Beyond The Goal

MOSCOW:  Red Square is steeped in history, but these days it has become the centre of the world—at least for the FIFA World Cup. Once a silent witness to defining moments of the Second World War, the iconic square is now alive with colour and sound.  The streets that once echoed with military marches are today lined with shops, sidewalk cafés and hotels buzzing with football fever. Just opposite the Kremlin, visitors encounter some of the world’s finest brand stores and even an ice-cream parlour—an almost surreal contrast to the weight of history that surrounds the area. At the heart of the square, the Fan Zone has become a magnet for children and young supporters, filled with cheers, chants and celebration. The older generation, however, gravitates toward quieter reflections—taking sombre walks past Vladimir Lenin’s mausoleum or pausing to admire the statues that stand as reminders of Russia’s past. In many ways, the tournament has seamlessly merged sport with history. ...

MOSCOW: Englishmen born in the 70s must have watched Geoff Hurst’s celebration video clips perhaps more than the Hollywood classic The Godfather. The English striker’s controversial goal against West Germany in the 1966 FIFA World Cup final at Wembley still gives them kick, but sadly doesn’t inspire their footballers anymore to emulate their team's only World Cup triumph. England’s 1966 World Cup victory is just a piece of memory which the Englishmen flip through the pages after every four years, and they still hope their football teams will emulate Bobby Moore and company. But those who understand the game and have followed English football post 70, would agree the ‘Summer of 66’ was a ‘fluke’ as all their past teams had struggled at the successive World Cups. Even the Indians, who are so much influenced by ‘Made in England’, have never been a die-hard fan of their past colonial masters, who had taught them football. Not just the Indians, everybody who even posse...

MOSCOW: As the most popular football side in the world, Brazil always excite us. Even the media admire them -- more than 200 newspaper journalists and 100 photographers are registered for tomorrow’s Brazil versus Switzerland game. At the Rostov Arena, children have welcomed the Brazilians to the city, with their paintings spread around the city. Such is the love and affection that they’ve been enjoying since ages. Everybody loves the Selecao, but off late Brazil doesn’t resemble the teams of 70s and 80s. The attacking flair, which won them millions of hearts across the globe, is now a thing of the past. The team’s current style is not even a sequel of what Tele Santana had produced at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups and as school children, we were thrilled to watch Socrates-Zico-Elder-Falcao indulge their love of feints, tricks and back heels. The free-flowing approach has been replaced by a more cautious one ever since their players started playing in the gruel...

MOSCOW: There’s something about the African football teams. Hugely talented, but still remain success-starved at the sports biggest platform. During an informal chat with Moustapha Hadji in Doha few years back, the Morocco legend and 1998 World Cup hero said that ‘it’s always difficult to handle a bundle of talents’. Quite rightly so. When you’ve an entire team of excellent footballers, there’ll bound to have ego clashes in the locker room so much so that it becomes difficult for the coaches to handle each of them. Nigeria’s Super Eagles has always been a fantastic squad since the days we’ve started watching Nwanku Kanu, Finidi George and others at the 1994 World Cup. All five of Nigeria’s World Cup finals victories out of their 18 matches have been against European opposition. The Super Eagles beat Bulgaria 3-0 and Greece 2-0 in 1994, Spain 3-2 and Bulgaria 1-0 in 1998, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 in 2014. At this year’s edition, Nigeria has come with one of ...

MOSCOW: Around the time Russia humiliated Saudi Arabia in the opening match on Thursday evening, fans back home sighted the moon on the 29th day of the holy Ramadan month. The new moon ended the rigorous fasting month with a new hope and beginning, but the Saudis may have spent a sleepless night following their 5-0 drubbing by the hosts at the Luzinhki Stadium. The Green Falcons, like most other Arab teams, are mere pushovers at the football’s grand stage. Nobody expected a big win for the Saudis. A draw would’ve been a fare result for the country, where football is yet to be a part of culture. Saudis may be the most passionate football-lovers, but it’s mostly confined to their domestic competitions where one can expect a fierce rivalry between their top clubs – Al Ahli and Al Hilal. The league was professionalised only very recently, with their players being paid huge chunks of riyals as their wages. It’s not that they lack quality players, but they don’t move ...

This was the time when ISL was beyond anybody’s imagination, social media was non-existent and National Football League (NFL) was struggling to maintain with its charm. It was during that era, almost 15 years ago, when I saw a diminutive Sunil Chhetri in join Mohun Bagan jersey. “Who is this Chhetri,” I asked one of my fellow writer during a NFL match at the Salt Lake Stadium in Calcutta. My obvious curiosity was not because he came from my second home, but due to the fact that he wasted at least a dozen of gilt-edged chances on that muggy afternoon. Chhetri, then a 19-year-old, scored just eight goals in three seasons at Bagan, which finished in the bottom half of the league table. For a young footballer, Calcutta seemed to be the right choice as Delhi teams, where he played for City Club, don’t even get outstation invitations. Calcutta wasn’t an unknown city for the Delhi boy, who had his schooling at the Fort William where his father was employed with the Indian Army...