mere funde

It seems to be a season of retirement for my favourite players. First Agassi, then Schumacher, and now Riquelme. Anyways, here is a small tribute to the greatest midfielder of our times.

I must confess right at the start that I have an extremely soft spot for Argentine players. Right from Maradona and Batistuta to Messi and Crespo, I have been a huge Argentinean fan and I was heartbroken after their exit from the ‘06 FIFA World Cup.

Some people play the game like they have just 45 minutes rather than 90. Riquelme, however, plays as if there are 180 instead. As Arsène Wenger said, “He’s always able to slow the game down, and wait for a weak moment to kill you“. He is so different from his contemporaries that football once again seems like the beautiful game when he plays.

His speed of thought, ball possession and his creative vision is what sets him apart from the pack. A master at juggling the ball, he outfoxes the defense with such ease that it induces a sense of serenity in his game. When the Argentine is at work, a certain degree of romanticism fills the game, and you are transported back to an era when the game was played for pleasure than winning alone. I always hear people say that Sachin is a great player since he makes the game look so easy. I now believe that the same is true for all sports. Riquelme, with his supreme control of the ball and a vision that sees all, does exactly that.

Born in a poor family of 10, he was spotted early by Boca Juniors (same as that of legendary Maradona and Batistuta) in 1995 and stayed there till 2001. In 2002 he shifted to Barcelona and could not adapt himself to the European style of play. His performance and confidence took and nosedive. In 2003 he was loaned to Villareal. Back in midst of Latin American players (like captain Sorin) he blossomed again. The playmaker was back and helped improve Villareal’s fortune in both the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League through the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.

He announced his retirement on September 13, 2006, at a young age of 28, a decision that shocked many who expected him to take over from Sorin. I hope he reconsiders his decision. I hope he does not retire. I hope that the game is not robbed of the beauty. I hope to see Riquelme play again.

As Argentina legend Jorge Valdano describes Riquelme: “If we have to travel from point A to point B most of us would take the six-lane highway and get there as quickly as possible. Riquelme would choose the winding mountain road, the beautiful scenic route which takes him six hours instead of two.”

PS: Also posted on Pavilion Seat and Desicritics.

I am now a part of Desicritics.org and will henceforth be cross posting sports related posts there. My first post on the Sunday Moza F1 race is up there. Check it out.

Also this is the first post using the MS Live Writer. Hope this works

What is it with Tour De France and superhuman people and superhuman performances? Why do people suffering from excruciating pain (read Landis) or ones with near death experiences (read Armstrong) keep winning it? I mean why can’t a normal guy win it, in a normal way.

This Landis chap, in lead till stage 15, goes bonkers on the 16th stage, and decides that he can do a daredevil act on his own, breaks away from the peloton and gets screwed. The guy who led till Tuesday, comes 23rd on Wednesday, is out of the top 10 and many felt this was perhaps the end of the race for him. He himself says that he has probably lost his podium chances in this years edition.

Then he goes to sleep, clears up his mind, fights all his ghosts, and on Thursday, stage 17, does once in a lifetime act. Again he breaks away from the peloton so early in the race that people were ready to take him to a mental asylum at the end of the stage. But he rode like a man possessed to give us one of the greatest days of cycling history. The man formed a solo breakaway for, yes (hold your breath), an astounding 120 kms. Carlos Sastre, the guy who came in second, finished the race close to six minutes behind Landis. Landis erased a huge part of the deficit and jumped back into third position and only 30 seconds behind the then leader Oscar Pereiro.

Stage 19 was an individual time trial and our guy, Landis, one of the best time trialists in the race. He carries on with motivation and finishes third behind Honchar and Kloden (eventual third). He erased a 30 second deficit, gained around a minute and also the yellow jersey going into the ceremonial final stage that passes through the scenic city of Paris (you can see the Louerve at points). The final stage passed off without any further drama and Landis succeeded Armstrong as the champion followed by Pereiro and Kloden. Team Mobile (Jan Ullrich’s ex-team) won the teams classification. Australian Robbie McEwen won the points classification and Rassmussen successfully defended his Kingo f the Mountains jersey. 25 year old Cunego of Italy was declared the best young rider.

