World Cup - 2014 - Year of the Horse - & predictions

I watched my first game last Saturday, 2 weeks into the tournament. Argentina vs Iran and was impressed by the efficiency of the Iranians. Pity that they had to eventually lose to a Messi super strike.

Which brings us to my traditional lunar calendar World Cup predictions. Year of the Horse analysis points to Argentina as the winner. Looking back at the Horse WCs, the following points emerged:

• Germany, in its different forms, have appeared in 4 WC finals and won 2. Sequence being W-L-W-L
• Argentina appeared in 3 WC finals and lost 2. Sequence = L-W-L. Therefore, should win their 4th appearance and complete the Yang of the German circle
• Only other Horse winners have been Uruguay & England
• All 4 were first time winners, so there is a chance for a first time winner. Who could that be? Holland? Portugal? Croatia?
• Other fact worth remembering, and which has nothing to do with lunar calendars, is that no non-South American country has won a WC in S America 
• Therefore, the Yang theory and Argentina it is  

After going through match-by-match excel predictions, I arrived at Brazil vs Argentina finals. Looking at the other entries at the work pool, it was the most popular combination and the choice of the eventual winners being split 50:50. The consensus forecast has got me excited - in all likelihood, at least one of them will fall short. Brilliant..

My team of the tournament so far (and coincidentally my pre-tournament dark "Horse" pick), and has inspired me to go get their jersey, has been: Chile. They are looking so very solid that I am concerned that they will get unlucky and go out in an ugly penalty shoot out. Apart from the well known faces in Europe of Arturo Vidal, Eduardo Vargas and Alexis Sanchez, I know little of this team. Will be digging for more over the next few days.

My Arsenal led favourites (France in 2006, Holland in 2010) happen to be the other Horse WC strong men - Germany. Entirely because of the well-loved German contingent in North London these days. From our captain, Per Mertsersacker, to the soon-to-be-talisman of the club, Mesut Ozil and the hamster inspired left-wing striker, Lukas Podolski. 

Chile vs Holland kicks off in about 30 minutes. Fortunately no lucky beers and shit. Lets hope the commentary is good.

Marseille at the Emirates - Monreal, Ozil

Two things I came away with on Tuesday night:

1. Nacho Monreal is a quality left back who would enhance our defence. He should be the first choice left back for the Arsenal. Would be cruel on Gibbs, but in matches with the big / European teams I would rather have Monreal in the side. 

2. Still trying to understand Mesut Ozil's temperament. He was his usual self up until the penalty miss. Flings off his gloves in disgust and immediately there was an urgency in his running. The assist in the second half was inevitable. Hope to see more of that and possibly goals as well. 

Corner flag (vol 3.2) - Football in 3D - Arsenal vs Southampton at the Emirates - 23Nov13

I left for the stadium 2 hours in advance of the kick off concerned about the London underground work disruptions that was scheduled for the weekend. I checked online and it said that Piccadilly line was all good. Half way through the journey, I heard some mumbling over the intercom that the train would have to stop at Kings Cross and carry no further – regretfully due to underground work disruption. 

Limited in awareness of what options I have, got off at Russell Square thinking it would be easier to catch a cab. I then saw a gooner still in the train. Jumped back in and decided to ask him on how to get to the game. He had heard nothing as he had his earphones plugged in. Another gooner joined the discussion and said we can get to Finsbury Park station through the Victoria line. Followed the guys and walked along hot dog shops lined St. Thomas's Road with all the other fans. 

I still landed up an hour early from kick off - so grabbed a beer, walked right round the stadium, bought programme notes and grabbed another beer. Met the guys at gate H and headed up. The two guys I was with were impressed with the fact that Mrs & Master Wenerd were back in the apartment on my birthday while I was here to spend 90 minutes watching the Arsenal. 

As we settled into our seats, we learnt then that the match start has been delayed by 15 min because of train interruptions. I don't recollect, in the last 10 years of premier league watching, of a game being delayed because of underground work disruption. One of the guys said that this doesn't happen often, so I guess it was just me.

Southampton was quick to demonstrate the organisation and the skill the team possesses. Smart manager they have in Mauricio Pochettino. Solid in midfield with Wanyama majestic with his interceptions and tackles. The right back was also impressive. The 2 English internationals leading the line didn’t do much, which was reassuring as an Arsenal fan. We had good shape and it was good to see the midfield in action live instead of the 2D version on TV. It was fascinating to see how Giroud is such an important part of everything that goes on offensively - he is the leverage for the slingshot that our midfield is today.

