The 2001 Eden Gardens Test match in many ways is a landmark for Indian cricket. It was at this juncture that India asserted themselves both in spirit and in cricketing skills. In Sourav Ganguly’s own words, “that Test match changed the whole psyche of Indian cricket”. One thing is for sure: the foundation for Team India – a term coined to describe the cohesive resilient unit that Indian cricket team was to become later on – was laid at this remarkable stadium and in that historic match.

Team India has a new found verve about it, not very dissimilar to the one Ganguly’s men had in the 2002 version of the same tournament. As India get ready to face the Sri Lankans  tomorrow, let’s relive another semi final from the 2002 edition of the Champions Trophy that confirmed the arrival of ‘Team India’. On its course to the semi finals, the Indian team under Sourav Ganguly had thrashed Zimbabwe and England emphatically, with the win over England coming with a margin of 10 wickets.

Ganguly was handed over the reins of a new-look, young team about a year and a half before this match. In hindsight, he was the gallant captain India required at that stage. For too long, India had been a decent, ‘soft’ cricketing nation. It had clinched a World Cup and won some other prestigious trophies along the way but never really strolled like a serious threat. Throughout the 90s, getting Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket won you half the match. There were excellent individuals like Azhar and Jadeja but India couldn’t evolve into a team that others would like to beat.

Sourav Ganguly changed all that. He came from an opulent family in Kolkata (they call him ‘the Prince of Kolkata’) and seemed to carry a certain brashness with him. Indian teams often were guilty of being too soft in cricketing attitude and Sourav was just the man who could catapult India out of such mediocrity. The best thing was that he did it all by example. He found it convenient to irritate Steve Waugh, making him wait for the toss. Getting involved in a banter with the opposition players didn’t bother him at all. Although these were traits very different from the ones usually seen in Indian cricketers, they laid a strong foundation for the formidable team that India was to become later.

Ray Allen made an off-balance 3, to tie the game with 5.2 seconds left. Spurs, with no timeout left, couldn’t hit the winner and the game went into overtime where LeBron and co forced Game 7.

LeBron James shrugged off a poor start to get 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Tim Duncan scored 30 points in the first three quarters but went scoreless afterwards.

Dwayne Wade and Manu Ginobili were -15 and -21 for the game respectively (meaning their team were outscored by 15 and 21 points when they were on-court).

GAME SUMMARY

The game started off with an 18-foot trademark Chris Bosh jumper followed by a Tim Duncan two. It went back and forth after that with both the teams changing leads every other minute. At the end of quarter, the Heat were holding up with a 27-25 lead. Story of the quarter was Timmy Duncan who was 6-6 from the field with a game-high 12 points.

Miami came hard in the second quarter, they went up 40-33 and were threatening to pull away with 7:30 left, before the Spurs went on a 17-4 run to close the half leading at 50-44. Tim Duncan scored 13 straight points in the run and was leading scorer at halftime with 25 points. Given below is his shot chart for the first two halves.

Third quarter was opened by a step-back Manu Ginobili three. The Heat followed up good, making the right offensive and defensive plays. They pretty much controlled the tempo and cut the Spurs lead to 1, forcing them a take a timeout with 6:26 left.

The Spurs went on a 11-1 run after the breather that included three and-1 from Tony, Leonard and Duncan respectively. The Spurs then closed the quarter with a comfortable 75-65 lead.

Just as everybody was wondering what a Spurs win would mean, Miami, backed by 3′s from Miller and Chalmers, went on an 8-2 run to cut the San Antonio lead to 77-73. They controlled the tempo after and finally with 6 minutes remaining, got their first lead since second quarter with a 84-82 lead off a Ray Allen reverse layup.

The Heat were up 89-86 with less then two minutes remaining before Tony Parker happened. He swanked a long, shot-clock beating 3 over James to tie the game at 89-89 and then stole a Mario Chalmers bad pass to make it a 91-89 in favor of the Spurs. So in a matter of 53 seconds, Parker turned a 3 point deficit to a 2 point lead.

With Miami unable to score, Manu Ginobili made 3-4 free throws to make it a 5-point game with 28 seconds left.

Then the unbelievable happened. Lebron missed an open 3 but Heat came with the rebound and LeBron made it in the next try, Miami down 2 with 20 seconds left. Spurs then had some trouble in-bounding the ball before Leonard was sent to the line. In his first Finals, Leonard hit 1-2 to make it a 3-point game, Lebron missed a 3 again, Bosh got the rebound and gave it to Ray Allen. The greatest 3-point shooter didn’t disappoint and tied it up with seconds left on the clock.

The game went into OVERTIME!

It was back and forth in OT until Tony missed a FT and then Ray Allen (again!) made it a Miami 1-point lead. Lebron James then missed an easy 8-footer but Manu Ginobili turned it over (8 turnovers overall), giving Miami another chance at it. Wade missed the jumper with 10 seconds left.

Manu bought the ball up court, went for the layup hoping to draw a foul, only to turn it over with 2 seconds left. Replays showed that Manu was fouled hard at that play, but it’s basketball; you get some and you lose some. Ray Allen (again!) hit clutch free throws to make it a 3-point game, Spurs in bounded to Green for the open three but was blocked (might have fouled) by Bosh and Miami won it.

We are about a year away from the big event – FIFA World Cup 2014 – and that means we are nearly there for its dress rehearsal – FIFA Confederations Cup 2013. The Confederations Cup is not an event that people look forward to by crossing the dates off their calendars or saving up their life savings to attend, but it does serve the purpose of serving up some quality football to our game-starved eyes during this summer break, especially when some court room action is the best action that we can get, thanks to Lionel Messi’s alleged tax evasion charges.

For the uninitiated, Confederations Cup is held for the winners of the continental competitions (with the predictable exception of Antarctica) like the UEFA Euro Championship, plus the World Cup winner plus the host nation. So that makes 8 countries, with Italy being granted entry as the runner-up at Euro 2012 since Spain qualify twice as World and Euro champions.

The draw of the competition is pretty simple, with 8 teams drawn into 2 groups (countries from the same confederation cannot be placed in the same group) and the top 2 teams of each group going into the semifinals, and then the final, and then back home. So, the two groups of this edition are as follows:

Group A: Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Italy
Group B: Spain, Uruguay, Tahiti, Nigeria

Group B looks clear as daylight. Spain and Uruguay should qualify comfortably as per the team strengths on paper. Group A is a little more competitive. Brazil and Italy are the big names, Japan is the team on the rise and Mexico, well you never know when they will perform. So, we can expect one big name and one not-so-big name to qualify from this group, given that there should be at least one success story of the underdog in any competition. Or maybe if Tahiti…

Before predicting the results and winners, we can choose to focus our attention on a couple of other things, one of which is this will be the first time goal-line technology (GLT) will be employed at a major competition. Since that disallowed Frank Lampard goal at the 2010 World Cup, there has been a clamouring of sorts for GLT and the time has come when we can finally witness the change that it can bring to a game that is often marred by controversial on-field decisions.

German firm GoalControl won the contact for bringing in GLT into this tournament. Each stadium will have seven cameras at each goal, 14 in total, which will analyse any incident involving goal-line disputes and send the correct decision to the referee’s watch within one second, should the ball cross the line. But the catch is that this technology comes at a price, with the price being 260,000 dollars per stadium and 4,000 dollars per match. Costly, but necessary.

The other thing is that the only big transfer we have had till now is that of Neymar, and people can finally make proper judgement calls on what Barcelona’s marquee signing can bring to the table. There are a few others too who will be under scrutiny and whose market value for their rumoured imminent transfers will depend on their performances at this tournament. Edinson Cavani is one such player. The Napoli striker has been on the transfer radar for a few years now, but this might finally be the year when he departs Italy and probably head for the Spanish capital.

Following the move of David Moyes to Old Trafford replacing Sir Alex Ferguson as the Manchester United manager, Everton and Bill Kenwright were left to search for a new man in charge. After a 10 year long spell with the Scotsman, the Merseysiders will be facing a new challenge in accepting Roberto Martinez as their manager. There are many ways to look at this dilemma.

Back in 2002, Everton were on the brink of relegation when David Moyes was appointed and it paid off, as they finished 15th that season, escaping the drop. Subsequent seasons saw them finish in top half of the table, consistently. They even went on to play in the Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions. Such was the positive spirit Moyes had instilled into the team to churn out good results. This time around, the focus is different, the goal is different and the manager, of course, is different. Roberto Martinez has been lauded for his ability to work wonders with a below average squad, employing unusual tactics. But all he has managed is a glorious FA Cup win against Man City after getting relegated from top division last season. Now, the customary Wigan relegation battle will be invisible, for a season at least.