So there you go. One of the most dramatic turn arounds of the recent times. After seven years of Armstrong we were so used to see him easily winning the race that a fight for the yellow jersey came as a whiff of fresh air. Yes, the race was without Ullrich, Basso and the company, but it did provide all the ingredients of being a great race, and I am certainly looking forward to the 2007 edition. By the way, the prologue of that edition starts in London.

Did I mention here that Landis is suffering from degenerative hip defect and is scheduled to undergo a hip replacement surgery sometime in September!!!

Meanwhile, a very very emotional Tiger Woods successfully defended his Open Championship (his 9th Major) last weekend, and dedicated his victory to his father Earl. He also remarked how he had tried to win a Majors for Earl at Augusta Masters and how he missed his father. Woods remained very calm till the very end but the flood gates opened once he won the Championship and cried uncontrollable on the shoulders of his caddie and then in the arms of his wife. If Earl was watching this, from wherever he is, he would have been a very very proud father indeed. Almost reminded me of the Tendulkar knock against Kenya in the World Cup after his fathers demise.

F1 chief Max Mosley has announced that from 2008 onwards, now hold your breath, Microsoft (yeah, you read it right, Microsoft) will be the official supplier of engine control units.

Now that takes the word “crashing” to a whole new level. Doesn’t it!!

Also, going by Microsoft’s record the 2008 season may well begin in 2009 if all goes well following the Vista way!!

And don’t even get me started on BSOD

The exit of Argentina from the Football World Cup 2006 meant that my interest in it was over and I focused again on the other two sports I love. Cricket and F1. And interesting stuff happened in both over the weekend.

In F1, the US Grand Prix brought a sense of deja vu as only 9 of the 22 cars finished the race with Nico Rosberg being the only one out of points. The first corner on the first lap was a mess and resulted in the elimination of a lot of cars (including the “ever unlucky” Kimi) and yellow flag for around 6 laps. As soon as the yellow flag was removed another accident removed a few more cars from contention and brought back the yellow flag. Felipe Massa (who is a great driver on his day) was in the lead then held on to it till the first round of pitstops where Schumacher drove the Ferrari like crazy on the entry and exit laps (like only he can) to reclaim the top spot. He then drove a brilliant race from there on to gain a 12+ seconds lead before the final lap. I have always felt that one of the greatest strengths of Michael Schumacher is the way he drives is car in and out of the pits and the way he blazes his way away just after the pitstop with the new rubber on the car. Also, the fact that the Indianapolis track is better for the Bridgestone helped Michael’s case. Alonso’s Renault seemed a bit off colour and the guy had to give up his third place on the starting grid to team-mate Fisichella after showing resistance for a couple of laps.

After the race Michael has cut down the Spaniard (reminds me of Crowe in The Gladiator) Alonso’s lead to 19 points with 8 races to go in the season. It also brought up a Ferrai 1-2 after a year (the last one being at the last Grand Prix fiasco here last year). Also the Contructors Championship lead has been cut down to 26 points.

In cricket, Jayasuriya and Tharanga tore into the English attach to chase down 322 in 37.3 odd overs and the way Jayasuriya was going (152 off 99 balls) a 400 run target wouldn’t have been difficult at all. To add insult to injury, it completed a 5-0 whitewash of England in England. Also they erased the long standing 285 run opening stand held by Ganguly and Tendulkar to 286.

