FANTASTIC FOOTBALL FEVER !!!

-->

FANTASTIC FOOTBALL FEVER

Written by: - ARINDAM SAIN

Part – 01

Arindam: - Breaking news! From today onwards, we are going to start a new program on FIFA World Cup of 2010 and the name of the program is “FANTASTIC FOOTBALL FEVER (FFF)”. This program will be directed by our Sain Director only. The production is under the banner of RBT TV. Let us hear something about this program from Sain Director.

*************************

Sain Director: - Namastey to all the viewers of Royal Bengal Tigers TV Channel. This program will be somewhat different from other shows. For this show, our technical team has created a robot in collaboration with a Japanese team. That robot exactly looks like a human being. Now, what will that robot do? Well, it will analyze all the quality matches of this FIFA World Cup in its own way. Now, you will ask the question that how a robot can analyze football matches? Then, let me tell you that all the electronic chips contain super-power nano- sized microprocessors. Even there are powerful chips installed in its body, which looks like an ordinary plastic only. Those chips can be folded in any direction and it is very thin in size. Now, within these chips, we have infused all the hi-fi programmed codes of neural networks, artificial intelligence and data mining. Even we have kept some standardized programming modules that have been used in creating video games of FIFA World Cup since 1998, by EA Sports. The name of the robot is ‘ARINAN’. We have given this name because this robot works like an ‘Artificial Intelligence Analyzer (ARINAN)’ tool only. Accha, there is another big surprise in this show. In every episode, we will invite a special person in our studio. So, better don’t miss any of our episodes.

**************************

Arindam: - Sain Director is looking very enthusiastic about directing this special show. Anyway, viewers, today in our 1^st episode of this ‘FFF’ show, we have invited a famous singer cum dancer of the world. Her name is Shakhira. Shakhira, it’s a pleasure for us that you have visited our studio.

Shakhira: - Oh! Come on. Now, don’t start flattering at me. It’s just ok. You should now keep quiet for few moments as your special robot Mr. ARINAN is ready with his analysis regarding the opening ceremony of FIFA World Cup 2010. Hey Mr. ARINAN, you can start.

Mr. ARINAN: - Thank you young lady. It was a fabulous day for South Africa. All eyes were on the Soccer City stadium. What a wonderful stadium they have created! Really, hats off to the people of South Africa. The world cup matches will be played in seven different locations of South Africa. The giant screen of Soccer City Stadium showed all the stadiums one by one. The stadiums of Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Bay are also good. All the tribal people of South Africa came out to display their traditional dance with their special drum-beats. After that, they displayed the map of the world while holding some colorful clothes together. Even they showed the footsteps of their African sons who have started coming back home. All the 32 nations participating in this tournament have been appreciated and respected by displaying their respective national flags. 6 nations from Africa are participating in this tournament. That’s why; they created a tree structure with 6 colorful pillars. Then, all the famous singers from those African countries came on dais and sang songs. From ‘Voice of Hope’ to ‘Dee Dee…O Dee’, it was a fantastic display. In the previous night of this event, there was a ‘Kick Off’ ceremony. In that night, Shakira was shaking her legs and all the people felt that ‘It’s time for Africa’.

Arindam: - Hey Shakira, I was under the impression that you are expert in belly dancing, which you have displayed in the video of your ‘whenever…wherever’ song.

Shakhira: - This new song is based on football. Why the hell should I do the belly dancing? Football is all about dancing with legs and dancing your legs while controlling the ball till you reach the destination.

Arindam: - Shakhira, you should also do some social work for the poor African people and their children. Anyway, you are doing a great job. We hope that you will keep on rocking in future also. Thanks for coming to our show. Viewers, just wait for our next episode.

Part – 02

Arindam: - Viewers, can you guess, who is sitting beside me? I am really scared of him. Who knows, maybe, he can even bulldoze me with his strong head. Yes, viewers, I am talking about a legend of World football, whose name is Zinedine Zidane. He is here with us in our studio. So, Mr. Zidane, do you feel sorry about what you did against an Italian player?

Zidane: - I regret for that incident because it ended my international career, but I don’t feel sorry for that. He got his deserved punishment only.

