Bayern meet Barcelona!

If there are two teams that social media has compared the most with the cliched 'unstoppable force' tag this year, they would be Bayern Munich and Barcelona. After the draw, I'm seeing a lot of 'Oh no Barca!', 'Oh no Bayern', 'we'll easily beat them' messages from both sides of the fence. Mostly, many fans of both teams wished they didn't meet each other for the Semis.

When the draw for the Semifinals was made, I was kind of hoping it would come to this - both as a fan of Bayern and as a fan of the game.

As a fan of the game, I can see Dortmund play Bayern every year. At least twice. Out of Madrid and Barcelona, Barcelona's system is considered the more superior by a majority of the critics & media worldwide. Hence, it'd be great to see this 'deutscher-meister' Bayern side take them on over two legs, when the odds are even (home & away) and both teams have two legs to play to-and-fro strategy, in addition to the brilliance that evolves during the period of the game.

Why not Madrid? 

Much as I'd like an all German final, I expect Real Madrid to leave Dortmund behind this time. During the 'group of death' matches, Real would have spent the lowest amount of time preparing for BVB, focusing more on Barcelona at home and getting the better of Man City in the CL. This time around, Dortmund have Mourinho's complete attention. He's very good at destroying an inexperienced side at this level - even with a slightly above average, upcoming squad (Porto!). With a squad like Madrid's, Dortmund have an Everest to climb. All due respect to Dortmund, though. They have been brilliant and have it in them to see Real off, but I don't see that happening over these two matches.

But wait, this post is about Bayern, right? 

It'd make perfect sense for Bayern to meet Real in the final. We know, saw and cried over what Mourinho did to Bayern with his Inter. He's exceptionally good at strategising for one-off matches. I have been amazed time and again by the stuff he comes up with for these matches - at Porto, Chelsea, Inter and Madrid. It is WAY more difficult to beat Madrid in the final as against meeting them in the Semis. As a fan of Bayern, this makes it the most difficult way to winning the League.

You can't expect me (and my kind) to survive yet another final or SF loss, no? 

But yes, I prefer this fixture. I want Bayern to win the Semis. I want Bayern to win the Final. If we do it, though, there's not a damn way in hell Bayern can be put down in any argument.

There can't be a 'German Champions? That's not a competitive league!' even from the most ignorant among idiots. There can't be a 'But you didn't meet Barcelona, no? That's the best team out there'.

No. Bayern will be the best team in Europe, across leagues.

Why do I have this crazy wish for difficult fixtures? 

Because I am what I am.

When you see a Bayern match and see fans holding a big banner that says, 'Mia San Mia!', that's what it means.

Run, Forrest! Run!

Second day on the ground. Could easily cover more ground than the day before. Completed 2 rounds of slow jogging / fast walking (~750 metres) followed by about 500m of ground coverage in a micro game of football. Remembered the good old days when I did all this to warm up.

Should cover 3 to 4 rounds tomorrow.

Here's hoping whoever reads this eggs me on to keep running!


PS: I am not a complete 0 / 100 in the game. Let's say I'm at 0.01/100 now. Should start with that once I can run without getting into a breathing frenzy!

Idho vanduten...

When I stopped playing football by the end of 1997 (yea, a couple of years after I started - not like a career or anything, he he), I knew what I was getting into. My instructor had asked me to keep exercising and if not, I would become fat, especially around the belly portion, once I finished growing taller.

Anyone who has seen me in the past four or five years can say whether I worked on his advice. :)

I was back on the field today after seven years (thirteen, if you count playing for a team) and realized a lot of things.

a) I have a serious respiratory issue I am planning to overlook for the moment.
b) I am planning to run and explore as much as possible.
c) I can still bend the ball.
d) Most importantly, I was of the opinion that my football 'skills' (if I may use that word) would have gone down exponentially since '97. I was either wrong about the exponential function back then, or we have reached infinity. Yes, I am back at zero. In fact, zero is over rating it.
e) I can't run continuously for even five minutes now.
f) I should.
g) Total distance covered was at least four kilometres (including the 8-6 end-to-end on the basketball court).
h) This is just as fun as it was.

