GOALDEN TIMES 0 December, 2011 1 GOALDEN TIMES Declaration: The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors of the respective articles and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Goalden Times. All the logos and symbols of teams are the respective trademarks of the teams and national federations. The images are the sole property of the owners. However none of the materials published here can fully or partially be used without prior written permission from Goalden Times. If anyone finds any of the contents objectionable for any reasons, do reach out to us at [email protected]. We shall take necessary actions accordingly. Cover Illustration: Neena Majumdar & Srinwantu Dey Logo Design: Avik Kumar Maitra Design and Concepts: Tulika Das Website: www.goaldentimes.org Email: [email protected] Facebook: Goalden Times http://www.facebook.com/pages/GOALden-Times/160385524032953 Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/goaldentimes December, 2011 GOALDEN TIMES 2 GT December 2011 Team P.S. Special Thanks to Tulika Das for her contribution in the Compile&Publish Process December, 2011 3 GOALDEN TIMES | Edition V | First Whistle …………5 Goalden Times is all set for the New Year Euro 2012 Group Preview …………7 Building up towards EURO 2012 in Poland-Ukraine, we review one group at a time, starting with Group A. Is the easiest group really 'easy'? ‘Glory’ – We, the Hunters …………18 The internet-based football forums treat them as pests. But does a glory hunter really have anything to be ashamed of? Hengul Dutta finds out Leadership Lessons – The Football Way …………22 B-school jargons were well guarded and were difficult to comprehend until Deepanjan Deb struck a chord with our passion Best XI …………31 This month we come up with a team of our own making, with its members belonging to ‘A League of Their Own’ December, 2011 GOALDEN TIMES 4 O Captain! My Captain! …………47 Kinshuk Biswas pays tribute to two of his childhood heroes, celebrating their lives instead of mourning their deaths Maximus Tacticus – Arsenal …………53 After Chelsea, we turn our focus to their North London rivals This Month That Year …………60 This month in Football History Paradise Lost in the Blue Side of Mersey …………68 It is difficult to distinguish an extinct volcano from a dormant one. Krishnendu Sanyal is up to the task Of Champions and Also-Rans …………75 Is the UEFA coefficient too mechanical for lovers of the game? Could there be a more entertaining way to crown the champion of champions? Subhashis Biswas looks for answers Scouting Network – Emmanuel Mbola …………84 A regular feature on an upcoming talent The Limping Major and the Comeback Kings …………86 In our Retrospective feature, Kinshuk Biswas revisits 1954 FIFA World Cup Triviela: Beyond Trivia …………100 Trivia, and then some... December, 2011 5 GOALDEN TIMES First Whistle We’ve all played out a rather eventful year - personally, professionally, on the field and off it. But the only constant was the ‘soccer syndrome’ that consumed us, irrespective of our other commitments. So much so, that we decided to manifest our passion and fanaticism a tad productively through Goalden Times, back in August. Little did we know the fruits of labour would be so rewarding. Four editions and a few trials on, we’re proud to see our baby find its footing, albeit virtually. Minor hurdles and challenges can never ebb the passion that drives us to present an improved GT for you every month - just like one loss can’t dampen the spirits of a football team. We take our management lessons from football, afterall. Here’s presenting the football news for the last time this year, in the same fever pitch. The Euro 2012 draws were held a couple of weeks back. What ensues between the participating groups can only be a delectable conjecture for us all. The top European leagues, on the other hand, are gearing up for holiday matches; it’s testing times for the squads and their might. For now, Manchester City and Real Madrid are holding on to their top positions in Premier League and La Liga respectively. AC Milan, Udinese, Juventus and Lazio keenly contest for the pole position in Serie A. Indian football is also on a rare high after winning the SAFF Cup. We eagerly await our new Ballon d'Or, to be announced early next year. While we hunt for glory, don’t miss all the speculations on the impending winter transfers. In other stories, while Carlos Tevez refuses to play for Manchester City as he ‘doesn't feel up to it’, Doncaster captain Billy Sharp - a minnow compared to Tevez, in terms of stature and salary - was on the pitch just two days after the tragic loss of his two-day old son and scored a 'goal from heaven' as a