#101: judgement day(s)

What a day for biting nails. The next four games for ManU have winner-takes-all prizes dangling tantalisingly close. Win the next two in the EPL and the title is ours. Win the next two in the Champions League and that too is ours; and the rare feat of a double etched in history. Anything other than a win in either, and the trophy is lost. And with it the dream of a season that promised so much. For ManU, so much is at stake on the knife's edge. But it's these pressure cooker situations that separates the champions from the also-rans.

The Mancs can definitely do it; they have the talent and skills. In ten days I'll know if the reds are men enough to handle the pressure of expectation. I hope and pray they are. But for now let's take one step at a time; it's Barca at Old Trafford tonight. That kid Messi can do wonders. RF and VDS need to be at their collective best.

#99: redemption

The Indian Cricket Team won a series in England (not surprising, knowing how oblivious and blinkered the English are when sizing up their own teams), and then the inaugural Twenty-20 World Cup (now that was surprising). More reflections coming up shortly ....

#97: "the special one"

The self anointed "Special One" and Chelski have parted ways "by mutual consent". I imagine he was sacked. And the man who cherished the spotlight for reasons right, wrong, and infamous has been hogging all European football news and gossip columns since last night. What high drama!!

For all the results and success he brought to Chelsea, he alienated quite a few of passive well-wishers of the club (like me) with his big mouth. "He opens his mouth to change his foot" is what comes to my mind. I don't grudge him the millions he spent to put together his winning team. But he bad-mouthed his opponents – from SAF to Arsene Whinger to Rafa Benitez without reason (including roughing up a 12-year old schoolmate of his daughter who had the temerity to claim "Your dad is not the best"). That went way over the line. Backed by Abramovich's millions, José became an insufferable bully; nothing "Special" there.

England's Euro 2008 qualification is predictably stuttering (more like sinking). That's what you get with McClown. He is completely out of his league like a deer caught in the headlamps. I can already hear the media clamouring to appoint Mourinho as a replacement while there is still some chance to qualify. I am not so sure if that's a good idea, particularly so soon after his acrimonious run-ins with so many of his peers. But what would I know?

#92: epl reignites

2006-2007 is over; the new season is gearing up. It's now time to defend the crown and keep the trophy where it truly belongs .... Old Trafford.

The off-season has been a mixed bag. Hargreaves finally landed up from Bayern, and the saga of Heinze is over. New faces in the ManU squad are two highly touted foreign recruits .... Nani and Anderson. I know absolutely nothing about either of them, have never seen them play, and have no opinion other than "In the gaffer we trust". Nani has been billed as a Ronaldo-in-the-making (how do the Portugese keep rearing such talent), and Anderson is a Brazilian mid-field enforcer ready to take on from Scholes/Keane some day. That they are both in their teens bodes well for the long term. Carlos Tevez's transfer was another long saga. Given how he single-handedly brought West Ham to Premiership safety last season, if he can gel well with Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs, and Scholes .... ManU will have a fearsome strike force.

The team has struck the right note to kick-off the season, beating Chelsea in the Community Shield. I know it's a Mickey Mouse event. But winning is an infectious habit. Plus we all love the ones that shut up Chelsea coach José Mourinho's big mouth.

#90: back from hiatus

It's my first blog in months. And about time too. The new EPL season is right around the corner. And teams (with new faces and transfers all around) are tuning up for the rough and tumble of the long season ahead.

In the news today .... and being rightfully beamed all across the world is Iraq winning the Asia Cup in Jakarta. They are the champions of Asia and Oceania (FIFA includes NZ and Australia in this hat). It is a fairy tale. For once I won't begrudge Bob Costas on NBC if he waxes lyrically on this story.

Meanwhile, Becksmania reached its zenith as the Hollywood lights burned bright on his arrival to MLS and the US of A. Get a grip, LA. He's just a football player, for heaven's sake – not the best in the game, and way beyond his modest personal best too.

