Spasibo, Russia: World Cup merge sports with history

MOSCOW: Red Square is steeped in history, but these days it has become the centre of the world, at least, for the FIFA World Cup.

The street, which had witnessed a plethora of activities during the WWII, is now dotted with shops, sidewalk cafes and hotels.

Just opposite the Kremlin, you’ll come across some finest brand stores and even an ice-cream parlour.

The Fan Zone, which has been put up on the middle of the street, remains the point of attraction for the kids and young fans, but the older generation prefer a sombre walk towards Vladimir Lenin’s mausoleum or gaze at some of the statues.

The tournament, in fact, has helped merge sports with history. But if one has some interest in Russia’s role in the WWII, then find some cozy space on the street and rewind the clock back to the biting cold in 1941 when Joseph Stalin delivered his famous speech to the erstwhile Soviet army just before they left for the war on November 7.

Fans from every nook and corner of the world converge here on every afternoon to exchange pleasantries, hug each and sing ‘ole ole.’

The competition has united the world, which nowadays often involves into heated arguments and engage in proxy wars.

So, it’s great to see a Mexican fan hug two beautiful Russian ladies right across the majestic Kremlin or Tunisians pose for a memorable picture with their Spanish counterparts under the monument of Georgy Zhukov -- Russia and erstwhile Soviet Union’s most decorated general, who played a key role in the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Close to the city’s iconic Saint Basil’s Cathedral, a German veteran was engaged in ball-control skills with his grandchildren. In fact, he too wanted to be a part of this beautiful moment.

So were the two Spanish young girls, who cooled themselves on a sunny afternoon with ice-cream cones while marvelled the Kremlin’s red wall.

The tournament is significant in many ways as the FIFA competition has brought the entire world to a place, which can claim the best advert for peace. (www.footballwallah.blogspot.com)

England’s ‘Summer of 66’ and a thought...

MOSCOW: Englishmen born in the 70s must have watched Geoff Hurst’s celebration video clips perhaps more than the Hollywood classic The Godfather.

The English striker’s controversial goal against West Germany in the 1966 FIFA World Cup final at Wembley still gives them kick, but sadly doesn’t inspire their footballers anymore to emulate their team's only World Cup triumph.

England’s 1966 World Cup victory is just a piece of memory which the Englishmen flip through the pages after every four years, and they still hope their football teams will emulate Bobby Moore and company.

But those who understand the game and have followed English football post 70, would agree the ‘Summer of 66’ was a ‘fluke’ as all their past teams had struggled at the successive World Cups.

Even the Indians, who are so much influenced by ‘Made in England’, have never been a die-hard fan of their past colonial masters, who had taught them football.

Not just the Indians, everybody who even possess the slightest knowledge on their sport had never put their money on them at any of the quadrennial competition, not even when Gary Linekar and David Beckham played.

England remain a gross underachiever at the sport’s biggest stage -- like the South African cricket team.

Though Gareth Southgate’s young side showed promise against Tunisia last Monday, still there’s a long way to go in Russia.

Southgate adopted a modern formation with a three-man backline, quick-witted wingbacks and more flair in midfield. But the win against Tunisia was underlined by a set-piece model.

The Three Lions will have it easy against Panama unless there’s any shocker waiting for them.

However, the real test would be against Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard’s Belgium on June 28.

The entire world watches their league, but not their national team -- the likes of Kane, Lingard, Alli are good players, but definitely not the best.

Most coaches always felt that none of the clubs does enough grass root work as they would travel to Latin America or Africa to buy talent.

Can anyone give a count of their players in any of the European leagues? The likes of Beckham or Wayne Rooney travelled to the US post their prime, and MLS is one of the best competitions.

So, you’re left with the Kanes and Lingards who win accolades at home but the day English footballers leave their comfort zone and play in other parts of Europe, they will become better. www.khelupdates.com

Post 1986, Brazil’s football philosophy is in a confused state

MOSCOW: As the most popular football side in the world, Brazil always excite us.

Even the media admire them -- more than 200 newspaper journalists and 100 photographers are registered for tomorrow’s Brazil versus Switzerland game.

At the Rostov Arena, children have welcomed the Brazilians to the city, with their paintings spread around the city. Such is the love and affection that they’ve been enjoying since ages.

Everybody loves the Selecao, but off late Brazil doesn’t resemble the teams of 70s and 80s. The attacking flair, which won them millions of hearts across the globe, is now a thing of the past.

