These are not overrated or over performing players. They are proven, accomplished champions in their own right. They have beaten the best in club level competitions. But, they never clicked at international level.

England’s GoldenGen – Overrated?

They should have been remembered for lifting the World Cup in 2006 or winning the Euros at 2008 (for which they didn’t even qualify) but the world will now always remember them as the team which was over-hyped.

What is done is done. After each and every major tournament exit, there are cries in England for an overall change in the setup. There is no shortage for the talent that England produces but how can you just go on and replace names like Gerrard, Lampard and Ferdinand?

It has been evident that the “Golden Generation” has struggled for success, so what is the point in giving them chance after chance? In the 2006 World Cup, only 6 players with less than 10 caps for England were included in the squad. This trend continued for some time.

Then came Roy Hodgson and Euro 2012. People expected massive changes. What we got was 8 players with 10 or less caps for England in place of 6 players. No major change was made other than the inclusion of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. As expected, the team crashed out of the tournament in penalties.

But, since then Roy Hodgson has called up a staggering 26 players with less than 10 caps for various qualifiers and friendlies. This is a clear indication that Roy wants to do something differently. Assuming that the GoldenGen will still make the core of the 2014 World Cups, the move by Roy will surely help the team in the 2016 Euros.

Germany’s Euro 2008 was a great success. Although they didn’t win the cup, they performed really well and lost in the finals to Spain who were a much better team. But, Joachim Loew made a choice that surprised everyone. He knew that the Euro 08′ squad was good but not young. So, he took 13 players who had less than 10 caps for Germany to the 2010 World Cup. Out of these 13, 10 were part of the U-19 World Cup winning squad of 2009. England were second to Germany in the same U-19 World Cup of 2009. From that squad, 2 players were selected for the 2010 World Cup. This shows the entire story doesn’t it?

So, if Roy Hodgson’s team needs to make it big in the World Cup in 2014, he needs to trust his youth. So, is England’s NextGen really better than the GoldenGen? I would say so. Why? Probably because the last time England U-21 side conceded a goal, Fabio Capello was still in charge of England.

Let us see how the NextGen of England’s stars stack up against the GoldenGen

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart vs Robert Green/David James

Joe Hart is easily the best goalie that England has produced in 20 years. There is no arguing in here. But, the point is, even with Hart in the squad for 2010 World Cup, England still fielded Robert Green as their No.1. It took them more than four years to realize that Hart is the best keeper in the country.

That is the type of obsession that England has had over the past years with the Golden Generation.

Defenders: Johnson-Terry-Ferdinand-Cole vs Walker-Smalling-Jones-Baines

Walker is still unproven and it would take some time for him to establish himself in the team. Terry is retired and Ferdinand may or may nor play for England again. Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have proved their worth for Manchester United and it is only a matter of few years before they become the first choice centre-backs for their club. So there is no point in arguing otherwise. Ryan Shawcross, Gary Cahill and others might provide good backup for these two.

Then you have the left-back corundum. On one hand, you have a player who is still 31 and has more than 100 caps for his nation and is still very good. On the other hand, you have a player who is arguably one of the best left-backs in the league and brings a lot more than just defending to the table. Who will you choose? There is no one right answer to the question. But, if it were up to me, I would go with Leighton Baines.

Deep lying Midfielders: Carrick – Lampard vs Cleverley – Wilshere

Cleverley has been ever present in any squad that Hodgson puts up these days. Lampard’s quality cannot be argued. I wonder if Michael Carrick was ever part of the GoldenGen given the fact that he has only 27 caps to his name. Barry too is very good in holding the ball.

By the looks of it, England will play a 4-2-3-1 in the coming years. So, what you need is two players who can hold up play and spray out the balls. If Hodgson decides to field Cleverley, the other spot will be automatically given to Lampard. If Wilshere is available for selection, he could grab Cleverley’s place.

The Carrick – Lampard combination too could work and selecting the midfield two should give Hodgson a headache.

Attacking Midfielders: Milner – Gerrard- Young vs Sterling – Ox – Zaha

The Sterling – Ox – Zaha trio will be a delight to watch. They provide much better attacking options upfront and their pace is just scintillating to watch. However, they cannot be just included into the squad given their lack of experience. But, trusting Milner and Young once again could be a vital mistake if they fail. So, who else than Milner and Young? You have Henderson, Adam Johnson and Aaron Lennon who are equally prone to poor performances.

Gerrard’s place is certain. So, if he plays in the hole behind the striker and assuming Young starts on the left, Ox could start on the right which is exactly the formation England fielded in the 2012 Euros. Else, Danny Welbeck could start on the left in place of Ox-Chamberlain.

The Sterling – Ox – Zaha combination could give opponents a run for their money in the 2016 Euros.

Strikers: Wayne Rooney vs Theo Walcott / Danny Welbeck / Andy Caroll

Wayne Rooney is still the only member of GoldenGen who is still in his prime. So, he will start. But, if Theo Walcott continues to perform well in the striking department for Arsenal, he could be given a run once or twice for England.

Welbeck could start in the wings for England like he does for Manchester United. As for Andy Carroll, I’m not quiet so sure he’d fit in.

This is how England could possibly line-up in the 2014 World Cup:

England’s possible 2014 lineup

And, this is what they might look up in 2016, which is very formidable, indeed.

England’s possible side in 2016

This is one incident that is still etched in the minds of millions of Ferrari fans around the world. In the 2002 Austrian GP, Barrichello was leading the race till the finish line when he conceded the spot to his team mate, Schumacher based on team orders.

A year back, in the same Austrian GP, Barrichello had done the same thing. Schumacher, on receiving the first place trophy at the podium, gave it immediately to Barrichello and insisted that the Brazilian take the first place spot on the podium. Both men were extremely professional about the whole thing.

The race, however, attracted a lot of jeers. The FIA also pronounced a set of new rules that prohibited “team orders” that would directly affect the race outcome.

I’m a big Schumacher fan and personally think that it was his dominance that brought F1 to the limelight. But, is he a fair champion?

In 1994, the final race of the season was contested in Adelaide, Australia. Williams’ Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher, who was racing for Benetton at that time, were separated by a single point. At lap 35, Hill was about to overtake Schumacher when the German decided to make an aggressive turn. Schumacher’s car was damaged heavily and he retired on the spot. Hill, however, continued to race despite losing a portion of his wing. But, in his pits, he realized that it couldn’t be repaired and pulled out of the race, handing Schumacher the title by a mere point.

Although Schumacher maintains that it was an honest mistake, many pundits including Damon Hill himself are not satisfied with the story.

Three years later in 1997, the exact same situation resurfaced with Schumacher and Jack Villeneuve. The final race of the season was the European GP. Schumacher had a lead of a single point yet again. When Villeneuve attempted to overtake the German in lap 48, Schumacher attempted a similar move. This time though, Villeneuve escaped and Schumacher retired on the spot. Villeneuve went on to finish fourth and took home the Championship.

Schumacher was accused by the FIA for causing an accident that could have been avoided. His name was excluded from the Championships that year.

The incident which is better known as the “lie gate” took place in the 2009 Australian GP. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli had finished third in the race. McLaren, however, claimed that Trulli had illegally overtaken their driver Lewis Hamilton when the safety car was imposed.

Hamilton, when questioned by the stewards said that he had no idea that Trulli was going to overtake him and he was not informed about that. But on going through McLaren’s radio recordings, the stewards found out that the team had in fact instructed Hamilton to make way for Trulli.

Hamilton was stripped off his points and so were McLaren. Their director Dave Ryan was sacked because of the incident.

Mike Coughlan

In 2007, Ferrari claimed that their former engineer Nigel Stepney had passed critical design information to the engineers of McLaren’s Mike Coughlan. The case was filed in Italy and the FIA looked into it. McLaren were found guilty.

An unprecedented $100 million dollar fine was imposed on them and they were excluded from the constructor’s championship table which they would have won if not for the exclusion.

In another twist, McLaren claimed that Renault F1 knew about the intricate design and working of their cars. Renault too were investigated and the claims were found to be true. But Renault were not punished for the incident.

This controversy took place from April to September and it even took the limelight away from the actual races.

Prost and Senna’s rivalry is the best that the sport of F1 has ever seen. But it was not always pleasing to watch.

In 1989, both Prost and Senna were driving for McLaren. In the penultimate race at Suzuka, Prost and Senna crashed into one another. If both had retired, the title race was mathematically over. Prost jumped out of his car but Senna sparked his engine into life and continued the race. After pitting and repairing his car, Senna drove bravely to win the race.

But the marshals had to strip Senna’s points because he had missed a chicane during his accident, which meant he had technically not completed the lap. The title went to Prost. After the race, Prost shifted to Ferrari.

A year went passed by. The same penultimate race at Suzuka started. This time Senna had a nine-point lead over Prost. In Suzuka, Senna qualified ahead of Prost. But he wanted to start from the “cleaner” side of the track as the pole position was dirty. FIA rejected his request. The race started and Prost, in fact, did have an advantage starting at the cleaner side of the road. Senna saw this and drew his car into Prost’s Ferrari. Both men retired from the race and Senna sealed the championship.

After the race, Senna did agree to the fact that he had intentionally done this and Prost claimed, “What he did was disgusting”, and added, “he is a man without value.”

This incident did take the world by storm.

In 2009 at Singapore, Renault’s Fernando Alonso had a bad qualifying session and ended 15th in the lane. When the race began, he was the first to take a pit and joined at the tail end of the race. One by one, other drivers took the pits joining in behind Alonso. Now, Alonso was leading the pack.

In a bizzare twist, Alonso’s team mate Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed in a turn and this brought the safety cars into the field. After the safety car was removed, it was as if Alonso was leading the race right from the word go.

Alonso made full use of this situation and went on to win the race. After being removed from the team, Nelson Piquet Jr. revealed that the accident was intentional. Renault were charged by the FIA and did not contest the charges. They sacked the Managing Director and Executive Manager of the team. The main sponsors of Renault F1 left the team and this ended their dominance in the sport.

Ayrton Senna was many things. He was arrogant, at times overbearing and even dangerous, but he was the most skilful driver that the sport had ever seen. He, along with Prost, brought flair to the sport. And his death at the 1994 San Marino GP still remains the most tragic event that has occurred not only in the history of Formula 1, but in the history of professional sports altogether.