His first appearance in his new stripes was a pre-season warmer against Chelsea. His 12 touches of the ball in his short 12 minute debut for LA Galaxy were captured by an incredible 19 cameras and beamed worldwide. (Source: BBC Online).

#81: glory glory manunited

I am almost on cloud nine. Almost, since the Champions League slipped away on a horrendous night in Milan.

The Premiership trophy is back in its spiritual home. In the 15 years of English Premier League, ManUnited has won it 9 times, and has never come lower than the 3rd position. I call that domination.

• Alan Hansen on ManUnited's title
• ManUnited's season in photos
• How ManUnited spoilt Chelsea's party
• The 2006-07 season
• The new cold war

#79: champs again

"Mourinho are you listenin'?
Better keep our trophy glistenin'
'Cos we'll come back in May
To take it away!
Walking in a Fergie Wonderland!"

#75: super-flop

India and Pakistan stumbled at the first hurdle in the Cricket WC, 2007. Quite uncerimoniously too; beaten by the unheralded bunch from Bangladesh and Ireland (minnows of international cricket, as most seem to refer).

I, for one, am actually relieved that India lost; half of my genes hail from Bangladesh anyway. India did not deserve any better. For too long we have been intoxicated with hype and memories of past glories. For too long we have not demanded enough from our millionaire superstars. In a country of abject sporting mediocrity (global rank #147 in football), for too long we've rushed to anoint superhero status on anyone displaying just a glimmer of talent.

So call it a detox pill. Maybe now we will sit up, take stock, and do something meaningful about it. No amount of sugar-coating and excuse-hunting can gloss over the pathetic and spineless display. I once said to a friend in jest, "Megan, the field is not big enough to hide you". I repeated the same words, but this time in all sincerity, as I watched "Team India" walk back with their tails tucked between their legs.

#73: calypso cricket

The Cricket World Cup 2007 has just begun, drawing 16 qualifying nations from all around the globe. This time it's not in the cricket mecca (aka the Indian subcontinent), or where they couldn't care less (England), or where they take winning just too seriously (Australia, NZ, or South Africa). Thankfully it is in the West Indies .... where everyone loves it for what it is, a thoroughly entertaining sport. No less, and no more. The crowds come to cheer any team playing. Cricket is just another excuse for a calypso party in the stands. Race, ethnicity, nationality, dialect are of no concern. Everyone is invited to the soiree.

Some of the stadiums are part of cricketing folklore. Sabina Park, Kensington Oval, Queen's Park .... stadiums surrounded by the palm trees swaying in the tropical breeze and to the samba beats. With sights such as these, who cannot love cricket (well, there are some and we shall leave them alone). Sure, the facilities may not match the best in the world. But there's sincere hospitality and good sporting action all around to make up for that and more.

#68: vend it like beckham

The leading headline of the winter break may not have been of any incident on the pitch, but what transpired off it. Beckham (or DBecks, as some think he'll be called in his new destination) called it a day at Real Madrid (and in Europe for that matter) and chose to head to the footballing wilderness of US of A – LA to be more precise.

Many world-class players in the twilight of their careers have moved on for a couple of years of exhibition football before hanging up their boots. Pele and Beckenbauer went to NYC, Linekar and Zico opted for the J-League, Rivaldo plies his trade in Qatar. But this one trumps them all.

His 5 year deal with LA Galaxy is worth around $250-$275 million. No typo there. That translates crudely to an obscene $100 per minute! That is some serious money. It is four times the wage of the best-paid players in the English Premiership! And it catapults DBecks to the third highest paid sports-person in the world (behind a Mr. Woods and one Michael Schumacher).

There lies the disparity. Compare the trophy chest of Woods, Schumacher, Federer, Kobe, and Tom Brady to that of Becks. Match the exploits and future potential of Henry, Rooney, Ronaldinho, and Gerrard. This seems incongruent with all logic. But why blame Becks. I question the wisdom of those coughing up this much moolah for a brand past its best date. I am amazed at how much the brand merchants at LA expect to milk Becks' name. I, for one, do not plan to buy a DBecks jersey to line their pockets.