The best event, however, was a very sweet Indian victory in the West Indies. This is only the second Indian series victory in WI and has come after 35 long years. Also it is a first actual Indian test series victory outside the subcontinent (Zimbabwe was a farce, though the victory against Pakistan was of much better quality) in 20 years and has finally erased the dubious record of sorts. Kumble was ecstatic after taking the last wicket and the joy of the Indian team was there for all to see. Dravid and Kumble’s batting and Sreesanth and Bhajji’s bowling in the first innings and Dravid’s batting and Sreesanth and Kumble’s bowling in the second were the highpoints of the Indian team. Dravid (the Man of the Match and the series) was a manual on how to bat on a difficult wicket. I have been a great critic of Dravid the captain and a great fan of Dravid the batsman. This test match (and the series on the whole) again showed why Dravid is easily one of the finest craftsmen in the trade and explained his being called “The Wall”. Also, the test highlighted the utility of Anil Kumble to the Indian team and I sincerely hpe that the Indian selectors (led by the irrepressible Kiran More) would see sense and keep him in the scheme of things for the WC2007. Kumble bowling India to victory reminded me of his valiant attempt to bowl with a broken jaw. It almost seemed a poetical justice that this man gets the final wicket lead India to a victory that will be remembered for some time to come.

A low point in the test, however, came just before lunch on the third day when Lara missed a Harbhajan ball that spun miles and turned around and mockingly applauded the curator for making a turner despite his request for a pacy one. The fact that the amount of spin on the ball would have put Indian tracks to shame did not seem to go down well with the WI captain. Agreed that Lara did not get the team and pitches to match his demands but that does not justify his on-field behaviour. There are forums to express such displeasure and the cricket field is the last one of those. Also it once again shows the difference between Tendulkar and Lara. Tendulkar by his behaviour and demeanour has achieved the status of a demi god while the mercurial Carribean batsman is still a mortal. Through out the series the only glimpse of the great Lara was in the third test when Lara anchored the WI and averted an otherwise clear defeat. I hope Lara realizes his mistake and apologises for his naive behaviour on the field.

Once the dust settles India must realize that the victory has come against a comparatively inexperienced and weak WI team and that bigger and tougher battles lay ahead and that to prove themselves many more such victories are required.

PS: Also the past weeks sporting events consisted of news concerning two more greats. First was the exit of one of the best tennis players (and my all time favourite) Andre Agassi from Wimbledon. Next was the superb play of the legendary Zidane against the mighty Brazil to take France into the semis of the FIFA World Cup. I wish I could write about those too.

A finals that is comparable to the legendary movie itself. Miami Heat came from behind after being down 0-2 in the series to wrap it off in the sixth game and win the finals 4-2.

The Mavericks won the first two games with such ease that many feared that the finals would be over by Game 4 itself. Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki put up sterling performances that left the Heats frustrated and gasping for breath. The finals then moved from Dallas to Miami and the Heats got their acts together and won the next three at home to go up 3-2 in the finals. Game 3 was not easy but the Heats rallied from behind and erased a 13 point deficit with 6 minutes to go in the fourth quarter to take the game. Game 5 was another nail biter with Wade taking the game into overtime and then taking the game winning shot 1.9 seconds from the final buzzer.

The finals will be remembered for coming of age of Dwayne Wade. It is not easy to overshadow the 7 feet 1 O’Neal, but Wade did that with such ease that he was an easy choice for the NBA Finals MVP. In the crucial Game 3 he scored 42 points and took 13 rebounds. 15 of the 42 points came in the fourth quarter where the Heats erased a 13 point deficit to finally win the game. He again proved his value in Game 5 where he scored 43 points and also a record 21 from 25 free throws including the game winning shot. He averaged 34.7 (third best behind Allan Iverson and West) in the finals and also became one of the five youngest players ever to have scored more than 40 points (he did it twice!!) in the NBA finals.

Also remembered will be the flagrant use of the infamous Hack-a-Shaq by the Mavericks, which resulted in the suspension of Jerry Stackhouse from Game 5. Arnold has a great piece on it (here). Game 5 also left a bad taste in the mouth with Nowitzki kicking the ball in the stands and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban being fined for “acts-of-misconduct”.

A tribute to Maradona on 20 years of his magic!!!

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=FKYX7EfX6jc]

Behold!! The true magician is at work!!

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=g_v38-k9PyM&search=goal] From the best team ever. Argentina!!

