Rant 103: Let's all take a step back on Jose Mourinho

It could be the biggest signing Manchester United ever make for the new season. It could be the worst. I'm not here to lay down stats, or argue about formations, or debate where Wayne Rooney should play under Jose Mourinho.
But a feeling in me says I cannot automatically tag trophies onto Manchester United just because we have Mourinho at the helm. Sure, Mourinho's track record is brilliant - well, that is if you don't count his last season with Chelsea, who were in relegation danger no less.
Mourinho is a big club man through and through. I can't ever see him doing a Rafa Benitez and taking on a Newcastle-esque challenge. Mourinho moves to a big club and makes them bigger, of that I have no doubt. But the clubs he has been at have always had to reconcile their own style and personality with the professional ego that Mourinho employs. It is an ego that has served Mourinho well, but has also caused conflict.

Louis van Gaal, after United's defeat to Boro

Examples?
His first spell at Chelsea - won titles, but rumours of player unrest, player power in the dressing room, battles with the owner
Inter Milan - again, titles won but more player unrest, including with a certain Samuel Eto'o
Real Madrid - good times, but further battles with players, eventually leaving on a sour note
Second spell at Chelsea - well, you can probably see where this is heading. Although to some credit, it wasn't so much player unrest as much as Chelsea's bad performances that led to his eventual exit. However, not sure how much the controversy over Eva Carneiro helped.

Don't get me wrong. I have every reason to believe we at Manchester United will win games under Mourinho. He gets the results. Whether or not we will suddenly remember to play with style and flair is a doubt. Louis van Gaal's tactics left me bored, but I liked the man. He knew he was in a tough environment and he fought back. He also knew what the limitations were. I remember being in the press conference after United lost to Middlesbrough in the League Cup in late 2015. Van Gaal walked in, sat down and was asked his first question. His response began with a heavy sigh. Here was a man trying to employ his style, but which didn't quite work. To his immense credit, he left with FA Cup glory, and with the legacy of bringing several youngsters into the first-team fold. Also, don't forget he signed Anthony Martial not for himself but for "the next manager" - read story here . So if Martial continues to fire, Mourinho will probably be saying several silent "thank yous".

But coming back to Mourinho the personality. Indeed, the best word is perhaps 'character'. For that is what he is, and in all honesty that is what the Premier League needs, more characters. They liven up the game, they bring their own views and opinions to the fore, and they provide their own form of entertainment. Sometimes, that can go horribly wrong, as Mourinho has proven with a few PR mistakes from last season - Carneiro controversy being one of them. I could feel the Chelsea fans cringing - possibly - every time you heard of a fresh incident/controversy/PR nightmare involving Mourinho. Backed up by some disappointing results, it was not a good reflection on the club.

Characters are important for a club like United

Character is good for a club like Manchester United, who have always employed an amazing cocktail of style and substance. Think Sir Alex Ferguson, think George Best, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo,
It's whether the character that Jose Mourinho brings is a good fit for Manchester United. Mourinho described United as a 'monster club'. Mourinho himself is a 'monster' of a manager based on his track record. Who consumes who will be a good question to answer.

Yorkshire de Tour - Part 2

Part 2: Donny’s big win

14th February, 2015: And so it happened that I was all set for another Sheffield Wednesday game after the previous week's affair (read here in my tour part 1), but owing to a tragic death on the railway line outside of Sheffield, the trains had to return to Doncaster. The news of a death had rattled us all in that train carriage – barring one very self-obsessed young-adult whose idea was to “scoop the remains up and let us through. It’s my birthday and I’ve got a dinner reservation.”

Back in the world of common sense, I alighted at Doncaster and quickly decided to make my way to the Keepmoat Stadium, where Doncaster were due to play Yeovil Town in the Sky Bet League One. The stadium is actually a fair distance from the train station, so I had to catch a bus from the interchange just outside the station. But it’s really cheap at £2 return. It’s probably more expensive to drive over I think!

The bus was fairly filled with Doncaster fans – and three Yeovil fans as well. In fact, the Yeovil lads were nicely chatting away with the Donny ones and it just goes to show football rivalries can really just be left on the pitch. It’s not all riots at 2pm before kick-off!