A player that I rate was their 'holy goalie' Artur Boruc - great reflexes and instrumental in their outstanding defensive record this season. I had read however that he is prone to be a bit of a nutter. Early on in the game couple of his goal kicks missed everybody and directly reached their manager in the dugout (prompting the comment made by Wenger in his post match conference). I turned to the other 2 guys and said that this guy is a lunatic - and he promptly showed us how. Dribbling in his own box with Giroud on his ass, eventually gets dispossed and Giroud scores. Emirates roared and we were 1 up. 

In the second half we were in control despite them continuing to be solid in midfield. As the clock wound down, I was getting a little nervous with our one goal margin however one could see that the team looked confident and calm. That is something I would never have gleaned if I were watching the game on TV. The back four, goalkeeper and Arteta in the centre were all well linked. Giroud was very good with his defensive headers during their set pieces.

A lot is made these days about pressing hard to win the ball back - but from what I have seen this season, I see Arsenal adopting a different strategy (or possibly the lack of one). The focus is to retain the 4-2-3-1 shape at all times in order to get our attack going at the appropriate time and thereby prepared to allow the opponent with ball time if need be. "Classic" football I reckon, but something that plays to our strengths. That is why the back 5, Flamini / Arteta ahead of the defence and Giroud have been so critical this season – empowering the midfield to be adventurous and hog all the limelight with the goals.

A penalty at the end and it was interesting to see the high fives going around the Arsenal players – again something I would not have caught on TV. Giroud scores to round off a perfect day and a 2-nil score line. "La la lalal la, Giroud..." wafted through the Emirates at the final score line. Was disappointed not to hear Curtis Mayfield's 'Move on up' not screaming through the PA system. 

The few Arsenal fans I know back home, including me, are being extremely cautious in our expectations from this season. I certainly am willing to bide our time and get through each game as it comes. And that is pretty much what I gathered on the tube back to Earls Court from hearing other gooners talking. "We certainly are not the best team in the league, but...”

The obvious determinant of our success will be results in games with the big teams - where I think the focus should be on winning but should be prepared to settle for a draw and not lose at any cost. If we manage to do that, our league position over the early months of 2014 will start to intimidate the other challengers for the league. Cliched point I reckon, but it is as simple as that. "Classic" football demands simple logic.

Tomorrow night and it will be my first excursion into Champions League football. And hope there are no disruptions on the Picadilly line this time. 

Corner flag (vol 3.1) - Flamini is back

Letting go of Flamini in the summer of 2008 was a huge mistake. He left for more money which subsequently came to be understood as the Arsenal summer - your best players left for more money OR more money + homesickness. Whatever. 

I was in Dubai in March of 2009 and I ran into a fellow Arsenal supporter. Who happens to work with Sony who had just hosted the AC Milan team recently. He shrieked a bit, for the benefit of his wife I reckon, while recounting shaking David Beckham's hands. I asked him, "Did you meet Flamini man?"

He said," Of course. Spoke with him for a while. He said that Arsenal means a lot to him, but this is the way of the footballers. And who knows, he said that he could be back with Arsenal at some point in the future".

We left it at that and continued on the margaritas, though I did recount that conversation and remember it 4 years hence. 

And he is back, for commercial reasons that work both ways (and a subject for another conversation), and how. Managed to keep a clean sheet against the neighbours and where my heart was ticking louder than the baby's. 

Such is life.

The Son of Peter

Written in 2006, with a little editing.

_____________________________________________________

 

1. Peter's Son 

Peter's son was born a few months after his father died. The only thing that his father seemed to have left for him, was his exaggerated sense of irony. It was not long before he pursued the reasons behind his father's arrest. It was not revenge he was after, but the underlying foundations of his fathers madness. And, it was not just coincidence when he ran into Yossarian at the railway ticket booking centre.


2. Marissa meets SoP 

Was about noon, and the humidity was killing. After what seemed like eternity, Peter's Son eventually reached the booking counter. There was only an Old man with a young lady friend, in front of Peter's Son who thought: the Old man clearly is not from here, but the young lady friend seemed to be a local. Well, it could be the old man's daughter. But to Peter's Son he didnt seem the type to have a daughter. 

The Old man finally turned around with a ticket in his hand. Peter waited for him to pass by before he stepped up to the counter. 

The Old man said, "Hello.. I am Yossarian and you must be somebody's son?" as he passed by. The Son of Peter replied, "Yes, I am Peter's Son. The Peter who was beheaded at the Speech Corner." Yossarian smiled and said, "I hope its Yew Teo you are going to".

As Peter's Son finally emerged with his ticket, Yossarian and the young lady was waiting for him. Still unsuspecting, Peter's Son smiled at Yossarian. And Yossarian said, "This is Marissa. Please join us, we are also heading to Yew Teo. Its a long journey." 


