Best league debate

Full Disclosure (If needed): I am a Real Madrid supporter and a huge fan of the Spanish league

I usually do not get dragged into the best league debate and believe in the "each-league-has-its-own-charm-and-is-beautiful-in-its-own-way" argument. But being an English speaking fan of the league, its tough to keep quite when so much crap is said/written all the time. 

Latest from a certain, G. Neville :

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2116517/Gary-Neville-Stop-knocking-best-world.html 

Lets get straight in and analyse the article:

1. Best teams in the world - He accepts that Barcelona (for some time) and Madrid (now) are the best teams in the world .. So lets move on
2. Attendance and Foreign TV rights: Lets assume the figures are right .. But, since when did money determine the best league? Even if you are to go by them, Bundesliga would be the best league in the world, right? Bernabeu can fill 75,000+, but its the fans of Bilbao (like against United), that makes the league proud.. Even in Madrid, (As Mourinho himself eluded to) atmosphere at Rayo Vallecano was absolutely brilliant (around 20,000 i think) and many times better than Real Madrid. So it is not only about quantity there, Mr. Neville.
3. UEFA Co-efficient (Eng -1 | Spa -2): This comes down to the strength of the top 4 teams. I agree that from 2005-08, EPL was the best league, but their squads have been on the decline for quite some time and they no longer are the best .. Barcelona and Real Madrid are. In Spain now, Valencia are a very good team, Malaga can spend and are recently seen, 7th place Bilbao thoroughly outplayed mighty United. Twice. Co-eff. change .. And they will change very soon.
4. 7 Finalists vs. 4: Very convenient Mr. Neville. .. Lets go one step further - 2 Winners vs. 4. End of matter.
5. Title Race? two horse in both countries. Better quality in Spain. And you often talk about bullying lower teams - United and City have more points per game compared to Barca this season. Only Madrid are better, as they have been largely injury free and have had a better fixture list. One slip-up and Barca will be back
6. CL fight: 3 teams in England vs. 6 teams in Spain
7. Relegation : Bottom 5 in EPL are an absolute and total disgrace. Only 20th place Zaragoza are out, with rest of the clubs competing well to stay in the league. 

I do accept that remote controls and game-downloads point to EPL being more watched league. But you tell me what use is a remote, when a Real Madrid match played to suit Asian timings is not telecast here in India because of a Mickey Mouse Cup game? (Some people refer to that as Carling cup) .. The statistics mean just that - EPL is the 'most watched league', no way the 'best league'. 

Having said that two things the Spanish league needs to address urgently are the television rights situation and on ways to market the league better across the world. 

Bottom line - Look at the records of Spanish and English teams in the Uefa Cup to judge whose second tier is the best! I think Gary Neville has conveniently written this article now before the much anticipated El Clasico finals becomes a reality!

Blog Update:

Real Zaragoza finished the season winning 5 out of their last 6 and miraculously surviving on the last day despite being in and out of administration .. There you go, what do I know about football.

Rahul Dravid - What's next?

This Roger Federer - Rolex commercial begins with the question "When is greatness achieved"

And ends with "Maybe it’s when you’re always asking yourself; What’s next?"

Dear Dravid,

I had originally planned this post to be a tribute to your great accomplishments. With the title #FareWall #Dravid. I was quite sure that you would retire after the series - irrespective of the result.

The series has ended and to my shock, you are still carrying on I hear? So, yesterday's rumors are false?

Dravid, please don't get me wrong - I have been a huge fan of yours ever since that 148 at Johannesburg. At par with Sachin - And times even more!

I have followed your career with great joy from here:

to here, when you appeared alongside Federer!

Yes, as you say in the commercial, yesterday is over. India does not play Tests until September. We don't play away until much later in 2013. There are youngsters like Rohit Sharma, Pujara, Rahane craving for a chance to showcase their talents.

I could understand that you really badly wanted to win in Australia. And ofcourse, even at 39, you might still have a lot to offer.  But the youngsters cannot do any worse than 4-0, can they?

