Tag: Football

Pele leaves behind a legacy

Pele was one the greatest. He pushed football to new heights. But now we have a void which can never be filled. The place which he had in the football world and among his fans, will become sacred.

Days after Argentina lifted the World Cup and the football world was basking in the success of the glorious tournament, Pele left us with just his memories. 

Pele always wanted to be the best in the world. The most beautiful game on the planet gave him the respect that he deserved. He was always eager to put his family name on the top, especially his father’s. his father was also a player and loved the sport a lot. But he didn’t get the popularity or the recognition that he wanted. So, Pele fulfilled his wish and became the best football player in the world. Pele, started his career at the age of just 17 at the World Cup, in the year 1958.

 He was one of a kind, whose most of his career was during the radio era. After the arrival of television, he played for some time and gave a glimpse of his greatness to the world. The moves and the technique he had, were one of a kind. He was the one, who despite being a legend, treated everyone around him with respect.

https://unsplash.com/photos/lBhhnhndpE0

He even showed the world that anyone can connect with the entire world at one point without taking into consideration, caste, religion or skin colour. The mere mention of his name made sure that everyone was glued to the presence he had on the field. His style of play was magical. He was one of a kind, who can never be replicated. His entire charisma was the benchmark for future generations.

The people of his generation made sure that no one ever forgets the player, who gave the world one big reason to love the game of football. The sheer magnitude with which people loved him and his style, was proof that his name will remain in the history books forever.

He also made sure that even after he retired from the sport, he was still in touch with the game. The love he had for the game never fainted and always praised any perfect moment in any match. The sheer pleasure he experienced in watching the magical game, brought him closer to the hearts of his fans. 

He was the one who loved every instance and even the changes to the game. The implementation of technology is also good for the game, as even he realized the importance and the positive effects on the game. But the various advancements were never able to explain or overshadow the pure brilliance with which he played the game. All the other greats of his time were in agreement that he was the one who made sure that others who didn’t love the game, also kept an eye on the most popular sport. So, he was, is and will remain the best in the world.

Top 10 most popular sports in India

 Top 10 most popular sports in India

As we all know sports is essential part of any country. Every country has its own national sports and India’s national sports game is hockey 🏑. There are many sports which are not popular right now but hope so it will be become popular after sometime in the future. Now let’s see top 10 most popular sports which is famous in India.

1. Cricket 

Cricket is the most popular sport in India. The Board of Control for Cricket in India is the worldwide pioneer when it comes to profits in the world of Cricket. India has some fabulous cricketers like Kapil Dev, Rohit Sharma Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar.
Every child in India once wants to play  cricket in his life. Every young wants to join Indian cricket team by this you can imagine how much cricket gain popularity in India.

2. Football 

Soccer or football is the second most favorite sport in India. However, the Indian national football team does not have much achievement at the global level, and the Indian national football team is on 96th rank in FIFA rankings. 
Who don’t know about Sunil Chhetri , the captain is of Indian football team . Because of his efforts and support India gain a name in the terms of football all over the world.

3. Hockey 

Hockey is the national sports of India.India has achieved 8 gold, one silver, and two bronze medals, more than any other team in the world. India gain a name in the field of hockey because of their hockey men’s team.
They also registered their victory at the world cup tournament 1975 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Lately, at the 2018 Asian Games, the Indian Women’s team has won the silver medal. Furthermore, the Men’s team has also worked to get the bronze medal at the tournament.

4. Badminton 

In India mostly girls wants to play badminton and they earn name and fame by playing this . This is 2nd most played sports in India . Saina Nehwal who is known for the playing badminton for the country. She ranked 2nd in the world in 2010.Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand, both achieved the All England Open in 1980 and 2001 respectively. However, Saina is not alone an Indian badminton player who won an Olympic medal as P. V. Sindhu achieved the Olympic silver in 2016. Saina achieved the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics.

5. Tennis 

Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna are the real motivation for Indian youth following tennis. I don’t know whether they play well in single but they played well in double and in mix games .
Indian Tennis players have received pretty good spots in international tournaments in the last few years.

6. Chess 

Chess becomes the most popular sports in India for especially past two decades due to chess Grandmaster and former World Champion Viswanathan Anand. 
Vishwanathan Anand play chess at international level . He is inspiration of many of the young youth of the country .
The All India Chess Federation is the governing body for chess in India. Additionally, players like Harikrishna Pentala and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi has recently won pretty good spots in the 2020 FIDE ranking.