3. The Son sees stars

Peter's Son could only see stars at the moment. He felt inebriated. It was the.. no cant be, what was it? The only thing he felt was lightness. Free from the fears that always plagued his mind. Fear of the Other Side. Yes, the Other Side. I remember the Other Side. Was the Other Side the reason why he was on the train. SoP looked at the ticket - Yew Teo it said. The state of lightness was slowly fading. His veins started constricting with fear once again. He picked up his wallet which had turned green. The notes seemed to be all right but there was a soiled piece of paper in there - which in large dirty writing said 'Yew Teo - Speech Corner'.


4. M F U 

Marissa Fucked Up.

Even before she settled at her seat, she started reaching for the wallet in her shoulder bag. Smug from her deft manoeuvering a while back, she was glad with her choice: the younger bloke seemed to have the greens. Got it. The Old man had gone down in a heap, and the young dude had succumbed to the smoke routine.

Huh.. what is this? The wallets had all felt the same, but.. this one is mine only.

What goes around, comes around - and in this case, literally so.

A tear rolled down her cheek, as the train sped away from the direction of Yew Teo.

M F U 


5. Unlocking of the Catch 

Yossarin could not understand what had happened, since falling down rather painfully some 20 minutes earlier. Was it an accident? Not sure; considering that his bones were weak at this stage in life, Yossarin decided to continue lying on the platform for a while more. No one approached him to help him get up - so there was no real hurry to retrieve himself.

With his bald head against the hard surface of the platform, Yossarin winced in pain. His eyes were shut and his mind felt numb. In the darkness that surrounded him, he was reminded of what a prostitute (Was it Milos contact?) had told him years ago.

"You dont even look excited... You are destined to live in this bubble that is called the Catch. You will have no way out of it, but it will protect you. From death and all that is mortal. However, there will come a day, when there will be a slimmer of hope of beating the Catch; but through some one else. I dont know how and I dont if it will be good or evil. But, it will have something to do with saving a life.."

Having said that, the lady had collapsed on his lap. Though it never was completely understood, Yossarin found it funny that this lithe hussy knew about his biggest existential concern at that point in time. The Catch. Yossarin remembered the moment vividly; not knowing as to when he would be required to think about it again.

Years later, much after all his family and friends had moved on, Yossarin wondered, "When is it that my time to go will come?" There was never an answer, but then he was made to remember what the lady had told him years back.

Just as Elijah Price had done, Yossarin then commenced his search to save a victim of the Catch. He read every word that every major daily produced on the net. Every newsletter, every magazine and every international journal. He hunted high and low, until he came across the headline "Man convicted for making speech at the Speech Corner" in a far away city.

He moved into top gear once he read that; gathering as much news about Peter as he possibly could. The problem was:Peter was dead. There was nothing he could do about that. But he did feel he was closer than ever to breaking free from the clutches of the Catch.

And that morning, in the sudden rush of events, he had come across this young vivacious girl and this young Son of Peter. Though none of it made apparent sense, he however had that feeling 'that this is it'. However, the relief and ecstacy of discovering SoP, had overtaken his rationality at the moment.

Thats right. It was no accident. Just as he had felt a tug at his trousers, somebody pushed him down with a quick elbow punch on his back. It couldnt have been SoP, as at that moment the young man was at a distance, looking faint and tired all of a sudden. Was it the girl?

He had that womans number in his wallet; he had to call her to find out where they were. Trying hard not to strain himself, as the pain was increasingly unbearable; he reached for his wallet, which was lying next to him. He opened it, but couldnt recognise anything inside. There was nothing much in it. Except a picture of a young bridergroom and his rather innocent looking bride - Peter and his wife.

Old & frail Yossarin, managed a smile. 


6. The Final Stop 

As Peter's Son woke up, the train had stopped. There was no one else in the cabin. Not knowing where he was, he slowly shook himself from what seemed like a long slumber. His joints were hurting and his head throbbing.

He stepped out of the cabin onto the desolate platform. There was not a single soul out there. Was this for real? He never had seen a sight like this before in broad day light. Without breaking into a sweat, he walked to the exit. He saw someone moving in the ticket counter box. He saw an old man rummaging through some papers.

"Which station is this?"

The old man looked more than a touch confused. "Yew Teo", he finally said.

Peter's Son squinted his eyes as the bright sun light infiltrated through to his sunken eyes. He purposefully turned left from Exit A and started walking on the pavement.

There were no vehicles on the road, which was surprising. Not very surprising not to see any people lying by the road though.

SoP kept walking, turning where he thought he ought to. He finally seemed to reaching his destination, he felt. The last left he purposefully took, brought him to this leafy road which seemed like a dead end. Except, that it had a little picket fence right at the end. I need to get to the Other Side. As Peter's Son approached it, he caught this wiff of some ancient smell. He had no clue of what it was, but he seemed to recognise it.

