Month: October 2018

Posted on

Football is intelligence in motion – Messi’s greatest Champions League hits

‘Magisterial Messi’ as Ray Hudson would say. A fortnight ago, I watched in awe as Messi took his game to stratospheric levels when Barcelona met Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League. A couple of days back it was another terrific display against Sevilla in the La Liga. Alas it lasted a mere 15 minutes. It is only befitting that I write about Messi because for the next three to four weeks my soccer world will be devoid of joy as he recovers after breaking his arm in the match against Sevilla. Messi has had performances extraordinaire in the Champions League. It is difficult to narrow it down to a few but I will give it a try. Most of them are against the English opposition. The Manchester City nutmegs and the Bayer Leverkusen 5-goal haul just missed out on my top 5. Here are some of my favorite Champions League moments when Messi has excelled:

1. Tottenham Hotspur (Oct 3, 2018) – In his previous Champions League game, Messi had scored a hat-trick against PSV Eindhoven. In this game he was a couple of steps ahead of everyone every second of the game. In the 2nd minute a gorgeous pass to Jordi Alba was followed by a goal from Coutinho with the keeper Lloris in no man’s land. Then in the 28th minute, he scooped a beautiful pass above the defender found Suarez who controlled it off his chest. Coutinho tried to smash the ball past the goalkeeper but it was saved. Coutinho kept it in and passed it to Rakitic whose wicked volley took a deflection off the post and found the net. Rakitic’s strike was superb but Messi was the one who started it all. In the beginning of the second half, Messi evaded three defenders but hit the woodwork with the goalkeeper beaten. Then a few minutes later he glided past four defenders and in a carbon copy of the previous attempt hit the woodwork again! Was it not going to be his day in terms of goals scored? Harry Kane pulled one back for Tottenham. Messi passed wide to Alba on the left who crossed it and Suarez left it for Messi. There was only going to be one result as Messi steered his shot past Lloris and accurately this time. Spurs scored again. With a few minutes left, Suarez dummied Alba’s ball and Messi had the easiest of finishes. Messi created a couple of goals with his vision, hit the woodwork twice and scored another couple of goals. Not a bad day at work!

2. Bayern Munich (May 6, 2015) – I was at my client office in San Diego and extended my lunch break to witness an amazing performance in the semi-finals. Messi was facing his former manager, Guardiola and the best goalkeeper in the world in Manuel Neuer. Neuer had prevented Messi and Argentina from scoring in the World Cup final. The Bayern defence was proving impregnable. For 77 minutes the Bayern wall stood tall. Then Messi happened. A pass from Alves and a booming left foot strike from outside the box and Neuer beaten to the near post. The resistance was broken. Then a few minutes later magic happened. Messi received the ball from Rakitic and pulled off a juke and a jive move with Boateng landing on his back. Messi then scooped the ball over Neuer and into the net. What a finish. Then in the dying minutes, Messi provided an assist to Neymar to complete the decisive win.

3. Manchester United (May 28, 2011) – It was the final of the Champions League and I was watching it at home in Orange with my friends. The stage was set for the best player in the game to shine in the biggest game of the year and he did not disappoint. Messi was running circles around the United players but it was Pedro who scored for Barcelona. Rooney equalized from a Giggs pass. Messi came close to scoring in the beginning of the second half. Then Xavi  to Iniesta to Messi and boom! Messi took a couple of steps and from about twenty yards hit a vicious shot and Van de Saar was beaten. It was a sensational strike. Then another dazzling run followed from Messi who skipped around Nani and the ball fell for Villa who curled it into the net. Barcelona were Champions of Europe again.

4. Real Madrid (Apr 27, 2011) – ‘El Clasico’ is always special but this one was extra special as it was the first leg of the semi-final of the Champions League. I was at a client in Lake Forest and excused myself from meetings and went to the break room where I was joined by another football fanatic. The game was fiesty. Pepe was shown the red. Mourinho was sent to the stands. Real were down to 10 men and Barcelona took full advantage. Messi received a cross from Afellay and steered it past Casillas and Ramos. The second one was an amazing solo goal. A quick one-two with Busquets and then Messi bisected Alonso and Lass. The commentary that followed describes the next few moves and the goal perfectly – ‘Away from 2 .. 3.. 4.. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful .. A near super natural goal from Lionel Messi.. Best player in the world bar none!’

