Sportsnob – Critics Corner

Juande Ramos was finally put out of his misery last night as Tottenham showed him the door after he had overseen the worst start to a season in the club’s history. Much like his predecessor, Martin Jol, Ramos lost the plot early on in the season, with Spurs having garnered just two points from their opening 8 fixtures. Once the team got into a rut, it seemed unlikely that anything other than a change up top would get them out of it – an event which has seen Harry Redknapp being brought in to take over.

Will Spurs survive?

Daniel Levy probably made the smartest move of his Tottenham career (which is not saying much) by sacking Ramos and getting in Redknapp. Spurs were going nowhere, and despite the temptation to give Ramos a few more matches for it to turn around it looked like Ramos had completely lost the plot. The players were not motivated, they were running around on most days like headless chickens and worse there was a lack of leadership on and off the field. Under Redknapp, Spurs will atleast stem the obvious decline, I still think that they are too good to go down but then Football has a way of making a mockery of most predictions.

 Where will Ramos end up? 

  Chances are that Ramos might be Atletico Madrid in Spain by next season. Funnily enough, there are a lot of similarities between Atletico and Tottenham. Both have always been unable to live up to the huge expectations of their fans, both seem incapable of addressing all their flaws during the transfer windows and both flatter to deceive more often than not. But for Ramos to go from managing Darren Bent to Kun Aguero in quick succession with five million extra in his pocket would be a nice little deal for him.  

What continues to amaze me about this Indian test cricket team is how unprepared some of the senior players go into every test series. I don’t think any of the top six got much action going into the Bangalore test and it showed. The Australian team on the other hand had two tough matches in Jaipur and Hyderabad to get used to the conditions. Rewind, one year to the Melbourne Test in Australia and the same thing hapened! – the Indian team went into a big test series in alien conditions with one practice game and promptly got hammered. Yes, some of these men played the Irani Trophy but one four day match does not practice make! Plus, Ganguly and Tendulkar didn’t get any match practice!  

2008 has been a remaskable year for the sport of Tennis. There has been no shortage of drama right from retirements to memorable finals to new grand slam winners. Just in case the tennis fans weren’t satisfied, this was also the year of the Olympic Games where Tennis found a new lease of life thanks to the presence of leading players. 

Henin’s Retirement:

No one saw this coming. The 7-time slam Champion called it quits days after her loss to Dinara Safina at the German open.Henin’s retirement which came two weeks before the French Open reminded tennis fans of the retirement of her compatriot Kim Clijsters not too long ago. Henin’s reason that she had given her everything to the game and now needed to  focus on life outside tennis made sense considering all the personal trauma she had been through. Henin had absolutely no regrets in her mind- including not winning Wimbledon-  (Henin lost in the final twice to Venus Williams (01) and Amelie Mauresmo (06). Post Henin’s retirement, the WTA tour had no clear number one. Also, tennis was deprived of its most beautiful shot (as McEnroe put it) – the Henin single-handed backhand

Nadal’s Ascent to Number 1 and that final: 

In January 2008, things did not look too great for Nadal. Novak Djokovic was closing the gap and the young Serb went on to win the Australian Open and Nadal only managed the semi finals. While post the Australian Open he did have some consistent results he did not win a title till he moved to his preferred clay courts. He quickly accumulated titles at Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Hamburg and clinched his fourth French Open title with an ultra dominant performance. Post Roland Garros, the action shifted to London where Nadal won his first grass-court title, the Artois Championships and carried the momentum to Wimbledon where he beat the five-time defending champion Roger Federer in a five-set classic. The final which was in stark contrast to the one played at Roland Garros between the two few weeks earlier, was hailed as the greatest tennis match ever played. Following that incredible match, Nadal went on to add the Olympic singles title at Beijing making it an absolutely memorable year for him.  

The Roger Slump (!) and Resurgence:

How does reaching a semi final and two other slam finals equate to a slump? In general terms it may not, but when it comes to gauging Roger Federer it does. For the past four and a half years he has dominated the sport like no other player, thus redefining goals and benchmarks again and again. During that time, every other player on the tour was subjected to that standard and they invariably fell short. Only this year Roger found himself being constantly compared to the Roger of the past years and he found himself falling short.