Setting the stage, Madame Tussauds in NYC already have wax images of the latest celebrity imports. The circus has begun.

#59: they still don't get it

Only someone in U-Chicago could be so forceful and eloquent in their assertion and so wrong. An economics lecturer analysed the sport of football while watching the World Cup Final (talk about misplaced priorities!). He wondered "Why would anyone waste good time or money watching this sport?"

So what did he conclude? First, some of his pearls of wisdom.

• "In the United States we structure most competitive contests to ensure that talent and performance are the main determinants of outcomes."
• "Running up and down a soccer field without ever being able to use one's arms is, well, un-American and un-natural."
• "To the untutored eye/fan, scoring appears random ..."
• "... it is inconsistent with most Americans' preferences for some semblance of strategic decision-making, coupled with observable effort, that leads to a predictable outcome — more sales, a raise, a better mousetrap, or more points".

Aaah .... now we are getting to his central thesis. He wants football to be a high scoring affair — with instantaneous rewards for every small action to keep the spectators engaged! Say 6 points for a goal, 1 for every completed pass, 2.25 for every corner kick earned, and -2 for every infringement. Maybe a score-counter on the side of a screen will help, as teams rake up points like it's PlayStation. And while at it, maybe we could allow the use of hands, more commercial breaks for "wardrobe malfunctions", and some cheerleaders in "left-to-imagination" mini-skirts and tops. Anything else .... would be boring, unrewarding, illogical and oh so un-American.

I don't know where to begin if I were to challenge his assertions. Or if it is even worth it. He reminds me of an advertisement punchline: "If you don't get it, you don't get it". Quite frankly, the rest of the world and so many I know here could not care any less for the Sandersons. They are concentrated in their ignorance and geographic spread. To them their World Series, for us the World Cup .... and they don't have to be mutually exclusive either.

Thanks Vanessa, for forwarding the article. My sympathies to you. You need to graduate quick and escape from the clutches of misguided lecturers.

#56: sir alex @ 20

Sir Alex Ferguson (aka SAF) celebrated 20 years at the helm of Manchester United last week. He's restored ManU to its rightful place – the top of the ladder, both in the English Premiership and in the European circuit.

This long at this level of the cut-throat world of international sports is an incredible achievement. And he's done that through relentless pursuit of perfection. My previous blog was a salute to Tiger Woods and Roger Federer. SAF belongs with them. Just like them, he's won it all, and outperformed all. And yet he finds an unsatiable drive spurring him on.
Has the ride been smooth? No, not by a long shot. But that's where he has excelled time and again. He's built champion teams from a bunch of individuals. When their time has gone, he's started again from the drawing board – quite like the Phoenix. He's shut up doubters with results, not mere promisories. Even his fiercest rivals join his current and former protégés in unanimous admiration. What could be a better testimony!

#55: the heart of a champion

Tiger Woods and Roger Federer – I saw them on the television and wondered. These two are at the top of their respective sports – leagues ahead of any challenger to their crowns. They have redefined excellence in their fields on their own terms. They've conquered almost all. Then what is it that drives their hunger day in and day out, weeks on end, to raise the bar even higher? A rare defeat just spurs them on further; a win does the same. They give nothing but 200% every time and on every occasion.

The story on the sidelines of US Open Finals was of Tiger and Federer's mutual admiration society. "Birds of a feather flock together". And they may as well, since there aren't too many of them. Now their two-some has made it to the TIME magazine's personalities of the year 2006.

I am in awe of them. I can only wish I was a wee-bit like them.

For the records:
Since turning professional, Tiger Woods has missed the weekend qualification just once in 10 years. That was the first tournament after he lost his father. He is yet to lose after having led on a Sunday. Roger Federer has had 4 winning streaks of 20 matches or more – the most of all time, and he's just warming up! He's won 9 Grand Slam titles in the last 4 years. Another forgotten person who belongs there is Edwin Moses (400m hurdles). He was undefeated for 122 consecutive races spanning August 1977 to June 1987!