5. Arsenal (Apr 6, 2010) – It was the second leg at home. Barcelona were behind. Then Messi decided to do it on his own. First he curled a ball from outside the box into the right hand corner of the net. Then Messi passed to Abidal whose cross got deflected off the defender and fell to Perdo. Pedro gently passed it to Messi and he used his right foot to put it past the goalkeeper. Then he completed his hat-trick before half time with a perfectly executed chip over the goalkeeper. And finally the fourth goal between the legs of the goalie. The commentator’s reaction summed it up perfectly – ‘They are trying to contain him but it is an impossible task. This man is just unstoppable!’

Words cannot do justice to the skill, the enthusiasm, the agility, the vision and the unbridled joy with which Messi has played the game over the years. His is a work of art. The football pitch is his canvas and his paintings will stand the test of time. One can only admire his talent and genius. The above games highlight how good Messi has been over the years. There have been some adversities but it would be fair to say that no one brings to the table all the qualities that Messi possesses and he does it on a consistent basis. He squeezes water from stone time and again. He has a fraction of a second to make decisions with his dribbles and runs but never ceases to amaze us. Messi indeed proves that football is intelligence in motion!

Posted on

The Beatles and after – Dear Friend

‘Dear friend, what’s the time?
Is this really the borderline?
Does it really mean so much to you?
Are you afraid, or is it true?’
      — Dear Friend (Sir Paul McCartney, Album: Wild Life)

Friendship is a beautiful thing. The meaning of friendship is subject to interpretation. In some cases it could be unconditional loyalty while in other cases it could just be a close association. The nature of friendship is perceived differently by different people. As in a relationship, the word ‘friendship’ could have varying degrees of significance. When two individuals are extremely close, sometimes feelings get hurt. Even a trivial issue between friends can get blown out of proportion and that requires some healing. When communication breaks down, it takes a long time for the relationship to thaw. Someone has to take the first step.

One of my favorite post-Beatles songs is ‘Dear Friend’. The world perceives it as an olive branch extended by Paul McCartney to John Lennon. It was turbulent times in their relationship post the breakup of the Beatles. The friendship between the two individuals who comprised the greatest songwriting partnership of all time seemed to be at a precipice. Lennon took umbrage to McCartney’s ‘Too Many People’ and responded with ‘How Do You Sleep?’. Two young Liverpool lads who were 17 (Lennon) and 15 (McCartney) when they met and who had lived most of their adult lives in each other’s company writing songs ‘eyeball to eyeball’ were at daggers drawn. Someone had to make the move and get the bitterness out. What better way to do it than with a melodious tune and with beautiful lyrics. There could have been only one possible way. Indeed McCartney surpassed even himself!

‘Dear Friend’ is much more than a song. It epitomizes Paul’s feelings towards John. He clearly seeks reconciliation and wants to bury the hatchet. It is emotional and sad but hopeful. In some ways it characterizes helplessness since it takes two to tango. This was McCartney’s open letter to Lennon – a pleading of sorts. The master musician that he was, McCartney left no stone unturned in creating a masterpiece. The lyrics are simple but convey a world of meaning. I personally attach a lot of significance to this song. There are times when I am feeling a bit down after an argument with a friend. ‘Dear Friend’ is so uplifting that more often than not I have picked up my phone and called up the friend and apologized after listening to the song. It has always resulted in better sleep to answer Lennon’s question.

‘Dear Friend’ has a healing effect. This is another life lesson expressed beautifully through a song by one of the Beatles. The next time when you feel that a friendship is about to breakup, please listen to the song and think about the following lines and hopefully the situation will improve –

‘Does it really mean so much to you?
Are you afraid, or is it true?’