Much thanks to Lian and Devabasu for letting me in first.

Arsenal - Chelsea - Live text and updates!

Emirates, November 29 2009

One game I cannot take sides for. May the best team win.

Quick words:
Seven minutes into the game and Arsenal are in full control.
Arshavin, Song, Cesc, Cech and Essien are doing their job pretty well.

10:47 - Mikel gets a warning for targeting Cesc.
13th: Nasri wins a throw in from a fine position.
14th: Drogba is offside.
15th: Ashley Cole is still settling in.
16th: Arsenal look dangerous. Chelsea is clueless as people in red and white assume important positions all over the place.
16th: Drogba tries to sneak one in.
17th: Essien and Carvalho have a handful to handle, as Arsenal take a corner.
18th: Cech takes an easy one from the corner.
18th: Chelsea threatened one and HOW! Mikel takes one, pushes to Lampard, wonderful pass past Drogba to Anelka, who was, I think, tugged down just in time.
20th: Sagna's been having a busy day near the Chelsea box.
20th: Looks like Gallas pushed Anelka down. lampard takes a free kick, defenders clear it for a corner.
22nd: Lampard takes the corner as well, Essien taking what I call the central header place.
23rd: Drogba and Almunia's header/catch practice session.
24th: Nasri fires into Cech's hands.
25th: Essien's proving to be a big obstacle for everyone in Arsenal.
25th: Ivanovic runs faster than Traore. Traore doesn't like it, pulls Ivanovic down, and gets a yellow card.

Funny, but Chelsea get better with time.

27th: Essien misses one, takes Cech to stop an Arsha-win.
28th: Sagna believes Cesc's pass was too fast. I believe Sagna wasn't fast enough.
29th: Offside - Arsenal. Would have been a penalty if not an offside.
30th: Mikel's too...casual? Arshavin's literally taking the ball away from Mikel's feet.
32nd: Joe cole has been warned. 'No, you can't have Nasri's trousers'
34th: Drogba apologises to Anelka for picking a packed up Joe Cole instead.
35th: Confusion in the Chelsea box.
36th: Ivanovic is getting the bettrer of Nasri today.
37th: Yellow for Drogba! Medicos for the defender.
38th: ESPN shows the foul each team committed in its own D and how well they got away with it. Sagna definitely was the culprit there. (refer minute 18)
40th: Eduardo would have scored had Peter Cech not run in to scoop the ball!
41st: Traore can't understand what he should be doing anymore.
42nd: DROGBA SCORES. Terry to Ashley. Ashley to Drogba. Amazing followup. I can't decide which of the three is better. Terry's superb pass or Ashley's superb cross or Drogba's neat finish. I'll go with Ashley.

Ancelotti punches an invisible demon to show his happiness. Eleven appearences for Drogba against Arsenal; nine goals! And some people wonder why I am beginning to like Drogba!

43rd: Gallas ensures that Drogba doesn't get two in two minutes!
44th: When Mikel wins the ball from two Arsenal players, you can say Arsenal is shaken.
45th: GOAL TWO for Chelsea. Wonderful cross from J Cole. Vermaelen puts it in (OG) before Drogba can get anywhere near! Arsenal are repeating the same mistakes they did against ManU. The rule's "Don't get shaken so much!"

HT: Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal

Aswin's HT Analysis:
Outstanding first twenty minutes from Arsenal. Equally good performance from Chelsea in the next twenty five. Arsenal's last five minutes of the half was poor despite some valiant attempts; and these five minutes have been the difference.

SECOND HALF underway. Theo Walcott's here. Arsenal's in a definite attacking mood, no doubt.

