Bleacher Report - Articles by Goutham Babu

Goals: The Top 10 Goals Of All Time

Goutham Babu — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:17:48 -0400

In every season a handful of players pull out something magical and score a goal that you didn't think was possible. Looking over the best goals from last season made me wonder, what would be the best goals ever scored?

Well I've done some research and this is what I've come up with:

10. Geoff Hurst for England against Germany in the World Cup final in 1966

As an Englishman I think this one can almost go up without saying any more. The goal that clinched the World Cup for England and secured our only international triumph to date has a special place for any football fan from the country where it was born.

When you combine the goal with the black and white footage and unforgettable commentary from Kenneth Wolstenholme you get a classic moment for English football and one that hasn't been replicated since.

9. Zinedine Zidane's left foot volley in the Champions League final in 2002

Volleying a ball that drops from a height is one of the hardest skills to pull off in football. To volley it with such power and accuracy on his weaker foot is why Zidane was such a special player.

8. Carlos Alberto for Brazil against Italy in the 1970 World Cup

The Brazil team of 1970 have often been thought of as one of the greatest teams of all time, with this goal one of their crowning glories. It is a brilliant team goal involving the whole team and when Carlos Alberto bursts out of nowhere to provide the finishing touch you have a moment of World Cup history.

7. Trevor Sinclair's bicycle kick for QPR in 1997

If volleying a ball was one of the hardest skills then an overhead kick must be the hardest skill to pull off. Sinclair's overhead kick is the best one I've ever seen, hit with precision off a pacey cross with flawless technique, it is simply an amazing goal.

6. Roberto Carlos' free kick for Brazil against France in 1997

Dubbed the banana kick, or the impossible goal the amount of swerve that Roberto Carlos managed with this kick is unreal. The flight of the ball completely fooled French keeper Fabian Barthez as kids all over the world spent the next day trying to replicate this jaw dropping piece of skill.

5. Tony Yeboah's volley against Liverpool

Another volley, and this is a special one. Seemingly from nothing Yeboah smashes the ball against the underside of the bar to beat David James from 25 yards. Yeboah would score a similar goal the next week before fading away. Still, if you're going to be remember for something you may as well be remembered for an outstanding goal.

4. Nayim against Arsenal in the Cup Winners Cup final

One of the first goals of its kind, Nayim's audacious lob fooled everyone, David Seaman included. The vision to spot the goalkeeper off his line combined with the perfect execution is what makes this goal so good. Add it to the fact that it is in a major European final and you have one of the best goals ever scored.

3. George Weah for AC Milan against Verona

This is an absolutely amazing goal. Picking the ball up inside his own penalty area Weah beats four players on his own while running the length of the pitch to score. One of the best goals of all time no one has ever come close to scoring anything like it since.

2. Marco Van Basten for Holland against the USSR in 1988

This is the best volley ever scored. Hit from an impossible angle it is still unbelievable to watch the ball fly in, it is hard to think that a volley will ever beat this.

1. Diego Maradona against England in 1986

No, not the handball that should have been disallowed. The other goal.

The one where Maradona beats five England players before calmly slotting the ball into the net. While not running as far as George Weah, Maradona didn't just use pace to beat players, but ghosted past world-class English players like they weren't there.

If there ever was a one man team it was this Argentina team, and Maradona was their driving force. An incredible player and this was his best goal.

Well these were my favourite goals of all time. There are a lot I've left out, but search for these on YouTube and you're sure to be amazed and please do leave a comment.

The Six Greatest Footballers Not to Have Played in A World Cup

Goutham Babu — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:04:14 -0400

Hello Readers, I know I am a forgotten writer in b/r since this is my first article after a long four months, so have a read and leave some feedback...

Since the first ever World Cup of football in 1930, it has been the ultimate stage for any footballer. Representing your country at the highest level is the dream of almost any sportsperson.

Sometimes, however, a player will be regarded by many as one of, maybe even the best in the world, but for reasons beyond their control does not make it to a World Cup in their career.

In other instances, reasons within their control, for example, bad attitude hinder their chances for international football.

In this article, I will run through the list of arguably the greatest players to have never represented their country in a World Cup.

Ryan Giggs

Born in 1973, Ryan Giggs has played for Manchester United since the 1990-91 season, coming through their youth system. By the age of 20, Giggs had firmly established himself as United´s first choice left winger.

As a youngster, he played for and captained England at schoolboy level, but as an adult, played for Wales. Giggs retired from international football in 2007, ending an international career which included no World Cups.

Duncan Edwards

Another Manchester United player, Edwards was born in 1936 and played a number of matches for England, featuring in all of England´s qualifiers for the 1958 World Cup. He was expected by many to play a key part for his country in the World Cup Finals.

Tragically, when returning to England from Belgrade, the plane carrying Edwards and a number of other United players crashed in Munich. Duncan Edwards later died in hospital, denying the World Cup of this great talent.

Eric Cantona

The controversial French forward referred to by some as “King Eric”, Cantona is one of the most iconic footballers to have played in England. Despite being an important player for Manchester United, a mixture of disagreement with the French national coach, France's failure to qualify for the World Cup in 1994, the introduction of Zinédine Zidane and the 1995 suspension of Cantona for kicking a Crystal Palace supporter stopped him from making a World Cup appearance.

George Weah

One of, if not the best player to come out of Africa, George Weah played his international football for Liberia, who, in his playing career did not qualify for a World Cup. Weah made up for this with his club career.

Whilst at Monaco, he won the 1991 French Cup. In 1994 he won the French league with Paris Saint Germain. Following this successful period in France, Weah moved to Italy to play for AC Milan.

After being named as the African Player of the Year in 1989 and 1994, he won the award again in 1995 whilst also winning the World Best Player and European Footballer of the Year awards. Whilst playing for AC Milan, Weah achieved two league titles. To top off his list of achievements he was named African Player of the Century.

Alfredo di Stéfano

This striker was named by Pelé as one of the Top 125 Greatest Living Footballers in 2004 and had an impressive career with a number of clubs including Real Madrid in Spain.

