Lol!

Chelsea and Yash Raj films enter into a partnership. Maverick has more on it. Why go into such a partnership? Abhishek Bachchan, the hero of the film, tells us via this statement:

The character I play in the film is of a very loyal Chelsea fan. I have now had the chance to see Chelsea live after following them over the last few years and the club have given me a jersey with my character’s name Ricky on it, so that was fun.

The premiership is becoming big in India but it is still not being able to sell the jerseys of star players. India has missed the bus on this craze so far. Firstly, BCCI didn’t market selling shirts as well (we still don’t have BCCI official cricket shops like we have NBA stores). However, Pepsi increased it’s product sales by offering team jerseys coinciding with the 1999 world cup and then the BCCI encashed a fair bit before and during the 2003 world cup.

The big problem with jersey sales in India is the price sensitive nature of the consumer. People would rather have an unofficial t-shirt than the official costlier one. Who is to say Chelsea is looking just at jersey sales? They want to sell every thing possible to the fans and via the help of bollywood, possibly attract newer fans as well. Yash Raj films get to promote their film and it is a win-win situation for both.

The consumer sports luxury good market in India is still largely untapped and Chelsea is hoping to capture some of that market share. I won’t buy Chelsea jerseys though as we all know that Barcelona>>>>>>>>>>>>Chelsea! ;)

The biggest news out of the transfer saga was the signing of Argentina internationals Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano from Brazilian club Corinthians for undisclosed fees. Initially, the players were supposed to be loaned which would have been huge in itself. The signing was a shocker and people started speculating if West Ham could become a top 6 English club. No one understood how the signings took place.

Now, the secrets are coming out of the cupboard. The Independent discloses that Iranian investor Kia Joorabchian is set to put forward a take over bid for West Ham. He is the same person who was the man behind the Tevez-Mascherano transfers. That is not all regarding Joorabchian. He is the man behind MSI (who failed in a takeover bid in November ‘05) .

As their webpage states:

Media Sports Investements is a London based international investment fund. Led by Iranian business man Kia Joorabchain, MSI has a number of investors mainly based in Britain and Russia.

Read this piece from 18 months ago which my friend TT Boy points me towards. The piece is important given the recent transfer. It states, among other things:

The last month has seen Corinthians, with the help of their new-found backers, also recruit the services of other top players, with Carlos Alberto (scorer of Porto’s first goal in last season’s Champions League final), CSKA Moscow striker Vagner Love and centre-back Sebastian Dominguez from Argentine table-toppers Newell’s Old Boys all moving to Sao Paulo.

The President of MSI is 33-year old Kia Joorabchian (believed to be Iranian), but a certain Russian billionaire and an Israeli agent, Pini Zahavi, are both thought to be involved. Joorabchian has denied Abramovich’s involvement, although he admits that the Russian billionaire is a friend (they also have business links through another Russian billionaire, Boris Berezovsky). Abramovich has also denied having any financial interest in CSKA Moscow, but there is enough evidence to suggest this is dubious at best - a US$54 million three-year deal to have their shirts sponsored by Russian oil company Sibneft, of which Abramovich is still the major shareholder; club president Yevgeny Giner being another “close friend” of Abramovich; the recent controversial signing of Jiri Jarosik (CSKA coach Valeri Gazzayev was furious at the deal)

What to make out of all this? TT Boy states:

The breakdown is MSI (who Roman supposedly owns 15% of) own Tevez and Javier, MSI also ran Sport Club Corinthians Paulista (until 2009 or something). MSI leased the players to Corinthians to allow them to take over. During the summer both players left Corinthians for free and have now signed for West Ham and if MSI get an interest in West Ham, then effectively West Ham like Corinthians will become a feeder club for Chelsea. That is the theory.

So how much of an interest does Roman Abramovich have behind this and how far is he responsible? How far has the concept of feeder clubs been taken? The transfer of Tevez and Mascherano, if we look at it solely without considering any thing else, looks shocking, unbelievable and almost impossible. Why would the two sign for a West Ham when bigger clubs like Manchester United (disputable now with them denying it), Bayern Munich and Arsenal were interested?

Update: West Ham confirms that exploratory discussions are taking place related to takeover.

Update 2: The duo explain that they signed for the Hammers instead of the bigger clubs because Pardew made them feel wanted. Hmm.

Update 3: BBC has collected responses from fans on various transfers. Adisco sums up what many fans are feeling right now:

Is this the future of the transfer market? Shady deals by unknown people in “deep background”. In the euphoria of signing these two guys, we seem to have forgotten that this is a real slippery slope. I for one would like the FA to take a look at how transfers are being done and take adequate steps to ensure that transparency is maintained.

Final Update: There are a lot of theories and murmurs going about right now. No one knows for certain who is behind all this and what the exact truth is. What I do know is that the truth needs to come out. Football fans have the right to know..

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.

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

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.

Yes, if this from The Times is to be believed. Reason enough for the English to rejoice no doubt.

Ronaldo is much hated in England now post the England world cup exit. Whether it was a red card or not is secondary. Portugal tried to unsettle the English and the first attempt lead to madness by Rooney. He shouldn’t have interferred in the first place.

This man won’t mind the recent developments though. The scape goat phenomenon in England never ceases to amuse me.