Keepmoat Stadium. Bit out of the way but a decent crowd

As you near the stadium, there is almost a sense that the area around it hasn’t been fully developed. Indeed, I got the feeling we were at a construction site, but for the fact that you can see the floodlights. The area is in the surroundings known as Lakeside, which also boasts a retail/shopping outlet.

But much like that day in Sheffield last time, you can again see the masses of fans walking over to watch an afternoon of football. I met a couple of fans who were happy to show me the way to the kop stand. Generally the vibe was quite friendly, and even the fanzine sellers were pretty jolly! The ticket office is located quite conveniently and the queues move very quickly. £23 it cost me to get a ticket for the kop stand, two less than that at Sheffield Wednesday.

The Keepmoat is a much more modern-looking stadium than Hillsborough, it has to be said. From the inside, the first thing that hits you is the crowd of course, but then you see the concession stands and families waiting for kick-off and it’s rather different from the old-school feel at Wednesday.

Doncaster do have a proud history going back to the 19th and 20th centuries, and they take pride in showing off the highlights on walls inside. As with most clubs in the UK, war has affected Rovers, but it always leaves them stronger, which is probably a learning for life itself.

The football pitch area, you’re hit by the colour red but it’s a very pretty sight indeed. Unlike at Hillsborough, I was closer to the goal here. And it’s a completely different experience I have to say. You get a real feel of how fast and physical the game is – more so at League One, where the skill levels may not be as high as say the Premier League. However, what you also get from this vantage point is the full might of the breeze! Cold doesn’t even begin to describe it, though there were spells of sunshine which at least made the action look a bit cheerier.

The Doncaster fans were happy. It was a comfortable 3-0 win, and Yeovil never really got into the game. Doncaster even have a big screen in one corner where replays of each goal are shown, which is quite nice I think! I also managed to fulfil my half-time pie desire, a steak one since you ask. And I also had a pint of bitter. Both were decently priced at £3.20 each.

Close to the action at the Keepmoat

In the end, as Rovers sailed to their second big win in succession – they beat Crawley 5-0 in the previous weekend – I called it a day about five minutes before the end, but only because I was freezing and I wanted to start walking about. Thankfully, there was a bus available not long after the match ended and I was quickly on my way back to the station. I did get a chance to have a post-match pint at a pub not far from the station, which was also showing the Liverpool-Crystal Palace game. Half-time there and I finally got on the train back to Goole. What could have been a waste of an afternoon, turned into a jolly one after all.

Ratings:

Matchday costs: 6/10 Tickets not perfect at £23 considering it’s League One. Stadium doesn’t sell out. Pints and pie perfect at £3.20

Stadium – 8/10. Modern stadium, plenty of facilities and good concession area.

Football – 9/10 comfortable 3-0 win. Dominating performance in both attack and defence from Doncaster.

Overall matchday experience – 7/10

Yorkshire De Tour - Part 1

Part 1: Sheffield Wednesday's nerves of steel
7th February, 2015: Having found a rare Saturday off, I decided the best use of it would be to travel down to Sheffield. Yes, it is really travelling 'down' as Sheffield lies in South Yorkshire and was once the heartland of steel in the UK. Quite a nice city to start off this Yorkshire tour then, given my Jamshedpur and TATA Steel roots. Today, Sheffield boasts a huge university, a vibrant music and theatre scene, and two historic Football League clubs. I was off to Sheffield Wednesday versus Cardiff City, two former Premier League clubs in fact. A few people from my office support Wednesday, otherwise known as the Owls.
I paid £12.30 for a return ticket from Goole to Sheffield. The Northern rail service takes you through Doncaster and into Sheffield. As soon as you exit the station you can see the Sheffield Hallam University buildings. I, of course, headed out for a pre-match pint at The Sheffield Tap, which is attached to the station, and which was insanely busy.

Pre-match entertainment is always standard!