Di Stéfano was voted European Footballer of the Year in 1957 and 1959 during his time in Madrid. Linking up with Ferenc Puskás, he managed 216 goals in 262 games between 1953 and 1964.

During his career, Di Stéfano played six games for Argentina, four for Columbia and 31 times for Spain. He was playing for Argentina at the time of the 1950 World Cup, however, the South American country refused to take part.

In 1954, he was ineligible to play, having played for Argentina and Columbia. In 1958, Di Stéfano had acquired Spanish citizenship. He played for Spain in the buildup in 1957, but was unable to help them qualify for the finals. A muscular injury prevented him from playing in 1962, making him one of the best players to have not played in a World Cup.

George Best

Born in 1946, the Northern Irish winger is best known for his time at Manchester United. Combined pace, balance and acceleration with his ability to use both feet allowed Best to beat defenders and score a number of goals.

Known not only for his ability on the field, but also for living a stylish lifestyle, Best was one of the first footballers to be known as a celebrity. During his time at Manchester United, he scored 138 goals in 361 games.

Playing for Northern Ireland, he managed nine goals in 37 matches. Unfortunately, during the greatest years of Best's career his country did not manage to qualify for the World Cup. He was considered for the 1982 competition, which Northern Ireland qualified for, but at the age of 36, manager Billy Bingham chose not to pick him.

Despite this, Best is still considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time.

Riots: Some Bad Things About The Game "Soccer"

Goutham Babu — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:46:02 -0400

Soccer riots have always been something of a mystery.

The violence in hockey is at least compatible. Grown men in heavy costumes skating at high speed with blades on their feet to create enough tension and energy to start a fight in a hurry.

In baseball, a hard leather ball thrown 100 km/h and the head can make understandable that you want to charge the mound.

But football?

Even the game is going at a slow pace and hardly inspires more focused concentration on the field itself.

American commentators jokingly portray the reason for soccer riots as low score low key occasions. They often say, "after paying nearly $100 for seats and the fight against the crowds to see two teams play a match while an end in a tie 0-0, you can riot."

However, for the rest of the world, soccer riots are no laughing matter.

People are dying

Death from football riots occur worldwide. They were recorded in Germany, England, Greece, Spain, South Africa, Italy, and Latin America.

In 2001, a football riot in Ghana killed 138 people. While it is in our human nature to have a visceral response and succumb to the mob mentality that any fan would be killed simply by watching a football match is tragedy at its peak.

All sports have to have players and fans more noble and more a part of the tapestry of humanity. Loss of life to a soccer game really shows how we have reduced our ability to connect with another.

Politics enter

What distinguishes football from many other sports is its international reputation.

Soccer is not a property of any one country, people or race, but is an international phenomenon, which encompasses a variety of people, ideas and landscapes.

Given the great diversity of participants in the game, world politics often play an unfortunate part in soccer riots. When countries become enemies or evoke different political positions residents often leave the soccer team to play their frustration. This creates an energy in anger and the false good sport to violence in the stands.

A riot at a soccer game between Iran and Japan was said to be motivated by protesters fed up with Iran sex rights violence. The riots that broke out left three dead.

In 2004, a soccer riot in Rome was scheduled to protest against government spending on education and sport. When the tension in the world invades the field of sport, everybody loses.

Antisocial behavior

Unfortunately, football seems unable to get rid of its reputation as a riot adventure. It attracts enthusiasts who want to be part of the crowd mentality and creates an atmosphere of anti-social and anti-authority behavior.

The number one accident of any football riot is usually the police or the authorities who came to maintain order in and around the stadium. Gangs of youths who call themselves "football hooligans" have voluntarily begun to infiltrate the world of football to disseminate their own brand of anti-authoritarian violence.

The model Olympic sports competitions put forward only when individuals and teams to the best of their ability to society as a whole is a nourished and inspired by their progress.

Soccer riots has the opposite effect on the sport as a whole and disadvantages the common good.

Funniest Soccer Quotes Ever: Pt 2

Goutham Babu — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:21:06 -0400

Hello Readers! I am now here with the second part of Funniest Soccer Quotes Ever. But in today's edition, I've also included some of the "mind blowing" quotes ever made by several coaches, managers, and commentators of football along with soccer players. I hope you'll enjoy it and please give your opinion.

"We didn't underestimate them. They were a lot better than we thought."
-- Bobby Robson

"Well, either side could win it, or it could be a draw."
-- Ron Atkinson

"It's an incredible rise to stardom. At 17 you're more likely to get a call from Michael Jackson than Sven Goran Eriksson."
-- Gordon Strachan referring to Wayne Rooney

"We must have had 99 percent of the game. It was the other three percnet that cost us the match."
-- Ruud Gullit

"Raul, man, he’s like a Twinkie. He would survive a nuclear war.
-- Ray Hudson

"We'll still be happy if we lose. The game's on at the same time as the Beer Festival."
-- Cork City manager Noel O'Mahoney before a game in Munich

"He dribbles a lot and the opposition don't like it -you can see it all over their faces."
-- Ron Atkinson

"Julian Dicks is everywhere.
It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field."
-- Metro Radio,Football

“Batistuta gets most of his
goals with the ball.”
-- Ian St John

“Hodge scored for Forest after 22
seconds - totally against the run of play.”
-- Peter Lorenzo

“We actually got the winner three minutes from the
end but then they equalized.”
-- Ian McNail

"I don't like to see players tossed off needlessly"
-- Andy Gray

"When you are 4-0 up you should never lose 7-1"
-- Lawrie McMenemy,Manager of Southampton Football Club

"The beauty of Cup football is that Jack
always has a chance of beating Goliath"
-- Terry Butcher

"If you stand still there is only one way to go,
and that's backwards"
-- Peter Shilton

"And Farmer has now scored 19 goals, exactly
double the number he scored last season"
Garry Lyon, Australian Football Commentator

"Statistics are like miniskirts:
They give you good ideas but hide the important things"
Ebbe Skovdahl,Danish Football Manager

"When Manchester United are at
their best I am close to orgasm"
-- Gianluca Vialli