#43: a sad day ....

for ManU faithfuls. We lost to Arsenal at home. And Henry did not even play for the Gunners. In the other big match-up of the weekend, Chelsea beat Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

The title cannot be won this early in the season, but it can definitely be lost. Although ManU remain in second position, their confidence would have been dented. Chelsea (aka Chelski) are now level in points. I'd hate to see the Russian petrodollar-bankrolled-team win the crown again. Today's loss just opened up that possibility. SAF has now got to ensure that there are no further slippages and near misses. It's an unforgiving league .... Good luck Red Devils.

Two weeks ago Giggs was awarded his first "Player of the Month" trophy. I, just as many others, could not believe that this living legend had not won it before. He has won all that's there at a club level. And his form has dictated the fortunes of ManU for a decade and half. Too cruel that he played for Wales and could never showcase his talents on the world stage. This recongition, although belated, could not have gone to a more deserving person. Giggsy and Johan Cryuff are my personal all-time favourite players in the whole world and across generations. They are both poetry and sublime skill in motion. Such talent comes but once in a lfietime.

#36: bragging rights

This one goes out to Sudeb (my cuzn), Michelle, and Anny ....

UMD 4 - UCLA 1. Sorry Bruins, you were comprehensively overmatched, outpaced, and outplayed. And the less said about your outfit, the better. The 4 stars you wear on your jersey is just plain ridiculous. You've taken yourself way too seriously. All that you got was a goal conceded for each star. Priceless!! And to that foul-mouthed Bruin-brat sitting in my row: the field is not big enough to hide your over-rated bunch.

The rankings reflect ACC's dominance in men's soccer. It has # 1, 4, 5, 6, 14, 16 in the top 20. The difference between them is razor thin on any given day. It should make for an exciting season. I just hope the Terps keep going the way they did today.

Oh, England seem to have rediscovered their self-belief. They have won by a collective margin of 9-0 in the 2 games since the WC debacle. Good riddance of Sven; McClaren seems to have got something right. One game at a time and they should be in good shape for Euro 2008.

#33: lesson from umd

On the local circuit the BusinessWeek cited the University of Maryland men's soccer team and its roller coaster fortunes in the last few years. It rose from the last position in the Atlantic Coast Conference to the top, then fell again, and then resurrected itself atop it once again. It has been the winningest collegiate team in the country over the last 4 years; it is the current national champion.

The piece makes an interesting reading for one part of this saga .... how leadership breeds confidence and motivates performance. It gives hopes to teams with fewer resources, particularly financial, to match and beat those that are more endowed – by exploiting the untapped intangible assets already at their disposal.

Go ManU, Go Terps.

#32: early days

The EPL season has begun. Two weeks into it and the current standings are ManUnited (1), Chelsea (7), Arsenal (12) and Liverpool (13) – with the last two having played a fewer game. I know, I know .... it's early days. But who knows .... the season may end this way with the true kings being rightly crowned again. One can day-dream a bit, right? After all, it's my blog!!

ManU lack a killer striker in their ranks, one like Ruud van Nistelrooy was – or like Thierry Henry is for Arsenal. Neither Rooney nor Scholes nor Giggs are really out-and-out strikers. Solskjaer and Alan Smith are returning from horrific injuries and prolonged absences. Saha and Rossi are good, but one has fitness issues and the other is still too much of a novice to fill RVN's boots.

Thankfully the Reds have not fallen short on goals in the first two fixtures. But much sterner tests lie ahead, both in the Premiership and in Europe. It'll be a miracle if Sir Alex can sustain the pace they have set, and pull it off. One can only hope and wish. It's been way too long without major trophies being added to the treasure chest at Old Trafford.

#26: epl addiction

The 2006-07 season of the English Premier League (or just "Premiership") is right around the corner. 20 teams with some of the world's best footballing talent will compete for top honours week after week over 190 matches. Football addicts all over the world will be glued to their TVs and the internet – watching, critiquing, and reliving the moments in every way they can.

