Arindam: - Good afternoon, viewers! Today in this last episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have invited Mr. Raul, the famous Spanish striker of all times; Mr. Dennis Bergkamp, the famous Dutch striker; and also Ms. Shakhira, the famous hip-hop belly dancer cum pop singer. We welcome three of them to our show. Viewers, before we start our conversation, I need to clarify one thing to you people. We have received lots of emails in our email id: - queries@royalbengaltigers.com regarding the online polling and the list of top 20 players of this World Cup that we declared in our previous episode. Let me tell you one thing that scoring goals in the tournament and consistently performing in the tournament are two different things. Our online polling was based on the parameter of consistent performance only. Many people have asked questions that why Higuain, Klose, Kaka and Iniesta are not there in the top 20 list. There are many players who just stand in the opponent’s penalty area to get an important pass and then score the goal. In the entire match, they hardly play with the ball. Those players cannot be considered as good performers. Rather, that player is a good performer who is creating the opportunities for the strikers to score goals. Anyway, let us now start the conversation. First I would like to ask Shakhira about her latest dance in the song, ‘This time for Africa’. Where from you got that ‘Namastey’ style in that dance?
Shakhira: - From India only. Why? Have you not liked that dance? Actually, I tried to do some fusion in my dancing style.
Arindam: - You have won the hearts of many Indians by that ‘Namastey’ style dance. Now, your fans in India are calling you as ‘Shakhi’ instead of Shakhira. The Indian word ‘Shakhi’ means ‘friend’. Really, I should sing a song for you, ‘Sunh ree sakhi, meri pyaari sakhi’. Actually, you should be better termed as ‘Sexy Shaky Shakhi (SSS)’ in India.
Shakhira: - Ha ha ha…Oh, My God! You have gone totally crazy. I am 200% sure about that…he he he…
Arindam: - Have you ever visited the other parts of India? You have an impression that India is a land where there are lots of Goan beaches and Keralite spas only. There are also other places in India, which will give you a detailed idea that India is basically a No.1 spiritual land of the World. Come and visit our spiritual India.
Shakhira: - How funny! If I tell you to come and visit Colombia, will you visit it?
Arindam: - What is there in Colombia? Your motherland is a paradise for Cocaine lovers. Thank God, at least, nowadays, the Colombian Policemen are doing a great job to tackle the cocaine smuggling in their country. Look at India. In a recent survey, India is in the 9th ranking in terms of ‘World Tour’ destination. France tops the chart.
Shakhira: - It is not that I don’t have any plan in the future to go for a World Tour in Asia. Surely, India is also in my list. It depends on how much I can afford to spend on that tour. I will surely visit India but very secretly, he he he…
Arindam: - You look like an African woman only. The only thing is that your skin is not dark-skinned. Even Jenifer Lopez and Angelina Jolie looks like an African woman. African woman has a typical feature. They have curly hairs, big lips and their physique has a natural unique shape which you will not get in any non-African girls. Sometimes, I doubt that how the dark-skinned people of Venezuela, Colombia, Honduras, Ecuador and Jamaican islands have so much similarities in their genes with that of the genes African people.
Shakhira: - He he he…first of all let me tell you that I look like a Colombian only. By the way, if you go through the history pages to find the ancient world map, you will find that in the Paleolithic age, both South America and Africa were attached together as a single continent. In the later ages, due to drifting of tectonic plates and earthquakes, different continents came into existence. Earlier, all the continents were attached to each other to form a big island.
Arindam: - Ok, ok, I don’t want to go back to the ancient World history now. Mr. Raul, is the present Spanish team missing a footballer like you?
Raul: - Not at all. There are so many players in the Spanish side to do the job. Xavi, Alonso and Villa are in terrific form.
Arindam: - You retired from international football after 2006 or so. When you were the skipper of the Real Madrid team, you had so many superstars in your team, but, still in those years, the Real Madrid club failed to win the Champions League trophy. Also, Real Madrid was displaying poor performance. There were Beckham, Ronaldo and many others in that team.
Raul: - Too many superstars in a team do not guarantee that the team will play terrific football. There was ego clashes as they all were superstars. In the opponent’s penalty area, hardly, anyone used to give pass to the other. Everyone used to sprint alone to score the goal. Football is a team game; it is not the individual game of superstars.
Arindam: - Tell us something about Casillas, the present skipper of Spain in this World Cup. You have seen him for years as a goalkeeper of your team.
Raul: - He is a very cool customer with a thinking cap. He keeps thinking while standing under the goal post. Within 20 minutes of the match, he can make out which opponent striker attacks in which style and from which direction. Based on that, he will tell all his team defenders to adopt customized strategies for those opponent strikers. His temperament is the key for his success. I have seen many goalkeepers, who become tensed or hyper-excited in important matches, but, Casillas just reacts the same way in every match. He has the potential to become one of the best goalkeepers of the World.
