Qatar mein hain hum...2026

Has FIFA lost it completely ?
I understand that most of the Eurozone countries like Portugal/ Spain, Netherlands/ Belgium are cash-strapped and England, well nobody at FIFA and UEFA( read Platini) likes them, and Russia with all its oil and gas have enough liquid cash to host a World Cup, but why on god`s (or Allah`s) name did they give it to Qatar ? World Cup! In June!.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
Platini get a life! and if you manage to get one, get one for Sepp Blatter too.
Blatter is safe since by the time the Qatar 2022 thing comes around he will be past the peraly gates.
But footballers will be there and I can imagine them running around the spanking new stadiums kicking beach-balls( progenies of Jabulani) and pouring buckets of water over their head.
Its a disgrace that a bunch of moneybags have changed the rules of the game AFTER the kick-off.
Its like asking for normal BTG packages after the bids for a Super-critical BTG package has been opened. Bidders who lost out technically have a cause to feel agrieved. And that exactly what FIFA has done. After awarding the games to Qatar for a June cup, they are suddenly ok with the timings being shifted to January.
Well losers are complaining, but then again they are losers. Tcaah....losers.
A shift to January means local leagues of Europe and Latin America getting affected, but its FIFA, they make the rules.

And finally old Crumpet Sepp is talking about WC in India in 2026.A country that gets its posterior whipped by the football teams of Qatar, Kuwait and Oman( each about the size of delh NCR) with alarming regularity and whose best representation at top-level football has been one Bhaichung Bhutia at Bury FC ( not even english 2nd division ) and a Sunil Chhetri at Kansas City Wizards( MLS), a team which got a pummelling from Manchester United reserve team four odd months back.
Instead, take the game to Latin America, take it to Australia, take it Japan and China again, maybe to Egypt/ Morocco and then then Qatar and Oman and Iraq( that will rebuild the nation once more) instead of ruining the spirit by awarding it to India...
India 2026...I am sure Messers Kalmadi and Bhanot and Mahendroo are licking thier lips in anticipation.... if one city could give them 35000 crores, imagine a World Cup football, pan-India...
( fadeout to the tunes of Tu paisa paisa karti hai, phir paise pe kyun marti hain ? )

The Saga of "That Boy"

He wanted to leave.
He didnt want to leave.
We wanted him to leave.
We wanted him to achieve greater glory for the Red shirt.we hated his antics.We loved his flicks and step-overs dummies.
In the end That Boy has been sold to the merry circus over at Madrid who cant produce even a single half-decent player from the academy but desperately tries to get all the best talent from around the world to re-create the halycon days of the 50s and 60s.But what Messers Perez and his cronies forget is that those glorious years were possible because Madrid were mostly playing home-grown players who loved the jersey and were ready to shed blood and sweat for it.
The neo-Galacticos like Kaka and That Boy and Villa are extablished stars who have won everything they could have as a club-level footballer and are now looking forward to a nice retirement with high pension in Madrid.I dont think Madrid will manage to reach even the semis of the Champions League this coming season inspite of having Villa,Kaka and That Boy in their ranks. This is because of one single reason. Inspite of scoring goals all throughout Madrid has alwyas had a suspect defence which conceded more than what the attackers could score. To win big tournaments you need a solid if not spectacular defence and this is one area where Messers Perez has nothing new to show for all thier buying spree.

Now that Ronnie has been sold lets look at what we can do with $ 121 million.
Options:
1.Antonio Valencia of Wigan- he will be perfect if not the most spectacular replacement for Ronnie. Solid and skillful with premiership experience and at 23 he can only get better.Asking price 14 Mill lbs.
2. Rafael Van der Waart- this Dutch master needs a good coach and a good set of attackers to unlash his full skill set.Unfortunately over at Madrid settling into a team is something they cant and usually dont afford. So inspite of being a proven campaigner in the Bundesliga,he is ready to be sold. Asking price - $ 12-14 Mil.

The magical night at Celtic Park.

