Sportif

The Need for Speed....

Rs.50December 14

FIFA ‘ 14HIGHLIGHTSThe Cover Story

WILL BEMISSED

The funeral of Phil Huges

Champions Tennis League 14

Editor’s Diary

Managing DirectorEditor-in-ChiefEditorial TeanCopy Editor

WriterDesign

Marketing

Priyadharshini.K

For Advertising ContactPriya Media Pvt Ltd.,

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2014 It came and it went.And it had bth good and bad in it. Now we are cured with all our predic-tions for the next year. Moving on to 2015, we will glance at the great happenings of this year, a Cover focus on the highlights of the FIFA worldcup 2014, a remarkable event this year.I would also like to draw your attention on CTL(Champions Tennis League) and some ways to devolop indian football.Looking back 2014... And before i sign off.A quick prediction of my own: We will continue to be your best buddy this year too. To our friendship..... Priyadharshini.K

A multitude of stars participated in the inaugural edition of the CTL and for the thrilled fans, the results did not matter. But whether the event will be a commercial success, and become a regular feature at the end of the usually hectic ATP and WTA season, remains to be seen

December 2014CONTENTS

5

10WILL BE MISSED

Cricketers from all over the world have bounced back from several con-troversies and setbacks quickly enough in the past, but getting over the tragic death of Phil Hughes will take quite a while.

5

10 FIFA HIGHLIGHTS 14Event Highlights of FIFA World Cup 2014

19AS KEEN AS THEY COMEAn conversation with Sticker James Keene

23 A POSITIVE START

The Need for Speed

5 | SPORTIF | December 14

Just as the fans were waiting in anticipation to witness the high voltage Test series between India and Australia,

destiny dealt a cruel blow a few days before the first Test, when Phil Hughes succumbed to a head injury sustained in a Sheffield Shield game. The combative batsman was on the verge of making a come-back to international cricket, but his demise left the entire cricketing World in a state of shock. Obvi-ously an incident on a cricket field that leads to a cricketer’s death will leave one and all stunned and numb for quite sometime.It was only understandable that cricketers in Australia wanted to stay away from the game for a while. Hence, it was not surprising that the decision to postpone the scheduled first Test at the Gabba received all round support.

For those who shared the dressing room with Phil Hughes, he was a superb man to be with and a very talented cricketer, who had a lot left to achieve. Time might heal the wounds of fellow cricketers but like every one else my heart goes out to the other members of Hughes’ family. The loss of a dear one under normal circumstances and in natural ways is hard enough to withstand, but losing a family member at 25 and under extremely unfortunate circumstances will be too much to bear for anyone. How devastating and heartless can life be at times?That is the question that Sean Ab-bott must be asking as he must be going through a harrowing time. All he did was to use a weapon that fast bowlers have been using for ages and no one can fault him for that. However, it will be very dif-ficult to convince him along those

those lines, as the end result was too tragic. Cricket like to play the game hard but at no time a sports-man will imagine events to pan out as it did that fateful Tuesday. Cricket Australia has done the right thing to provide counselling ser-vices to Abbott immediately after the event. However, it will be an extremely trying period for him, despite all the help extended to him.Cricket Australia and the BCCI have to be lauded for the support they extended to the Hughes fam-ily throughout this crisis. In an era where the commercial angle tends to overlap all other aspects, both the governing bodies have dis-played a high degree of sensitivity. The Test series will get underway later than scheduled but the com-bative flavour may come forth in a different dimension on the field. Fast bowlers around the world

Cricketers from all over the world have bounced back from several controversies and setbacks quickly enough in the past, but getting

over the tragic death of Phil Hughes will take quite a while.

world will see things differently when it comes to delivering bounc-ers. Batsmen, too, may feel their sense of security declining a touch.One can only hope that the series turns out to be an absorbing one as it will be the best way to pay tribute to a combative cricketer like Phil Hughes. I am sure the Aus-tralians would want to ensure that they pay a fitting tribute to their former mate, but a certain amount of awkwardness is bound to be there, at least at the start of the series. The members of Team India would be equally shocked as many of them knew Hughes personally and have played with and against him in the IPL. Both the teams will hopefully find their bearings during the latter part of the series, overcoming this disturbing phase. Cricketers from all over the world have bounced back from several controversies and setbacks quickly enough in the past, but getting over the tragic death of Phil Hughes will take quite a while. Rest in peace Hughesy, you will be missed.


32 days, 32 teams, 64 games, 12 venues, 171 goals and 10 red cards later, it all cumilated as one grand finale at the Maracana Stadium.