Senna did not finish the first two races of the season and wanted to win here. He took pole position for a record 65th time. During qualification, Simtek’s Roland Ratzenberger had suffered a fatal crash at the speed of 314 km/h. Senna who had already seen his compatriot Barrichello suffer an injury a day ago was shocked by this. He went to the medical centre for the second time in two days and talked to doctor Sid Watkins, a neurosurgeon and FIA’s medical delegate, and also a friend. Dr. Sid informed him that Roland had died and urged Senna to withdraw from the race, if not the sport itself. Senna said that he couldn’t do it even if he wanted to.

Before the race, Senna talked to Prost, who now was a TV pundit about improving safety rules in F1. Prost said that he would lobby for his cause. When shooting a commercial before the race, Senna even commented that he missed Prost on the track.

The race began. On lap seven, Senna’s car was travelling at 310 km/h when he lost control and hit an unprotected wall of concrete. It took less than 2 seconds and hence, Senna couldn’t slow down the car. Senna lay motionless there. His head was still and he didn’t shake his helmet.

The marshals didn’t get him out of the car and waited for medical assistance. Sid Watkins came to the spot and tried to attend to Senna.

Watkins commented this after Senna’s death, “He looked serene. I raised his eyelids and it was clear from his pupils that he had a massive brain injury. We lifted him from the cockpit and laid him on the ground. As we did, he sighed and, although I am not religious, I felt his spirit depart at that moment.”

Italian officials however maintain that Senna had died in the hospital and not on the track. If he had in fact died on the track, by Italian law, the event should have been cancelled which would have led to massive financial loss. Williams, Senna’s team at that time, contested Senna’s death in court for manslaughter. The case went on for years and it was finally closed in 2007 against the Williams, stating that they did not have enough evidence.

During the autopsy, the medical examiners found an Austrian flag in the sleeve of Senna’s clothes. It was later revealed that Senna had intended to raise the flag in honour of Roland Ratzenberger. The pictures of Senna’s final moments were never published out of respect to this great man.

His lifelong rival Alain Prost was one of the pallbearers at his funeral and till date hasn’t spoken about Senna’s death publicly. Rigel Roebuck, a senior F1 journalist says that when Senna died, “a part of himself (Prost) had died also.”

So, here is a look at the major talking points of the 2013 Malaysian GP:

Force India started off strong in Australia with both their drivers scoring points. This time though, a fault with the wheel nuts ended both their drivers’ race.

Neither Sutil nor Di Resta could finish the race.

The team still doesn’t know what went wrong. Adrian Sutil came into the pits first and there was some delay with his wheel nuts. Then Di Resta had the same issue. To prevent any further damage to the car, the team management decided to pull out both its cars from the race.

It is not often that you see Fernando Alonso crashing out on lap two. But today was one such day. On turn two after the start, Alonso nudged his front wing and after a lap, his wing folded under the car and he slid off the track. Why Ferrari didn’t ask Alonso to come to the pits to change his wing is still a mystery.

Alonso’s front wing crashed completely!

In the other Ferrari, Felipe Massa had a very good outing in Malaysia. Ever since his life threatening injury in Hungary, 2009, Massa has not won a single race. Last season, he became the first Ferrari driver to go through an entire season without a podium finish. But this time, he qualified ahead of Alonso in second place and managed to complete the race at a respectable 5th place.

Lewis Hamilton recently switched from team McLaren to Mercedes. While we have got the hang of that, he himself is struggling to get it straight.

Hamilton’s Mercedes in McLaen’s pit area

As McLaren were waiting to receive Jenson Button to the pits, Hamilton made a wrong stop and parked his car at his former team’s pit area. Lucky for him, the Mercedes pit area was further along the pit lane. If not, he would have had to turn around all the way to reach his team’s pit area. This mistake didn’t seem to have done any damage to Hamilton’s race given that he still finished third behind the two Red Bulls who were much faster.

McLaren however found the whole thing interesting and even posted this on their Twitter account:

Feel free to pop in and say “hi” any time, @lewishamilton!

— McLaren (@TheFifthDriver) March 24, 2013

No love lost between Hamilton and Rosberg.

As we were nearing the end of the race, Rosberg, riding at No. 4 had much greater pace than his teammate Hamilton who was riding at No. 3. Rosberg wanted to overtake Hamilton and was heard saying so in the team radio. But Ross Brawn, the chief denied his request.

Hamilton finished third and during an interview after the race, he said “If I’m honest, I really feel that Nico should be standing here, he generally had better pace than me throughout the race but he’s a great teammate and he did a fantastic job today.”

Rosberg returned the courtesy by saying, “It’s nice to hear if he said that. That’s the way it is really, fair play from me today! As a team effort, I respected the team’s opinion.”

Formula 1 is a weird sport. You would think that it is a team sport, but at the end of the day every driver is racing for himself. The tension between the two Red Bull drivers, Vettel and Webber is well known and it took another ugly turn today.

After the final pit stops were over, Mark Webber was leading the pack with Vettel just behind him. To preserve the engines and tyres, the Red Bull management told both its drivers to hold it back. Webber thought that the race was his and reduced his pace. Vettel however ignored the orders and underwent a very risky overtaking manoeuvre which could have cost both the Red Bulls their race, to snatch the lead from Webber.

Vettel overtook Webber in a dangerous curve.

Chris Horner, the Red Bull Chief realized what Vettel was doing and radioed him “Come on Seb, this is silly” but he didn’t mind that.

In the press conference, which featured both the Red Bulls, things were really awkward. Webber said that he was upset with what happened. Vettel replied “When I came back, I saw the team’s reaction and I had a short word with Mark, it hit me quite hard that, language, I f***ed up.”

Webber however was not exactly satisfied with his teammate’s answer.

Goalkeeper: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa)

Brad Guzan

It was a close call between Asmir Begovic and Brad Guzan and I chose the latter because of two main reasons – Begovic is naturally more talented than Guzan and Begovic has a stronger defence than what Guzan has.

Despite these, Guzan has managed a staggering 100 saves compared to Begovic’s 83. Shay Given is a fine Goalie and I often think that he is under-rated. But Guzan has affirmatively sent Given to the bench through his performances. The fact that Aston Villa are still only three points from the drop zone despite Guzan is something that amazes me.

Right Back: Angel Rangel (Swansea City)

Rangel has been a regular in the Swansea City side all season. He has made 26 appearances in the league and has been very good defensively. He averages 2.6 tackles per game (bettered only by Rafael and Pablo Zabeleta at RB), 2.8 interceptions per game and 4.8 clearances per game (best for any RB in the league).

For a player who has never played above the Third Division of Spanish Football before making a move to Swansea six years back, these statistics are indeed impressive.

Centre Back: Brede Hangeland (Fulham)

He has been very strong on the air and his passing is shockingly accurate for a defender. Hangeland has made 237 clearances in the league so far, which is around 9.1 clearances per game. This is a stat that any central defender would be proud off.

Fulham have conceded 454 shots in the league this season which is the third worst by any team and they still occupy a respectable 10th position, and that is because of Hangeland’s clearances and 2.8 interceptions per game.

Centre Back: Jonathan Evans (Manchester United)

Okay, a cagey choice, but still I had to go with it.

Jonny Evans is by no means Manchester United’s best defender. He is behind Namanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Phil Jones and at times Chris Smalling in the pecking order. But, in terms of statistics, he is the best central defender in the Premier League. If you don’t call that exceeding expectations, I don’t know what else qualifies.

With almost 9 clearances per game, 15 shots blocked on target, at least 2.7 interceptions per game amongst other impressive statistics, he certainly deserves a place in this list.

Honorable Mentions: Michael Williamson (Newcastle United), Carlos Cuellar (Sunderland), Chico (Swansea City)

Left Back: Ben Davies (Swansea City)

Ben Davies is arguably one of the best left backs in the Premier League this season alongside Patrice Evra, Gael Clichy and Leighton Baines.

Statistically speaking, Davies is on par with the other three. Davies came into the Swansea first team only because of an injury to Neil Taylor and now, he has officially become their No.1. At just 19 years of age, he can only get better.

Central Midfield: Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton)

Morgan Schneiderlin (R)

Morgan Schneiderlin is the perfect holding midfielder that any team would want. Defensively, he averages 4.2 tackles per game, 3.9 interceptions per game and an impressive 2.8 clearances per game.

Schneiderlin also makes on average around 55 passes per game with an accuracy of 88%. He also has scored 5 goals so far and at least one key pass per game.

Given the fact that he does all these for a team that is very much in the relegation battle, makes it all the more interesting.

Central Midfield: Ramires (Chelsea)

Last season, Ramires was very impressive for Chelsea but this time around Chelsea filled their team with young and energetic players from all around the world. But despite all that, Ramires has established his authority in the team.

He has around 86% successful passing, his runs into the box have been well timed and he has also scored some very important goals. His presence in the Chelsea midfield is the thing that gives them stability which they otherwise lack. His ability to play anywhere in the midfield is also very remarkable.

Honorable Mentions: Mark Noble (West Ham United), Claudio Yacob (West Brom), Steve Sidwell (Fulham) and Leon Osman (Everton)

Left Wing: Adel Taarabt (Queens Park Rangers)

Taarabt’s threat in counter attacks, his long balls and set piece ability is rivalled only by an elite few in the Premier League. And, given the fact that Taarabt plays for the team that has been languishing at the bottom of the league table ever since day 1, this is very impressive.

He takes at least 3.5 key shots per game and on average, 3 of his assists have been converted to shots on target per game. He has scored only 4 goals and has made only 4 assists all season but, his team itself has scored only 26 goals.

Central Attacking Midfield: Michu (Swansea City)

Pretty obvious choice, right?

Michu could well be the bargain buy of the season. To get 18 goals out of a player who was bought for a mere $2 million is nothing short of exemplary. Michu’s goals have propelled Swansea to a decent position in the league and also have brought them the Capitol One Cup.

Who would have thought!