He opened the picket fence and walked in. He saw this loud, decaying signage which said: Speech Corner. SoP rubbed his eyes.

He continued walking through the stone path which twisted and turned around some very old trees. It looked like a delicate little park from once-upon-a-time-ago, but somehow had no relevance in this day and age. It didnt look like anything he had seen in his lifetime - with the overgrown grass and shrubs that looked liked a world map.

He could see a clearing ahead just as the stone path turned into a mud path. He stopped at the edge of the clearing. It was quiet and sultry.

As he looked to his right, he saw a bench at a distance. And there was a man sitting there smoking a ciggarete and speaking to himself. Not knowing what to do, he started walking towards the bench. Maybe to check if the man was alive for real.

From one look, the old man looked like someone he knew. The familiar haunch, the familiar twisted smile.

"You have finally arrived".

Peter's Son knew what he saw. He sat down next to the old man, exercising a rare smile.

"Here, this is for you" the old man said, handing over a finally rolled joint.

"I dont have a light", SoP mumbled.

As he took a drag, the old man turned around and pulled out an old 3-in-1 player. He pulled out a tape from his shirt pocket and plugged it in. Peter's Son pressed the play button.

The sun was finally on its descend. The cool wind had started blowing. Peter's son could hear the world behind him starting into motion once again.

...

Yossarin didnt know if he had heard right.

It was clear, as the strains of "You go back Jack do it again Wheel turnin' 'round and 'round" wafted through.

This is the Final Stop.

This team

Am a monkey, as I have disclosed a few years ago, but heading to the final death curve of the season, just wanted to say that I like the look of this team. Very un Arsene Wenger in terms of style, but there is something together that will keep them together. For a win somewhere I hope. I tell you.

Corner flag (vol 3.1) - Is this Arsene Wenger's Gorbachev moment?

Over the weekend watched a BBC documentary on the 20th anniversary of the fall of Soviet Union. It had this long interview with Mikhail Gorbachev, where he spoke about his doomed roller coaster experience - from a revolutionary within to a beaten leader who oversaw the collapse of his country. Talked of Glasnost & Perestroika, reminding one of his charisma, powers of anticipation and courage to pursue change much against the wishes of the army and KGB. Eventually he was caught out by the surging nationalistic movement at the time and unceremoniously removed from power. As we hear from people close to him during his final days as the leader of the USSR, it emerges that he was blinded by his own stubborness. Blinded by his grand vision of how things should be.

One could see that even after 20 years, he still has not come to terms with the fact that he was not allowed to complete the job he began. I would have thought after all these years, hindsight would have made him realise that his biggest failing was his inability to adapt. As I was watching Gorbachev speak, I could only think of the similarity to the situation that Arsene Wenger finds himself in.

It has been a horrible start to the season. Enough has been written about how Arsenal is on its way to a mid table spot after having been stripped of its 2 best players. Empty seats, angry fans and the end of Arsene Wenger era hog most season preview articles. Amongst a whole host of issues that plague the team, the primary reason why the Wenger youth project has not been successful is down to lack of leadership. Wenger has been the defacto captain of the team for the past few years and has failed to drive the team mentally & tactically.


In April, our captain spoke out on his frustrations of being the leader of Arsenal:

I am the man who everyone looks to. I don't like to say it but it is true. If I play badly, I take responsibility and the pressure of the supporters. It is not something I am used to but I am captain, so it is reality. Only me and Van Persie remain of that [Invincibles] generation so we have a lot of responsibility. We are all so young that there is nobody you look at and say: 'Wow.'

At his first press conference at the Nou Camp, Cesc Fabregas spoke about many things - what caught my eye was the following bit, which convinvced me that he had first given up about Arsenal and then started thinking about going home.

At Arsenal, there were finals and semi-finals but we always lacked that little extra push to win something. That was hard to take. It was not that we didn't win titles it was that we kept going through the same routine, the same things happening to us and us messing up. I gave everything for Arsenal but it didn't show in the [trophy] cabinet because I only won one FA Cup.

But like a true monkey, I would like to believe that only way is up from here for the Arsenal and Arsene Wenger.

As a final note on our ex-captain, I am convinced that if Fabregas remains patient, it is just a matter of time before he becomes the captain of Barcelona and Spain one day.

Night mare

I had nothing to do except to wait for the match to start early morning at 3am. So when Jankovic called me and asked me to accompany him to the airport to pick up a friend, I agreed. It was raining like shit that night, and I wanted to get out for a while.

I land up at the airport and find Jankovic missing. I go out for a cigarette and promptly get driven in by a policeman who spits "This is no smoking area, you know".

