So, Chennai romped home, beating the Warriors in the Champions League T20 final game. Indeed, they have been the team to beat ever. They have been the most consistent team since the dawn the T20/IPL/CL era. The reached the final of IPL 2008, semi final on IPL 2009. winners of IPL 2010 and now CL 2010 winners. I don’t care if people call Dhoni lucky, over-optimistic, talks-too-much captain. To me, he has delivered, he has won matches, as captain of the India and as the captain of CSK. So, congrats to MSD and congrats to CSK.
Coming to the popularity of the CL T20, or the lack of it, I think it would be unfair and makes no sense to compare it with Champions League Football. The CL football has a long, rich history (started in 1955). The Champions League Final, football, is the most watched annual event, drawing more than 100 million viewers. To compare an event more than 50 years old with one that is hardly two or three years old is, as I said, wasteful.
So, what can be done to increase its popularity and make it more meaningful?
Well, for starters, we cannot have new auctions every 3 or 4 years. I am talking about IPL here. There is, as you might know, going to be a new auction window before the next IPL, which would see all the teams being re-shuffled. While, Sachin and Dhoni have stated that they want to hold on to as many players as possible, only time will tell how successful they can be. Even so, the idea of having fresh auctions every 3 years is not a great idea. One of the things that makes Champions League football and club football in general so special is the traditions of the clubs, the rivalries between clubs, the “animosity” between the fans. A player has to think a million times before he makes a switch from Real Madrid to Barcelona. Athletic Bilbao, for example, is a team that recruits only home-grown players. As I said, we do need to give it some time to create rivalries between teams. But random re-shuffling of players every other year is not going to help the cause in anyway.
Then, you have the case of one player playing for different clubs and choosing the “bigger” club in the Champions League for obvious reasons. E.g: Jacques Kallis plays for the Warriors and also for the RCB (Bangalore). In the CL he chose to play for Bangalore. (It is a different matter that he was injured and dint play in the CL) Now, that is something for organizers to look at. Surely, a player must give preference to the local team/ team of his nationality. I would not like to see a situation where Kallis is taking 3-fors and scoring fifties against his own Warriors, or Ross Taylor taking apart the Central Districts. They should only be allowed to chose the “bigger” team if their local team did not make it to the CL.
The idea of “home and away” games also seems tasty. While the Sri Lankan (Wayamba), New Zealand (Central Districts) and West Indian (Guyana) teams were outplayed by the the CSKs and the RCBs, it would be interesting to see how, e.g South Australia would would play Wayamba on a slow-low turner at Galle. Can Suresh Raina play his pick-ups and hoicks against Central Districts on a green top at Napier? I know, it will be difficult to have teams travel all over in such a short period of time. But, this is just an idea that the organizers could keep in mind and try to implement.
Showing posts with label Champions League. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Champions League. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The Arspective
Back after a long break with the Arspective.
Arsenal 4-1 Bolton
And Kevin Davies has just joined my "Most Hated Footballers List", which includes Van Bommel, the Walrus (Alladyce), Shawcross and more. We were lucky that we came out of the with no player injured by the Bolton captain. It was almost as if he was playing this game with intent of sending someone back on the stretchers. I
seriously do wish that the punk was red-carded instead of Gary Cahill. Diaby was injured by a typical 'Bolton' challenge ( I am sure the Walrus has a hand in this), and had to be subbed immediately after he came in. He has joined the RVP, Bendtner and TV in the 'injured list'
Anyway, it was a good performance by us offensively, but question marks on the defence remain. Although, a point to be noted is that we started with an almost second string backline. No Sagna, No TV, No Clichy. Koscienly scored a goal, but his defensive abilities will be under the radar after this match. Twice, his headers back to Almunia was short. Once, we were punished when the Chinese Bolton player retrieved the ball and gave it to some 'El Matador'. Fortunately, it dint really matter to us. It still remains to be seen who (Djorou, Koscielny and Squilacci) Wenger would prefer when all are fit to partner TV. Cesc's cecsy performance is something that we have got used to, so I wont waste my time ranting and raving about his awesome passing and vision. But what was heartening to see, was the way he was trying to protect us against the Brutal Assault by Bolton. Most notable ones are when Diaby was kicked in the shin by some Paul Robinson and when Koscielny was hammered