Olé Olé España ♥

U.S. president Franklin D Roosevelt famously insisted that the only thing to fear was fear itself.

Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque would say exactly the opposite. The only thing Spain has to fear as it prepares for this summer's World Cup in South Africa is the complete lack of fear.

As Del Bosque strolled away from the press conference at the national team's Las Rozas headquarters this week, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and so were the fans. Even the journalists could not disguise their excitement. Fifty yards ahead of him was Fernando Torres, who had just told reporters that this time there was no doubt: Spain were favourites for the World Cup. The 'unlike every other time' went without saying.



Confident Spain ->

"There's no way we can avoid the tag now," Torres said, "every time you hear players or coaches from other countries talking about the teams they fear, they say Spain. Everyone is talking about us. This time we have won the right to be considered genuine favourites. In the past we talked about being favourites when maybe we weren't - but this time we really are."

It is hard to disagree. Spain won Euro 2008 and did so brilliantly. That success did not just change its past, it appeared to change the country's future too, lifting the overbearing weight of history from their shoulders.

Especially as they won the tournament having beaten Italy, their traditional nemesis, in the quartet-finals, their traditional glass ceiling. And on penalties, their traditional undoing.

Since then, everything has been perfect. On Saturday night, they face Saudi Arabia in Austria. It is a game they should win. Raul Albiol is expected to play; if he does, and if Spain win, it will give him an international record of played: 23, won: 23. If Carlos Marchena plays, he will break the world record previously held by the Brazilian Garrincha: it would be his fiftieth - yes, 50th - consecutive international game without a defeat.

Spain qualified for the World Cup by winning ten out of ten - the first time that has ever happened. They scored 28 times and conceded just five. For those who questioned the quality of the group they were in - Turkey and Bosnia are nothing special, they said - Spain also played France, England, and Argentina in friendlies. And beat them all. In Paris, the French fans started Olé-ing Spain's every move.

After the game, France's coach admitted that there was good news and bad news: the bad news was that he didn't know how to get the ball off the Spanish. The good news was that, because of the draw, he wouldn't have to worry about that for some time: France would not have to face Spain until the World Cup final. "If," Raymond Domenech said, "we get there". He didn't doubt that Spain would.

Spain has won 33 of their last 34 competitive matches. They have been beaten only once in 45 matches - and even that has been repackaged as 'A Good Thing'. Defeat in the semifinal of the Confederations Cup by the U.S. has, they keep insisting, served as a useful lesson, a timely corrective.

Yes, everything is perfect. The sunny training camp, packed with cheering fans. The media, no longer looking for a fight. The coach, the very embodiment of likeable.

Even the squad.

Del Bosque surprised everyone last week by naming Pedro, Victor Valdes, Fernando Llorente and Javi Martinez, leaving out Diego Lopez, Alvaro Negredo, Dani Guiza, Santi Cazorla and Marcos Senna - and everyone was delighted.

Frankly, this correspondent isn't sure about the Senna decision but it was, everyone agreed, the perfect squad. Right. Just. And better still, even the injuries aren't a problem any more - Torres is back in training, so too is Cesc Fabregas. Everyone has a clean bill of health.

Everything is, well, perfect.

As Del Bosque strolled out into the sun, he was handed a guidebook to South Africa: you might as well do some sightseeing while you're winning the World Cup. There were pats on the back and shouts of encouragement. We're going to win it.

But under the busy moustache and the warm smile, there was a concern. If there is one thing Del Bosque fears, it is the lack of fear. Back in February he declared the favourites tag a "terrible trap", warning against creating a feeling in which Spain were either champions or a complete failure.

He has not changed his mind.

"There was too much defeatism in the past; now, there's too much euphoria," he said on Thursday. As he strolled away from the press conference, shaking hands and posing for photos, listening to the cheers, he couldn't help noting how everyone seemed to think that Spain had won the tournament already. And he couldn't help feeling uneasy about it.

Everything's perfect, all right. Too perfect.



It makes me super excited and patriotic for a country that isn't even my own. ♥!

Really looking forward to see Spain lifting up the World Cup ( Sorry for being so oveconfident :P ).

"Gana la copa del mundo de España"



Source : http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/fifaworldcup/blog/2010/05/fearless-spain-ready-for-world-cup.html

Life Without You Is Nothing - A Tribute to all my closest friends. :)

                      "चाँद अधुरा है सितारों के बिना,                              
                       गुलशन अधुरा है बहारों के बिना,
                       समुन्दर अधुरा है किनारों के बिना,

                       जीना अधुरा है तुम जैसे यारों के बिना."