7. Motor sports 

As I don’t know much about motor sports but i wish it will become more population and seen as a international level sport.
Motorsport has achieved a lot of popularity in India in modern times. Though it is not very common for India to take part in the game, it has a huge fan following. Formula One has taken off in the nation in the past few years, with the first-ever Indian Formula One driver competing in 2005 and the first-ever Formula One Indian Grand Prix in 2011. India has one of the best Grand Prix circuits, the Buddh International Circuit, in Greater Noida.

8. Wrestling 

Wrestling is one of the most-watched sports in India, and youngsters in India are a huge fan of wrestling. WWE has pushed The Great Khali, an Indian police officer turned professional wrestler, to draw Indian audiences’ attention.
Recently in 2018, the Indian team has achieved two gold medals and a bronze at the Asian Games.

9.  Table tennis 

Table tennis is a famous indoor sport in India that has caught on in states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. The Table Tennis Federation of India is the official sports body to manage table tennis in India. India’s Sharath Kamal has been ranked 43rd in the world as of 2017. Also, the Indian team has recently won two bronze medals in the 2018 Asian Games at Jakarta.

10. Basketball 

Basketball  in India is played mostly in schools, colleges, and universities. Furthermore, there is significant support for the game among the younger generation. Basketball in India is played by both men and women of all ages and abilities and, Indian Basketball follows FIBA International Basketball Federation rules for organizing basketball tournaments.

Five Jobs That Disappear in Few Decades

As the universe is developing with many artificial intelligence. We are going to face some crisis that some jobs that will disappear in next few decades.

1) TRAVEL AGENTS

A person engaged in selling and arranging transportation, accommodations, tours, or trips for travelers. Travel agents offer advice on destinations, plan trip itineraries, and make travel arrangements for clients. Travel agents sell transportation, lodging, and admission to entertainment activities to individuals and groups planning trips.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel_agency

2) CASHIER

A retail cashier or simply a cashier is a person who handles the cash register at various locations such as the point of sale in a retail store.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashier. By using artificial intelligence many companies developing robots and machine to fill the cashier duties.

3) TAXI DRIVER

A taxi driver is a professional driver who transports passengers to their chosen destinations through the use of a taxi cab. By transporting their passengers, they earn a fare depending on the length of the taxi cab ride. … They may also drive around for different hours of a shift to pick up waiting passengers for fares.https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/taxi-driver/. Similar to above job, these aslo disappear because of the artificial intelligence.

4) FOOD DELIVERIES

Food delivery is a courier service in which stores, restaurants, or third-party applications delivers food to consumers on demand. These days, orders are executed through mobile apps, websites or via telephone. Deliveries include cooked dishes as well as groceries from supermarkets.https://productmint.com/the-food-delivery-business-model-a-complete-guide/ Because of developing robots using artificial intelligence and machines this will do the food delivery activities with efficient way.

5) REFEREE/UMPIRE

A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referee. While some feel that a move to artificial refereeing is a positive thing and reduces the scope for error, others argue that many sports rules are open to interpretation and that the possibility of human error increases the drama and spectacle of the match.https://www.careeraddict.com/disappearing-jobs

UMPIRE
REFEREE

Why Qatar shouldn’t organize football world cup

Football world cup will be organized in 2022 in Qatar. When FIFA announced Qatar as host of 2022 world cup, questions started rising on suitability of Qatar as host country. Many media outlets, sports experts and human rights groups criticized FIFA for this decision and even alleged of them being bribed. Former UEFA president was also arrested in 2019 in relation to bribing case.

In addition of bribing scandal there are several reasons why world at Qatar is a disgrace. Let’s discuss them one by one:

Human rights

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – World Cup Qualifiers Europe – Group J – Germany v Iceland – MSV-Arena, Duisburg, Germany – March 25, 2021 Germany players pose for a photo displaying a Human Rights message on their t-shirts before the match Pool via REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz/File Photo

Violation of human rights is the biggest criticism of Qatar as world cup host. Treatment of workers hired to build infrastructure like stadium, hotels etc. was miserable. Kafala system left migrant workers vulnerable to systemic abuse. Workers may not change their job or even leave country. They were literally used as slaves in the process of building infrastructure. In 2013, Amnesty international reported serious exploitation of labors.