on the head by a horribly late challenge from Davies. Rosicky's was another stylish performance. His (eye of the needle) pass to Arshavin from the outside of his boot in the forth minute was a thing of beauty, probably the highlight of the match. Song's was another powerful performance. As worse his hair looks now, his performance on the pitch has remained awesome (if not better). He was all over the pitch, defending, attacking and was rewarded with a goal. Talking of horrible hair and good performance, MMM comes to mind (Marouanne, Moron the Moroccan). Seriously, his hair makes him looks like one! But, we dont really care as long as he puts in good performances like today's. His link play was neat, and so was his headed goal. He looks to be a player a little limited in ability but someone who is more than willing to put in his share of hard work. Arshavin, I do feel for him. He missed a couple of sitters, was pushed in the box at least 3 or 4 times (of which one could have been a penalty), was Off-side a dozen times when he could have been clean through. The Czar could have done with a goal. Hope he scores one soon. Almunia was decent, except for one bad pass to a Bolton player that could have spelt disaster on another day. (We still need a goalie). Gibbs, Eboue, Squillacci, Wilshere put in good performances. Vela got himself on the scoresheet with a neat finish. He is a player who does confuse me a bit. There was talk of him moving on from Arsenal at the start of the season. Then he comes up with a finish like that. Hope he stays and goes the 'Fabregas Way' rather than the 'Hleb way'.
Looking ahead to Braga (our next game in the Champions League), we have Diaby out, TV out and obviously Walcott, RVP, Bendtner and RVP. At home to Braga should still be ok unless we get too far ahead of ourselves.
Likely team for tonight:
Almunia
Clichy Koscielny Squilacci Sagna
Song
Wilshere Fabregas
Rosicky Arshavin
Chamakh
Arsenal 4-1 Bolton
And Kevin Davies has just joined my "Most Hated Footballers List", which includes Van Bommel, the Walrus (Alladyce), Shawcross and more. We were lucky that we came out of the with no player injured by the Bolton captain. It was almost as if he was playing this game with intent of sending someone back on the stretchers. I
seriously do wish that the punk was red-carded instead of Gary Cahill. Diaby was injured by a typical 'Bolton' challenge ( I am sure the Walrus has a hand in this), and had to be subbed immediately after he came in. He has joined the RVP, Bendtner and TV in the 'injured list'
Anyway, it was a good performance by us offensively, but question marks on the defence remain. Although, a point to be noted is that we started with an almost second string backline. No Sagna, No TV, No Clichy. Koscienly scored a goal, but his defensive abilities will be under the radar after this match. Twice, his headers back to Almunia was short. Once, we were punished when the Chinese Bolton player retrieved the ball and gave it to some 'El Matador'. Fortunately, it dint really matter to us. It still remains to be seen who (Djorou, Koscielny and Squilacci) Wenger would prefer when all are fit to partner TV. Cesc's cecsy performance is something that we have got used to, so I wont waste my time ranting and raving about his awesome passing and vision. But what was heartening to see, was the way he was trying to protect us against the Brutal Assault by Bolton. Most notable ones are when Diaby was kicked in the shin by some Paul Robinson and when Koscielny was hammered on the head by a horribly late challenge from Davies. Rosicky's was another stylish performance. His (eye of the needle) pass to Arshavin from the outside of his boot in the forth minute was a thing of beauty, probably the highlight of the match. Song's was another powerful performance. As worse his hair looks now, his performance on the pitch has remained awesome (if not better). He was all over the pitch, defending, attacking and was rewarded with a goal. Talking of horrible hair and good performance, MMM comes to mind (Marouanne, Moron the Moroccan). Seriously, his hair makes him looks like one! But, we dont really care as long as he puts in good performances like today's. His link play was neat, and so was his headed goal. He looks to be a player a little limited in ability but someone who is more than willing to put in his share of hard work. Arshavin, I do feel for him. He missed a couple of sitters, was pushed in the box at least 3 or 4 times (of which one could have been a penalty), was Off-side a dozen times when he could have been clean through. The Czar could have done with a goal. Hope he scores one soon. Almunia was decent, except for one bad pass to a Bolton player that could have spelt disaster on another day. (We still need a goalie). Gibbs, Eboue, Squillacci, Wilshere put in good performances. Vela got himself on the scoresheet with a neat finish. He is a player who does confuse me a bit. There was talk of him moving on from Arsenal at the start of the season. Then he comes up with a finish like that. Hope he stays and goes the 'Fabregas Way' rather than the 'Hleb way'.