47th: Good defending to stop Eduardo da Silva.
48th: Nasri hits in to the D, Terry heads it out. Arsenal try again. Essien's here.
49th: Commotion all around. Many hits. Many saves. Arshavin slots one. Not a goal.

Chelsea need time to settle in. Just like ever.

51st: free kick for Arsenal.
53rd: Arsenal want to attack. Chelsea's still 'analyzing', except for Carvalho, Essien and the man, John Terry.
54th: Anelka's the "name of the blog". Offside.
55th: Corner for Arsenal. Absolutely sorry, but no time to write about the finer details of the moments on screen (or I'll miss them! At least I get to watch this way!). If only I had a speech to text converter!
56th: Cleared just in time by John terry. JUST in time.
57th: Eduardo out. Vela in. Arsene's going for it on one hand, and saving Eduardo for the rest of the season on the other.
58th: Arsenal discover that beyond Terry, there's a man named Cech.
59th: Traore's not happy, I think, with his game.
60th: Lampard and the pass of grace.
60th: Anelka's offside, yet again.
61st: Arsenal freekick. Punched out by cech.
62nd: Freekick for Arsenal. Fabregas is wondering why the rest of Arsenal didn't put that into the net. Gallas is not able to reach the ball before Cech does.
64th: Almunia saves it one second before the ball creeps into the net off a Lampard deflection.
65th: Joe Cole thinks he deserves a free kick too.
66th: Terry's complaining that Vermaelen hugs him tight whenever he's in the Chelsea box and rightly so (TV replays show Terry's right). That's not football. This is not how you 'mark' people.
67th: Rosicky in for Nasri.
68th: Arsenal says Sagna can attack. Chelsea says anyone can defend that.
69th: Deco in for Joe cole.
70th: Free kick for Arsenal from close range. Yellow for Essien.
72nd: Ashley Cole is out. Ferreira's in.
73rd: People think they can jump on Drogba and push him down. Small boys.
74th: Deco gives it away. Arshavin threatens. Carvalho saves the day.
75th: No one knows who owns the ball.
76th: Two men down. Play continues. (Denilson and Drogba). Play finally stopped.
77th: Vela needs to realise that falling inside the box does not mean a penalty would be given. Someone needs to push him down!
78th: Desperate game from both sides. A little funny at the moment.
79th: The ball's stayed in the Almunia half for more than two mins now.
80th: Ivanovic's doing a great job out there. Nasri didn't read him. Vela's finding him difficult too.
81st: Goal kick for Arsenal.
81st: Lampard and Sagna play Shaolin soccer.
82nd: Noone knows who owns the ball now. How would they calculate possession percentage for this match?
83rd: Deco gives it away, yet again!
84th: Essien's thinking of attacking...finally!
85th: Some people start leaving the Emirates. They didn't come to watch this!
85th: Fabregas brings down Essien near the box. close range free kick for Chelsea.
86th: DROGBA fires it in! 3-0 Chelsea! Far end of the post. Almunia didn't have much of a chance there. Ten goals in eleven appearences for Drogba against the Gunners. People are walking out of the Emirates now.
88th: Deco does the first good thing of the day, wins a freekick. Drogba out. Malouda in.
88th: Gallas marshals the Arsenal. They begin to look good when Sagna fires it into the stands which are becoming increasingly empty now. Wait, is it the Chelsea crowd I am hearing?
91st: Essien's faster than anyone else on the ground now.
93rd: Why is Arsenal defensive now??
94th: Malouda misses what would have been a fourth for Chelsea.
95th: Fabregas is frustrated and eventually gets an yellow.

It's all over. Chelsea 3 - 0 Arsenal.
Chelsea have beaten the rest of the big four season so far and is on top of the table for good reason. Arsenal did not have it in them to convert efforts into goals and that's a reason they're going further away from the top of the table today.

