End of the road

Close to a week after the World Cup ended in bizzare circumstances, we have seen more about the controversial departure of Zinedine Zidane from the world of football and the Italian FA scam enquiry, than the World Champions themselves. deservedly so.

As far as the final was concerned, the Year of the Dog curse stayed and the Italians hung on to win on penalties. I believe there is a lot of luck associated with penalty shoot-outs; but it works both ways; what goes around, comes around and all that shit; and the Italians for once came out as winners. Though I feared their overall team strength, it was heartening to see that the French really had the upper hand for the majority of the game - much against expectations. But strangely, in the space of a few minutes, Viera, Henry, Ribery and Zidane were all out of the game - arguably, the best players for the french. It did have an impact as a few of them would have definitely been one of the penalty takers. However, this is speculative shit.

So, as the Thierry Henry of the Arsenal colours did not make an appearance in the finals, I am closer to setting my expectations as far as he is concerned. 50% of me thinks highly of the guy, because of the style and his goal scoring exploits in Arsenal colours. The other 50% does not, because of his ego and the related reluctance to play with the rest of the team and his insistence to play his own type of game, irrespective of the situation. I attribute it to his ego, because I get the feeling that he thinks (and also wants everyone else to think) that he is an All-Time Great already (the title is usually reserved for the top mid-fielders the World has seen - i.e. Pele, Maradona and Zidane). And therefore, he has every right to play the way he wishes to. Its another thing that it works in Arsenal because the team is genuinely built around him. Thats why the truth is: much as Arsenal needs Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry needs Arsenal and Arsene Wenger.

It pissed me off to see Ribery, Malouda do all the hardwork of working across the layered Italian defence, bringing the ball closer to the box, but finding no one there. Mr. Henry was lurking somewhere much behind, waiting for the ball to come to him. What is the point of having a 4-5-1 formation, when your forward refrains from being positionally available for his mid-fielders. I felt similarly in the Champions League final: when in the second half, an impressive Ljundberg and Fabregas combined to take the ball forward through the left and break through to find no fucking Henry to put the ball in - that cost us the trophy. To me, it appears that Henry is obsessed with himself, which is a good thing for a sportsman, but not so good for the team if it does not gel with what the other 10 players are upto. A la Sunil Gavaskar.

As you can see, I am struggling to understand this fellow and more so what I think of him. My previous post shows the hope that I carry everytime that there is an important match coming up. However, after this tournament, I have finally set my expectations in place. He is a good, stylish player, but I would not expect him to inspire a team on his own to a great victory (in a final).

On the contrary, I am quite prepared to think that the world has seen one of the greatest to finish his career in Real style last Sunday. He deserves the red card all right, Mr. ZZ. However, talks of the red card in his final match, that too a WC Final, will taint his career is all balls. It is disappointing, that as a footballer, he could succumb to such provocation. Am certain that every amateur sportsman would have learnt that such drivel is part of life and that such provocation will be used to intimidate opponents. The Guardian has a hilarious piece on the mother of all insults.

But the look on his face as he brought down the Italian took me back to the ZZ interview that I had read a couple of years ago in The Observer (incidentally, one of the all-time best interviews I have ever read). As a kid, he could never complete a game because he used to be red-carded due to a short fuse and violent instincts. The look that he had on his face, is one of the most violent ones I have ever seen on a football pitch. He was smart to have used his head to bring down Materazzi rather than his hands. I think he would have broken his face & snapped his neck in that event and would have been arrested for murder. And imagine this: being led off the pitch in handcuffs. So, in retrospect, alls well that ends well.

I feel that his reaction was a tribute to his honesty and his lack of respect of how the world saw him / how he wanted to see him (critics, media, footballing legends, fans, history - it all) and I totally respect that. He returned to what he was when he started playing in the streets of Marseille. A perfect ending, in my mind.

In his most recent interview explaining his actions, the following comment stood out: "We always talk about the reaction, and inevitably it must be punished. But if there is no provocation, there is no reaction. First of all you have to say there is provocation, and the guilty one is the one who does the provoking. The response is to always punish the reaction, but if I react, something has happened." This has uncanny resemblance to what another french man had to say after the Old Trafford fracas 3 years back (a rare picture of the two gentlemen together).

On hindsight, I enjoyed the World Cup. good games, good sides And inspiring performances. an educating experience.

The Year of the Dog

Its half time, one each to France and Italy.

Earlier, I was at the neighbourhood food court for dinner. Was joined by a couple of old chinese men. Asked me what I thought about the final. France. They seemed concerned. "You put money?". Yes. Seemed distraught.

"This is the year of the Dog". And every 12 years before and after. "Only Brazil or Italy have won in the year of the Dog". Quick calculations later, and I realised that it was true. 1994, 1982, 1970, 1958 and 1934. 3 for Brazil and 2 for Italy. Given the chinese are extremely superstitious, am sure thats where every China man in this world has put their money - Italy.

Not only does the French have to beat history, the extremely efficient Italians but also about 1.5bn Chinese people praying together. That sure is a tough one to beat.