Finally, I find Jankovic waiting at Gate 26 with a coffee in hand.

- Why didn't you pick up your phone? -

"Oh, I am sorry I didn't know that you had called".

- Where's you friend coming in from? -

"From London, she was in university with baby".

Jankovic is one funny fucker who refers to his wife as baby to any third person. That's maybe why I agreed to come and pick a friend of baby on a night the storm drains were threatening to flow in. I could have been busy getting through some lucky beers instead.

- Why isn't Maggie here? -

"She had an office function to attend.. Apparently baby's friend, Laura, gave her a call before she boarded the flight and sounded completely messed up. Shaken. Something obviously had happened to her and wasn't making too much sense. Baby thought it necessary that I be here to receive her".

- Cool, hope its nothing serious -

We spent the next 20 minutes watching other people with their noses glued against the glass walls. Finally, Jankovic mumbled something. I gathered that Laura was finally here.

Laura was quite tired, understandably after a very long flight. She didnt seem any coherent after the long journey. Or was it me? I suggested I can drop them off at Jankovic's home.

"I would like a coffee first and settle down", Laura said.

Not knowing what to say and what Laura was all about, I decided to head for a smoke. Back to the same place. This time there was no policeman. Had a few furtive drags and I walked back. They were at the coffee shop.

I got myself a cup as well, thinking that it was going to be a long night. I sat down with the 2 of them. I gathered Laura was explaining her relief to be far away from London. With the urgency of someone having something important to say, she launched into her story.

"It was such a coincidence I had these open tickets to Singapore to visit Maggie and you. After what had happened, I thought it was best I took that much promised break and come down.

"I was heading home after spending last Thursday night with a couple of colleagues, working on a presentation that we were to make in a couple of weeks. It was going to be a crucial one, this presentation, which would determine if we were going to get additional funding. It went on longer than expected as we couldnt agree on many things and I eventually took the the last train at London Bridge. Heading home at Clapham South.

Jankovic, as you know, its something Maggie & I did all the time when we were in university - we have seen many empty trains and empty stations at midnight. But to be honest, as I have grown older, I avoided late trains and take a cab instead. That night I guess I was preoccupied with this whole presentation thing and just walked straight to the station."

Jankovic nodded knowingly.

"I was in this compartment, somewhere in the middle of the train. Fortunately I wasn't all alone. Across from where I was sat, there were these young, nosiy kids. 3 punks. Or Goths, I wouldn't know. Whatever.. Frankly, they were all right - two guys and one girl, with the girl between the both of them. I normally do the usual commuter thing of staring at my phone or nowhere in particular - but with nobody around, my eyes gravitated towards their corner. 

It wasn't just the usual drunken banter that was going on. The girl.. she had her boobs being groped by both the guys and there was loud music coming out of their ears & pockets. There was very little talking but much snogging. My eyes quickly reverted to the phone, attempting to shut out the groans. 

I was telling myself that I have seen all of this before and it shouldn't disturb me in any way. Involuntarily, I took another quick look at them and thats when I realised, admist this threesome, the girl was staring at me.

Now that was a bit wierd and the "uneasiness" meter within me started climbing. I kept looking back at them, partly to  make sure that they were not getting any closer to me and partly to check on the girl. Fucking hell, she was still staring at me. I dont think the two guys noticed that I was around. Her tits were hanging out, with one of them sucking on her. 

I couldn't help but hold my glance now - out of fear, incredulity.. I dont know. The guys were shouting something out and I think one of them was trying to pull her pants down. The overhead voice announced we were approaching Elephant & Castle station.

Aware that it meant nothing i.e. a station arriving at this hour - I was desperately hoping that someone got in. The doors opened and this one chap got in.

A tall black guy, with a bag slung across his shoulder and a cap on his head, walked in. He was really big, wearing a white loose shirt and had these large tattoed arms. Before I knew, my heart was beating hard, my hands sweating and fear slowly enveloping me. At that moment, though I am ashamed to admit this, I just couldnt control all these horrible thoughts running through my head. I had heard and read many stories about midnight travesties. I felt that I had walked into my "moment" in the London tube. Fucking great. 

He walked towards me and sat beside me. He took a good look at me as he sat down. The train started moving and through the corner of the eye, I noticed that nothing had stopped at the other corner. The noises were getting louder all the time, while the girl was still staring at me.

I didn't know how to reassure myself anymore. I was desperately hoping a bunch of tourists would get in at Kennington, the next station. I focussed on the tunnel walls whizzing past and trying to breathe deeply. After what seemed a few minutes, the black guy turned towards me and spoke out clearly - Please listen, I suggest that you get off at the next station.