December, 2011 GOALDEN TIMES 6 tribute to his late son. As Bill Shankly famously said, football is more important than life and death. We pay our tribute to two legendary captains: Socrates - the Brazilian with languid skills and handsome grace and Gary Speed - the Leeds attacking midfielder. More than footballers, they were both great ‘football men’. Come join us in celebrating our little personal victories as the teams rejoice theirs on the field. As 2011 draws to a close, we would like to greet all our well-wishers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May you achieve your goals! Follow football, follow us! December, 2011 7 GOALDEN TIMES Group Preview The draw for the Euro championships for the Henri Delaunay trophy was held at the Ukraine Palace of Arts, in Kiev on 2nd December 2011. The draw was important as there were two host nations of Poland and Ukraine who were seeded with the top two teams in the continent based on FIFA rankings. This meant that a lot of powerful teams like Germany, Italy, France, Portugal and England would not be seeded. There were four pots used in to draw. The first pot had the seeded teams and the other pots had teams based on their FIFA ranking and recent performances. The rankings were based on: 40% of the average ranking points per game earned in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying stage. 40% of the average ranking points per game earned in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying stage and final tournament. 20% of the average ranking points per game earned in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying stage and final tournament. ** December, 2011 GOALDEN TIMES 8 Incidentally both the hosts were the lowest ranked teams amongst the 16 qualifiers. A similar situation had occurred during Euro 2008 as well when the hosts were Austria and Switzerland. It was decided that Poland and Ukraine would be placed as team A1 and D1 in groups A and D respectively. The draw featured four former Euro Champions drawing from the different pots - Horst Hrubesch of Germany, Marco Van Basten of Netherlands, Peter Schmeichel of Denmark and Zinadine Zidane. The Final Groups After the Draw December, 2011 9 GOALDEN TIMES Following the draw, we find some very interesting groups a lot of matches in group stages which could have been the final of the tournament. We, at Goalden Times, in the build-up to the tournament shall preview each group in detail in the following months. The preview begins with Group A. Group A This group has been termed by the media as the easiest group. It has none of the so-called superpowers of European football. This does not imply that qualifying to the quarter finals will be easy. In fact, with the absence of a single big team all four teams will harbour ambitions of progression from this group. Even in this not-so-strong group, we have three former European champions in Greece who won in 2004; Russia who were champions in the inaugural tournament in 1960 as Soviet Union and Czech Republic champions of 1976 as Czechoslovakia. Greece and Russia have been drawn in the same group for the third Euro in succession. In fact they played out a 1-1 draw in a friendly match last month. Russia Resume: Champions 1960. Runners Up - 1964, 1972 and 1988. Semi Finals - 1968 and 2008. Road to the finals: Qualifying Group B Winner. P-10 W-7 D-2 L-1 GF-17 GA-4 GD-+13 The highest ranked team in the group, Russia will be pleased with the draw. Coached by the Dutchman Dick Advocaat, Russians will be a difficult opponent. They had a good qualifying campaign topping their group ahead of Republic of Ireland. They had a shock loss to Slovakia early in qualifying at home and struggled to score goals early in the campaign. The away match against Republic of Ireland at Dublin was the turning point as the Russians won 3-2 in a very difficult match. After that, the campaign was smooth and they qualified with an emphatic 6-0 victory against Andorra at home. Russians are playing all matches in Poland; they would have preferred to have played in Ukraine with a large Russian population for support. The first match against Czech Republic will be crucial. The Czechs will have more support as Wroclaw is nearer to their country. The last time the two sides met in a similar stage was in Euro 1996 in a memorable match where the Czechs came back from 1-3 down to force a dramatic tie 3-3 with a late goal from Vladimir Smicer, to oust Italy from the tournament. December, 2011 GOALDEN TIMES 10 The Russian team under Advocaat plays mainly with two formations 4-3-3 against weaker opposition or at home and 4-4-1-1 when playing stronger teams or away from home.