Here we go..!!
The party has begun at last. A truly different opening ceremony with a memorable assembly of previous world cup winners led by Pele heralded the onset of the greatest spectacle on the earth,i.e. the FIFA WORLD CUP'2006. And if the opening match is anything to go by, the world is in for a sumptuous treat of 'Joga Bonita' ( The Beautiful Game).
A thrilling encounter at the glittering Allianza Arena in Munich kicked off a month-long soccer feast and the 4-2 scoreline certainly wasn't flattering for the hosts, playing without their talismanic skipper Michael Ballack.Buoyed by their cheerful fans, Germany swamped Costa Rica with vibrant, attacking play and the stunners from Phillip Lahm and Torston Frings certainly bore testimony to that. Paolo Wanchope's twin strikes provided some consolation for the Costaricans though. All said and done, Jurgen Klinsmann will surely have to beef up his backline if his team are to go far in their quest for a fourth world title.
The other match on the night saw high-altitude Ecquadorians give Poland a rude shock with an efficient display. The Polish will have lot to ponder over this surprise 2-0 defeat.
El Barca.. kings of Europe..!!
Soccer never ceases to suprise and that's why it's 'the beautiful game'.
Well, last night in Paris added to the legend of the biggest stage of them all at club level, the UEFA Champions League.
After the classic in Istanbul last year, many expected an encore this time, with Henry and Ronaldinho vying for the big prize. It didn't exactly turn out that way, though. Still, this one had its moments.
Reduced to 10 men, midway through the first half, after Jens lehmann brought down a rampaging Eto'o, Arsenal showed a lot of grit and guts. And suprise, surprise, they took the lead, thanks to a Sol Campbell header.
So it was now for Barcelona to do all the chasing and take the game to the gunners. And they did so, dominating possession and trying to make their one-man advantage count.Finally, the gunners' wall cracked, with that deadly finisher, Samuel Eto'o equalising for Barca with 14 minutes left on the clock.
Wenger's men were crestfallen. Barca had tasted blood and now, it's time to go for the kill and they delivered the final blow, when the Brazilian winger Beletti wrote himself into Barca's history books with a thumping finish, 9 minutes from time.
The tide had turned and Arsenal didn't simply have enough in the tank now to make that one final attempt.
So it was Carlos Puyol and company who went on stage to get their hands on that glittering trophy, the ultimate prize in club football.
The pride of Catalonia are now the champions of Europe..!!
Finale in Paris!!
5 days to go for the Champions League FINAL & one can't simply wait!!
Seville's emphatic mid-week win against Middlesbrough in the UEFA Cup final has already set the stage for Barca to add more glory to Spanish dominance in Europe.
While Ronaldinho and company are overwhelming favorites to lift club football's greatest prize in Paris's magnificent Stade de France, Henry and his fellow gunners might just upset the applecart.
Whatever the end result, fans across the world are in for a sumptuous treat, if both Rijkard and Wenger's teams play the kind of football one's accustomed to watching from Barca and Arsenal.
May the best team win!
Lahore..4 days to go..!!
India's tour of Pakistan couldn't have asked for a more controversial start,following Raj Singh Dungarpur's summersault with regards to comments he reportedly made against Saurav Ganguly.A distraction the Indian team could easily have avoided,especially at the start of such a high-pressure tour.
Leave aside the verasity of those statements by Raj Singh, the sheer timing of these things coming out in the media was an aboslute disaster.If this is what the most senior admindistrator of Indian cricket offers managerially,then the overwhelming cry for reforms and accountability in the BCCI is surely not an empty one.
Coming back to the on-field action though,the good showing of the Indian top order in the practice match makes the return of the bengal southpaw to the starting line-up on Friday in Lahore all that more difficult.On the other side of the fence,it's a revitalised Pakistani team gearing up to avenge the home-defeat of last year's series against their arch-rivals.
Finally,as has now become a routine,another court case filed by Ten Sports against the government's decision to allow the DD to have shared feed of all matches of 'national importance' played by India.For all those millions of cricket fans not having access to Ten sports ,it's time for another round of suspense drama.From a neutral point though, the decision of the Indian government is baffling to say the least,considering the fact that it has given DD a virtual freedom to decide for itself what sporting events it wants feed for,leaving the private broadcaster high and dry. But then this happens only in India.!!
India vs Pakistan
9 days still to go before Lahore,but the subcontinent and indeed,the entire cricketing world is buzzing..!!
That's India-Pakistan cricketing rivalry for you..!!
No wonder mind games are thick in the air with current players and ex-players from both sides trying to psyche the their rivals..!!
Setting aside these things though, if one looks at this as a purely cricekting contest, then we are in for a cracker!!
An ever-improving Pakistan side led by their inspirational captain Inzamam and pace spearhead Shoaib Akhthar against an Indian side,on the upswing in the new Dravid-Chappell era!!
One can't simply wait!!
Two close for comfort!!!
What an incredible game of cricket!!
The closest ever finish in an Ashes test match!!
Games like these indeed make the game of cricket,especially test cricket what it is..the ups and downs,the rapid swings in fortunes entail an examination not only of physical ability and talent,but most importantly mental toughness and character!!
And all of that was on vivid display in Edgbaston, as the game witnessed one of the greatest ever nail-biting cricketing contests..ending in ecstasy for England and agony for the Aussies!!!
A 2-run win for the pommies,giving them their first win in a "live" ashes test match since the 86-87 series down under...!!!
If Andrew Flintoff finally arrived on the big stage with a virtuoso all-round Botham-esque performance and gave England a fighting chance, then the gritty Aussie tail enders in Warne,Lee n' Kaspowicz all but did it, rising from the ashes like phoneix!!!
Finally,couple of factors from now on are going to be huge in deciding the outcome of the series!!!
Without the pigeon in their ranks, the aussie pace attack has looked hardly the part,lacking in control and consistency..except for couple of hostile spells from Lee..!!
Gillespie n' Kasprowicz's pedestrian efforts thus far don't inspire much confidence from the Aussies' point of view, notwithstanding Warne's brilliant form!!!
So aussies's pace attack needs some urgent fine-tuning !!
Secondly,the aussie batting has hardly been consistent thus far,with Martyn,Hayden n' Gilchrist being hardly among runs!!!
As far as England go, Mcgrath's injury couln't have come a better time for them and with him likely to miss out the third test as well, this might well be the best chance for Vaughan's men to take control in this series!!!
We'r in for some fun,rest assured!!!
Hollywood n' Pigeon conquer Lord's..!!!
"Ashes to ashes..dust to dust..
If Warnie can't get u,then McGrath must!!!"
The above modified version of the famous Lillee-Thommo chant in the 70's by the Aussie fans has come to define the past cricketing decade of Aussie supremacy,not just against England but everyone..!!!
Two champion bowlers of great class and character..and it was all on display at Lord's, in the first Ashes test over the weekend..!!!
If the pigeon made the English top order tap in the first innings with one of the great spells of seam bowling, then the show-stopper 'Hollywood' brushed aside his personal strife to put in a remarkable spell of wrist-spin in the second innings!!
England have been firmly brought back to ground realities after the heady first session on day one and it's going to take some effort to stop the Aussie juggernaut now!!!