The Bhoys probed, hassled us, chased every ball,didn`t give any quarter and showed that a TEAM which keeps it shape,manages to clear the line and is not afraid to throw bodies in the line of fire can hold back better,more talented and maybe slightly more experienced team at home,but thats all.
The Celtics wont ever win any major trophy if they play like this, but they do give all the big teams a scare and for United,well it was a good wake up call and a test of their character....

If only Berba managed to keep his balance and tap in the very last pass...only If

In the striking zone...

I stared at the screen blankly…angry…very angry…a lump forming in my throat…as the Blues celebrated their win…(Rio celebrated by kicking a stewardess)…for a second the old foto of JT holding aloft the EPL trophy flashed in front of my eyes and I was back to my usual self.

We lack strikers. Quality finishers inside the box who can hold the ball in Middle third and let the wingers and withdrawn striker run into the box. We probable need a Berbatov, a Heitinga or maybe a Kun Aguero.our ball-holding capability in the final third can be written on the back side of postage stamp with room to spare. Instead of 1 tall strong striker pulling atleast 2 defenders (preferably also their CDM) towards him, we have Rooney( Mutton-headed lump of lard), a Misplaced Dhakai bangal( Saha) and a specialist withdrawn forward ( Tevez ) in the team.

By now,it’s a well-known and well-documented fact that Rooney is useless against proper holding defences of Spain or Italy. At best, he bulldozes into massed wall of 2^nd grade African talents ( no Thuram/ Essien/ Yaya Toure/ Mahamadou Diarra those ) or cheap East European imports who gets overawed by the AIG logo, not by Rooney`s ball skills.Rooney is more suited for the Rugby Unions leagues and less for the intricacies of European football.Old Man,sell him while you still can get some money for him!

Saha…ahahahahahahahahha…even I am fitter than him. Any world-class ( ! ) striker who gets injured while warming up for matches should just take Buladi`s advice and stick to playing Ludo…Sell him…to Sunderland. Keano will wipe the floor with his ass, and then Saha might be fit to play.

Tevez is more of a ball-winner, someone in the terrier mold, one who will keep on running at the Left back and the central defenders till they commit a mistake, a small error in judgement and Tevez wil score…a real 110% guy on the field, he ranks right up there with Fletch, Sheasy and Wes Brown. Not spectacular, but his work rate will put any winger/ Attacking Medio to shame.

Options for Old Man;

1. Kun Aguero- his form for Athletico Madrid has already been earning him rave reviews from pundit s and opposition coaches,so much so that Chelsea is already lining up a $35 Mil bid for him to be their 7th striker( another Steve Sidwell).If we can get him,nothing like it.Poacher.Period.

Pros : Poacher, can conjure goals from anywhere in the box, UCL/ UEFA Cup experience.

Cons: lack of consistency, unproven in EPL.

2. Dimitar Berbatov : the tall Bulgarian with the Superb ball skills has been one of the reasons Spurs managed to win the League Cup. A fantastic season with Werder Bremen and EPL clubs were at his doorstep with the proverbial blank cheques. Sad he chose a group of perpetual also-rans like Spurs (did he mistook the United Millions to be in Dollars???). Face it, Spurs might have their days but a team that can’t defeat Livorno at home has no future in Europe. Sad because a Berbatov in the Number 10 jersey would have been a dream for the Reds in Europe where his holding, composed football and crackling single-touch passing would open up many a defence for that Boy to torment.

Pros: Proven EPL record, stint with Werder Bremen gives him Bundesliga toughness.

Cons: very expensive. Perceived to be slow and not suited for the fast united Game,bit moody and brooding, not a perfect team man.

3.Wesley Sneijder: If we manage to pry away this gifted Dutchman from Real Madrid, which wont be very difficult( they overhaul things every March..a la Tom Ford at Gucci ), we can have a first rate attacking medio who can take proper chipped freekicks from 35-40 yards out in the right,( That Boy manages the left ) will run at defences and also run box-to-box to break up attacks .

Pros: big team temperament, awesome stamina.

Cons: too expensive, where will Carrick and Anderson go ?