Regardless, I then made my way to the tram stop at the station. I met several fans on the tram, and everyone seemed to recommend getting off at Hillsborough stop. The reason was revealed when I got off at the stop, to be greeted by a massive Weatherspoons pub. Clearly a pre-match favourite haunt.
A massive big-screen projection of the early kick-off, the North London derby between Tottenham and Arsenal was being played. I just about managed to make my way to the bar through the crowds, as you can see in the pitcture, and had a lovely ale to begin with.
I also met James, who told me he had been born and brought up in Sheffield, but had been living in Grimsby for the last eight years. He was there for his first match in two years.
We eventually decided to head to the stadium together, as he knew the shortcut to the Kop, which is a colloquial way of describing the stand where all the hardcore fans sit - or stand for 90 minutes! The stadium itself is just a short 10-minute walk from the pub and you can see the many hundreds of fans making their way as well. It really is a sight to behold at times, when you feel a country as a whole is making its way to football stadia at 3pm on a Saturday. For many it's a release after a week of hard work. You can understand the tribal mentality that comes with such an enterprise.

View of the Kop at Hillsborough from the outside

Almost a world apart from the likes of Old Trafford, which I've visited on a number of occasions, the Hillsborough stadium is very old-school actually. Across a barrier from the kop stand, but still within the stadium premises, you can see the crowds gathered to smoke and have a pint. This in the day of so much health and safety laws is a refreshing throw-back to simpler times! But the actual safety is never compromised, which is a far cry from the tragedy that took place at this very venue.
Anyway, I paid £25 for an adult ticket and took my place way up in the kop stand. You get a seat number assigned but nobody really checks that. I was easily able to sit in a random seat.
It was also the day Wednesday's owner Milan Mandaric was signing off and he gave a rousing speech which the crowd really appreciated.
The match was fairly exciting. The pitch wasn't very good by the looks of it, and it obviously made passing difficult. But there were a fair few chances, not least for former Southampton and Sunderland forward Kenwyne Jones scoring early on with a header.  To their credit, Wednesday were only down for a bit. Came back with a few attacks of their own. The Kop was showing plenty of support including people with drums and bugles. It can get only slightly annoying! But you appreciate the spirit shown by fans who pay upwards of £20 week-in week-out. What you perhaps shouldn't appreciate is rowdy behaviour, with one fan I saw being spoken to in no uncertain terms by the stewards, for being abusive towards another fan. In an age when so much is reported of abuse going unchecked, it's good to see some places are able to monitor and root out such behaviour.

I wanted to cap my matchday experience with a half-time pint and a pie, but sadly the sheer crowds that gather in the smoking/pint area means I'd have ended up waiting well into the second half! But the crowd again shows the passion people have for simple pleasures.All hail the Great British Pie!
There was only a smattering of away fans in the far end, as I guess it's quite a long trek up from Wales. But they had plenty to shout about of course. Thankfully, for the home support, Wednesday earned a penalty in the second half and Will Keane scored the spot kick. Keane is actually on loan at Wednesday from Manchester United, so that's certainly a good sign for us Red Devils! Despite the comeback though, Wednesday were unable to find a winning goal. But it was a draw, which keeps people relatively happy.
Again, much like 3pm, the sheer number of people making their way out onto the streets at 5pm is amazing. Unsurprisingly, there was a sizeable police presence dotted from the ground up to a few tram stops away. It is not unheard of for trouble to break out at football grounds in general, and I have to say I felt much safer seeing the police cars.
I made my way back to Sheffield Station, stopping at a pub along the way of course! And it was easy to catch one of the many trains heading back up towards Goole.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable experience and I am glad I took the plunge. Next week, hopefully, I will bring you a matchday report of another of Yorkshire's older clubs Doncaster Rovers, as we continue this off-beat Tour de Yorkshire.

Ratings-
Matchday costs - 8/10. Ticket Prices just about right considering it's the Championship, pints not too bad.
Stadium - 7/10. Old-School which is refreshing, but not enough toilets!
Football - 6/10. A draw so can't really give anything seven and above sadly. 
Overall Matchday experience - 8/10. 

Rant 95: Protesting protests

Today became an unusual day in Manchester United's history. A form of protest rarely envisioned, let alone seen, at Old Trafford called into question an appointment that was expected to be just a step short of "divine will".