With the club (Everton) now vying for top honors in the League, and Champions League qualification being the prime focus, Kenwright will not accept any slip-ups. There are many issues to look into for the new manager even before he steps onto the training ground and interacts with the players. The impending transfer rumors on Fellaini and Baines, and how they will be handled will be the major talking points over the next two months. Reportedly though, Martinez was quoted saying he would hand a contract extension to Baines and convince him to stay.

Then there is the issue of tactics and personnel. David Moyes used a rigid 4-4-2 at times, a fluid 4-5-1 most times and a 4-3-3 when chasing the game. For goals, he often depended on his wide players making overlaps as the 2 midfielders sat deep and distributed the balls. Much of the compactness of Everton last season came from the excellent centerback pairing of Distin and Jagielka. While the change from a 4-5-1 to a 4-4-2, meaning Fellaini being paired with the striker, demanded a much disciplined game from the wingers, it was the fullbacks that excelled in every setup. What Martinez will have at his disposal is a compact team capable of playing on the break and equally adept at disrupting a better opposition with negative plays when required.

Martinez, who pioneered the 3-4-3 formation with the Wigan side, will be looking to enforce the same setup on his new team. In the case of Everton, it actually could turn out to be a much easier task than it seems on the surface. The only downside comes from the dropping of a midfielder for an extra defender. This means John Heitinga could feature regularly next season, or Martinez could bring in a new defender who is capable of playing in a back 3. The onus, though, will be on the adaptability of the fullbacks into wingbacks. Coleman and Baines will be the crucial pieces of the puzzle which can make or break the ‘new’ Everton. The Wingback role demands a higher level of positional sense and more discipline, compared to a fullback.

The midfield will undoubtedly consist of Osman and Fellaini, if the Belgian opts to stay at the club. Else, a not so good Osman-Gibson pairing which was used most of the last season, might not be Martinez’s first choice. Again, if Fellaini leaves the club, the incoming wealth will be spent to reinforce the midfield. The 3-4-3 demands a lot from the two players in the middle of the park, so a player complementing Osman’s dictation and capable of providing the drive to cover the vast gaps ahead will be sought. Fellaini actually fits perfectly into this role and the manager should do his best to keep his priced asset at Goodison next season.

The defensive fatalities of Martinez’s Wigan side last season were well complemented with some adventurous attacking play. Everton were the exact opposite of what Wigan were and there is obviously a galactic gap to close down. Good, solid defenders at Everton should give Martinez some respite and he can go about mending the attacking department, which is in much need of some clinicality and most importantly, ‘goals’. Jelavic was unimpressive last term, so a new striker might be on the cards.

Then comes the point of youth. Everton have good players coming from their academy, but Moyes did not have plans to incorporate them into the first team setup. Anichebe and Ross Barkley are the only ones who got promoted through the ranks. With European football looming large, squad depth is what Martinez will crave for. With the uncharacteristic Thursday night games coupled with the English weekends, how well the Spaniard manages to maintain a fresh squad is the major question. The reputation of being a stringent dealer when it comes to transfers helps the club in maintaining financial stability. But we can expect an occasional cash splurge if the situation requires any.

All this discussion naturally contributes to a fair amount of speculation on which formation Martinez’s Everton will feature in. He could continue to tinker and develop the existing 4-5-1 or could bring about some drastic changes as examined above. Whatever the case, we are sure to see a dynamic and enterprising Everton in the 13-14 season. The most concerning factor for the Everton board will be the consistency. The leap of faith they took in appointing Martinez has a very high possibility of backfiring in their faces, due to obvious reasons. From the likes of it, Martinez’s Everton definitely appears to be a big gamble. One can only wait and see what’s in store.

Cristiano Ronaldo – where will he move to?

Cristiano Ronaldo has been quoted to have said that “he was unhappy” at Real Madrid and he was not getting the appreciation that he deserved. That was the beginning of a series of rumours and speculations regarding his future, although all that was akin to your old flame that is not over — one whom you assumed has moved on and is happy — isn’t actually happy and that they might be open to the idea of reconnecting with you.

Now that the season is over and Manchester United are looking to make a marquee signing under David Moyes, Ronaldo looks like an ideal player to make a statement of intent. The transfer saga took another twist when reports emerged about a renewal of contract by Real president Florentino Perez. Add to that the deeper pockets of the vultures, i.e. Monaco and PSG, and you get the picture getting cloudy.

The pendulum of ‘he would transfer, he would transfer not’ swung again yesterday when the man in question Ronaldo, himself, tweeted:

All the news about my renewal with Real Madrid are false.

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) June 13, 2013

What could it all mean? One, he could really be interested in moving from Real Madrid and that was his way of coming out into the open regarding his intent. Two, this could all be a part of his contract wrangling to work out a raise. The tweet really does not change anything that we don’t know about already, other than the fact that either way he is serious.

Let’s have a hard look at the feasibility of this move. Financially, the move is possible with the ‘significant extra resources’ that United could procure. Add to that Nike’s willingness to add their funds. Remember that the Portuguese superstar has a sponsorship deal with Nike, as does United, while Madrid have a deal with rivals Adidas. There was another recent report — one that many news sources ran with — that indicated Moyes will have a transfer kitty in the region of around £60 million this summer. Add to that the possible funds obtained out of the exodus of players like Rooney, Nani and Anderson in the range of about £40-55 million in transfer fees, while their combined wages would also free up an additional £38 million over the next two years. Hypothetically, even if United spend £65 million on CR7, they would still have enough to pursue the midfielders that they have been looking for.

Gareth Bale’s situation at Tottenham remains a pivotal point of discussion for Ronaldo’s move as Real Madrid have reportedly shown interest in him. And if they do offer the required £85 million, then a Ronaldo move is almost likely.

Anyway, none of this is concrete and all the rumours and discussions would be moot if Ronaldo signs a new contract. But till then, fans can always indulge in their glorious fantasy of a counter-attacking quartet of Ronaldo, Kagawa, Zaha and Van Persie.

The series started with everyone talking about each team’s “Big 3′s”. Now everyone is talking about the big three pointers, Gary Neal and Danny Green shoot lights out to rout Miami 113-77 (yeah!), also they never trailed even once. Also, Heat’s Big Three in this series: 130 points. Spurs “Big Three” of Danny Green, Gary Neal & Kawhi Leonard? Yup, 130 points. (via Tom Haberstroh).

Game Summary

The NBA finals made their way back to San Antonio after 6 years and the crowd was enthralling. Backed by it, the Spurs started pretty good, on a 11-4 run, and forcing Miami into a timeout. After that, it was back and forth the whole quarter, with a Manu Ginobili up-fake and dunk the most entertaining highlight, as it ended 24-20 with Spurs leading.

The second quarter started with a Gary Neal 3 pointer – something that we saw regularly the whole game after that. Bonner snaked free throws, Green made another 3, Duncan hit free throws, and then a Miami timeout. Spurs up 32-26.

Then exactly 2 minutes later, there was another Heat timeout, with Spurs up 40-30 now, their biggest lead. Neal then made another 3 to make it 43-32 in the Spurs favor, before Miami, backed by Mike Miller’s two 3′s, went to a 12-1 to tie it up at 44-44.

As Miami was getting some momentum, Tony Parker made an off-balance 3 and then the man of the moment, Gary Neal, hit a buzzer, beating 3 to make it 50-44. So, in just a matter of 26 seconds, the Spurs were back up leading by 6.

At Half time, LeBron James only had 4 points on 2-10 shooting. So yes, there was that.

In the third quarter, the Spurs started with a 9-2 to make 59-46 before, yes, a Miami timeout. Then Mike Miller sank two more 3-pointers ( he was 4-4 from 3 points overall) but Spurs responded with a 3 from Danny Gr33n, a Gary Neal floater and a vintage Manu left-handed dunk, prompting Erik Spoelstra to take another time-out. Spurs 66-52

The Spurs continued to dominate, getting up 75-54 before LeBron, who was struggling, went on a 9-1 run himself and cut the Spurs lead to 13. Then, with 6 seconds left, Manu the magician fed Tiago for a buzzer beating dunk. Advantage Spurs 63-78.

In the 4th quarter, everybody was hoping for Miami to change the gear, but it was the Spurs who hit them. Again Neal hit two 3′s and Danny Green made a layup off his offensive rebound to make it 86-63 and it led to another Spurs timeout.

Then it was Danny Green time. After a Kawhi dunk, he made two consecutive 3′s to put the Spurs up 65-94. Miami went on a min 6-0 run and Spurs called a timeout. Coach Pop sat all of his starters except Green, and he hit two 3-pointers in a Spurs 11-0 run that saw them go up by 105-71. James Jones then hit a 3-pointer and Pop being Pop called a timeout, said he didn’t want anybody to get into a groove. Typical Pop.