Arindam: - You gave France the World Cup title with your deadly headers, but still a section of French media people regard you as a refugee of France. How do you react to it?

Zidane: - for a professional footballer, for which team, he is playing is not at all important. What matters most is that whether I am able to provide victory to my team or not.

Arindam: - Yeah, that’s quite true. We will carry on our discussion, but, before that, we will just hear the analysis of 1^st two matches of this World Cup from Mr. ARINAN. Let us hear it.

************************

Mr. ARINAN: - Mexico started off well against South Africa in their first encounter. Almost the entire first half was dominated by Mexican footballers only. Santos was the pick of the match. The young boy was just cruising through the opponent’s penalty area in his own style. The South African goalkeeper was always alert and saved many deadly shots at the goal. In the 2^nd half, South Africa changed their game plan and the counterattack policy worked well. Tshabalala got the ball in no man’s land and what a left-footed shot it was to completely beat the Mexican goalkeeper. The weakest point of Mexico team is their goalkeeper, who plays volleyball instead of holding the football in his palms. But, Mexico never stopped trying. They started giving lofted big passes from this wing to that wing and one opportunity came where the three Mexican strikers were waiting for the ball in the penalty box of South Africa. Marquez got it all right and gave the equalizer goal. In another match, it was an encounter between France and Uruguay. That was a very boring game. France got many chances but was unable to convert it into a winning goal. Uruguay played their traditional football and marked the French strikers so tactfully that hardly France could do anything about it. Henry was looking sharp but that was not enough. France and Uruguay ended in a goalless draw. Ultimately, Group A has now become a very competitive group.

****************************

Arindam: - France ended in a draw with Uruguay. Mr. Zidane, how will you react to it? Is France, a very weak side in this tournament?

Zidane: - It is not a weak side, but, yes, it lacks good midfielders. In a team you can have good strikers and strong defenders, but unless there is a game maker in the midfield area, you cannot break through the opponent’s defense smoothly to score goals.

Arindam: - in the next encounters, France has to play against Mexico and South Africa. What strategy France should adopt against them?

Zidane: - See, the way France played against Uruguay in this match, personally, I feel that they are attacking in a much clustered way rather than spreading out in the entire field. France needs to possess the ball as much as possible and then slowly and steadily they should increase their attacks from the left and right wings. I watched the match of Mexico Vs South Africa. Mexico was playing like that only. They were scattering here and there and then suddenly they start increasing their pace from both the wings to gain corners. I don’t know why a Mexican goal got rejected. That was not an offside.

Arindam: - What do you think? Who will qualify from Group A?

Zidane: - Well, France surely has the edge, but the other three teams are almost equal. You cannot underestimate South Africa also.

Arindam: - Well, we will see who qualifies from Group A. Thanks to you Mr. Zidane for coming to our show. We hope that yours France plays better football in the next encounters. Viewers, see you all in the next episode. Bye.

Part -03

Arindam: - Viewers! When we speak about Argentina, the first thing that strike in our brain is the name of Diego Maradona. Such is the impact of that living legend! But, there are some other Argentine footballers also, who used to rock in the fields just like champions. One of them is Claudio Caniggia. In this 3^rd episode of the ‘FFF’ show, Caniggia is present in our studio today. Mr. Caniggia, you have played many matches with Diego Maradona. Now, Diego Maradona is the coach of Argentine football team. How are you feeling about it?

Caniggia: - Oh! Nothing can be better than that. Maradona is a genius. As a teammate, he was really a supportive player. As a great player, he never has any ego within him that he will score the goal on his own. Every time, he used to give superb passes to his teammates in front of the penalty area. Ultimately, he always believes in team game. So, in this World Cup, when he is the coach, then there is 100% surety that the entire Argentine team will play like a single co-operative unit.

Arindam: - You people missed out in 1990 due to some scandals. Maybe, this time, there is a 80% chance to lift the world cup as the team looks balanced and full of talented resources. Veron is still playing at this age. Tevez never compromises with his superb running speed and above all, there is Messi.