Honorable Mention: Shaun Maloney (Wigan)

Right Wing: Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspurs)

Aaron Lennon

Everyone of us know that Lennon has pace. But he has never been good until this season. With Bale on the other side of the wing, the Spurs’ game has been a delight to watch.

Four goals and seven assists in a team where you are not the main creator is a very impressive stat. With at least 1 shot on target per game, 2.3 key passes and a 87% shot accuracy, his involvement in the Spurs team is indeed very impressive.

Striker: Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)

Benteke has been a beast in front of the goal. 17 goals in all competitions with at least 3.2 shots per game, Benteke has really impressed us all.

He has done this with considerably low support than all the other strikers in the league. His aerial duels, long balls and sheer strength are his strong talking points. If he manages to avoid the offside trap and holds on to the ball more efficiently, he could be of the best strikers in the league.

Honorable Mentions: Ricky Lambert (Southampton), Romelu Lukaku (West Brom)

So, what do you think about the list? Do you think any other player deserves to be here? Let us know in the comments section.

Gareth Bale has 21 goals and 8 assists in all competitions this season. van Persie has 23 goals and 8 assists and Suarez has 29 goals and 4 assists. Very impressive statistics indeed.

Most Underrated EPL Player – Why?

Now, what about 18 goals and 22 assists from the midfield? I would say that those statistics deserve a mention, at the least. But Juan Mata doesn’t get them. It is one of the very few reasons to state why he is the most under-rated player in the English Premier League.

We often include Mata in the same bracket as Santi Cazorla and David Silva. Cazorla has 11 goals and 8 assists this season while Silva has only 4 goals and 10 assists to his name. Still, most people I know rate Cazorla higher than they rate Mata.

Juan Mata is not your traditional “number 10″ and neither is he a full fledged winger. Juan Mata is an “inverted forward” who plays wide in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Eden Hazard and David Silva too are inverted forwards. Rather than staying in the hole behind the striker, these players take up wide positions and they influence the game from there.

Mata’s average position

Most top teams in the world today play a holding midfielder. Some teams even play with two holding midfielders (Xabi Alonso – Sami Khedira in Real Madrid). So, with two players holding the midfield, it is tough for a natural number 10 to lie back behind the striker and spray out the balls. This is why normal play makers like Mata and Silva have moved out wide so that they could cut in and create chances whenever they see fit.

Chelsea‘s current season has been turbulent and yet Mata has been the only steady figure in their team. He is their top scorer and top creator of assists. He creates, on average, 2.7 chances per game, which is bettered by only 4 players in the entire league. He has scored against Tottenham Hotspurs, Manchester United and Arsenal and he has managed all this despite being hunted down by defenders. Like all other Spanish players of this generation, Mata’s movement and vision is brilliant and the way he has employed them with the frantic pace and physicality of the Premier League should be applauded.

For instance, let us take last week’s game between Chelsea and West Ham United. Juan Mata started in the traditional number 10 position behind the striker, Demba Ba. Yet, if you see his heat map during the game, you will realize that he has been all over the park, predominantly operating from the left and right wings.

Juan Mata Heat Map vs West Ham United

Not just this match; take any game and you will realize that Mata is the best Chelsea player on the pitch by a far distance. No other playmaker, not Silva and not Hazard, cover this much distance and roam all over the park as Mata does. In terms of work ethic, he is on par, if not better than, Wayne Rooney.

Like Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata too is an underrated defender. Not many Spanish forwards have the habit of helping out their full backs but Mata always covers his tracks and helps out in defense. He never gives away the balls cheaply and if he does, he tries as hard as he can to win it back. He is also very good in shutting down the space in front of him. Mata is also an underrated leader. He is a captain without the armband and he leads the team without others knowing that he is in charge. He may not be as vocal as John Terry but he is a leader just by example.

He has an average of 64.7 passes per game and his accuracy of passing is more than 85%, which is very impressive for a forward. So, how good is Juan Mata? Very good indeed.

His touch and his subtlety is nearly unmatched in the league. He had zero pre-season practice due to the European Championships and the Olympics but still has been Chelsea’s best player right from the start of the season. He is not as powerful as Suarez or Bale, he is not as glamorous with the ball as Hazard but Juan Mata has a subtle distinction that sets him apart from others. That is why he is the most underrated player in the English Premier League.

Some claim that Formula 1 is not a sport but a mere engineering competition. Others claim that various other motor sport competitions like NASCAR, Rally Racing and Formula 2 are way more competitive than Formula 1. Some view F1 as a wonderful business model, an entertainment package and a billion dollar industry.

But is F1 as engaging as its motor sport counterparts, let alone other sports? No. Then why is F1 this popular? Why do we love it this much?

As a whole, watching a Formula 1 race is boring. There, I said it.

But we still love it. NASCAR is the most followed motor sport in the United States of America but Formula 1 is the second most followed sport in the entire world, only behind Football.

We people from India are obviously not exposed to NASCAR or any other motor sport racing competitions. That is probably because competitions like NASCAR takes place only in the United States while F1 takes place on 19 countries in 5 continents. That is one reason why F1 is very popular. They are a brand and they take no shame in promoting themselves. NASCAR, if you ask me, is technically and physically very difficult than F1. It is very engaging, the lead is always changing and all the cars are technically the same. In Formula 1, the aerodynamics play a very important role, meaning that the faster car will always win.

Formula 1 is engaging in its own way. It is a team race fought by individuals. Once the race gets started, the individual controls the race but no matter how good you are, you cannot win without your team mate and team. (Fernando Alonso – Lewis Hamilton, 2007, ring any bells?)

Imagine Nokia, Apple, Samsung and Sony are participating in a direct competition to determine who can build the greatest mobile phone. The equivalent of that is what is happening in Formula 1 every year. Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Williams and all other great car manufacturing companies are not taking part in a race, they are taking part in an engineering competition to determine who can build the greatest car. And this great car usually wins the championship.

Tennis has four Grand Slams, Football hates technology, Cricket has only one Tendulkar. These are the things that will never change with any of these sports. Every sport has some set of predefined rules by which they operate. This does not apply to Formula 1. We have more than 100 years of Grand Prix racing history and in that time, we have had innumerable rule changes. The face of F1 racing is ever changing and that draws the crowd. One thing that every single team uses this year could be banned the next year.

We all love Formula 1 because racing is exhilarating. We love Formula 1 because it puts the ultimate debate of Man vs Machine into actual perspective. There are very few actual sports in which the player has an imminent danger of death and Formula 1 is one of them. The amount of human will-power that is required to race a Formula 1 car is staggering.

No other competition takes you to a desert, an island, an airfield and a busy street. Formula 1 is unique and it brings the aesthetic beauty into a sport which, otherwise, is stereotypical.

Formula 1 may be technical. But, there are no referees who make wrong calls, there are no score cards, there are no time limits and there is no acting. It puts companies, individuals, nations, men and machines together. That is why it is so popular. In Formula 1, despite all this, the first man to cross the line wins. That is why we love it.

Take my case for instance. Rafael Nadal is possibly one of the humblest souls you will ever find in tennis, but whenever I look at him, I get a feeling which is essentially the equivalent of what I get when I see Darth Vader or Lord Voldemort. Why? It is because he is the kryptonite to my Superman, Roger Federer.

Yes, there are some people out there who appreciate the beauty of the game, but then again, who are we kidding? Almost all of us are rooting for a particular person when we see a tennis match because we know, deep within ourselves, that at the end of the day, tennis cannot win the game despite all the clichés that claim otherwise.

Like tennis, the fans of the sport too are cruel. When Martina Hingis served underarm and displayed all her tantrums in that 1999 French Open finals against Steffi Graf, she was probably the most hated person in the tennis world. But go back ten years. When Michael Chang did the same against Ivan Lendl in the 1989 French Open fourth round match, he was hailed as a clever strategist and his tactics were applauded. Yes, Chang did survive severe cramps to register that victory and yes, Hingis was an arrogant, self-centered champion. But still, there were two very similar stories and yet were viewed through completely biased perspectives.

Steffi Graf was the tennis equivalent of Princess Diana. She was adored by millions. Hingis, too, was loved. She is probably, till date, the most gifted prodigy that any sport has ever seen!

You see, the trouble is, when you never lose, you never learn how to lose. In 1999, Steffi Graf had all but announced her retirement. She was already a larger-than-life figure even before the game began. At that time, Hingis was the World No. 1 and was the odds-on favorite to win against a 30-year-old Graf. But she didn’t. She abused the referee’s calls, she wasted time, she served underarm, and was at the receiving end of one of the worst booing sprees that I’ve ever seen on a tennis court.

The same thing happened with Michael Chang and Ivan Lendl in 1989. Lendl, at that time, was a three-time French Open champion. Sports Illustrated claimed that he was “the champion that nobody cared about”. People outside Europe hated him for his antics towards the media. And when Michael Chang, a 17-year-old American youngster, did the same which Hingis did against Graf, he was applauded. In the final set, to distort Lendl’s concentration, Chang moved up and stood well inside the baseline and almost touched the T-line. Lendl double faulted and lost the match.

Similar stories but different approaches and perceptions. Why?

Victoria Azarenka is undoubtedly a great player. But when she faced off against Sloane Stephens, a 17-year-old American who was on a fairytale run at the Australian Open this year, she lost the support of the people. Azarenka took an untimely medical timeout after wasting several match points, and the crowd jeered. Many people have taken medical time-outs for no reason whatsoever, which never made headlines like this. But people wanted Sloane Stephens to win. Why?

To us tennis fans, the game symbolizes something that we all like to believe in – seeing the good guy win. Then again, there is this confusion – who is the good guy? That depends on the circumstances.

In WWE, they make story lines, faces and heels to keep the people engaged. In tennis, these things happen automatically. One small mistake could make you a heel and that reputation will stick with you for the rest of your life.

Tennis is cruel – it judges you, and it is unfair. But what is the fun in seeing two good guys fight it out? Harry Potter needs Lord Voldemort, Sherlock Holmes needs Professor Moriarty, Alfred Borden needs Robert Angier, and Batman needs Joker. The great thing about tennis, more than all these rivalries, is that you can’t differentiate the good guy from the bad till the last moment.

The growth of women’s tennis has almost been a fairy tale. Now, let us take a look at the top 10 moments that redefined women’s tennis.

