Dutch Army Sinks Spanish Armada

Christ the redeemer

What a shocker, couldn’t believe it, Spaniards decimated by the Orange. This was the first shock defeat in this year’s WC of a team who is touted to retain its WC title, which they won 4 years back. The Spanish team has the arsenal in its rank to steamroll its opponents, but they themselves got pulverized by the Dutch army. Having said that, let’s not underestimate the Dutch team who themselves can boast of having some of the most talented players in the world. RVP, Wesley Schneider, Dirk Kyut are some names to reckon in international football. What amazed many is the number of goals the Spanish team conceded. The final score line of 5-1 in favor of the Dutch, troubled many a football Pundits.

Spanish Armada in distress

As expected, back home in Spain the team is facing a severe backlash for their lackluster performance; as against, in Netherlands the media is showering praises wholeheartedly on the team for their knockout punch. The way Dutch played; they treated Spain as minnows that have just learnt the ropes of the game. The Dutch in no way are underdogs in this year’s world cup, but no one is expecting them to win the world cup either, but with their superlative performance against the formidable Spain lineup, they are now bragged as one of the favorites besides, Brazil, Germany and Argentina to win the 2014 World Cup. Nowhere Spain is being ruled out at the moment. With severe dent to their confidence, Vincent Del Bosque and his team mates have a mountain to climb for sure. The silver lining to this is, they don’t have any dearth of talent and in matter of time they would come good. They just need to believe in themselves and deliver; the results will soon follow in their favor. Their next match is with Chile who defeated Australia handsomely.

The Torres’s, Xavi’s, Ramos, Iniesta, Fabregas need to come to the party now and deliver what they are capable of. The time has arrived for them to take cognizance of the writing on the wall, “Now or never” or they will have to face the ignominy of thrown out of the world cup in the first round itself. We will have to wait till June 19^th to see how they fare against the Chileans, do they rise like a Phoenix or sink without a trace. Personally I would like to see them advanced to the next round and enthrall the audiences worldwide with their aggressive football. When in precarious situations, the true character of the team comes to the fore; they either come out all guns blazing or simply give in tamely. Let’s see what Spain is up-to. The tournament is wide open with favorites coming out winners in their respective matches, except for some besides Spain, Uruguay lost to Costa Rica which can be called as an upset. Balotelli proving to be the headache for the English, The Swiss with one goal down clinched the match with a decider in the dying minutes of the match, Ecuador were at the receiving end. Argentina cruised through Bosnia – Herzegovina. It was too harsh for them to be pitted against the might of Argentina, with Lionel Messi showing his class. The show has just begun and some heavy weights like Germany, Portugal are yet to step into the arena. Very soon we would know who will be bestowed with wins and losses, joys and sorrows. Keep Watching and keep Kicking.

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Football Carnival Begins

 

Football Carnival

 

Christ The Redeemer

 Un dos tres, football aficionados, get ready for the carnival in the Samba country. Come June 12 and people worldwide would be treated to a feast which would satiate their eyes with some of the most scintillating football you would see by the wizards. People worldwide would be hit by a pandemic called football fever, and people beware, it is highly contagious. This grand event has garnered tremendous excitement around the globe, and India is no different, though football is not that popular compared to cricket. What cricket is to India, football is to Brazil and many other nations. It is truly a global sport which is played, followed with great fervor. Every industry is jumping to associate itself with this event and earn extra dough. Hotels around the world are making arrangements to show the matches live plus offering various appealing packages to the customers. Travel companies are jumping on the bandwagon, enticing its customer with attractive packages and discounts. The football mania is slowly gripping one n all. Consumer electronics companies are having a gala time with people rushing in hordes to get the best discounts on TVs from the dealers. There is no market which is devoid of football, now. Won’t be surprise if you would see some of the below ads

Marketing Gimmick

Brazil calling

Thirty two nations worldwide would be competing for the coveted FIFA world cup. Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Spain are the teams hot in the betting market. The samba boys would be desperate to win this world cup and assuage the turmoil the country is going through. This would be the best gift that they could give to their countrymen. The other teams namely Germany, Spain, Argentina and others would like to spoil Brazil’s plans. All these teams have some or the other point to prove. Besides Brazil, the Germans look a solid team and a team to watch out for. Argentina and Spain are no push overs.

