Football and the European Crisis

Once upon a time, there was a colony of ants that was slogging it out on a hot sunny afternoon collecting and stocking up on food. While the ants were toiling thus, a grasshopper who was making merry and singing away to glory. The grasshopper ridiculed the ants and their toils in the hot boiling sun, while the ants just kept about their job. In a few months, winter set in. The ants were happy eating the stocked food, in the warmth of their ant hills. Suddenly there was a knock on their door, and the grasshopper was outside, asking for some food. The ants replied, "You sang all summer and didn't show foresight. You made fun of our work, so now spend winter dancing."

A fiercely capitalist ideology would perhaps hold on to this notion of pure meritocracy. Indeed the whole concept of 'too big to fail', that has been dealt with at length in several news articles over the past couple of years and also mentioned several times right here on the lilac avenue is criticized by economists. They are of the view that this whole backing of large corporations by the government or bailing them out of bankruptcy is in a way condoning their faults and gross mismanagement. And that gives a signal to industry that once you bloat up in size, it's your way or the highway.

So when Greece teetered on the brink of collapse, and several Eurozone nations looked rather precarious, (they were called the PIGS - Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain), people started worrying about the Euro. They looked towards Germany that has been steamrolling its way towards becoming a strong force to reckon with. Their laws are robust. Their industry is solid. Other statistics are strong as well. Indeed, having paid reparations through 2 World Wars, battling hyperinflation and having almost a generation of people wiped out thanks to the wars, taught them the fine art of fiscal balance and thrift. So they didn't go about borrowing and spending their way to progress. They were the ants in this story!

The PIGS were the grasshopper. Greece is rumored to have debts = 150% of their GDP. Thrift or spendthrift? And so, when all hell began to break loose, and people started looking at the country, they realized that this bubble needed to burst. Having burnt their fingers once through the sub-prime balloon that looked bright and yellow for a while, before a ghastly blast, people realized that the kind of social security measures, the benefits, the lax labor laws, all were pointing towards economies that were living way beyond their means. So they dropped Greece as if their hands were smeared with grease! And pretty soon, IGS followed.

The world worried whether Germany, whose progress looked like it was in a way not being allowed to reach it's full potential thanks to being bogged down by the Euro, might want to break away and restart with the Deutsche Mark. It looked like a very tantalizing proposition. Indeed there were discussions happening to that effect! But then, here being fiercely capitalist and meritocratic may not really be the right option. A corporation is one model and a country is yet another. A corporation can fail, and cause temporary pain to some people, maybe even an industry, resulting in long term gains achieved through improved legislation and measures. But if a country like Greece failed, or rather was allowed to fail by Germany, Germany would have faced dire consequences. Germany's growth is to a large extent dependent on exports, especially to other European countries. So, if one of those countries failed, Germany would lose a large chunk of her GDP! So in a way, condoning the past follies of these countries and propping them up, seems like the best option for the greater good of European humanity.

That said, in a way Spain winning the FIFA World Cup is good news. No doubt Casillas and Co are a happy lot, having won Spain's maiden World Cup. The mood in Spain is upbeat too. Rafa won the French Open and Wimbledon after a one year hiatus. And now Spain has the World Cup. So people would be happy. Happy people perhaps would spend, and boost confidence in their economies and that might just be the point where the European economy turned the corner towards the good! Weird thought, but worth the cogitation, right?

Muy Bien Rafa! Way to go!!!

I should perhaps get bored of writing about Rafa and his victories. But somehow, each tourney is special. And surprisingly different.

So this time it was Wimbledon. And 2008 was wonderful, since at the peak of his form, Nadal won the championship by defeating his arch nemesis, in Fedex's own favorite turf. And that was some match indeed, a gruelling 5 setter interspersed with rain, and a nail biting finish. After all, the pretender was keen and the emperor was ready to go flat out!

But this year, there was no such drama. Rafa sat out all of last year, and as aptly described to the interviewer, it was the most difficult task to watch Federer win last year, as he sat helplessly nursing busted knees and fighting to get his psychological stamina back. And many, I included, post Roland Garros, wished to see a Rafa - Fedex battle again. The kinds that we had in 2008. 2008 saw Federer fight it out with Rafa on the clay courts only to let the king of clay prevail. 2008 also saw Federer fight to hold on to his stranglehold on the grass courts, only to let the pretender snatch that privilege rather harshly from him! So, I would have been happier, post Nadal's regaining his form, to have seen a duel much like the one we haven't seen since the Australian Open 2009. But that wasn't to be. In a surprise defeat, Fedex was knocked out, and it looked as if once Nadal surpassed his French Open 2010 rival Robin Soderling, he almost had the gilded trophy in his hands.

