Saturday, December 31, 2011

Goodbye 2011!

Wow, another year down! A look back on the best of some lighter moments: 

Best sporting moment: That MS Dhoni Six

Well ofcourse, it has to be India winning the WC, but the two personnel bests were (a) watching the semi finals live at Mohali and (b) watching the first ever Indian Grandprix at the Buddh International circuit.

Best of Travel: 

Added two new travel locations: 
  • North East - Assam and Tawang were breathtakingly beautiful !
  • Valley of Flowers - Recommend this fantastic trek
And an old one - Goa!

Will continue to explore this magnificently country with Kashmir firmly on top of the agenda this year.

Best gadget purchased:
But the coolest gadget I bought was a native union retro pop handset. Check it out here: http://www.nativeunion.com/hk/wiredproducts/popphone.html 
Apple gadget for the year was a ipod nano 

Best Movie going experience: Kung Fu Panda 2 
I am sucker for comedy movies and none came better than this one. Ah, my old enemy - Stairs .. Still funny!

A year of reckoning 
I believe that India has to get worse in order to become better. This year certainly got worse in India - corruption, inflation and complete failure of governance / reforms. But look at the positives - Raja, Kalmadi are in Jail; Anna Hazare and the Civil society are playing a much more active role. Youngster are voicing their views thanks to the social networks and I am sure in the years to come, we will play a more important role in laying a better foundation for the country. 

Few Firsts 
- Started this blog (though updating it has been a pain)
- Donated blood
- Watched almost an entire Parliamentary session live

While the year spent was personally satisfactory (Damn you Real Madrid!), have a lot more to look forward to the next year. And like the lyrics of this latest song:

Umeed waali dhoop, sunshine waali aasha ... Happy new year everyone!! ... nana nanana Khush rehney ka hai waada!!


Sunday, December 11, 2011

El Clasico Review - No. Not yet.

Timing of the fixture

When the Clasico was announced for Saturday, the first thing I checked was to see when the two clubs are playing in the midweek. To my disappointment, it was Madrid on Wednesday, while Barcelona played on  Tuesday. Moreover, Madrid traveled to Amsterdam to play Ajax while Barcelona were at home. In such a scenario it surely made sense to have the match on Sunday! Just two days to prepare - surely a match of this importance deserved better.

That both Real and Barcelona had qualified in the champions league with a game to spare meant that this was not such a big issue, but Mourinho for some reason started with quite a few stars that night - including Kaka, Benzema and Higuain. Even Alonso came off the bench to play a part in the game. What was the necessity for them to even travel before such a big fixture, I still cannot fathom. On the other side, Pedro was the only possible Clasico starter to feature on Tuesday for Barcelona.

Pre-match

Most of the talk surrounding the game was that for the first time in many seasons Real Madrid entered the match as slight favorites. They were on a 15 match unbeaten streak, while Barcelona had dropped points in away fixtures - including most recently to Gatefe and Bilbao (And narrow wins at Gijon and Granada). Madrid were heading into the game with a 3 point advantage and a game in hand.

Lineups & Formation

I was expecting Madrid to continue from the previous season with a 4-3-3 that included Alonso, Khedira and Lass/Coentrao in the middle three. For Barcelona the only question was where would Alves play - In the back four or as a part of midfield four.

Mourinho (pleasantly) surprised many with a more attacking starting formation with Ozil in the midfield three. The shocker was preference for Lass ahead of Khedira. I need a separate blog to just tell you how much I hate La$$.

Flexibility

For a side with so many stars Real Madrid were surprisingly rigid in their formation. At the least when things were not going well, CR7 and Di Maria should have changed wings. With CR7 and Di Maria always cutting in, they were narrowing the game, which made it easy for Puyol and co.

Barcelona on the other hand could change between a 3-4-3 and 4-3-3 at the drop of a hat. Messi dropped back at will and Iniesta was all over the pitch.

Leadership

When things were going wrong, Messi took charge of the game. Madrid has the answers to most Barcelona players except for him. With Madrid dominant at the half hour mark, a visibly frustrated Messi dropped deep, got clear of la$$ and found Alexis clear with a superb through ball. And just like that for all the domination of Madrid, Barcelona were level.

The Match


For once we only talk football. It was not bad luck, as Mourinho eluded to - But Barcelona were the superior side on the night. But Madrid are closer than ever before. Better finishing and the result could have been very different. They also need to improve their defense - Messi shouldn't have been allowed to string passes in the manner he did for their first goal.


The result is a disappointing 1-3 loss at home, when Barcelona were there for the taking. Now the mind is cluttered with self doubt. As much as this Classico result was important, it is the number of points Madrid is going to drop against other teams that is going to determine the winner of the league. The fans need a response. In Seville.

Positives

Benzema and DiMaria. They were absolutely brilliant in the first half. Especially Benzema. Having performed on the biggest stage must have given them great confidence.

In Ronaldo we Trust 


One must not forget that Ronaldo is our top scorer and carried the side admirably last year including in the copa win. A final thought from what Guti said after watching Madrid play from the stands for the first time:

"Doubting Cristiano is like doubting Messi when he plays a bad match with the Argentine national team."

And as Mourinho said post game : "We're Leaders"

Hala Madrid!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

El Clasico Preview - The tide is turning

The last couple of weeks have shattered a few widely held beliefs
1. Dev saheb is immortal.
2. Sergio busquets will never be caught for diving.

If you haven't followed laliga closely you might have missed this incredible moment altogether. Here is the proof:



This is no Photoshop work. The unthinkable did happen.

Here's a brilliant cartoon which had me in roflolololing: http://www.studs-up.com/2011/11/the-princess-and-the-defensive-mid/ 

Barcelona for the last 7-8 years have been the most powerful force in world football. Three champions league crowns, multiple league titles and many more humiliating victories over Real Madrid.  

The reason why I refered to the Busquets incident is that there is a sense of feeling that things are about to change.

(1) Not long ago, everyone held this Barcelona team in awe. Opposition fans applauded during humiliating defeats; Press raved about the football Barcelona played and many teams/coaches had lost the match in their minds even before the play started. But after the clasico, the auro of this team seems to have lessened, probably due their non-football skills on display in the 4 clasicos. So far this season, teams have played Barcelona much better.

(2) Injuries. Last year was the perfect year for Barcelona. Like Newcastle's campain so far this year in the EPL, the same 11-12 players played for Barcelona throughout the last campaign. I know they have strengthened with Alexis and Fabregas, but there are still many players in this Barca side without cover - specially in the defense.

(3) This is Real Madrid's second season under Jose Mourinho

And finally, probably most importantly, the results have also changed. Real Madrid are three points ahead of Barcelona and with a game in hand going into the Clasico.

Hoping that on Sunday morning I will be celebrating a 6 point lead with a game in hand.