@rgumental @dvisor

This was actually my second trip to Doha. The first was during the time when Qatar won the bid to host the World Cup 2022 back in 2010 . I still remember the cacophony of Vuvuzelas (made famous during the 2010  WC in South Africa) when the bid result was announced back then . I had wished back then that I could come back to see the tournament in 2022.  Two World Cups and 12 years later, we made it.  Back in 2010 in Doha, Messi had scored to win an exhibition match between Brazil and Argentina. Fitting to that, the cup went to Argentina after a thrilling final. We went to see a pre-quarter match between Portugal & Switzerland.  The match was a goal fest, the festive atmosphere at Lusail was indeed an experience.  The fact that World Cup was in Middle East also gave a good opportunity for lot of Indians to see it.  We stayed at hotel Radisson Blu , where Japanese football team also stayed Much has been written about World Cup in different contexts. I choo...

So, yet again Netherlands lost it near to the cup.  This time it was Semi-final..  It wasn't the most magnificent team.. Infact, it was a pale shadow of 2010 team which convincingly beat Brazil , Uruguay and many others before losing to Spain.. Yes Robben is a diver.. Yes RVP was largely absent minded..  But there is something special about the Dutch team that makes me sit glued to the TV every time they take the field.. And they have rarely disappointed me after I started following them from 1994 WC.     Maybe, its the ability put up a strong fight, maybe its pace of their players starting from Overmars to Robben.. Maybe the forwards like BergKamp to RVP,  or maybe it is the rock solid defensive players like Jap Stam to the unlucky Ron Vlaar..  Or maybe it is the ability to lineup young talents one after other from Ajax & Feynoord football schools... Or may be, even the legacy of Cruyff , Van Basten & Gullit.. Yet again, they will be a...

Its almost a day since the announcement came..Still the vuvuzelas are going on and on over here in Qatar..  An event thats going to happen after 12 years means that much for the common man here.. Football has a greater purpose than being just a game.. If you look across the world, you would not find anything else that unites people more than soccer.. Cutting across religion, politics and races, soccer is perhaps the greatest unifying spirit of mankind.. By taking World Cup into unchartered territories like Russia & Qatar, Fifa has done the right thing-- bring more people under this unifying force.. Its a beautiful time to be in Qatar... Its much more than just hosting a tournament.. Its about bringing unprecedented development & world-wide visibility to the Middle East.. Its about bringing together a region that has been ravaged by conflicts for quite long.. Its about unifying people..I hope I can come back here in 2022 to see some matches :)

I know it is a bit early..but couldn’t help. My soccer craze is sort of biennial .. Whenever World cup or Euro is round the corner, I dig up enough soccer material from net to add to the already esoteric collection of interests.. Euro-08, the once in four year soccer championship among European Nations will kick off in Austria & Switzerland coming June. So, this post is about soccer :) ( My “Ideal match” column in orkut profile has been reflecting the Euro – 08 interest ever since the tournament draw has been published :)) After having lived in a soccer-crazy engineering college campus where television broadcasts of non-descript matches in EPL & Italian League draw more attendance than lecture sessions, I’d say, club soccer has failed to captivate my interest. My knowledge in club soccer is largely superficial. I give a miss to even the champions league matches where perhaps the best individual soccer talents in the planet are showcased.. But, I’ve rarely missed...