Messi-merising!

Riding high on the absolute brilliance of Lionel Messi, the Argentines defeated a battling Nigerian outfit to make it two times in a row in the Olympics...
My favorite team finally managed to win a major(?) tournament after thr dismal exit in the 06 WC :D
Three cheers to the South Americans! :)

Spanish armada rules...

Its 2:09 am and with a heavy heart, i acknowledge tht the Spanish were just too good for Germany....they hv finally managed to shed the chokers' tag and hv emerged tops in a major tournament aftr 44 yrs!
Well played Spain! The Germans just werent good enough :(

Its showtime folks!

2 weeks after my previous post on the Euro, the Dutch have snatched the chokers' tag from the Spanish and self-destructed....So, now we are left smacking our lips,relishing the thought of Casillas fighting it out with Podolski,Villa(if he's fit) charging towards Lehmann and Ballack engaging in a duel with Fabregas to decide the Kings of the continent...
Its been an amazing tournament so far with the best reserved for the knock-out stage what with 3 of the 4 QFs goin down to the wire...and the semi-finals have been solid too...Lets hope we get to see a cracker of a finish tomorrow to what's been one of the most entertaining major football tournaments in recent times!

P.S. Go Germany! :)

Oranje all the way...Will they or wont they?

The way the Dutch made mincemeat of Italy and France in quick succession has definitely made them strong contenders for Euro...Arjen Robben was gr8 against France and as a unit, the team played really well in both the games,leaving not many chances for the 2006 World Cup finalists...Both France and Italy are staring at the bottom of the barrel now and need to pull up their socks,defenses and spirits to battle it out and gain a quarter final spot...Of course, Romania could still spoil the party for both if they beat the Dutch in thr last league match...but tht seems like a remote possibility,the spirited show by the Romanians till date notwithstanding...

So while many will be harbouring hopes to see the Oranjes lift the coveted cup a week frm now,not just a few will be struck by a strong sense of 'will they,wont they'...
Isnt this the same Dutch team that so famously chokes whenever its done all the hard work and reached the knock out stages as one of the favorites? We have seen it enough times before now and cant help but wonder if the Dutch will be able to maintain their form and moreover, peak at the right time to win the championship...After all, Holland are beaten only by Spain in the international chokers tag contest (although none of them can beat the Indian cricket XI! )...So,what remains to be seen is if the team ably led by old warhorse Edwin Van der Sar can manage to shed the tag and battle their fears to put up a display of sublime passing,precision finishes and rock solid defense to brush away all opposition and conquer the European continent...After all, a team comprising Van der Sar, Nistelrooy, Sneijder, Kuyt, Heitinga and Robben deserves to win this one, dont you think? It would be a fitting tribute to their yesteryear stars like Dennis Bergkamp and Edgar Davids who failed to manage the feat as many times as they should have, despite being excellent individually...The erstwhile masters of Total Football need to live up to their old nickname 'Clockwork Orange'...


P.S. : The English football team far surpasses the Spanish and the Dutch AND the Indian cricket team in terms of choking and hence can safely bask in the glory of the 'Eternal,perennial chokers' tag...Only, I never considered them as a team but a mere collection of some mediocre, some great, some over-hyped 'superstars' ...As a result, I havent considered them as worthy contenders for the choker's tag ahead of Netherlands and Spain...My apologies to the British!