Does an international player have the right to retire when he wants from international football or not? Domenech, the French coach says this:

For me it would be unthinkable to see a great player playing for a great club not playing for his national team. A player who refuses to accept a selection is liable to a two-match suspension.

If the law did not have the provision of a player retiring from international football, you have to follow logic rather than the last word of the law. I don’t always agree with Mourinho but when he says Domenech is being treated as a slave, I agree.

Makelele has tried to end the controversy by saying he will play for France but this is as weird as it gets. Next thing you know, Zidane can be ordered to play again for France. I wont blame him for head butting Domenech then.

Given the recent history of Chelsea and Barca, the newspapers are hyping Barca facing Chelsea again in the Champions League. However, the two meet in round 1 which means that both can advance to the knock out stages. Barca did have Milan in their group two years back and Barca and Chelsea would rather face each other in round 1 than meeting each other early in the knock out stages like the previous couple of years.

What Barca and Chelsea will not like is the toughie group A is. You have Werer Bremen as the third team. Even if you forget how distracting it can be to face a team wearing orange and green, you cannot discount the quality side that Bremen is. You keep giving Miroslav Klose the ball and he will keep on scoring. Bremen can score a lot of goals in matches given the right setting. Add to this, you have the scenario of facing a Bulgarian club in Levski Sofia. Despite being professionals, I do not believe Barca or Chelsea would be accustomed to playing in Bulgaria.

If Chelsea slips up like they did in their recent premiership game, or Barca are not upto it’s best, or for that matter if Bremen puts on some inspired performances, there is a very real chance of an upset. Compared to the other groups, group A is far more tougher and intriguing. The Champions League always brings across new teams and players you get to know of along with the thrill the competition gives you. If we aren’t satisfied with that, we can always fall back on some juciy quotes from one Mr. Mourinho.

In Visitors, I invite one person around each month to share perspectives on a sport, a sporting event, sporting aspects or any thing in between. Ahead of the EPL season 2006-07, Ravi Gurnani joins us to give an indepth preview. If you would like to contribute for a future edition of Visitors, do not hesitate to e-mail me.

Put away those national flags for now and bring out your jerseys and scarves. For those still hungover from World Cup disappointments, worry not, football redemption is round the corner. Depending on the club you support ofcourse.

The 4 horse race I anticipated last season didn’t quite materialise. However it should be much closer this time round.

Chelsea

Beginning with the champions, Chelsea. Michael Ballack, Andrei Shevchenko and Ashley Cole, probably in the waiting. That is some quality. However, all the money in the world has not bought happiness at Chelsea. Witness Jose Mourinho’s continuous whining and William Gallas’ revolt. Out went Asier Del Horno, Damien Duff and Hernan Crespo. 2 league titles after, the holy grail for Abramovich is the Champions League. So I wouldn’t be surprised with a slip up or two in the process. Shevchenko’s goal in the Charity Shield last week should assure them of some clinical finishing upfront, something that they lacked last season. Also watch for some unhappy faces on the bench as a result of an overcrowded central midfield.

Manchester United

Let me make it clear that my support lies with Manchester United. Not the best of times for a club perpetually in transition since the glory days of 1999. Forget the new Roy Keane, we haven’t seen the new Nicky Butt yet! Michael Carrick’s signing should allay fears about the lack of quality in the midfield. Look beyond and the options are thin. Marcos Senna or Owen Hargreaves should add depth in the middle that they seriously lacked last season. van Nistelrooy’s departure will be a blow. Nobody has crossed Ferguson and survived at Old Trafford. Ideally another striker and midfielder would complete the jigsaw for United. Also the much hyped Rooney Ronaldo spat hasn’t materialised. Good riddance to that!

Arsenal

Emirates FC… err sorry Arsenal FC. The new stadium will give them the much needed financial boost. Their young squad continues to develop in the absence of veterans Patrick Vieira and now Sol Campbell under Thiery Henry’s leadership. Tomasz Rosicky is one of the players to watch for this season. If the WC was an indicator, he should ease the loss of Robert Pires. A striker to support Henry and defender at the back would complete the picture for them. Also the sooner A Cole and Spanish misfit Jose Reyes decide their futures the better for them. A title might be a season or two too soon for them.

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Signal of intent from McClaren or not, Beckham being dropped makes you ponder over the question which is oft repeated in sport - when should a sports man call it quits? I believe in the general thumb rule - a sports person should retire when the retirement leads people to asking the question why has he retired instead of why not when the person is still playing usually.

Beckham was past the stage of why and it was only a matter of time before his England duties would have finally ended. So, there isn’t much shock over the dropping of Beckham despite timelines and suchlike being written.