People expressed awe last year when Federer won French Open. A few Nadal enthusiasts, me included pointed out that it was one thing to beat a king in his own territory and a completely different story to usurp a kingdom when the king is incapacitated or away! In that respect, Rafa's Wimbledon 2008 was a well-earned victory, where he beat Federer in his own turf fair and square and earned the title. Likewise, even Wimbledon 2010, where he beat Federer's assailant and proved himself to be a grass champion as well. In my view, using that logic, Federer winning French Open 2009, was not so momentous, since the usual suspect or the expected victor, was pretty much missing in action! No matter what the case may be, 2010 is a year of good sport action. Rafa is back, his mental acuity, and on-court agility are as high as they have ever been. He has been able to match every player stroke for stroke and emerge victorious.

And then again, we have the football world cup in Africa. But I won't dwell too much on how ethereally beautiful the men in black were on the field, since I've all of spent a whole post on that. But I saw this rather interesting article in the Globe and Mail near the start of the world cup, (look here) and I must say, that for the greater good of humanity and to be able to stave off a double dip recession, please God let Germany win the World Cup!

6-4, 6-2, 6-4 - Poetic justice at Roland Garros 2010

So Nadal won the French Open. Again. Big deal some say. Yes Big Deal indeed! And anyone who saw the match would perhaps agree that it was one of Nadal's great matches. Yet personally, I would still rate Nadal's Wimbledon 2008victory over Fedex, his 2009 Australian Open semifinals match against Verdasco, and his final against Fedex, all gruelling five setters as perhaps his best performances to date. In fact, in comparison to today's match, Nadal's semi final against compatriot Almagro, was more evenly matched, with Rafa having to sweat out every point! (Pic courtesy The Hindu)

But today's match is in no way a wishwash. One, because Rafa was coming back to his favorite tournament after a disgraceful loss last year. Second, it was a rematch of last year, where Soderling literally decimated Rafa and the world thought that a clay court pretender had finally arrived. After a blinding 2008, which had the Olympic Gold for Nadal as an icing on the cake, and a blistering start to the 2009 season, all of 2009 was a bad year for Rafa, both professionally and personally. Tendinitis and his parents' divorce managed to hurt the muscled man from Majorca enough to turn his game on a downward spiral! A man who perhaps never gets ruffled by anything on court. Or else how could one explain his victory from the 'baselines' at Wimbledon 2008? And here he was, fighting all those ghosts of the past year, to put to rest thoughts about whether the pretender had arrived!

I can only imagine the emotions that gripped Nadal, while entering Philippe Chartrier. Time to avenge last year's loss? Time to reclaim what had been his for over four years? Time to get back to the world? To date, the French Open perhaps was the last place he ever had to prove a point, although not this year. The records and stats in his favor may not be staggering yet, at least not as much as those of Fedex, but an imminent No. 1 ranking, 5 victories on clay, just one short of all time great Bjorn Borg. And he just turned 24! I am sure if he were to capture his emotions on canvas, the outcome would be psychedelic to say the least. And the setting was magical. The sky was overcast, in a typical theatrical Hindi Movie style; with perhaps just lightning and thunder missing! And the symmetrical 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory was pure poetic justice.

No matter what happens at Wimbledon a few weeks from now, the King of the Clay Court is back and he is on top, ranked World Number 1, despite a whole year off with an injury last year. He has a rather unassailable lead going further, and as for his game, I guess it is safe to say that his legendary killer instinct is back...

The game - More in the mind and less on the court!

Thoughts on Thursday

In the match between Fedex and man-on-fire Soderling, I remember seeing that green advertisement board in the court that had Adidas and Fedex side by side. At first sight I misread it as Adios Fedex. Unfortunately, that was what happened. Beyond a point, Fed just gave up. And his body language betrayed that! Try imagining what went on in his mind - 'I won here last year, and here I am losing it even before the semis. That too, not to my arch nemesis, but to this kid Soderling! What will everyone say? That I won last year because Rafa wasn't here?' Looking at Rafael Nadal literally slip, slide, run, smash and work for every point, evoked a ton of thoughts. Think of what might have been playing on Nadal's mind when he played Almagro - 'This guy, from my country who I beat 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 last time, has pulled me on to 2 tie breaks!' Or take Almagro's musings - ' Man. I fight out every ball in every game and this chap is God in tie breaks and so he wins!! Where is justice in this world?" In fact, tie-breaks are perhaps more trying, since each point, each service game, or even each break point is evenly fought for. At such times, like say in the match between Rafa and Almagro, one's heart perhaps goes out to the underdog, who fought so hard and yet lost!

At key times, the nerves take over. Take Sam Stosur. When she was serving for the match in the second set, she committed a double fault! Her first serves never went through! The nerves were visible in out-of-form Sharapova's match against Justine Henin. Or even in case of Djokovic against Melzer! All of last year, since Nadal's loss at Roland Garros thanks to tendinitis, there were talks, including an interview in which he said that his parents' imminent divorce had taken a psychological toll on him, because of which he couldn't give the game his best! At such times, one wonders whether a psychologist is as essential as say a physical trainer!