               This is dedicated to my closest pals. Love you all! :)

• Brandon D'Souza : 

I must say that he's the sweetest guy around. A total Stud of a kind. He's a person with whom you would never-ever have a feeling of being bored. Doesn't forget to entertain people with his witty one liners. If I start listing his one-liners, there millions and quadrillions of them. So, I would like to share a few with you all. "Mazak mazak me Razzak kar diya saale ne" is one of them. I actually do not know where he got the idea of using "Razzak" in that. But, the moment he said that one day, we were in splits. It was totally unexpected. Another one which I can recollect is, "Me - Kya hua? | Brandon : Ladka hua, palega kya? ". That was too good. Another thing about him which amazes me is his Football. My GOD, what talent. You might not believe that this freako' plays such good Football without even watching it unlike the others. Later comes his driving. I must say that he must've been Valentino Rossi in his previous birth. You sit behind him, and he goes VROOOOOM! ( Though he's fast, he's the safest ). Thanks for being such a good friend mate. Love you. :)

• Arun Anantakrishnan :

Here comes Dodo - as we call him. A person who's got an out-of-the world personality. He's a person who'll make you laugh all the time, whatever the situation may be. A quite witty person but acts like a बैल sometimes :P . He's got the unprecedented knack of cracking hilarious jokes, spontaneously.  A great entertainer - may it be Dance ( he sucks at it ) , Singing ( he sucks at it ) , Jokes ( Imba! ) and what not. A jovial and an happy-go-lucky person. "कोई ग़म नहीं है उसको" - as we say! :D. He's the one who is our target all the time. But, he's got the talent of ignoring us at such times. You won't belive that this guy has the lyrics of all the Chartbusters on the tip of his tongue. I envy him for that. Thanks for being such a sweet Dodo mate. Hope you always be our "धमाकेधार Dodo" :)

• Rohan Krishnakumar :

Here comes, Baaa! I must say that this guy has a vibrant personality. He's the one who'll make people know about his presence. Extremely funny and has got a great sense of humour. He's a guy who is very much matured for his age. "साला, अब तक बच्चा है!". Believe me, he's one of the best Goalkeepers in town. An awesome guy. Annoying at sometimes ( just coz' of a bit of stubbornness ) but the BEST of all. The first thing that comes to my mind about Rohan is "Aaaaa Maushyaaaa" and "Duuuuuudeee" :D. He's a kind of a person who'll take your case without even letting you know about that ( you know about that Rohan :P ). Hope you remain as you are. Love you lots. :)

• Saurabh Chaudhari :

Here comes our Bugs Bunny :P . A very sweet and a caring person. This guy plays awesome Carrom. Trust me, you play against him and you'll know where you stand! An elegant personality blended with "Stud"ness, this guy is worth a talk. He's God-gifted with an awesome sense of humour. Believe me, the "60%" wala answer to Prem Sir was awesome. We almost fell on the ground laughing to that joke of yours. :D He's a multi-faceted character well versed in fields like Cricket, Carrom, Dance, Football and many more. Love you loads mate. Cheers. :)

• Praful Jain : 

Here comes Mr.Praful Jain urf Phantom :D. He's fun-loving and a jovial personality. Does not fear about the consequences of doing something, may it be right/wrong. An open-minded person who does not keep anything stuffed inside. He says, what he feels. This makes me salute him, coz' he has retained this quality of his - inspite of many things happening against him. A person who likes to talk, talk and talk. I would tag him as a No. 1 Gossiper. :D. He's got a great imagination and comes up with different surprises all the time ( you know what I mean ). Hope  you remain unchanged throughout your life mate. Cheers. :)

• Palak Agarwal : 

Here comes Ms. Palak. A very sweet, loving and a caring creature. She's darn good at Arts. Her Paintings, my GOD. They are just too good. Very very creative in whatever she does. She's the one who'll be talking all the stuff when you're with her. Cherishes each and every moment together and with a BANG. Never makes you feel insecure and pours out what she feels. Trust me, she's extremely heartening to be with. She's loved by all those who know her. Cheers Palak. :)

• Rucha Ganpule : 

Here comes Ms. SmartBrains. She's and extremely caring and an adorable person. God has gifted her an awesome smile which equals a thousand words spoken. She's extremely sincere in her work and performs it with utmost dedication. She's the one who is always there at your help, whatever the circumstances may be! An extremely good speaker. Trust me, you can talk hours and hours to her without a feeling of being bored whatsoever. She is multi-talented and a master in many fields.She is the biggest Dhoni Fan that I've ever come across in my life ( though she has to face the consequences coz' of that :P ) Hope she all her life remains the Sweety-Pie that she is now. :). Cheers!

