To be honest, Edin has been regularly in and out of the team and till now has not been able to impose himself into Roberto Mancini’s starting team. Playing in the top tier of English Football with the champions of England must be something very special for a kid who was born during the torrid times of the Balkan war. Edin recalled that he never thought he could have kicked the ball in those challenging times. His upbringing wasn’t like a prince’s, but Dzeko has always appreciated his father who used to drive him to training in Zenica, an hour away from Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is a prefect answer to the people who blame destiny for their failures in life. Today, Edin has risen to immense stardom with the Citizens chanting “Ooo Edin Dzeko Ooo”.

Edin recalls that it was initially difficult to get used to England and his first season didn’t go as he probably wanted it to be.

Tagging him as a ‘Super Sub’ won’t do any good for Manchester City. Edin, just like any other player, gets better after he plays and gets more touches of the ball. The obvious question which comes up now is, if Dzeko isn’t a Super sub then why doesn’t he put in similar performances when he starts. Winners against Fulham, Tottenham and the Baggies were only because of the “killer instinct” that he possesses, but I personally think Edin doesn’t suit the tag of ”Super Sub”. I am a strong believer of the fact that Edin is sloppy and sluggish at the start but keeps on getting better as the game opens up.

Balotelli’s exit would come as a bonus for players like Dzeko and Tevez who are expected to play with a bit more freedom but yet with a sense of responsibility as well. As per the demand of the situation, Sergio Aguero could also be used as a part of rotation policy. Tevez and Dzeko at times have been good, leading the team up front. Roberto Mancini has always said that he couldn’t play Dzeko and Balotelli together as both of them had a similar game, but with Balotelli now gone, the Bosnian has to make the most of his chances.

Basically, sports evolved when the humans wanted their vacant time after agricultural activities to be put into a constructive area. Moreover, many competition and duels that we see today evolved from those sports activities. India probably has the oldest origins of many sports in the world. There are some well-defined values like the mantra in the Atharva-Veda which says, “Duty is in my right hand and the fruits of victory in my left”.

There is also a fascinating link between Greece and India that has developed through sports, which stretches back to 975 B.C. The Modern Olympic Society always had India in mind while drafting down the oath and various disciplines. Today’s Olympic oath – “For the honour of my country, and glory of my sport” is a mere translation of a Vedic chant into English dialect.

What the world is today wouldn’t have been the same if it had no sports; sports have been the silent catalyst in fabricating the physical culture of the people.

Our ancestors utilized sports in the best possible manner. In the Vedic era, sports were believed to be integral to the Gurukul from of education. Education that time was not limited to the chemical reactions or double entry book keeping system; it had vast curricula, which produced a wise student, competent even at physical activities; a better product than today’s textbook slaves.

Today, sports has a completely different perspective. People are only interested in following a sport rather than playing it. I see young students discouraged from taking up sports. Today, all parents want is for their kids to land a fancy job that pays good money.

A sport now has more followers than players who represent it due to modernization and technological advancements. Live television  broadcasting has taken sports fanaticism to a different level. For example, 10,000 people watched the first Manchester Derby (football game between Manchester United and Manchester City) played in 1881 while over 10 million people witnessed the Manchester Derby played in the FA Cup semi-final in 2010-11. Television, online streaming and other auxiliaries to broadcast sports events over a terrestrial network have lead to enormous following of sports unlike the older days.

Sports fanaticism has become an addiction today and this can be broadly divided into two categories. One would be “single line” wherein people follow a single sport, and the other a wider “multi-dimensional” fanaticism. Countries like Australia, USA, France and Singapore fall in the latter category whereas countries like India, Pakistan, Cote de Ivory and Republic of Ireland can be put in the bracket of “single line sports fanaticism.”

A Sourav Ganguly fanatic fan touches his feet

Cricket has dominated the country over the past four or five decades and has become a discussion topic at cafeterias and with friends. The  2011 World Cup victory was special as the people showed their happiness and connect with the sport. Now this may be a top story in India or New Zealand but it wouldn’t even be on the news in a country like Argentina, Nigeria or Denmark. Cricket is a sport predominantly played and watched by the Asian sub-continent, Australia and England.

It is clear that out of the pool of all the sports available, cricket will fall in the bracket of the sports which need the least amount of human endurance. Why we Indians find cricket as the most lucrative and attractive sport will forever remain a question. Obviously, we can develop various theories to answer this question but none of them can give a concrete answer.

One of the possible theories could be that we don’t like to exert ourselves too much. We don’t have the physical endurance required for athletics and football. Indians are always taught to become escapists by nature – at home, at school, from any environment really. This trait could be a theory: “Cricket is a sport – so we are doing a task.” Whereas in other sports like football, which are a test of human limits, we are ranked in the 160′s. Surely that was not how we were in the older days.

Being a single-line sports country has made obstacles for development of other sports in the country. You might be able to name the whole team that represented the country at the 2011 Cricket World Cup, but most of you would not know who PD Chaugule was. Chaugule was the first Indian who represented the country at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Belgium and took that same oath: “For the honour of my country, and glory of my sport.”

Some called him the Lord, others said they were atheists before he came; but has his time finally come? Sachin Tendulkar‘s retirement has been a talking point and Ricky Ponting‘s retirement served as adding fuel to the fire.

Since November 2010, Tendulkar’s batting average has been 37.77 in the last 37 innings, with just two centuries in his bag; meanwhile Ravichandran Ashwin‘s batting average (debut in November 2011) is 37.91. Hence, on comparative terms, he has been at par with Ashwin in terms in batting. His bad form has been there for some time now.

Another thought in my mind is that if the an under-performing Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman or Virender Sehwag could be dropped, why not a miserably failing Sachin Tendulkar?

The selectors decided to drop Ganguly when his average in the previous 48 innings was 45.76. It was a similar tale with the others mentioned, who also faced the axe even after having better averages in the previous matches as compared to Tendulkar.

Along those lines, another name comes to mind – Murali Kartik. The man who scalped six wickets in the last game (against  Australia ) he played for India. Six wickets against the world’s best team couldn’t keep him in the side but a consistently under-performing Tendulkar can keep his place without any worries.

Sachin Tendulkar has been an obstacle for the entry of other players who would contribute more to the team. There are many talented youngsters in the domestic circuit who have not been able to even catch the selectors’ attention because of Tendulkar’s persistence to play on.

