The World of 'Football' is upon us. Yay!!

The World of 'Football' is upon us. Yay!!

Neither my impulse to create a blog nor my craze for Football/Soccer is an overnight idea. My craze for the 'beautiful game' dates back to the start of the 21st Century, when one Mr Ronaldinho decided to chip his free-kick over an astounded David Seaman during the 2002 World Cup. The idea of establishing a 'proper' blog had been persisting since the year, Abhinav Bindra won India's first individual Olympic Gold (the year: 2008). (Ronaldinho's Goal against England -2002)

Now, with your first thought taken care of. Let me take you through my experiences with the World's  2nd biggest (if not the 1st) event since 2002, the eighth year of the horse.

2002- The 'FIRST' Ronaldo & the "KAHNtastic" Germans: 

One of many WC Goals - 2002 Final

Source: Google

Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos & Cafu.. Do I need to say anything more. The South Americans, were a team possessed in Asia's first rendezvous with football's greatest. If Ronaldo's goal scoring streak was the talk of the town in Seoul, Oliver Kahn was turning back the years between the goalposts. He, along with a young Miroslav Klose took Germany to the last hurdle. I still remember, Micheal Ballack bringing one of the South Korean players down in the last minute to avoid a goal scoring opportunity in the semi-final. His 'Red card' meant, Germany lived to fight another day. But, the Samba boys had everything sorted and made Yokohama its home on 30th June,2002. Who else, but one Mr. Ronaldo scoring 2 goals.

2006- The Stamp & the Butt, Head Butt!

Materazzi- Hey, Zidane, Log Chlormint kyun Khaate hai?
Zidane- Chall Hatt!!

Source: Google

Fabio Grosso, scored the winning penalty in Berlin & wheeled around to celebrate Italy's World cup win in Berlin. But Berlin & Rome weren't the only two cities rejoicing that night. There was an opposite reaction in Paris, one of 'Despair'. Their talisman, their messiah from 1998, Zinedine Zidane had "Headbutted" an unpleasant Marco Materazzi in the 110th minute of his last match. A glistening career ended on a bruising note (Fans & Materazzi alike). The headbutt wasn't the only altercation from the world cup. Rooney's 'Stamp' & the subsequent 'Wink' by Cristiano Ronaldo left millions of Manchester United Fans hanging by the thread. It took the managerial brilliance of Sir Alex to salvage the premier league campaign and emerge victorious in the end.

2010- Tiki Taka & Barca's imprint on 'La Roja'
The starting eleven for Barcelona in the world cup final had, oh wait, I meant 'Spain'. Why? Six of the eleven Spanish players plied their trade for the major city from Catalonia. South Africa (and the whole world) witnessed a brilliant lesson of tactical football in 2010. Pep Guardiola & his silky players dominated the Spanish Primera Liga for nearly 6 years with their exquisite short passing style of football. Spain used the same 'Tiki Taka' to enthrall the footballing world. The Vuvuzela & the Waka Waka, created the other 'loud' attractions. It was the 'Time for Africa", indeed.

Spain a.k.a. Barcelona a.k.a 2010 Champions
Source: Google

2014-The Flying Dutchmen & the Brazilian Tears!

Spanish Fans: We heard Van Persie can fly
Vincent Del Bosque: We will know now, wouldn't we?
Source: Sportskeeda

Louis Van Gaal, was the most confident man in Rio de Janeiro. With the lucrative Manchester contract on the near horizon, the former Ajax coach was at his tactical best. He pulled a certain 'Tim Krul' out of his magic hat to stop the Costa Rican express in the quarterfinals. Robin 'The flying' Van Persie & Arjen 'the old Rocket' Robben had left the Spanish gasping in the earlier encounter. But they were brought down by a spirited Argentinian ship, anchored by a certain Lionel Messi. It seemed apt that Mario Gotse would fire his volley beyond the Argentinian goalie, Romero and into the hearts of the Argentinian fans in the final. Argentina weren't the only South American team disappointed by Joachim Low's men. The host country of Brazil & millions of its fans were left in tears as Germany ran riot in Belo Horizonte. A 7-1 scoreline puncturing the rich legacy of Brazilian Football.

2018- The world cup of 'Possibilities' !

The World of Football is upon us.
Source: Forbes

The Dutch, The Azzuris, The Chileans & ironically, the Americans, didn't make it to the world cup in Russia. Why?? No controversies (political or otherwise) here. The likes of Panama, Iceland & Peru ensured that the latest world cup will lack the traditional legendary teams. But, the excitement remains. And possibilities remain. The sacking of the Spanish coach (Real Madrid, the rich anti-Hero!), Nike's hypocritical withdrawal from the Iranian sponsorship of shoes (Sanctions? No wonder US didn't make it to the world cup) and other instances have already created the necessary hype around the current world cup. It remains to be seen if this will be the last world cup for the club stars, Cristiano Ronaldo & Lionel Messi. A World cup would definitely be the cream of their achievements.

On that victorious note, Wishing all my fellow football fans, Eid-ul-Fitr mubarak. 

From India, in Russian, "Dasvidaniya" 😇

P.S: The words are mine, the images aren't. Credit: Google !