Theirry Henry and his Italian baggage

Thierry Henry has lived a couple of lives. Probably more than just a couple. As a youngster, growing up in a middle class neighbourhood of Paris, he used to be an aspiring footballer like most kids were. Before the Champions League finals, they interviewed his friends from the area. They were saying that he was never guaranteed a starting place in the more competitive games. Henry never showed any indication that he would be the player that he is today for Arsenal.

Then he rose through the junior ranks, as any junior anywhere would. Spotted by Wenger for no apparent reason, he was brought to Monaco. After a few years, Wenger moved on to pursue his personal agenda. Henry was then picked by Juventus, as he was showing promise. Besides, everyone wanted French footballers at that point - that was the beginning of the golden generation for French footballers. So he was brought into the "toughest" leagues to partner the likes of Zidane, Thuram, Del Pierro - it was the break that TH was waiting for - a big club, big team mates. However, it never was easy for TH at Turin. He was a joke apparently. The Italians still laugh at him as they would recollect the ball going through his legs often. His morale was going nowhere. His friends at home, probably were smirking as well.

Fate intervened, as Wenger took charge of Arsenal and bought him over to London as a Striker. Even as he departed Italy, there was a lot of ridicule thrown his way by the Italians. The King Size EGO that we have come to associate with Henry today, was hurt.

In the following years at Highbury, there emerged an Henry that none could recognise. His friends in the interview described it as a "miracle". Unlocked by the vision of Wenger and everything else (the AW style, his team mates, his english girl friend, the highbury pitch, fans) , TH has become truly a star footballer - and a stylish one to boot.

He had his opportunities in recent years to get back at the people who ridiculed him the most - the Italians. Played his role in the 5-1 decimation of Inter Milan in 2003 and more recently knocked Juventus out in the Champions League. And ofcourse, the hatrick against Roma in Rome in 2002. But there could never be a better opportunity than tomorrow to pay it back in full.

The Italians will start as favourites - but this man could help in completing the dream run that the French have had so far. Will that Henry from Arsenal emerge? I hope he does. I think he will.

FINALly

Who would have thought of this final at the end of the first couple of group games. Italy - boring; too defensive; will fail against a younger, attacking side; problems at home. France - way too old; no team unity; manager who has no vision; infighting; poor team morale; cant score goals; will fail against a younger, attacking side; remember 2002? etc. But thats the way the World Cup works.

Predicted this final at the time of the QF, but got the semi-final opponents of the finalists wrong. Italy-Germany game was amongst the best of the tournament. Full-on attacking game and just showed the strength of the Italians in terms of midfield & defense. Clearly, they would start the finals as the favourites. And am sure the UBS analyst must be praying that they win. On the contrary, the France-Portugal game was a compromise. Glad that none of the 6 important french players picked another yellow.

Whilst, the Italians will start as favourites, in line with my view on Day 'T-1', I am putting my money on the French, considering that they have come this distance. Do they have it in them to manage one more game of full-on intensity, is the question. Patrick Viera and Claude Makalele will need a big game to stop the marauding Italians. Zidane will lift the cup. Atleast, I hope.

Hope remains

The English got knocked out and Richard Williams of the Guardian captured it right.

".. A successful apprenticeship in the upper reaches of English football wraps such an effective comfort blanket around a young player that he is seldom exposed to the harsh realities of the outside world, and never confronts those moments in which failure really does mean disaster. When they are called to summon reserves of resilience at moments of extreme pressure, they discover those reserves either do not exist or have been depleted by the demands of domestic football..."

I do think that the English league is emerging as one of the toughest leagues in the World. But the performance of what seemed an 'Incredible 11' in this tournament, clearly indicates that its more due to the foreign coaching and the Henrys, Xabi Alonsos, Cescs, the Israeli Boy, Heinzes, Makeleles, Petr Cechs, Crespos around. Lampard, Gerrard and Beckham seemed half their usual self. While they ground to yet another win at each stage, what was apparent was there seemed very little fluidity - possibly, symptomatic of the English way of life. It can also be attributed to the long season, clueless coach etc - but those are just excuses. The English are not benefitting it from the quality league that it has. They need the outsiders to keep it going - but thats another discussion all together.

But as always, there are exceptions. None more than this man. Probably because, save for his t-shirt, there is very little English in him. His performance for England, has many people (incl me) admitting to our complete lack of understanding of what he is actually capable of. Mr. Williams has an explanation for this also.

"...Before Hargreaves was born, his parents left Britain to make a new life for their family in Canada. They succeeded, and in so doing may have laid the mental foundation for his son's career. Owen Hargreaves arrived in Munich as a 16-year-old and began a long struggle to establish himself among the superstars in the first team at Bayern, in a country where he knew no one and had to learn the language from scratch. When times were difficult, when he was dropped or suffered injuries, his parents' example of ambition and self-sufficiency can have done him no harm..."

The weekend belonged to the Marseille Dancer and this team. Who collectively squashed and killed the Opportunist fan! Ha.. what joy.