He is already 39 and has nothing to offer in the future. We have had enough of watching a failing Sachin Tendulkar. Why not depart with pride instead of undoing all the good he has done? I am a Team India supporter and Team India does not need Tendulkar anymore – no matter how much he has done for it in the past.

“Today we are dedicating mcfc.co.uk to our popular Bosnian striker in the first of a series of dedicated player days we’ll occasionally have this season.”

- MCFC official website

Edin factile at city !

When the team went into dilemma to celebrate or mourn the victory .

The par score of 121 was never a strong total for India to defend. You need to be on the top of your game to defend such petite scores, and unfortunately, things weren’t to be so. Dhoni’s tactics didn’t sound convincing to me; I still remember Sanjay Manjekar (in commentary) repeatedly signalling the captaincy flaws towards the end of the game. It felt as if Dhoni wasn’t aware of the net run-rate factor; there wasn’t any desperation shown towards the culmination of the game. In simple words, things had to be done differently yesterday night, but something went wrong. What was that thing?

When we study something, we have to start from where it began, draw comparisons and suggest changes. The team selection looked to me as the primary flaw! India’s team at the inaugural T-20 didn’t feature a single star and even Sehwag was probably at the darkest phase of his career at that time. There was desperation in that team, a desperation that became the catalyst for their triumph where everyone wanted to perform and give their maximum.

We simply need to have an altogether different team for the shortest format. Where are the likes of Pawinder Awana and Shikhar Dhawans, who have been fairly consistent in the IPL ? The list of IPL stars who are yet to make  debut for India is incredibly long. It is a difficult fact to be digested that the team which went to Sri Lanka was selected on the basis of ODI performances. We needed strong players who can easily clear the ropes. All-rounders also come handy in this format. Unfortunately, we had none. As aptly pointed out by one of my friends, probably Harbhajan Singh should have started the game on the spinning track of Colombo. Unfortunately, team selection was big faux-pas to which urgent solutions are required.

The catastrophe always reminds me of the Ganguly-Wright era. They had incredible selection policies. For instance, every newcomer was given a maximum of five matches to impress the duo. In process, they developed the likes of Nehras, Yuvrajs, Kaifs, Zaheers and Harbhajans. Perhaps we need an aggressive captain who could take over the reins from MSD, and it has to be Gautam Gambhir. The aggression would come handy in this format and making Gambhir the captain will give a completely new outlook to the team.

Yesterday, India completed another circle in their vicious cycle of T-20 catastrophe. I don’t say that the Indian team was a total failure at the World Cup; they won 4 out 5 games which is actually pretty impressive. They looked exceptional at times, especially in the game against England. I have just pointed out the tiny flaws and some solutions to fix them.

Captain James Thain

23 dead and 19 injured in one of the most disastrous events in the world of football. Yes, I am talking about the infamous 1958 Munich air crash which was carrying the Manchester United football team, then a game away from creating history! The team was returning after playing an European cup game against Red Star Belgrade (then in Yugoslavia) when they had to stop at the Munich International Airport for refueling. Captain James Thain was the pilot of the Elizabethan, the aircraft carrying the Manchester United team.

After two failed attempts, as the plane was not able to reach the required speed to take off. The third and final attempt turned out to be an erroneous decision as the plane crashed into a tree after not being able to reach the speed required for take-off before the runway finished.

The first report submitted by German airport authorities

The report submitted by the German authorities had placed the complete blame on Captain Thain for the accident. They claimed to have investigated the event with a 20th century perspective. Investigators found ice on the wing, which they believed was the primary catalyst for the tragedy. The report submitted by them claimed that it was the pilot’s responsibilty to inspect the wings before the flight. They went on to say that because the ice wasn’t washed from the wings, the Elizabethan failed to touch the required air-borne speed.

The investigation team claimed, “The aircraft was covered with snow about 8cms thick, this could have been brushed aside. The ice was frozen firmly at the wings“.

The investigations later took a drastic turn when a casual snapshot, by an United fan at the terminal, showed the aircraft after the second take-off failure and there appeared to be a white area which the investigators claimed to be snow. Reports which were released in March 1959  said,“Apart from the ice, we couldn’t find any other reason which could have contributed to the air crash“.

The report also said Captain Thain was solely responsible for the air crash.

Aftermath of the Crash

Harry Gregg, one of the survivors who went back into the burning plane to rescue his manager, Bobby Charlton and an unidentified infant

Sir Matt Busby was among those who miraculously survived the crash. It was only weeks later that Busby came to know about the air crash as the doctors feared that breaking the news to him could have been detrimental to his recovery. He resumed his managerial duties exactly after three months and went on to rebuild his team with an influx of new talent like George Best and also survivors of the  tragedy like Harry Greff and Bobby Charlton. One of the best players of his generation, Duncan Edwards, died in the hospital after surviving the air crash.

The man under the hammer was Captain Thain, who went from being an RAF pilot to the new villain in England. When investigators asked Thain, he said, “My personal feelings are that there must be snow on the runway, which reduced the speed of the air-craft”. Two months after the crash, the German inquiry issued a report which clearly mentioned that snow on the wings was responsible for the air crash and since Captain didn’t de-ice the plane, it was a fault on his side.

Fight for recognition and restoration of status: Captain Thain

Captain Thain seen here with his daughter

The former RAF officer and accomplished commercial pilot, with his reputation now in tatters, resorted to farming activities to earn money. Thain was always certain that the ice on the wings didn’t cause the crash. His daughter recalls that Thain was a man of sheer optimism.

She said, “He was determined to find the real cause for the accident”.

Soon, Thain decided to launch his own investigations into the matter and find out the actual reason behind the crash. Thain believed that the real cause for the accident was based on drastic reduction of the aircraft speed from 170 Mph to 100 Mph. Aircraft researchers believe that ice on the wing couldn’t explain that loss in the speed but something else could, which Thain also believed to be the real cause of the accident - the slush of ice on the runway.

Aviation experts believed that due to the friction caused by the slush on the runway, the Elizabethan couldn’t create the necessary boost to get airborne. Eyewitness investigations also supported this theory.Then came the scientific evidence from an unlikely source, Thain’s wife.