Caniggia: - of course, we have a good chance this time. The magic of Maradona-Messi combination should work. But, for that, the Argentine team needs to play as a single unit. Nowadays, the Argentine players are playing so much club football that they have forgotten the patriotic spirit for their motherland. In 1990, many people did conspiracy against me and Maradona. But, this time, Maradona should be careful about himself and all the team members. Don’t forget that Brazil is our neighboring country but side-by-side they are our arch-rivals too in any football ground.

Arindam: - Now, let us listen to the analysis of Mr. ARINAN about today’s matches.

*************************

Mr. ARINAN: - Today, the first match was between South Korea and Greece. Greece was looking very weak. But, this South Korean team is looking far better than it looked in earlier world cups. South Koreans have increased their stamina and are really running from this point to that point with great speed. These short – heighted players are expert in final soft touches in front of the opponent goalkeepers to get goals, which were not expected at all. So, a goalkeeper should not go for charging any South Korean striker, even though he gets tempted to do so. South Korea defeated Greece by 2 goals. The 2^nd match was between Argentina and Nigeria. Argentina dominated the entire show from the very first minute. In the 6^th minute, Heinze gave a superb header from a corner kick to give Argentina the lead. The Messi magic was very impressive. Messi was dribbling the ball with his left foot and was giving important passes to the other strikers. But, the Nigerian goalkeeper denied at least 3 sure-shot goals to Messi. Nigeria got 2 chances in their counterattack but failed to capitalize. The way; Argentine players were playing against Nigeria, one thing is sure that efficient ball possession is the key weapon to beat Nigerian team, which relies more on speed and power. Argentina won the match with 1-0 score line. In the 3^rd match, England just gave away their winning match to USA. USA was not at all a great competitor for England. But, yes, this USA team has good skilful players, who can stun you anytime. The England goalkeeper, Green missed a shot so badly that the entire England team players showed reddish expressions on their face. But, Rooney was at his best. He gave his heart out, but was unlucky. The match of England and USA ended in draw with the score of 1-1.

****************************

Arindam: - Argentina has taken a sweet revenge on Nigeria in their first match.

Caniggia: - Yeah, but, Argentina became too much complacent after scoring that 1 goal. They can’t afford to do that in future matches.

Arindam: - Well, thanks to you for coming to our show. Viewers, see you all in the next episode. Bye.

Part – 04

Arindam: - Mr. Klinsmann, welcome to our show. Who is a better player? Is it you or Lother Mathews?

Klinsmann: - I don’t understand why some people always compare me with Lother Mathews or vice-versa. Yes, it is true that both of us had contributed much for the German football, but both of us were different kind of footballer altogether. We had our own unique style of playing. So, why there will be a comparison between Klinsmann and Mathews?

Arindam: - Well, let us not discuss about it then. By the way, what do you feel about the current German team with an injured Ballack? Even a German celebrity has already declared that the absence of Ballack will be a blessing in disguise for the German team. Is it true?

Klinsmann: - German team is not a one man team. No one is dependent on any other player’s performance. Every team member has to give their heart out to win a match. You better ask that person, who commented that the absence of Ballack will be helpful for Germany. I also don’t know, why he commented that?

Arindam: - Ok, we will keep our discussions on, but before that, let us hear the analysis about some matches.

**************************

Mr. ARINAN: - Both Algeria and Slovenia played pathetic football. But, luckily, Slovenia got a winning goal. The desert foxes of Africa were running like tortoises inside the field, without any game plan. Slovenia team has no skilful players, but somehow they know how to sprint with the ball without giving vital passes. Slovenia has won this match, but they are unlikely to qualify for the second round. In another encounter, the Black Stars of Africa defeated the White Eagles of Europe. Serbia got many opportunities but failed to convert those into winning goals. A Serbian defender was unlucky to get trapped in a hand-ball and the Ghana team got a penalty. Asamoah Gyan capitalized on that to score the lone winning goal of the match. The Asamoah and the Asamoah of Ghana looked really very impressive. The real interesting match was between Germany and Australia. Everyone was interested to see how this weak Ballack-less German team plays against Australia. But, German team just thrashed Australia with 4 goals. Polidski and Klose were the impressive ones. Klose was just cruising like a missile in the central forward line. Unlike other teams, this German team played in the ‘Pentagon’ style, where Klose was the upper point of that pentagon. The last two points were the midfielders, who created the game every time. The moment the ball enters the opponent’s penalty area, the German Central Forward moves in very fast to score goals from that position. Even Klose scored a perfect goal with his fabulous header from that Central Forward position. In the 2^nd half, Cacau replaced Klose and played in a similar strategy in that same central forward position and got the goal. Australian side looked like a mere under -19 football team. Hardly, they challenged the German defense.