                                                                                    

Disclaimer: I am just a huge Beatles, McCartney and Lennon fan and do not own any of the copyrights to the names of the albums, songs or the lyrics mentioned in the post. This post just expresses my love for The Beatles and my experiences.

Posted on

The Beatles and after – Here, There and Everywhere

The world has not seen a phenomenon like The Beatles. So much has been written and every song has been analyzed in depth umpteen times that there is not much left to be discussed. Yet there is a lot to write from my personal experiences and how the greatest group ever assembled has influenced my life. Beatlemania was something that did not come naturally to me since I grew up on Bollywood (Hindi) music. A colleague of mine handed me the CD of ‘1’. I primarily listened to the album because I wanted to hear the original version of a popular Hindi tune. The song was ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’. I loved it but was even more impressed with ‘Yesterday’. Those 27 songs were all impressive but I had a predilection for McCartney’s songs more than Lennon’s. One can’t go wrong with either and in future posts I will mention the songs of Lennon and Harrison that have left me yearning for more and some from their post-Beatles work. At that time it was all Sir Paul McCartney and I would mostly listen to ‘Yesterday’, ‘Eleanor Rigby’, ‘Penny Lane’, ‘Lady Madonna’, ‘Hey Jude’, ‘Let It Be’ and ‘The Long and Winding Road’.

Fast forward another 8 years. A friend played an amazing tune on the guitar and asked me to identify the tune. I was stumped. At different times one likes to listen to different songs but this tune was different. This seemed eternal. Of course I did not know the answer. The song was ‘Here, There and Everywhere’. Since then I have had a few laptops and a few smartphones and the first song that I always play on any new device is ‘Here, There and Everywhere’. Such is my obsession with the song. I personally find it flawless. My friend lent me a few CDs without the names of the songs and asked me to identify each tune. I spent nights listening to the CDs and identifying each song. This was followed by months on Wikipedia, YouTube, discussion forums, understanding what a concept album is and listening to songs in the correct order. Thus began a journey into the magical world of The Beatles. My friend had indeed created a Beatles-loving monster and that one tune changed my world.

The song ‘Here, There and Everwhere’ credited to Lennon-McCartney was penned by Sir Paul McCartney and appears on the ‘Revolver’ album which was released in 1966. The chord progressions are mind-blowing. When I listened to it for the first time, I felt that it was a bit slow but a beautiful ballad. By the time McCartney utters the line ‘And if she is beside me I know I need never care’, one is madly in love with the song. As with a number of other Beatles’ songs, this one was on repeat for hours. It was not only my ears but I also felt an instant connection with the song in every possible way. The tune is amazing and complete and would in itself qualify as a work of genius. The lyrics are equally brilliant and rendered in pitch perfect style by McCartney with backing vocals from Lennon and Harrison. Over the years I must have listened to the song at least a few thousand times. Every time I discover something new and this mini-journey has not yet reached its destination and probably never will.

There have been lots of cover versions of the song and instrumental ones too. I love Giovanni Marradi’s piano interpretation, Celine Dion’s rendition and a few other versions. An instrumental version was also featured in ‘Friends’ (TV series) for Phoebe’s wedding. I still think nothing can match the original. I always feel that there is an inflection point when one follows a particular artist or sportsperson. This tune proved to be the inflection point for me as far as my love for The Beatles and the post-Beatles work is concerned. As much as I loved the songs on the ‘1’ album, the song ‘Here, There and Everywhere’ is the reason behind my lunatic obsession with The Beatles. I am forever indebted to my friend for introducing me to this ‘perfect’ song. The Beatles have been a constant companion on those long, lonely nights when I have been working really hard to meet a deadline. My only regret is that this was not part of Sir Paul McCartney’s setlist when I attended his concert at Dodgers Stadium in 2014. Regardless, this song lives within me here, there and everywhere!

 

Disclaimer: I am just a huge Beatles fan and do not own any of the copyrights to the names of the albums, songs or the lyrics mentioned in the post. This post just expresses my love for The Beatles  and my experiences.