The Spurs went on to win 113-77. Tracy McGrady got some playing time tonight. How things change; he got time last game before his team was losing badly and now because they were on fire. What a change of guards.

While the 2013 transfer market is witnessing supposed moves of big names likes Wayne Rooney, Higuain, Jovetic and Cavani, these are being termed as major ’transfer sagas’ in the making by the press. But by the true definition of the word, a ‘saga’ brings just one particular transfer from recent times to my mind: the long, drawn-out affair of influential Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas’s move to Barcelona. As many Arsenal fans will vehemently point out the cheap tricks used by the Catalans via Xavi and Puyol’s public statements, in totality it was the player’s interest in joining his boyhood club headed by his boyhood hero that tilted the transfer away from Arsenal.

Fabregas at Barca seemed like a match made in heaven, as it came at the same time at which Pep Guardiola started insisting on filling all the positions on the pitch with midfielders, claiming them to be a more mature breed. After 2 seasons which saw mixed fortunes in the League and no joy at all in Europe, the relationship between Cesc and the club now managed by Tito Vilanova doesn’t seem too rosy now. With further statements by the VP regarding the move being dependent on the player’s mindset, there are suddenly many suitors for the 26-year-old midfielder’s signature.

And easily the biggest suitor in this regard is the David Moyes-led Manchester United. Though there has been no official bid yet with Cesc saying that he is not unhappy at Barca, Dennis Irwin, the man who was the first to announce RVP’s move last summer, has said that United have made Cesc their top target and are ready to offer upto 47 million euros. There are some contradicting factors that come to mind here, apart from the fact that Fabregas has “Barca in his blood”. Over the past 2 years, Cesc has stated on more than one occasion that the only other club he will join in his life would be Arsenal, and this makes his joining a direct rival a highly improbable option, and a better one would be joining another potential suitor in Bayern Munich. Mentioning the Champions of Europe, Pep Guardiola’s presence there makes matters complicated, as based on Fabregas’s history, his decisions are often based on the management at the club. Be it his time at Arsenal where he was extremely loyal to Wenger, or his move to Barca which was biased due to his hero Pep; the recent Ferguson retirement now seems to have made Cesc’s supposed move to a Moyes-led Man United even more improbable.

All this speculation regarding David Moyes’s transfer plans emerges directly from the tactics that the Scotsman is renowned for. After 8 years of insisting on attacking wing-play and a powerful duo at the centre of the park, Moyes’ arrival at Old Trafford fueled reports that he will be installing a 2^nd prominent force next to Michael Carrick in midfield. The current reports have mainly been concentrated on 3 names: Thiago and Fabregas from Barca and Cabaye from Newcastle. The 3^rd option of Cabaye has been an avenue that had interested Ferguson earlier too, and from the moulds of the above mentioned trio, Moyes is looking for a force to surge ahead from ‘the Carrick zone’ and connect with the 4 attackers upfront.

History repeated itself for the seventh time, at Court Philippe Chatrier, on the fifteenth day of the 2013 French Open. The unquestionable king of clay (statistics being highly in his favour), Rafael Nadal, proved once again that whoever crosses his path at Roland Garros (read: any clay court) shall be defeated ruthlessly. David Ferrer, the perfect opponent to test Nadal’s grit, was thrashed completely, with Nadal’s dominance being clearly seen. Ferrer, who had won all the matches preceding the Final in straight sets, was at the mercy of his opponent in the Final and was defeated in a similar fashion 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, getting a taste of his own medicine. Thus, Nadal established that he is virtually unparalleled on a clay court till the time he retires and his competitors will have to perform much better to defeat him.

Despite being plagued by multiple problems that forced him to go on a hiatus of nearly 8 months after 2012′s Roland Garros, Nadal made a very strong comeback in 2013. He won the Brasil Open, Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Indian Wells Masters, Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, Mutua Madrid Open and the Rome Masters, which provided him ample practice and gave him a morale boost before the French Open. He eventually defended his Singles title (after a few hiccups in the semi-finals), winning it for the 5^th consecutive time, and the 8^th time overall.

Nadal has broken an all-time record of the highest number of French Open Singles titles won by any player, and also the highest number of titles of the same Grand Slam won by any player, edging ahead of close rival Federer, who has 7 Wimbledon titles to his name. His Roland Garros record of 59-1 (his only loss coming in 2008, to Robin Soderling) stands unparalleled, with no player even coming close. He is also the only male player to have won the French Open on the first attempt. Nadal’s total number of career titles (in singles) stands at 57, which includes 12 Grand Slam, 24 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and 14 ATP World Tour 500 titles.He also won the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles, and in 2010, completed a Career Golden Slam, being only the second male player to achieve the same after Andre Agassi. Though his doubles game isn’t as popular as his singles game, he still holds 8 titles (but none of them being a Grand Slam title). He is also very successful in the Davis Cup, his team (Spain) having won four times. His rivalries with Federer, Djokovic and Murray are notable, the matches turning out to be close encounters on quite a few occasions, attracting a large audience and massive media coverage for every match.

In spite of his magnificent performance at Roland Garros in 2013, Rafael Nadal is currently ranked No. 5, his ranking having fallen from the top four positions for the first time since 2005, the easily fathomable reason for it being his absence from professional tennis in the latter half of 2012. This absence gave a huge advantage to his rivals, who seized this golden opportunity and moved ahead on the points table after competing in several ATP tournaments. But they have a lot to fear as he has returned very strongly, more aggressive than ever, and going by his recent game, it won’t be long before the gap is bridged.Nadal has proved himself worthy of being called the King of Clay, and is undoubtedly one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He has beaten several records, set completely new ones, and with loads of fuel left to play tennis actively, we can expect more from him in the coming few years and it’s almost certain that he won’t disappoint us. Vamos, Rafa!

If you google ”The San Antonio Spurs are,” “boring” is the first suggested auto-fill that you get.

Anybody who understands the concepts of team basketball to a decent extent, and has watched some of the Spurs’ matches closely (though, I seriously doubt that most people do that), know one thing for sure – Spurs are not boring.

Basketball has, over the years, developed from sports to business, the game has developed from high socks players playing serious team basketball to players wearing a custom designed sneakers playing superhero basketball and high-flying their way to stardom.

I’m not arguing that is a bad thing. Without this change, we, living here, 1000 miles from all the action, might still haven’t known NBA, but the fact that the always elegant and effective Spurs has gone so under-appreciated for such a long time, just goes beyond me.

Sure, they don’t have the athleticism of the Miami Heat or Los Angeles Clippers, they don’t even have a Kobe or Durant to put on a show every night; heck they don’t even have a John Wall or Kyrie Irving to entertain you.

But the x-factor Spurs have is their system – a system that made by the wizard that is Gregg Popovich, a system that has thrived and dominated the NBA for the last 15+ seasons, a system that is build around finding and trusting the open man. It is the system of true basketball or as you should call it, the Spurs system.

For a NBA band-wagoner, these winners Spurs might be boring, but for a true basketball fan, the Spurs are a delight to watch.

Let’s take a weird example - TED or F&F Six might be the most entertaining movie you have ever seen, but you know that there is not even one in a trillionth chance that they’ll get the Oscars. There always be a Argo or Zero Dark Thirty to bag it. The Spurs represent these Argo’s and Lincoln’s; sure they might seem boring at the first look but if you follow the movie closely you realize that you are  watching a masterpiece (told you, weird example).

Still, for the sake of it, here are few reasons that make the case for  Spurs as true basketball entertainers.

THE ASTONISHING PLAYS

Gregg Popovich is the best coach in the NBA right now, if not the best ever.

Under his guidance, the Spurs run some of the most beautiful plays ever. Sure they don’t look anything special to a naked eye, but if you look the game in tape, in slow motion, you’ll have a smile on your face.

Given below is example of a typical Spurs play called the Hammer Action - In this play, the primary ball-handler will pass the ball to a cutting player who would go on a baseline drive accompanied by a shooter getting free on the weak side. The ball-handler will then pass the ball to the weak side positioned men who would shoot a wide open 3.

This is just one of several Spurs trademark plays and an example of how exciting the Spurs are. (for more of these type of plays you can search “Spurs outstanding play” on YouTube and you will get hundreds of results)

Now, give me a reason why these near-impeccable plays are called “boring” and a superstar “iso plays” called exciting.

COACH POP

Most of us San Antonio fans’ worries end with this phrase “We got Pop, he’ll figure out something” and he has never disappointed. In his ongoing decade long stint with the Spurs, there’s hardly any time when the master has done anything wrong, from developing young Parker into a beast he is now, to developing role players such as Danny Green and Gary Neal, Pop has done it all.

The most entertaining thing about him is his in-game interviews (which Marc Stein of ESPN wrote a wonderful piece on). The conclusion of the article was similar to what I think, that Pop don’t like entertainment taking over the sports, he doesn’t seem to understand why, just for the sake of it you have answer a couple of question in-between games. His no-bulls*** attitude is what makes him so polarizing.