"Winning doesn't really matter as
long as you win"
-- Vinny Jones

"Despite the rain, it's still raining here
at Old Trafford"
Jimmy Hill

"Is the Pope Catholic. No I'm serious, is he? I really need
to know" - when asked if he might be moving to AS Roma
--David Beckham

“The ref was vertically 15 yards away.”
--Kevin Keegan

"Diego Maradona - a flawed genius who has
now become a genius who is flawed"
-- Bob Wilson

"The underdogs will start
favourites for this match"
-- Anthony Hudson, Australian Football Commentator

"They've picked their heads up off the
ground and they now have a
lot to carry on their shoulders."
-- Ron Atkinson

"Chile have three options - they
could win or they could lose."
-- Kevin Keegan

"If you were in the Brondby dressing room
right now, which of the Liverpool players
would you be looking at?"
Ray Stubbs

"I came to Nantes two years ago and it's much the
same today,
except that it's completely different."
--Kevin Keegan

"Strangely, in slow motion replay, the ball seemed to
hang in the air even longer."
-- David Acfield

“England has the best fans in the world
and Scotland's fans are second-to-none.”
-- Kevin Keegan

"If history repeats itself, I should think
we can expect the same thing again."
-- Terry Venables

“Moreano thought that the full back was gonna come
up behind and give him one really hard.”
--Ron Atkinson

"You guys line up alphabetically by height."
--Bill Peterson

"Zero - zero is a big score!"
--Ron Atkinson

"That's great, tell him he's Pele and get him back on."
-- JOHN LAMBIE responds when told a concussed striker did not
know who he was after getting hit.

"Newcastle, of course, unbeaten in their last five wins."
-- Brian Moore

"This is an unusual Scotland side
because they have good players"
-- Javier Clemente

“I would not say he is the best left winger in the
Premiership, but there are none better.”
-- Ron Atkinson

“The Germans only have one player under 22,
and he's 23!”
-- Kevin Keegan

"Well, Clive, it's all about the two M's.
Movement and positioning"
-- Ron Atkinson

"I spent 90 percent of my money on women and drink.
The rest I wasted!"
-- George Best

Which is the best??..Please do comment..

The Funniest Quotes Ever Made by Soccer Players, Pt. 1

Goutham Babu — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:50:36 -0400

Here I have compiled my collection of most funniest statements ever made by soccer players. Have a look at this and give your opinion:

"My parents have been there for me, ever since I was about seven."
* David Beckham

"I would not be bothered if we lost every game as long as we won the
league."
* Mark Viduka

"We lost because we didn't win."
* Ronaldo

"If you don't believe you can win, there is no point in getting out of
bed at the end of the day."
* Neville Southall

"He's put on weight and I've lost it, and vice versa."
* Ronnie Whelan

"I was watching the Blackburn game on TV on Sunday when it flashed on
the screen that George (Ndah) had scored in the first minute at
Birmingham. My first reaction was to ring him up. Then I remembered he
was out there playing."
* Ade Akinbiyi

"I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel."
* Stuart Pearce

"Alex Ferguson is the best manager I've ever had at this level. Well,
he's the only manager I've actually had at this level. But he's the best
manager I've ever had."
* David Beckham

"I've had 14 bookings this season—eight of which were my fault, but seven of
which were disputable."
* Paul Gascoigne

"I've never wanted to leave. I'm here for the rest of my life, and
hopefully after that as well."
* Alan Shearer

"I'd like to play for an Italian club, like Barcelona."
* Mark Draper

"You've got to believe that you're going to win, and I believe we'll
win the World Cup until the final whistle blows and we're knocked out."
* Peter Shilton

"I faxed a transfer request to the club at the beginning of the week,
but let me state that I don't want to leave Leicester."
* Stan Collymore

"Without being too harsh on David Beckham, he cost us the match."
* Ian Wright

"I'm as happy as I can be—but I have been happier."
* Ugo Ehiogu

"Leeds is a great club and it's been my home for years, even though I
live in Middlesborough."
* Jonathan Woodgate

"I took a whack on my left ankle, but something told me it was my
right."
* Lee Hendrie

"I couldn't settle in Italy—it was like living in a foreign
country."
* Ian Rush

"Germany are a very difficult team to play...they had 11
internationals out there today."
* Steve Lomas

"I always used to put my right boot on first, and then obviously my
right sock."
* Barry Venison

"I definitely want Brooklyn to be christened, but I don't know into
what religion yet."
* David Beckham

"The Brazilians were South American, and the Ukranians will be more
European."
* Phil Neville

"All that remains is for a few dots and commas to be crossed."
* Mitchell Thomas

"The opening ceremony was good, although I missed it."
* Graeme Le Saux

"One accusation you can't throw at me is that I've always done my
best."
* Alan Shearer

"I'd rather play in front of a full house than an empty crowd."
* Johnny Giles

"I was surprised, but I always say nothing surprises me in football."
* Les Ferdinand

"It was like the ref had a brand new yellow card and wanted to see if
it worked."
* Richard Rufus

"There's no in between—you're either good or bad. We were in
between."
* Gary Lineker

"Sometimes in football you have to score goals."
* Thierry Henry

Twenty 20 Or Fifty 50: Take Your Pick..

Goutham Babu — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:35:17 -0400

The similarities surrounding the one-day series that commences today in Bangalore and the one that followed the 1983 World Cup are too obvious to overlook easily.

India was on a high in 1983 following victory in the World Cup. The nation is once again high now following victory in the Twenty20 World Championship.

But post-1983 World Cup was dark, despairing and a definite "downer." Craving for blood and breathing fire, the West Indies beat India 5-0 in an abjectly one-sided series, and India fell from the pinnacle to the pits with a resounding thud.

Balwinder Singh Sandhu, who bowled that dream ball to knock out Greenidge’s off stump in the 1983 World Cup final, was treated so shabbily by the West Indian batsmen that he resorted to bowling off spin in an attempt to escape further humiliation.

That in a nutshell summed up India’s total surrender in 1983.

The Australians are in a similar mood today and have already vowed to make amends for their poor performance in the Twenty20 World Championship.

On the other hand, India, with back-to-back victories over South Africa, Australia and Pakistan,etc are at the top of the world, and at least in eyes of their fans almost invincible if not infallible.