FT words:
Barcelona or Madrid can not come up with anything better than what Arsenal did in their moments. if Arsenal had stuck to that attack and played like Gods, I doubt if things would have been different. The bottom line is that Chelsea survived, and they are all set to survive any further attacks. If only Deco improves his touch vastly, Chelsea need not worry about the African cup of nations. Losing Essien and Drogba will be hard, and Chelsea will look at extending their lead considerably before that.

Nobody visits this blog for live updates. I am just wondering why I am doing all this. :)
Heck, who cares?

Burnley at it again!

A recent equation doing the rounds in forums around the World.

Burnley at Turf Moor = Liverpool at Anfield.

They sent ManU crying, and how! Even without Caldwell and half of the team's "Moor" defence. (The new guy's cool, though.)

Recent scalps : Arsenal, Chelsea and ManU.

Go on Coyle!

Forums believe that ManU lost because of :
1. Lack of pace.
2. lack of width.
1+2 = 3. In short, Lack of CR7.

I wouldn't say that. Though Cristiano was an incredible "presence" against weak teams, I still think ManU missed Carlos Tevez more.

Just wait and see what Tevez does for ManC when they visit Burnley. You'll see what I am talking about.

Possession Football

Possession football is a style of play that puts me off more often than not. For a huge fan of the counter-attack style, I hate to admit it. But Possession football has its own huge advantages, most importantly at the School level.

When I used to play at School, ahem, rewind many many years, my school team coach (read PT master :D) was singularly cross with me for not playing possession football even when he compelled me to. I was always looking to attack and run down the left flank, and possibly into the box. I never thought about anything else. Because I got to see so less of the ball. I remember being made to sit on the bench for the rest of the day. And the subsequent match against the Rajalakshmi school kiddos. (Are such matches still held? :))

Now that I think of it, I can blame neither. Every child wants to have the ball for a longer time. That's a natural urge. Whenever I had more of the ball, I was extremely confident with my passes. And whenever I had very few touches of the ball, I used to be shaky and was relieved to send it to someone in the D at the earliest.

I read one blog by BBC's Gavin Strachan recently (find the link a few posts below) questioning if it was really necessary to have long 11 on 11 matches on a full sized pitch for kids. Nail on the head. Not at all necessary. While it gives a realistic feeling, playing on a smaller ground would mean more of the ball. And subsequently more competition. And yes, more confidence.

The tricks that people learn during practice can never be tried on the field most of the time (Am not talking about Club football. This is School football). This is because we find it hard even to play a natural straight-forward game with the pressure of a real game. If only you have a lot of possession, you can even think of playing all those tricks on the opponent defence and check for ourselves if our tricks hold water.

Mindless Attacking and Counter attacking may work out at big leagues and clubs, but I believe possession football and trying your opponents' patience is the best choice for School team coaches in practice sessions. Making the guys more confident. Say, in a 30 minute game, the guys should mandatorily stick to holding the ball (well, maybe except the CF) and attacking only when absolutely necessary. This phase would be called Confidence-building. Defenders should be alerter during this phase. Atleast half of the midfielders should be in a defensive role. The CF and possibly one winger at a time can surge ahead. After this phase, In the next 15 minutes, the game will Evolve, no doubt. People will try their tricks out and start showing flashes of their free-flowing game. Goals will follow.

This is what I think. If there are any school-level football coaches, let me know if this thing can work for you. Of course, I am not that strong with the coaching terminologies.

PS: A lot many of you have asked me in the past why Schweini (Bastian Schweinsteiger) is among my most favorite players. Because he's a winger (and a left winger at that), and is everything I ever wanted to be. The difference is that, though a left winger by choice, I was played on both wings for my ability to drop crosses better than my team mates. (I can see you imagining how badly they'd play :P)

Bayern Munich to set up an Academy in Kolkata, India

Vielen Danke Bayern!

The Links say it all!

Goal.com link

Yahoo! Sports

Reuters

Thaindian

Guardian


Old news link:
Express India