A disappointing World Cup

I know that Spain was arguably the best team and won the World Cup. No doubt, the Spaniards deserved to win given that they played well consistently throughout the World Cup if you leave out their game against Switzerland. However,what disappointed me was the under achievement of Latin American teams. At the pre-quarters, it was hailed as a World Cup that would be dominated by the South Americans given that all 5 Latin American teams qualified. Alas, it was not to be. What ails Latin American soccer? Teams from the continent are supposed to play the most attractive soccer but yet, they failed. The reason could be that teams like Brazil changed their style of play and started trying to play more like the European teams. One thing that coaches like Dunga should realize is that you play to your strengths and not try to change your style. Portugal tried being too defensive and everyone knew how far they got. To win games and to win the World Cup, you need to play attacking soccer even if it means that your opponent could score goals against you. Brazil has been known for playing real attacking soccer but in this World Cup, the team was a shadow of its former self. Dunga left out great players like Ronaldiho suggesting a shift in strategy. True, Ronaldinho was not playing the best soccer of his life at that particular point in time but you just don't shut out a player of such class. Dunga deserved being thrown out after the World Cup. What ailed Argentina? I really don't know but I think they just had a bad day against the Germans that day. They really didn't deserve to lose 0-4. Uruguay was a bit unlucky in the third place play off and in the semifinals but then again, they were lucky against Ghana. Chile and Paraguay were good in patches but never showed that they were capable of playing on the 11th of July. I really hope that footballing giants like Brazil and Argentina really focus on their strengths in the next World Cup and stop trying to imitate the European style of play. The European style of play is efficient but not elegant save for teams like Spain. The Latin American style of play is magic and a treat for the eyes. Alas, we saw too little of the latter this World Cup.Some critics say that Brazil and Argentina are overrated. They are not overrated; they just didn't go all out. It is a long painstaking wait for 2014 but it might be one worth waiting for if we finally do see some magic....

Cricket-A sport that is useless

We Indians have been in love with cricket for ages and it is high time that we take a look at the sport and decide whether we really need to give this sport undue importance. This post has nothing to do with the fact that India is more or less out of the T20 World Cup. I am not a grief stricken fan. Far from that. There was a time when I was crazy about cricket. I was out playing cricket even before my board exam. I was young and foolish at that time. Those were my salad days. However, as I grew older and wiser, I came to realize that spending 7 hours in front of the TV to watch a sport that is played in reality by only 9 or so nations, is nothing but a waste of time. Of course, now we have the T20 but it still lasts for 3 hours or so. Cricket is played by a very few countries and is never going to gain the kind of foothold that a game like soccer has. I am not saying playing a game is bad and that spending 3 hours on a game is bad. Man needs his entertainment. That is not the question but the question is " Do we Indians need cricket?" We suck at all other sports and fare very badly at the Olympics. Cricket is a reason too why we do so. We give a lot of undue importance to this stupid game and therefore forget that to be respected as a nation, we also need to do well at the Olympics and in real games like soccer. I still cannot believe that a nation of 1.2 billion people cannot at least qualify for the FIFA World Cup. Add to it the fact that cricket is ridden with controversies and people who are ready to indulge in backstabbing at the drop of a hat. Our players are overpaid and overrated. Cricket is not even an Olympic sport. Why do we need such a useless game? What is the need of the hour is to start ignoring cricket and let it die its own death. It has to; otherwise, we Indians will always suck at other sports and games and idiots like Modi will take people like us for a ride. Modi is just an example. Think of it. Fans make cricket in India what it is . However, are we even treated right by the powers that be? I have always wanted India to do well at the Olympics and feel proud of it but alas, that seems a distant dream with a British imposed game like cricket still having a huge fan following in India. Does it have to do with the fact that we Indians can be easily manipulated by the powers that be or does it have to do with the fact that we have a lot of people who never grow up? I do not know the answer to that question of mine but I do know that cricket has to go away for things to get better for India on the world stage.