And it's not just tennis. Try thinking of Michael Schumacher! Seven times World Champion, not so in 1999, when all hopes were on him to get Ferrari out of 20-years-without-a-championship-victory and when he was so close to winning the championship, he broke his leg at Silverstone! And now, when he has come back, the world thinks he has lost his spark! Flavio Briatore said to the press that things have changed so much that Schumi may not be able to get back! Knowing the kind of person Michael is, always doing everything possible to win, one can only imagine how all this would hurt the guy psychologically! Always a winner, dominating the sport, to a place where he no longer gets covered in the papers post a race! Sport can be quite unforgiving!

I guess sport is as much a psychological game as it is physical. When Federer gave up his Wimbledon crown in 2008 to Nadal, the game stoked my imagination leading to this. That old post is a bit long, since I've added a couple of articles I'd read on Nadal just then. But anyways. The point is that the mind games or the games people assume are being played in the players' minds are interesting to imagine. Players putting their hands up in the air, shaking their heads at missed points or simply losing their nerve, exulting - all make for some really good imagination and introspection.

An awesome day for the racqueteer

Two racquets, a net, tennis balls and a clay court - all it takes for some breath taking action. And that is what the French Open has been over these last 11 days. There have been the highs, with some brilliant matches and there have been the not so great ones too. But which days stay on in your mind? I guess those that have evenly matched opponents and a real fight. That's how it works for me, at least!!

Like people said that the match between Andy Murray and Richard Gasquet in the first round, where Murray won was a brilliant match. But I saw that and there really were hardly any sparks in that match. It looked like two men playing with bowling balls! There was no strokeplay, no taming of the ball, no brilliant shots, nothing that caught my eye and certainly nothing that caught my imagination and wonder! Or take the match between Samantha Stosur and Serena Williams. Serena did win at Roland Garros in 2002, and more recently, she won the Aussie Open a few months ago! So clearly, she isn't a novice on clay, but the game she played against Stosur was plain BAD! Imagine, Stosur couldn't get through on first serve EVER! At times I wondered whether those sunglasses prevented her from seeing the bright yellow ball or the net! And yet Serena lost to her!!

But take the match between say Andy Roddick and little known Gabashvili the other day. The strokes were brilliant, there was pace and there was something worthwhile to see in that match. The way Roddick ran for every point, the switch between baseline play and volleys or even the ever beautiful drop shots, was nothing short of poetry. Or even take the match between Rafael Nadal and Nicholas Almagro today. 7-6, 7-6, 6-4. Now that is something someone would spend 2 hours watching. Clay God being made to literally run for every point! The energy in every shot, the choice of shots made for some really interesting watching! Even the match between Melzer and Djokovic, a ton of a five-setter was worth looking at just for the evenly matched opponents and their game. So today, with the match between Nadal and Almagro, Djokovic and Melzer, Stosur and Serena was perhaps the best day for the racquet fan, or the racqueteer as I'd call her!

Not most of the draws that happened over the past two weeks would perhaps be repeated at Wimbledon, or for that matter, anywhere again! But for all practical purposes, it has been Game, Set, Match - TENNIS. Can hardly wait for the weekend...

Of World Champions and attitudes.

The unassuming champion has prevailed. For the fourth time! Vishwanathan Anand, one of India's and Chess' favorite icons has won again. It is amazing how this guy has managed to shine for so long and stay at the top for so long as well. I remember back in the past, his opponents kept changing, but he remained. Gary Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, the names came and went. Some returned. But only Vishy Anand prevailed. This time against Veselin Topalov.

And as usual I got to thinking. Here is India's unsung hero, who quietly goes about his job, one that he loves doing, one that perhaps needs more mind than all other sports put together, wins and remains at the top - forever. I can't remember a time in India where Vishwanathan Anand's victories didn't make the newspapers! Then we have a Sachin Tendulkar, who has been in form for a greater part of 20 years. He's been doing his job, which again incidentally is something he loves doing and has been collecting the accolades, the records and the victories. First man to get 200 runs in an ODI. Maximum run getter at the IPL. And still going strong. We might have seen more o him had it not been for India's early exit at the T20 World Cup.

Then again we have a Michael Schumacher (Yeah I know. My post has to have a mention of THE MAN!) He went about doing what he loved best and the awards, victories, titles, championships and of course the money came along. This time at Spain Schumi was fourth - it is at least a start, and a commendable achievement for someone who's come back to a new form of F1 four years after he bid adieu, to a sport where rules, cars, teams and team mates have all changed. And yet the spirit survives.

So in effect, the true champion, I guess is one who prevails the longest. The one who endures, against all odds and all pretenders. And that is the true test of a champion. For me now, all eyes are on Rafael Nadal who faced a slump all of last year, only to come back very very strong this year at Rome. What Roland Garros has in store - I sure want to watch. But till then, I guess it is time for us to just soak in history.