Slightly short of pointless

When the plane dragging the "Wrong One - Moyes Out" Banner flew over Old Trafford, a section of the home fans booed, another sang out the usual songs, whilst Manchester United were on the road to a "routine" wobbly win against Aston Villa. If you wondered why no one, metaphorically, gave much of a crap about this protest, then the answer would be that the pre-match build-up had been about little else. David Moyes, the manager under fire, even made the first move by emerging out of the tunnel ahead of his team, giving the fans present at Old Trafford the chance to show their support. So the lack of enthusiasm, or indeed lack of shock, about the protest was understandable.
The manner of the protest itself has been deemed "classless" by some quarters, this after protest organiser Wes Jones claimed in the build-up that "the rumblings of discontent have started in the stands".
Manchester United are now more than 20 points off their position from 2012/13, have a home record only better than some teams fighting for survival, and have rarely won against top-five opposition this season.  It is easy to put the blame on Moyes, who essentially inherited a title-winning side. It is only slightly harder to blame the players, even if Moyes contends there are several ageing limbs - and perhaps rightly so.
The plane/banner protest was presumably in response to a banner that hangs from Old Trafford's Stretford End stand reading "The Chosen One". Sir Alex Ferguson's role in Moyes' appointment was deemed a godsend in the summer, but has now become a point of parody. However, taking the protest from within to newer heights (pardon the pun) was uncalled for. For the majority of fans, the season has gone unexpectedly, but they remain aware of the need to give Moyes time. We remain contenders for a Europa League spot, and need full backing ahead of the Bayern Munich tie. And yes, we are still in contention for the Champions League, no matter how much Bayern lick their lips. Amid all this, the need to maintain support is crucial. It is, of course, as Moyes put it, the right of fans to protest. But what effect does flying a banner over a stadium for all of six seconds achieve, especially when everyone already knows you're going to do it? (At least a certain betting company had the brass to sneak up their own banner on the odds of Fergie making a comeback without anyone getting a whiff!) Protests are meant to shock and this one, thankfully, did not earn its intended mileage either during or after the game.
I have complete respect for those wishing to make their voices heard, but the banner stunt has made us a laughing stock. To my mind, it certainly trumps the anti-Venkys protests at Ewood Park, complete with a live chicken let loose on the pitch.
Our 4-1 win over Aston Villa should be remembered first for the support shown to Moyes, and then for further confidence boosters for our Bayern game. Wayne Rooney continued his good form with two goals, and Juan Mata at last got his first United goal, fittingly, at the same Stretford End that has become a talking point in recent days. In addition, I take heart from Javier Hernandez's display, which saw him score a first league goal since mid-January. Chicharito has failed to hit the heights he achieved under Ferguson, but I'm backing him to come good.
Banners cannot make or break a team. Moyes would certainly not have expected 100% support from the fans last summer, especially with many hoping for Jose Mourinho to be given the role, but fans have to learn to be patient. Several thousand, myself included, have followed United with the idea that winning is a way of life. That is no longer the case, but I am more than content to wait for a good transfer window in the summer and see how this season's recruits gel in from there on. Whatever happens, I know better than to throw my money at a plane banner. 

Rant 42: Indian v Sri Lanka 3-1

Just saw the game between India and Sri Lanka in the ONGC Nehru cup 2009, at the Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi. Must say, that the team looks pretty good in terms of passing the ball around, creating scoring opportunities and actually taking them when it counts.

Although, India lost their Nehru Cup 2009 opener to Lebanon, they came back strongly against Kyrghystan. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, had been reeling from a walloping they received two days ago at the hands of Syria. In the buildup to the India game Coach Perreira (Sri Lanka) had been critical of the fixtures, saying they favoured the hosts who had to play games at a lesser frequency than the visitors.