So Dravid, as one of your ardent followers, I am allowed to ask this - Why didn't you retire?

What's Next? 

Regards,

A Rahul Dravid fan.

PS. Thank for all the memories.

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!!

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!

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.

Mallya takes on the Media

After many articles covering KFA's troubles, the media frenzy regarding this issue hit its peak after news that Mr. Mallya is allegedly negotiating a bailout package. Key people in the Govt (The PM, no less) spoke about the need step in which outraged many. How can taxpayer's money be used to save a private company, they asked. 

While following the developments, I wondered how the flamboyant man would react to all this. The response was measured. First his friends addressed the battle field. Suhel Seth and others spoke rationally and articulately about the problems surrounding KFA and the ills of the airlines industry at large. 

Then the man himself came out. The press seemed hostile, but Mallya composed.

He might have been fighting for his airline's survival, negotiating a "bail-out" package or partying with the Calender girls, you wouldn't have known by watching this interview. Among all his sporting interests, he would make (or probably is) a bloody good poker player.

Then he attacked the Media: 

@thevijaymallya: "Watching media reports n analysis that share prices of United Spirits fell due to Airline fears. How flawed. United Spirits is liquid gold"

"World largest plane lessor speaks 2 ET Delhi- full support 4 Kingfisher. Not published. Instead ET Mumbai correspondent ignores n attacks !"

Mallya's companies are one of the key advertisers for the Indian media. So it is very difficult to buy these arguments. I feel the TV media at least has been measured and cautious in its attack of KFA. They get facts wrong most time. They pronounce their verdict before hearing the case most times. But the slightest mention of "Bailout" got a swift response from Mallya. And soon enough, most of them corrected.

Either ways, the media seems to have moved on (in search of the next scam), with Mallya emerging the clear winner in this round. He and his airlines are hear to stay. For now at least.

In between this drama surrounding the media coverage for the last two weeks, KFA has achieved three things:

(a) Got Kingfisher out of some of the non-profitable routes, without much hue and cry from the government. Make no mistake, some passengers will suffer. But of the important reason why Indigo is profitable, is that they run only on profitable routes. 

(b) Its now become common knowledge that there is problem with the punishing taxes that the center/states levy. That Air India is also bleeding is a concern to the government. So if the government relaxes the taxes, they are less likely to get the "You are taking measures for private greed, what have you done for the common man" argument. Not sure they will be touching this though.

(c) Made it a bit easier for those lobbying for increase in FDI in airlines sector. India badly needs Reforms 2.0 and the Airline industry is in pole position to be freed up.

Final thought - 

@TheVijayMallya "If our Government has denied FDI by Airlines in Indian carriers on security grounds, how come we have expat non Indian Airline CEO's ?" On the Spice Jet CEO

Starting your day with Twitter?

More than a year back, I decided to purchase the Ipad and also simultaneously stopped subscribing to any newspaper. Also because I didn't see a point waking up and reading the Toilet paper of India. 

So, since then I usually wake up and browse favorite websites, news apps and Twitter. Slowly, it has become only Twitter. I get all the news - the very latest, well written editorial are always RTed. Plus there the funny men with their funny lines. So, there has been no need to go anywhere else actually. 

But recently, twitter has not been good to start of with and I am thinking of going back to the newspaper days. Reason - Waking up to those RIP messages.. It is such a useless/sad way to start of your day. And usually on most occasions, these day only gets worse. 

Take for instance today's death of Peter Roebuck - I didn't need that information at 9AM.. It could have easily waited till say post noon and it wouldn't have changed anything. For two weeks I woke up to some tribute or the other of Steve Jobs .. Great man, but should not affect your 14 consecutive mornings! The last few months have been just terrible.

I wonder how many people start their day with twitter on your apple / android / blackberry machines? Do you? (Pls leave a comment; You might probably be the first one :) )

I am thinking of getting back to the old habits of reading the newspaper with a cup of coffee.. And not opening twitter till much later in office.. What say? And which newspaper to go for in Delhi? HT?