HIGHLIGHTS

The World Cup 2014 was a bundle of suprises,starting with a Ney-mar inspiered win for the hosts in their opening game against Croatia,Netherlands dismantling the mighty Spanish side,Costa Rica suprising one and all by beating heavyweights Italy and England in group of death,weaker teams like Chile,Coumbia,USA and Mexico shining on the big stage and a fitting closing chapter as Germany and Argentina faced off in finals. Here’s a recap on some

of the best moments of the tournament

GERMANYCHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD

Some of us might reset Ger-many’s success,but there is no denying that the team was one well-oiled machine.As a team,Germany was never overly dependent on one player and they had outstanding qualities-well organized,co-ordinated,Spirited,athletic.aggresive,creative and ruth-less too,The 2014 class of Die Nationalmannschaft who came in with huge expecta-tion did not disappoint.Ger-many impressed fans through-out the tournament,stating with the much anticipated match against portugal at the begining,overthrowing the latter by4-0.Thier tough-est opponents were the two African nations,Ghana and Algeria;while Ghana eked out a draw,Algeria faced a hertbreak-ing loss in extra tine.The match that is bound not to be forgotten by most of us anytime soon is the Germans’ decimation of the hosts, in a clinical and mesmer-izing fashion.At half time they were up by 5-0 and to make matters worst defeat by defeat-ing them by 7-1.During the finals,it looked like the winner

would be decided via a penalty shoot-out but the Germans had other ideas.Gotze chested down a precise cross from Schurrle and volleyed the Ger-man made Brazuca into the far sfar side of the net past Romero. While Messi cut a for-lorn figure, the Germans defended their one goal lead and erupted in celebration once the final whistle was blown. The germans lifted their fourth World Cup after 24 years.

Germany’s forward Mario Goetze celebrates with teammates after scoaring during the finals at The Maracana Stadium at Rio de Jenario; an ecstatic German team after this victory over Argentina


QUATER FINALS SEMI FINALS FINALS

Germanybeats

France

1-0

Germanybeats Brazil

7-1

Germanybeats

Argentins

1-0

SWANG SONG

while some players like MiroslavKlose and Philip Lahm managed to finish their international careerson an absolute high,there were other football heroes who might regret their final appearences in retrospect.Veteran golies Iker Casillasand GigiBuffon,the mastero and playmaker Andre Pirlo,English stalwarts Steven Gerrad and Frank Lampard,Mexican captain Rafael Marquez,Aussie legend Tim Cahill and the fulcrums of spain David Villa and Xavi won’t bearound-next time. While Iker and Xavi din’t even get the satisfaction of playing in Spain’s final group stage game,Stevie G’s age was evident on the field and injuries seemed to have finally caught up with Buffon. An eclastic and ac-complished list of players who gave us numerous moments will defenitely be missed at the 2018 World Cup.

MOMENTS OF MADNESS

Every World Cup has atleast one ballistic player who loses his mind for a split second,costing theirteam an-irreconcilable loss.This year the hon-our for the craziest stunt went to uru-guay’s Luiz Suarez.While facing Italy in their must-win groupgame,Suarez bit Giorgeo Chiellini on the shoulder-inside the box.While lucky to get away with the offence during the match,his bizarredefence of having ‘lost his balance’ with his teammates rushng to his defence with varios excuse was rather amusing.The review by FIFA after the match earned him a lengthy ban and cost his side adversly.Other culprits who were shown red are pepe who head butted Mueller and Alex song who Punched Mandzukicon his back.Boateng and Muntari let their teams down as they were sent back homemid tournament

SHINING STARS

There were few players who brought their A game and im-pressed one and all during the course of the tournament.Rodri-gez walked away with the Golden boot honours while Muller scored the first hatrick of the tourna-ment.Other players living up to their pre-tournament billing were Lionel Messi who almost won the elusive trophy from his col-lections but fell short at the final hurdle.Robben with his great work ethic and speed, managed to help Netherlands clinch the third place.Benzema was on target early in the tournament and was crucial cog in the french attack.Despite this edi-tion of the World Cup being a goal scoring feast with 171 goals,there were number of goal keepers who shone-Ochao(Mexico) became a


People around the world felt goosebumps every time Brazil took to the field

Stephen Gerrad

& Andrea Piralo

massive fan favor-ite, Howard (USA) around whom infinite internet memes were created after his bril-liant saves , Naves (Chile) and Enyeama (Nigeria) the final goalis to concede a goal during the group stages . Teams that were impressive includes Costa Rica who not only got out of the group of death but topped the group. Chile, Columbia, Algeria, Mexico and USA also wowed people with their styles of football.