***********************

Arindam: - Wow…the German team has started their campaign in a great style.

Klinsmann: - Yeah, it is indeed. But, you don’t need to be over-excited about that, because the opponent was Australia.

Arindam: - Klose is the pick of this match. Suddenly, why Klose is attacking from the central forward line? This is a very interesting tactics!

Klinsmann: - Ha ha ha…there is nothing to get surprised in it. Klose is a player, whose body is the most flexible in the German side; moreover, he is the one, who can convert any corners with his swinging headers. But, one new thing is there in this German side. You have to understand why the current German coach has adopted the pentagon style attack. It is because of the fact that this German team has superb speed unlike the earlier German teams in World Cups. To be successful in pentagon style attack, you need speed to beat the defenders in the central forward area. Look at this German team. The average age of this team is around 24.8 years, whereas in out times, hardly have I seen any German team having their average age below 27.2 years.

Arindam: - I got your point. That’s why; Germany looks a very promising side now. Anyway, we will end our show here.

Part – 05

Arindam: - Hey Mr. ARINAN, can you recognize this person sitting beside me?

Mr. ARINAN:- Yeah, of course. He is Marco Van Basten.

Basten:- Ha ha ha…he has recognized me! That’s great.

Arindam:- Mr. ARINAN, can you please tell us, what actually happened in the match between Netherlands and Denmark?

Mr. ARINAN:- Dutch team got a goal for free, because Samuelson, the defender of Denmark tried a clear the ball from their penalty box, but, unfortunately, it went inside their own goal post, after the ball got struck at the back of another Denmark defender. Later in the match, a Dutch striker gave a lovely goal to make the score line 2-0.

Arindam:- Hmm…So, Netherlands have started their campaign on a winning note. Mr. Basten, in your times, when you were a champion striker of Netherlands team, you people always used to play counterattacking football. But, nowadays, Dutch football is not playing aggressive football.

Basten:- Well, it is true that in our times, we came out with a new game plan of ‘All Out Attacking’, with a formation of 7-2-1 or 6-2-2, but later on, Netherlands was not having any talented footballers. Even Netherlands was unable to qualify in many world cups because they lack good strikers in their team. Unless, you have good goal scorers, who have a bull’s eye to target the opponent’s goal post with around 85% accuracy, there is no point in playing counterattacking football because it will backfire.

Arindam:- What do you think about the Holland team in this World Cup?

Basten:- I will not say that it is a very good team, but, yes, the composition of the team is not so bad. The midfield area looks strong, which is good, but the strikers need to be more co-operative towards each other. They missed many chances against Denmark, because there were no other players in support for the main strikers in the Denmark’s penalty area.

Arindam:- Hmm…I hope that your message will reach the Holland team camp. Anyway, we hope that Holland will keep their winning campaign in this World Cup. Thanks to you Mr. Basten, for coming to this show. Viewers, before we end this episode of our ‘Fantastic Football Fever’, we will have a look at the results of other matches. Mr. ARINAN, are you ready? Then, please proceed.

