in one of them, making up for the dismal 2nd day! Higher on Maiden, the tribute band to Iron Maiden that performed the last night, were in one word - AWESOME! They were simply outstanding : the drummer, the two leads, the bassist, and the vocals, all standouts but I guess the drummer and the vocalist stood out to me the most! The vocalist had a good, strong voice, awesome range and could scream well too.....and the drummer must've lost 5 kilos at the tempo at which he was playing! They missed out some really good songs, but besides their song selection, you couldn't fault anything else! They were so good that the screaming audience made them do an encore of 'Fear of the Dark' at the end! Perfect way to end Ragam and have some reason to return maybe the next year or in my final year!