2009-01-27

dAViD bECKhAM

The Beckham story unravels..incredibly yet again when he scored his first goal in Serie A. The pedigree the guy has.. I mean he could not have played for any more bigger clubs.. Manchester United to start with, then he moved to arguably the biggest club in the world when he spent his time at Real Madrid.


Am i Beckham fan? Maybe a smallish kinda fan.. He'd never though make it into my team however. I am still too enamoured by Zizou who unfotunately dwarfs Beckham by his on-field prowess. Saying that I find the criticism heaped at Beckham very unfair. The guy has had an incredible career. Beckham's service at both United and Madrid are admirable. No United fan would ever forget the pin-point crosses that fed the strikers or his dead ball act. He may lack a few things on the field but whatever he was good at he was simply incredible at it. No wonder the reception he got at the 'Theatre of Dreams' when he came back. The criticism of his abilities is a bit ham-handed.

More so the reason I was gutted when Beckham opted for the Mickey Mouse league after his infamous spat with Capello at Madrid. He had his reasons at Madrid. Capello had absolutely freezed him out of the team. The way he fought his way back into the team was stupendous though. The second half of the season a Beckham inspired Madrid went on to win the title incredibly in the last two matches from nowhere. A fitting finale to his career at Madrid. Capello must have been ruing his decision to boot Beckham. Strange co-incidence though that Capello is again at the helm of affairs at England and is one of the prime guys asking Beckham to play in a competitive team.

I still think Beckham has enough to offer the footballing world. Beneath the glitz and glamour of the Beckham world, there is still a player who scored that incredible free- kick against Greecein the injury time to send his country to the world cup...imagine the pressure..The player who busted his butt playing at Old Trafford. The player who made eat Don Fabio eat his words.. It was phenomenal. The guy who was the most disliked player after the sending off, came back to be the darling of the masses.

His recent stint at AC Milan typifies the guy. He was good enough to make it to the starting lineup the moment he came in. Speaks volumes of what he can offer. Especially when Milan boasts of players like Kaka and Pirlo in the famed mid-field. What more can a guy prove to the world about his skills. Three of the biggest clubs in the world in three different leagues, incredible

Beckham is not getting any younger and might be in the twilight of his career, tho he still is brilliant at his place in the right side of the mid-field. For all the talk of successors to Beckham's place in the English squad both Lennon and Bentley are still miles away from inheriting his place. Beckham might not start in the squad anymore but i'd definitely say he would one of the most useful players to have in the squad. Everytime he comes on he fuels the anticipation that something special might just happen.. and more often than not it does.

I'd be definitely sad his if David Beckham wraps up his exploits at the San Siro and returns back to LA.. I hope he seals his loan to a permanent deal and enamours Italy as he has done where ever he has been. Beckham probably had a huge part in me being a Manchester United fan second only to maybe Keane and Cantona..but he definitely was a part of the reason that i loved and still love the team so much.

2008-12-09

REAL MADRID and the manager saga


Its official now .. Bernd Schuster has been sacked. Not without a reason this time. Disastrous run of results culminated in him receiving the sack. Juande Ramos hopefully is an able replacement. His time at the White Hart Lane notwithstanding.

There are few things that give as much pleasure as following one team through its highs and lows. I have been at football for the past 10 years now. I officially am a Manchester United fan. However if there is any team I love after United its Real Madrid. When I started following football they were the team in their prime and caught my fancy.I however evolved into a United fan but love Madrid no less. An absolute pain when United clashes against Real.

However the coaching policy at the Bernabeau leaves me astounded. The first incident I remember is Vincent del Bosque getting sacked. The del Bosque phase was the most successful phase I happened to see Madrid in. They boasted the best of the players. Shockingly they axed him immediately afte he won them the la liga again.

Then came the lean period for Madrid before 'Don Fabio' took them back to the dizzying heights of the la liga title in an incredible season last year. Anyone who followed the 2007-2008 season would have simply loved how Madrid came back to claw the title from Barca. And then.. Capello gets the sack. I simply could not fathom how the guy who brought them back from the pits suddenly was not good enough.

They brought in Schuster who's claim to fame in the managerial world was managing Getafe. Incredibly Madrid still dont have a settled coach yet. With Schuster getting the sack, i hope Ramos is able to deliver.

Add to this probably the greatest clash in the football world looms large. Real Madrid take on Barcelona this weekend. The 'El Clasico'. One of the finest rivalries that has lived up to its expectations always. The previous year Madrid got better both times.

This weekend however Madrid season is in turmoil while Barca has pulled away at the top by 9 points.The 'El Clasico' looks a bit daunting for us Real fans with current managerial crisis. Add to that several missing key players for Madrid.I admit not the best time to be Real fan.I stil howvever would be pining for the whites to win at the Nou Camp. What kind of a fan one is if one does stick with his team through its higs and as well as it lows

2007-06-18

REAL MADRID ARE THE CHAMPIONS

Final la liga game... as i write this real madrid just won the league after 4 years...cannot even express ma happiness... and if any1 has been followin the les merengues' season this year u'd know what i have been sayin... every single game they seem to have been knocked out just to come back... last game against zaragoza they seemed to have lost the title only for the last 20 seconds to change the whole spectre....

... even today they were a goal down and in a must win situation with barca up 3 goals... and as always madridistas delivered.. scorin three goals in the final 25 mins t win 3-1... capello delivers... fairy -tale ending for david beckham and roberto carlos... what better way to say goodbye... thank you both of yu.. especially beckham... cos his resurgence galvanized the whole team and they reached the title...it is his first title with madrid too... wish u culd stay further at the bernabeu...

As i said... we win the league from barca this year... next year who knows... but now lets celebrate and surrender to this sweet victory.....


"HALA MADRID"