The EPL is the world's most pulsating league. The games are furiously fast with never a dull moment, physical with fewer theatrics. Each game is a real contest; no roll-overs. Anyone is beatable on any day.

But what makes EPL extra-special is in the stands. They are the club supporters who for generations have been so – grandparents to parents to kids to grandkids. It's a family tradition and a village/town culture. The league may have gone global, but its roots still remain very local. You can judge by the furore over a Yank buying ManUnited, or a Russki owning Chelsea (now nicknamed Chelski).

Each club and team has such storied history, passion, and pride – perhaps unrivalled by any other sport anywhere. After all, England is the birthplace of modern football. And it's remained loyal to its blue-collared origins. In countries elsewhere, clubs are struggling to sell tickets. In EPL, good luck if you can find one in years!! The energy in the stadia is electrifying. 40-50,000 fans on their feet all through the game, singing their distinct club songs – whether at home or away, and through the notorious English weather. Once bitten, there's no turning back. You've been forewarned!

Then there are the local rivalries – the kind folklores and legends are made of. Liverpool, Manchester, and London that have more than one team in the EPL have the entire city fragmented into strongholds of fanatical support. Geography, history, economic status: local rivalry is a heady volatile cocktail of all this and more. The local derby often trumps the outcome of the remaining season. In the battle of the Merseysiders, Liverpool may win the Champions League and be crowned the king of Europe. But that's scant consolation if they lose to Everton.

As Robbie Fowler, a scouser* legend said .... "Once a Red, forever a Red". Exactly. If Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal have red jerseys, guess what colour the clubs of Everton, Manchester City, and Chelsea don – blue. Exactly. No chance of mistaking "your" team (unless you are really that colour-blind). There's no room for the neutrals, the faint-hearted, and the fickle-minded!! There's cricket for such sods!!

* Liverpool player and/or fan – from the local dialect. Notable scousers: George Harrison and Ringo Starr!!

#23: coup de boule

The Zidane circus continues. It's now become an industry. In this last one month, so much has been written and speculated. If chronicled it would run longer than War and Peace; with fiction and fact so indistinguishably intertwined, it could leave DaVinci Code in dust.

From endless pages in print media to online discussions, it has gone on almost ad nauseam. It's spurred games online, to this song which has topped the charts in France – not for its lyrics (see below), or melody, but for cashing in on the incident.

From all accounts, the French have forgiven Zizou – if they ever held his moment of infamy against him. Compare that with Beckham's red-card in 1998. For almost two years, he was vilified and jeered everywhere beyond Old Trafford. It seems disproportionate and unfair.

But is it? Zizou, unlike his Real Madrid fellow-galactico Beckham, single-handedly took France to glory in the 1998 World Cup, and in the 2000 European Championships. Can Beckham's trophy cabinet compare? When their qualification was going awry, Zidane was persuaded to come back from retirement, and he delivered again. He turned back the clock to be their inspiration and creative force in the qualifiers and through their knockout games – when not many, including me, had given Les Blues any chance. And this final was his sentimental swan-song. Backham had no such emotional appeal.

Unlike Zidane, Becks is a celebrity – all over town, endorsing, parading on the cat-walk, defining the "metrosexual male". Fads are fickle, quality never goes out of style. One is the real king, the other at best a pretender to the throne. It is not unimaginable then that Zizou remains an idol in his country and beyond, whereas Becks remains just an endorsement icon.

The lyrics:
Cute, you say, "but I don't speak French. What are they saying?" Here are the French lyrics and a translation.

