I have been waiting for this Worldcup from last 4 years as i did not enjoy the last world cup at all. In midst of moving and non availability of cable tv during the movies in Kansas City and of course - poor performance of star teams left me totally dissatisfied. So i was all getting ready to watch this world cup and this time i was in Bangalore, India. I noted down all the timings, took print outs and chalked out plans as to which match i should be seeing and which ones i should be skipping. I also had predictions game where i would predict winners. As a stroke of luck, i was asked to report to Chicago office courtesy Cisco exactly a month before the Soccer tournament. Initially i was skeptical because of the timings. In India i would have been watching the matches during the wee hours of the night but if i move to Chicago - matches would be telecasted during afternoons. So with a heavy heart , i packed my bags thinking i will miss this World Cup also. You might be thinking - "Hey , what the heck! Big Deal". But man, this World Cup happens Once in 4 years and it is a WORLD sport unlike Cricket or American Football. I had pleasant surprises waiting for me in Chicago. Cisco is such a nice place to work that they have this policy of working from home. All i needed was a high speed internet connection which i had in my apartment. So i was mighty thrilled as the new realization hit me hard. I could see all the matches in the comfort of my home. Working from home. So i used to work after the games were over and continued watching the games.
Finally, the World Cup started. Deep in my heart - Italy was my favorite. This goes back to the time - when i was a HUGE fan of TOTO Schillachi and Baggio. I never liked Brazil. I always wanted Italy to win. And me being a Right Defensive in school , i always liked Italy for the solid defense. How can anyone forget Maldini. I was sad that he was replaced by younger Connavaro. I did not know how this new person played as i dont follow Eurpean Soccer league. I always feel, playing for Country more important than playing for Leagues where money plays importance. Anyways, games started and so did my roller coaster ride.
I was interested in all the groups but after the first couple of rounds, i thought Germany, Netherlands, Argentina, Portugal, Spain and of course ITALY were doing great. Again, i was not impressed with Brazil. Ronaldo just stands near the D and waits for the ball to be fed to him and just scores if he finds a chance. I remember Bastha Sunil in school doing the same. We did not have the offside rule in school and he literally used to sit near the goal post and score goals. Man, wasnt i wild at that time. I had really high expectations from the Netherlands - Argentina games but it turned out to be a fizz as the placings were already decided. I feel these star games should be played first than leaving it to the last. And the Portugal/Mexico was another gem of a game. I became an instant fan of Portugal. Not just because of Scolari but Figo & Deco. Figo is like Javed Miandad of cricket. He is a desert fox. I like guys with little "grey" attitude.
Round of 16 started without any major upsets in earlier rounds. And the one game i hated to see was Portugal vs Netherlands. Both were my favorite teams and both were playing good. I hated to see one of them loose.But since this was knockout, one has to loose. Marco Van Basten is an exciting coach though but not as much as Scolari. ;-) This game turned out into free for all game with refree forgetting he is in a soccer match. What a game it turned out to be. Figo and Deco were awesome. Though red card on Deco was not right. Eventually, Portugal won. All along Italy was silently silencing its critics and scandals back home.
Quarter Finals: Things heat up and deadly duels in store. Best among them being Germany vs Argentina. Frankly speaking, i feel Penalty shootouts to decide the game is totally unfair but to break the deadlock, it is needed. Though LEHMANN won it for Germany, i will always like Oliver Kahn. Germany sneaked into Semi Finals. But the shock of the tournament was yet to come. Grandpa's of the World Cup France was playing Brazil. And one grandpa in Brazil - Roberto Carlos was sleeping when Henry score the lone goal of the match. Good that it was not decided by penalties and Zidane continues. Oh what a world cup this is turning out to be. Meanwhile, my fav teams Portugal and Italy advance slowly to the Semis.
Semi Finals: I was travelling to NYC on that day and i made sure i was on time to watch the game. I was delayed by 30 mins due to flight traffic and came in late.But both the teams were waiting for my arrival to score goals. It was nearing end of Over time and man, the all round capability of Italy showed again. So it was not just the forwards who scored for Italy but also Defenders, mid fielders etc. Everyone was joining the party. So after scoring twice in dying minutes of xtra time - Italy went to the finals. In the other Semi Final - Zidane showed his magic nth time and France came into the Finals. Oh what a tournament it turned out to be. Where are Brazil, Argentina & Germany?
Finals: I was back in Chicago with by Samuel Adams light. Highlight of the tournament and unforgettable incident in this World Cup was head butting of Zizou. Whatever happened in the middle was really bad but it was a RED card. Was the sending off responsible for France loosing? Well, u never know. But Italy with its dubious record of loosing in the penalties - i was scared. But at last - Italy made all the PK
The Best of the tournament was the now famous HEAD BUTT. Well, debates will always go on if the butt changed the course of the finals. Should TV replays used in football? Bcoz zidane was sent out, France Lost? Well, personally i feel it was a turning point of the whole game. I am sure France would have been more confident with Zidane in the PK line up. I am 100% sure he would have easily cleared it. But there are no IFS & BUTTS in a football game. (Pun intended). This comes back to what Matterazzi did? Did he pass on a racist comment which aggravated Zidane so much that he caved in? Or was it a personal sneer? Well, i can defnitely think Zidane would write a book about it and it will be a top seller list when he releases it 12 years from now. Good idea to make money man! So Zidane, do not reveal it now. I can write your biography unless you want an auto bio. :-)
At the end of it, it is the winner who takes all. Rite. I still remember 1989 sports meet in IDPL school. I was in the Sarabjit Singh team. Tough luck and my side was an imbalanced side. We were the eakest team in the 4 groups on paper and in reality. We lost in all the games and we did not win any medal. So me and Ramana were made to guard the sports equipment when te prize distribution was happening by the PT sir as we did not win and with a real HEAVY heart, me and Ramana were sitting near the goal post with almost tears in our eyes when all the other groups were cheering during the prize distribution. So when football stars were shown crying on the screen for missing an important goal or loosing a match - i could immediately correlate to it. But SPORTS is the real winner i feel. It is always better to participate and loose than not participate at all. JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDAR.
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