The main reason for his losses can be summed up in one word- mononucleosis, a glandular fever that he was diagnosed with a fortnight after the Australian Open, but one which was affecting his system right from the beginning of the year. In retrospect, it was surprising that Federer could even manage to play, let alone walk onto the court. He lost in the Australian Open semis to the eventual winner Novak Djokovic and then failed to win a title till the clay-court season began. During that lean phase he had loses to Andy Murray in his opening match at Dubai, Mardy Fish at Indian Wells and Andy Roddick at Miami. Federer still was suffering from the effects of the illness and the lack of match practice did not help. He went on to win his first title of 2008 at the Estoril Open on clay, beating Nikolai Davydenko in the final.After not winning any other title on the surface, Roger moved to his favourite surface- grass. He won the pre-Wimbledon warm-up at Halle without dropping a set or his serve.After the loss at Wimbledon to Nadal in the final, Federer continued to struggle with early losses to Frenchman Gilles Simon and Ivo Karkovic at the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati Masters respectively.

Perhaps the biggest post-Wimbledon disappointment came in the form of the quarterfinal loss to American James Blake in the quarterfinals at the Beijing Olympics. Federer however recovered quicker than he was expected to and won the Olympic doubles gold medal with his counterpart Stanislas Wawrinka. This medal proved to be sufficient motivation for the Swiss Champion as he defended his US Open title successfully. Doing so, he became the first player to win two slams successively for five years. The victory at New York meant that Roger was just a slam short of equalling Pete Sampras’ record of 14 slams. 

The Serbian Rise Continues:

Serbia got its first singles grand slam champion in the form of Novak Djokovic at this year’s Australian Open. The young Serb cemented his status as one of the three best players in the world with this win and led to the coinage of the phrase Big Three of Tennis. What Novak might not have achieved till date, his countrywoman Ana Ivanovic managed to do: reach the number one position. She did so by winning the French Open by beating Russian Dinara Safina in the final. While Novak and Ana have had slam success this year, Jelena Jankovic proved to be the most consistent of them. Jelena, a strong contender for the year-end number one ranking,  reached the final of the US Open and has the most number of wins on the women’s tour this year.The Ways of the Williams sisters:

Not playing day-in day-out and playing only when they really felt and ready seems to be the secret of the Williams sisters’ success at the slams. While Venus clinched the Wimbledon title (beating Serena in the final) without dropping a set, Serena did the same at the US Open and took over the number one ranking for the first time since 2003. The sisters also tasted success in doubles winning the title at Wimbledon and also the Olympic gold medal in Beijing. 

The time has come again when the two most entertaining nations clash for what could be a turning point in contemporary Test Match Cricket. The much-anticipated Test series between India and Australia gets underway in Bangalore on Thursday. A number of players on the Indian side are heading towards retirement and this is a brilliant opportunity for these cricketers to bow out on a high.  Beating Australia in a test series irrespective of the location is something not many cricketers have experienced. For India this is the last series where the fab four will be playing together and it will be interesting to see if they can come good and guide India to a comprehensive test series victory. It has been over 10 years since a country has beaten Australia comprehensively in Test Cricket.

For a change, after a decade India has been tipped to be the favourites for the test series. With the Australians relatively inexperienced to the sub-continent conditions it throws open a big opportunity for India to repeat the performance of 2001. 6 players who took part in that great series are still present whereas there are only 2 from the Australian side.

India’s Chances

Despite the old age, the batting strength and the experience is with India. Gambhir and Sehwag have been in good form recently. Although there is some pressure on Rahul Dravid; he is due some runs and there is no better time to get them. Sachin Tendulkar is 77 runs behind Lara’s world record of scoring the maximum number of Runs in Test Cricket. Sachin will have a special place for himself in Test Cricket and the whole country is waiting to witness this moment. Very Very Special Laxman who has been the main nemesis for Australia over the years will try to continue to haunt his favourite opponents. He has always been behind the shadows of the Sachin and Dravid but would like to his list of marquee performances against the Australians.The Batting is completed by Saurav Ganguly who would like to finish on a high and only time will answer this. As usual India’s arsenal is strengthened by the presence of the two spinning stalwarts who are yet again India’s main hope in a home series. Dhoni, Zaheer and Ishant complete the line up and all are potential threats to the Aussies. Overall a great squad and should do exceedingly well if they play to their potential. 