The team’s current style is not even a sequel of what Tele Santana had produced at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups and as school children, we were thrilled to watch Socrates-Zico-Elder-Falcao indulge their love of feints, tricks and back heels.

The free-flowing approach has been replaced by a more cautious one ever since their players started playing in the gruelling European leagues.

No wonder their football philosophy is in a confused state. Just like any Hollywood classics, those golden days of Samba can’t be re-created but, at least, Brazilian coaches can draw inspiration from Santana.

The drubbing against Germany at home four years back is still fresh in our mind. Yet, everybody expect them to bounce back in the World Cup and impress their fans with subtle skills added with searing pace.

“The work we have done elevates the expectations, but also brings us peace. I’m very happy about the level of performance we have showed so far. I hope we can now reproduce this under pressure,” said Brazil coach Tite on Saturday.

Sounds all fine, but as we’ve seen, Brazil is now a shadow of their own glorious past.

The team’s talismanic forward Neymar recently underwent a surgery and returned to action couple of days ago in a pre-tournament friendly.

The Paris-Saint Germain star also scored a goal, but still we aren’t convinced till he strikes the ball hard against the Swiss.

“Neymar is still not 100 per cent, but he is very privileged physically. The level he has displayed in his sprints in high velocity has been impressive. But still he has something to gain. It should happen sooner rather than later, hopefully,” added Tite.

Back in 2013, Switzerland won 1-0 in Basel. Only four Brazilian starters from that friendly match are here in Rostov: Thiago Silva, Marcelo, Paulinho and Neymar.

We’ll have to wait till tomorrow to see if Neymar unleashes his power to avenge their five-year-old defeat.

But, good luck Selecao! www.khelupdates.com

Why African teams couldn’t become a Croatia or Iceland

MOSCOW: There’s something about the African football teams. Hugely talented, but still remain success-starved at the sports biggest platform.

During an informal chat with Moustapha Hadji in Doha few years back, the Morocco legend and 1998 World Cup hero said that ‘it’s always difficult to handle a bundle of talents’.

Quite rightly so. When you’ve an entire team of excellent footballers, there’ll bound to have ego clashes in the locker room so much so that it becomes difficult for the coaches to handle each of them.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles has always been a fantastic squad since the days we’ve started watching Nwanku Kanu, Finidi George and others at the 1994 World Cup.

All five of Nigeria’s World Cup finals victories out of their 18 matches have been against European opposition.

The Super Eagles beat Bulgaria 3-0 and Greece 2-0 in 1994, Spain 3-2 and Bulgaria 1-0 in 1998, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 in 2014.

At this year’s edition, Nigeria has come with one of the youngest teams, with 18 players set to take part in a FIFA World Cup match for the first time.

Only skipper John Obi Mikel, Ahmed Musa, Victor Moses, Ogenyi Onazi and Kenneth Omeruo have previously played in the World Cup.

But one of the debutants, William Troost-Ekong, is relishing the chance for them to prove themselves on the world stage.

“Many of us will be playing at the World Cup for the first time, but this may work in our favour as we might surprise others. We will play without fear,” he said.

At the most, the Gernot Rohr-coached side will qualify to the next round, which they had in the last two editions. But Nigeria, like Senegal or Cameroon, have always failed to live up to our expectations.

The African players are the top exports to the world’s glamourous leagues. Even an average player earn good salary in the Middle-East, south-east and south Asian countries.
But their football setup is like any other third-world nations, where the growth is slow due to the faction rivalries, corruption and lack of professionalism. That may be some of the other reasons why they couldn’t become another Croatia or Iceland.

Africa is a relatively poor continent. There’s lack of facilities and kids do not get proper nutrition which can help in their development.

Moreover, they are not exposed to the High Performance Facilities though there are exceptions like Didier Drogba and Samuel Etoo but players like them are few in numbers who went to France early in their careers and made an impact.

In the end, all the good brains leave Africa due to wars, dictators and football is managed by people, who’re favoured by dictators and warlords. http://www.khelupdates.com

Not a happy Eid for the Saudis

MOSCOW: Around the time Russia humiliated Saudi Arabia in the opening match on Thursday evening, fans back home sighted the moon on the 29th day of the holy Ramadan month.

The new moon ended the rigorous fasting month with a new hope and beginning, but the Saudis may have spent a sleepless night following their 5-0 drubbing by the hosts at the Luzinhki Stadium.

The Green Falcons, like most other Arab teams, are mere pushovers at the football’s grand stage. Nobody expected a big win for the Saudis. A draw would’ve been a fare result for the country, where football is yet to be a part of culture.