Still what might be the reason behind it, his interviews are instant classics. There are times when you just want the first half to end quickly so that you could watch Pop’s sarcastic answers. How many other coaches do that ?

After all, he is nasty.

Before the Arab takeover in 2008, Manchester City were just another mid table team with mediocre set of players, more like Fulham of these days. They had won 2 league titles prior to that and had a pretty small trophy cabinet to boast of. Unlike Roman Abrahmovich at Chelsea, the wealthy Arab owners of Blue Manchester didn’t have prosperous beginnings in their initial years. Now, after 5 years under the Sheikh’s rule and an influx in an excess of 600 million$, the noisy neighbors have won 3 trophies, which include 2 FA Cups and a Premier League.

While they have been consistent in staying among the top 5 in the domestic league, their disastrous failures in the Champions League has landed them at the crossroads of uncertainty. Roberto Mancini was sacked after 4 seasons in charge, a tumultuous tenure in which he had to endure the egos of Tevez and Balotelli. While all this was the front end of the club, many changes were taking place behind the scenes. The club management underwent a massive shakeup which saw experienced personnel from Barcelona appointed to develop a better youth system, and the first team coaching staff is in the process of a huge makeover following Mancini’s sacking after the FA Cup final defeat at the hands of Wigan Athletic.

A trophy-less season after the nail-biting triumph in the League in the previous raised concerns over the future of the club and loyalty of the players. Also, the failure to step past the group stages of the Champions League, the trophy which everyone craves for, has left the owner with no choice but to take drastic action and restructure the team to bring it back to winning ways. And that is exactly the direction Shiekh Mansour is pointing his ship at. With the team already overflowing with talented players, new acquisitions in the form of Fernandinho and Jesus Navas have added a new dimension to a multi-faceted squad.

The Champions league level, as mentioned in the header, implies that the team is able to reach the semifinals at the very least. Now, how can just two signings and a new manager make a club, which has under-performed at every level, compete for top honors in Europe and Domestic cups? Well, with Manchester City, it is looking as though that would be the case. Let’s take a deeper look at which positions the team was lacking and what significance these two new signings would have over the course of the next season.

The French Open has finally entered the ultimate stage, with just one match left to decide the Men’s Singles champion for the year 2013. The stage has been set to witness arguably one of the greatest French Open Men’s Singles Finals ever played. It’s the clash of two of the finest clay court tennis players in the current era, Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, who will battle it out at Court Philippe Chatrier on 9^th June to earn the title of the 2013 French Open Men’s Singles champion.

Before the finals, taking a look at the players’ performance in the semi-finals speaks volumes about the players’ form. The semi-finals proved to be a major challenge for Nadal, who was up against Novak Djokovic, the current  World No. 1. The match ended up being a five-set thriller, with Nadal battling hard against Djokovic’s consistency and accuracy, finally winning it 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7. This Djokovic vs Nadal set-up was seen in many Grand Slam finals in the recent years, Djokovic having defeated Nadal in all except his sole French Open final, in 2012. Yesterday, in spite of the losses on hard courts, Nadal proved once again that he was invincible on clay, and transcended into the finals after defeating Djokovic. Ferrer, on the other hand, had a relatively comfortable semi-final, with an easy victory over Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, winning it in straight sets 6-1, 7-6, 6-2, to make it to his first Grand Slam Final.

According to past records, of the 23 matches played by Nadal and Ferrer head to head, Nadal has won 20 and Ferrer has won 3. Of these, 16 have been played on clay and Nadal has won at every single instance. Thus, if we consider a purely statistical view, it clearly appears that Nadal would win, without any doubt. But considering Ferrer’s solid form, not having dropped a single set in the tournament so far, defeating him would definitely not a be cakewalk for Nadal. He is a tough fighter and a formidable opponent. Hence, predicting the outcome of the match isn’t going to be easy. The fight between the top two Spaniards is undoubtedly going to be tough. Only time and perseverance at the Final will tell who the real champion is.

If Nadal wins the match, it will be his 8^th French Open title, the 4^th consecutive one of the same, and his 12^th Grand Slam title, adding another one to his already achieved 56 career titles. If Ferrer wins, it will be his maiden French Open title as well as his first Grand Slam title to make it to his cabinet of 20 career titles. The odds are equally in favour of either player, though to many it may appear that Nadal would be the definite defending champion, considering his strong comeback after a long break of nearly eight months. But Ferrer’s current form may just turn out to be the game changer.

Nevertheless, both the Spaniards are in top shape, hungry for the title and ready to serve, and day 15 of French Open 2013 is something to watch out for!

Oliver Sorg (L) of Germany U21 and Adam Maher of Holland U21 during the UEFA EURO U21 match between Holland U21 and Germany U21

If the opening day of the U-21 Euros was disappointing to say the least after yet another generation of English football failed to impress, all the excitement and faith in youth was restored on the second day. Winners of the senior version of the tournament, Spain displayed how deep the art of passing has crept through in Espana. Though they needed a 81^st minute strike by substitute Morata to get all the points, the performance by youngsters from all over Spain, rather than just 2 teams, was indeed refreshing.

We shall place more emphasis on the 2^nd game here, the one that ended 3-2 between Netherlands and Germany; a matchup that has never failed to entertain. One look at the senior setup in both these countries would paint a contrasting image. Netherlands have just witnessed their golden generation bow out, and their last appearance in an international tournament was an embarrassment. The likes of Sneijder, van Bommel and Robben are past their peak, though somehow Robben manages to appear on the Player of the Year nominations. The sole torch bearer on paper is Van Persie, who too has not been among goals in every game. This has led Van Gaal to experiment with the youthfulness of the nation, and the ex-Bayern coach has received encouraging results. So unsurprisingly enough, 10 out of the 11 players to start this U-21 encounter were already capped for the senior squad.

Germany on the other hand is surely going through its purple patch. The youth project that was started by the Die Mannschaft a decade ago has now reaped its fruits and the senior squad is full of youthful talents. This, though, has led to the U-21 German squad receiving a generation even newer than that of Goetze, Reus and Kroos. This resulted in only 1 player out of the 11 to have received a senior cap, the inspirational captain Lewis Holtby.

The experience and chemistry in the Dutch setup and the lack of it in the German was visible right from the start. The exiting senior squad of Netherlands relied on the solidity of van Bommel and de Jong and the technical qualities of RVP, Sneijder and van der Vaart. But this Dutch U-21 team was a totally different picture. With pacy and quick footed wingers like Ola John on the left and Wijnaldum on the right, the ‘Oranje’ had their most potent weapon at No.10 in the form of Adam Maher. The PSV attacker has been in terrific form in the qualifiers, and this tournament is surely the stage for the skillful youngster to market his talents. So skillful were the Dutch that there was no place in the XI even for Leroy Fer.

The Dutch were spearheaded by Borussia Monchengladbach striker Luke de Jong, and the talented striker was a perfect target man for Maher to prosper with. De Jong was the recipient of most of the long balls from the defence. And he received most of them near the half way line. This allowed Maher to make a run from his left into the channel between the CB and RB.

Maher was playing as the most advanced midfielder of the 4-3-3, and mostly shifted into the No.10 role. The others in midfield for Netherlands were van Ginkel and Kevin Strootman. Van Ginkel had scored 3 crucial goals for the Dutch in the playoffs and was here played as the runner in midfield. His operating area was in between the defence and Maher, and this turned out to be quite a large area due to Maher’s advanced play and Strootman’s deeper role.

Kevin Strootman has been really unlucky to remain in the shadows of van Bommel until now, and his performance in this tourney is surely not to go unnoticed. Against the Germans, Strootman started in an extremely deep role and was often found in the gap between the 2 wide centre backs. The pass played from the CBs to Strootman was the most counted one, and it was Strootman’s job to then distribute to the forwards. In a role somewhat similar to what Verrati played against England on Day 1, Strootman’s most played pass was the one to de Jong, which the striker latched on to near the half way line.

Eden Hazard, Mousa Dembele, Kevin De Bruyne and Stefan Defour; the common aspect that one can connect with these players is their grace and speed of quick passing and silly skills. And adding to that Belgian coup perfectly in terms of physicality is the Premier League duo of Fellaini and Benteke. Both of these two have been crucial to their respective clubs in terms of the towering presence they provide in both the boxes. Benteke had created confusion right at the start of the season, by declaring is love for Arsenal just after signing for Aston Villa. This summer sees him on the brink of a transfer either to the Gunners or to the rising Borrusia Dortmund.