She witnessed that massive amount of fire extinguishing chemicals sprayed on the aircraft melted the snow. With eyewitness reports and scientific evidence, a new side of the story started to build up. The resilient Germans weren’t eager to re-open the investigations. The whole case turned on its head after Britain’s most powerful politician, Harold Wilson, made a statement claiming that he believed the captain was a victim of injustice. The comments created a media frenzy.

In 1968, British investigators started their mission to find out who was really repsonsible for the 1958 Munich air disaster. They immediately found out that the photograph of the aircraft taken by the United fan didn’t show any ice. The negative of that picture showed nothing on the wings, it was basically the reflection of light from the wet surface which made the Germans believe that it was snow. The results exposed out the big blunder of the German report.

Finally, the British Government, on March 1969, eleven years after the crash, formally cleared James Thain’s name. But the stress and trauma was too much  for Thain to handle and soon after the report that cleared him of the charges was released, he died.

Harry Greg, in an interview with National Geographic, claimed that he always knew that the German inquiry made Thain their scapegoat. And that he was always of the opinion that snow on the wings wasn’t responsible for the disaster.

Thain seen here with his wife after being cleared of the charges by British Government. Unfortunately he didn’t get time to celebrate his victory as he died shortly after.

“It was a harsh and a bitter event, the Munich air disaster not only killed 23 people with it. Make it 24, my father also virtually died in that crash” - S. Thain (James Thain’s daughter)

Wtf !

Mario, Mario, Mario: the name says it all. We watch Balotelli not only because of his incredible skill on the ball – which is unquestioned- but for his peevishness and short temper on the field. Apart from having a heated mind, Balotelli also has a crazy sense of humour. His acrimony has gained him worldwide fame.

Here is a quick snap of a few Mario Balotelli folk-tales :-

a) Police vs Balotelli

One of the most absurd things I have ever came across. One particular day Balotelli was travelling in his Lamborghini when a Sheriff enquired about the 25,000 pounds in cash that he was carrying.

Balotelli answered – “Because I can, because I am rich man” .

2. Night Out a day before game
This one was rather breaking a breach of rules. A day before the game against Liverpool, the City forward was pictured coming out of a strip club at 2:45 a.m.

3. He becomes an Engineer
I will never forget this one. Carrington training grounds were blessed with advanced electronic gates. To investigate the gates, Super Mario rushed his car towards the gate. What happened next was huge depreciation in the value of his vehicle and demolishment of city’s assets.

4. WTF !
Hillarious, I will call it. Balotelli, during his time at Inter Milan, was called on a chat show. Straightforward enough, right? Except, Balotelli was wearing an A.C Milan jersey.

Arsenal fans : Can you digest this ?

They went as far as nicknaming him ‘Arsenal‘. Another year as a Gunner and he could probably have had his statue erected alongside Henry’s at the Emirates. Things took a surprising turn when Van the Man decided not to renew his contract with Arsenal.

Today Van persie has turned into a villain for the Gunners. Now, it would be interesting to see how much criticism Robin faces once back at Emirates. Arsenal face Manchester United on 27th April 2013.

(On a personal note, I feel Robin was right in deciding to leave Arsenal.)

OOOOPSS !

Manchester United vs. Chelsea (Howard Webb the referee), Chelsea destroying United. Webb gives two penalties against Chelsea- one looked completely unnecessary. It isn’t a mistake or flaw, Howard Webb has publically told a number of times that as a child he was a United die-hard. We have seen pictures of Webb talking to United players! The strangest of all includes Webb having lunch at Old Trafford on the day Van Persie was signed!

This one was emotional, they believed in him !

He is back! The knight returns- will he rise?

AVB will soon be back at the Stamford Bridge and this time in the visiting team’s dugout. What will happen? How would the crowd react ? Who will shake hands ? Will Di Matteo and AVB have “a conversation”? What if Roman Abrahmovic turns up for that game ? Time will probably have all those answers. AVB is yet to win a game for Totenham, FYI.

In the previous few years, the Manchester Derby has risen to prominence.
Manchester United, for one, will be seething for revenge after losses in both BPL derby(s) last year- especially for the 6-1 drubbing they received at home. Are the glory days for United over? Will United come hard at City this time around?
They would want to regain their position as the best of Manchester and show their “noisier neighbours” down. The relevance of this game has increased. Perhaps, today, it is second only to El Classico.

Robin Singh

Robin Singh made his lucky debut only after the previously selected bowler Javagal Srinath got injured. The Delhi lad was asked to fly to Hamilton to make his international debut, but even after putting in a decent performance by castling three wickets, the Hamilton Test remained his solitary game in Indian colours.

Robin Singh was born on 1 January 1970 to a farmer Mittar Chaudhary in a village in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Robin represented Delhi in the Ranji Trophy, with his best performances including a 10-wicket haul for Delhi in a Ranji Trophy game. Robin also vice-captained the Delhi Ranji team for a while.

When I asked Robin why he didn’t play for India after the Hamilton Test, he replied, “Beta main 28 sal ka ho gaya tha, mera us time par career banana mushkil tha or tujhe bhi pata hoga politics chalte hain”. These were the words he spoke to me about five years back, and I still remember each and every letter that came out of his mouth. I trained under Robin Singh for a period of two years at my school where he used to give cricket coaching. Even years after my playing days I still remember each and every word spoken by him. Besides being a great cricketer, Robin was a terrific trainer who emphasized on physical fitness. He used to make us run, and then run faster.Running was involved in almost everything – if you dropped a catch, you had to run two rounds; if you didn’t play well in the nets, you had to go for a round wearing your batting pads. When we were not selected for a game, he used to personally call us and talk for a few minutes on unrelated subjects.

Coming back to his cricketing career, Robin says that he climbed the hierarchy and became one of the most influential cricketers for Delhi in the final period of his career. Another period that Robin remembers is the aftermath of the tragic Raman Lamba incident. Robin says that after Raman passed away, he was motivated to play more and give his absolute best on the field, which is why he slowly started getting recognized in India. Robin Singh finally called it a day in 2004; he ended his glorious domestic career with 12 five-wicket hauls and one ten-wicket haul as well. He played 45 first-class games and took 149 wickets.

There were two more cricketers on whom Robin had substantial influence, and unlike me they play for India today – Virender Sehwag and Ashish Nehra. Robin had called Sehwag for one of our school games in 2005 where I picked up four wickets, probably my best ever cricket game.

I always wonder: despite being an excellent bowler, why couldn’t Robin extend his international career? Almost 15 years since his Test debut, the answer still remains incomplete!