Due to heavy criticism, Qatar govt. stepped up and promised reforms in labor laws in 2014, But a little progress was made. The Nepalese ambassador to Qatar said that Qatar had become an open jail for migrant workers of south Asia. Companies forced workers to stay and work in poor conditions by denying them promised salaries and withholding worker ID permits. They faced exploitation to extent of modern day slavery. The Guardian did a investigation and found out horrible situations. Labors were forced to live in unsanitary conditions. Workers told the guardian that they were promised higher wages but their contracts were destroyed upon their arrival in Qatar. Some were not paid from months. They described having to beg for food and being beaten. Minimum monthly wage system was announced in 2020 , 10 years after announcement of hosting world cup. But this was also not sufficient to meet needs of workers as standard of living in Qatar is high.

Another problem is legal status of homosexuality in Qatar. Homosexuality is banned in Qatar with offenders facing fines and 7 years of imprisonment. LGBT fans may face problems. Many LGBT activists asked FIFA to cancel world cup but FIFA ensured that everyone will have right to watch the game in stadiums.

Climate

In addition to human rights violation climate is also a major problem as the world cup usually occurs during the northern hemisphere’s summer. Summer in Qatar sometimes become unbearable as temperature reaches 50 degree Celsius. It will affect the performance level of footballers and they will also need longer recovery time. Also lots of money will be required to create infrastructure of stadiums with cooling system

Solution of this problem is winter world world cup which is also a problem itself. World cup can’t be staged in January and February as it will clash with winter Olympics. Staging it in November December is also not feasible as it might clash with Christmas season. The Premier league also raised issues over moving world cup to winter as it will interfere with European domestic leagues and players from all over the world participates in these leagues. Broadcasters also raised voice as clash of world cup with major European leagues will be not profitable for them.

There are also some minor problems like transpiration, ban on use of alcohol in Qatar, huge cost etc. Qatar govt. is also taking some steps but they are not enough. So Qatar as a world cup hosting nation is a disgrace to football.

Origin of Premier league

New season of English domestic football tournament Premier league( PL ) is starting 13th august (14th august according to IST). PL is considered as one of best top tier league in football world. 20 team contest with each other playing 38 games( 19 home and 19 away) in a 8 month long season from august to may. This league operates on system of promotion and relegation. Bottom three teams gets relegated to English football league( EFL ). PL was founded on 20th February 1992. Total 49 clubs have participated in PL, seven of them have won the title. Also the PL is the most watched sports league in the world with potential TV audience of 4.7 billion.

Build Up

Before PL, EFL was the top tier league in English football system, founded in 1888. Decline of English football in late 1980s and money were the main reasons behind PL’s foundation. Late 1980’s was a difficult period for English football as stadiums were crumbling, violence in stadiums was rising. In addition English clubs were banned from European competition for five years after Heysel stadium disaster in 1985. EFL was behind from other European leagues in attendance and revenues.

This made change in system necessary. During 1980’s major clubs of English football started transforming in business ventures to maximize revenues. Manchester united, Everton, Tottenham Hotspurs and Arsenal were among the top leaders in this transformation. To increase the power and revenue, top clubs threatened to break away from the league. They succeeded and begged 50% share of income. By the beginning of 1990’s, big clubs again considered breaking away for EFL. This time they also had fund for the upgradation of stadiums.

In 1990 managing director of London weekend television, Greg Dyke met with representatives of “BIG 5” for establishing Premier league, but they required backing of The football association (the governing body of English football). Luckily The FA didn’t have good relationship with football league so they agreed and released a report in June 1991 which supported the idea of Premier league.

Foundation

At the close of 1990-91 season, a proposal was tabled to create a new league that would bring more money into the English football. The idea was to make English clubs compete with teams across the Europe. The newly formed league was given commercial independence from The FA and EFL. Even though Dyke played a significant role in establishment of PL, he and his company lost out in the bidding for broadcast rights to Sky.

In 1992 resigned from football league and on 27th may of same year The FA Premier league was formed as a limited company. 22 clubs from football league joined the PL including big clubs like Arsenal, Manchester united, Liverpool, Leeds, Everton, Tottenham hotspurs etc.

It broke up the 104 years old football league that had operated till then with four divisions. Now PL would operate as top tier league and and football league with bottom three divisions. The competition format was not changed and the rules and regulations of promotion and regulations were adopted from football league as it is.

The first season was help in 1992-93 with 22 clubs. The first ever PL goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield united. Sheffield united won the match by 2-1 against Manchester united.

So that was the brief history of Premier league. If you want watch the new season in India, tune in to star sports select.