However, for India the match itself was a must-win, which would certainly have increased the pressure, as opposed to the Lankans who simply had to draw to remain in the tournament.
India took the lead mid-way through the first half through a header from golden-boy Baichung Bhutia. For the most part, the first half looked like India's for the taking as the Lankans remained content with their long, ambitious balls into the final third with only their two strikers chasing after the ball, looking like random farmers in a barren, untouched-by-rain Indian rice field.
Prior to the first goal, India almost got their rewards for dominating the first ten minutes via Sunil Chettri who got his head to a free kick from just outside the half-way line. However, the goal was ruled out for offside. The Indian fans were forced to wait for a superb in-swinging cross from Steven Dias, from the right side touchline, that Bhutia converted with a charging header. The Lankans looked unable to defend the aerial ball at all times and were largely uncomfortable with the constant pressure from their opponents right up to the half time whistle. There were several occasions when the Indian players struck the woodwork and one felt, the hosts deserved a better scoreline in their favour going into the break.
After the break, however, it was the islanders who started the more positive, as they managed a ten-minute period of pressure with shots ranging in from the midfielders (I'm not going to pretend I remember their names!!). India too looked like increasing their lead, with Bhutia striking the woodwork (again off a header).
The Sri Lankan efforts paid off eventually. The goal came off a relatively harmless looking free-kick, which was headed into goal off a defender's foot and was enough to set the scores level. Indian coach Bob Houghton was definitely not pleased with the defending but that didn't stop the Indian forwards from pressing on for the lead. Surprisingly, it was defender Gauramangi Singh who got the lead once again for the hosts, with a simple tap-in after the Lankan goalkeeper failed to parry the ball safely away from a near post cross.
Midfielder Steven Dias found the net around ten minutes later, with a cracking shot after being released on the right by NP Pradeep. 3-1 India!!!
The hosts were then content to make the odd foray down the centre, whilst keeping their opponents at bay. Although, Sri Lanka managed a few runs down the flanks in the final stages of the match, India were able to see the game through.

I must say...even though I haven't followed the Indian team before or since the coaching was taken over by Bob Houghton, it was a pleasure to watch them play. There was a definite attitude of "going forward" that we had.
In contrast, I remember a match we played in England against Wolverhampton Wolves (of the English Premier League) a few years back and I actually felt ashamed at the fact that we could not even provide decent enough competition against a bottom-table league side, let alone score a goal and even worse, play against full-strength national sides.
We seem to have come a long way from that and here's hoping our next game, against Syria, goes just as well!

and btw, the match description was my first attempt at something of a "Match review" perse, so feel free to post any comments, criticism of the same...Thanks!

Rant 13 (contd): the un-LUCKY ones part 3 # Third Time Lucky

And so it had to be this way...after two years of enduring maddeningly humiliating defeats, not to mention constant reminders of THAT and of how pathetic our college was in sports, I guess it was to be right at the very end that we got our chance to give something back to the college and a kick up Mr. Mallya-and-his-MIT-goons backsides.

Of course Shazzy and I had already given Mallya a taste of MIC's potential at the Tennis in 'o7, but I am actually very very glad that we suffered in football for another year before this year, oh the sweetest of them all. It is so much more worth it than it would be for a college with 4000 students used to winning largely owing to Mallya's devilish operating methods, but only wins one football trophy in 6 years. (not to take credit away from the team that did it...they are pretty good).
If any of the current football team members are reading this then please remember that we have lost way worse than you can ever imagine. I feel like a world war 2 veteran when i say that but that is the truth. We are at a point where we can challenge any damn team in the Manipal region. But we have grown from virtually a garbage dump to reach that point, through some really bad losses, not just in terms of scores I should say...so think about that the next time any of you decide you've had a "bad" game!

So moving on with this fairy tale year...
There were three out of four major milestones that the MIC football team crossed:-
1) Scoring a goal.....EVER! check
2) Scoring a goal in a tournament check
3) Winning a match....EVER! check
4) Winning a match in a tournament