The prospects of a mouthwatering series are therefore infinite.

The Aussies have already fired the first salvo on the mental front at least, but, I suspect, the Indians this time have enough verbal ammunition to hit back in style, not to speak of a reservoir of physical strengh if it comes down to intimidation on the field.

“India’s victory in the Twenty20 is history now,” said Aussie captain Ricky Ponting soon after landing in Bangalore. “If our Twenty20 victory is history, Australia’s World Cup victory in the Caribbean is ancient history,” was Robin Uthappa’s fitting riposte.

We certainly have more than a match on our hands. So, time to put on the seat belts again, I guess.

Another interesting aspect to look forward to in this series is how one-day cricket matches up up to its younger and shorter sibling which is already a big hit.

We have already seen what one-day cricket did to Test cricket in the '80s and '90s. Now it’s time to see how Fifty50 would stand up to Twenty20 which is already a hit even before all Test playing nations have taken it seriously.

Some are saying Twenty20 is similar to reducing baseball from nine innings to three, others feel it is like cutting a NBA match from four quarters to one. To one ardent cricket lover, it is like watching a one-day match with all the boring parts edited.

Come to think of it, the shorter version of cricket already has two World Cups (Ok, one World Cup and one World Championship) less than 40 years since it was first officially played.

By contrast, many other sports got its World Cups much later, soccer or rugby union for instance.

But rarely have so many World Cups been played simultaneously with the women’s soccer World Cup, rugby union World Cup, Davis Cup and, of course, the Twenty20 World Championship all jostling for prime time space.

Thankfully, Test cricket has no World Cup yet!

Which Is the Best League in Europe: Serie A, La Liga, or the Premier League?

Goutham Babu — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:42:27 -0400

Former Milan and Italy legend Arrigo Sacchi believes Italian football is not the force it once was and is falling behind clubs of the English Premier League and Spain’s La Liga in terms of status and financial prowess. The comments made by the legendary Coach echoed the patter of current Serie A Tactician Jose Mourinho, who earlier this season warned Serie A does not have the same international appeal as the English and Spanish leagues. Are these figureheads of the game right? It only serves to beg the question, which country boasts Europe’s top league?

Money makes the world go round and the same is true in football. The wealthiest clubs can afford to attract the top players and thus win major trophies. Talking on Kiss Kiss Radio Sacchi said: "Years ago, when our [Italian] football was richer and more money was spent, it would have been difficult to imagine selling our stars. Now the situation is different and perhaps it's necessary to sell some of our players for a higher value to bring in money." Sacchi’s comments were prompted by Manchester City’s interest in Italy’s No.1 Gianluigi Buffon, and with the club having recently been bankrolled by Abu Dhabi United Group are deemed to be the richest in the world.

To some degree, Sacchi has a point. Italian clubs have attracted the world’s best players to Serie A for decades. During the Eighties and Nineties was undoubtedly when Serie A was the cream of European football. The likes of Diego Maradona, Michel Platini, Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten, Zinedine Zidane, Lothar Matthaus and Ronaldo, to name a few, highlight the calibre of overseas players who paraded in Italy’s wonderful arenas in the past. In today’s game, Serie A still boasts the likes of Kaka, Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adriano. David Beckham - the world’s highest earning footballer in the world - has also opted to play in Serie A rather than return back to Spain or his native homeland, albeit for a brief loan stint.

The dominance of Italian clubs bringing top players to the peninsula is reflected in the European Player of the Year Award. Since 1980, no fewer than 16 players plying their trade in Italy have been awarded the Ballon d’Or. Spanish sides have produced six winners and English clubs just two - including this year’s Portuguese maestro Cristiano Ronaldo. Yet despite the financial pulling power from the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga and Manchester United and Chelsea in England, Italy still continues to attract some of the world’s elite. Since the turn of the century the Ballon d’Or has been collected by five Serie A talismans, and four previous winners are currently signed to Italian clubs - Kaka, Ronaldinho, Pavel Nedved and Andriy Shevchenko.

Looking at the past winners of the Champions League (formerly known as the European Cup) makes an interesting read as the three leagues can’t be separated.Each of the above mentioned leagues have had representatives lifting the trophy on eleven occasions.Although Italy has seen more beaten finalists with 14 teams falling at the last hurdle in comparison to Spain’s nine and England’s five. The last country to dominate the tournament was England as far back as the late Seventies and early Eighties when Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa returned home with the trophy in six consecutive years.

Since 1980, Spain has harboured five Champions League winning teams whilst Italy and England have each seen one of their clubs lift the trophy on seven occasions (although taking into account the ban on English clubs from European competition for five years during the late 1980’s, following the tragic incident in Belgium’s Heysel Stadium during the European Cup final of '85 involving Liverpool fans). The English league is now proving to be a dominating force in Europe once again, having had a representative in the final for the last four consecutive seasons including last year’s all-English final between Manchester United and Chelsea. For the last two years three English teams have reached the last four of the competition too. Italian success in the competition in recent years has very much been that of Milan’s.

The current supremacy of English clubs can most likely be directly linked to the staggering finances available to them. Annual revenue rankings produced by accountancy firm Deloitte list three English clubs in the top five, four in the top ten. Manchester United top the list with Arsenal and Liverpool sitting third and fourth respectively. Real Madrid and Barcelona are still the only teams to represent Spain whilst Italy has seen a fallout of teams in the last five years. Italian teams have consistently held at least three places in the top ten. Milan is an ever-present and this year they have been rejoined by Juventus who fell from grace and the list after the match-fixing scandal of 2006. However, Roma has dropped out, ironically along with Inter, Italy’s most successful club of recent times.

The figures produced by Deloitte of course are only based on the annual income of club earnings generated through ticket sales, merchandise and prize money and does not include the personal wealth of their respective owners. If that were the case, Roman Abramovich’s £10.2b fortune would put Chelsea top at the time of the report, but now even that has been surpassed by Man City’s new owners worth an estimated £14.4b. With this kind of wealth and the number of English clubs being taken over by overseas investors, Sacchi’s concern for the future of Italian football is understandable.