FLOP SHOWS

A bulk of portugal’s hopes rested on the shoulders of cristino Ronaldo who had to try and recover from a keen injury in time for the World Cup but hishampered moment and lack of pace clarly showed throughout the game. without a fully fit Ronaldo , an already weak Portugal squad looked toothless . English fans were disappointed with Leighton Baines , Wayne Rooney and mostly, captain Steve Gerrad .Brazil was let down by the likes of David Luiz and Fred, while stars like Aguero and Balotelli who normally shine in the leagues barely created an impact . The big-gest disappoinment had to be the spanish team with the fall of theier timeless star-Casillas, Pique, Ramos and Alonsa. Belgium came in to the tournament as dark horse but failed to capitalise their reputation.

The vanishing foam was a welcome addiction to the World Cup; The biode-gradable foam vanished a minute after spraying and was used the very first game between Brazil and Coratia

WELCOME CHANGES

Traditionalist may not have been too pleased with the changes implemented at this World Cup, but football fans had something new to look forward to, as FIFA intro-duced three new rules to spice up the game further-the long overdue goal line technology, vanishing foam that was sprayed before a free kcik and the cooling break which also acted as a strategy break. FIFA seemed over eager to use their goal line technology and there were instances were replays of clear cut goals and non-goals were showed on yhe big screen. It did come in handy when France faced Hondu-ras ans Karim Benzema was the first player whose goal was con-firmed by goal-line technology. The vanishing foam was a welcome ad-dition to the World Cup; the soght of the refree spraying a thin white line in front of the players to make sure that they stay in check dur-ing free Kicks was very enjoyable.The biodegradable foam vanished a minute after spraying and was used in the first game betweeb Brazil an Cortia. Cooling breaks due to ex-cessive heat were also implemented during this World Cup during Mexico vs Netherlands. Though this was a primarily meant to help players to cooldown, the Dutch made some tactical changes

GOALSWe’d like

to see

again!

1 JAMES RODRIGUEZColumbia vs Uruguay25 yards from the goal,Rodriguez

collected a header on his chest, adjusted in a spilt second and unleashed a stunning left foot volley on the turn that flew past an outstretched Muslera. In that very moment, a new star was born. The moment of bril-liance by the 22-yr old was hailed as one of the greatest goals of this WorldCup due to his presence of mind,awareness,excellent control and precision

2 ROBIN VAN PERISENetherland vs Spain

Robin Van Persie struck the first wonder goal of the 2014 WprldCup Trailing 1-0 to Spain with a few minutes left for haif time, Daley Blind swung a perfect area. Van Persie tracked it down to perfection,timed his diving header with razor precision and lobber the ball past Iker Casillas who was rooted to the spot. The equalizer gave the Dutch team a new lease of life and saw them beating Spain to 5-1.

3 TIM CAHILLAustralia v Nether-lands

Austalia was the clear underdog in group B and expectations surrounding the team were minimal yet veteran stiker Tim Ca-hill gave the soccer fans something to cheer about. With a perfect cross from Ryan McGowan, the 34 year old scored a thunder-boltof a goal with a fierce volley against the Dutch side. Hiting the under sidde of the crossbar, the ball landed inside the net.

IT LIST171TOTALGOALS

2TOTAL

HATRICKS14

TOTALBRACES

13TOTAL

PEALITIES

27GOALS PER

MATCH

10TOTAL

RED CARDS

188TOTAL

YELLOWCARDS

TOP ASSISTTONI KROOS

(Germany)JUAN

CUADRADO(Columbia)

TOP RUNNERTHOMASMUELLER(Germany)

TOP SAVESMANUELNEUER

(Germany)

4157 BEST PASSING SIDE

111 BEST ATTACKING SIDE

67 BEST DEFENDING SIDE


FIRST GOALMarcelo(OG)(Brazil)

FIRST YELLOW CARDNeymar Jr (Brazil)

FIRST RED CARDMaxi pereira(Uruguay)

FIRST HATTRICKThomas Mueller(Germany)

FIRST PENALTYNeymar Jr(Brazil)

FIRST TEAM TO ADVANCE TO ROUND 16 Netherlands

FASTEST 2014 WORLD CUP GOALClient Dempsey(USA-29 Seconds)

FIRST DRAWIran Vs Nigeria

FIRST TEAM KNOCK OUTSpain & Australia

50TH WORLD CUP GOAL Arjen Robben(Netherlands)

100TH WORLD CUP GOAL Neymar Jr (Brazil)