Super Cup ⚽⚽🥅

According to recent rumours the Champions of Copa America and Euro Cup can face each other in a super Cup . two teams defeated the likes of Brazil and England within a span of 24 hours last weekend. With Argentina’s victory, Lionel Messi brought an end to his trophy drought on an international stage while Italy won their Euro title for the first time after 53 years. Angel Di Maria’s lone goal proved too good for Brazil helping them clinch their first continental crown in 28 years while England vs Italy entered a penalty shootout after 120 minutes of top-flight football.

Both the champs

Italy had beaten England on penalties to win the Euro 2020 campaignArgentina defeated Brazil to lift the Copa America 2021, Lionel Messi’s first international triumphThe two teams could lock horns in a one-off Super Cup match
Football fans celebrated a Super Sunday as the world witnessed two big sporting showdowns take place within a span of 24 hours. First Argentina defeated Brazil in the Copa America final as Lionel Messi lifted his first major international trophy. Then, Italy edged favourites England in a penalty shootout at Wembley to be crowned Euro 2020 winners. But, how about a Super Cup battle between Argentina and Italy?

As per Barca Blaugranes, CONMEBOL, South America’s footballing body, has requested its European counterpart, UEFA, to hold a one-off Super Cup match between the winners of this year’s Copa America and European Championship. While UEFA hasn’t yet commented on the matter, such a match-up wouldn’t be a first in the history of international football.

Messi magic

Both the Copa America 2021 and Euro 2020 campaigns were special. While it was the first time ever that Messi had won an international trophy wearing the Argentina shirt, Italy had even failed to qualify in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.


Messi ended the Copa America campaign as the player with the most number of goals and assists. He was deservedly named the Player of the tournament, having played the most influential role in the team’s triumph.

Giorgio Chiellini’s Italy

The Calciopoli Scandal

‘Calciopoli’ was a match fixing scandal in Italy’s top professional football league, Serie A and to a lesser extent Serie B. The scandal was uncovered in May 2006, when a number of telephone calls showed relations between team managers and referee organizations during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, being accused of selecting favorable referees. This implicated then league champions Juventus and several other teams including AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio, and Reggina. In July 2006, Juventus were stripped of the 2004–05 title, and were downgraded to last place in the 2005–06 championship, the title was subsequently awarded to Inter Milan, and Juventus were relegated to Serie B.

On one end of the line were key figures in Italian football, at the other were refereeing officials. They were allegedly being pressured to favor certain clubs, with the claims only uncovered by chance as prosecutors were investigating claims of doping at Juventus. Then Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi was at the center of the scandal, though he has always denied any wrongdoing. Moggi, Juventus chairman Antonio Giraudo, Italian football federation (FIGC) president Franco Carraro and vice-president Innocenzo Mazzini ended up resigning from their respective roles. The name ‘Calciopoli’, which could be adapted in English as “Footballgate”, by analogy with the infamous Watergate Scandal.

The Punishments

The sanctions
Original punishmentFinal punishmentOther punishments
JuventusRelegated to Serie B, -30 pointsRelegated to Serie B, -9 pointsStripped of 2004-05 Serie A title, downgraded to bottom of 2005-06 table
AC Milan-15 points-8 pointsDeducted 30 points from 2005-06 season
FiorentinaRelegated to Serie B, -12 points-15 points in Serie AOut of 2006-07 Champions League
LazioRelegated to Serie B, -7 points-3 points in Serie AOut of 2006-07 Uefa Cup
Reggina-15 points-11 points€100,000 fine

The relegation of Juventus also prompted a mass exodus of important players such as Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Some thirty other Serie A players who participated at the 2006 FIFA World Cup opted to move to other European leagues in the aftermath of the scandal.

The clubs demoted to Serie B were initially expected to have a difficult road back to the Italian top flight. They would have had to finish in the top two of Serie B to be assured of promotion and also had to avoid finishing in the bottom four to avoid being relegated to Serie C1. Juventus, for example, were initially docked 30 points, the equivalent of having ten wins reversed. This made it very likely that they would not return to Serie A until 2008 at the earliest. The point penalty, however, was reduced to nine points, giving Juventus a fighting chance at promotion.

Juventus went on to win Serie B in the 2006–07 season and made a swift return to Serie A.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/49910626

The Bosman Ruling – Football’s Landmark Moment

The Royal Belgian Football Association v Jean-Marc Bosman (1995) ( also known as the Bosman ruling) is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for wokers and association and direct effect of article 39. The case was an important decision on the free movement of labour and had a profound effect on the transfers of footballers, and by extension players of other professional sports.