Since years the Winter Olympics have been under the shadows of Summer Olympics, today it is widely considered as the OTHER OLYMPICS. If I ask you to list a few Summer Olympian’s names, you will answer a lot of them – Michael Phelps, Carl Lewis, Mark Spitz, Jesse Owens, and Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake but it will be an uphill task to even name one Winter Olympian. India, a country of billions who struggle for any kind of medal at Summer Olympics, have already produced an ace at Winter Olympics, Shiva Keshavan who became the first Indian Olympian at the age of 17. Another one is a sprouting star, Aanchal Thakur who represented India in the Winter Olympics in Insburg. Today Aanchal is exactly where Keshavan started his career at the age of 17.

Shiva Keshavan, THE PIONEER

Shiva Keshavan

Despite being a medal winner at the Winter Asian championship, the four-time Winter Olympian is still strugling to earn recognition in a country where every sport besides bat-ball is sadly undervalued. Shiva became the first Indian Olympian at the age of 16 years, when he represented in the event of Luge. His biggest achievement includes winning a gold medal in the 2011 Asian Cup and making an Asian record of 134.3 km/h. Keshavan refused an offer to represent Italy (because of his Italian ancestry) claiming that he was an Indian and wanted to wanted to contribute to the country where he was born.
He is still in the pursuit for the recognition of his sport and efforts for the nation. He is still chasing the fame he deserves for being India’s first Winter Olympian.

Aanchal Thakur, RISING ICON

Aanchal Thakur

Aanchal Thakur, represented India in the Youth Winter Olympics in Insburg. The athlete who is still in her adolescence astonishingly finished 23rd in the games. Thakur was born on 28th August 1996 in a village called Burwa (located in the hills of Manali).
Thakur told that her father was the one who taught her skiing, “He then bought me skis from Japan. Both me and my sister practised on local ski slopes near home and participated in various club competitions. I owe it all to my father, an adventure sport promoter who trained me and opened a world of opportunities for me,” Aanchal will now be eyeing to earn the country it’s first medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics Games in Sochi.

Keshavan has appealed for the infrastructural development needed to excel in such sports numerous times. If we don’t change our perspective and start giving appraisal to such athletes, it would be a pity! The authorities have to build on the base provided by Shiva Keshavan, so that other athletes like Aanchal Thakur can come up to the podium. We don’t know how far is are we from our first medal but I would like to add something valuable for the two, “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. – Hellen Keller”

PD Chaugule, first Indian Olympian running Marathon

Why isn’t Norman Pritchard the first Indian Olympian?

Norman Pritchard participated at the summer Olympics, 1900 in Paris as a member of the elite London Athletic Club. Since he entered the games with British AAA qualification, calling him an Indian just because he belonged to the Bengal Presidency is a big mistake. Pritchard was a resident of the colonial British empire who participated in those games on the eligibility criteria set by Great Britain for the International Sports Meet, 1900 in Paris (then called by that name; today, of course, it is referred as the Olympics).

I later found out that in the Olympic Journal published in January 2000 by International Society of Olympic Historians, it is clearly mentioned, “To say that he represented India is just another example of an error being perpetuated from one book to another, a situation which is all too common in Olympic history.“

When India sent its first contingent for the 1920 Antwerp Summer Olympics, there were six athletes. PD Chaugule became the first Indian athlete to participate in the Olympics in the 10,000 metres. He finished 19th in the marathon, clocking a time of 2 hours 50 minutes 45.2 seconds .

PD Chaugule – life of the first Indian Olympian

Biography

Chaugule seen here with the various shields he won!

We all celebrate the achievements of the 81-member London 2012 contingent, but do we even remember the athlete who embarked at the beginning? The person to do that was Phadeppa Dareppa Chaugule. Born in 1902 or 1905 (no exact records available), he had a family business of Printing Press and an agriculture land.

In the beginning PD was more fond of wrestling and used to go to an Akhada (arena) and participate in bouts, but after he injured his arm he turned to running.

PD is also known to be a strict vegetarian. Because of being a vegetarian he faced a lot of inconvenience during his travel to England and Belgium. He could eat only bread, jam, butter, milk and fruits, and if available, salads and some raw vegetables, which was completely unlike his usual diet.

PD Chaugule studied in vernacular (Marathi) medium up to 6th grade. He belonged to Belgaum, Karnataka (then in Bombay Province) and was fond of solving English Commonsense Crosswords in the ‘Illustrated Weekly’, and even won many prizes for that. The man passed away in 1958.

Sporting career

Chaugule was always an assiduous athlete. His daily routine included 2000 push-ups and 2000 sit-ups, and he used to run bare feet everyday from Belgaum to Khanapur (to the farms) and back, a total of almost 58 km.

Rare picture: 1920 Olympic track field records

He used to participate bare feet in cross-country, 1 kilometre, 10 kilometres, marathon and various such races of different lengths. In 1919, he participated in the National Marathon held by the Deccan Gymkhana Club of Pune (then Poona) as well as in the 10 Miles and 1 Mile events at the All-India Open Amateur Athletic Sports Meet organised by the Young Men’s Christian Association, Mumbai (Bombay) at the Oval Ground, Mumbai and secured first prizes in all these events. He was known to be one of the most illustrious sportsmen of his era.

Chaugule’s efforts were recognized when he was awarded the title ‘Pavananjaya’ – The conquerer of the Wind, by the Belgaum citizens on 7th December 1919, a year before the Antwerp Olympics.

He ran the Marathon in the Antwerp Olympics on 22nd August 1920, thus becoming the FIRST INDIAN OLYMPIAN.

Chaugule seen here sitting on the right with the first travelling Indian Contingent to the Olympics

Today’s scenario and war for recognition, Chaugule v/s Pritchard

The letter received by Bipinchandra Chaugule, mentioning the participation of PD Chaugule at the 1920 Summer Olympics

The article published in the ISOH (International Society of Olympic Historian) by Ian Buchanan, where it was clearly transcribed that Norman Pritchard is the first Indian Olympian, is a misguiding statement. Even 12 years after Ian Buchanan’s Journal of Olympic History, PD Chaugule is a completely unknown name. It is sad that even today the Olympian is not being considered for his achievements. Many books still prejudicially credit Norman Pitchard for being the first Indian Olympian.