This however does not detract from the wealth of players attracted by clubs in Italy or Spain and the continuing success of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Milan in European competition, plus their ability to invest in top players is testament to the quality of their respective leagues. Premier League football is a physical game played at a frantic pace, particularly in comparison to their mainland counterparts. The continental game is arguably more technically adept. Tactics and formations are more diverse and astute in the peninsula, taking a more significant role in games and their outcomes. The success of the national teams in part reflects the respective countries differing styles and approaches to the game. Italy are World Champions, the Spanish are Champions of Europe and the England team are booed every time they play at Wembley.

Wealth, club success, technical aspects of the leagues, the number of world-class players in the league, their ability to attract talent to the country, the national team’s successes - all these factors have to be taken into account when comparing the leagues of Italy, Spain and England.

Each come out top in different areas and so it leads to the question,

Which is the best league in Europe?

Cricket: The Best Eleven of 2008

Goutham Babu — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 10:29:26 -0400

Statistics alone do not provide a picture as sharp as a flat-screen television, and that is one strong reason why a best test XI like this—for the year 2008—could vary in its nature and content from a cricket fan to cricket fan, from country to country.

I have tried my best not to bring in the purported bias in this team and have refrained from getting personal favourites.

Yet, there may be some who may not agree with my choice of four Indians in the team, where as the others would have definite issues with my non-inclusion of Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh

But as I say, ‘to each his own!’

In fact, talking of Tendulkar and Harbhajan, both had a reasonable 2008, and yet I am not too sure whether it was good enough to include them in the top 11 cricketers of the year.

What I am definitely sure of is that my openers would be none other than the Delhi duo of Virender Sehwag' and 'Gautam Gambhir'. This space would run short for elucidating the reasons for this choice, but it is a no-brainer that Sehwag and Gambhir have had a smashing year. It has not only been their statistics, but also the manner in which the runs have been obtained that has put most of the opponents in a state of quandary—and quite often, Team India on the road to victory—which stands them apart from the crowd.

Both have not only got their runs in a manner so much akin to quicksilver, but also the fact that their running between the wickets has been of the top draw, and consistency has been the name of their game.

Graeme Smith’s batting constitutes only a part of his resounding success story this year—his leadership qualities been the other—but it is enough to land him a spot on the team. Overcoming his woes against the left-arm bowlers, he scored a whopping 1,656 runs at an average of 72 this year—and had it not been for the Sehwag-Gambhir pair’s inseparable habits, Smith would have had made it to the top as an opener.

There was much more to Kevin Pietersen than his unconventional switch-hits that had even the MCC scratching their heads in puzzlement, and he displayed that with a panache of a true number four batsman. After a shoddy display of captaincy by Michael Vaughan, the mantle had to pass on to Pietersen, and he did not disappoint even the worst of his critics by posting five successive wins against South Africa—one in tests and four in ODIs.

In doing so, he maintained his career average of almost 51, and just nudges out Tendulkar from the number four position because of his higher fitness levels and ability to feature in the matches on a more consistent basis.

Hashim Amla, the anchor, is my number five. His inclusion is based on two factors, the runs that he amassed in 2008 at a 50-plus average, and my gut feel that he is the one player to look out for.

I, for one, think that he was the most improved batsman of the year, and his journey from being an almost strokeless wonder to South Africa’s new stabiliser—having taken over the mantle from Jacques Kallis—makes him a desirable commodity in my team.

I have decided to go ahead with five frontline batsmen, and have M.S. Dhoni as my wicket-keeper-batsman at six.

The one thing that I would also do is to have Graeme Smith as the skipper and not Dhoni. Again, very little to choose from between the two as skippers, but Smith’s experience at the top that helped him beat the Aussies in Australia makes me my first-choice man. This, in turn, also allows Dhoni to concentrate on his batting, which would be a must, in such a line-up.

I have no qualms in calling Dhoni as one of the safest wicket-keepers in the world today, and despite not been the most graceful, he would have made it to the team on the basis of his glove-work behind the wickets alone.

Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori makes it to my team ahead of some of the other distinguished spinners in the world for his brilliant left-arm orthodox and consistently reliable batting throughout the year.

From the Bishen Singh Bedi school of spin bowling, the bespectacled southpaw has shown enough guile and brain to lull the batsmen into giving their wickets away—as his bowling mean of 26 runs per wicket shows—while scalping 54. His willow has wielded almost 700 runs at an average of 36, and this all-round performance makes him my number seven.

With 63 wickets in the calendar year, Mitchell Johnson was Australia’s lone bowling hope this season. His biggest strength was his ability to pick wickets at alarming alacrity in return spells with the old ball. Not only that, it was also his ability—and one must add that he is only into his second year as a test bowler—to keep the batsmen quiet for lengthy periods that puts him behind Zaheer Khan and Dale Steyn as the first change bowler for my team.

For small measure, he proved to be a very difficult tail-ender to dislodge, as his batting average of 23 exhibits.

Zaheer Khan was the artist of 2008. Or at least his bowling was. Usually, the phrase, ‘poetry in motion’ is reserved to describe spinners, but one wouldn’t be too off the mark if the same was used for Zaheer. With the new ball, he was a menace, with the older cherry, he was almost demoniac.

On the deadest of pitches, he made the ball spit venom and had most batsmen in a fix. Again, like Johnson, when he was not picking wickets, he was doing the containing job, and his captain, Dhoni, had enough faith in him to anoint him the bowling captain in one of the matches against England.

The quickest bowler of the team, Dale Steyn, performed admirably well in 2008, and it was not only because of his pace, but the ability to swing the ball at that speed. Half of his 74 career wickets came in this calendar year, and the average was even more mesmerizing 20 runs to the wicket. Steyn would share the new ball in my team with Zaheer Khan.

For sheer wizardry, enjoyment, confusion, bamboozlement, artistry, and a whole of other things, Ajantha Mendis walks into my team despite having played only three test matches in the year. With the batsmen having yet to sort out this wily little fox, it would have been a difficult choice to leave him out.

