Leander Adrian Paes: Making Indians proud since 1991

When Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek won the US Open doubles title, Paes became only the 2nd tennis player in Open Era to win a Grand Slam at age of 40..

For more on him check my latest article in The Times of India..

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/tennis/us-open-2013/indian-challenge/Leander-Adrian-Paes-Making-Indians-proud-since-1991/articleshow/22437658.cms

Getty Photo

Can Gareth “Bale” Real Madrid Out?

He’s not worth it. Wales’s international winger Gareth Bale, who recently completed a high-profile move from English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur to La Liga giants Real Madrid for a staggering fee of €100m ($132m or £85m) that made him the most expensive player in the history of the game, is not worth his transfer fee at all. I know that it’s uncanny for me to begin this blog with such a pessimistic approach, but the facts are plain, simple and as clear as water. He’s just not worth his world record fee.

Let’s not get things wrong. Gareth Bale is an exceptional player. He’s one of the fastest on the circuit, he’s got that morale-boosting aura that can lift a team when all hope seems lost (Remember his hat-trick against Inter Milan at the San Siro?) and not to forget he’s got a lethal left leg that can make any goalkeeper contemplate calling in sick before an important match. In fact, Bale is undoubtedly a player who any manager would die to have on their team. But when a team shells out money just to satisfy the “ego” of an individual, that’s when I draw the line between intelligence and lunacy.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is the “individual” whom I’m talking about. In some ways one can call him the “Real-messiah” due to that colossal reputation he’s earned of giving the fans what they want. He’s been known to have a history of acquiring elite footballers by paying extremely high prices. Some might call it his undying “passion” towards the club and the beautiful game while others might call it his dire need to satisfy his inflated “ego”. The debate is open and is something that will never end.

Reuters Photo

It was Perez’s bold initiative that led to the “Galacticos” era when the football fraternity was graced by the presence of Ronaldo, David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, Iker Casillas, and Co. playing for the same team at the same pitch all the same time. And it was when he began his second term as club President in 2009 that he first bought Kaka from AC Milan for £58 million before breaking an eight-year world record transfer fee deadlock to sign Man United’s Cristiano Ronaldo for £80 million.

Perez’s exploits are something that are known quite well in the footballing world and therefore when rumors started floating that Real Madrid would be willing to breach the €100m mark just to get Bale to play at the Bernabeu, no one seemed surprised. It was kind of like what else is new? However, what people started doing almost immediately was drawing up career statistics comparing Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale and whether or not the Welshman actually deserved his world record price tag.

Let’s look at the statistics ourselves, shall we? In his six seasons at Old Trafford, Cristiano Ronaldo scored 118 goals thereby leading the Red Devils to three Premier League titles, two Carling Cups, one FA Cup, one Community Shield and one Club World Cup. On the other hand Gareth Bale, in his six seasons at White Hart Lane, has scored just 55 goals without winning any elite championship. Not to be rude or anything, but Ronaldo scored 54 goals just last season with Madrid. That’s six seasons combined in one.

Also, during his tenure, Cristiano Ronaldo bagged one FIFA Ballon D'or, one World Player of the Year award, two PFA Player of the Year awards, one Young Player of the Year Award and two Fans Player of the Year Award (The list actually goes on but I’ve left out quite a few so that the die-hard Bale fans don’t get demoralized). However, Gareth Bale only bagged two PFA Player of the Year awards and one Young Player of the Year Award.

Another very interesting thing to note is the fact that Bale, unlike Ronaldo, is solely dependent on his left foot. Which is why his playing positions on the football field are limited. At most what he can do is do a to-and-fro between the left back and left wing positions. On the other hand Cristiano Ronaldo, who was once complimented by a commentator as being able to score with any part of his body, scored 54 goals last season with 29 goals off his right foot (excluding free-kicks and penalty-kicks), 16 with his left foot and 8 with his head.

Bale’s move has become one of the most talked about sagas in football history not just among the fans, but also among the football community. Leading coaches have openly condemned the move with new Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino going to the extent of calling it a “joke”. I don’t know what the problem with the world is. Real Madrid seem to have everything figured out. At a time when the world economy is in chaos and Spain is embroiled in a financial crisis that seems never-ending, for football club to take loans just to pay €100m for player who according to his own national coach is “injury-prone” and not “fit enough” to play a full 90-minute match makes "perfect" sense. Don’t you think so? ;)

The English ‘Profitability’ League..

One thing I’ve learnt in my life that has made me a little wiser and more mature is that anything and everything on this planet is in some way or the other proportional to enduring profits. It is. It really is. If an idea or a concept is not lucrative, it’s considered to be ludicrous. And of course, the person suggesting that idea automatically becomes an epitome of “insanity”.

