Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Great Feet achieve Great Feats

Portugal Team showed us how to play football with brains below their belts. Football is a game of magic and wizardry. It is intricate, so unprdictable unlike cricket when the outcome can be controlled by one man's effort. Should I be saying, Football 'was' unpredictable?

The worldcup is not being a leveller. The once-in-four year ball dribbling Jamboree is more like the 'Village Cattle Fair'. Cattle are strutted before potential buyers and sold out. It is a stage where 'stars' are identified and sold. The cattle being the football players and the buyers, filthy rich European Clubs.

The match between England and Ecuador was a case in point. What if Ecuador has won the match against England. I wonder how many English Premier League Clubs would have recruited a Ecuador Player for the next season?

The FIFA referees are biased towards the 'football fan' nations. Imagine if Ghana and Ecuador where to feature in this Worldcup final? Germany would not have got the spectator revenues they get today. Milk the cash cows and create entries for new comers. FIFA has made sure African fans will now book tickets for the first round matches for Worldcup 2010. It is a game of economics which is becoming predictable.

Nothing can take out the beauty of this game. It just shows the you can achieve with your feets, forget brains.

FussBall

Football was a Fuzzy game. The Samba magic was pure and unadulterated fun to watch until that 'color coded' World Cup 2006 match between Portugal and Netherlands. This game proved how men think and react to win games. Reactionary Tactics can control the win loose situations as Louis Figos did in the match. Figo's 'brilliant' but unprofessional mind game was the start of an ignominous match. Picture this;

Portugal lead by one goal, and just before halftime control the game. Just then a stupid brainwave hit a Portugal mid-field player(Coutinha) who earned a 'red card'. Portugal go into the second half with just ten men, to defend their one goal lead.
Figo sensed the gravity of defending or attacking with 10 men. Just into the second half, Figo targets a Netherland Defender. Figo picks up a fight by butting the Dutch player on his head. In the process, he earned a yellow card. The dutch player reacted to Figo's push and that lead to the referee showing a Yellow card to the dutch player. The first tactic of Figo is accomplished.
Five minutes into the game, Figo runs with the ball and teases the same defender to tackle. A hard tackle and an unintentional knock on Figo's head. If only FIFA instituted an award for the 'best agony and pain act' it will go to Louis Figo. He covered his face and fell on the ground. He had accomplished his goal. The Dutch defender was shown his second yellow card, which meant he had to leave the field. Figo worked it out so nicely, thus making it even steven. Now, both Portugal and Netherlands were playing with 10 men. The ridiculous thing about the whole episode is the portugal coach defending Figo by saying he reacted like a professional, and he is not Jesus Christ. Poor Scolari, he under estimated Football Fans.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Desperate Soccer Wives

Desperate ‘Soccer’ Housewives

Men will be men, and women will be ‘desperate’ about men. There has been a hue and cry over how desperate housewives can get during football season. Strange as it seems, there is a hotel for ‘soccer widows’. Soccer widows suffer from long alienation from their husbands who are busy watching the ball (forgive the pun!). There will be no signs of football in sight and women can enjoy their mushy romantic DVD’s, while their husband’s down beer over the pub counter watching the kicks and tackles.

Can there be Desperate Housewives in India too? Ladies, forgive the men for once as they alienate you only for sports and that too within your confines..they are at home. What more can you ask for, right?
At least the alienation is less frequent than the ‘saas bahu’ television weepy soaps that you are obsessed with everyday every night. I know..I know..you are ready with brickbats for that one.

So let me run away...Any Hotel that is ‘Soap Free’, free from television soaps?
How about that ladies?
Both sides of the same coin, is it not?
Oh..btw, Did Dravid win the 'Toss'?
...
Men will be Men

World Sports Day

Sportsman Dilemma..11 June '06 Sunday..see the line up

Formula 1 British GP : 4:30 PM IST
French Open Men's Singles Final, Federer Vs Nadal: 6:00PM IST
India Vs West Indies Second Test Match: 7:30 PM IST
World Cup Football Matches: All Night
South Africa Vs Australia ODI....

Is it World Sports Day Today..A Sunday never got better than today!

Taxes

In all the commotion of the Saral Form becoming 'A-Saral' and with the impending four page complexity of filing tax, comes the marvellous idea of 'exit tax' from the Left sadists. I know I will have a tough time with mnemonics of taxation that read like an Archive library catalogue (15-AAA, Sec 80CCC..and the alphabets). Taxation was always as illogical to me as history. Today, the Indian Government has made me rue my decision of not opting for the elective on taxation during my MBA. I envy my Chartered Accountant friends smacking their lips and waiting to charge that extra for decoding the tax code.

Amidst all the noise of reservations (where have the Rang de- Basanti DJ's vanished?), and inflationary pressures, one 'leftist' suggestion seemed to make some sense among all their nonsense. Exit tax, refers to imposing tax on all students working abroad who have availed subsidised education from Government of India. It was one of the key points of every college debater speaking against the motion of brain drain benefits. The debaters have settled abroad, but the problem remains unresolved. There will be arguments on corruptions, improper utilisation of tax funds etc. I wish the 'left' ist propose a clean channel for tax collection and transparent reporting before imposing the tax. If channeled to improving primary education, exit tax can go a long way to abolish the oft-repeated school debate topic-brain drain. I know many IIT-ians have contributed money to setting up research units. The idea is to make the contribution more meaningful and not just another tax break (section 8OG of the Indian Income Tax Act for donations to educational institutions). That is one clause that will not need my CA's help!