However, It is the other tall Belgian that the League is more concerned about right now. Marouane Fellaini had made a terrific start to the 2012-13 season, as he humbled the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea early in the year. Some more performances in the same ball-park meant that he quickly declared himself ready to make the ‘move to the bigger ship’ in the winter. It can be put down to David Moyes and Ben Kenwright’s diplomacy which kept the influential midfielder in the club to help win a Europa League position. But on the occasion of Roberto Martinez joining Everton, the chairman was quick to settle matters by stating:

“He (Martinez) talked about a couple of new signings and he talked about the squad and asked ‘Do they need to go?’”. “I said ‘No, they absolutely do not have to go’ (although) there is one (Fellaini) that has a get-out, which everyone knows.”

Fellaini’s £26million buy-out clause has been out in the open since January, and if papers are to be believed there are 3-4 European clubs lining up a move for the Belgian. The obvious choices would be the ones where he wrecked terror earlier, Chelsea and Man United. In a somewhat sensational report, Arsenal were believed to enter the race with a £26million bid. Here we analyze which of these clubs have a realistic chance in the race, and where does the Belgian actually fit in.

Chelsea:

Even before Rafa Benitez had been appointed interim manager, Chelsea were reported to be leading the race for the Belgian. And lets accept it, if this race is to be decided on the size of the bid or the wage bills; the Blues have won it long since. But, now that the not-so-sensational crowning of Jose has occurred, the obvious signings might not look so apparent to ‘the Special one’.

Mourinho’s previous tenure at the Bridge had seen him emphasis on the signing of players who bring in the physicality aspect. Defend ruggedly and then counter, was his prophesied mantra, and this saw the likes of Drogba, Essien and Makelele come to the fore.

In terms of physical presence, Fellaini can humble each of the above mentioned on his day. The actual question now is that which the Belgian’s most suited position is. Originally brought into the club as a defensive midfielder, Moyes has gone on to advance Fellaini as a second striker this season. He was played behind Anichibe or Jelavic, and he turned out to be instrumental in Everton most successful link-up: the Baines-Pienaar move.

Fellaini had the simple role to pull away the midfielder covering him towards the left, and hereby provide Pienaar the space to cut-in with Baines on the overlap. His second role came into play when long balls were played to him as the target man. In these cases he preferred to flick on the balls either to Pienaar/Miralas on the wings or Osman arriving from midfield, rather than the usual flicks to the striker ahead. This usually found either Osman or Piennar free who then sought to find the striker making a run in the channels.

Fellaini’s role upfront seems quite defined, but when he plays a little deeper, that is when the real class is visible. As was seen in the Everton-Arsenal game in April, Moyes placed Fellaini at the centre of midfield with the plan to beat out the likes of Cazorla and Rosicky. Fellaini was successful in this role and he furthered his performance by displaying some smooth pass distribution to the wingers from the centre; surely this turned out to be an unexpected asset in a towering giant.

Now coming back to Mourinho’s gameplan; it is expected that Jose sticks with a midfield trio, with a CDM, a runner and Frank Lampard. The spot for the runner is at the moment clearly up for Ramires to grab, as Mourinho has always kept a box-to box player in his midfield, in the mould of say Sami Khedira. Ramires was quite often criticized last season for defensive errors when played deep next to Mikel and hence will be allowed to venture further ahead.

Frank Lampard’s tagline of ‘arriving late in the box’ can be put down to the early Jose days. But with the Englishman’s advance in age, he has been used in much deeper midfield roles. The other position has been taken up by Mikel and at times by the dynamic David Luiz. Out of these 2, David Luiz would be preferred to Fellaini on any day due to the creativity and energy the Brazilian brings into midfield. In case of Mikel, after being heavily criticized by few in his early days, the Nigerian’s role this season has finally won him some acclaim. Particularly his arrival in place of Lampard at half time in the Liverpool game, changed the entire dynamics of the midfield battle. Fellaini might be a more motoring force than Mikel in midfield, but definitely the adventurous streak in the Belgian would not fit the combination with Luiz/Lampard and Ramires.

The second half of Arsenal’s 2012-13 season was characterized by scrappy 1-0 wins. Though fans lapped these up blindly, proclaiming “1-0 to the Gunners”, and Wenger claimed his bunch of players to have “character, desire and hunger”; the plain fact of the matter was that after starting each game with high energy, Arsenal were not able to add the kill games while playing teams stationed in the lower half of the table.

A season review of the team would show the defence to have passed in flying colours, goals coming from varied sources in attack, and the centre of midfield be graced by some of the best passers in Europe. But apart from end of the season stats, a match by match review would have shown that the Gunners flattered to deceive.

Thomas Vermaelen has received heavy criticism for his lacklustre captaincy and total drop of form; and rightly so. Koscienly was declared as one of the ‘players of this season’; and considering that the Frenchman was out injured for the better part of 5 months, Vermaelen’s role with Mertersacker at the back stands out to be far more crucial. The fans obviously feel let down by their captain, who despite being error prone last season too, had shown the desire to excel in adverse conditions.

Another temporary bump was Theo Walcott’s contract issue, and the fuss surrounding this was not sorted out till November. And considering the fact that Theo would have been a free agent in January, a typical Wenger-esque contract forced the team members to think it was Groundhog Day. The contract situation definitely caused confusion in the Arsenal ranks, with some members of the squad hoping the worst.

Another blotch which I am sure many won’t agree with was Mikel Arteta’s start to the season. The Spaniard was the main anchorman in Arsenal’s end-season recovery, though keen observers point towards Aaron Ramsey’s influence in this period. The start of the season had indeed seen Arteta struggle to compete in Song’s role. But where Arteta gains in intelligence and positioning over Song, his physicality and pace is nowhere in the same ball park as Alex Song. The oppositions were quick to notice this flaw, and as one can painfully remember from the Norwich and Fulham games in 2012, the bigger centre forward looked to cover Arteta while the quicker No.10 midfielder ran directly at the defence. This happened with the combination of Berbatov-Ruiz and Holt-Hoolahan, where Arsenal dropped unnecessary points.

The unsteadiness in Arsenal’s system ran right to the very end, as the Gunners again held on to a 1-0 lead at Tyneside after Gareth Bale had scored a late winner in a simultaneous fixture. Wild celebrations at the end of the game showed how much the season meant to Arsenal.

What most EPL followers do not realize about Wenger’s era is that he has had to build innumerable number of teams from scratch, and then lost vital cogs at wrong times. The end season transfers of Nasri and Fabregas had meant that Wenger was unable to rebuild, and that the 2011-12 season was fully based on Van Persie’s performance.

This followed by the Dutchman’s sale meant that this 2012-13 season became a rebuilding phase, which in Thomas Rosicky’s recent words “got off to a very bad start”. The Czech international further reaffirmed his continual at the club and said that “no other player would be leaving this summer”.

This season turned out to be a satisfactory show for the Gunners primarily due to their transfer ventures in the last window. The captures of Cazorla, Podolski and Giroud plugged major gaps, only for others to be opened up soon. So it is up to Wenger’s wheeling and dealing in this window to decide the fate for next season.

Areas that need reimbursements are quite clear: Giroud has not been able to prosper as a lone striker so Arsenal needs either a strike partner for the Frenchman or an attacking No.10. Another area that could need an extra hand could be the CB role, in case Pep does swoop for Koscienly.

However, It is the category of the centre defensive midfield that interests yours truly here. Victor Wanyama has been a target for many Premier League clubs including Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, and considering recent reports it is Wenger who leads talks after having communicated with the player’s family. Wanyama’s agent was quite blunt in his statement, though a commission-induced swagger does look on the cards:

“He is still young and I have told him he needs to be careful about when he takes the really big step. I think myself that it’s better that he has a step in between before going to the really big level.

Celtic play nice football. But every competition is different and the English Premier League is the really big one. It’s just a question of what level Victor goes to.

Van Persie went to Arsenal then moved on later to Manchester United. Victor can do the same if he goes to Arsenal. And I believe that is what he wants. He wants to go to Arsenal.”

This statement might have incensed many, but some might have felt their dreaded fears truly come alive. Over the past eight seasons (or as per the recent troll: “Since Mourinho was last at Chelsea” ), Wenger has not won anything, and inspite of the mesmerizing football at times and the constant presence in the Champions League, Arsenal no longer provide the same fantasy football that brought Rosicky, Wiltord and Reyes in their days to the club.

Ironically, Wenger’s very own transfer policy in the past has led to his present choice of players to be second best. And the worse part being that the moment these players get close to their peaks, they prefer to jump on to the ‘next level’. The Frenchman’s signings of Cazorla, Podolski, Arteta and Mertersacker now seem to make more sense, as Wenger ensues that the newcomers rarely have the potential to peak after their Arsenal careers.

But still Wenger always likes his dose of youngsters coming in at the club, and this has seen some low-profile names linked strongly for the positions that Arsenal actually require at the moment.