And a fox he was, doling his bag of goodies in the form of offies that spun, the ones that did not, the ones that went the other way, the ones that threatened to go one way but went in a totally polarised direction, and the ones that hastened off the pitch as if they had a flight to catch!

Mendis was a little advanced version of Sachin Tendulkar the bowler, having a bag of everything, but with a lot more control and consistency, something that the Indians found difficult to bat against in the three tests that he bowled in.

My team: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Graeme Smith (captain), Kevin Pietersen, Hashim Amla, M.S. Dhoni (wicket-keeper, vice-captain), Daniel Vettori, Zaheer Khan, Mitchell Johnson, Ajantha Mendis, Dale Steyn.

This, according to me, is the Best XI of 2008. What do you feel about it? Comments are always welcome.

2010 World Cup Qualifiers:Tension Rising Among Teams Due to Injuries

Goutham Babu — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:22:52 -0400

The 2010 World Cup Qualifying matches are just around the corner, as the national teams compete each other to ensure a seat in the World Cup. But most of the teams are alarmingly tensed as their key players might miss the action due to injuries.

In South America, Brazil—who has to compete against Peru and Ecuador—is daunted by the injury of Kaka. Due to his recent leg injury, the medical staff said that he may have only a 50-50 chance to play and still need time to recover completely. Brazil is also tensed due to the injury of another key player—the striker Adriano. But Adriano may play as his injury might be recovered in time.

Uruguay may also miss a handfull of their key players like goalkeeper Juan Castillo, Jorge Fusil, Ignacio Gonzales, Alvaro Gonzales, Walter Gargano. Goalkeeper Fabio Carini lost his place in the team due to his poor form.

The European champions Spain may miss Andre Iniesta. He is replaced by Valencia winger Juvan Matta. Barcelona’s thrashing of Malaga on Sunday came at a cost with midfielders Iniesta and Yaya Toure getting injured and sidelined for two weeks

Tottenham defender Leadley Brenton King may also miss the action for England. King’s presence in the squad for the first time under Capello was also a surprise given that the Tottenham centreback is rarely able to train due to a long-term knee injury.

Ireland Republic keeper Shay Given and midfielder Aiden McGeady—who are trained by former Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni—are may also miss the game due to injury. Though both are included on the team, they have not yet took part in practice so far.

Injury also hit Bulgaria as they may miss their star striker Dimitar Berbatov due to injury.

Injury-hit Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka has withdrawn from the France squad in its upcoming World Cup qualifying double-header against Lithuania and has been replaced by Guillaume Hoarau of Paris St. Germain.

Anelka is suffering from a toe injury and will be out for 30 days, prompting coach Raymond Domenech to call up PSG’s Reunion-born uncapped striker Hoarau, the French league’s second-highest scorer this season with 15 goals. France, lying third in Group 7 of World Cup qualifying behind Serbia and Lithuania, play the Lithuanians away on March 28 and at home on April 1.

There is no doubt about the fact that the matches would be challenging and interesting. As most of the teams are struggling to maintain an equilibrium as they lack some of their star players who are out due to injury. But I think they all can make up by doubling their efforts and giving out whatever they have.

A Nation of People Stumped Out By Cricket

Goutham Babu — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:20:19 -0400

Team India's win at the Twenty20 World Cup was incredible, astounding, and spectacular.

It revealed the power of the youth. It also highlighted the need for constant infusion of the new blood into the team and the compulsory retirement of those past their prime.

The win was inspirational and had definitely motivated other players to perform better.

No doubt, they deserve all praise and accolades. The media coverage of their crawl of hours from Mumbai airport to the Wankhede stadium is undoubtedly more than what even the Republic day or the Independence day parade gets.

But it's, after all, just a game. Can they seriously be called role models?

When the BCCI and the corporate coffers are brimming, was it necessary for the state government to jump into the bandwagon and announce additional bounties?

My logic asks whether we have any better and deserving use for the tax payers' money?

The way in which the cricketers are being pampered by these men are disgusting.

It's natural for the public to create fuss and extravagance, but the decisions of the government should be much more objective.

They don't even mention the name of engineers, doctors, and scientists who all contribute so much more to the nation than these sport athletes.

Lavish gifts and unwanted hype are bestowed on the "Men In Blue," when there are many in our country who are so poor that they don't even get the required amount of food per day.

Then why can't the government spend the money made by the people of India by giving sweat and blood, little more wisely and logically? instead of, wasting it by honouring the great Indian cricketers and bestowing them with millions.

If this money is been spent for the poor starving Indians, the state of our nation would be somewhat better than now...

How To Bowl: Googly

Goutham Babu — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 03:10:09 -0400

This is my second installment of the "How To Ball" series. Today, I am going to deal with how to bowl a googly, an effective bowling art used to confuse the batsmen.

Introduction

A googly, otherwise known as wrong'un, is the exact opposite to a leg-break, where the ball spins from the off-side to on-side. This delivery is key to the leg-spinner because it allows him to change the deviation.

Technique

Hold the ball as if you're about to bowl a normal leg-break. The top joints of the index and middle fingers should be across the seam with the ball resting between a bent third finger and the thumb. At the point of release, the palm of your hand should be open upwards towards the sky with the back of your hand facing the batsman.

A googly is delivered by releasing the ball from the back of the hand. In a googly, the ball should spin clockwise. This is in contrast to the standard leg-break delivery which has a counterclockwise spin.

Another option is to bowl a conventional leg-break while using the fingers to apply spin. It is used infrequently, but the surprise factor makes it a vital wicket-taking delivery

As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect. Use a tennis ball to help improve the flexibility of your wrist.

Also, see how to bowl a leg-break.

Next time on "How to Ball:" Flipper

The Top 10 Serie A Players Since 2000

Goutham Babu — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 06:03:32 -0400

Thousands of years ago Gladiators entertained their crowd by killing themselves in the battlefield,people roared and cheered for them and the last man standing receive rewards from the King. As the years passed away the same sporting event is still existing!!but instead of swords and spears they got a soccer ball..where all the gladiators assembles again for an ultimate showdown.But now this game is known as Italian Serie A...and the reward is the Italian Cup.Here are the Top 10 gladiators of Italian Serie A.