Attention c'est la danse du Coup de Boule! (Watch out, it's the head-butt dancing song!)
Coup de boule, coup de boule (head-butt, head-butt)
Coup de boule à droite (head-butt to the right)
Coup de boule, coup de boule (head-butt, head-butt)
Coup de boule à gauche (head-butt to the left)
Coup de boule, coup de boule (head-butt, head-butt)

Allez les bleus! (Go Blues) Allez, (Go!)
Zidane il a frappé, Zidane il a tapé (Coup de boule!)* 4x (Zidane, he struck him; Zidane, he hit him)

Le rital, il a eu mal (The wop, he got it bad)
Zidane il a frappé (Zidane, he struck him)
l'Italien ne va pas bien (The Italian isn't feeling well)
Zidane il a tapé (Zidane, he hit him)
L'arbitre l'a vu à la télé (The ref saw it all on TV)
Zidane il a frappé (Zidane, he struck him)
Mais la coupe on l'a ratée (And we lost the Cup)
On a quand même bien rigolé (Nevertheless we had a good laugh)
Zidane il a frappé, Zidane il a tapé (Coup de boule!) 4x

Trezeguet n'a pas joué (Trezeguet, he didn't play)
Quand il a joué il a raté (When he played he sucked)
Il a tout fait capoté (He totally screwed it up)
La coupe on l'a ratée (We lost the Cup)
Barthez n'a rien arreté (Barthez didn't stop a thing)
C'est pourtant pas compliqué (It's really not that complicated)
Les sponseurs sont tous fâchés (The sponsors are mad)
Mais Chirac a bien parlé (But Chirac was eloquent)
Zidane il a frappé, Zidane il a tapé (Coup de boule!) 4x

Attention c'est la danse du Coup de Boule! (Watch out, it's the head-butt dancing song!)
Coup de boule, coup de boule
Coup de boule à droite (head-butt to the right)
Coup de boule, coup de boule
Coup de boule à gauche (head-butt to the left)
Coup de boule, coup de boule
Coup de boule avant (head-butt to the front)
Coup de boule, coup de boule
Coup de boule arrière (head-butt to the back)
Coup de boule, coup de boule

Et maintenant penalty (And now it's the penalty)
Attention il va tirer (Watch out, he's going to kick!)
un, deux, trois...c'est raté! (One, two, three...he missed!)
Zidane il a frappé, Zidane il a tapé (4x)

On a quand meme bien rigolé (Nevertheless we had a good laugh)
Zidane et Trezeguet (Zidane and Trezeguet)
La coupe on l'a ratée (We lost the Cup)
Zidane et Trezeguet (2x)
Et Trezeguet...et Trezeguet...et Trezeguet guet guet Trezeguet
Coup de boule, coup de boule, et Trezeguet (4x)

#19: bowie baysox

Those who know me well might find this disquieting. Why is baseball desecrating my sacred football blog? Worry not, my allegiance to the beautiful game remains unflinching and resolute. I am just expanding my horizons. Nine years in this country; it's embarrassing that I don't know who or what a short-stop is.

To a game of the Bowie Baysox I was invited. It's an affiliate team for the Baltimore Orioles – where players on the fringe of the MLB team keep their sharpness and try to force their way up, and those who have lost it come to regain theirs. In England this would be a reserve team. But here they are an establishment and play in a regular league of similar affiliates all through the season. A very neat arrangement.

For the fans, it's a lot more accessible option to indulge in "America's pastime" and have a good time. It's a hidden treasure lurking in the shadows of MLB fanfare and spotlight (aka hoopla). As Sean put it, "There is hot-dog, beer, frisbee contest, friends chatting and soaking up the fine evening weather, fireworks after every game .... and oh, there's a game going on too." The Baysox lost 8-2, but not many people there seemed to be overly concerned. They were more eager to grab a fly-ball, jig about at the 7th inning break, and watch the fireworks at the end. I suppose so was I.

Oh, and I overheard the obligatory pot-shot at cricket from the bleachers across the aisle.

#13: the carnival ends

The month-long global celebrations came to an end. Italy shall wear the crown of world champions in the world's most popular sport for the next 4 years. The French came close, but were denied by the breadth of a pole and a moment of madness.