Clement Grenier: If Sanogo was described in Adebayor’s mould, Grenier’s depiction as the next Nasri would have left most Arsenal fans wishing for the reported deal to have broken down. The young attacking midfielder has drawn praise from Wenger on French Radio, and his style of play has been expertly broken down here. The player has mentioned that “he has made his decision”, and considering that Arsenal and Liverpool were the interested parties, one can guess where a young French midfielder would go. Hopefully Newcastle is off the table.

Ruben Garcia: Yet again we have a young winger, having being extensively scouted by Arsenal earlier, now announcing interest in moving to London. His recent statement seems quite encouraging,:

 “Arsenal would be a very nice club and I think it would be great. Things are being worked on.”

The Levante man is a typical Spanish left-winger who prefers to cut in onto his right foot. Coming from the Valencia academy, he became the youngest scorer in Levante’s history.

Having covered most of the candidates who seem to be tingling Wenger’s interests, there now remain only the cases of Wanyama and Ashley Williams. Victor Wanyama is no doubt a quality player as he proved against Barca in the CL, and if sources are to be believed he is another one of those whom Wenger has scouted for the last three years.

Williams on the other hand is the prime go-to player in case the Koscienly to Bayern move does take place. The Swansea captain looks certain to leave the club. A combination of Williams and Mertersacker at the back for Arsenal, would certainly mean an end to St. Totterringham’s Day in North London.

For a moment if we dare to enter an Arsenal fan’s dream land, there are plenty of transfers just about to happen. Strong rumours of Jovetic and Higuain’s moves to Arsenal are piling up, even though Juve’s management has declared a strong interest in the duo; Juventus are Italian champions you see.

Arsenal’s next season in short will be decided way before a ball is kicked in August. And with Jose Mourinho having landed on London shores now, a real battle for capital supremacy is now on our hands.

Jose Mourinho will return to Chelsea for a second spell, six years after he first left. (Getty Images)

The football world is abuzz with the return of Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge. After a tumultuous season with Real Madrid, the Portuguese’s return to Chelsea is seen as an attempt to rejuvenate the club and reclaim the Premier League title. Even with the Europa League title last season, Chelsea’s squad looks imbalanced in many areas and it’ll be interesting to see how Mourinho sets up the team.

Chelsea have largely adopted the 4-2-3-1 formation on pitch under Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benitez. At the beginning of 2012-13 campaign, Di Matteo used Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and one of Ramires and Ryan Bertrand on the wings behind Fernando Torres. The turning point was the Champions League home game against Juventus, when he dropped Juan Mata for Oscar in a central role to mark Andrea Pirlo out of the game and the Brazilian’s excellent defensive job and two stunning goals past Gianluigi Buffon prompted Di Matteo to start him regularly.

This meant Chelsea were more attacking with the trio of Hazard, Mata and Oscar behind Torres and played some thrilling football in recent times. But their lack of defensive work meant although Chelsea were scoring three goals per game on average, they started leaking goals at the back. Their knack of cutting in and taking up more central positions meant the fullbacks Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic had to get forward to provide width, which explains the latter’s surge in goals this season.

Benitez’s fix was pretty obvious by dropping one of the trio and introducing Victor Moses, who was willing to track back to support in defence and stay wide to give width to the team. The experiment worked partially as the team stayed more compact and scoring goals on counter but the quick interchanges in passing, the one twos, the scintillating football they played at start of season was missing.

This is one of Jose Mourinho’s first tasks at Chelsea. During the Portuguese’s first spell at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea won two league titles and an FA Cup but that team was built on big muscular players like Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Claude Makelele and it was a win at all costs rather than playing attractive football and winning. The current Chelsea squad is the exact opposite of that team with the likes of Hazard, Mata, Oscar and on loan players Kevin De Bruyne, Josh McEachran all small, nimble playmakers, who can play attractive football but their lack of defensive ability means that the team becomes imbalanced. The task that Mourinho faces is to integrate these players in the starting eleven and maintain balance between attack and defense; his first interview saw some early light on the issue:

“I like the fact we have three, four or five players from the beginning of the winning Chelsea, and I think they have to be always a part of the Chelsea soul, so I’m so happy we kept some of these boys.

“But the profile of the younger players with long-term space for improvement and development, I like very much that kind of profile. I’ve come with a four-year contract so with the age of Eden Hazard, Oscar, David Luiz and these boys, I think it will be good for me to work with them and good for them to work with me. Together we can improve and make a better team than we have now.”

The interesting question is whether he’ll persist with the existing 4-2-3-1 formation which given the above problems seems unfit or move to a different system. A popular opinion among fans is a 4-3-3 with a lone holder, which allows Oscar to play in a more central role. The Brazilian has been used on the wings last season where he was not completely effective and a move to a more central position where he can get more touches might be more beneficial.

Another system which Mourinho almost patented at Real Madrid while chasing games was a shift to three at the back, leaving the entire wing to either Sami Khedira or Angel Di Maria. The latter was used in the second leg of Champions league semi-final against Borussia Dortmund and the switch proved extremely effective in the latter stages and helped Madrid dominate the ball and pin Dortmund back in their own half as Madrid scored twice within a period of five minutes.

Something similar maybe used at Chelsea with Ramires in Di Maria’s role. The Brazilian is a unique player and was used on the wings or in the double pivot in a 4-2-3-1 formation, neither of the roles which suit his style. His versatility means he can be used in many of roles and at the best one is the runner in three man midfield in a 4-3-3, which also happens to be the one he prefers. His sheer pace and stamina means he can cover the entire flank on his own and might prove more effective than Khedira or Di Maria.

A factor that Mourinho had to deal regularly with in Madrid was the qualms and fancies of his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7 might have become one of the best in the world during his time in Spain, but for all he is worth, Mourinho was not able to get Ronaldo to track back on a regular basis. This was often a cause of concern on and off the field. More recently this issue arose in big matches, where the opponents took advantage of this weakened defence on the left, rather than baulking down to the prowess in attack on this flank.

Eden Hazard will have the change to grow as a player under the Portuguese. (Getty Images)

This issue will not pertain at Chelsea, as even though Hazard had created similar ripples with his skills in attack; but the Belgian has shown a spirited sense of back-tracking later on in the season. And being of an age where he can pretty much be molded into any style, this 4 year tenure of Jose at the Bridge will definitely make or break the Belgian’s career. Hazard’s style on the left will become a huge advantage in Jose’s plans, as in Madrid it was Ronaldo’s attacking on the left that made the manager to compromise on the strikers’ role to adjust the balance in attack. Jose’s choice of striker will become very interesting at this point, as he is not one to stick again and again to a fluttering Fernando Torres. Talks of him being impressed with Romelu Lukaku’s style are doing rounds, and his similarities to a certain Ivorian will do the Belgian teenager no bad.

Apart from all the talk about the tactics that ‘Mou’ will inculcate at Chelsea, the longevity of this tenure of his plays a crucial part here. Right from his exit in 2007, the Blues have never attained a state of stable management in the house; and the titles that they have managed over this period remain a testament to the characters in the squad. All the early indications this time around indicate towards a period of sustained growth, as Jose mentioned:

 ”I feel myself not just as the Chelsea manager, because this is the first time in my career that I’ve arrived at a club that I already love. Normally I love the club a couple of years after I am there. Of course I go to a club, I wear the shirt and I feel the shirt with the crest and I give everything I have to do it, but this is the first time where I love it already.

“I’ve come with a four-year contract so with the age of Eden Hazard, Oscar, David Luiz and these boys, I think it will be good for me to work with them and good for them to work with me. Together we can improve and make a better team than we have now.”

England’s stubborn draw against Spain last year and their surprise victory against the Samba boys at Wembley earlier this year, has seen them rise upto 7th in the clichéd FIFA rankings. But still their trip to Rio to face the WC 2014 hosts at home was touted as a plausible embarrassment for the Three Lions. Though some dazzling shots by Chamberlain and Rooney earned Hodgson’s men a 2-2 draw, the entire game on the whole clearly exposed the age old tactics that the rigid Hodgson still followed.

Brazil were surprisingly placed at 19th before this game, and much of the pre-match talk was regarding Neymar’s recent move to Barcelona. This is in fact depicted exactly what Scholari’s Brazil has been criticized for so far; individual talents rather than a team. With Hulk on one flank and Neymar drifting around from the other flank to the No.10 role, rarely were the ‘Men in Yellow’ able to capitalize on all the dominance their stats showed.

There could not have been more contrasting teams in the modern game. In an age where every pundit is going gaga over the ‘pressing’ and ‘marking’ shown by European clubs like Bayern Munich, Dortmund and Barcelona, one look at the setup here at Rio would show why England do not have any sort of hope in big games.