Saudis may be the most passionate football-lovers, but it’s mostly confined to their domestic competitions where one can expect a fierce rivalry between their top clubs – Al Ahli and Al Hilal.

The league was professionalised only very recently, with their players being paid huge chunks of riyals as their wages. It’s not that they lack quality players, but they don’t move out of their plush lifestyles in Riyadh or Jeddah.

Players from South Korea, Iran and Japan ply their trade in the European leagues. But we’ve never heard of a Saudi footballer joined any lower-ranked English or Spanish clubs.

One of their legends and star in their maiden World Cup campaign in 1994, Sami Al Jaber was once loaned to Wolverhampton.

Had more players joined some European leagues, the motivation would’ve been boosted and skills polished under the experienced European coaches.

The Arabs, in fact, the Saudis, need to change their mentality. Don’t just flaunt top European brands, but do try and play the sport with or against the best teams and players.  

And, there is a piece of advice for their country’s football federation -- shed that arrogance and intolerance.

Sacking coaches is something that most Middle-East nations love to do, but Saudi Arabia is more ruthless than others.

On a football field, you’re a worker. It doesn’t matter which car you drive – Land Cruiser or Range Rover – the coach is your boss.

Give him time and respect his work. But the logic doesn’t work in the Arab world, more precisely in the region’s largest country.

Dutchman Bert van Marwijk led them through the most recent qualification campaign. He stepped down after negotiations failed on a new contract. His successor Edgardo Bauza was also fired just two months in the job after in November after unimpressive performances in five friendlies.

The Argentine was replaced by Juan Antonio Pizzi, who has led his own country to the 2016 Copa America final but it won’t be a surprise if the Chilean board the next flight to Santiago during the tournament.

The defeat has hurt Saudis’ pride badly while their infamous arrogance was cut into pieces on a football pitch.

It was a lesson that they learn quickly – money won’t buy you everything.

Well done, Chhetri!

This was the time when ISL was beyond anybody’s imagination, social media was non-existent and National Football League (NFL) was struggling to maintain with its charm. It was during that era, almost 15 years ago, when I saw a diminutive Sunil Chhetri in join Mohun Bagan jersey.

“Who is this Chhetri,” I asked one of my fellow writer during a NFL match at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

My obvious curiosity was not because he came from my second home, but due to the fact that he wasted at least a dozen of gilt-edged chances on that muggy afternoon.

Chhetri, then a 19-year-old, scored just eight goals in three seasons at Bagan, which finished in the bottom half of the league table.

For a young footballer, Calcutta seemed to be the right choice as Delhi teams, where he played for City Club, don’t even get outstation invitations.

Calcutta wasn’t an unknown city for the Delhi boy, who had his schooling at the Fort William where his father was employed with the Indian Army’s Eastern Command.

It was difficult to ignore the temptation of playing in Calcutta, where he returned as a young footballer. But it was a difficult start as he had failed to soak the pressure of playing in front of vociferous Bagan fans.

The Delhi youngster, perhaps, succumbed to the pressure. And, after a not-so-impressive stint at Bagan, he packed off his bag to JCT Phagwara, which I felt was the turning point in his career.

Three years later when I met him at Ludhiana in January, 2007, Chhetri was a completely different player. He exuded confidence in his words and in the 18-yard-box.

From 2005 to 2007, Chhetri scored 20 goals including 12 goals in a single season when JCT finished second in the I-League and he earned the “Player of the Year” award.

The real grinding was done at Phagwara, where he played with and against the sturdy and taller Punjabi footballers.

It was an amazing transformation for someone, who had shaky start in Calcutta.

At Phagwara, he trained hard under Sukhwinder Singh as there were no other distractions in the industrial town apart from driving down to Delhi home in the weekends.

Playing alongside Baichung Bhutia in the national team was the second most important thing that boosted his career. Before settling for Chhetri, former India coach Bob Houghton had even tried Sushil Singh and Abhisek Yadav but none could match Chhetri’s consistency.

At the two Nehru Cups in Delhi, he was in blistering form followed by the AFC Challenge Cup which paved the way for the Indian side to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup here. Chhetri was the only shining star, who scored two in India’s three goals in an otherwise failed campaign.

Just like any successful sportsman, the 33-year-old has overcome failures and disappointment in his initial years with a positive attitude. And, that’s what has helped him carve a niche in Indian sports. 

Well done, Chhetri! (www.khelupdates.com)