Looking ahead to Braga (our next game in the Champions League), we have Diaby out, TV out and obviously Walcott, RVP, Bendtner and RVP. At home to Braga should still be ok unless we get too far ahead of ourselves.
Likely team for tonight:
Almunia
Clichy Koscielny Squilacci Sagna
Song
Wilshere Fabregas
Rosicky Arshavin
Chamakh
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
French Open Updates ,World cup preview, CL review
Somdev Devvarman was ousted in the first round. Disappointing. But lets get behind our guy and hope he does better in the upcoming grand slams. This was his first grand slam. So lot of factors like playing in front of big crowds, nerves etc would come into play.
Federer was in 2nd gear and yet cruised into the 2nd round. Soderling (last year's finalist) eased into 2nd round with a straight-set win. The comedian from Serbia -Dojokovic, (type djovkovic mimicry on youtube, if you have not already), had a little scare but went thru in 4 sets. Jo-wili-Tsonga made heavy weather of little-known German, and battled thru in 5 sets. Best match of the 1st round though was between Gasquet and Murray. The Glasgow boy came back from 2 sets down to beat the local boy to go through in 5 sets. The Scot looked down, when he was 2 sets down and 1 break behind in the 3rd set. But, in an amazing turn around, he silenced the crowd and won in over 3 and a half hrs.
But, it looks like it is going to be the same old, fed-nadal final since there is no Delpotro and no Davydenko due to injuries. Even if they did play, it de-nadal was the likelier final, but now that they are not there, it makes it even more likely.
There is still hope for India, as Paes-Dloughy are seeded 3rd in doubles. Also, Bopanna is playing with a Pakistani guy Qureshi! Sadly, I dont see Sania Mirza in the FO'10. I hope all the Shoaib Malik/ Marriage thing does not take her focus away. If it does, it will be a shame. I cant imagine someone from the US or Europe stops playing because he/she got married!!
WC'10
Ballack is injured and wont play wc.
Grosso has been left out by Lippi. I remember this guy played really well in the wc'06, he defended awesome and also scored the goal that killed Germany in semi final. So, he must have done something pretty bad to be removed.
Ronaldo is 'worried' about Ivory Coast. Indeed, this group is the 'Group of Death'. Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast and North Korea. My boss, who is himself from the Ivory Coast, says Brazil and North Korea will go through. Lets see.
Champions League final was pretty boring
I kind of dozed off in between the match 5 or 6 times. Agreed, I was tired after playing cricket in the morning. But, certainly, a football match has to be really boring to make me go to sleep, and that too in a CL final.
But it certainly did escalate Maurinho's figure as the father who work magic. And for those who want trophies at 'any' cost, would be full of praise for the Portugese. He does have an aura about him. But never in my life would I want himto coach Arsenal. Indeed, their path to CL glory could not have been tougher, with the likes of Shelski, Bayern and Barcelona thrown in their path. So well donw Maurinho and well done Inter and well done Zannetti, the 36-yr old captain of Internazionale. And btw, it was sweet revenge for Maurinho. He was fired as the assistant coach of Van Gaal at Barcelona 10 years ago!!
........thats it for now
Federer was in 2nd gear and yet cruised into the 2nd round. Soderling (last year's finalist) eased into 2nd round with a straight-set win. The comedian from Serbia -Dojokovic, (type djovkovic mimicry on youtube, if you have not already), had a little scare but went thru in 4 sets. Jo-wili-Tsonga made heavy weather of little-known German, and battled thru in 5 sets. Best match of the 1st round though was between Gasquet and Murray. The Glasgow boy came back from 2 sets down to beat the local boy to go through in 5 sets. The Scot looked down, when he was 2 sets down and 1 break behind in the 3rd set. But, in an amazing turn around, he silenced the crowd and won in over 3 and a half hrs.
But, it looks like it is going to be the same old, fed-nadal final since there is no Delpotro and no Davydenko due to injuries. Even if they did play, it de-nadal was the likelier final, but now that they are not there, it makes it even more likely.