the first and third are an interesting story as they both happened in the same match. At this point, MIC football had crossed another small but significant milestone in terms of practices. We had now conducted the most number of practice sessions in our history with I might add, the highest ever average number of players per session.
the reason? our two fresh batches, BAJC 1st year and MS-COMM 1st year, gave us 9 of the most awesome players I have played with. I am proud to call them my team-mates.
Agnello, Narottam, Pratik, Yasin, Boppanna, Kevin, Awijit, Asim and Ankur have given our team the much needed players. To chalk one more up for the milestones section, we actually had a proper subs bench this time
So we practised and somehow I think all of us felt like we were waiting for a chance to play, because we were simply that good now. defensively, we had a rock solid line. Naim on the left, Narottam and Yasin in the center and Awijit on the right. Pratik, Gautam and Agi were our backups for defence. My mistake even at this point was to play Yasin back even though it was actually quite a big help. At least for the initial few games I'm glad he played back. This guy is probably the most cool-headed and gentlemanly player i have EVER played with or against. Having never seen him lose it on the field, it was actually surprising to see him push an opponent in a recent match. However, and this was the funny part about that incident. three mit guys close in on him, trying to show their anger and from my position it looks like this French lambu has three annoying kids looking up and begging for more candy!
Naim, the ever present, with extra build (I'm guessing from a life-time of roshogolla!!), spectacles notwithstanding, he goes on as if nothing as happened even if every other game, his lenses fly in two different trajectories! That's our strength right there for you!
and Palli, who has now earned the dreaded (for others that is) reputation of being a hard tackler. There is a yellow card in MAHE sports archive with his name on it that says : "Palli, hard-ass from the word Go!" His amazing defensive cababilities perhaps outshine his forays into the midfield...for the last time Palli...look up and pass! lol
Narottam, normally a very level headed defender, he too has his times of aggression. and Yet, his presence in the very heart of our defence is a sight wholly reassuring. I can't tell you how many set piece disasters have been avoided with that height and head of his.
Pratik, my heart goes in my mouth everytime he goes in for a risky tackle. the number of times he's been called up like that is only comparable to the number of times he's gotten the ball as far away from the goal as possible...that's his strength. Agi, who stands firmly, ever ready on the sidelines, just hoping that somewhere, in that huge field of 22 players, a small spark flies. and then its ON! but on the field, he rivals the best amongst us in his dedication to the game.
However, I have saved the best for the last. This is to say that the MOST dedicated member of the MIC team is Gautam. For the simple reason that he is there on the field for 99.9 % of the sessions and def, I find it hard to recall the last time he missed a match. "Playing time", as he calls it, nothwithstanding. I can see him working towards giving more to our team and I sincerely hope the next year's lineup will have his name on the starting 11.
The attacking lineup was def strengthened with the arrival of Bopi and Kevi from MS I section and Deepak from 2nd MS towards the end. Kevin had the legs and the stamina to out run us all. Bopi was the cool head in midfield, always looking to play his team-mates, more than himself. Deepak was an excellent asset in midfield as I found out, and I still wonder why we didn't see more of him in second year. We already had the three weirdos in Ashish, Ashwin and Vineeth from second year. Ashwin, the self-proclaimed (only later accepted!!!) Christiano Ronaldo of the team. Though he can be a prick at times, it's his sheer tenacity at playing that keeps the team going.
Ashish who despite Manipal ki hawa could run like hell all day on the field, shouting "ayee...what the fuck man!" all the way to all those who dared tackle him.
Vineeth, a player so skilled and yet one who trips over on his own (no tackles needed!) to earn a two month long injury. I'm still waiting for him to hit that top corner, but he needs no better description than crisp for the way in which his free kick flew in, at a moment very close to full time, when we most needed someone to shine.
Tenzin, the ever ebullient striker always looking for the sly opportunity to get in goal. This ability of his got us our first win against MIT.
and Ankur, the slightly lanky midfielder. Even though he mostly came on as sub this year, he can still hold his own and pass the ball well. Let's hope he builds up some muscles, those MITians ain't taking things lightly next year I can tell you that!
Shazzy, well what a story that is; became a little absent from the practices owing to too much education happening, but came back strongly and is now an invaluable asset in midfield. Also, I'm half scared everytime I lose my own mind on field, dreading Shazzy's verbal assault on me. I can still hear it from that Inter-Mahe game, "Dash shut the fuck up!!!"
And we have Asim, another striker cum midfielder. Dedicated and needless to say an amazing footballer, who's been at the core of many a victory in our repertoire.