Teams eying this trophy

Argentina, with Messi, Haguin in their ranks, they have a potent attack which can rip through the defenses of their opponents. They would like to do an encore to their 1986 win. Spain the current world champions have Fernando Torres, Xavi, Inesita, Iker Casillas all world class players. Vincent Del Bosque, Spain’s coach has every reason to be upbeat about their chances in this world cup. Spain, few years back had serious allergy to wins in the world cup, though their players excelled in club matches worldwide. Only recently in 2010 they got the measure of things and came out winner. Likewise, England is still struggling to play as a team at these events. They have the best of players one can think of who are stars in club matches, but they are far from considered a serious threat at the world cups. But you never know. It’s time for the Rooney’s, Lampards to stand up and get counted. Others teams have one or two mavericks but they won’t pose a threat is what experts have to say, take for instance Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo is a world class player who can decimate any team if he is supported well. But there are hardly any names in the Portuguese team to reckon, besides him. Luis Suarez, Diego Forlan are star names for Uruguay, but they won’t trouble the biggies, I think. The Azuris are one of my favorites. I have been a great fan of Baggio, Paolo Maldini, zenga, Pirlo and many others. This time they have a loose cannon in Mario Baloteli who is talented and mercurial and can pose serious threats to the opponents, provided he stays calm and composed and not get carried away by the enormity of the event. He is a player to watch out for. Les Blues are a good team, but with Ribery ruled out due to injury, their prospects of taking the cup home have received a severe beating.

Are they 2014 Champions ?

The Germans are a formidable group which is a strong contender for the title, and not having tasted success for last few years make them even more hungry and determined. They have Podolski, Lahm, Klose, and Ozil at their disposal, a line up which can wreak havoc in the opposition ranks, a team to watch out for. The hosts Brazil are a talented lot with Neymar in red hot form. They have every reason to play for the country and win it for them, which will be sort of a balm on the pain the Brazilians are going through. They have a history and pedigree of worlds most gifted players. Now how they use their talent is for everybody to see. Then there are some African teams who can be a dark horse and throw in some surprises. Cameroon came to the fore when they stunned the Argentinians in Italy in 1990. The African teams can spoil the party for many teams and surprise many. The Dutch with Wesley shneijder, Van Persie, Robben, Kyut in their ranks can be a deadly combo which the opposition would like to see their back as quickly as possible. For some other teams who are considered minnows, it’s a big achievement for them to be part of the playing 32 nations, and their primary aim would be to get past the first round, in doing so they can create some upsets. All in All it would be an exciting world cup. Some of the famous names in Tevez, Ribery, Ibra, and Walcott would be missed.

So get ready to witness the wizards in action, see them gyrating to samba, reggae or even a Gangnam. Get yourself drenched in the excitement and soak in the atmosphere. Bring in your caxirolas, vuvuzelas, drums, banjos to set the adrenaline pumping. Sing Waka Waka, We Are One (Ole Ola) to create the atmosphere. Let this be the time of your life.

 

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Dutch Army Sinks Spanish Armada

 

 

 

The Modi Juggernaut – From Chaiwala to Delhiwala

Finally after a long wait the lotus has bloomed in all its glory. What a win !! It can be summed in many ways

•    A resounding win for the BJP.
•    An unprecedented victory for the Saffron party.
•    The Modi juggernaut crushes the Congress and its allies.
•    The NaMo wave decimates the oldest party in India and many many more.