Brazil’s forwards press Carrick, English midfield neglect duties

Brazil’s 4-3-3 with Oscar juggling between the ‘hole’ and the right flank, was often being converted into a 4-4-1-1 due to the free role given to Neymar. The 21 year old was often seen as the 2nd striker with Fred and carried out his duties well. With Fred usually positioned next to England’s Centre Backs, Neymar stuck closely to Carrick when England were on the ball. So the English trio of Cahill, Jagielka and Carrick were continually closed down by the Brazilian strikers along with the occasional interference by Oscar.

Michael Carrick especially was nowhere near his usual comfort zone of passing, and was mostly forced to find the fullback rather his trademark pick-outs upfront. Hulk in such situations was the out-ball for Brazil, as every time the Brazilians won the ball in England’s defensive area they looked for Hulk running behind Johnson.

England on the other hand were nowhere near the pressing standards being followed by Scholari. Every time the ball went to Brazil’s defence, Rooney neglected his job to press and win the ball and rather took to strolling around in midfield. In such cases when Brazil had the ball, Hodgson’s age old shape of 2 banks of 4 was clearly visible as either Walcott or Milner tucked in with the central trio. Walcott has been craving to play centrally, and was most of the time seen arriving behind Rooney in attack. And just like Arsenal, almost all of England’s attacks seemed to have Walcott as the outlet. Needless to say Theo was nowhere near his best at Rio.

England’s midfield trio of Lampard, Carrick and Jones were frustrating to say the least. Infact, Phil Jones had started the game in a pretty positive note and was often press up the field to press Brazil deepest midfielder Gustavo. This saw Jones move into the No.10 in attack, but his lack of any sort of creativity failed England here. This intent shown by Jones was quickly diluted going into the 20th minute, as the youngster also followed suit and stood off in midfield.

So the trio allowed Paulinho, Gustavo and occasionally Luiz to have all the time and space on the ball, and with Rooney mostly goal-side of the fore mentioned Brazilians, long balls to the forwards were easy pickings for the Samba Boys. Lampard and Carrick were so lethargic in marking and pressing that at times the midfield looked like a defence holding an offside line. And with the midfield so flat and the defence trying to cope with the attacking trio, Oscar was having all the space in between the line. The duo of Oscar and Paulinho were given so much freedom that they often interchanged places either side of the English midfield, and were rarely tracked in their endeavors.

Another area of concern that now came into the play was the Brazilian players who received the long balls sprayed by Luiz and Silva. Mostly these were bound for Hulk or Neymar, and these 2 players were positioned right next to the English fullbacks. And due to Glen Johnson’s constant errors at holding the line at the back, Hulk often found himself through on goal. Johnson, who according to me is the most over-rated of the English players particularly in defence, had a horrid night. Apart from his mistakes while holding the offside trap, the Liverpool fullback was also responsible for Neymar getting a shot on goal from nothing.

Paulinho now remains the only man in Scholari’s setup who is unknown to most European football followers. The energetic midfielder’s job in the first half was mostly to cover England’s right side of attack and hence take out Walcott from the game. He was successful in this and his contributions in attack were pretty simple as England rarely covered his runs from midfield. Unsurprisingly the 1st goal that Brazil scored was also due to England’s inability to close down Hernanes in midfield and the Lazio man’s long ranger crucially came off the bar for Fred.

I don’t have anything against the Pacers but I want the world to see the Spurs and that can only happen if they face the Heat in the finals.

Also, no offence to Pacers fan but we all know that a Miami-Spurs match-up is the most exciting match-up we could ever hope for; the end of a dynasty versus the start of one, it just couldn’t get any better. This is not all, there are far more and better reasons why a Spurs Miami match-up would be great and here I enlist a few of them.

Potential Hall of Famers

- Tim Duncan

- LeBron James

- Gregg Popovich

- Ray Allen

- Manu Ginobili

- Dwyane Wade

- Tony Parker

- Chris Bosh (possibly)

- Erik Spoelstra (another possibility)

So, if there is a Spurs-Heat final, there would be not 1 not 2, but 7 potential players who will got into the Hall of Fame ballot, that is an amazing feat in its own right.

SPURS DON’T NEED ANOTHER ASTERISK CHAMPIONSHIP

Look at the Spurs championships, all of them are one-sided outings (2005 Detroit being an exception). The Spurs also get the lowest TV rating for the NBA Finals. It’s just that every year Spurs made it to the Finals, nobody seemed to be interested in the it, the fans love superstar basketball and somehow the Spurs, with their pure-team basketball, look boring to them.

In the lockout affected 1999 season, the Spurs faced the Patrick Ewing led New York Knicks in the finals, as 8th seeded in the east New York had a Cinderella story to the finals and Spurs had only lost a single game to the finals. Everybody knew what was happening next; Spurs won their maiden championship 4-1.

In 2003, the highly favourites Spurs beat the Nets 4-2 to win another championship in what was, at that time, the lowest rated NBA finals.

In 2007, Spurs’ last championship was a joke in the final stages. They beat the Suns in the Western semifinals and that was it, the Spurs only lost one more match after that and swiped Cavaliers in the finals, marking the all-time low TV ratings for the finals.

So that was it. The Spurs might have 4 well-earned championships but every run (with the Detroit exception), had an asterisk attached to it.

This season, the Spurs have beaten 7th, 6th & 5th seeds respectively to get into the finals. That’s probably the first time it has happened in the Playoffs. Now, if they face Pacers in the finals, the naysayers would always say that Spurs only won because they didn’t face LeBeast in the finals and we will get another Spurs low-rated final.

The Spurs have had enough of that, they deserve a final with Miami, so that the whole world could watch them and respect them for what they are – the best run organisation in sports history.

New vs Old

Although you can never count out the Spurs, we all know they are in the twilight years of the Tim-Duncan dynasty. Tim is 37, Manu is 35 and Tony is 31 and when they will hang up their boots, it will never be the same. They might find a way to stay in the hunt every year in foreseeable future (who are we kidding, they are the SPURS!) but without the trio and Coach Pop, it would never be the same again.

An era where they won nearly 70 percent of their regular season games, had all 50+ wins in the season and won the championship 4 times is hard to match with.

On the flip side, Miami is on the start of a new dynasty. Since they bought LeBron-Wade-Bosh trio together, Miami had won 170 out of 230 regular season games, they have made to the Finals all the time, winning once, they just had the second longest winning streak in the NBA (27) this season and haven’t lost two-straight games since last 3-4 months. All of these facts are pointing to the fact they aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

So, the Finals would be perfect for both the franchises. The Spurs will give their all in what might be their last shot the ring and Miami will be out there to prove that they are the team to beat now. Nothing can top that.

Remember when Spurs won the 2007 championship, beating LeBron Cavaliers? Timmy said to LBJ, “It’s gonna be your league in a while”. That happened when he joined forces with Wade & Bosh in 2010. Now it’s time for a throwback, maybe LeBron replying to Duncan, “It’s my league now”.

Firstly, Neymar is someone who had two of the biggest clubs in the world at his door ringing his doorbell every other week for over a year. It was reported that Barcelona had already laid a down-payment, but Neymar and his representatives chose to play ball and were always pretty coy about where “the next Pele” is heading. Anyway, the fact that both Real Madrid and Barcelona wanted his signature tells us that he is a special player.

Now, for all us European football watchers, the easiest way to watch Neymar is on Youtube. But the problem is that those videos most likely feature the awesome trickery and outstanding gameplay of the South American Footballer of the Year. In short, only glimpses of what he can offer during an entire game, not how consistent and focused he is during the entire game. This is something that will be put under the scanner when he faces more organized and tactically-aware European defenses that will frustrate him. In other words, he sure has many aces up his sleeve, but what matters is whether he can draw them at the right time – on those big European nights, the knockout matches, when defenses are water-tight, because that is what Barca needs right now.

With his skillful wingplay and ability to score from outside the box, Neymar should be able to help Barca in that aspect. Barca, over the years, have been playing through the middle of the park more and more. When a pass is played out wide, it results in either a pass back into midfield or a horrible Dani Alves cross. That is because players like Sanchez and Pedro are there to cater to the needs of Messi, rather than take a player on and go for goal. This is something that comes naturally to Neymar, so hopefully he will make Barca more potent in that way.

Brazil’s international games have seen the youngster playing on the left with the role to cut-in. It is the striker’s role that becomes crucial in such cases; as for Brazil, with the current choices of Fred and Danio, Scolari’s instruction to the forwards is for them to  stay at the edge of the box when Neymar cuts in, and hence allowing him to get a good punt at goal. This allows Neymar to utilize one of his main strengths and thus makes the team pretty much centered about his abilities.