Arindam: - Yeah, yeah, he is already on his way to achieve that feat very soon. Mr. Bergkamp, you were the best striker of Holland in the 1990’s or so. Do you think that in this World Cup, the Dutch football has regained their past form?
Bergkamp: - Of course! The way this Dutch team played in this World Cup, it is really impressing. No one thought that Netherlands will win against Brazil after trailing by 1 goal. But, they did that. Credit goes to Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Dirk Kuit. Not only Spain, but this Netherlands team has also played like a dark horse in this World Cup.
Arindam: - Netherlands has always been regarded as a team which can upset any team at anytime. Even in a particular World Cup, when Ariel Ortega was shown the Red Card, you scored the winning goal to seal the fate of Argentina. You were regarded as the most unpredictable striker in your times.
Bergkamp: - Ha ha ha…that’s the ploy every striker should adopt. If you will become a predictable striker, then your opponent team coach will formulate such a strategy that you will hardly play good football in the next matches. Don’t forget, that nowadays, it is the age of video technology. All the football team coaches consult with their technical advisers about how to tame a particular striker while looking at the video recordings of several football matches where that striker has scored goals or played well.
Arindam: - Ok, I got the point. Anyway, we will keep our discussion on. But, before that, let us hear from Mr. ARINAN about the Opening and Closing Ceremony of this World Cup 2010.
Mr. ARINAN: - It was 11th June 2010. All eyes were on South Africa. In the daylight, South Africa displayed their 10 fabulous soccer stadiums to the whole world. The tribal dances were awesome. All the six nations of Africa that took part in this world cup displayed their own pillars. The African singers sang some beautiful songs like ‘Hope for Africa’, followed by ‘Dee Dee, O Dee Dee’. All the little boys and girls assembled together to display the names of all the 32 participants. Even their flags were displayed. That was all about the Opening Ceremony. After 1 month, on 11th July 2010, it was evening in the Soccer City stadium with 84,000 spectators from all over the world. The laser rays rocked the stadium. Shakhira was shaking her belly with her ‘Waka Waka’ song and all the black women of Africa also danced with her. Some people performed the traditional foot dance of Africa while wearing the white colored gum-boots. Little boys and girls marched around the ground and the flags of 32 countries were displayed by laser beams. Thailand is the land of white elephants, but there were some white elephants inside the Soccer City too, though they were not the real ones. The white elephants walked around a little lake and the African tribal people sang the song, ‘Rain, Rain and Rain’. Surely, it was a fantastic rainfall of laser rays all around the stadium. The real attraction of this closing ceremony was the 92 years old, Mr.Nelson Mandela, the legend who fought for the human rights of African black people. All the people inside the stadium respected him by giving him a standing ovation.
Arindam: - Wow! Nelson Mandela was there to see the final match. What more can one except than that! In his youth days, he fought against racism and surely that is why, South Africa has reached in this position, where they are now. Ok, Mr. ARINAN, also tell us about the final match between Spain and Netherlands.
Mr. ARINAN: - It was the worst football match of this World Cup 2010. No one expected a dull final match in this exciting and thrilling tournament. The Spain played spoiling football and the Dutchmen were busy in bullfighting rather than playing football. The match was looking like a rugby match. Everyone is kicking, pushing and pulling others unnecessarily. In the 2nd half, Spain understood that the Dutch footballers are yet to get their rhythm right in this match. So, Spain started playing attacking football. Netherlands got many chances in the counterattack. How Robben missed those two goals, only he knows! He will not forget those two important missing moments in his whole life. Ramos of Spain gave his heart out but luck was not in his favor. The impressive player of the match was Navas. He is not so a skilful player but a creative striker for Spain. Why he got so less chances to play in this tournament is still a mystery! The referee was completely fed-up with the way the match was progressing. Everyone was fouling each other. Hardly there was any Dutch player who has not been booked. Spain was also not far behind. Puyol was lucky enough for not being booked for the 2nd time in the match. Unfortunately, one Dutch defender was shown the Yellow Card for two times. Dutch played the match with 10 men. Iniesta, who played pathetic football in the entire tournament, luckily got the winning goal for Spain. Actually, for that goal, the Dutch defenders have themselves to blame for. When the shot was blocked by a defender, he should have guarded Iniesta immediately in the next moment. Instead of doing that, all the Dutch defenders were busy in appealing to the Linesman that Iniesta is in an offside position. Iniesta utilized that opportunity like a sly fox. Iniesta was in an offside position, when the pass was blocked but when he received the ball from the backside, he was in an onside position only. The match ended in 1-0 score line. Spain won the World Cup final for the first time. They Red Bulls conquered Europe two years back and in 2010, they conquered the whole world. After getting the Swiss shock in the 1st match of the tournament, they gave the Spanish shock to the whole world. There were tears everywhere in the Soccer City. Some were having tears of joy and some had the tears of sorrow. The fireworks at the end said it all as if it said, ‘This is South Africa and we have shown the world that we can also organize a major sports event like FIFA World Cup. Thanks to all of you for your support towards us.’ The next World Cup of 2014 will be in Brazil. After Bafana Bafana’s Vuvuzela, it is the time for Samba dance and their drumbeats in Brazil in 2014.