Bosman’s Fight

In 1990, a 25-year-old Belgian midfielder Jean-Marc Bosman was coming to the end of his contract at Belgian side RFC Liege. His two-year stint had not worked out as he had first hoped, and he was offered an improved contract by French second division side Dunkirk. Before the Bosman ruling, a player could not leave at the end of their deal unless the parent club agreed to let him go on a free, or that club received a pre-agreed fee from a buying club. Liege demanded a fee which Dunkirk was not agreeing to and when the deal fell through, Bosman’s wages at Liege were cut by around 75 per cent.

Bosman then started a legal fight alongside lawyers Luc Misson and Jean-Louis Dupont, and brought the case to the European Court of Justice against the Belgian Football Association, RFC Liege and UEFA, citing the 1957 Treaty of Rome, which guaranteed the freedom of movement for players anywhere in Europe. Bosman was banned by the Belgian FA for refusing to sign the cut-price contract offered by Liege and only had brief spells at Saint Quentin and Saint Denis in France, along with several other lower league clubs, but ultimately he prevailed. Now the players, instead of the clubs had the power which gave rise to the player’s agents having power as well.

Bosman’s Victory

The ruling allowed a player to leave a club on a free transfer as soon as his contract expired, meaning they had the leverage to demand a huge signing-on bonus and salaries from new clubs to make up for the absent transfer fee with the club. Players coming to the end of their contract could also ask for more money from their current club, who would naturally fear losing that player on a free if his demands were not met.

Jean-Marc Bosman

The Players that benefited

There are many high profile players who have benefited from this ruling like Edgar Davids and Patrick Kluivert(Ajax to AC Milan, 1996 and 1997), Steve McManaman (Liverpool to Real Madrid, 1999), Sol Campbell(Tottenham Hotspur to Arsenal, 2001) and more recently Robert Lewandowski (Dortmund to Bayern, 2014), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan to Juventus, 2011) and Michael Ballack (Bayern to Chelsea, 2006).

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11096/10100134/how-the-bosman-rule-changed-football-20-years-on

Football’s Feeder Clubs

A ‘feeder club; in football is a club which is tasked to provide training and experience to young players. This training comes with a formal or even an informal agreement which involves successful players to move on to a much bigger club /higher level and to allow young, foreign players to gain a work permit, or for business purposes, such as merchandising. The bigger club is usually a major level club that is the ‘Parent team’

Clubs, who have agreements with smaller clubs to be their feeder/sister teams, usually send their youth players on loan to gain valuable first team experience there. This form of football ecosystem is a smart, efficient and sustainable way to nurture talents as the parent teams’s players can gain precious experience and the lower level teams can have talented youngsters on their books with whom they can achieve their seasonal objectives.

There are many significant clubs in world football who have tie ups with such other clubs, most famous being the City Football Group whose main team is Manchester City and has stakes in clubs like MLS’s New York City FC, Melbourne City FC, Japanese J1 League club Yokohama F. Marinos, Uruguay’s Montevideo City Torque, Spanish Segunda division club Girona FC, Chinese club Sichuan Jiuniu, ISL’s Mumbai City FC, Belgian club Lommel SK and French club Troyes AC.

Another famous example is Red Bull’s network of football clubs. The Austrian energy drink brand’s primary club is Bundesliga’s RB Leipzig, based in Leipzig, and other clubs such as Austrian Bundesliga’s RB Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Brasil, Red Bull Bragantino and Red Bull Ghana. RB Salzburg has it’s own feeder club, FC Lifering which competes a tier below. All Red Bull club’s train their player’s to play an attacking, attractive style of Football which help’s the player’s integration once they transfer to another Red Bull club.

There are other club’s who have tie up’s like above like recently promoted Premier League club Watford, whose owner businessman Giampaolo Pozzo also owns Granada and Serie A club Udinese and there is constant movement in terms of transfers between the three clubs. Chelsea, a club famed for it’s myriad of talented youth players and criticism for it’s abuse of the loan system which has seen the club loaning an army of players every season has a feeder club relationship with the Dutch Eredivisie club Vitesse Arnhem where Chelsea loans many of its players.

Season of Football

As it comes to the Copa America, South American championship of Nations that is one of the prestigious tournament in the sport and also considered one of the oldest international football tournament. the tournament consist of 10 national team- Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

The Copa America ended with a long-overdue glory for Lionel Messi, but it was not an easy one but the success led to victory not by individual but due to many reasons.