# 1 – 1973 – Billie Jean King initiates the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)

The Open Era officially began in 1968 and everyone associated with tennis, the Men’s players, the organizers, the sponsors and the media people were making money, except the women. In the early 1970s, the difference in the prize money for men’s and women’s tournaments was at a 12:1 ratio. Women’s tournaments were getting dropped everywhere.

Fed up with the double standards prevailing in the world of tennis, Billie Jean King meets with few other people in Gloucester Hotel in London to initiate the Women’s Tennis Association, just weeks before the 1973 Wimbledon Championships.

# 2 – 1973 – The Battle of the Sexes – Billie Jean King vs Bobby Riggs

The Battle of the Sexes

Bobby Riggs is easily the most hated person in tennis. In 1973, he was 55 and still claimed that he is better than most women’s tennis players. He wanted money and fame. Riggs first played against Margaret Court and easily won the match using his lobs and drops.

Now, Bobby wanted to take on Billie Jean King. The match was a best-of-five-set event and King was prepared. Rather than attacking the nets like she usually does, she stayed back and fended off Riggs’ lobs and drop shots. She made Riggs run all over the park and won, emphatically, with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 scoreline.

The match was a symbolic victory for women’s tennis. It changed the perspective with which people viewed the game.

# 3 – 1975 – The sponsorships and global recognition

In 1975, WTA signed its first television contact with CBS, which meant that the women’s tennis matches would be shown on Television to the masses. It provided some much needed recognition to the game.

Then, later in the very same year, WTA signed a contract with Colgate, enabling them to become the sponsors of WTA.

# 4 – 1979, the first ever $100,000 prize money WTA Tournament

Avon Products, a beauty and personal care product manufacturer, became the official sponsor of WTA and offered $100,000 prize money for the Avon Championships (which is now known as the year end WTA Tour Championships). Even at that time, the amount  was very small when compared to what the men earned. But, it symbolized that the women’s sport was growing.

Slowly, the prize money, the TV coverage and global audience began increasing.

# 5 – 1980 – $7.2 Million Annual prize money for WTA events

By 1980, around 250 women were playing professional tennis. More than 45 events were taking place for women. The annual prize money of all these events combined accounted to $7.2 Million.

This amount of financial backing made groundbreaking changes, not only in women’s tennis but in all other women’s sports. People were beginning to recognize women’s sports. Soccer, Basketball and other sports began pushing for exclusive women’s leagues.

# 6 – 1982 – Martina Navratilova wins $ 1 Million prize money in a single year

Navratilova started the first $ 1 million club in WTA

$ 1 Million prize money in a single calender year was a big deal. Two years later, Navratilova doubled her earnings. In 1997, Martina Hingis crossed the $ 3 Million mark and now, last year, Victoria Azarenka had earned more than $ 7 million US dollars in prize money in a single year.

Combined with all other earnings, Maria Sharapova makes around $28 million in a single year now. It all began with that first mark by Navratilova in 1982.

# 7 – 1983 – The Virginia Slims World Championship Series

By 1980, two women’s series were taking place – the Toyota Series, which included matches from all around the world and the Avon Championships, that were solely played on the United States. But, these tournaments were not surviving. Both Toyota and Avon wanted to pull off their sponsorship deals and this created a lot of drama.

But, Virginia Slims, a cigarette manufacturer, returned to the scene and took control over the WTA events. They merged the Avon and Toyota events into a single series and began calling it the Virginia Slims World Championship Series. They renewed the WTA rankings, included all four majors and conducted around 56 events. This series laid the foundation based on which women’s tennis works today.

# 8 – 1993 – Monica Seles is stabbed by a crazy Steffi Graf fan

Monica Seles stabbing led to the increase in level of security during tennis matches

By this time, women’s tennis was no longer discriminated. People loved watching WTA matches and the passion was phenomenal. But, the passion took a wrong turn of events at Hamburg in 1993 when a crazy Steffi Graf fan jumped into the court to stab her fierce rival, Monica Seles.

This match was very important in tennis’ history because, after this event, the security level for all tennis matches escalated and we began seeing Police patrol in all major events.

# 9 – 2001 – Williams Sisters dominate tennis

Tennis was not a race friendly sport. In the early days, minorities had been discouraged and often excluded for participation in tennis events because, to white people, tennis symbolized prestige.

But, in 2001, two great talents, that too African-American sisters, played in the finals of the US Open. The symbolism was indeed great. Women’s tennis has transcended everything and began its dawn into a newer and better place.

 # 10 – 2007 – All Grandslams award equal prize money to both Men’s and Women’s Championships.

Although the US Open offered equal prize money to both the Men’s and Women’s single champions way back in 1973, it took a lot of time for the other Majors to do the same.

Australian Open did it in 2000 but the French and Wimbledon Championships were still not favoring the move.

In 2006, Venus Williams, along with the WTA board, began pushing for equal prize money and by 2007, all the four majors awarded equal prize money to both Men’s and Women’s singles champions.

The difference which was at a 12:1 ratio is now no more. Women’s tennis has grown leaps and bounds and today, it is arguably the best sport for women in the world.

How does one become a football fan in cricket crazy India?

Growing up, I used to memorize the statistics of different cricket players in trading cards. These trading card games were played for hours. Then there were the roadside games. Although football seemed a lot easier to play, we lived playing cricket in our childhood. We broke window panes, we troubled travellers and we created a lot of mayhem.

Fans have grown with a little bit of exposure to football and it is natural that they are attracted to the game.

If not, then how does one become a football fan?

The phase where it all beings – Generally, in my childhood, I had no idea about anything even remotely associated with club or international football nor did I know someone who was a football fan. When ESPN or Star Sports used to telecast football games, I blindly changed the channels. I found Vinod Kambli’s hairstyles more appealing.

The “Well, I could use some showing off” phase – Then the Curious Joe phase of your transformation into a football fan begins. You want to show off that you know something other than just cricket to your friends. Hockey is estranged, Formula 1 was becoming too common and already there are people who know a lot more about tennis than you ever will. Football remains the one thing that has a lot of untapped potential. Now, you begin to learn names of famous footballers. In my case, those were Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Rivaldo. Then you watch World Cup football games and rave about how great Brazil are.

Still, you secretly change the channel to watch Sachin Tendulkar‘s ‘best ODI knocks’ on Star Cricket when no one is around you despite a live football game on TV.

“Hala X, Y Rocks!” phase -  You fix your allegiance to a specific team and begin watching their games. You are probably supporting that team because it has a world class star and they are winning almost all games. But still, you find it easy to shift your allegiance to another team if your current team is losing or if your favourite star is sold to another team. You may even try to post random stuff that would irritate at least 100 other people on internet forums and you don’t care if your post is relevant or sensible.

At this point, you feel that posting about cricket on internet is too mainstream.

“I need to figure this game out” phase – Now, the phase of struggle begins. Your beloved teams begin to play some games on weekends and some on weekdays. At times, there are talks about quarterfinals, semifinals and at times, nobody plays extra time and penalty shootouts for drawn games because these games are part of some ‘league’. Generally, you are puzzled. Then you realise the difference between domestic leagues, cups and Champions League. Now, at this point, you can very well call yourself a football fan.

After this stage, the game begins to grow on you. You set up alarms in the middle of the night to watch football games. You do a lot more than just talk about these games and exclaim how ‘awesome’ they were. Cricket now has lost its shine. Now, you might watch some Test matches and some IPL games but you can live without them.

The phase where realisation strikes you – You begin to realise how stupid you have been through all these years. Now, you begin to follow club football with almost the same amount of rigour with which you followed cricket earlier. You still hypocritically want your club management to assemble a fantasy football squad, not knowing about the finances of your club and you still voice your discontent at a manager if he begins to lost 4-5 games in a row.

But your passion about the game increases. You rip off perfectly normal shirts when your team scores a last minute goal and you verbally abuse anyone who doesn’t like your team.

Cricket is slowly losing its importance in your life.

The Evangelist phase – You’ve come to terms with reality. You now realise that the Giggses and Maldinis are bigger players than the Ronaldos and Ronaldinhoes. You begin to preach about the beauty of the game and how it is meant to be played wherever you go. A thing that started as a show-off has now become an integral part of your everyday life. You cannot pass a single day without ESPN and you watch all matches regardless of the team that you support.

You now accept defeat graciously and now, you really mean it when you say something like “no player is bigger than the club itself”. You can probably speak about football and the history of your team for hours.

Your internet language becomes clean and you try to invoke sense into other people. Football is no longer something that you watch on TV. It has become an integral part of your life, without which you simple cannot function normally.

Fans all around the world complain that the other team played Anti-Football – Check.

Fans create memes and GIFs of the other team apparently parking the bus – Check.

This is probably the most consistent pattern that repeats itself in the world of Football. I’m no fan of Barcelona but you still get mesmerized by the way they play. So, it is natural that they have so many fans. And at times, the complaints of these fans are perfectly arguable. Chelsea and Celtic did park the bus when they defeated Barcelona. But, AC Milan‘s win last night was much more than just parking the bus.

You can conceive the match in two ways – AC Milan did just enough to win the game or Barcelona didn’t do what was required to close out the game. AC Milan’s game might have been defensive but it was schemed, it was technically planned finesse.

Xavi was marked and closed down

Before AC Milan scored the first goal, they played with a flat four. Full backs Abate and Constant played much like central defenders and the midfield trio of Ambrosini, Montolivo and Muntari played just five yards above the central defenders. So, Barcelona had a simple task – pass their way out in an area which is congested with the Rossenari shirts. And they weren’t able to do that.

The reason was simple. Instead of man-marking Messi, which most teams usually do, AC Milan man-marked Xavi and cut off plays even before they started. They pressed Barcelona players whenever they had the ball and tiki-taka was put out of the question. So Xavi and Iniesta, who are so used to passing the ball in succession, had to resort to long range balls. Since Xavi and Iniesta were marked, Messi had to go deep and work hard to get to the ball. Barcelona usually keep on passing the ball until they find an opening but since they were pressed, they didn’t have the time to do it.