What the fuck? Why? What was I supposed to do? Did I hear him right? I instinctively looked at the three - the music was still loud and the girl's pants were at her ankles. One of the guys was rubbing his face against her legs at this point".

This was getting all too wierd for me.

Laura went on, "The train was drawing into Kennington and I just had this immediate urge to get away from all of this. As the doors opened, the black guy got up and walked out. I found myself following him out of the train.

There was brief relief after the door had shut and the train had left. I was away from the 3 but now next to this tall, big black guy on an absolutely empty platform. I had no idea what to do after that. Which exit? Now was it the beginning, rather than the end, of my "moment"? Fuck, fuck. What the fuck have I done? To be stranded like this.

After a few minutes, seconds, whatever, the huge black guy placed his hands on my shoulder and said, "Dont worry, I am a doctor. I recognise those eyes. Overdose. That girl was dead."

He looked at me - out of sympathy, lust, terror, I dont know - smiled and walked away."

Laura stopped speaking and there was silence at the table.

- Bloody shit - was all I could manage. 

There was much stillness in the air. I looked at my watch. It was minutes away from the start of the match. I had to go. I asked - Can I drop you guys somewhere?

Laura looked at me not knowing what to say. I looked at Jankovic, and figured he wasnt upto saying anything.

I left then, trembling a bit. Looking forward to some lucky beers.

Corner flag (vol 12.13) - Its all about Cesc

Isn't it? Plays a crucial part in his country's win in the World Cup, takes some time off when his Spanish colleagues do all the talking about Barcelona and comes back with a, rather, honest take of his stand during this entire saga. Quite brave I reckon and again demonstrates as to why he is one of those with a lot of time on the ball. Remains to be seen if focus has been sacrificed for honestly. Nicely set up for another long season.
                                                  

Corner flag (vol 2.12) - Van Persie to score

Been taking stock on the bets / calls thats been made and pretty pleased as to how its all turned out. Especially, the Year of the Tiger theory. Ha.

Spain vs Holland, one of the favourites at the outset vs. a peripheral figure of the elite bunch of footballing nations. Both under achievers on the world stage for the longest time and we will have a new winner. All the chat at office is how the Spaniards are going to cruise it. Another day, another favourite. Not without reason though. Euro '08 champions and a core group of Barcelona players who have won titles together.

The Barcelona core were very effective against a rather polite German side, who were not used to sides not making mistakes in possession - like the Argentinians and the English in the previous rounds. The Germans couldn't get hold of the ball and were slowly worn down. The Dutch, I think, will have more of an edge about them and with players more than capable of scoring goals, its going to be a hard fought game. And of course, the Dutch will emerge as winners.

Either way, Arsenal will soon have a World Cup winner in the squad and I hope its Van Persie scoring the winning goal in the 85th minute of a hard fought game.
                                              

Corner flag (vol 2.11) - Forget the Germans

is what I have been trying to tell the people at office. After their effortless dispatch of the Argies on Saturday night, not one person can think of any other team but the Germans to win the cup. Yes, they have played some amazing football and with a low-profile, young bunch of talented players, makes them an easy target for the underdog seeking World Cup fan. I can't quite remember the last time there was such overwhelming backing for a team.

So I have gone ahead put a bet on Spain beating them in the semis. Not driven by logic, neither emotion (which I have made clear earlier), but just a counter-consensus punt. Spain have not pulled out the breathtaking football that they are capable of and I wonder if its going to be a case of peaking at the right time. Similar to the Robin Van Persie story for the Dutch, who I obviously think will go through to the finals. And win it. So there.

The time has come to smile - in joy or agony. Its all terribly exciting.

_________________________________________________________________

One of the more talked of episodes this World Cup was Suarez's save. Cheating vs Passion - and as expected, the British bandwagon jumped onto how unjust life is. But on BBC last night, I was watching the presenter speaking to fans in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Amsterdam, Berlin and everyone said that any footballer would have done the same. The poor fucker.

                                                    

Corner flag (vol 2.10) - Maradona is a cat

Not a tiger, but a cat. With 9 lives: Hand of God almost got him lynched, the Camorra nearly bumped him off because even they got tired of his maniacal ways, got thrown out of USA 94 in a drug fueled daze, his dogs ate his ears while sleeping with him, his stomach nearly burst open one morning, was quite close to not qualifying with the most talented side for this world cup and now he is taking on Schweinsteiger over here - hilarious:




________________________________________________________________


Here is the cat on Mourinho - perfect bedfellows:
"I like Mourinho a lot. I've got his phone number, I might call him. We spent hours talking about football, attacking and defensive tactics. He seemed to me a guy to take to your bedside table and ask him each time you need something."