“I have been lucky enough to win everything at club level and individual level and it would be lovely to win something with the national side” the 34 year old said on the eve’s of this year Copa America. “That’s my dream”.

COPA AMERICA 11-07-2021 WINNER Argentina against Brazil

all those hard work and training finally paid off for the country, the unmeasurable skills set by the players and the strategy that the coach led to their victory have also helped the team. The heavy pressure put on by Brazilians players on Messi- that he’s never “done it” for Argentina has now silenced been silenced. And its not the enduring image shown in the picture of him holding the victory trophy but, the level of performance and dedication to achieve victory performance throughout the game. Messi is not known only for his skills but his amalgamation of teamwork and dedication have trained him to achieve victory until the end.

Messi who won the victory trophy, but was not titled man of the match. an honour probably belong to Rodrigo De Paul , with Demaria also in the running, but Messi was undoubtedly player of the tournament.

Brazilian accumulate all the energy against the Argentinian player Messi. they put on the lots of pressure in the second half of the match, but even with their five strikers on the forward filed, they could not equalized against the Argentinian defenders, protected by the outstanding defenders Rodrigo De Paul.

“First we have to congratulate our opponents especially for the first half when they neutralized us,” said Brazilian defender Thiago Silva

Violence in Games : How Desirable ?

The UEFA Euro 2020 Final was a football match that took place on 11 July 2021 at the Wembley Stadium in London. Originally scheduled for 12 July 2020, the tournament had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The match was contested by Italy and England. Italy won the final 3–2 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw after extra time. Italy won the European Championship since their first win in 1968. While the world was rejoicing Italy’s feat, it didn’t go well with England fans who were furious at their favourite team’s loss. Violence gripped the streets of London as England fans attacked Italian fans.

Sports are one of the things that people across the world take pleasure in and bond over. Sports can be wonderful, beautiful thing. However, they can also be incredibly toxic. Sports fans can generally be seen as loud and annoying and obnoxious about their team. This is a fair observation, and it’s perfectly fine and usually harmless to be outspoken about your support for your team. However, when your team wins or loses and you start to riot and overturn cars in the street, then it becomes a problem. It’s one thing to be decked out in your team’s colours, cheering on the players. It’s another thing however, to shout and celebrate in the street when your team is victorious. But property damage is crossing the line into the reckless kind of behaviour that needs to stop.

Pre-match, the Wembley stadium had to be briefly locked down after hordes of ticketless fans had breached sections of the stadium and stormed the concourse. Fences were torn down and thrown aside, with multiple eyewitnesses suggesting thousands had pushed in. This breach prompted violence and videos surfaced, capturing an adult punching a kid in the head inside the stadium, while a group of men kicked an Asian male while he was on the floor.

People need to take a step back and realize there are more important things in the world. People get into this weird state of mind where they put on the fan goggles and all rational thought goes out the window. Online platforms make it even worse. People can be downright nasty to other people for the sake of “the sport.” People will curse out others and send them hate and threats just because their opinions are different, they support another team, or they don’t like their team. Post the final, the England team football players Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford were subjected to racial abuse online after missing penalties which contributed to England’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy. The three football players took the last three penalties – two of which were saved – during England’s 3–2 loss on penalties, and were all immediately targeted with racist language and emojis on their social accounts.

Sport in its purest form is a great display of athleticism that can be fun and rewarding to watch, but hinging your entire existence upon it and using it as an excuse to be a gross, terrible person is something that needs to be gone from sports and sports culture. Afterall at the end of the day, it’s just a game.

Messi bags the Copa America Title for Argentina

Argentina defeated Brazil in the Copa America final in Rio’s Maracana stadium, ending Lionel Messi’s wait for his first major international title.

At the full-time whistle, Messi, 34, dropped to the ground in excitement and was quickly swarmed by his teammates before being thrown in the air in celebration, as he finally achieved top-level honours with his country in his 10th major tournament.

He also helped Argentina win the competition for the first time in 28 years, and he was awarded player of the tournament after scoring four goals in the competition.

Messi had a chance to seal the victory with a goal at his mercy, but he slipped with the game on the line. It would have been the perfect ending for the Argentine captain.
“The happiness is great,” Messi stated after the game, praising the Argentina team’s mentality. “I had a lot of faith in this group, which had grown in strength since the last Copa America. “I had a lot of faith in this group, which had grown in strength since the last Copa America. It’s a collection of wonderful people that are continually striving to improve and never complain.”