Arindam: - Ha ha ha…really, Spain started their World Cup campaign with a loss against Switzerland and now they are the World Champions. There is a song of a reputed Bengali band, ‘E bhabheo firey asaa jaaye’ (One can also comeback like this). Spain came back from behind to rule the World. On the other hand, Holland has not lost any matches in this tournament except the final one. Netherlands have lost three times in the finals of football World Cup like England has that same record in the Cricket World Cup. So, Mr. Raul, you may be a very happy man.
Raul: - Of course! I should have opened a champagne bottle right now to celebrate.
Bergkamp: - Congratulation to you, Mr. Raul; because your country has lifted the World Cup! But, as a footballer, I must say that both the teams played bad football in the final. Maybe, Spain were playing better possession football and their passing were accurate, but, still, the standard of the football was very low in this final match. Rather, I will say that the match between Germany and Uruguay was a standard game of football.
Raul: - The game between Germany and Uruguay was a ‘3rd-4th place decider’ game. In that game, both the teams were playing football without any tension. They had nothing to lose but to gain because they have already lost in the Semis. But, in this final match, both the teams were under tension and pressure because they knew that if they win the cup, they are going to create a history for the first time. But, yes, the football should have been played in a much better way rather than spoiling each others’ game intentionally.
Arindam: - Hmm…but, one thing is sure that this World Cup was a thrilling one which made it more interesting. There is also another creature which played football inside its aquarium. It is the Octopus Paul of Germany. It is yet to be investigated whether its predictions were true or is it that some people involved in betting were very eager to make its prediction a reality. Anyway, let us not discuss about that controversial thing. Viewers, our favorite Shakhira has something to say to you people.
Shakhira: - Viewers! I have a message for you people. Say no to racism and don’t support or help those persons who always spread racism and hatred in our human society. The difference between the black people and the white people should stop now. There are diversities in this world and that’s why, this planet is like a small beautiful heaven of the universe. South Africa could not have constructed those beautiful soccer stadiums, roads and rail tracks without the support of poor black people and their children who have constantly gave their heart out as laborers. So, when we see that some of those black people are dying out of hunger and poverty in South Africa, then it really marks a black spot on a sports event like this FIFA World Cup of 2010. Therefore, we need to do something for them.
Arindam: - Yeah, exactly, and that’s why, we have planned to organize an auction process in Madrid. In that auction process, there will be 5 Jabulani balls and jerseys of many top notch footballers of this World Cup. In all those Jabulani balls, there will be autographs of all the players of the quarter-finalist teams of this World Cup. Moreover, in the 5th Jabulani, there are autographs of top 20 players, whose names we have declared in the previous episode. We are also going to request the players of both Spain and Netherlands to put their jerseys for auction. The 20% of the auction money will go to FIFA and the remaining money will be donated to the NGOs and the charity homes of South Africa who are constantly helping the poor black people and their children. This will be a gift from FIFA to the poor people of South Africa. We have selected Madrid as the ideal place for auction because for Spain the venue of South Africa proved to be a lucky venue. We expect that all the big businessmen of Spain will come forward to take part in this auction process in Madrid and ultimately help the poor people of South Africa. It is not that the bidding process will be done in offline mode only. It will be made online also. The bidders who will be taking part in this auction process will get two DVDs, provided that they bid at least 1000 USD in that auction process. The first DVD contains the videos and songs of Shakhira and K’naan till date. The second DVD contains all the golden moments of World Cup football from 1934 to 2010. Now, we are at the end of our program ‘Fantastic Football Fever’. Thanks to all the viewers for watching all our episodes. Thanks to Mr. Raul, Mr. Bergkamp and Ms. Shakhira for coming in our show. Also thanks again to all the other stars and legends for coming in our previous shows. Mr. ARINAN, thanks to you also for your detailed analysis.
Mr. ARINAN: - Oh! You poor chap! You people have created me for this job only. I am just a robot, the ‘Artificial Intelligence Analyzer’. If I will not analyze, then what’s the use of that processor inside me. Arindam, you should also add another micro-chip inside my body so that I can also analyze all the matches of ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011.
Arindam: - Ha ha ha…sure, sure…we have some fantastic plans for that tournament. So, viewers, here we end our show. See you again next time after 4 years, when the football fans from the whole world will rock with samba drum beats in Brazil in 2014. But, we will also not forget South Africa nor do you. Take care and goodbye.
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