Brendan Rodgers might not have been able to deliver on any of the fronts this season, but in hindsight Liverpool were never expected to scale the heights in the very first season under an entirely different style of management. Rodgers came into the club as a man preaching the beautiful game and to his credit, had only developed an entire side from Wales who could execute his plans to the word.

Brendan Rodgers turned out to be a man who stuck to his ideals, as no other manager would have disposed off a 35 million signing just because he didn’t fit his style. Another bold move saw him absolutely ignore relatively senior players like Downing and Henderson, and thereby promoting the untested talents of Suso and Sterling. Another factor that requires acclaim here is that how quickly he re-instilled the English duo of Downing and Henderson once they adjusted to BR’s style and proved their worth in training. Getting a goal or 2 from Downing in a Reds’ shirt alone can be counted as a huge achievement; and one look at Liverpool’s stats this season would show 71 goals being scored this time around, over the 47 in total last time.

While the attacking front was down to a certain Uruguayan’s tireless efforts, it is the defence of a team that suffers most of the time under a new management. Rodgers’ style placed huge emphasis on the duo of central defenders to be ball-playing rather than the hoofing type. The goalkeeper, along with the central defenders, was under strict instructions that long clearances was not an option now if there was a short pass available, however difficult that might have turned out for Pepe Reina and Martin Skrtel. In fact it was these 2 players who initially found themselves out of sorts and on many occasions, the Slovakian centre back was seen uncomfortably clearing the balls upfront.

Liverpool’s options on the bench at CB were the young Coates and the ageing Carragher, and so BR preferred giving Skrtel more time to get accustomed to his style. The other defenders Agger, Johnson and Enrique came to terms quickly enough and the defence was most of the time caught out by Skrtel’s lack of pace to move up from the back or his irregular clearances right to the opponents’ feet.

The final nails in the coffin were the games against Zenit in the Europa League Quarters and Oldham in the League Cup. Skrtel’s horror shows on both these occasions, in which the Slovakian was responsible for 3 of the 5 goals scored, led to his dismissal to the bench and then to one last hurray for James Lee Duncan Carragher.

Carragher’s entire career might be a tribute to the diversity he brings as a player, as his displays at CB, Right Back and CDM have all been applauded for club and country. In this case, he had to play a slightly different role. His age and fitness issues ensured that he was not brought in to slide into tackles or win headers at set pieces, in short be typically English; Martin Skrtel was better at these. The stats for these traits are pretty clear, as over the 24 games that Carragher played and the 25 that Skrtel played: 

Key Stats	Carragher	Skrtel
Tackles per game	0.8	1.4
Interceptions per game	0.4	1.6
Blocked Shots per game	0.4	1

One particular number that perfectly sums up Rodgers’ decision to select the old man over Skrtel would be the ‘number of clearances attempted’. This stands as:

Number of Clearances per game: (3.9) Carragher, (6.7) Skrtel              

So while Skrtel might have stood the bigger force in the Kenny era, Carragher now turns out to be the more elegant defender. A perfect example came out in the 2 quick League games against Southampton and Aston Villa, the first of which was started by Skrtel with Agger and the second by Carragher with Agger.

Skrtel completed only 35 of his 44 passes with maximum number of failures in tose attempted forward. Carragher whereas completed 37 of 40. Credits: www.squawka.com

 

Skrtel attempted 16 long clearances out of which only 8 were succesfull, whereas 7 out of Carragher’s attempted 10 were successful. Credits: www.squawka.com

Carragher’s retirement at the end of this season might have seen Sky Sports quickly bag his services alongside Gary Neville in their Studios, but Rodgers needs to find a replacement quickly. As a matter of fact, the defender Rodgers picks would not be Jamie’s replacement but would rather be BR’s first choice, as Carragher himself was only a short term solution to Skrtel’s inexpertise. Needless to say, Martin Skrtel’s time at Anfield is pretty much done, as he found himself below a guy to retire in 5 months time.

In a somewhat surprising move, Liverpool announced the free transfer of Kolo Toure from Manchester City when his contract expires on July 1^st. Now, if there was ever a bracket to be placed around the likes of Martin Skrtel and Jamie Carragher, Kolo Toure is the most likely candidate to complete it. Typically ferocious in tackles and heading away set pieces, he has had his fare share of experience at Right Back and CDM; Jamie’s footsteps exactly.

Though a strength that Toure brings to the table, that would have singularly led to BR’s latching on is his admirable composure to bring the ball out of defence on plenty of occasions. This part of his game was pretty evident during his Arsenal days, when his ventures out of the defence saw him occasionally take the ball out high enough to take a punt at goal; Bolton would remember a couple of those. His days at City were much more concentrated on proving that he was indeed on his wife’s medicine to reduce weight. Comparing some of his stats to the Liverpool duo:

Tackles per game                             1.3

Interceptions per game                 1

Blocked shots per game               0.6

Clearances per game                     5.3

A denial of an offer from City and a last moment withdrawal by Fenerbache suggests that the only blocking point in Kolo’s case is not his high wages. Looking though Brendan Rodger’s glass at the moment, one does not see Toure playing a major role next season; pretty much similar to what Skrtel did for the 2^nd half of this season. What Liverpool need is a ball-playing centre back who can support the adventurous Daniel Agger. Logically, Ashley Williams’ name has been doing rounds of the club for the past 6 months. In fact, this is the exact role that Per Mertesacker has now specialized in alongside Koscienly, though it has left him quite underrated in Premier league circles.

Over the past 5 years, Mumbai Indians have consistently proved that even in a money driven tournament, rich teams can fritter away inherent advantages. This year again, one got to see the money might of MI. However, with a resolute display in the finals yesterday, the IPL trophy finally found its way into their cabinet.

MI won the toss and rightly chose to bat. At 16/3 though, their plans seemed to be going haywire. Mumbai openers were sent back in the first two overs to excellent deliveries by Mohit Sharma and Albie Morkel. Rohit Sharma came in next and soon followed suit. The demons of their 2010 final against the same opposition had been woken up. Another wicket could have completely derailed the Mumbai innings and reduced the match to a ridiculously one-sided contest.

Two of Mumbai’s young batsmen stitched together a shield of which Kieron Pollard was to make full use later on. Dinesh Karthik has been MI’s go-to man this season and with fluent shots, gave MI innings the required cushion. Ambati Rayudu has been with MI right after he joined IPL, leaving ICL. The dup joined hands and damage control mode was on.

In the 10th over, Kieron Pollard came to the crease and from then on, showed why he is rated so highly in T20 even though he might perform in only a few matches. It was, undoubtedly, Pollard’s robust and typically Pollard-like innings that kicked MI’s innings on. Pollard finally ended with a mammoth 60 not out at a strike rate of 187.

The pitch of Eden gardens has generally been a slow and low one, often prompting KKR to congest its side with spinners. 148 was certainly a score Mumbai would have settled for, having been down at 16/3 after 3.2 overs. MI’s bowling line-up was undoubtedly the mightiest in this IPL with four bowlers – Malinga, Johnson, Harbhajan, Ojha performing well.

Rohit Sharma gave people one more reason to hail him as a first-rate captain when he threw the ball straight away to Lasith Malinga. It makes perfect sense to let your best bowler have a go right away at the opposition’s best batsmen. The move proved to be a bull’s eye hit. Malinga sucked air out of CSK’s system when he gobbled up Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina – CSK’s batting protagonists – in the first over. Hussey was scalped by a vicious in swinging delivery which swung in late. For Raina, Malinga tried the old bounce-Raina-out recipe and after having faced just one ball, Raina was back in the dugout. Chennai stood at a hapless 3 for 3 at 1.4 overs.

Some of the CSK batsmen though should question their horrendous shot selection. Badrinath, Bravo and Jadeja gave away their wickets for peanuts. Chennai were reduced to 57 runs for the loss of 7 wickets (after 10.6 overs) and the match could’ve only moved in MI’s favour from there.

The biggest debate of the night would be over Dhoni’s decision to bring himself at no.7.  Along with Hussey and Raina, Dhoni forms the central batting core of this CSK team. Yet, on countless occasions, the CSK captain demotes himself down the order; moves which have proved to be fruitless on occasions. Sometimes the team-over-self virtue can make excellent players overlook their playing capabilities when they are captains. In hindsight, Dhoni made an error in batting so down the order for even with Ashwin, he was intently looking for the win and had kept Rohit Sharma on his toes. Better partners and more wickets in the bank might have boosted Chennai’s chances.

Finally, with absolutely no support from the other end and a nearly impossible required rate, all Dhoni could do was hit some lusty blows. The match was lost much earlier.

Before the final, very less attention was on this match and rather the unfortunate happenings off the field had attracted all the eyeballs. The final, at least for some time, shifted all attention back to the field. Although the match wasn’t a thriller, IPL did get to see a new champion this year. Hope the IPL returns next year with all its verve intact but also a lot cleaner.