There is still hope for India, as Paes-Dloughy are seeded 3rd in doubles. Also, Bopanna is playing with a Pakistani guy Qureshi! Sadly, I dont see Sania Mirza in the FO'10. I hope all the Shoaib Malik/ Marriage thing does not take her focus away. If it does, it will be a shame. I cant imagine someone from the US or Europe stops playing because he/she got married!!
WC'10
Ballack is injured and wont play wc.
Grosso has been left out by Lippi. I remember this guy played really well in the wc'06, he defended awesome and also scored the goal that killed Germany in semi final. So, he must have done something pretty bad to be removed.
Ronaldo is 'worried' about Ivory Coast. Indeed, this group is the 'Group of Death'. Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast and North Korea. My boss, who is himself from the Ivory Coast, says Brazil and North Korea will go through. Lets see.
Champions League final was pretty boring
I kind of dozed off in between the match 5 or 6 times. Agreed, I was tired after playing cricket in the morning. But, certainly, a football match has to be really boring to make me go to sleep, and that too in a CL final.
But it certainly did escalate Maurinho's figure as the father who work magic. And for those who want trophies at 'any' cost, would be full of praise for the Portugese. He does have an aura about him. But never in my life would I want himto coach Arsenal. Indeed, their path to CL glory could not have been tougher, with the likes of Shelski, Bayern and Barcelona thrown in their path. So well donw Maurinho and well done Inter and well done Zannetti, the 36-yr old captain of Internazionale. And btw, it was sweet revenge for Maurinho. He was fired as the assistant coach of Van Gaal at Barcelona 10 years ago!!
........thats it for now
Monday, November 10, 2008
Rambal Warriors aka Western Australia Warriors
Next up is western warriors aka rambal warriors aka retravision warriors, runners up of Australia's KFC Twenty20 tournament. As Australia have few local teams which means that team will be studded with national players.Team has given many legends to the cricketing world from Dennis Lillee, Justin Langer to Tom Moody.
Team Facts
One-day Name: Western Warriors
Coach: Tom Moody
Captain: Marcus North
Founded: 1851
Home Ground: WACA Ground
Capacity: 20,000
Pura Cup Wins: 15
Ford Ranger Cup Wins: 11
The team is preparing hard for the upcoming tournament and they have also announced the team for the champions league. Main stars whom we are aware about are Shaun Marsh (Kings XI Punjab), Luke Pomersbach (Kings XI Punjab) and Luke Ronchi (Mumbai Indians) .
The team has many players who have experience in playing in Indian conditions and they are raring to go and represent their team on global stage. They will be missing the services of hussey as he has decided to represent chennai superkings in the upcoming tournament .
The Full Squad :
Marcus North (Captain), Adam Voges (Vice Captain), David Bandy, Arron Crawford, Liam Davis, Brett Dorey, Theo Doropoulos, Ben Edmondson, Aaron Heal, Matt Johnston, Trent Kelly, Steve Magoffin, Shaun Marsh, Luke Pomersbach, Luke Ronchi.
The WACA - where legends are made. This is their slogan and they truly will be out here in india to lift the first cup.
Team to look out for in the tournament according to me.
Sialkot Stallions
Today we move on to our neighboring country Pakistan which is sending lone team Sialkot Stallions in the coming champions league.
Team is the winner of lot of tournaments in Pakistan domestic circuit.
- National champion in 2005-2006
- Won Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Championship (Golden League) .
- Runnerup in 2006-2007.
- Won ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup in 2005-2006, 2006-2007
- RBS Twenty-20 Cup in 2007-2008
One-day Name: Sialkot StallionsTeam lost few players to the ICL , but still has many players of international repute
Coach: Shahid Anwar
Captain: Shoaib Malik
Founded: 2002
Home Ground: Jinnah Stadium (Sialkot)
Capacity: 20,000
Kit: Silver and Red
Players who went to ICL
Md Asif is also the part of team though he is now facing doping charges. I will try to dig more into the team in coming weeks.
Imran Nazir
Naved-ul-Hasan
Shahid Yousuf
Tahir Mughal
Khalid Mahmood
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Noshua Titans - South Africa
As promised i now start about the participating teams in the first ever champions league cricket tournament.
Noshua Titans is the winner of Standard Bank Pro20 Series 2007-08 and dolphins were the runners up of the tournament.