150TH WORLD CUP GOALAbdelmoumene Djabou(Algeria)

WINNERSCIRCLE

WORLD CUPCHAMPIONGERMANY

GOLDEN BOOTJAMES RODRIGUEZ(Columbia)

GOLDEN BALLLIONEL MESSI(Argentina)

GOLDEN GLOVEMANUEL NEUER(Germany)

YOUNG PLAYERPAUL POGBA(France)

FAIR PLAYCOLUMBIA

HIGH GOALSCORING TEAM

GERMANY18

TOP GOAL SCORERS

James RodriguezColumbia

LionelMessi

Argentina

Neymar JrRobinVan Persie

Netherlands Brazil

An Conversation with Sticker James Keene

James Keene hasn’t made a big impact (till the time of writing) in NorthEast United FC’s campaign in the Hero

Indian Super League. And the team’s coach Ricki Herbert’s admit-ted as much. But in NorthEast’s away match against Chennaiyin FC, the 28-year-old English striker showed a glimpse of what he is ca-pable of. A wonderful headed pass from him enabled India’s Seiminlen Doungel to score his first goal in the Indian Super League. “He is

is one of the most important mem-bers of the team. We hope he’ll find the back of the net soon,” said Herbert.

Keene made his debut for Ports-mouth in the English Premier League in 2005 as a striker under the famous English manager Harry Redknapp after being trained in the club’s Youth Academy. He was plying his trade for Swedish club IF Elfsborg for the last six years before coming to India.


I think for Indian football to improve, the players need to start training at a younger age with bet-ter facilities. If they learn their ba-sics on a

pitch which is good, I think the story will be completely different.

He is enjoying his stint in the ISL, and is sure that the League will have a bright future. “Well the first season has been great. I feel lucky to be a part of the inaugural season of the ISL. In the years to come this League will definitely attract more talent domestically and inter-nationally as well,” he says in this exclusive interview.

How has been the visit to India ?

: It has been a great experience, to meet so many new people and make new friends from so many nations. I am also learning a new culture and getting the opportunity to see different parts of India dur-ing the course of the tournament. It is simply amazing. We’ve been looked after very well on and off the field, so we have absolutely no complaints!

How has it been playing for North-East United?

Like I said it has been a wonder-ful experience so far, being part of an initiative that is trying to take football forward. I think the League has started off on a very positive note with regard to promoting the game. The Indian players and our management have all made the extra effort to make this experience a memorable one.

Tell us about your debut under Harry Redknapp in the English Premier League…

It is every footballer’s dream to play in the English Premier League. It was an amazing experi-ence to play for Portsmouth then as there were so many great players at the club.

. “He is one of the most important members of the

team. We hope he’ll find the back of the

net soon,”-Henry

The experience of teaming up with Joan Capdevilla in NorthEast United…

Joan is a very senior football play-er. I think having him and Miguel Garcia made our defence rock solid. These players have given a lot of inspiration, guidance and good advice to our young players, which have helped them a lot.

You have played in Swedenfor a long time (nearly seven years). Tell us about that…

Even though the Swedish league is not the same as EPL, the standards are quite good. While I was with IF Elfsborg, I have played in the UEFA Champions League quali-fiers and the Europa League Group stages for six years. We did really well and beat top European teams like Napoli, Lazio and Braga. The facilities in Sweden are really fantastic and they are very profes-sional administrators.

What made you to opt for North-East United?

The ISL was a new challenge and as it sounded novel and promising, I decided to take it up. The North-East United FC is the youngest team in the ISL. We’ve got some very good Indian players with good hearts and a passion for football. I have been very excited to be a part of this club and this League and until today, I can say my decision has been a good one!

On working with chief coach Ricki Herbert in India…

Both Ricki and Lee Taylor (NEUFC’s high performance man-ager) have been fantastic coaches. I think they hav tanken care of us and trained us well. I feel privilaged to be a part of a such a talented team.

On interacting with Indian play-ers…

They are actually very, very good, physically strong and fit. There is a lot of energy and skill and they will only get better and better with all these European coaches com-ing here to train this young talent. Indian football needs to start at the grass-root level. My suggestion to them would be to train hard and to watch a lot of international gameslike the EPL and Bundesliga, the German league. They can then learn from the best players in the world. They can train, watch and learn and understand the game. Also the movement of players, team techniques and individual player tactics and then taking all this in they should try and incorpo-rate the same into their game.

Who has been your inspiration as far as football is concerned?

Alan Shearer. He is a true striker, a typical goal-scorer and works re-ally hard to score fantastic goals.