So thats the team I guess. There were many who came and went but i guess this is the bunch that stuck it out for this one glorious year.
our first victory and our first goal, came at a practice match against a lowly architecture team. i say lowly, because not only did we score our first goal thanks to an amazing low and hard shot by Pady, but we ended up scoring 5 more! for the first time, WE were the ones celebrating a 6-0 scoreline. From then on, we never looked back. Our defence slowly gained a useful reputation of being able to hold out against a veritable seige. Even MIT was finding it hard to break our defence down in the first half. Stamina problems meant we sometimes ended up giving away the odd goal in the dying minutes and hence lost. But there were moments aplenty for us at every game. Thus we never lost hope!
Finally comes the tournament, this time it was Revels first. I guess, we needed a platform to really show off our game. Our opponents, MIT B. Lets put aside the fact that MU technically doesnt permit two teams from one college under the same Gender category. Instead lets talk about the game itself. This was lets say the MIT reserve team. Their future players. the game itself was nerve wracking to say the least. They managed to score a scruffy goal in the first 20 mins, but we crossed our second milestone as we managed to equalise mere minutes after their success, with a brilliantly developed move. Vineeth and Ashish were at the heart of that as far as I remember. I also recall someone telling me that Atman, the MIT main team captain, had to actually get up from his bench as that happened, and control things from the lines. A quick image of a fiery scotsman doing the same in the Theatre of Dreams comes to mind, even though it hurts me to think of ever wishing against that king of managers.
The second half and just when it looked like we would be going into penalties, they pushed in yet another scruffy goal. I was much at fault for this one, as the ball slipped in from just under my arm. an unlucky 2-1 loss!
Inter-MAHE, and this time I don't think anyone felt not-ready. We'd taken up morning practice sessions once again after more than 2 years and it looked like paying off at last. Our attackers literally and pardon the expletive, Raped their defence. MCOAHS, the Allied Heatlh college wasn't exactly easy pickings, but we had no less than 8 chances, 3 of them, so cruelly missed, you wanted to take a bludgeon and smash your own head off (cos you were so far away from the guy who missed!). However, we were unable to break through in the first half. The second half turned the whole game upside down. A freak handball in our box but one of their players, yet the ref somehow missed that. In the ensuing confusion, a stuck out leg was enough to get them 1-0 up. We would def have equalised had it not been for this horrendous blunder on the part of the ref (he really sucked that day..honestly!). Three players, one of ours and 2 from them, were coming on as subs or were basically just coming on. In the middle of this their move began and before you knew it, one forward was almost at the D. I had little choice but to charge out as I was not sure if the defender was going to make it. A chip over my head and a relatively cool finish and it was 2-0.
tweet tweet tweet.....it was all over!

So that is the story of the final throw of the dice, at least for my batchmates and I.
I should however, also give a special thanks to the entire cheerleading squad of MIC. Truly, it is a treat in any game (good or bad) to hear custom made cheers for the team members being shouted out at the top of your voices. here are some of the choiciest examples:- 1) na na naa naa...na na naa naa...hey hey hey...take your shirt off!
2) MIC is what?...DYNAMITE (ma fav)
3) Hey *player name* you're so sexy...I wanna be just like you...SEX BOMMB!
SO, as huge a thanks as I can ever muster up goes out to you guys...you guys are the real dynamites.
And in the tradition of my earlier posts, enjoy the pics..

late as usual...even for the team photo

we're not always that lucky you know...
but that's why we have teammates


sometimes we point fingers...


...but win or lose, we are united as one...


...courtesy our cheerleaders and this slightly amnesia hit old man 's shop


3 emotions in one...Anger, Depression, and Frustration.
not to mention Ashwin and Naim!!!!


(sitting, right to left), Naimul; Tenzin; Ashwin; Ashish; Bopi
(top row, right to left) Awijit, Ankur, Deepak, Narottam, Agi, Shaz, Asim, Pratik, Yasin, Subu Sir, Gautam and myself)

so guys
WHAT ARE WE???