It is the proverbial rise of the phoenix from the ashes. After a very forgettable 2005 and not so rosy first 3 in 2006 most F1 pundits had written off Schumacher as well past his prime. But a new engine and 2 successful racing weekends the champion is back and up to all challenges coming in his way. Imola was described as a flash in the pan by most but after Nurburgring, the tifosi is up in arms and the Ferrari F1 team looks like a strong contender for the season once more. The Renault, led by Alonso is still doing well but now must divide its attention between Kimi and Schumi.

Schumacher seemed in sublime form as put in a lot of consecutive fastest laps to over take Alonso after the second pit stop. He kept Alonso under pressure right through the race and never let the difference grow more than 2.5 secs. Thousands of Schumacher fans were probably praying hard for the second race engine of the Ferrari to last through the entire race and if that happened they knew there was no overtaking the master. Thankfully, it did and Schumacher took the chequered flag with ease. Alonso did well, however, to see off the challenge by Massa (who took his first podium) during the last few laps and keep his second place and gain a valuable 8 points. Life wasn’t easy for Massa too with Kimi breathing down the neck of the Brazilian till the end but Massa held his nerves and saw the both the Ferrari cars on the podium, a sight that most F1 fans had almost forgotten.

Another interesting fact in the race was that 9 out of the 22 on the grid did not finish the race. 7 of them retired from the race with engine problems, which to me raises a lot of questions about the two race engine policy of the F1. Also disheartening was watching both Alonso and Schumcher drive well below what they can because both of them carried a race old engine and did not want to push it too far. Combined with a four race gearbox policy this could seriously hamper the speeds of F1 cars with people not wanting to push the car out of fear of the engine giving away!!

Last but not the least, one of the best parts of the race was watching the young Nico Rosberg giving a lot of seniors a run for their money. To me he seems a great up coming talent and given a good car I have not doubt he will soon be a regular on the podium.

On another note, I read “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” over the weekend. It is a short and sweet book and extremely well written. Also came across this awesome quote that I have fallen in love with.

“I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”

I loved the novel and recommend it highly.

The following post has been cross posted on the Pavilion Seat blog.

Formula 1 has seen such a deluge of rule changes over the past couple of years that it has left many fans (including yours truly) greatly miffed and confused. The qualifying session has been changed so often that I am sure the drivers must be confirming the rules before every race. Moreover, an F1 car with a 2.4lt V8 engine is a joke! This one gives 750 bhps compared to the 950 of the V10s. F1 is the only sport that is stepping back on technology. Also, teams are now trying hard to push the V8s to their limits for more power which I think increases the risk of an engine (that is supposed to last for 2 races now) failure.

When I sit down to watch F1, I want to see the fastest cars being driven around by good guys to the limit where speed is all that matters. All the rule changes are being made to make the game cheaper and safer. Cheaper! I don’t think that these companies care about a few million here and there. They say that it will attract more companies to race as costs go down and the competition becomes close. It’s like telling Superman that you have the cape but you are not allowed to fly because others can’t fly as fast. And safer. F1 has the most stringent laws concerning driver safety. What was the last accident you heard about in F1? I think it was Ralf Schumacher at the US Grand Prix in 2004. That was due to a split tyre, and he still missed some 6 races only. The crash was one of the worst ever in the F1 history, but the car kept him safe. These cars are safer than any other road cars.

Here are a few (ridiculous to say the least) rule changes F1 is about to see.

- Same car for the years 2008-2010. A tech freeze. There goes the entire development concept.
- Four race gearbox.
- Single tyre supplier (Bye-bye Michelin! We will miss you.).
- Testing limited to 30,000 kms per year.
- No tyre warmers. You want to save money by doing away with them? Seriously!
- No spare cars.
- Entry fee lowered from USD 48mn to 300,000 Euros.

I say give them the fastest cars and let them race. Also there is a talk about reducing the downforce (technically F1 cars can race upside down on ceilings!) on the cars for more overtaking. But then again that increases the risks. Wait! FIA has a solution. Keep the drag force the same. Which basically means you will have to slow down the car to make it stable. Sucks!

But the good news is that with the entry fee cut down and performance being no criterion, we might once again see our very own Karthikeyan back on the track.

What did you say? Indicators on F1 cars! Well, you never know.