Kevin Constant did a remarkable job of closing down Lionel Messi

Milan were not just defensive. When they had the time, they quickly put on three or four counter attacks which pushed Barcelona’s defense to the brink. Sulley Muntari’s performance last night was top-notch. He played the role of the vital cog between the defensive and the offensive line. Then there was Kevin-Prince Boateng. Although his goal will be much debated, he was present at the right place in the right time. And personally I feel that the handball was not deliberate. Kevin Constant, who was playing for a League 2 Genoa CFC just two years back, was put up against Lionel Messi and did a remarkable job controlling him. Although a gap was present between him and Mexes, Barcelona players were never able to exploit that.

Another thing that other teams usually do is fall back after they score a goal. But Milan were already very much deep. So, after scoring the goal, Milan became more fluid and less rigid. By this time, Messi was becoming ineffective and Alexis Sanchez didn’t provide the spark that was needed. Most importantly, what happened was Barcelona were not able to change the pace of the game. Even after scoring twice, Milan kept up the tempo and continuously marked Xavi, preventing him from changing the pace of the game. If the game slowed even a bit, Barcelona would have forced their way into a goal. But that didn’t happen.

At the end of the day, Barcelona were the team that failed. They were never able to play with flair, something they usually do effortlessly. They were never able to hassle the defense of AC Milan and were not incisive. Milan on the other hand set out to defend but moved the ball well on counterattacks. They stood tall and won a match that they clearly deserved to.

The match by no way is over. Barcelona is very much capable of winning 3 – 0 against any given opponent and that too at their own backyard but last night was a defeat to them and their way of game play.

There is no one correct way to play a football game. Yes, the way Barcelona play is attractive and it brings the ‘beauty’ into the beautiful game. But the way Milan played was theoretically correct. Rather than defending for their lives and getting a goal out of fluke, they played according to the plan devised. They set out to play like warriors and came out victoriously.

Manchester United and Newcastle United were fighting it out for the 1995/96 Premier League title. Sir Alex Ferguson, United’s manager, had said that other teams tried harder to defeat Manchester United than they did against Newcastle. This kind of angered Newcastle’s manager, Kevin Keegan. In reply, he let out this famous rant.

“I’ve kept really quiet but I’ll tell you something, he went down in my estimations when he said that. We have not resorted to that.

“You can tell him now, we’re still fighting for this title and he’s got to go to Middlesbrough and get something. And I’ll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them. Love it.

“But it really has got to me. I’ve voiced it live, not in front of the press or anywhere. I’m not even going to the press conference. But the battle is still on and Man United have not won this yet.”

Video

Technically not a rant, but still good enough to be included in the list.

After Chelsea were defeated by Barcelona in the 2009 Champions League semifinals, the players were visibly upset with the decisions of the referee Tom Henning Ovrebo. Drogba, in particular, was out of his mind. He repeatedly hassled the referee and shouted the words “Its a fu*king disgrace” into the camera.

Drogba was punished with a six-match ban for the incident.

Video

For Sir Alex, ranting comes naturally

Sir Alex Ferguson is famous for his trophies. He is also famous for his swears. After signing Juan Sebastian Veron for a mammoth fee, the media were not impressed with him. Fergie however had this to say to them:

“People are always going on about f—— Veron. You tell me, what’s wrong with Veron?

“What’s this thing about fights and all the rest of this s—? It’s absolute nonsense, you know it’s nonsense. Absolute lies. On you go. I’m no f—— talking to you. He’s a f—— great player. Yous are f—— idiots.”

Now, on another occasion when an interviewer wanted to know if Cristiano Ronaldo had dived or not, it led to this:

Shreeves: ‘I asked him’

Fergie: ‘F*****g bastard.’

Shreeves: ‘Don’t talk to me like that.’

Fergie: ‘F**k off to you.’

Shreeves: ‘Don’t talk to me like that. Don’t even think about it.’

Fergie: ‘Don’t you think about it, you ****. F**k off. Right?’

Shreeves: ‘Listen, are you going to do the interview in a professional manner or not? Do you want to do it or not?’

Fergie: ‘You f*****g be professional. You be professional. You’re the one.’

Shreeves: ‘I’m entitled to ask . . . . Cristiano gave the right answer.’

Fergie: ‘F*****g hell with your answers.’

Shreeves: ‘Don’t talk to me like that. Go away. If you want to behave civilly, fine. Don’t talk to me like that.’

Fergie: ‘F**k off.’

Leyton Orient were nearing bankruptcy in 1995. So, they made a deal with a local television channel and allowed TV cameras inside their dressing room. This move captured one of the greatest managerial meltdowns of our time.

John Sitton, Leyton’s manager went on and on for around four minutes and finished with this: “…and you can bring your f***ing dinner. ‘Cos by the time I’ve finished with you, you’ll f***ing need it.”

Video

Roy Keane, as you might have already known, is not a pleasant man. Here he is, blasting his own national coach Mick McCarthy.

“Mick, you’re a liar … you’re a fucking wanker. I didn’t rate you as a player, I don’t rate you as a manager, and I don’t rate you as a person. You’re a fucking wanker and you can stick your World Cup up your arse. The only reason I have any dealings with you is that somehow you are the manager of my country! You can stick it up your bollocks.”

People have described Keane’s rant as fierce and earth-shattering.

Rafael Benitez – speaking Facts

FACT is a term which we relate with Rafa Benitez even today. Here he is, speaking facts about Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United during Liverpool‘s title chase in the 2009 season.

It starts with this:

“But I want to talk about facts. I want to be clear, I do not want to play mind games too early, although they seem to want to start. But I have seen some facts and ends with this - ”We had a meeting in Manchester with managers and FA about the Respect campaign. And I was very clear, forget the campaign because Mr Ferguson was killing the referees, killing Mr Atkinson, killing Mr Hackett. But he is not punished. How can you talk about the respect campaign and criticise the referee every single week? You can analyse the facts and come to your own decision and ideas.”

Video

Paolo di Canio, Swindon’s manager, decided to substitute his 21-year old goalie Wes Foderingham just 20 minutes into the game.

After the match, he decided to verbally kill his goalie, going on to say:

“He was one of the worst players I have ever seen in a football match. He is a player like the others.

“Why can’t we change the goalkeeper? Is the goalkeeper is an element who plays on with another team because he has a different colour on his shirt? I know my players, I know Wes – he was the crappy player even against Stoke.”

And it went on and on for 5 more minutes.

Video

After Joe Kinnear was officially appointed as the interim manager of Newcastle United in late 2008, he went on a verbal tirade against the journalists who were not happy with him. He swore around 52 times during the interview. It started with this:

JK - Which one is Simon Bird [Daily Mirror's north-east football writer]?

SB - Me.

JK - You’re a c**t.

SB - Thank you.

JK - Which one is Hickman [Niall, football writer for the Express]? You are out of order. Absolutely f**king out of order. If you do it again, I am telling you you can f**k off and go to another ground. I will not come and stand for that f**king crap. No f**king way, lies. F**k, you’re saying I turned up and they [Newcastle's players] f**ked off.

The Bundesliga – where fans are given true importance

The average ticket price for a Bundesliga game still remains at around 17 Euros – which is almost half of what it costs to see an EPL game. The away fans attending the Bundesliga games are given free rail travel. Last year, the average attendance in the Bundesliga accounted to 42,700 – which is around 8,000 higher than the EPL and almost 15,000 higher than the La Liga or Serie A.

The total revenue of the Bundesliga stands at $2.7 Billion. This amount is beaten only by the EPL ($3.2 Billion), but given EPL’s reach and income, the difference of 500 million looks very minimal. While the EPL, La Liga and Serie A report around 45-60 % income from media rights, the Bundesliga reports only 25% revenue from media rights. The actual income of the Bundesliga teams come from the clever marketing and commercial deals, which amounts of 50%, and their ticket sales, which accounts to around 25%.

Barcelona‘s gross debt stands at around $483 Million and they posted a loss of around $25 million last season and $85 million the season before despite doing well in almost all competitions. Bayern Munich, on the other hand, have reported an annual profit for the 19th season in a row. The last time a German team won the Champions League was in 2001 and despite that, most German teams are reporting annual profits. So, to put it in simple words, the Bundesliga is probably the only financially fit league in the world.

A 7.4 % increase in profits in a year is a figure that is simple staggering

Although the overall income of the Bundesliga stands at $2.7 Billion, 7.4% higher than the previous year, the annual increase in player wages increased only by a mere 0.9%. In the Bundesliga, the wages are decided based on player performances and not emotions. If a player demands wages that will threaten the stability of the club and the ownership, he is usually shipped off. Still, top names remain in the league which shows the level of understanding between the players and the clubs.

Then there is the case of ownership. Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour may never set foot in Germany and buy a club because in Germany, there is a 50+1 rule, which means that the Club board members must retain at least 51% of the ownership of the Club. This rule may be relaxed if an individual or a company supports a club for more than 20 years (that is what happened with Volkswagen and VfL Wolfsburg).

To most of us, the Bundesliga means Bayern Munich. But Bayern are nowhere near being a dominant force when comes to winning the league title. In the past 10 years, six different clubs have claimed the League title. In the same period of time, only three teams have won the La Liga and only four teams have won the EPL, which is a testimony to the amount of competition that prevails in the German League.

Then there is the love of football among the youth of Germany. According to the agreement made by the German FA and Bundesliga teams, each top flight team must establish a football academy. Among the 23 players selected for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, 19 of them came from these academies. Around $80 million is spent on these academies in Germany. In contrast, the English teams spend nearly $100 million on youth academies, but only 1% of the boys who join these academies turn into professionals.

If you still insist that the quality of football should be measured by actual footballing success then here it goes. Chelsea and Manchester City, the defending European and English Champions with their literally unending supply of transfer funds, crashed out in the first round of the Champions League. Borussia Dortmund, despite losing key man Shinji Kagawa to Manchester United, topped the Group D – which was considered a ‘Group of Death’ – in the Champions League. Three German teams still remain in the competition with a very good chance of progressing further.

A $150,000 per week salary is now very common in England and Spain. But is it really worth all the fuss? Is football a game or a business? Should everyone follow Germany’s example? Let us know in the comments section.