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How To Bowl: Normal Leg-Spinner

Goutham Babu — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:12:48 -0400

This is the first installment of my "How To Bowl" series. Today I am going to teach you how to bowl a leg-spinner. It is one of the toughest bowling arts to perfect. The leg-spinner's arsenal contains various deliveries, which will be published in my "How To Bowl" series in the following days.

Introduction

The leg break or leg spin delivery is where the ball spins away from the leg side. This is the basic principle of leg spin.

To bowl a leg break, the ball should be placed in the palm of the hands or in the fingers. The seam should run across the fingers. The thumb rests on the ball and does not do anything. There is a much stronger wrist action needed with this delivery than the more gentle off spin delivery.

Technique

When bowling the ball, the wrist should roll over so the ball is released from the front of the hand. When rolling the wrists, the fingers should roll across the ball as well, providing extra spin for the ball to turn once it pitches. It must be ensured that ball is resting between the bent third finger and the thumb when bowling.

When you release the ball straighten your fingers, thus much of the work will be done by the third finger in turning the ball anti-clockwise. Also, flick your wrist and rip the ball with the thumb and finger.

Improvisation

You can also improvise the delivery by varying the line and length, amount of flight on the ball, changing the speed, etc.

By following these steps, and with ample practice, you can excel at this effective bowling art. While bowling, always remember these steps to avoid mistakes.

There you go! Have fun!

See you next time for my second installment, "How To Bowl: Googly."

Top Five Stables Ever in WWE/WCW

Goutham Babu — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:21:05 -0400

Ever since wrestling industry started there were great teams constituting various great wrestlers.Many of such stables created world wide attraction and accelerated the profit of wrestling industry. Here i prepared a list of top 5 stables ever.So let us go back to see the best stables of wrestling history.Comments are always welcome..

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The Most Controversial Wrestling Incident of All Time: The "Montreal Screwjob"

Goutham Babu — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:25:26 -0400

One of the major reasons why people watch WWE is the underlying kayfabes (the events that are a part of a storyline). This makes the matches or feuds between two superstars take a whole new interest by putting in some drama to all the mayhem that is shown on the ring. However there have been occasions when real life tensions between the superstars have caused the matches between them to be viewed with a lot more interest. Here i am showcasing one such rivalry and how it all culminated in one of the most controversial and real incidents in sports entertainment.

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Football: Who's The Best One Club Player?

Goutham Babu — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:38:37 -0400

One club players are rare and precious.

The likes of Paolo Maldini, Raul, Steven Gerrard, and Paul Scholes might be handsomely paid by their clubs, but the fact they have spurned chances to get even richer elsewhere suggests they share at least some of the fans’ devotion to the colours they wear.

Indeed, Alessandro Del Piero has a good claim of being the world’s top one club man.

Five Serie A titles and a Champions League are part of the 34-year-old’s trophy haul at Juventus. He also holds the Turin club’s record for appearances and goals.

AC Milan’s Maldini has more Serie A and Italy appearances than Del Piero, Real Madrid’s Raul has scored more European goals, and both of them have won more Champions League medals, as have Scholes and his Manchester United team mate Ryan Giggs.

Del Piero probably trumps them all though because he has a World Cup winner’s medal in his cabinet.

What’s more, Del Piero gets bonus club loyalty points because he stuck with Juve when they were relegated for match-fixing in 2006, scoring 21 goals to help them to immediate promotion, and finding the net as many times last season to fire them to a third-place finish on their return to the top flight.

Sticklers might argue that, strictly speaking, Del Piero is not a one-club man. He also played for Padova in Serie B before joining Juve in 1993, but I think it would be churlish to count a few seasons outside the big time when he was a teenager (if you’re that rigid, Raul would fail the one club test too because he played for Atletico Madrid’s academy before it was closed and he moved across town).

Nevertheless, my vote does not go to Alex, but to another 2006 World Cup winner, AS Roma's Francesco Totti.

Del Piero is a wonderful player but he has a tendency to blow hot and cold, while Totti has consistently been excellent in Serie A when fit.

And, unlike the other footballers I’ve mentioned, Totti did not have the fortune to start his career at a club regularly vying for domestic and European trophies.

He has less honours to his name, but only because he stayed true to Roma rather than succumbing to the courtship of clubs such as Real and Milan.

If Roma are now a force to be reckoned with outside Italy, Totti deserves a large slice of the credit.

What do you think? Who would you give the top one club player award to? Is there anyone I have overlooked altogether who’s more worthy?

Greatest Ever:Cricket:Top 10 Batsmen Of All-Time

Goutham Babu — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:08:57 -0400

This is the second installment of my "Greatest ever" series,the first one was about top 10 wrestlers.Of course i got a good amount of criticisms which were constructive(i hope so..). Cricket is a very popular sporting event with millions of fans across the globe. As it is a game..It'll have all-time favorites and greatest players. Today,the list i prepared after crossing various hurdles is the Top-Ten Batsmen Of all-time.I know this is a debating topic..but..according to my experience in cricket(watching not playing)this list will be the one i'll be opting for.. As always comments are frankly welcomed.... Here we go..

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The Beginning of Sports

Goutham Babu — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:34:29 -0400

People have always enjoyed competing each other. In prehistoric times, a hunter who could run fast and throw a stone or spear accurately was a valued member of the tribe. The ancient Greeks included athletics is many of their religious festivals.

In 776 BC,they held a festival of sports to honour Zeus,the greatest of all Greek gods.Athletes from all over the country gathered in the stadium in the valley of Olympia to test their speed,strength and skill in the first Olympic games.

These games were held every four years, and for a long time only males were allowed to watch and take part in the races.

The games continued for several centuries after the Romans conquered Greece, until the roman emperor ended them in AD 394.Almost 1500 years later,the ruins of Olympic stadium were discovered by archaeologists.

Frenchman Baron Pierre dc Coubertin suggested holding a modern,international Olympic games.The first games of the new era of the Olympics were held in Athens is 1896.

Francesco Totti: The Master of Perfection

Goutham Babu — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:35:37 -0400

Francesco Totti (born on September 27, 1976 in Rome), plays for AS Roma in Italian Serie A.