Mr. ARINAN:- As you wish, Mr. Arindam. So, here I go with my analysis. The other encounter was between Japan and Cameroon. Believe me, in this match, Cameroon was the favorites. Everyone came in the stadium with their Vuvujela blow pipes to support Cameroon. But, maybe, the sounds of Vuvujela are like the humming bees flocking together in front of a bee-hive. In the first 30 minutes, Japan was playing in such a manner as if someone has told them that it is better to go for a goalless draw rather than a defeat in the hands of Cameroon. But, it was not Hero Honda, but the Kiesuk Honda, who was just standing at one corner of a goal post. Suddenly, he got a ball and converted it. The Cameroon goalkeeper, who looks like a typical Somalian pirate ship captain was completely helpless in that case. Only one player from the Cameroon side was creating the game for them. It was none other than Samuel Etoo. He was really leading from the front. It is not that Cameroon has not got any chance, but, somehow, luck was in favour for them. One shot was looking like a sure-shot goal, but, alas, the ball hit the goal post of Japan. Japan defeated Cameroon by 1 goal, but still they were not looking as impressive as South Korean red brigade. In another big clash, the fighters were Italy and Paraguay. Italy was stunned by Alcarez, the Paraguay striker. Buffon could hardly take any position that ball entered their goal post. But, credit goes to Italy. From the very first minute of the match, they went for the kill. They were looking hungry for goals. Italy is not playing their traditional defensive football. Rather, they are conquering the ground from all ends like the Romans do. De Rossi got a flying ball and gave a midas touch to it to score the equalizer. The match ended in 1-1.

Arindam:- Thank you Mr. ARINAN. Viewers, see you all in the next episode.

Part – 06

Arindam: - O Billo Rani, kaho toh abhi jaan deh doon…Ha ha ha…well, viewers, you may be thinking that why I am suddenly singing this song in this episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ on your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tiger’ (RBT) TV Channel. Basically, I got tempted to sing this song because today the hottest Bengali Babe, Bipasha Basu is present in our studio. Bipasha ji, welcome to our studio. Accha, which team is your favorite in this World Cup?

Bipasha: - I am a die-hard supporter of Brazil since my childhood. I spent my childhood in South Kolkata area, where people are just crazy about Brazilian footballers. Even there used to be tournaments for school students, where some students use to form their own football team and named it as ‘Brazil of Ballygunge’, he he he…Really, during any World Cup, Krazzy Kolkatans just rock with the football. While staying in Mumbai, you can hardly get a feel that World Cup football is going on. Mumbaikars are not at all interested in football. Bengal is the only region in India, where football is always respected.

Arindam: - Hmm…I have also heard that you visited Brazilian beaches to do a bikini shoot for ‘Dhoom-2’ film. After watching the film ‘Dhoom -2’, everyone said that Bipasha was looking hotter than Aishwariya.

Bipasha: - So? What? Yeah, I wore a bikini. This is a problem with you such media people. If I start wearing salwar kameez, you will say that I have lost my hotness and if I wear a bikini, you will say that all the college boys are sweating due to extreme heat. So, tell me, what should I wear?

Arindam: - No, no, you remain as a hot girl only. We hate summers, but not the hot babes, he he he…It is better to get criticized as a hot woman rather than being a cool woman. Accha, your boyfriend, John Abraham is very fond of football. The film ‘Goal’ was not a super hit film, but both John and Arshad were really enjoying the game of football in that film. They also had some ego clashes while playing the matches. Who is a better footballer, is it John or Arshad? Even nowadays, John is analyzing the football matches in the program, ‘The Beautiful Game’ in CNN-IBN. How will you react to that?

Bipasha: - Are you asking questions to me or are you in a mood to do bombarding on me?

Arindam: - How can I dare to bombard on a Bong Bomb like you? Anyway, let me introduce you to our special robot, Mr. ARINAN. He cannot flirt or do romance with any hot girl because we are yet to install a program on love and romance in its processor. A lady robot is under construction. Once we create that lady robot, we will make Mr. ARINAN a very romantic male robot. Right now, Mr. ARINAN analyzes the football matches of this world cup for our ‘FFF’ show.

Bipasha: - Uff…thank God. At least, a robot is less naughty than you, he he he…Accha, tell your Mr. ARINAN to give the analysis of Brazil Vs North Korea match.

Arindam: - Hey, Mr. ARINAN, just start your analysis. This hot lady wants to hear it.