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/02/17/is-the-bundesliga-the-best-league-in-the-world/feed/ 7 7102016 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/01/22/djokovic-goes-hulk-rafa-nadals-return-and-other-tennis-tidbits-of-the-week/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/01/22/djokovic-goes-hulk-rafa-nadals-return-and-other-tennis-tidbits-of-the-week/#comments Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:21:36 +0000 Sriram Ilango http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=1224667 The Australian Open has entered the business end. The past week has given us lots of entertainment and here is a brief look at all the action on and off the court.

Djokovic – The Hulk

Novak Djokovic does not hide his emotions. Last year, after the marathon final against Rafael Nadal, he went Hulk and tore up his T-shirt. Last week, after his epic battle against Stanislas Wawrinka in a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 12-10 victory, he repeated his feat by ripping off his perfectly fine T-shirt once again!

Sharapova has lost just 9 games so far!

Maria Sharapova is literally on a steamroll right now. She has reached the last 4 of the Australian Open losing just nine games which is a new record since the Australian Open expanded to 128 players in 1988. On average, she has spent just 63 minutes per match so far. Li Na of China stands between her and a potential Australian Open final against Serena Williams.

When asked about her record, Sharapova replied,“To be honest, those are not the stats that you want to be known for. Obviously it is a great stat. But I am in the semi-final and I am so glad I am at this stage and have given myself the opportunity to go better than last year.”

Rafael Nadal passes a medical test and is fit to return

It is fair to say that the tennis world has missed Rafael Nadal. The 11-time Grand Slam Champion has now decided to enter the Sao Paulo Brazil Open on the 11th of February after passing a medical. Nadal, who initially wanted to participate in the Australian Open, decided to pull out at the last minute due to a virus.

Kavcic’s collapse after a marathon match

The Australian summer is unforgiving. After 4 hours and 52 minutes, Slovenia’s Blaz Kavcic defeated local boy James Duckworth. Soon after he entered the locker room, Kavcic was struck by full body cramps and that made him collapse right there. Medical personnel had to be brought in to help him.

Baker leaving the court

Brian Baker of America was forced to retire during his second round match against fellow American Sam Querrey. Baker made his return to the tour after six seasons of on and off injuries. Baker has had 3 major operations on his hip between 2005 and 2008, a hernia injury and a reconstructive surgery on his elbow.

Even Querrey sympathized with Baker, telling the press that “he is the last person that deserves anything like that”.

After rolling her ankle for the second time, Serena Williams just lost her cool and smacked her tennis racket in her own face!

After hitting herself, she checked her mouth to see if she had knocked out a tooth! When asked about the interview, Serena replied, “I think it happens to everyone, but I have never busted it wide open like that. I was like ‘Oh, no. I can’t have a tooth fall out.’ That would be horrible.  She also looked on the bright side of things and said, “It’s okay. It’s a war wound. “I thought if it’s swollen, at least I’ll get super-sexy lips, right?”

Vika with LMFAO’s Redfoo

LMFAO’s famous DJ/Singer Redfoo is apparently dating Victoria Azarenka according to the rumour mill. Redfoo has flown to Melbourne to support the World No.1 Tennis player who recently signed an endorsement deal with RedBull. They were pictured together in various places around Melbourne.

#10 – Shin Kicking

Well, the name says it all!

Where is it played: England.

Do I really need to explain how this works?

Shin Kicking has a 400 year history and it is still played today. The rules are simple. You should make your opponent fall down on his knees by kicking him in his shin! If you do so, you win a round. A match consists of three rounds and the person who wins two out of them is declared as the winner!

#9 – Skibobbing

There’s no actual way to stop the Skibob other than crashing!

Where is it played: Alps and some parts of USA

Okay. It is not skiing and it is not snow biking. You could call it as a combination of both of them.

There are no rules and probably no winners, but there is an International Federation of Skibobbing. So, what do you do in this? You attach a skibob (which is somewhat like a snow bike capable of reaching 120 mph) to your feet and you just go. There is no way of stopping the skibob unless you crash or hit something.

#8 – Chess Boxing

Looking for a checkmate inside a boxing ring

Where is it played: Finland.

Well, the name suggests it all. The ultimate test for brain and battle supremacy!

There are 11 rounds. Each round consist of 4 minutes of chess and 4 minutes of crazy boxing. You can either win by a checkmate or a knockout. It really is interesting!

#7 – Kitewing

Just before taking off into thin air!

Where is it played: Finland

This one is brilliant! Humans never give up the dream of flying, and Kitewing is the latest adventure that they have devised to make that happen.

It is essentially skiing plus flying. You ski with a device called Kitewing in your arms, and this device provides you the necessary lift at high speeds to take off and fly!

When you will come back to the ground is a question which nobody knows the answer. Extremely dangerous but growing in popularity.

#6 – Ultimate Tazer Ball

Tazering the player with the ball

Where is it played: United Kingdom and USA

There is a gigantic ball and you have to put that ball into the net. The game is usually played in the freezing cold and all players have tazer guns with them.

The opposing players can use the gun on the player who is currently carrying the ball. The tazer will emit around 5 milli amps of electricity which is enough to bring down a person!

#5 – Hornussen

Home Team end – Hornuss Launcher

Away Team end – Trying to protect the ball from hitting ground

Where is it played: Switzerland

There are two teams – home and away. Each team consists of 18 players. The pitch is a very long straight ground spanning at least half a kilometer.

The home team launches a small, rubber like projectile called as the hornuss using a very large rod. The hornuss can travel at high speeds, clearing 300 m very easily! The away team, which is standing at the other end of the pitch, have shields with them. They should prevent the very small and extremely fast hornuss from hitting the ground. If they fail, the home team wins that round. The hornuss, which is very hard to locate, can cause serious damage when it strikes a person.

There is a pro league and the season carries on for an entire year.

# 4 – Bossaball

Bossaball striker kicking the ball

Where is it played: Mainly in Spain and Brazil

This game is the combination of volleyball, football, trampoline and some martial arts.

There is a Bossaball court (which is nothing but an inflatable volleyball court) with a trampoline at the front. Teams can comprise of five players, and one player (like the striker) should be played on the trampoline. The other rules are just like volleyball, but you can use overhead kicks and other crazy stuff to score a point.

You win if your team reaches 25 points.

# 3 – Underwater Upsidedown Hockey

Under freezing water!

Where is it played: Finland, Austria, Germany and other European nations.

The Finns are the world leaders in creating crazy sports, it seems!

This is not ice hockey or hockey, that is obvious. This is also not underwater hockey, which is just played inside a swimming pool. This is more than that.

Players with wet suits enter ponds and lakes that are frozen on the surface. Inside the freezing pond, they turn upside down and use the frozen surface as the playing area to pass the puck!

And what’s more, they do not use any breathing instruments! They just play and get out to get some air when they can’t hold their breath any more.

# 2 – Hurling

Fastest sport on grass

Where is it played: Ireland

Probably the most authentic sport in this entire list. Also, the most terrorizing sport and officially, the fastest sport on grass.

It is a combination of football, hockey, lacrosse and rugby amongst all others. The finals of the league in Ireland is usually watched by 80,000 – 90,000 people, and it is arguably the most famous sport in the country. Hurling also has a history of 3000 years!

Each team has 15 players and they play with the aim of getting the ball into the net. If the ball is in air, they can use their hands to catch it. If it is in the ground, it must be picked up by their sticks. The game is played at the speed of light and the ball can travel at 120-130 mph at frightening heights.

Till date, no other country other than Ireland is prepared to play the game because of the obvious dangers. But in Ireland, the Hurling players consider it a shame to wear helmets during the game!

Take a look at this video to see how crazy this actually is:

Craziest Football match in the world!

Where is it played: Ashbourne, England

There is only one rule – No murder. This game has been played since the 12th Century.

Twice every year, at 2 pm, a football is thrown into a mob consisting of two teams – The Up’Ards and Down’Ards. There is a goal post which is nothing but a big wall on either side of Ashbourne, separated by a three mile distance.

There is no official playing area, as the entire town is included within the three mile radius. There is no limit on the number of participants and even tourists can participate. The game is usually played from 2 pm till 10 pm. The ball is a specially designed ball which does not break and floats in water. The game ends when a player bangs the ball three times on the wall.

So, what do you think? Let us know in the comments section!

Sharapova launches Sugarpova and joins Twitter

Sugarmama!

Maria Sharapova has launched her own brand of premium gummy candies named “Sugarpova”. She launched the produce a few days back in Melbourne. If you are interested in tasting them, you should know that six sugarpova candies cost $30!

Also, she officially joined Twitter last week @mariasharapova. Her first tweet – “Your ultimate sugarmama has arrived”

Wozniacki, Robson and Kirilenko play in a mirrored tennis court

What a court!

Caroline Wozniacki, Laura Robson and Maria Kirilenko had the opportunity to play in a mirrored tennis court. The event was conducted by Adidas to officially launch Stella McCartney’s new line of dresses.

Their session is expected to come out as a advertisement video.

Tipsarevic can’t get any more tattoos

No more ink for Tipsarevic

Janko Tipsarevic is known for two things – his glasses and his tattoos. But, his wife, television host Biljana Tipsarevic has forbidden him from getting any more ink on his body. He said, “I am currently on an embargo from my wife not allowing me to do any more.”

Well, a reasonable request isn’t it?

Australian Open kids’ day is a huge success

What an awesome picture!

The Kids’ day celebrations at Australian Open has now become routine. This year, it was a huge blast. Familiar faces like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic were present joined by SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora, Diego and Partick Starfish.

Nole gangnamed with Serena, Federer and Jo Wilfried Tsonga were acting ball boys and Federer’s twins too were present. Federer especially was having a great time with SpongeBob.

Federer and SpongeBob – New best friends!

Another moment

Nole and Serena’s Gangnam!

Novak Djokovic’s serve is faster than an Audi R8 LMS GT3 race car

Djokovic defeat an Audi R8 Race Car

An Audi R8 trying to outrun a serve by Novak Djokovic’s serve. The car had an running start but it was no match to Nole’s serve as the ball crossed the finish line first.

Mark Eddy won the 2011 Australian GT Championship with this same car!