Rant 13 (contd): the un-LUCKY ones part 2 # a Second coming

So first year was probably not a lot to write home about in terms of football.
anyways, Second year and I could not wait to find out players from our junior batch. We got about 5.
Ashish, Ashwin, Naimul, Gautam, and Vineeth brought a ray of hope to our despairing team.
a further boost was the arrival of two German exchange students, Chris and Mark from Bremen.

Chris, alongside Shaz

Mark was this bulky forward who despite that could handle the ball damn well. Chris was a defender and a pretty good one at that.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but we actually managed to conduct a good number of practice sessions. Manipal's ever faithful rainfall made sure that we were well entertained by sights of a bulky german slipping in Indian mud.
From the MS section, we got Tenzin and Deepak, the former was aptly named Monkey Boy for his extraordinary antics beyond the field.

cometh the hour...cometh the fool
for the match, yours truly decided that he wanted to play outfield as opposed to something more useful like...oh i dont know...Goalkeeping. Hence, a self-proclaimed goalkeeper was put in place of me and I lined up alongside Chris in central defence for our first Inter-Mahe match. We actually played well for parts of the first half, making the odd half chance at times. however, KMC Mangalore drew first blood off a corner and from then on they managed to score two more before half time. One of those two, well...the less said about the keeper's effort, i guess the better it is.
second half and I had to take on the gloves, which didnt actually help our cause too much. we still conceded another. I managed to save a few, but I guess it was too little too late by then. 4-0 the final score.
We didnt fare too well at the Revels cup either, 6-0 i think we managed to lose. Either way, I chose not to remember much from that game. We started with 9 players, went up to 11 as the game began, then came back to 9 owing to too much alcohol in one and a fly in another's eye.

That's it...we lost...end of story.

to be continued of course!

Rant 13: the Un-LUCKY ones, Part 1 # our first steps

I guess the universally unlucky number had to be the one that told of My football team. I'm sorry if i sound a tad selfish when I say that. In my final year, i found a totally new outlook on football here, (sports itself) which is very indicative of the power of mind over body.
First year:-
we were 5 of us,

Shaz (an excellent Tennis player as well, he and i have our own "hollywood" script about that sport),

Akhilesh (I called him Crazy Legs , like a frikin roadrunner!),

Norten (awesome guitarist as well as footballer, still cant forget that first five a side),

Pady (another awesome striker, he scored mic's first competitive goal ever)

and me from our batch. There were others who tried playing. And try they did, from the cultural rep of our class to others with really strong "capacities".

our first practice with the seniors was quite impresssive for us. we were beating them at 5 a side quite easily i guess. We were warned countless times about prior performances, mostly from Captain, Tamal, who was then in 3rd year. A chill goes down my spine hearing numbers like 10, 12.
Nevertheless, the five i mentioned stuck it out for the better part of our first year, and we had some great times.
Minor ones include the precious few practice sessions in the morning. Manipal in the Odd sem is all Rain and no gain, however, the mornings are quite pleasant in that respect. Slush and mud made up those practices but we definitely honed our long ball and trapping skills to the fullest. Even Tamal joined us for a couple of sessions.
One glorious match that comes to mind is the first five a side that we played on the 10th Block basketball court. I played goalie in that and i got my fair share of knocks on the face! The whole game as such is a bit of a blur, but we were trailing 3-1 towards the end. It's about ten mins per half, and just when i had lost all hope, Norten came up with two of the sweetest struck goals in street football i had seen. both in the top corner meant we were into penalties. I remember running up to celebrate like mad when we were finally level, everyone was jumping and hugging norten like crazy.
the penalty shootout(which was basically shooting from one end of the court to another into goal). All the euphoria and relief that we felt from equalising was washed down as none of us were able to score. the good thing was, only one from the opposing team was able to score. still it was a crushing end to such a brilliant performance...unlucky!

Sadly, we were unable to carry the good bit of that into the Inter-MAHE and Revels tournaments in 06-07. 6-0, and 5-0 i think were the resepective scores. Our defence was a testamemt to the word "patched". I got badly scratched as the ground was pretty fucked and they made a helluva lot of attacks on goal. our midfield and attack did a fair job considering what practice we'd done.

I guess thats the story of first year.

to be continued...