Australia’s Chances

Australia is definitely the weaker of the two teams and this is a true test of Australia’s reserve pool of players. The scene is perfect for the young cricketers to prove themselves. They have been in the country for over 2 weeks and they will look to up the tempo. Bangalore has never been favourable to India and this could is probably the best venue where the visitors could have started. The batting has plenty of class with the likes of Hayden, Ponting, Clarke and Hussey. They are the batting mainstay and it is very vital that two of these four players click every game if they want to compete.  With only 4 players ever playing a test in India the team needs collective performances if they are to pull off a series winSimon Katich has been in great nick and the team management will be looking to him to give the team good starts. Watson and White are multi-faceted players who can change the course of the match. None of the bowlers have ever played a Test in India and it is going to be a tough challenge for them to bowl under these conditions. Lee leads the pace attack and will be raring to get some wickets in the bag. The Australians are in transition mode and are looking to fill the gaps left by Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist. The following four tests will show the resilience of this great cricketing nation.

Predictions: 

I am guessing it will be a closely fought series which should end in a deadlock with the series score reading 1-1. My mind says India could clinch the series 2-1 but my heart says that the Australians will probably nick it 2-1

The summer of 1998 changed my life.

 Until that point in time, I was only vaguely acquainted with the beautiful game. I had watched bits and pieces of the 1994 World Cup, but with very little involvement, as I wasn’t familiar with any of the players or teams. The first time I watched football over a sustained period of time was two years later, during Euro ’96. The packed stadiums, the noisy fans and above all else, the heart-pounding, non-stop action (completely alien to someone who had grown up on cricket!) captured my young imagination.



At that time, the country’s leading sports magazine, ‘The Sportstar’, devoted a mere two pages, and sometimes not even that, to the world’s most popular sport. A column by Brian Glanville, or just a round up of the developments in the footballing world, usually restricted to England. Every week, as soon as I got my hands on the new issue, I would search out and feverishly devour those two pages, and then go on to spend the rest of the week thinking about what I’d read.



It was in one of those weekly doses of football news, at the beginning of the summer of ’98, that I read about how Arsenal, the challengers, under their sophisticated French manager Arsene Wenger (was the club named after him, I wondered, at the time) had dethroned the two time defending champions Manchester United, led by the ebullient Scot, Alex Ferguson and clinched the English Premier League title. I was a neutral then, and so this underdog victory thrilled me to bits. But I haven’t been a neutral ever since.



That was the singularity, the Big Bang, and after that, the football universe just exploded into life inside my head. ‘The Sportstar’ suddenly started running World Cup special issues to lead up to the footballing extravaganza that was to take place in France later that summer – The Holy Grail itself, the FIFA World Cup, dubbed France ‘98.After a few weeks of committed reading, I knew everything there was to know about the tournament – the teams, the managers, the superstars waiting to be crowned, the young turks looking to make an impression, the schedule, the venues, everything. I was ready for kick-off.



At the same time, a chewing gum company was running a World Cup related promotion, offering a free football card with every wad of a certain gum purchased. I spent a lot of time chewing gum that summer and soon, I had amassed 46 out of the 50 cards that were available for collection. On the front, there was the player’s image, and on the back, some information about him – his nationality, club, position, etc. I would gaze longingly at the images and then flip over the cards to read the names of the great clubs these superstars played for – Inter Milan, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Ajax – legendary names, with magnificent histories behind them.



Though I can’t find any of those cards now, the images printed on them will forever be embossed on my brain – Ronaldo was muscling his way through some hapless defence, Shearer had just given the ball a frightful thwack, Zidane was snarling away at some unfortunate soul and Schmeichel was screaming instructions at his defenders, his face contorted with rage. I was completely obsessed, staring at the cards for hours, weaving wondrous stories around these static but immortal images. However, even in the set, I had a few cards that I liked more than the others, and one in particular that I treasured over the rest of them. It featured a slightly built, blond Dutchman wearing a red and white shirt that said JVC on it. His name was Dennis Bergkamp.