The Chaugule family are today fighting for PD’s basic right. Bipinchandra Chaugule, grand nephew of PD Chaugule said, “The Government is not responding to our efforts”. He believes PD Chaugule should be recognized for his accomplishments. Bipinchandra also said, “Actually, the family had earlier tried to contact the authorities and get the records corrected, but nothing much happened. As of now, I think I am the only one trying to do that. But we of course feel bad to see the wrong credit, and want to do everything to set it right. I have contacted the Indian Olympic Association and the Indian Athletics Federation. Also, I want the Government to institute an award in his name for his tremendous accomplishments in long distance running, especially marathon, and for his achievements in the Olympic games. We need the media to take up this issue, and we need to get public support on this as well”.

When will PD Chaugule get the recognition he deserves?

Football in India today is miles from the FIFA World Cup, a distant dream which has no possibility whatsoever of recent fulfilment. One of the best serving coaches of India aptly described that footballers in India are considered to be third grade citizens, parents in this country don’t dare to think of football as a career to their children. He also quoted that Indian football can only breakthrough via large influx of capital and a proper domestic league system. If things remain as they are, FIFA World cup will always remain an insurmountable task.

The time has come to find solutions to why India can’t do it today. There are a few obstacles in the journey towards the World Cup but that doesn’t mean we lose hope. Things are to be sorted out so that we don’t post articles showcasing the disability of Indian football. Let us look at the five ways that how Indian football can make it through to FIFA World cup -

1. Proper scouting of talents

I would completely disagree with someone saying that India don’t produce footballers. A Hindi proverb says “Dhoondne se to bhagwan bhi mil jata hai” (If you endeavour, you can find the all mighty), Why can’t we produce 11 footballers from a population of 1,210,193,422 ? We need to start scouting programmes so that proper talents across the country are spotted and nourished into proper footballers. Even a descent survey in the 28 states could easily find you 5,000 pros.

2. Infrastructure development

Sadly, Indian football team’s hub stadium isn’t even ranked under the FIFA rankings for stadia. Infrastructure is perhaps the most important reason behind the inability of football in the country. In most of the stadiums in India, the pitches have brown patches, which is not good for sliding tackles as it may injure a player. Also the grass is too thin, often absent in certain patches and is a real factor in our players not being able to adapt well on foreign soil, since they are so used to the bouncing of the ball rather than it staying put on the surface.

 3. Follow the model of Cote de Ivory

India could like at few nations for inspiration and the perfect choice could be Ivory coast. A country under the threat of Civil war and amongst the poorest nations in the world is probably today amongst the strongest in Africa. The basic reason why a country ranked 70th in 2004 moved almost 60 places above was due to the revolution initiated by one who they call King Drogba, Didier Drogba. Today young kids in the Ivory Coast take inspiration from him and dream to follow him. Today Ivory coast has produced players like Toure brothers, Kalou and Gervinho. I won’t be amused if the next-generation team becomes number one.

4. A football federation headed by footballers

I don’t expect a bureaucrat to head the footballing association in a country. Only people who have in-depth knowledge about the subject of football should be pinned down to lead the association. This would be an auxiliary in development of football, a development not driven by political factors.

Reliance IMG initiative for FIFA world cup and Wim Kovermans.

Reliance and IMG initiative was set up for football evolution and development in India, an initiative which aims towards making India a part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. More popularly known as “Vision 2026″, it provides necessary monitory aids to try to ensure qualification into FIFA world cup 2026.

Wim Kovermans, the new boss, applauded the programme and believes it is a convincing initiative. He believed that building international class academy in Vadodara will definitely help in the realisation of the goals. He believed that in the last few years country had been taking right steps in the development of the games.

When the proclamation of the opening game was made, it came out that Tevez and Aguero would start the game ahead of Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko. As the game progressed, Aguero recieved a tackle from England U-21 international Nathaniel Clyne, as a result of which Aguero damaged his knee. It would be toilsome to say what would have been running in the Bosnian’s mind at that juncture. Surely, he would have been in a dilemma – whether to rejoice at getting a chance or to feel melancholy for his teammates’ injury. Next we saw the kinetic and vivacious side of Dzeko, sipping lucozade as he cautiously listened to the last minute words from David Platt.

By now Edin must be well aware of the deficient opportunities on his side to prove his worth. City rescued the game by overcoming 2-1 trail as Samir Nasri scored the winner. Dzeko also played his part in the victory as he scored the equaliser for Manchester City towards the end, which eventually paved the path for Samir Nasri’s winner.

Now, Aguero’s injury and the confirmation of his absence from the Carrington training ground for at least one month have made a perfect launch-pad for the Bosnian. Though it would be interesting to see if Roberto Mancini pairs Mario Balotelli or Edin Dzeko upfront with Tevez, Dzeko should have a slight upper hand as we saw in the last game wherein Edin replace Aguero, and not Mario Balotelli.

Manchester City play next against Liverpool at Anfield, is that Dzeko’s opportunity ? The Bosnian will have to be at his best in the game against Liverpool, a team which has a resurgent defence and superlative goalkeeper. After the game against Liverpool, Manchester City play QPR. Edin scored both the times i.e. away and home legs against QPR last season. Chances will be scarce to come by, Edin will have to be paramount on each one of them. Let us see how the forward combinations will work like. Seemingly, it looks like that the Bosnian will get another chance to showcase himself and re establish himself into Manchester City.

How serious is Sergio’s injury ?

 On the first look, it seemed as if that was a serious catastrophe to Manchester City. Later, Aguero showed some optimism by standing back on his feet and walking away for treatment on the sidelines, though he was later carried on a stretcher. After the game, Roberto Mancini told the reporters that Aguero was ruled out for weeks rather than months due to a strange knee injury. The scan later revealed that Aguero will miss at least 4-5 Premier league games.

Vincent Kompany added : “We lost Sergio, which was sort of a blow, but I just go back to when we lost Carlos for most of the season and coped well with that,” Kompany said. “I hope Sergio won’t be out for that long [eight months] but I would point to last season where we had to cope with these kind of issues and we did it very well. If we have to, I’m sure we will again.”