A PositiveStart

There were many stars and there was no dearth of entertainmentBut, it was not the top stars who provided the energetic entertainment. It was Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus — a wild card entrant into the

event — who powered Pune Marathas to the title, and was declared the “Most Valuable Player”. Saketh Myneni was adjudged the “Best Indian Player”.For the fans, at least for most of the people, the results did not matter and very few stretched their vocal chords even as Delhi Dreams, the home team, played the final.Whether the event will be a commercial success, and become a regular feature at the end of the usually hectic ATP and WTA season, remains to be seen.The 10-day league featured the likes of Venus Williams, Martina Hingis, Jelena Jankovic, Sergi Bru-guera, Pat Cash, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Greg Rusedski, Tommy Robredo, Mark Philippoussis, Mikhail Youzhny, Thomas Enqvist, Feliciano Lopez, Kevin Anderson, Agnieszka Radwanska, Garbine Mugu-ruza, Alize Cornet apart from Indian stars, Leander Paes and Somdev Devvarman.Vijay Amritraj, the visionary behind the endeavour, wants CLT to benefit Indian tennis, and hence a leading Indian men’s player was part of each of the six teams. A few talented young Indian girls and boys also made it to the squads angained valuable exposure. Many matches went to the wire, giving the fans a lot to cheer for.


The withdrawal of David Fer-rer and a foot injury to Rusedski, after the first match, weakened the Punjab side but it did well to beat a strong Delhi contingent by a big margin in Chandigarh. Leander Paes was sporting enough to com-pete in three rubbers for Punjab — the legends single, the mixed doubles and the men’s doubles. But the burden was perhaps a little too much for the 41-year-old Indian.Amritraj, rightly, said that in the future, it was important to keep a couple of players holidaying in Goa, ready to jump into action if required.“A success can be copied,” said Pat Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon cham-pion, who conceded that the league had a lot of “great elements.” The legends will be willing to come to India and compete, but it will be a challenge for Amritraj to convince players from the top-25 in the world to extend their season even further.Maharashtra already has a Premier Tennis League and multiple Grand Slam-champion Mahesh Bhu-pathi’s International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) has also rolled on in Asia, with top stars like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.Unlike these two leagues, which have worked well to make the event vibrant — with coloured clothing and nice branding — the CTL had only the name of the city written on the shirt of the players. Overall, the league looked to have financial constraints and the fran-chise owners, with rare exceptions, were not willing to go the extra

mile and involve the public.Very few tickets were sold. The crowds thronged in as the organisers al-lowed free entry. The announcement for it, however, was not made public, keeping in mind the hand-ful of paid spectators, who had actually bought daily tickets that were priced at Rs.600, Rs.1000 and Rs.2000.Amritraj conceded that the first year was a challenge and the franchisees can expect returns by the third edition. On his part, he did a fantastic job in selling the television rights across Asia and the USA. Com-mendably, he was able to convince the stars to come to India and see the country through his eyes.The players were happy too, overwhelmed by the warmth of the hospitality. Amritraj, correctly, was generous in his praise and said the players did a lot more than what they were expected to — both on and off the court.With Chennai pulling out in the last minute and paving the way for Hyderabad, and lingering doubts over Mumbai till the end, the CTL did go through birth pangs, before delivering a beautiful package.Former doubles stars Mark Woodforde and Luke Jensen were flown in from Australia and the USA for commentary duties, giving the event a professional edge. However, the fans at the venues were left cold at night, initially even without any basic information about the rules of the competition. The matches often dragged passed midnight, leaving the fans anxious to reach the warmth of their homes.But still, overall, it was a lively affair and with a bit of tuning — possibly introducing Indian women players — and ensuring better returns for the franchise owners the Champions Tennis League can be a win-win affair for everyone But still, overall, it was a lively affair and with a bit of tuning — possibly introducing Indian women players — and ensuring better returns for the franchise owners the Champi-ons Tennis League can be a win-win affair for everyone

FINAL RESULTS: PUNE MARATHAS BEAT DELHI DREAMS 27-23 - PAT CASH LOST TO JUAN CARLOS FERRERO 3-6; AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA AND MARCOS BAGHDATIS BEAT JELENA JANKOVIC AND SANAM SINGH 6-5 (3); AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA BEAT JELENA JANKOVIC 6-4; MARCOS BAGHDATIS AND SAKETH MYNENI BEAT KEVIN ANDERSON AND SANAM SINGH 6-5 (2); MARCOS BAGH-DATIS BEAT KEVIN ANDERSON 6-3).


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