Race to Africa

Pratik Dogra ‘Would the 2010 World Cup be played sans France, Portugal and Argentina?’ was the subject of immense curiosity as the international scene, abuzz with World Cup qualifiers, took centrestage. With nations vying with one another for one of the 32 coveted spots for the 2010 extravaganza in South Africa next year, from Europe, England, Spain and Germany managed to book their spots quite early. Defending champions Italy followed suit after an initial stutter. The qualifiers proved to be a stroll in the park for Euro Champions and reining world number one- Spain as well as the flamboyant, but France and Portugal were stretched to play-offs and with elimination looming large, needed their last reserves of energy to scrape through. South American heavyweights and bitter nemesis Brazil and Argentina adopted contrasting paths to South Africa. Brazil topped the South American qualifying zone, a 1-0 win at Uruguay in the last qualifying game, preceded and succeeded by high drama, cleared the passage to South Africa for Argentina.In Africa, a diplomatic crisis between the two countries ensued after Algeria defeated Egypt to join Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast and hosts South Africa for the event that is being held in Africa for the first time. New Zealand topped the Oceania group and then defeated Bahrain to ensure qualification while the Aussies, qualifying from Asia, marched into the World Cup on strength of some clinical performances. North Korea were the surprise entrants along with the usual suspects Japan and South Korea from Asia. USA, Mexico and Honduras followed a predictable pattern to emerge triumphant from North America. Maradona’s Mission Accomplished! When Diego Maradona is around, expect the unexpected! Dazzling with brilliance on one occasion, to being sent back home mid-way after failing a drugs test. With a penchant for grabbing the headlines at World Cups during his playing days for either scoring by hand, or by mouth, Maradona could always be trusted to provide the wisp needed to set off a storm. So when Maradona was entrusted with the task of guiding a mightily talented, but a floundering Argentine outfit into the World Cup, the world watched with a bated breath as to how one of the most loved as well as most hated (that’s how the opinions were divided) figures would perform as coach. One of the most successful national football teams in the world, having twice won the FIFA World Cup, in 1978 and 1986, Argentina were staring at the prospect of missing out a spot at the event. Three successive defeats including a 3-1 submission to Brazil at home, and a 6-1 hammering at Bolivia had left their campaign in tatters. Maradona, so often press’ favorite whipping boy, was subjected to barrage of scathing criticsm, putting the star under immense pressure. One failure away from the sack, a last grasp victory over Peru offered his team a lifeline, which was duly grasped with both hands as Argentina defeated Uruguay in the last qualifying match to avoid play-ofs and qualify for the World Cup. Mission accomplished, the bottled up frustration overflowed as Maradona indulged in unsavory outburst directed towards what he later confessed, was the media. He was banned for 2-months, but no one cared. Critics had been silenced, until June 2010 atleast… Hand of the DEVIL! While controversies and Maradona go hand in hand, talismanic French striker Thierry Henry is someone who would be least expected to cause an unwanted storm. But the Barcelona star did a ‘Maradona’ during the second-leg play-of(of or off ?) against Ireland at Paris. With France minutes away from elimination, Henry handled the ball to keep it inside the playing arena in the build up to William Gallas` decisive extra-time goal, earning them the much-needed goal that saw them through. Furor erupted as the Irish claimed victimization with some players even going as far as accusing World Cup sponsors Adidas of hatching controversy to oust them. The government of Ireland requested the French authorities to appeal to FIFA for a re-match, which was duly turned down by the apex soccer body. Amidst widespread condemnation, FIFA announced that an inquiry would be held against Henry, who if found guilty, could face upto a 2-match ban. Henry was remorseful. "Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way that we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa," he said. Messi wins Ballon d`Or Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi beat Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo when he was awarded the 2009 Ballon d`Or at an awards ceremony in Paris. The gifted 22-year-old finished ahead of Ronaldo, last year`s winner, by a record 240-point margin - while his Barcelona team-mate Xavi Hernandez came third. As a result, Messi becomes the first Argentinean to win the prestigious Ballon d`Or - although Argentine-born players Alfredo di Stefano and Omar Sivori, then regarded as Europeans, received the trophy when it was still called the European Footballer of the Year award. The award caps a brilliant year for the modest left-footer, who helped treble-winning Barcelona lift the Champions League title with nine goals, as well as netting 23 in the league and six in the Copa del Rey (King`s Cup) - the France Football magazine award`s 96 jurors gave Messi 473 points out of a possible 480, a near unanimous verdict. When beauty quelled the beast! UEFA Champions League final served a delicious offering with two of the undoubtedly best football teams of this era- Barcelona FC and Manchester United squaring up against one another. What followed was sheer poetry. On one of the rare occasions, when beauty quelled the beast, Barcelona turned on style to overcome the might of Alex Ferguson’s side who were also the defending champions. While the victory of Barcelona over Manchester United at Rome capped a season of unprecedented success for the Spanish side, it was also a sporting success story interlaced with a dose of symbolism as well. For once, romanticism had got better of realism. Barcelona’s win, much like Spain’s Euro Cup conquest last year, proved that ‘fast, progressive, eye-catching football’ wins not just plaudits, but trophies as well. The 3-0 margin not only underlined the superiority of Barcelona, there was also a subtle lesson to their La Liga rivals Real Madrid on how prioritizing ‘class over cash’ too can pay dividends. Meanwhile, Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine won the UEAF Cup beating Werder Bremen of Germany 2-1 in Istanbul. The UEFA Cup has been re-christened as the Europa Cup 2009-10 onwards. No major upsets Manchester United claimed the English Premier League for the third year running, edging out their nearest rivals Liverpool by 4 points. Chelsea ran both the clubs close for most part of the season before running out of steam towards the end. They finished at third place, 3 points behind Liverpool while Arsenal remained a distant fourth. Barcelona basked in domestic glory as well, finishing a comfortable 9-point clear of their second placed rivals Real Madrid. Seville and Athelico Madrid finished third and fourth respectively qualifying for the Champions League’s play-offs. Meanwhile, former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho made his presence felt in Italy when he guided Inter Milan to their fourth consecutive Serie A title. Juventus piped AC Milan to the second spot on goal difference. On the European front however it was a disappointing year for all Italian sides, as none of them managed to progress past the quarter-finals. Wolfsburg, Bordeaux and FC Porto clinched the German, French and Portuguese leagues respectively. Real go shopping! Stung by the unprecedented success their fierce rivals Barcelona enjoyed in the 2008-09 season, Real Madrid hit back…like only Real Madrid can. Firstly, they signed up Kaka from AC Milan for 56 million pounds and then 3 days later, lured away Cristiano Ronaldo away from Manchester United for a staggering 80 million pounds. Real president Florentino Perez fulfilled his chersished dream, one that he had vocally pursued all of last year. Not content yet, Real Madrid managed to wean away playmaker Xabi Alonso from Liverpool FC as well as Karim Benzema from Olympique Lyonnais, presenting coach Manuel Pellegrini with an array of talent in his bid to topple Barcelona from the perch. And have they suceeded? Well...this season they are trailing Barcelona in the La Liga points table so far and have also been beaten 1-0 in a ‘Al Classico’ once! Manchester City provided the English version of Real Madrid type spending. Boosted financially after Abu Dhabi United Group took over the club, City opened their doors to all and sundry as they tried to reposition themselves as one of England’s Big Four. Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz, Kolo Touré, Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tévez and Joleon Lescott were some of the high profile signings by the club currently at sixth in the league table.