And on Messi:
"And he talks to [Juan Sebastián] Verón and I spy on them: La Bruja [the Witch] is an intellectual of football, because he knows much more of football than Leo, but they start talking about it and the bastard answers back."

Recounting his days in the psychiatric ward:
"They were all crazy in there. One guy said he was Napoleon and they didn't believe him. I said I was Maradona and they didn't believe me, either."

And here is the wonderful Richard Williams on the cat. He does write well though the fucker.

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The Big Brazilians just went out against the Dutch. Robben, Schneider together quelled a spirited Brazilian set up, but as the game wore on the Dutch were better constructed to pull it off. Even from being a goal down from the 10th minute. Felipe Melo set up the goal, then scored an own goal and finally got sent off - hopefully his market value deteriorates even further; Arsenal can possibly afford him now.
                                                       

From the Guardian. The two architects of a famous Dutch win                                      

                                                                              

Corner flag (vol 2.9) - Its still Holland

There are bets flying all over the place, and most people are snickering at my theory. Especially, when there are the Germans (who rightly bulldozed the English), the Big Brazilians (steadily moving ahead) and the Argentinians (the most talented bunch) still around. But with some of these names playing each other shortly, the big names will eventually drop out - and people will move on. I am still going with my theory and expect either the Dutch or Spain to take it. And given its Orange for me, I am hoping that the Dutch beat my tournament favourites Brazil tomorrow.

1. Holland vs Brazil
The Dutch have been effective, but not anywhere as fluid as I expected them to be. While the Brazilians are playing as expected, it will be an upset if the go out at this stage. Its a Dutch win for me.

2. Uruguay vs Ghana
Tough one - but it will be Uruguay, as they look a good balanced side and not being rated because they have been no where for many years.

3. Argentina vs Germany
Its going to be the Argies, with their experience and quality, that will go through against the quality of the Germans.

4. Spain vs Paraguay
Spain to squeeze it, but with Fabregas not playing, there is only that much (very little) that I think of them.

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An Eboue classic


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Quote of the day from the 20 year old German hero Thomas Muller - on the English:

"England have so many top stars in their squad that they will always be part and parcel of the international football scene. But there are so many 'alpha males' in their squad. It is difficult to have so many alpha males and have them row in the same direction. You don't only need chiefs. You also need a few Indians."
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One of the best players in the tournament for me: Diego Forlan

 Courtesy: The Guardian
                                                          

Corner flag (vol 2.8) - Italy's finest hour

The group phase is over and now its time for tears at the end of every game.

And indeed there were tears at the end of the best game of the World Cup so far - when Italy went out to Slovakia. The defending champions finished last and were booted out. It was quite interesting right from the beginning as the Italians went down a goal early and the Slovaks attacked the pretty heavy legged Italians right through the game.

But in the second half of the second half, the Italians came alive to put together a passionate performance that I haven't quite seen before. So much so that I was hoping they score the requisite number of goals to go through. It was driven by the desperation of the situation that the Italians found themselves having to play out of their shorts to get something - fantastic goal by Quagliarella and they should have had couple more; but time ran out and saw Captain Cannavaro shepherding his players back to the dressing room in a hurry. A bit of irony in all of this - the most ineffective Italian team was by the far the most entertaining Italian side I have seen in a long while. Their finest hour in my opinion.

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Game 1 of Uruguay vs South Korea just finished and Uruguay have won. Which was my prediction. Seriously.

Rest of the games are:
1) USA vs Ghana
Ghana to win 1 nil

2) Germany vs England
Germany through hopefully, though Beckenbaur is shooting his mouth as always and thats not a good sign for the Germans

3) Argentina vs Mexico
Though I have just had a fabulous Mexican meal and been hearing all things bright and beautiful about Mexico, Argentina should win quite comfortably

4) Netherlands vs Slovakia
2 - 1 to Netherlands

5) Brazil vs Chile
Brazil to scrape through

6) Paraguay vs Japan
Paraguay 1 nil

7) Spain vs Portugal
Spain to go through. This will ensure the Year of the Tiger shortlist down to 3.

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If everything works as expected, we could see Netherlands vs Brazil quarters. Which will be quite a game I think.

After the most dramatic game, here goes another stalwart - before he catches the flight to the Middle East and work on his pension fund.

Picture from the Guardian: Fabio Cannavaro wipes away the tears as he leaves the pitch. This could well be his last match. What a stinker

                                                             

Corner flag (vol 2.7) - World Cups and the Year of the Tiger

                                     
1. A funny forward that I received this morning:

From an English guy: "This World Cup is like WWII. The French surrendered early, the USA arrive at the last minute and we're left to fight the Germans, ahahaha"


2.  My "welcome" moment to the city that I live in, happened a few hours before the Italy - France final four years ago. Where I realised the rather scientifc Chinese love for astrology. I call it analysing patterns, which is the eternal truth of life: its all about cycles.