The final game was entertaining but not a masterpiece. It did have drama .... going all the way beyond extra-time into penalty kicks. Unfortunately my lasting image may be the moment of infamy. Zidane (Zizou) brought his long, glittering career to an end in shame. "Mais pourquoi? Mais pourquoi?" the French commentator kept repeating - completely baffled with what we all saw. That may have been the defining moment, and may have cost the French the title. And in that one moment he lost at least one fan who for years had idolised him as a role-model for his sublime skills and sportsmanship. There can be no excuse for such violent behaviour. It's a sad reminder that these superstars are fallible humans too.

The WC excitement was everywhere for a month. The Washington Post featured it on its cover page this week. Even Kofi Annan took time off to share his admiration. He isn't so tech-savvy to start a blog, but it still says a lot. Do read his article. We share the same sentiments – only he does it a lot more eloquently.

To everyone responsible for this one month of magic, I say congratulations on a fabulous show. And thank you for the rich tapestry of moments. Along with others I will gradually limp back into my regular humdrum. The memories – of joy and despair, of jubilation and exasperation, shall linger long thereafter. So long, until South Africa, 2010.

#10: saadhu-samba

Finally some football news from India!! It's not really the headline that threatens the established football super-powers. But who knows what divine intervention can do.

If you can get the movie The Cup, watch it. You'll love it .... I guarantee it. It's a tale set in a Buddhist monastery in the remote hills of Sikkim, India. Among the monks are some eager 12-16 year-old disciples who are football-crazy. The light-hearted story traces the extreme lengths and extraordinary risks some of them take to fulfil their appetite for watching World Cup action. The movie was shot on site and without professional performers. The effect and emotions captured could not have been any simpler – yet so sincere, transparent, and touching.

I have stopped commenting on the World Cup, per se. I am switching to "philosophical" reflections on the sport in general. I can't wait for the Premiership season to begin. Maybe I'll get some "closure" then.

#9: déjà vu

England lost in a penalty shoot-out. It was 1998 and 2004 all over again. There was a sense of inevitability as I watched the game .... the lack of ingenuity on the plays compounded by a dubious red card, an Argentine "hand", and the "super-stars" of England shanking their penalty kicks.

The "world's best" were expected to deliver on the world's grandest arena, and they did not even show up. It's results not reputation, performance not promise - that win games.

So my World Cup ends with the usual heartbreak. I am more upset that the "Three Lions" bowed out without much of a whimper (forget the roar). This might just have been their best chance in generations.

PS: England's football team gets its nickname Three Lions from the official coat of arms.

#8: obiaa nye obiaa

Translation from Twi, spoken in Ghana: "Nobody is anybody - we're all equal".

What a wonderful phrase, and an elegant way to put the World Cup in perspective. And why it is so much more captivating than to watch elite superstars assembled by petro-dollars and billionnaire-patrons battle among themselves in lop-sided national leagues. I'd take Ghana any day over Chelsea, Real Madrid, the Yankees, and the Lakers.

In every WC there is one team or another that embodies the pure spirit of the sport. Corporate sponsorship, endorsements, reputations, and egos – all take a back seat. Remember Roger Milla of Cameroon? He remains my hero of WC1994 for reminding the mighty Argentinians the perils of underestimating the "nobody".

And I won't get started on how it is anything but equal in other aspects of life – among countries, among regions, among people. "Obiaa nye obiaa" shall remain a utopia. I am just glad that every four years, I get to share a piece of that dream.

#6: cafeteria chatter

Overheard at the lunch line:
"When does a dive earn a penalty kick? Anytime Italy plays".

FIFA and its high priests deserve the red card for spoiling this World Cup. Their intension to clamp down on foul-play and deception was noble. But the changes were drastic and hastily implemented. The players and referees were inadequately prepared. It's ended up in inconsistent rulings and a record number of cautions in the games. Even overzealous job-seekers would be more restrained in doling out cards.

But can we really blame the refs for running around with cards plastered on their forehead? They are just following instructions of the governing body – possibly a bunch of bureaucrats in pin-stripe suits who have never set foot on a football pitch in their life.