Brazil, the defending champions, were lacklustre, with their only notable chances coming when Richarlison and Gabriel Barbosa forced Emi Martinez into saves.

Messi’s opposing number 10 and former Barcelona teammate Neymar went to his knees in tears at the final whistle, as he continues his own personal pursuit of international triumph after missing Brazil’s 2019 Copa win due to injury.

While waiting for the trophy ceremony, the pair, who played together at the Nou Camp between 2013 and 2017 before the Brazilian’s departure to Paris St-Germain, reunited after the match.

“You’d adore him even more if you knew how he [Messi] played at the Copa America,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said.

“You can never have enough of a player like him, even when he isn’t entirely fit, as he was in this and the prior game.”

Because of Covid-19 restrictions, the game was only viewed by a small crowd of 7,000 invited guests, although it was the first of the tournament to draw spectators.

The tiny home crowd made their presence felt, especially when Messi touched the ball, booing and jeering the forward.

The tournament, which had been postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic and relocated from initial co-hosts Colombia and Argentina, was transferred to Brazil at the last minute, drawing controversy due to a spike in coronavirus cases in the country.

Messi’s opposing number 10 and former Barcelona teammate Neymar went to his knees in tears at the final whistle, as he continues his own personal pursuit of international triumph after missing Brazil’s 2019 Copa win due to injury.

It was clear from the ecstatic Argentina celebrations at full-time, with Messi the focal point, that this squad’s drive to triumph against their old rival was as much for their legendary forward as it was the nation.

It has been 15 years since Messi first represented Argentina at a major tournament and after four World Cups and six Copa America appearances, taking in 53 matches, he finally has the major international title he – and his country – has craved.

Despite being one of the most decorated and brilliant players of the modern era – and arguably all time – with 10 La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues and six Ballons d’Or, questions over his lack of impact on the international stage have hung over his legacy.

Messi at the World Cup
CountryPlayedWonLostMinutesGoalsStage
20063201211Quarter-final
20105414500Quarter-final
20147516934Runners-up
20184123601Last 16
TOTALS1912416246
Figures provided by Stats Perform

Questions about his immediate future will now continue to be asked, with Messi now a free agent after his Barcelona contract ended two weeks ago – although Barca have stepped up their attempts to keep hold of their star man with negotiations continuing.

There also remains the prospect of Messi going for what would likely be his last chance of winning the World Cup – something Argentina have not done since 1986 – should he lead his country out in Qatar at the age of 35 in December 2022.

The Mancini Revolution – Calcio’s Rebirth

The Overhaul

After Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, first time since 1958 for the 4 time winners and a shameful moment for Calcio(Italian Football), the Italian Olympic committee reacted by appointing two high commissioners to do an in depth review of the Italian Football Federation(FIGC) and what went wrong. One of them was the legendary Ex Milan center back Alessandro Costacurta. He re watched Italy’s ill fated world cup qualifying draw with Sweden, the very game which condemned the Italians to their disqualification. Along with Roberto Mancini, the ex Manchester City and Internazionale Milan manager, Costacurta concluded Italy were playing too defensive form of Calcio(Football) even singling out the two Italian strikers Andrea Belotti and Ciro Immobile for playing too deep in their own halves. Costacurta wanted Azzuri(Italy) to play with no fear, with directness and taking the game to their opponents. He mentioned all his observations and wishes to Mancini who simply replied “You have come to the right man.”

The new Man at the helm

Mancini was not Costacurta’s first choice to play fast, flamboyant football, but his appointment has proven to be a masterstroke who immediately took over from Gian Piero Ventura in 2018. Mancini has predominantly played a 4-3-3 formation. Building his team around the core of Lorenzo Insigne, Marco Verratti and Jorginho. Mancini has done a fantastic job of rebuilding, handing out 35 debuts. He has aptly integrated the country’s exciting upcoming young players like Federico Chiesa, Alessandro Bastoni, Manuel Locatelli, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Niccolo Barella, Giacomo Raspadori with seasoned veterans like Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Ciro Immobile. Italy waltzed through the Euro qualifiers without conceding many goals. This Italian squad has included many players from mid to lower Serie A table clubs like Sassuolo, Torino and Fiorentina, a testament to the manager’s approach. He has got them playing exciting, attractive football which is a radical shift from the country’s famed ‘Catenaccio’ defensive tactics. Italy scored 7 goals without conceding any in this summer’s Euro group stages and after beating Austria, Belgium and Spain are in the final which will be played on 12th July.

