Can Maradona Be a Successful Coach?

November 28th, 2008
Maradona with His Team before World Cup Qualifying match

Maradona with His Team before World Cup Qualifying match

The news didn’t take me by surprise, at all. Because this was the most natural outcome. Diego Maradona had taken over the baton of Argentina’s soccer team. It is a celebration time for soccer fans, especially those who love the Latin American spell. Maradona will coach the team for the FIFA World Cup 2010. I am sure, the world will wait with baited breath to see Diego’s team spewing fires on the field.

If I am asked to name a single sportsman who represents the entire game to me, it will be Diego Maradona without thinking twice. To me, Maradona is football and football is Maradona. I was a kid during the 1986 Soccer World Cup when Maradona almost single-handedly (well, yeah it wasn’t hand but foot though) took the team to win the World Cup. It wasn’t magic, but something more than that. People also talk about his association with drugs, his becoming obese and his behavioral inconsistencies. But when it’s football, this all-time great footballer’s name is pronounced with respect and admiration.

Do great players make great coaches – the doubt often plagues my mind. While the world is rejoicing that the arrival of Maradona will infuse an aura of invincibility in the Argentine soccer team the doubt hangs on. If history is something to go by, great players often fail when it comes to coaching.

Haven’t you seen a brilliant student getting confused when made to teach a below average student. The primary reason is the fact that since they are above the common players they fail to understand the psychology of an average footballer pushing him to greater heights. To be a good coach you have to be able to understand each everyone’s problem and solve them instantly.

As it is said that “deeds, not stones, are the true monuments of the great”, I hope that we can say the same for Maradona – the coach too! Since the man is Maradona the greatest footballer of the modern era we all expect him to turn the table. If there is any one who can change the common aphorism in the world football that “great players do not make great coaches” then it is him and only him.

Viva Maradona !!

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Diet of A Madman? Or That of A Champion?

November 18th, 2008

Is Michael Phelps a shark – both in the water and off it! The question stirs all in the sport circuit. Like sharks on a feeding frenzy, Phelps is regular in gobbling up almost 12,000 calories a day, a diet that is probably fit to feed a small tiger! Michael Phelps, the swimming prodigy hailing from the US, who won 8 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (out of the 14 golds he has had in his Olympic swimming career till date).

Here is a brief image of what Phelps’ diet look like-

In Breakfast, Phelps has three fried-egg sandwiches with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and mayonnaise with fried onions. This is followed by two cups of coffee, a bowl of grits and a five-egg omelet. The rest is a helping of three slices of French toast with powdered-sugar topping and three wholesome choco-chip pancakes.

In Lunch, Phelps intake comprises a pound of rich pasta, two large cheese and ham sandwiches with mayonnaise on slices of white bread. He gulps these down with energy drinks worth a whopping 1,000 calories.

In Dinner, Phelps helps himself to another pound of enriched pasta, a whole pizza along with supplementary energy drinks.

If you are still wondering how the man survives with the intake of such a huge amount of calorie-rich food, you have got to take a peek at his workout. If Phelps eats food enough to suffice the appetite of six men, his rigorous workout scheme burns off the entire intake. According to experts, while other men and athletes exercise to burn off the food they have consumed, it is the other way round for Phelps. With the amount of workout and exercise that his body has to endure, the massive diet is only necessary to replenish the energy lost!

With his strict exercising regimen as well as vigorous and punctual practice schedules, Phelps and his diet has become almost a point of reverence. Not only because of the magnitude of the diet alone, but because of the absence of a single ounce of flab on Phelps’ physique despite it.

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T20 – A ray of Hope for ICC affiliate Nations!

November 18th, 2008
Gone are the days of back tracking now we move forward!

Gone are the days of back tracking now we move forward!

Cheer leaders in cricket? Surprised? Yes, you have heard (and seen) it right! Well, it is the latest option being used to promote cricket globally. In fact, the first conscious step taken by the ICC, in promoting the game worldwide is the introduction of T20 cricket among affiliate playing nations.

The last World Cup clearly showed which teams are considered minnows in cricket and why. A bitter reminder is the match played between Bermuda and India. Such matches surely result in a huge dip in the viewership of the game. It was high-time ICC made some permanent changes in the format of the game to remove this wide disparity. With the introduction of T20 cricket, this gap has been filled to a great extent. This shorter version of the game loaded with hard-hitting action, drama, high-octane emotions, is a complete entertainer. No wonder, T20 has caught the fancy of even the wives and grandmas in the house!

The achievement of parity has been a success mainly because of the short span of time in T20 matches. The skill necessary for this form of cricket is at par with its longer versions. But here, a player gets very little time to make skill adjustments. With a blink of an eye, you are a hero or a loser in T20 matches. This indeed is a bonus for affiliate playing nations who do not have the adequate skills to battle the Test-playing nations for a long period of time. The concept has been hatched from the English Premier League, a popular soccer league in the UK. Here, even minnows can dream of beating the league toppers.

Moreover, a T20 tournament encourages and enhances the game of non-playing countries. This is insured by ICC with the inclusion of international players in such teams. No wonder today the “Champions League” has become the talk of the town, in every town, all over the world! The winners of IPL, ICL etc. are all making their way to this tournament to showcase their cricketing skills. So, a player who earlier had not much hold in international cricket, has a handful of commercials, media packages and a fat bank balance under his belt.

Truly, irrespective of what the purists say, T20 has become a blessing in disguise. Now the Gen -next spectators too can enjoy the adrenalin rush as much as the Romans did watching gladiators battle in the Colosseum. Thanks to T20!

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