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With 5 successful IPL tournaments finished and nearly half of the 6th season done, now we know which franchises are stronger than others, which one plays the worst, which franchise has lots of money but plays badly and also which franchise is always rated as underdogs inspite of its good performances. Now with such “tags” already attached, it is quite possible to find similarities between the IPL teams and our favourite club football teams. Here is my comparison on some of the IPL teams with similar European club football teams.
1. Chennai Super Kings – Barcelona F C: The most successful IPL team is quite similar to one of the most successful football teams in recent times, Barcelona FC. Both of their playing styles depend upon text book-technique. While CSK rely heavily on their fielding and some quality batting for their success, FCB relies on “tiki-taka”, or rather just keeping possession. Also, both teams are always accused of match fixing, thanks to their unbelievable success.
2. Mumbai Indians – Real Madrid FC: Both are rich, both have some of the greatest players on the planet, and both are always lagging behind the above mentioned teams. The comparisons between MI and RMFC are unavoidable. While the El Clasicos are always cherished by football fans, Mumbai Indians-CSK matches always produce unmatchable excitement and fan-viewership in IPL. Also, both these teams have one of the highest fan followings in their respective sports.
3. Rajasthan Royals – Arsenal FC : They develop players, they sell players, and even with an inexperienced, young team, they manage to perform well. Rajasthan Royals is a perfect replica of Arsenal FC as far as cricket is concerned. Both these teams have inspirational coaches. Also, many of their key players have left the team in search of a trophy, which has eluded both these teams for quite some years.
4. Kolkata Knight Riders – Manchester City FC: Some things cannot be bought, for everything else, there is money. The revised version of a famous credit card company’s tagline is apt for these two teams – KKR and Man City. Both these teams were once bad performers. But thanks to some heavy spending on some good players by their team owners, now they have begun to taste some success. Coincidently, these teams won the respective leagues last season (2011-2012).
5. Sunrisers Hyderabad/Deccan Chargers – Liverpool: Once upon a time, both were league-winners, and since then their performances have been pathetic. Liverpool and SRH are teams who try really hard to repeat the performances which once used to bring trophies, but end up failing short by a large margin.
6. Royal Challengers Bangalore – Tottenham Hotspur: RCB: Gayle = Tottenham: Bale. This comparison is enough to prove my point. Once a modest team, now they are a force to reckon with, thanks to the one player who can change the complexion of the game for the respective teams. While Gareth Bale has been one strong pillar in Tottenham’s success this year, RCB owes its good finishes in the league to Chris Gayle.