Mr. ARINAN: - The North Korean footballers looked as deadly as their nuclear missiles. North Koreans are more stubborn and speedy than their neighboring red brigades of south. North Korean defenders were not marking the men, but the football. Whenever a Brazilian was getting access to the ball, they formed a small semi-circle around the ball. Hardly, Robinho and Kaka got the chance to move their body beyond 30 degrees in their right or left directions. Maicon luckily got a goal as the Jabulani swung in the right direction as he took the shot from the lower-right tip of his right boot. Jabulani has a strong outer surface, that is why, it hardly swings unlike the earlier footballs. Elano just gave a small touch to score a goal. The real upcoming star will be Bastos, a skilful player. Brazil’s defense is very weak. North Koreans have the potential to defeat Portugal and Ivory Coast, who ended in a draw. Kiwis proved that a single second is enough to change results.

Arindam: - Thanks Mr. ARINAN. Viewers, we will end our show here. Goodbye.

Part – 07

Arindam: - Good evening, Viewers! Today in this episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have invited Raavan and his wife Mandodari in our studio.

Abhishek: - Hey, I am not that Raavan, who fought with Bhagwan Ram. I am Mani Ratnam’s ‘Raavan’ and she is Aishwariya, not Mandodari.

Arindam: - Hmm…accha, as usual, A.R Rahman rocked with his music, but what is the meaning of the song, ‘Behne de…muhjey behne de’? Abhishek, why are you asking for more sisters?

Aishwariya: - Ha ha ha…Arindam, I think that you have got the meaning wrong. The lyrics of the song states that this Raavan is fed up of the corrupted society and that is why, he now wants to float with the waters of a sacred river.

Arindam: - Oh! So, Abhishek, after ‘Yuva’ and ‘Guru’, you have become a ‘Raavan’ and I hope that you will rock here again, even if the movie flops.

Abhishek: - of course; yes. I have never failed under Mani. This time, I rocked with deadly make-ups and facial expressions. The shooting locations were superb. It was both entertaining and thrilling.

Arindam: - Hmm…those were the forests of Bangalore – Tamil Nadu border area. Accha, Abhishek, whom are you supporting in this World Cup football?

Abhishek: - of course; Brazil. Also, I am supporting Spain and France too.

Arindam: - Oops, then there is a sad news for you. Spain has lost to Switzerland. Wait, Mr. ARINAN, the robot will give the news in details.

Mr. ARINAN: - Everyone was talking about Iniesta, but Torres and Naves are far better players. Why Iker Casillas charged the Swiss striker with his legs instead of using hand is still a mystery. Moreover, a Spanish defender lost his balance before tackling another Swiss striker, who was just waiting for an opportunity in that hassle. His name is Gelson Fernandez, who created history with his winning goal against Spain. Complacency and over-confidence are two major weaknesses in this Spanish side. They have not lost in consecutive 12 matches and they started their world cup campaign with a historic defeat in the hands of Switzerland.

Abhishek: - Oh! No, I am disappointed. Bring back Raul in this Spanish side.

Arindam: - Ha ha ha…now it is not possible. It’s too late now. But, Torres can surely become a second Raul for Spain. He has that potential and temperament. Accha, Aishwariya ji, which is your favorite team?

Aishwariya: - Sorry, I am not at all interested in football.

Arindam: - You are the daughter-in-law of Jaya Bhaduri, the ‘Dhanyi –Meye’ and you don’t watch football. Have you watched the Bengali movie ‘Dhanyi-meye’, where Jaya Bacchan played the leading female role?

Aishwariya: - I don’t understand Bengali. How can I watch that film?

Arindam: - Oh! My God, Amitabh Bacchan will celebrate ‘Jamai-Shasti’ tomorrow and you don’t know Bengali! Aishwariya ji, you should learn Bengali and watch the film ‘Dhanyi-meye’ with sub-titles. Even Abhishek can speak Bengali. In the sets of ‘Yuva’ film, he was talking in Bengali only. Anyway, thanks to both of you for coming to our show. We hope that Mani Ratnam’s ‘Raavan’ will do well in the box office. Viewers, just stay tuned because before I sign out, Mr. ARINAN will give the analysis of the other football matches.

