GOD didn’t SAVE THE QUEEN… Murray did…
So its finally official. The English Football Team is free from the clutches of that eccentric Swede whom the Brits have always looked at with circumspection. The first foreigner to coach the English side, Sven-Goran Eriksson, with the expressions of a dead log, and an ever-receding hairline, has at last apologized to the English fans for their untimely exit from the WC tournament. His tenure saw England perform well, with a high success rate, and only three competitive losses in the last five and a half years. But those were the THREE that mattered the most and have burnt the English soccer fan’s ego beyond repair.
The Quarterfinals with Portugal, though not very exciting, will be remembered as Eriksson’s swansong. He came, he saw, but he couldn’t conquer. The English players couldn’t give Eriksson a good parting gift, but they were not to be blamed for their performance on Saturday. They manfully guarded their Goal with a Tigerish performance after Rooney stamped his class, err... his foot on a couple of Portuguese players to earn a Red Card. Or was the swanky C.Ronaldo responsible for that?? Ronaldo, giving his ManU compatriot the I-know-what-u-did look, pleaded with the referee to show a card only for Rooney to push him for his final-act of the match. Maybe, Rooney wanted to do a favor for Tony Blair because it seems every time, England reach the semifinals or finals of a WC, that year the Economy of Britain takes a downward plunge!!
The two hours of intense rivalry on the pitch was a match between equals. The Portuguese were against a spirited and one-man-light English side and didn’t find the going easy. But they were surely the better of the two teams playing aggressive football. Maybe the Portuguese found out the Secret of Beckham’s energy. No… It’s not Boost. Its Pomegranate juice!!! Did they connive with the suppliers of the Pomegranate Juice to supply cans with expiry dated 30th July 1966!! You’ll never know…
But once the contest was down to penalties, you always knew there was only one side that fancied its chances. Portugal had overcome England two years ago in a similar situation and they knew they could do it again. But they were against an English side that was mathematically advanced in the scholarly science of hitting penalties. Were they?? It didn’t look like, after their performance on Saturday. I must say I was simply aghast when Lampard came forward to take the first spot-kick when his confidence must have been at its lowest ebb. Understandable, considering the fact that his shots-to-goal conversion rate in this competition is no better than the number of goals France scored in the last WC in the Far- East. But all credit to Ricardo for his outstanding vigil of his goal a la Swiss guards of the Vatican.
1st July 2006 should definitely rank among the darkest days in the history of English Sports. I am not exclusively referring to England’s loss in the QF of the WC. If you followed cricket, you would more than agree with my statement. England scored a mammoth 321 in the last ODI against Sri Lanka hoping to avoid a series whitewash. But the Sri Lankans chased down the seemingly unachievable target with admirable ease to cause further pain for the already wounded English Fan. Things are just not going England’s way.
Also, Saturday marked the end of an era in English Cricket with the demise of Fred Trueman, one of the finest pace bowlers of his times and the first to reach the 300 Test Wickets mark. I salute the great fast bowler and sincerely pray for his soul to rest in peace.
As we all know, every cloud has a silver lining. Yeah, there was finally some good news for Britain on the grass of Wimbledon. In a surprise of sorts, Andy Murray of England defeated Andy Roddick, the third seed, in straight sets to advance to the fourth round of the All England Tennis Championships. Now, don’t you get the feeling that the English Media will conveniently forget Tim Henman and start eulogizing Murray as the Fred Perry of the 21st Century?? They already have… And it will be interesting to see if Murray carrying the weight of the Union Jack on his shoulders provides something to cheer for the Brits.
The Quarterfinals with Portugal, though not very exciting, will be remembered as Eriksson’s swansong. He came, he saw, but he couldn’t conquer. The English players couldn’t give Eriksson a good parting gift, but they were not to be blamed for their performance on Saturday. They manfully guarded their Goal with a Tigerish performance after Rooney stamped his class, err... his foot on a couple of Portuguese players to earn a Red Card. Or was the swanky C.Ronaldo responsible for that?? Ronaldo, giving his ManU compatriot the I-know-what-u-did look, pleaded with the referee to show a card only for Rooney to push him for his final-act of the match. Maybe, Rooney wanted to do a favor for Tony Blair because it seems every time, England reach the semifinals or finals of a WC, that year the Economy of Britain takes a downward plunge!!
The two hours of intense rivalry on the pitch was a match between equals. The Portuguese were against a spirited and one-man-light English side and didn’t find the going easy. But they were surely the better of the two teams playing aggressive football. Maybe the Portuguese found out the Secret of Beckham’s energy. No… It’s not Boost. Its Pomegranate juice!!! Did they connive with the suppliers of the Pomegranate Juice to supply cans with expiry dated 30th July 1966!! You’ll never know…
But once the contest was down to penalties, you always knew there was only one side that fancied its chances. Portugal had overcome England two years ago in a similar situation and they knew they could do it again. But they were against an English side that was mathematically advanced in the scholarly science of hitting penalties. Were they?? It didn’t look like, after their performance on Saturday. I must say I was simply aghast when Lampard came forward to take the first spot-kick when his confidence must have been at its lowest ebb. Understandable, considering the fact that his shots-to-goal conversion rate in this competition is no better than the number of goals France scored in the last WC in the Far- East. But all credit to Ricardo for his outstanding vigil of his goal a la Swiss guards of the Vatican.
1st July 2006 should definitely rank among the darkest days in the history of English Sports. I am not exclusively referring to England’s loss in the QF of the WC. If you followed cricket, you would more than agree with my statement. England scored a mammoth 321 in the last ODI against Sri Lanka hoping to avoid a series whitewash. But the Sri Lankans chased down the seemingly unachievable target with admirable ease to cause further pain for the already wounded English Fan. Things are just not going England’s way.
Also, Saturday marked the end of an era in English Cricket with the demise of Fred Trueman, one of the finest pace bowlers of his times and the first to reach the 300 Test Wickets mark. I salute the great fast bowler and sincerely pray for his soul to rest in peace.
As we all know, every cloud has a silver lining. Yeah, there was finally some good news for Britain on the grass of Wimbledon. In a surprise of sorts, Andy Murray of England defeated Andy Roddick, the third seed, in straight sets to advance to the fourth round of the All England Tennis Championships. Now, don’t you get the feeling that the English Media will conveniently forget Tim Henman and start eulogizing Murray as the Fred Perry of the 21st Century?? They already have… And it will be interesting to see if Murray carrying the weight of the Union Jack on his shoulders provides something to cheer for the Brits.
posted by VAC | 7:29 AM
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