Edin Dzeko in 2011/12 EPL

Known as the Bosnian Diamond, Edin Dzeko joined Manchester City in 2010 to partner Carlos Tevez. He started the 2011/12 season with the opening goal against Swansea F.C. Superlative performances saw Dzeko become the first choice striker for the citizens but the party didn’t last long enough. As the winter season sprung, Edin soon lost his place to Mario Balotelli, though regularly featuring as a substitute, he missed out enough starts. The trooper kept on fighting for a place but things got worse for him after the arrival of Carlos Tevez. Edin Dzeko still never gave up, he always notified his class. Dzeko’s moment finally came when he netted a predominant stoppage time goal against QPR.

Transfer Saga

During the winter transfer window, it was heavily speculated that the Bosnian would depart from Manchester City due to lack of minutes on pitch. His agent went as far as saying , “If things remain the same, Edin would have no other option”. Top teams like AC Milan, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Juventus were keen on signing the Bosnian. With no offer transforming into a move, Edin stayed at Etihad Stadium.

But the saga was far from over. After the window closed, Mancini said that he was would listen to offers for Edin Dzeko. No one has a clue to what happened later. After the Premier league triumph, Edin went on public to express his desire to be a citizen lifetime. He said that he was more than happy at Manchester City, but desired more playing
minutes.

Pre-season

Edin Dzeko made a single pre-season appearance because of being absent in most of the games dues to involvement with the national team. In the game he played against Limerick, he scored a brace. It was nice to see Santa Cruz and Dzeko upfront and formed a descent looking pair as City thrashed the Irish team 4-1.

Too good for bench

Edin Dzeko is an already proven player. Most famously remembered for his single handed performances for Wolfsburg F.C. One thing which no player in Manchester City could do was score goals at the the most difficult times. His never-say-die attitude distinguishes him from other City strikers and makes him Manchester City’s unsung hero. I would never agree with anyone who says Dzeko is Manchester City’s fourth choice striker. Mancini has given him more starts as compared to Tevez and Balotelli. Dzeko has played 45 games for Manchester City and scored 16 goals so far. He is very aptly described as a player with a lot of strengths but no significant weakness. As far we know Edin, he will fight for the a place which he deserves, he will traverse the obstacles and would re emerge as Manchester City’s best player .

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/08/10/edin-dzeko-isnt-he-too-good-for-the-bench-past-present-and-future-at-city/feed/ 0 05534 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/07/17/is-city-a-better-team-than-united/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/07/17/is-city-a-better-team-than-united/#comments Tue, 17 Jul 2012 07:48:45 +0000 Sushant Sharma http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=481791

For years, Manchester City has remained under the shadows of United. It was only since the takeover by Sheikh Mansour that city was sparked with a new life and went through a complete revolution. Manchester City won their first premier league title las season and FA cup the year before.

There shouldn’t be any comparison between the history of United and City. Unquestionably, United is far ahead of City in that aspect. City has won only 3 top flight titles and United has 19. Manchester United is the most successful team in the Premier League while Manchester City’s success has just started. In fact, a few seasons ago, Manchester City was fighting to stay in the top flight. The scenario has completely changed today and City has undergone a complete change. From defence to attack, from left wing to right wing, from coach to assistant and from sponsor to the away kit colours, City today is a completely new team, all prepared for a revolution and become the main team at Manchester.

Last season, Manchester City were a far better team than United. They defeated them twice in the league at an astonishing aggregate of 7-1, which included a humiliating 6-1 defeat for the Reds at the Theatre of Dreams which became a theatre of abominable lull for United fans that day! Let us see how the transition took place, how City became a menace for United and why today City is a better team than United.

Manchester United

Defence

They have a strong, secure and robust defence. Carlos Tevez, even though he shares cold vibes with Alex Ferguson, didn’t take a second thought to say that Vidic was the best centre back he played against. Maybe the injury to the Serbian could have been the reason why United surrendered an eight point lead. Also, the likes of Patrice Evra and Phil Jones promised a lot but could not deliver.

My Rating : 3.5 out 0f 5

Midfield

The midfield lacks creativity. Top teams ought to have creative players. For example, Chelsea have Juan Mata, City have David Silva, Bayern Munich have Frank Ribery and Robben, Real Madrid have Ronaldo, while United have none. They lack in creative players who can take on the defender and bridge the gap between defence and attack with their vision. The signing of Shinji Kangawa is a good sign that the club are addressing the issue. Darren Fletcher, Paul scholes, Michael carrick and Anderson are all good midfielders, but there isn’t a good play maker in any one of them.

My Rating : 2.5 out 0f 5

Attack

Wayne Rooney, as we know, is amongst the best strikers in the world and showed that still he is at the top in the previous season. Though they have an outstanding striker, there isn’t any supporting striker who fired last season. Maybe Alex Ferguson’s team selection has to be criticized for this situation. Berbatov, previous season’s top goal scorer, was on the bench throughout the season and the likes of Chicharito and Ashley Young were hugely inconsistent.

My Rating : 3 out 0f 5

MANCHESTER CITY

Defence

Manchester City have a tenacious defence and are surely more organised than United. Players at City are well aware of their roles. Vincent Kompany rarely commits an error, Lescott is equally excellent. On the left wing, City have Gael Clichy who now is preferred more than his United team mate Evra for France – a clear sign that he is better than Evra. Micah Richard/Zabaleta at the right wing complete the perfect recipe. Kolarov and Kolo Toure can also come in and do a good job.

My Rating : 4 out 0f 5

Midfield

Yaya toure, David Silva, Gareth Barry, Samir Nasri and James Milner combine to make a complete package. Yaya Toure and Gareth Barry at defensive midfield position while Nasri and Silva at the attacking midfield position give a prefect mix and quality in the midfield.

My Rating : 3.5 out 0f 5

Attack

City has a star studded, glamorous and tantalizing attack. Aguero was one of the most important player in success for the team. Tevez became equally important since his return, Dzeko had been deadly at the start of the season and at the end while Balotelli had became the newest star in the city attack. They have so many options in the attack that any combination they try would be equally good.

My Rating: 5 out 0f 5

In my opinion, the time had come for RVP to liberate himself from the shadows of an under performing team. Already 28 years old and amongst the world’s best striker and undoubtedly the second best left footed player (behind Messi) it was high time that player needed to win trophies before he goes past his sublime best.