• Sanket Yadav :

This is Sanket Yadav urf Taare :D. Trust me, he's one of the best cricketers that I know. Inspite we being friends only since 2 years, the rapport which we share cannot be compared. He's an awesome personality who is open-minded. This guy is extremely friendly and will give you a feeling of being-at-home when you are with him. He's an excellent speaker and has got the knack of charming people with what he speaks and the way he speaks. He's got an out-of-the world way of performing things and he indeed succeeds to the core of it. Love you loads mate. Cheers. :)

• Jaikishan Patel :

Jaykay! :D This guy is a complete freako'. Ours views coincidently are alike for most of the times ( you know that JayKay ). The relationship which we share is extremely close. This guy never makes you feel lost and is up for you all the while! He's got an extremely good sense of humour coupled with an awesome brain. Hanging out with him is real fun - an experience indeed. He's got an awesome taste of music. He is never really scared about what he does. A very confident personality. Hope you remain as you are mate. Lots of Hugs. :)

• Nirali Gala : 

Here comes our Woofer :D! Believe me, she's got such a vibrant voice which makes her presence felt by everyone around her. Though this quality sometimes puts her in a soup coz' she cannot murmur in the class :P. An extremely fun-loving girl. Loves Art and Creativity. I must say that she does a commendable job of whatever she decides. She loves travelling to places and exploring new people, places and ideas. She speaks out what she feels without really fearing anyone or anything. Hope you are the same throughout. Cheers. :)

                               PHEW! That was BIG. 

                               Lots of Hugs and Kisses.

                                        Cheers. :)

Let us kiss the Silverware. :D

Yay!!

This is it, finally. This is the moment I was waiting for - infact all the Blues were waiting for. In the beginning of the season, a question popped up in my mind. "Will Carlo be able to win it after Josè?". And yes, he indeed did it. What a way!

Carlo has indeed done a commendable job. But, it sure wasn't possible without the players. He was very well flanked by Drogba - The Top Scorer, Lampard - The Best Midfielder in the World, Anelka - The Silent Assassin, Terry - Mr.Chelsea, Cech - The Barricade, Malouda - The Genius and others as well. Chelsea made it possible inspite of the injuries to Essien, A.Cole, Cech, Ivanovic and others as well. It was really heartening to see youngsters like Kakuta and Sturridge give their heart and soul on the field.

The season kicked off at a really well for the Blues - both at the English Premier League and the FA Cup. At first it looked like Chelsea meant real business and wanted to clinch the title midway. Drogba was in form, so were the others. He was on a scoring spree and was BEYOND Godlike. During the December-January period, Chelsea missed some of their Pillars as they were called for their International Duties. People said that we were blunt without the lights of a Drogba or a Kalou or an Essien. But, that never did bother us. We were rollin' and scorin' and swayin' to the top.

The actual problems started in the February-March period. I would rather term that as a Drought for us. That was the time when Manchester United were at their prime and were holding on to their nerves to get to the top of the table. It all started with out loss to some sundry team. Later, it was followed by our exit from the Champions League to Inter Milan. That was it! A BIG Blow to our face.

But things started getting better after Manchester United lost to Everton in the February fixture. That was the moment when we really pulled up our socks and started climbing back to the top - deservingly!


Now that the end is nearing, I can see two trophies coming our way - though not sure.
The FA Cup and The Barclays Premier League. This is the moment I've been waiting for since the day this season was underway!

I hope we do it. I know we will. That would be time when I would proudly sing,

                           "Flying high, up in the sky,
                            We’ll keep the blue flag flying high,
                            From Stamford Bridge to Wembley
                           We’ll keep the blue flag flying high…"
                          

   Cheers. :)

To start off with... :)

Hey Friends!

Finally, I started Blogging. :D . It's what I had decided that I would be doing in my spare time. But i never used to slice out the time and ofcourse, the EFFORTS!

Well, as you know. I am a Newbie. So, you need to bear with some very-very Amateurish posts.

Keep following me. Love you lots.

Cheers! :)