Roberto Mancini
Jubilant Italian Players

Italy qualified for the Euros with 3 games to spare and will be playing the final 4 of the nations league in October. Italy went from being the 21st ranked country in FIFA world rankings to 7th under Mancini’s watch. They are on a fiery 33 match unbeaten streak counting all qualifiers. The Euro Final appearance is the culmination of Mancini’s fine work with the Azzuri.

Football as an emerging sport and a career option in India

Sports, in India has highly been underrated since ages. It has always been considered as a leisure and just a means of recreation but not at all a career option. People do love seeing sports on the television but never did they motivate someone to go into that field. They had their own reasons for it. First of all, sports was never a promising career in the ancient India. They thought it as out of reach and therefore it became underrated. Cricket was the only sport which successfully gathered a huge number of fans India. This happened highly after the Indian premier league was introduced. It became the talk of the town and was something which almost everyone would emotionally connect to.

Football which has always been one of the most interesting sports but was meandering around with no defined path to follow, so it never came into light. But now it has risen above the threshold of a mere game and has become a way of life. India, which was once a sleeping football giant, has woken up with a bang.

ATK Mohun Bagan’s Sumit Rathi Keen to Use ISL as ‘Launchpad’ to Play Abroad

The rise of football in India had began long ago when a club named Mohul Bagan estd around 1890s became the first team to win IFA shield before independence. Later in the year 2013, with the establishment of Indian Super league, football gained a drastic craze among the youngsters in the similar manner as IPL did. People started to connect emotionally. They sprawled near the ticket counters to get the tickets to the atches of their favourites. This growing trend since then hasn’t slowed down yet. ISL became a sudden hit and our players got high recognition through this. Youngsters now have started considering football too as a promising career in India. Every year there are many youngsters getting selected to prove their calibre and are reaching heights of fame all around the world. ISL has led people to watch and love football to a level that nobody could have ever thought. It is through this, that Indian football team has started getting support from their own people. ISL in partnership with Reliance Industries has come a long way and has achieved many milestones. The growing popularity of football in India has prompted foreign leagues to engage Indian enthusiasts through customised training and outreach.

For the first time 2017 Fifa U-17 World Cup, broke previous attendance records with over 1.3 million spectators. As a reult India won the hosting rights of FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2020. India who had never earlier got to play FIFA qualifiers is now capable enough for it and it is not too far when we the people of India will see our country play FIFA.

Football Analytics

Introduction

Data analytics have come to play an important role in the football industry today. Clubs look to gain a competitive edge on and off the pitch, and big data is allowing them to extract insights to player scouting, improve player performance, prevent injuries, their suitability to the club’s system and ethos, output prediction and increase their commercial efficiency. However, contextualizing the information and extracting valuable insights is not always an easy task.

Moneyball & Football

Overtime, Analytics has started to play more important roles in Football with respect to player recruitment. There are many Football clubs in the world who pride themselves over their player recruitment models based purely data and metrics. Billy Beane, the pioneer of the ‘Moneyball’, a system of player recruitment based purely on stats instead of the old, tried and tested ‘eye-tested’ proved to revolutionise recruitment in Baseball. Nowadays clubs like Liverpool FC, Brentford FC, Barnsley, Midtjylland, AZ Alkmaar the Red Bull Franchise and many other clubs are known for their data driven approach to player recruitment.

The Metrics

There are many metrics over which a football player is analysed. These include Xg(Expected Goals), Xa(Expected assists), turnovers, dribbles, different per 90 minutes stats like passes, dribbles, pressures, tackles, interceptions etc. These stats can be viewed by the helps of charts and graphs which can present a player’s overall stats and make it easy for assessment. This model also helps in predicting potential risks and assessing the weaknesses of a player which reduces the chances of signing a player who can prove to be a flop, significantly.

Future

Moneyball and the modern data driven approach in football has been proved to be a efficient, smart and cost effective way of recruitment. This model has allowed many smaller clubs to punch above their weight and challenge the bigger, more established clubs and have a successful trophy winning runs.

There are many football applications and websites available where one can view player stats like Sofascore, StatsBomb, FbRef etc. This field has gained more demand recently and many clubs are moving towards a pure data driven approach towards recruitment.

https://statsbomb.com/

http://sbibarcelona.com/test/data-analytics-in-the-football-industry/#:~:text=Data%20analytics%20have%20come%20to,and%20increase%20their%20commercial%20efficiency.