From their website
Nashua Titans - the name used by the combined Easterns Cricket Union and Northerns Cricket Union first class cricket teams. The franchise which was formed in 2004 is also known as the Northern Gauteng franchise. The home venues of the Nashua Titans are at SuperSport Park, Centurion and Willowmoore Park, Benoni.
Nashua Titans - the name used by the combined Easterns Cricket Union and Northerns Cricket Union first class cricket teams. The franchise which was formed in 2004 is also known as the Northern Gauteng franchise. The home venues of the Nashua Titans are at SuperSport Park, Centurion and Willowmoore Park, Benoni.
- CEO: Elise Lombard
- Coach: Richard Pybus
- Captain: Pierre Joubert
Home ground – SuperSport Park and Willowmoore Park Capacity – 17 500
Team has few players who are part of South African national cricket team namely
AB Devilliers
Dale Steyn
Albie Morkel
Paul Harris
Morne Morkel
The stadium has hosted many matches famous one for the indians is the india-pakistan match in the 2003 world cup.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Champions League Cricket - Matches Schedule
8 teams are divided into 2 groups of 4 teams each.
Group A
Group B
3 December 2008 Rajasthan Royals Natal Dolphins Mumbai
4 December 2008 Sialkot Stallions Western Warriors Bangalore
4 December 2008 Chennai Super Kings Victoria Mumbai
5 December 2008 Middlesex Pretoria Titans Chennai
5 December 2008 Sialkot Rajasthan Mumbai
6 December 2008 Western Australia Natal Bangalore
6 December 2008 Victoria Pretoria Chennai
6 December 2008 Chennai Middlesex Chennai
7 December 2008 Natal Sialkot Bangalore
7 December 2008 Rajasthan Western Australia Bangalore
7 December 2008 Chennai Pretoria Chennai
8 December 2008 Group B winners Group A runners-up Bangalore
9 December 2008 Group A winners Group B runners-up Chennai
10 December 2008 Final, Mumbai
next up teams , sponsors etc
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Group A
- Chennai Super Kings
- Titans
- Victorian Bushrangers
- Middlesex Crusaders
Group B
- Rajasthan Royals
- Dolphins
- Western Warriors
- Sialkot Stallions
3 December 2008 Rajasthan Royals Natal Dolphins Mumbai
4 December 2008 Sialkot Stallions Western Warriors Bangalore
4 December 2008 Chennai Super Kings Victoria Mumbai
5 December 2008 Middlesex Pretoria Titans Chennai
5 December 2008 Sialkot Rajasthan Mumbai
6 December 2008 Western Australia Natal Bangalore
6 December 2008 Victoria Pretoria Chennai
6 December 2008 Chennai Middlesex Chennai
7 December 2008 Natal Sialkot Bangalore
7 December 2008 Rajasthan Western Australia Bangalore
7 December 2008 Chennai Pretoria Chennai
8 December 2008 Group B winners Group A runners-up Bangalore
9 December 2008 Group A winners Group B runners-up Chennai
10 December 2008 Final, Mumbai
next up teams , sponsors etc
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Champions League Twenty20 Cricket
I am back after 3-4 months lay off and will start writing on the champions league twenty twenty scheduled to start from december 3. Those of you who dont know about the team, there will be 8 teams participating in this year tournament and the number will be increased to 12 from 2009.Teams as taken from wikipedia are
Team  | Country | Winner/Runner-up in Domestic Tournament | Domestic Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria Bushrangers |  Australia | Winner | KFC Twenty20 Big Bash |
| Western Warriors | Australia | Runner-up | KFC Twenty20 Big Bash |
| Rajasthan Royals |  India | Winner | Indian Premier League |
| Chennai Super Kings | India | Runner-up | Indian Premier League |
| Titans |  South Africa | Winner | Standard Bank Pro 20 Series |
| Dolphins | South Africa | Runner-up | Standard Bank Pro 20 Series |
| Middlesex Crusaders |  England | Winner | Twenty20 Cup |
| Sialkot Stallions |  Pakistan | Winner | RBS Twenty-20 Cup |
These teams are winners of their respective twenty twenty tournaments in their countries. From england their is only one team as kent is not allowed to take part as their team consists of players of indian cricket league.
Lots of posts coming soon....
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