He retired from the national side after winning the World Cup in 2006 due to health problems. His position is that of a striker or an attacking midfielder, though he is best known for playing as a second striker or an attacking midfielder. Totti has spent his entire career at Roma and is the number one goal scorer and the most capped player in the club's history.

Totti made his first appearance for Roma's senior side at the age of sixteen, when coach Vujadin Boskov let him play in the 2-0 away victory against Brescia on March 28, 1993. In the following seasons, he began to play more games, and thus he succeeded in scoring his first goal on September 24, 1994 in a 1-1 draw against Foggia Calcio.

By 1995, Totti had become a regular in the starting eleven and scored 16 goals in the next three seasons. When he assumed the team captaincy in 1997, he began to gain recognition as a club symbol. Manager Zdenak Zeman played with an offensive 4-3-3 formation, in which Totti was the left winger.

Totti scored 30 goals during Zeman's two-year managerial stint.

Totti was the Italian footballer of the year for the years 2001 and 2002. In the 2003-04 season Totti scored 20 goals which was his career high total that time. But the 2004-05 season disappointing as they finished up with eighth spot.

Totti maintained his consistent offensive output by scoring fifteen goals, among them his hundredth Serie A goal against Internazionale on October 3, 2004. Two months later, on December 19, he became Roma's all-time leading scorer after netting his 107th career goal against Parma, breaking the record previously held by Roberto Puzzo.

The 2006-07 season was a personal high for Totti, as he finished as Serie A's Top Scorer with 26 goals as Roma finished runners-up to Inter but exacted revenge on the Nerazzurri as they took home the Coppa Italia 2007.

Totti also was the recipient of the ESM European Golden Shoe award as the top European goalscorer. Despite being the highest active goalscorer in Serie A, he was not among the finalists for the 2007 FIFA World Player Of The Year due to his national team absence, though he was nominated for the 2007 Ballon d'Or, finishing tenth in the voting.

The ALL-TIME achievements of Totti are:

Guerin d'Oro (Serie A Best Player): 1998, 2004
Serie A young footballer of the year: 1999
EURO team 2000 of the Tournament
Serie A footballer of the year: 2000, 2003
Italian Footballer of the year: 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007
ESM team of the year: 2000-01, 2003-04, 2006-07
FIFA 100
2006 FIFA World CUP Winning Team
Seria A Top Scorer: 2006-2007
European Golden Shoe: 2006-07
USSI Silver Ball (Serie A Fair Play Award): 2007-08
Roma All-Time Leading Scorer
Roma All-Time leading no of appearances.

Football's Five Best Look-Alikes of All Time"

Goutham Babu — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:37:51 -0400

It is true that there may be people in different parts of the world have similarities with us..who knows?.It is also interesting when we find our look alike and talk to him.But as far as concerned it is difficult to find our look alike..as we may not be that famous.But if it is the case of film stars or sports stars it may be easy to find their look alike!!!!!!! so here are some famous celebrities having resemblance with some other famous people around the globe..here i have five famous football stars ..all having striking resemblance with renowned people. The celebrities featuring in each slide are all having great resemblance to each other..in one way or the other!!so here are the Top 5 Football Look-Alikes.The celebrities featuring in this slide show are: The celebrities are Dirk Kuyt, Liverpool - Sloth, The Goonies,Steven Gerrard-DJ,Francesco Totti, Italian icon – Bear Grylls, UK adventurer,Josh Kennedy, tall soccer player – Jesus Christ and Momo Sissoko - DJ Legend Trevor Nelson....all these people were really shocked and astonished when they found that they are having mind blowing resemblance between each other.If those people are shocked what will be the condition of us...

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Can HBK End "The Phenom" Undertaker's Wrestlemania Win Streak?

Goutham Babu — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:54:10 -0400

"The Phenom is unbeatable at Wrestlemania."

Will this statement be corrected by HBK?

HBK, by beating Vladimir Kozlov, advances to Wrestlemania to compete against the "Phenom" Undertaker. HBK took down the free-style wrestler Kozlov, who was undefeated since his debut.

There are concerns among the Undertaker fans, as a match against HBK is more than worth watching. HBK ended the careers of some of greatest wrestlers of all time like Ric Flair and Bret Hart, thus fans worry that the same may happen to Undertaker.

HBK, unlike at other events, shows a great agility and resilience at Wrestlemania. For these reasons, he is also called as the "Mr. Wrestlemania."

But the phenom is always special. He has the ability to change the flow of the match at any time.

"The Phenom" also has a great range of moves depending on a particular situation. Such moves include the chokehold, the last ride, the big boot, the tombstone, the old school, the running DDT, and so on.

So, chances of Undertaker winning are very good.

Like the phenom, however, HBK also has many weapons to use in the ring. These include moves like the flying elbow drop, the chop, and most importantly, the "sweet chin music".

So, it is going to be a memorable match between Phenom and HBK, as both the legends have a good chance to win.

For Undertaker, it is a matter of prestige, and for HBK, it is a challenge.

I can't wait to see the non-stop action between HBK and Undertaker!

The Top 10 Wrestlers Since 1980

Goutham Babu — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:18:33 -0400

Eventhough Wrestling is proved fake there are still millions of fans of wrestling across the globe.One reason for this immense popularity is because of the superstars featuring in the wrestling became their idols.Of these superstars the ones who have climbed the rope of success and captured the minds of the wwe fans are;

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Crucial Match: AS Roma VS Arsenal

Goutham Babu — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:13:59 -0400

AS Roma is almost ready for their crucial match against Arsenal.Their fate depends whether this man is available or not. Totti has trained well today and he had done everything what he is asked for during the training session...

Arsenal will be looking to limitize him with the ball as he is a player who can turn the tide at any point of time.Totti along with Vucinic can admire their opponents.

Arsenal is in a very strong position as far as concerned with Roma even though their key player Cesc Fabregas is unavailable.Diaby will be playing in the place of Fabregas.Arsenal proved that they are strong opponents for Roma...but Roma is dangerous when they have their talismanic captain Totti in full form...