Lotus in full bloom

It was a dream come true for the BJP loyalists to witness the overwhelming response the party received in the recently concluded lok sabha polls, in fact I would say majority of Indians were happy to see BJP sweep the polls to form the government. The saffron party entering the parliament with absolute majority has never happened before, since India’s independence and they formed the govt, without the support from its allies. This was sheer magic and the magician who made it happen was none other than the Gujarat strongman Narendra Modi or NaMo as rechristened amongst the Netizens. The very chaiwala, who sold tea in his teens at the Vadnagar station with his father has occupied the highest position in the country’s government. His signature now reads “Prime Minister of India”. No one would have thought of this commoner getting elected resoundingly as the Prime Minister of the largest democracy in the world. He as a sevak of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh) rose to these heights with years and years of hard work and passion to do something for the society.  He has been a name to reckon since long, with his Gujarat model of development being admired and appreciated by many including the Indian expats.

Narendra Modi

His emergence in the saffron party was not surprising. He garnered support from many of his party men, because of his impeccable track record when he was at the helm of the state of Gujarat, though the blemish of Godhra riots still haunts him. His no nonsense attitude towards development has won him support from all quarters and is looked upon as a role model, though many in the opposition calls his development model as a marketing gimmick. Irrespective of all the potshots and the name calling by the opposition, he prevailed and had the last laugh.

Such was his aura and effect during the build up of the elections; that Indians voted his party men to elect him as the PM of India. With he sworn in as the new PM, lots of hopes are pinned on him. Dismal performance by the Congress government since last few years, increases his responsibility even more. People of India think of him as the Panacea for India’s woes. With his past achievements as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, the hopes are justified. He is known to be someone who rules with an iron fist, and looking at the transgressions of the past ministers and the current state of affairs, it’s a need of the hour, I think. We need a PM who is firm, vocal and decision maker to help India recover the lost ground. His anointment as the PM, heralds a positive beginning for people of India who had turned cynical during the Congress era. His war cry during the elections build up, “Ab Aache Din Aanewale Hai” struck an instant chord with the depressed, despondent voters. Now, he having succeeded as the PM, people of India expect that he fulfills his promises and bring in good days.

Good Days In Coming

Besides Modi juggernaut what helped Modi was, the dismal and forgettable performance by the Congress govt. Ten years of rule by the Congress and its allies gave very little opportunity to the citizens to be happy. With scams after scams, internal security in shambles, transgressions by some neighboring nations (which went unpunished), rising inflation and price rise only added to the common man’s woes. Congress governments indecisive stand in tackling these issues only contributed to their fall and hitting the nadir. Having won only 40 plus seats out of 543 seats, nadir wont be a misnomer. I was in splits on reading about Congress Working Committee’s meeting to carry out a post mortem of their humiliating loss. They want to find out what when wrong. C’mon are you so dumb to not know the reasons for the defeat? Any moron would know the reasons for that matter. With scams, inflation, prices all going up and with people’s faith, confidence, happiness all going down, what you expect ? a pat on your back? Or voters doing an encore and voting you to power? Congress think Modi had a better marketing team which helped him and his party to win the elections. This is wishful thinking I suppose. If congress and its allies continue to pretend and not accept the fact, that mis governance was the main reason for their debacle, they are not going to come out of the hole they are in today and would only dig themselves deeper. The sycophants surrounding Rahul Gandhi is a cause for great concern, for they are not allowing him to see the writing on the wall and continue to live in fool’s paradise. This is only going to make life easier for BJP and its allies.

On the other hand PM elect Narendra Modi has given clear instructions to its cabinet to concentrate on delivering what was promised to the countrymen. He is taking appropriate steps to justify the mandate he and his party has received. This is a good sign for we Indians, who have lost hope with the politicians; who are looked upon as mere insatiable beasts whose hunger for money never ceases. Every Indian would now hope, that in reality “AB AACHE DIN AANEWALE HAI” as claimed by Narendra Modi. Though the start looks positive, it’s a long way to go  before we can sing paeans of Narendra Modi and his ministers. As they say “WELL BEGUN IS HALF DONE”. The country is waiting with bated breath and lots of hope for him to deliver. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and pray that better sense would prevail, and Indians would get to experience an ideal government, not experienced in past and which would be talked highly in many many years to follow.

 Modiji India is watching......