Here is the full video of the race  -

And we leave you with an hilarious video of Novak Djokovic imitating Ana Ivanovic during their Hopman Cup mixed doubles match.

That’s it for this week. Enjoy early morning Tennis!

So when I looked into it, I found some similarities between Harry Potter characters and tennis players. These might be borderline acceptable at times and totally ridiculous at others, but if you are a tennis and Harry Potter fan, you will find it in yourself to accept them.

Roger Federer and Albus Dumbledore

Federer and Dumbledore – Powerful and Elegant

Albus Dumbledore is the best wizard in the world and Roger Federer is possibly the best wizard in the tennis world. Just as Hogwarts would be incomplete without Dumbledore, the world of tennis would have a huge void without Federer.

Both Dumbledore and Federer are the ‘epitome of greatness and goodness.’ You cannot find a flaw in either of them. They have an aura of calmness and composure in them and they rarely express emotions of fear or anger. They both speak in a calm but a firm voice and when they speak, everyone listens.

And of course, both of them could be a little arrogant. But they don’t realize that they are being arrogant.

Rafael Nadal and Harry Potter

Courageous and Caring

Kind of an obvious comparison, isn’t it? Both Harry and Rafa are not the most graceful people, but they are what they are. Brave, loyal and hardworking are the traits that I find in common between Harry Potter and Rafael Nadal.

Courage is the perfect word for both of them. You do not go into the Department of Mysteries based on what your mortal enemy told you to save your Godfather if you don’t have courage. You don’t stand tall and play titanic 5-hour and 6-hour marathon matches if you don’t have courage.

Both are very considerate and give importance to others. Despite winning a marathon match against Federer, Nadal came out and appreciated his rival before even acknowledging his win. Harry, on the other hand, has never used the Cruciatus curse to protect himself, but used it on Bellatrix Lestrange and Severus Snape after they killed the people he loved.

Novak Djokovic and Ronald Weasley

Funny ones yet Important

They are a bit immature, funny and keep making wisecracks. Although talented, they were always overshadowed by their contemporaries. But as time progressed, they became rather important.

Djokovic was always living in the shadows of Federer and Nadal. Ron obviously was the third wheel in the trio of him, Harry and Hermione. But as time progressed, Nole broke away and had a hand over both Federer and Nadal. Similarly, in the later books, Ron’s importance grows heavily. He is much more street-smart than Harry or Hermione, and helps them out quite often. It was him who suggested the use of Felix Felicis to obtain Slughorn’s memory, and it was him who suggested the idea of Basilisk’s fang.

And we know about the impersonations. Djoker, as he is famously known, has imitated almost all famous faces in tennis. Ron, on the other hand, has imitated the voice of many people like Peter Pettigrew and also Harry’s Parseltongue.

Andy Murray and Neville Longbottom

Victorious – When it matters the most

Clumsy and shy in their early years, they have proven to us that bravery can be found when it matters the most. Time after time, Murray stood stone-faced just accepting that he was second best. But when his time came, he went in there, bravely!

Nobody expected him to break down in the finals of Wimbledon last year but when he did, you simply knew that the streak was going to end. Britain was going to get a Grand Slam champion. And that is what happened. Murray went to the same place against the same opponent just three weeks later and came back victorious. A few months later, he won the US Open, ending Britain’s age old search for a Grand Slam champion.

Neville Longbottom was insecure; he was scared. But as time progressed, he became strong-willed. Neville is arguably one of Dumbledore Army’s most courageous members. When it mattered the most, Neville stood up against the person who tormented him, the person who was responsible for the death of his parents. In the final battle, it was Neville who destroyed the seventh and final Horcrux, beheading Nagini.

Steffi Graf and Hermione Granger

Genius and rebels

The beginnings of both Graf and Hermione were similar. Hermione was born in a regular family to parents who were dentists. She had no connection to the wizarding world. Steffi Graf’s beginnings too were very humble. Her father was an ordinary insurance salesman and her mother was a housewife. She had no connection to the world of tennis.

But as soon as Hermione and Graf set foot in their respective worlds, we knew that they were going to stand apart.

Hermione was exceptionally talented for her age. She was well-versed in magical aptitude, non-verbal magic, duelling, charms, potions, transfiguration and was borderline genius.

Similarly, Steffi Graf too was winning Grand Slams and running over everyone when she was only 19. After a second straight defeat at the hands of Graf at Wimbledon, Martina Navratilova claimed, “I don’t know how much more she can improve.” Claycourt, hardcourt, grasscourt – the surface didn’t matter. The opponents didn’t matter. Steffi Graf was, and is, probably the greatest women’s tennis player of all time.

And, after the end, they both become loving mothers who care for their children.

Andy Roddick and Draco Malfoy

Finished second

Okay, let us keep out the villainous part of Draco Malfoy aside and proceed.

The first similarity is that they both are outspoken. You do not see Draco Malfoy keeping mum for a single moment in the entire book series. Similarly, Andy Roddick is the most spontaneous tennis player of our times.

They are also constantly outmatched by their bitter and direct rivals. And of course, they are known for their arrogant outbursts. Roddick has been often warned for his swearing against chair umpires. He once famously said, “You’re an idiot! Stay in school, kids, or you’ll end up being an umpire” to an umpire on-court. Malfoy, too, is famous for his arrogance. Despite Hagrid’s repeated warnings, Malfoy arrogantly tested Buckbeak’s sensitivity, which led to its death sentence.

And both of them are known for their killer looks.

So this is what I think are some similarities between Harry Potter characters and tennis players. Do you think I missed something? Please do mention them in the comments section.

There are touching messages like the ones that were revealed in support of Fabrice Muamba and there are ones that are quite emotional like Billy Sharp’s ‘That’s for you Son’ message three days after the death of his son. But the ones below are either crazy, unnecessary, arrogant or just unexplainable!

Arsenal‘s Ian Wright was at 177 goals. Just one less than Cliff Bastin’s club record. He wanted to break the record as soon as possible.

Just done it ..or did he really?

And so, when he scored the goal against Bolton in 1997, he revealed a T-shirt which read “179 Just Done it” but in fact, it was only his 178th goal. But before the news could create any controversy, he scored two more goals to claim a hat-trick.

His record, however, was broken in less than 8 years by Thierry Henry.

No Arsenal player had scored against Liverpool for almost 3 years! Ian Wright was the last man to do it.

Bang it went!

It was a nasty affair when Arsenal took on Liverpool in 2000, as three players – two from Liverpool and one from Arsenal – were sent off. But, right at the death, Henry made sure of the victory by scoring and went on to reveal the message “Bang goes the 0-0 draw”, pointing out the fact they had finally scored against Liverpool.

This one is fairly recent. On December 26, 2012, Fulham’s Dimitar Berbatov opened the scoring for his team against Southampton and as soon as he did, he displayed the famed message – “Keep calm and pass me the ball”.

Keep calm and pass HIM the ball!

The match ended 1 – 1 and Berbatov couldn’t score again despite his teammates passing him the ball.

In 2003, James Beattie was playing for Southampton and he was one of their leading players. Beattie wanted an England call up and the Three Lions were having problems in their attacking department.

Obvious – Overconfident?

So, Beattie thought that he was the obvious choice and went on to display the message “Obvious” after scoring a goal against Middlesbrough. The then England Manager Sven Goran Eriksson called up Beattie but he didn’t deliver on what he promised. Beattie till date has 5 England appearances and no goals to his name.

The rivalry between Birmingham City and Aston Villa is well known. Paul Tait’s message didn’t help the rivalry much. After scoring in the 1995 Auto Windscreens Shield final against Carlisle United, Tait revealed a t-shirt which read “Birmingham City sh*t on the Villa” with a very graphic image.

Sh*t on the Villa

He was fined for the message but I doubt that he cared.

Swansea beat Carlisle in the finals of the 2006 Football League Trophy and Lee Trundle, often called as The Showboat, revealed his T-shirt which had a guy wearing a Swansea T-shirt pissing on a Cardiff T-shirt.

He was arrested and later released for his actions.

Mario Balotelli, a day before this incident, lit fireworks in his bathroom. The Italian, who was already made a target by the British media, did not escape this one.

Indeed, why always him?

So, after scoring a calm goal in probably the most important Manchester Derby of all time, he revealed a message directed at the media – Why Always Me?

He went on to score another goal as Manchester City demolished Manchester United 6 -1.

Marco Materazzi was part of the illustrious 2010 Inter Milan team which won the treble. Inter were winning the Champions League finals when Materazzi came on as a substitute in the 92nd minute. After winning the title, he revealed his T shirt which showed a graphic image of him holding the trophy with the words “Do you want this too”, directed at their Italian rivals Juventus.

Do you want this too?

In 2005/06 season, following the Calciopoli scandal, Juventus wanted Inter Milan to be stripped off their league title. After the verdict was announced, the title was awarded to Juventus.

You can buy some football shirts here ! 

There is a reason why people all around the world call Andrea Pirlo as l’architetto (The Architect). His arrogant yet beautiful chip in the penalty shootout against England was one very important incident that took place in 2012.

Pirlo chips the ball into Hart’s net

– Gigi Buffon

– Pirlo

And after England lost the match, quotes still kept coming.

– Leonardo Bonucci

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

– Zlatan taking a dig at the English men.

– Zlatan responding to a journalist after he asks him who are the favourites to the win the European Trophy after Sweden were knocked out.

– After his wonder goal against England.

Mario Balotelli – Always a delight!

You could make a separate thread for all the crazy quotes of Balotelli but here are his top ones from 2012.

– After his booking in the Euro Semifinals.

Cassano about Mario.

– Roberto Mancini about Mario.

– Well, only he can come up with these.

– Peterhead FC fans welcome Rangers fans to the Third Division of Scottish Football after Rangers were permitted to enter only the Third Division due to liquidation.

– Chelsea Fans singing against Rafa Benitez’s appointment as their Interim Manager.

Rafa Benitez

– A Fan’s tweet to Steven Gerrard.

– A German Newspaper on Chelsea’s CL win against Bayern.

2012 was also the year of many on-the-court action. Not the tennis court but the actual judicial court.

Too much Football action in judicial courts

– John Terry.

– Rio Ferfninand on John Terry.