 

The reason I’m bringing all this out is because of recent happenings in the world of football. To be precise, Indian football. Well not actually Indian, but somewhere or the other we Indians always decide that things must have an effect on our society. So, Yes.. I’ll take it as Indian Football.

 

According to reports, the Indian football fans might be in for a treat pretty soon. Very soon the people in India would have the privilege to listen to English Premier League commentary on All India Radio (AIR) FM Rainbow. If things work out that is. Here is a quote from an article on The Times of India website…

 

“In an effort to get Indian football fans hooked to the EPL, a London-based Indian company — Indian Football Evolution (known as Kshatriya Sports in India) — entered into a sales agreement with talkSPORT, global audio partner of the EPL, for broadcast services in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Maldives.”

 

What’s interesting in this is the fact that a “London based Indian” company wants to get Indian football fans “hooked” to the EPL. What’s even more interesting is the callous fact that this “London based Indian” company wants “Indian” football fans to get hooked to “British” football rather than “Indian Football.”

 

Like I said, anything and everything is proportional to profits. So, there you have it. The people at Kshatriya Sports cannot be blamed. In fact, they’re doing a wonderful job to help promote football in India (This includes nurturing Indian talent, setting up Football academies, helping State Football Associations, etc.) The problem, to begin with, lies in the manner in which football is treated in India.

 

Why did the English Premier League supersede the I-League in the first place? Why is it that the majority of the Indian football fans are only interested in foreign football? When did all this start in the first place? What made leagues like EPL, La Liga, Serie A more popular in India than its local leagues? The answer is pretty simple. And I’ve said it before as well. No. It’s not “talent”. India’s got Talent as well. Players like Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri, Renedy Singh, Gouramangi Singh and Steven Dias could have shaken the world in their prime. The answer, sadly, is profits.

 

The English Premier League began its broadcast in India in the year 2002. I-League (formerly known as The National Football League) began in 1996. What happened in those six years that drastically changed the course of football in India? Nothing actually. That was the problem. Nothing happened.

 

There was little or no coverage for the National Football League. It was not telecasted. Even if it was, then the coverage was pathetic. There were no commentators. There was no pre-match or post-match analysis. There was absolutely no professionalism. Indian footballers were playing their hearts out only to find out that no one was watching. Talent was going waste. Football was heading towards its demise.

 

On the other hand, due to excellent broadcasting, ESPN-Star took the competition by the throat and shoved it in the dustbin. The deal signed by ESPN to broadcast EPL in India will and should go down as ESPN’s greatest business decision ever. Foreign Football’s growing popularity in India is mostly due to ESPN-Star’s coverage combined with talented football players and most importantly “Money”.

 

Now when a TV channel is willing to bid as much as $145 million just to broadcast football in India, one can certainly be assured that they know what the scenario of Indian football is. More importantly, what’s even sadder is that ESPN-Star knows more than some of the Indian TV Channels about what Indian football fans want to see. It was just the right blend of football mixed with impeccable coverage and professional standards. That’s all it took for Indian football to die.

 

When the I-league was formed in 2007, Zee Sports did try to do the same. They brought in football experts. Talent was roped in from England. People tried their level best to resurrect Indian football. But till then it was too late. EPL had already made its permanent residence in the hearts of Indians. Teams like Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal meant more to us than East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. Today every fan knows how many teams play in EPL, but only a handful of them know the same about the I-league.

 

And this brings us back to the whole EPL being broadcasted on FM thing. Why would someone like Kshatriya Sports not want to get involved in this? Their job has already been done. The sport has already been made popular in the country. There’s nothing that can revive the competition now. Indian footballers are being treated like dirt. Popularity of foreign footballers is on high. It’s guaranteed money. I think that they have all the reasons to go ahead with the deal and bring EPL on AIR FM.

 

The EPL-AIR FM deal will surely be the final nail in Indian Football’s coffin. I don’t think that even the IPL-style football league would be able to help (I hope that I’m wrong). And with the All India Football Federation disbanding its developmental outfit Pailan Arrows due to lack of financial commitment from its sponsors, it was just a good opportunity capitalized by Kshatriya Sports.

 

I’m no one to complain that it’s EPL that is being broadcasted on FM instead of Indian football. I’m no one to suggest that what Kshatriya Sports is doing is bad for Indian Football’s future. Because when there’s an assured reason for profits and an idea in hand that would be well received due to the already “immensely-cemented” popularity of EPL in India, it was just a bomb ticking to explode.