The moment I flipped the Bergkamp card over, and found out that the club he played for was Arsenal; I think that’s when the real connection took place. I don’t quite remember whether I liked him because of the club or if my love for the club grew because of him, but either way, supporting any other club was absolutely out of the question now. France ‘98 finally kicked off, and I was overjoyed when the players I’d been seeing on cards all summer, suddenly appeared on my TV screen in the flesh, running around and kicking the ball. It was a thrill like nothing I’d ever felt before. Though all of the players excited me, the one player I looked forward to watching the most was the one on my favourite card – the peerless Bergkamp.My admiration for the icy-cool assassin in orange rose to astronomical levels as the tournament progressed. His skill, elegance and intelligence captivated me, and in the dying minutes of the quarterfinal against Argentina, when he scored THAT goal, controlling the ball with ease, taking it inside Ayala and slotting it past Roa, I was up on my feet, clapping and screaming. For a player, to do that was difficult enough, but to do it at that crucial moment, at the business end of a knockout game in the world’s biggest tournament, that is the stuff schoolboy dreams are made of. And I was celebrating not only for the Netherlands that day, but also for Arsenal the following season. “We’ve Got Dennis Bergkamp, We’ve Got Dennis Bergkamp,” the Arsenal faithful would chant, for 11 glorious years.

For the Netherlands, he may have been Dennis Bergkamp, but for Arsenal, he was simply DB10. Blessed with quick feet, supernatural vision and exquisite technique, DB10 was Arsene Wenger’s template for the Arsenal teams he has built over the years. There was nothing he could not do on the football pitch – the little dinks, the eye-of-the-needle Hollywood passes, the curlers, the rockets, the tap-ins and the UNDESCRIBABLY BRILLIANT. And of course, as far as I was concerned, DB10 was the very foundation of my relationship with Arsenal. So it was that much more emotional for me when it was announced that the 2005-06 season would be his last, that he would be retiring from the game at the end of it. I just couldn’t believe that DB10 would be no more.In mid-2006, he finally packed his bags and left for home, to enjoy the pleasures of retirement, bringing to an end one of the most glorious chapters in Arsenal’s history, not just in terms of trophies won but also in terms of the football that was played. He may be gone now, never again to wear the famous red and white, but one thing is for certain. For Arsenal fans the world over, especially this one in Chennai, DB10 will live forever.

Sourav Ganguly has called finally called time on an incredible career that stretched over 15 years. But before he finally hangs up his boots he will play 4 test matches against Australia (at least two anyway). I know there has been a lot of debate over the past two years on whether Ganguly deserved his place in the team. And with all things connected with Indian cricket, this debate has seen its fair share of passion and emotions. But right now let us just hope that Ganguly can end a great career by doing well against the Australians. He deserves a farewell similar to what the Australians gave Steve Waugh.

He is going to be all fired up and I just hope that manages to put together some runs so that he gets to play the final test in Nagpur on merit rather than on sentiment. This is the first step in the dismantling on what is most probably the most celebrated batting middle order in cricketing history. Ganguly the batsman may not have contributed as much to that middle order as the likes of Tendulkar or Dravid or maybe even Laxman; but what Ganguly the captain did was to create an environment where these men could thrive. Its also easy to forget that it was under Ganguly that men like Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan and most importantly MS Dhoni took their first steps in international cricket. As Sanjay Manjrekar rightly put it- he gave India belief, and his cricket team perfectly epitomized the coming of age of India both as a nation and as a cricketing superpower. Ganguly also gave Indian fans some of our best moments-  be it the incredible run to the 2003 World Cup final or the victories in Pakistan or best of all that incredible series in Australia in 2004. Amidst all this talk of his form, of his battle with Guru Greg Chappell, its easy to forget just how successful he made the Indian team- we hardly won away from India before him. 

In the end, it will be great if Ganguly goes out the same way he came in way back in 1996- with a bang.