Let us look at the reasons that why I am of that opinion – :

1. Dearth of trophies at the Emirates

Arsenal haven’t won a trophy since they moved into emirates

The lack of trophies with the gunners since RVP joined is miserably pathetic as they have managed to win just the 2005 F.A cup. Since then, they have gone to the UEFA champions league final and two carling cup finals, facing defeats in every one of them. The scarcity of trophies with Arsenal is perhaps the most significant reason why their star refused a contract extension. Every player of Robin’s calibre will have a strong appetite in winning trophies. Since that was evidently not going to happen at the Emirates, Van persie didn’t sign the contract extension.

2. Fresh motivation, new blood

Personally asking RVP has achieved everything he could in an Arsenal Jersey, especially in the last season wherein he was superlative and scored 38 goals for the team. There comes a period when player has done everything and needs a new motivation – a new mission. Van Persie has reached at that stage and perhaps the right time for the Dutchman has come to find new oppertuninities which are catalyst for fresh ignition and impart new blood within the Dutchman.

3. Best time for fame and money 

Even if he leaves Arsenal, the two will be remembered for their excellent professional relationship

If Robin Van Persie has to enter the books of legends, fame and money will be a big catalyst for that. When we look at the list of Premier league’s highest paid players, RvP doesn’t even feature in the top 10. How unfortunate! It is sad to see Europe’s best striker paid a miserably low salary. Arsenal can surely not afford the wages that RvP actually deserves.

4. Better footballer when compared with other Arsenal players

Unparalleled, isn’t he? By far, the Dutchman is the finest player at the Emirates with the highest transfer value. Arsenal, when compared with RvP’s glorious footballing career so farm is a team of kids. Theo Walcott rightly quoted in his autobiography, Growing up fast – “For me, Robin is the best player in Arsenal, he is perfect for the role of captain and is better than all of us. Sometimes when I see him in practice, I feel 15 years younger”.

1. David Beckham in England

David Beckham with the Olympic torch !

Though he might have been not picked in the football squad of Great Britain for Olympics, he was the ambassador who brought the games to England. His name speaks for itself in England – David Beckham.

Though he’s way past his sublime best, David Beckham still is the richest footballer. He is positioned as the 7th richest sportsperson by Forbes, Cristiano Ronaldo (9th) and Messi (11th). Besides that the personal wealth of Victoria and DB is to be believed in the range of 129 million pounds. David Beckham kicked off the Olympic torch relay as well. He is believed to be a very influential figure in the  London Organising Committee (LOCOG) and his omission from the GB side wasn’t taken in a positive way. Result – three days later he was named in the stand-by list.

2. Bhaichung Bhutia in India

Bayern Munich was called upon from Germany to play in his farewell game where every player on the field wore a No.15 jersey. An extremely influential person who hails from the North – Eastern part of the largest democracy in the world, Bhaichung Bhutia, recently kicked off Tibet’s elite footballing competition - Gyalyum Chemo Memorial Gold Cup.

India vs. Bayern Munich F.C

His abnegation to carry the Olympic torch as a protest to boycott the games caused a stir in the country and outside. Bhutia, widely regarded as the greatest footballer from India, has actively participated and played in the various charity fund raisers alongside the greatest footballers like Zidane, Ronaldo and Andriy Schevchenko. Bhutia was the first footballer to raise his voice against the Tibet issue and had often gone public to emphasize his benevolence towards the issue.

3. Dider Drogba in Cote de Ivory 

Drogba: King of Ivory Coast

The greatest philanthropists of his generations, also heads the largest charitable institute in Cote de Ivory – The Dider Drogba Foundation, formed in 2007. The Telegraph once very aptly quoted that Drogba holds more power than the President of Cote De Ivory.

Drogbakro Village, a suburb of Ivory Coast’s biggest city has been named by its inhabitants to honour their country’s most celebrated export. Forbes had placed Drogba third on the list of the most powerful people in Africa, ahead of popular singer Akon. Drogba is also the captain of his national team and he is known to be a silent leader who leads in an exemplary style.

4. Edin Dzeko in Bosnia and Herzegovania

In a country where football is rising at a rapid rate, Dzeko is called the Bosnian Diamond. Edin Dzeko rapidly came through the ranks and is now regarded amongst Europe’s best centre forwards. Recently, Dzeko was handed over the award for best footballer in Bosnia, despite making only a handful appearances for his country.

Dzeko arrives at an UNICEF event .

Dzeko is also amongst the only three UNICEF ambassadors who actively promotes education amongst the poor in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Edin Dzeko is today the second highest paid striker in the Premier League and is one of the 10 richest people in Bosnia.

5. Lionel Messi in Argentina

Only footballer to be listed by the Times in the list of their 100 most influential persons alive. Messi is regarded as the best living footballer and perhaps the best ever born. Popularly known to be a footballer with avant-garde dribbling and sprinting abilities, he won the 2009 Ballon dór award and FIFA Player of the Year award, 2010 and 2011 winner of the FIFA Ballon Dór and the 2010-11 award for the UEFA Best Player in Europe. .

Messi surrounded by fans

Sportspro rated him as the third most marketable sports person. Messi has a net worth of 100 million dollars and is the third richest footballer behind David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi also is an active charity raiser. The Leo Messi Foundation has offered Argentine children diagnosed with illnesses treatment in Spain and funds covering the transport, hospital and recuperation costs. Messi, alongside Fernando Torres, was used as the face for Pro evolution soccer 2008.

A few more you can’t forget :

1. Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal.

2. Landon Donavan in USA.

3. John Terry in England.

Before the start of European championships, Samaras from Greece was considered to be the biggest threat for every opposition. He is known to be a complete striker with a tall figure but unfortunately the Greek hero failed to showcase the same talent in Poland-Ukraine. Undoubtedly, he tops in the list of the 5 players who were expected to fire at Euro 2012, but couldn’t .

Samaras left Manchester city in 2008 and opportunity was delightful taken by the Scottish powerhouse – Celtic F.C, the current club of Samaras. He has so far made 111 appearences for Celtics and has been instrumental in their success as well. He has been regular at international level as well and has gone to make 58 appearances. Samaras is also known to be a very good dribller with fast feet movements who can convincingly get pass the defenders. Sadly, he failed to show any of those things at the european championships.

2. Helder Postiga – Portugal

Since years the former Porto star remained under the shadows of the former Portuguese captain Nuno Gomes, who was usually preferred in the striker’s position. Postiga, seldom wasted the few chances which he got for the national team. His goal at the Euro 2004 qualifiers ensured that his team went through after defeating England in the penalty shootouts. After Nuno Gomes decided to call it a day, Paulo Bento preferred Helder Postiga over Olivera and Almeida.