– Harry Redknapp in court during his Tax evasion charges hearing.

Despite winning the Champions League for the first time in their history, Chelsea didn’t really enjoy it for that long. The men who won it for them – both Didier Drogba and Roberto di Matteo are now not at the club.

Didier Drogba

– Drogba after the win.

– AVB to successor Roberto di Matteo.

– Monterrey’s coach on Chelsea (Club World Championship team)

– Gary Neville on David Luiz

– Cristiano Ronaldo regarding the Ballon d’Or voting.

– Tevez on Mancini.

– A rather not-so-subtle dig at Mancini.

– Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Cristiano Ronaldo

– Sir Alex Ferguson after Ashley Williams hit Robin van Persie with a ball.

– Alan Pardew frustrated by Gabby Obertan.

– Gary Linekar.

Swindon manager Paolo di Canio subbed his goal keeper just 21 minutes into the match. When questioned about that, he went on and on and ranted for almost 5 minutes. If I include the entire rant as text, it will take you at least 5 minutes to read it. So, here is the video. It begins with “”He was one of the worst players I have ever seen in a football match.”

Lionel Messi

– Lionel Messi about himself.

– Messi hits out on his critics.

– Robin Dutt

– Xavi.

City wins the EPL title in the most dramatic fashion ever!

– Sir Bobby Charlton

– Roberto Mancini

– Vincent Kompany

And to sum it all up, the great Martin Tyler’s quote which is still very much lingering in all our ears

What happened : Caught for the possession of cocaine. Sentenced to jail for 8 years.

Mark Ward was never a top player but he was always there. With stints in mid table sides like West Ham United, Manchester City, Everton, Birmingham City and Wigan between 1980 and 1996, Ward accumulated more than 300 Premier League appearances.

But once his playing career was over, he became involved with the drug industry. He was originally charged with drug trafficking but the charges were dismissed and was arrested only for the possession of cocaine in 1998

What happened : Alcoholism, Affairs.

Regarded as the “greatest dribbler” that the world has ever seen, Garrincha’s life would have been even more illustrious if not for his off-the-pitch problems.

Garrincha was instrumental for Brazil’s world cup wins in 1958 and 1962. He married girls as he wished, fathered many children and drank throughout his life. Despite all that, he still is regarded as Brazil’s greatest alongside Pele.

What happened : Drunk Driving, Assault

Gary Charles has a pretty normal football career but soon after it got over, his wild side began creeping into his life.

First he was caught for drunken driving and then he cut off his electronic GPS monitoring tag and went on a holiday to South America. Later, he was arrested for assaulting a woman. When he was summoned to court, he came heavily drunk. He was fined, jailed and was given community service.

What happened : Betting, Gambling and Drug Usage.

In 2006, when Flachi was still playing for Sampdoria, he was banned by the Italian FA for betting. He was also fined. Later, his test revealed amounts of cocaine in his blood and hence he was banned for 2 years.

After that, Flachi came back and began playing with a League Two side. But once again, he was banned for using cocaine. This ban effectively ended his career.

What happened : Assault, Criminal Damage and Affray.

Joey Barton, the bad boy of modern day football! Barton has been arrested thrice and has been suspended, fined and warned by the FA numerous times.

In 2007, he was arrested for assault on a Taxi driver in Liverpool. He was sentenced to jail for six months and was also questioned by the police for violently attacking a fellow player during training. A CCTV video of Barton in Liverpool showed him punching the taxi driver almost 20 times and later attacking a teenager who came to help.

Other than this, he has been charged with various on-the-field charges and fines.

What happened : Arrested for counterfeiting, Money laundering .

His famous joke still remains evergreen “Roy Keane’s on 50 grand a week. So was I till the police found my printing machine”.

Mickey Thomas was never a bad player. But he was too wasted to realize that. He said that Manchester United was too much because he couldn’t please 60,000 fans. He changed from one club to another and never stayed at one place.

In 1993, Thomas was arrested for counterfeiting currencies and money laundering. He was sentenced to jail for 18 months.

What happened : Caused death by dangerous driving, Assault.

In 2003, the then West Brom Albion player Lee Hughes lost control of his Mercedes and that resulted in the death of a person. The person’s wife and children too were injured.

He claimed that the brakes didn’t work but inspection of the car proved otherwise. He was reportedly drunk during the incident and hence flee the scene. He later turned himself in after 36 hours and was sent to jail for 6 years. His sentence was later reduced to three years and he still plays for Notts County.

A year ago, he was once again detained for sexual assault but was charged only with general assault.

What happened : Ran a brothel, theft, counterfeiting and smuggling.

Peter Storey was an Arsenal legend. He played for Arsenal his entire life barring a one year spell at Fulham. He was also instrumental in Arsenal’s rise through the English League in the late 1960s.

But when his playing career ended, his life turned upside down. In 1979, a few years after leaving Arsenal, he was jailed for six months for running a brothel. A year later, he was arrested once again and sentenced to jail for three years for counterfeiting gold coins. Later, he was retained by the police for smuggling porn videos out of the country. He was also sentenced to jail for two years for a car theft.

What happened : Alcoholism (which destroyed probably one of the greatest player of his generation)

Possibly the greatest winger to have ever played for Manchester United. Alcoholism ended his United career prematurely at an age of just 27. What he would have done without all the booze, one could only imagine.

Best once famously said “I spent 90% of my money on women, drink and fast cars. The rest I wasted”. To say that the statement was entirely true would be an understatement.

After losing his place in Manchester United at 1974, he went to the United States a few years later. There, he was arrested for drunken driving. He also turned out to a talk show heavily drunk. Later in 2005, George Best died due to a multiple organ failure which was caused due to his alcoholism.

He is still remembered with nostalgia by the Manchester United fans and is still hailed as the greatest Northern Irish player of all time.

What happened : Fraud, Theft, Deception, Criminal Damage, Handling stolen stuff, Assault, Affray and Sexual Assault.

Yes all that and he is still playing with a top team like Birmingham City.

One can only imagine what Marlon King hasn’t done. Since 1997, he has 14 difference offences against his name. He has been banned, fined, sentenced to community service, jail and rehabilitation.

He is a registered sex offender and has been sentenced to jail for 18 months on two different occasions for sexual assault on women.

Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, West Brom Albion and Arsenal. Four teams with the same number of points on Christmas. The race to the fourth place this season is two times tighter than the race to the title.

Can David Moyes and Steve Clarke keep the pace up?

If Arsenal lose out, it will hurt them badly. If Everton or West Brom get it, then it will certainly boost the status of their teams. As far as Tottenham are concerned, getting to the fourth is a mandatory if they don’t want to lose their top stars. In the long run, the fight should be between the two London clubs, but both David Moyes and Steve Clarke’s teams have shown us tremendous potential. It would really be a hard ask to pick the winner now.

Yes. The Europa League might not be the most glamorous competition in the world but dissolving it would cause huge and I mean HUGE changes in the world of football. A single unified European competition would take ages to finish and the group stages would be a yawn fest.

Will the Europa League be dissolved?

But, if Michel Platini wants something, he usually gets it.

Not exactly a major “World Football” story but still it is an intriguing one. Harry Redknapp, the man who saves teams from getting the boot takes over a team which hasn’t won in 16 games and saves it from getting relegated.

Will Harry do the escape job once again?

A story worthy of a movie.

We all love good old ‘Arry. We are all rooting for him to do it. Will he? Let us hope so.

FIFA needs to get tougher. Punishments have to be made severe and they need to be done. So, will FIFA implement strict rules for Financial Fair Play, and punishment against racism and diving?

Will FIFA kick out Racism and Diving?

FIFA has recently commented that they consider diving as Football’s ‘cancer’ and so by looking at that, it wouldn’t be a huge shock if FIFA goes all guns blazing at divers.

Huge money has been spent in buying players in 2012. PSG, Manchester City and Chelsea are prime players in this. Chelsea and Manchester City are already out of the Champions League. But, they still have the league and cups to play for.

Will Money bring in Titles?

So, will money bring titles? We will have to wait and see.

There are the usual suspects – Barcelona, Real Madrid (or Manchester United, remember?) and Bayern Munich. Then there are teams that could pull off a surprise – Schalke, Porto and Borussia Dortmund.

Will Dortmund oust the Top teams?

The draw of this year’s Champions League makes it very impossible to predict a winner. The most stable team is obviously Barcelona but even they are not immortal these days. In the end, it could be a battle for supremacy between the Spanish and German teams.

Will we have a new successor to the Throne? Or will Lionel Messi go all guns blazing and take the top spot once again. Arguably, Lionel Messi is the best footballer in the world today and Cristiano Ronaldo is a close second.

Falcao – Neymar – Threat to Messi and Ronaldo?

Players like Radamel Falcao and Neymar (if he moves to Europe, that is) are posing a big threat to the throne. So, will they overtake the awesome twosome?

AC Milan is looking to offload most of its stars, Mario Balotelli is reportedly on the move, Robert Lewandowski is also speculated to move away from Dortmund. Radamel Falcao, Wesley Sneijder and a handful of other stars are also on the move.

Return of the King?

The one transfer that will take the Football world by storm is Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United. Will Real Madrid sell him? Does Manchester United have the funds to pay? Uff. This is so exciting.

Okay. It is still early days to predict Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. But, if the Gaffer wins a 20th league title and possibly a Champions League, will he be tempted to call it quits? Possibly.

Who will replace Sir Alex?

Even if he does, the real dilemma will only begin. If Sir Alex retires at the end of this season, both Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho (given he gets the sack from Real Madrid, which is looking likely every minute) will be available. Both managers have expressed their interest in managing Manchester United and Sir Alex is friends with both of them.

Or, in a further twist, both Jose and Pep could end up in Manchester managing the blue and red halves of the City. Sounds interesting!

Before you get any skeptical, read out the names – Hazard, Dembele, Benteke, Fellaini, Witsel, Kompany, Vertonghen, Vermaelen, Mirallas and the list goes on and on.

The team that can beat Spain?

The top young and entertaining talents in the world bundled into a single national team. Will they make themselves ready for the 2014 World Cup this year? Or will they succumb to the pressure?

If they play and rise to the occasion, they might be the team that can match Spain.