There is the bigger picture of there still being enough time for Beckham to make a come back if the young guns don’t come up with the level expected of them. He has had an injury recently, this is a friendly and McClaren hasn’t ruled out the scenario of Beckham making a come back. So, despite the media talk over Beckham being dropped, you cannot be sure if he has had his final bye bye where the national team is concerned.

Personally speaking, I would find it perfect for Beckham and ngland to part ways right now. There is a lot of time for the World Cup. The build up process with the attention shifted from Beckham can start from right now. Between now and the world cup, Euro does exist but with the world cup being of prime importance, why not give some one the experience in the Euro.

The current situation with Beckham can strike a common chord with any sports person in his final years. So a similarity can be forged with a Tendulkar post the cricket world cup 2007 for example. Even right now, there are questions being asked of Tendulkar and people will always do that. It is for the sports persons to make the big statements on the field. As Tendulkar makes his return, I back Tendulkar to make those big statements necessary of him.

What should happen with Tendulkar and India post world cup 2007 will be dependant on a lot of factors, among which will be how many years you think specific players can play for the team and how good they are at the given stage. I would still back Tendulkar to play on and play till world cup 2011 given that cricketers (batsmen particularly) can play in the latter years (cases in point - Inzamam, Brian Lara). That is a question to be pondered over after a few months and not right now though.

What this shows is that despite a lot of voices asking for your retirement, if you believe that you can silence those critics by the sheer weight of your performances, you can carry on despite why not being asked. However, you have to constantly prove yourself and if you do not do that, you cannot grudge some one dropping you from the team despite your records in the past. So, some one can carry one despite people asking why not if he has faith in his ability. If this wasn’t true, great comebacks and performances at the end of the career wouldn’t have happened. For example, Pete Sampras wouldn’t have won his last grand slam.

Whatever the sport, a sports person keeps battling to give in performances day in and day out - trying to defy age as nature catches up. There are always younger and stronger people trying to replace you in the team. It is tough to get into a team and much tougher still to maintain that spot. The battles keep happening not just against your opponents but with the youngsters and yourself as well..

The bye byes are never happy.

Rooney gets another red card. More fun can still occur:

Rooney’s sending off could result in a three-game Premiership suspension if the Dutch FA opt to report the incident to the English Football Association.

Such good timing and build up for the English Premiership… as always.

…kid’s clothes and memorablia get stolen.

Male tradition or not, the headbutt comes out second best worst.

41 year old former Indian captain V.P.Sathyan is dead. Reports suggest that he committed suicide.

The suicide note reads:

“I was vexed in life. I had lost my wealth as I was habituated to drinking and gambling. I had lot of respect and admiration in the society as long as I was a football player for India. But at present, I’ve lost everything. I don’t want to live in this world anymore,” read the suicide note.

Sathyan was the All India Football Federation player of the year in 1995. He was a true servant of the game though usually away from the spotlight. Read Bikash Mohapatra remembering Sathyan.

Telegraph has a detailed report:

While his other teammates in the then crack Kerala team, such as I.M. Vijayan and Jo Paul Ancheri, rose to become glamour boys of Indian football, Sathyan somehow remained the unsung hero…

All these years, no one really talked and discussed the classic and world-class goal he scored against South Korea in 1986 in Merdeka. A rookie defender then, Sathyan took India to the quarter-finals with a terrific 35-yard shot that had both his teammates and rivals completely stunned.

Sathyan himself never regretted it, leave alone talking about his achievements.

Read the reactions of the football fraternity.

It is a bit sad that we remember achievements and talk of the great deeds of people only when they are no more. The bigger question worth pondering is whether Sathyan would have met this fate had there been more recognition for him and had Indian football been better off. We don’t know that answer.

Regardless, this is a very tragic loss to Indian sports.

As if you didn’t know that already!

Still don’t believe it? Hope you are convinced now.

I am not quite sure regarding Raul being the best footballer or Deünhille (WHAT?) being the best sport though.

I am just alone and sad.

So Cristiano Ronaldo has become so hated that he is hampering tourism. Ronaldo is easily the most hated player for English fans since Maradona. Some could argue that he is even more hated than Maradona.

1) Maradona at least redeemed himself with the second goal.

2) Ronaldo plays for Man U - a much hated club apart from for those who follow Man U.

Even the Man U fans who can’t get enough of their players are strong in hating Ronaldo. So much so that he recently said:

I should get out of Manchester as the circumstances are not right.

And now, Ronaldo says that he is happy with Man U and will be staying there:

I have no reasons to leave the club which has always supported me and has always helped me to evolve as a player.

So Man U will not have home advantage this season if Fergie does decide to play Ronaldo in the first team. While you swear over Materazzi or Zidane, do not forget the man who will be booed all season.