Memories, good & bad
Life is not usually about looking into the rear-view mirror. But try telling that to the sports fan, especially after a month of the World Cup. Still hung over from the best World Cup in recent memory and before we contemplate life without football ---- tough one that, we know --- for a while, we take a somewhat different look at what occupied our evenings and nights and made us yawn at work. Picking our best 11 led to the usual debates such an exercise is bound to cause and there was considerable heartburn when the list was finally nailed. And then we thought, enough of the serious stuff….let’s have some fun.
He joined the elite club of winning the World Cup both as player and coach and that was possible because he was able to convince a pool of super-talented youngsters to curb their natural instinct and show discipline in defence. Spain came into the World Cup having played 20 games under manager Julen Lopetegui and not emerging on the losing side of any of those games. Amazingly, such an enviable record was not enough to save Lopetegui from getting the sack just two days before their opening game of the tournament.
At the heart of the issue was the fact that Lopetegui had been announced as the new manager of Real Madrid… despite signing a contract extension with the Spanish football federation to continue in his role. The straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back was the fact that the federation found out the news only 15 minutes before the world did. Lopetegui’s tenure ended in a way it definitely shouldn’t have and Spain’s World Cup was over before it even begun. They never looked convincing throughout the tournament and were knocked out by Russia in the round of 16. The 33-year old was one of the few veterans who found a place in a young England squad. With 83.3% pass success rate, he was able to start most of England’s attacks and he was also instrumental in creating Harry Maguire’s goal against Sweden. Croatia was the biggest success story in this year’s tournament and Modric was a major reason behind their dream run. The Real Madrid midfielder, worked tirelessly in the midfield. The PSG striker is now a household name after his World Cup show. The 19-year old, who won the FIFA Young Player award, scored four in seven matches and surprised fans and defenders with his speed. The people of Japan are almost steadfastly dedicated to being the politest lot of people anyone is ever likely to run into. And while their players and coach didn’t exactly win too many hearts with their negative tactics in the final group game vs. Japan, their fans certainly made up for the lack of goodwill towards their team. Japanese fans made it a point to clean up their area of the stadium after every group game. Pictures of fans clearing the mess they made and leaving the stadium in were circulated far and wide on social media and set an example for all football fans to follow, even if they probably won’t take up the effort to do so. To top things off, the Japanese players cleaned out the entire locker room after their round of 16 loss against Belgium and even left a “thank you” note behind for the organizers. Their tactics might have been questionable but their heart was certainly in the right place. The Chelsea defensive midfielder has been a major force behind France’s resilient show. There are very few midfielders in the world right now who have better work rate than Kante and with 68.5 km covered in 7 matches. The 31-year old silenced his critics with three goals in four games including brace against Portugal. Missing the quarter-final due to injury was one of the reasons France coasted. “Football is a simple game -- 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.”
Gary Lineker’s iconic quote on Germany endured for many years but such was the unpredictability of the 2018 World Cup that the England great was forced to alter the quote not just once, but twice in the course of the tournament!
Germany’s dramatic win over Sweden saw Lineker’s first tweak to his famous line. “Football is a simple game, 22 men chase the ball for 82 minutes and the Germans get a player sent off so 21 men chase the ball for 13 minutes and at the end the Germans somehow... win,” he wrote after they beat Sweden 2-1. However, Germany’s 2-0 loss to South Korea saw the phrase being updated yet again. “Football is a simple game. Twentytwo men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans no longer always win. Previous version is confined to history.” One goal and two assists may not sound much in Belgium's brilliant show, but De Bruyne controlled the game with his passing and helped Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard to bombard the opposition.
END BEFORE THE BEGINNING JAPAN’S SWAACH SOCCER ABHIYAAN AND GERMANY DO NOT ALWAYS WIN...
Players seeking divine intervention before a game is not uncommon; fans are all too familiar with sights of their favourites looking up to the sky while muttering prayers under their breath. The degree to which this tactic works might vary, but that didn’t stop the internet from assuming that one grandmother’s prayers were responsible for Mexico’s upset win over Germany!
A video that went viral on social media saw an elderly Mexican lady offering blessings to all the players she saw on TV before the game started. She even blessed goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa twice for good measure.
One can debate the effectiveness of the move, but Ochoa went on to keep a clean-sheet thanks in no small part to some fine saves made by him and Mexico went on to register a 1-0 win over the defending champions, a match that was easily the highlight of their tournament. Croatia’s fairytale run to the final warmed the heart of many a football fan but it was an arduous journey for the newly-formed nation to get to the summit clash in the first place. Every one of their knockout games went to extra time, with the first two matches getting decided on penalties.
Perhaps the combination of fatigue and a late adrenaline rush caused the Croatians to cause a bit of a ruckus after scoring what turned out to be the winner in their semi-final against England. Mandzukic’s last minute goal sparked mad celebrations among the players and fans alike.
So overjoyed were the players that they knocked a cameraman onto his back. To his eternal credit, the photographer continued to snap away even as he lay flat on his back with a bunch of pumped up Croatians standing over him!
#BLESSED: DIVINE TOUCH VIA TELLY BEST GOAL CELEBRATIONS