Hypothesis: Extrapolating the theory, a quick run through of World Cup winners in the Year of the Tiger and the following emerges:
1998: France
1986: Argentina
1974: West Germany
1962: Brazil
1950: Uruguay
1938: Italy

Conclusion: there has never been a repeat winner during the Year of the Tiger World Cups.

Inference: Looking at the elite 9, this means 4 possible winners: England, Portugal, Spain and Holland.

Action point: To the lucky few who manage to read this, one should use this path breaking finding at the time of the semi-finals when deciding on whom to bet. 

My view: its got 2 of the names I dont want anywhere near the semi-finals, 1 where I didn't think there is any reserve fuel in the radiator and finally the one that I would like to win. So far so good. Lets see how it all develops.


3. Moving 2 dimensions forward into the world of club football and Arsenal Football Club, there is a pretty interesting article on BBC on how Arsenal is well poised at the moment to move ahead of its peers - with the focus on finances. Which is crucial at this time when the Western European economies have got to get used to tighter bank balance sheets.

The article refers to recent Deloitte and Forbes reports on Football clubs, which highlight the uptrend in the financial fortunes of Arsenal - backed by of core footballing business strategy and prudent spending by the manager through the last 6 years or so. Any reader who would like a copy of the Deloitte report can drop his/her email id in the comments section.

Which only leads me to strengthen my belief that the next decade is going to be Arsenal's.Though much work needs to be done this summer: keeping Fabregas, replenishing the defence + goalkeeper smartly and some fresh thinking on the coaching bench.

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Another chap thats done for World Cups and European club football as well. Good night and good luck.

                                                     

Corner flag (vol 2.6) - France vs England

Before I get to my thoughts on the teams that will make it through to the next round, the most captivating development over the 10 days has been the turmoil at the English and French camps.

Hilarious stuff, especially when Richard Williams writes about how John Terry was right to bring up his issues with Fabio Capello publicly and also when he talks about his immense joy at seeing the French cower in mediocrity. Complete SOB this Williams dick - most English scribes have suddenly forgotten how efficient Capello was in disciplining the team and in driving the team to win all their qualifying games. Oops, who cares about that any more, when English passion (epitomised by the holy cunt John Terry) is at stake? The last I heard, some fucking random English journalist was complaining about cutting the WAGs from the squad.Where is Sven they ask.

It is true that the French have been guilty of revolting against their manager in a manner that only they can (refused to train, some one sniched on the other and got him sent off) and it is also true that English have been rather pathetic as a football team. Fucking idiots is all I can say, once again.

Since I dont read French newspapers, I admit I might not be best representing the case of "Who is the bigger twit?": French journalists vs English journalists & English footballers vs French footballers. Such is life.

Moral of the story: there is no difference between the 2 teams. Twits.

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1 final game to go for each team in the first round, and the winners from each group will be:

1) Group A: Uruguay, Mexico
Will be the end of France and the last we should have hopefully seen of Domenech: a twit beyond redemption. 

2) Group B: Argentina, Korea to scrape through
Argentina have been coming together on the pitch and then they do look pretty unbeatable. Until they meet quality opposition I would think, which will be soon. Likely to make it to the semis.

3) Group C: USA, England
Unfortunate, but I hope I am wrong on this one i.e. England should get kicked out

4) Group D: Germany, Serbia
Tough call, as Ghana leads the group as of now - but one has to remain loyal to the initial Serbia call.

5) Group E: Netherlands, Denmark
Pretty scrapy games from the Dutch so far, but being able to grind results without losing their heads is good news. So far. The Danes I believe will have enough to sort the Japs out. Would be interesting how they develop through this tournament, and, of course, much would depend on the availability of Prince Bendtner.

6) Group F: Paraguay, Italy
Must admit that the big surprise was watching the Italians. None of the Armani model look alikes strutting around, but some very lean, balding, young players that want to play football. Clearly they do have the potential to surprise later in the tournament. But their strikers are still quite ugly - footballistically I mean.

7) Group G: Brazil, Portugal
Friday's game should be interesting - will let us know if I was wrong in ruling them out. The Portugal left back has clearly been the player thats caught my eye so far - Fabio Coentrao. And so has

8) Group H: Chile, Spain
Real tough one after the early surprise win for the Swiss against the Spaniards. Nice to see the Spaniards sweat, but should make it through with a win against Chile. Dont think the Swiss will beat Honduras. Their captain however Zokhan Inler has been quite solid at central midfield.
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I think one has finally seen the end of this chap's World Cup career. Adios.