Postiga’s goal agaisnt Bosnia and Herzegovania ensured that you got to see Portugal at Euro 2012. Postiga is known to be a centre forward who can score goals at the time when everyone fails. Postiga has so far scored 98 goals for both club and country, but he failed to convert the chances he got at Euro 2012 and under performed from his usual standards.

Christian Eriksen plays his club football for Ajax. In 2011 he was named both the Danish young player of the year and Danish player of the year, first player in Denmark’s history to do so. Only aged 20 years, Eriksen went into the tournament among the most influential player in the team. It was believed that Eriksen would make to the fullest of the opportunity and give his cent percent so that bigger clubs could grasp him. Unfortunately, Eriksen didn’t do anything impressive in the tournament. The Danish limelight was stolen by Bendtner and Michael Kroh-Dehli. It was like you didn’t see anything of Eriksen.

Erriksen has played 26 games for Denmark and has also netted twice, it would be a big gamble if any big club bids for Eriksen. Christian Erriksen surely under performed in the tournament and was below – par.

4. Robin Van Persie – Netherlands

PFA Player of the year, premier leagues top scorer and Arsenal player of the year went into the tournament as the best player in Europe. Van Persie kept out the bundesliga top scorer Klas Jan Huntellar, the pressure of keeping an excellent player warming on bench was too high for him and had an awful goal besides a few excellent moments like the goal he scored against Germany.

Van Persie would have to again answer his critics and his drawbacks clearly caught eyeballs like his inefficiency with the right foot. I hope that Robin van persie comes back to his original shape – the one which he showcased with Arsenal previous season.

5. Yann M’vila – France

The Rennes holding midfielder played for France at every youth level before making an accomplished senior debut in Laurent Blanc’s first game in charge, a friendly defeat to Norway. He was a regular in qualifying, scoring once in eight appearances. Before the begining of the championships everyone expected M’villa to be a key player for France. With a lot of transfer rumours and insurmountable pressure, the French midfielder failed to show the glimpses of him.

Initially, M’vila missed the first game against England which meant that Diarra got a chance ahead of him, a chance which the industrious midfielder capitalized. The next game, M’vila was the part of the team that tore away the hosts Ukraine but we hardly saw any of them. Watching him in the European championship, he seemed to be an over rated player, we wish him luck for future and very best wishes to prove us wrong.

DONETSK, UKRAINE – JUNE 27: Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal evades the challenge of Alvaro Negredo of Spain during the UEFA EURO 2012 semi final match between Portugal and Spain at Donbass Arena on June 27, 2012 in Donetsk, Ukraine. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Though Spain are through to the finals by winning on penalties, the man who picked the squad has some burning questions to answer. I am pretty sure there are lot of fans, who would have needed a secondary source to find out who Alvero Negredo is.

Q-1. Who is Alvero Negredo ?

A-1. Alvero Negredo is a striker who currently plays for Sevilla, he has played 103 games for the club. He usually plays as the second striker before Luis Fabiano left for Brazil. Negredo hasn’t played many games for Spain, though aged 26 years he has only managed to score six goals in 12 games for his country. Negredo, started playing his football for Real Madrid B, his impressive performances were noticed  but, the Spaniard was unable to break into the first team and played just a single game before he was sold UD Almeria.

Q-2. Why did Negredo start if the race was between Torres and Fabregas ?

A-2. Negredo was a controversial inclusion in the Spanish side. It was believed that the in-form Roberto Soldado will make it through to Poland-Ukraine. Let us compare the two strikers, Soldado scored 27 goals this season, while Negredo could only manage 14 goals. Almost double, maybe what Del bosque required was a back up for David Silva or Iniesta, but there isn’t any point in selecting Negredo when you have chelsea player of the year – Juan Mata sitting on the bench and Pedro Rodriguez of Barcelona.

Q-3. Who should have started the game ? (Author’s view)

A-3.

1. Fernando Torres

I thought Spain needed a complete striker to start the game, I want to openly ask Del Bosque what does he actually want from Fernando Torres, the Spanish forward has finally started to comeback to his original shape, he is doing whatever a worlds best forward can do. It is quite evident that Torres’s form is on the rise, and if he is dropped again and again it will become more frustrating for him.

2. Fernando Llorente

If you really had to gamble, then why not Fernando Llorente ? The Athletic forward has possibly done everything to convince Del Bosque, but unfortunately had only 20 international appearances, making his debut in 2008. Llorente is known to be a completer striker with inch perfect finishing and strong with the aerial balls, in a nutshell Fernando Llorente completely suits the Spanish game, which is based on converting chances which you get them.

Santa Cruz worked with the former Manchester United player at Blackburn Rovers as well. Both of them suit each other, and Hughes has often gone public to express his desire for the Paraguayan’s services. Santa Cruz played more then 30 games for Betis this season and was instrumental in ensuring that they didn’t get relegated. It is believed that Hughes will face competition with Betis and Fulham for whom Manchester United could also join in the race.

Kolo Toure, the former city captain is frustrated due to minimal chances. The Ivorian hasn’t played much since returning from his ban last September. Kolo Toure could reunite with the former City manager, who made him the captain of Manchester City. Kolo Toure could also be handed the armband with an immediate effect because Joey Barton recently claimed that he doesn’t deserve to be the captain of QPR.

Wayne Bridge left Chelsea when his career was on a high after a dispute with Chelsea captain John Terry. Bridge usually operates as a left back and is third choice after Gael Clichy and Kolarov. Manchester City are likely to offload him.

It is assumed that the three player would be available at a combined sum of 37 million.

Edin Dzeko at the press conference after receiving the award.

Edin Dzeko was named as the player of the year ahead of his Roma team mate Pjanic and Stoke city goalkeeper Asmir Begovic. Edin Dzeko who had a good season with Manchester City, is currently relaxing at his hometown – Sarajevo.

“This is great honour for me, to win this award for third time in a row, with the competition like this,” Dzeko told SportSport.

“I’m very satisfied with the season that is now behind us, even though I haven’t played that much in second part of the season. At the end we won the title and that is the most important thing.

“I hope that we can defend the title this season too, but it will be very interesting. I guess Manchester United will be the strongest competition once again, and I would say that Chelsea will be boosted with Champions league trophy.”