The fever is back; nothing could be done to stop it. Nations and people go down like ninepins. Club football grips you before you could even take a gasp. You can't define the frenzy.
Players with unbelievable price tag go into action. All clubs giants handpicked to do the kill. And now the line of fire has opened at several fronts: La Liga games in Spain, English Premier League in England, Series A in Italy, and Bundesliga in Germany. Among club matches, the most sought-after are La Liga games and English Premier League. Amid this, Champions League in Europe might push the frenzy to the sky-and the sky is not the limit.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Soccer frenzy hits again
English Premier League
Begun in 1990s, this club fest is called Premier League in England and for outsiders it is English Premier League.
Frontrunner teams including Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal fight right from the begining. In the debut 1992-93 tournament, Manchester Utd. lifted the cup. Manchester City is the reigning winner. But Manchester United has won 12 out of 20 games.
Twenty teams for the games are selected through a qualifying league. Each team is a shareholder of the tournament. The current is sponsored by Barclays Bank, and the season falls in August-May. Each team has to face 38 games. Based on 'Home and Away' schedules, teams take on each other twice. Championship is determined on points gained. If points come to a tally, the winner is decided on the basis of the number of goals bagged.
Spanish La Liga
La Liga, the Spanish club, has both World Cup and Euro Cup in their shelf. Started in 1929, La Liga is probably the oldest football fest around. With the entry of gaints like Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), there has been huge uptick in the number of viewers. Barcelona won the inaugral match in 1929. The reigning champion Real Madrid lifted trophy for 32 times against Barcelona's 21 wins.
Like the English Premier League, 20 teams play 38 games, and they face each other based on 'Home and Away'. In current season the first 17 teams straightway get into the next La Liga, while the remaining three do it after winning the second division. The games are sponsoref by Banco Bibao Vizcaya Argentina, the Spanish International banking group. At the end of September-June season, top point-scoring team will lift the trophy. In case of a tally, points based on goals could do.
UEFA Champions League Football
This is a test for picking up the champions of the champions.
Started in 1995, the championship took its current form in 1992. Real Madrid was the first champions, and is top in the list of winners with nine victories. Italian club AC Milan stands close with nine wins. Beating Germany's Bayern Munich, England's Chelsea won last time. Teams winning various European Leagues get into Champions League, and the winner straight away goes to the next round. 76 teams under the aegis of UEFA (Union of European Football Association) take on each other in the championship.
At group stage, the number goes down to 32, and matches including group competitions, pre-quarter final, quarter final, and semi-final come in two legs called 'Home and Away'. Based on win and loss and goal differences, teams enter each round. In the final there is only game, and in case of tally, the winner is decided through tiebreaker.
Indian victory in Davis Cup
Indian tennis team made a clean sweep of 5-0 against New Zealand in Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I first round play-off. With the victory in Chandigarh India avoided relegation into Group II. In the absence of stalwarts like Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, young players including Yuki Bhambri and Vishnu Vardhan ensured the defeat of Kiwis.
Record figure for Mendis
Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka has recorded the best bowling figures in a Twenty20 international cricket. The offspinner took six wickets for eight runs from four overs as the hosts thrashed Zimbabwe by 82 runs in group A match. As Zimbabwe was knocked out, South Africa and Sri Lanka became the first teams to enter the Super Eight round of Twenty20 World Cup.
Hayden quits ground
Vateran Audtralian batsman Mathew Hayden left the cricket pitch forever. Hayden, 41, who retired from Test cricket in 2009, played for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League in 2010. He was with Brisbane team in last season's inaugral T20 Big Bash League. Hayden scored 8625 runs in 103 Tests for his country with 30 centuries. He also played 161 one-day internationals and owns 6133 in the format.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Don't eat flyers' food, Al crew told
A circular issued by Air India to its cabin crew wants them not to eat flyers' food and to behave themselves mid-air, reports Times of India. The warning comes in the wake of complaints from first class passengers. The circular directs them as to how they have to 'eat' and 'talk' mid-air.
The Hindu in a diplomatic bag
A diplomatic mailbag from a crashed Air India flight in French Alps has finally been opened after 46 years. The bag didn't yeild diplomatic papers-only Air India calendars and newspapers including The Hindu dated 21 January 1966, announcinf Indira Ghandhi's swearing-in as prime munister due on 25th January.
Russian roulette with USA
Are old rivals heading for a cold war? It seems so. Russia has ordered USAid, an American aid agency, to halt its Russian operations. The move appeared to be part of Kremlin's efforts to smother all protest movements against the government abuses. And Russia suspects American hands in it.
Chinese history in Paralympics
Once again China underlined their domination in sports with a historic win in Paralympic Games. In the world meet of athlets with a range of physical and intellectual disablities, the Asian country got the title of campions earning 95 Gold, 71 Silver and 65 Bronze.
India was 67th on the medal tally with just a Silver.
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