Mr. ARINAN: - Chile dominated the game against Honduras. But, somehow, they were not getting goals. Only a mere deflection from a Chile striker fetched them a winning goal. Honduras footballers were not looking so impressive at all. The other encounter was between the ‘Bafana Bafana’ and the ‘Blue Stars’ of Latin America. Tsabhalala was playing with so much over-confidence that he became selfish in the first half. He was hardly giving passes to the other strikers. Instead of doing that, he was taking long shots which went above the goal posts. Forlan of Uruguay played impressive football. His long shots don’t have power but a decent flight, which is very advantageous when you are playing with this Jabulani. He got a goal with that long shot, but that shot also touched the shoulder of a South African defender. The referee wrongly showed red card to Khune, whereas it was a clear cut offside. FIFA should recruit good referees. Uruguay defeated South Africa by 3 goals.

Part – 08

Arindam: - Good evening, viewers! Today in this episode of ‘FANTASTIC FOOTBALL FEVER’ (FFF) on your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have invited a famous Argentine footballer whose name is Burruchaga. But, before starting a chat session with him, let us hear what Mr. ARINAN has to say regarding the match between Argentina and South Korea.

Mr. ARINAN: - As usual, Argentine footballers started attacking the South Koreans from all ends. Korean defenders were confused about whom to tackle the most because Messi, Tevez and Heinze were as deadly as monsters. They were breaking the Korean walls every now and then. Argentina got a free kick during the 18^th minute of the match. Unfortunately, Mr. Park was standing just in front of the goalkeeper. The moment he can even understand what is happening in that free kick, the ball kissed his leg and parked itself inside the Korean goal post. All the Argentina fans were dancing like anything because it hardly matters how the goal came; what matters is that your team has got a goal. In another free kick, Higuain gave a decent header to score a goal. But, a Korean striker got a chance in the counterattack and started running towards the Argentine goalkeeper. The Argentine goalkeeper charged Chongyoung at the wrong time and South Korea got a goal. In the 2^nd half, Argentina increased their pace of attack. Messi was at his best with his left-footed dribbles. He was just chipping the ball with his left foot and the Jabulani was swinging a little bit with a decent flight. Messi could have got a goal, but, Higuain appreciated Messi’s and Heinze’s effort by scoring another goal. It was not over. Higuain scored another goal to achieve the first hat-trick in this FIFA World Cup 2010. Argentina has reached the round of 16 to play against the second team of Group-B.

Arindam: - Wow! There cannot be any great news for Argentina fans, as Argentina thrashed South Korea by 4-1. But, South Koreans still have the chance to qualify for the next round. What do you say, Mr. Burruchaga?

Burruchaga: - Well, you never know! But, I think that till now North Korea and New Zealand have played good football from Asia and Latin American football is just rocking in this World Cup. European football is looking in great distress like their economy. Only Germany is looking good.

Arindam: - You were a member of that Argentine team, which lifted the World cup in 1986. Even you scored a goal against Germany in that final. Are you expecting that this time also, there will be a final match between Argentina and Germany and your country will lift the cup again?

Burruchaga: - Quite possible! When a legend like Diego Maradona is the coach, anything can happen. Maradona is expert in boosting the self-confidence of any player. Look at Gonzales Higuain only. No one even knew Higuain’s name, but Maradona had belief in Higuain and Higuain produced the results. Many new players of Argentina will perform well in this world cup.

Arindam: - Pele is saying that Maradona is doing coaching for money. Is it true?

Burruchaga: - Pele is a Brazilian. Every Brazilian takes birth with a golden spoon in their mouth. If you compare Argentina and Brazil in economic terms then you may be comparing between an International city and a remote village. More than half the populations of Argentina don’t get meals for 2 times a day. Argentina is one of the poorest countries of Latin America. That’s why, majority of Argentine players have no other choice than to play football for European clubs. Brazil is our arch-rivals only in football. All Latin American countries are friendly to each other and have a unity. Anyway, Maradona and his men should prove to Pele that this time they are in South Africa to repeat the history of 1986.

Arindam: - Well said, Mr. Burruchaga. Viewers, we will end our show here, but before that Mr. ARINAN has something to say regarding other matches.

Mr. ARINAN: - after Kalu’s goal, everything was going well for Nigeria, but, alas, one Red card gave moral boost to the countrymen of Alexander & Aristotle. Greece defeated Nigeria by 2-1. On the other hand, the Red Indians stunned French people by 2 goals.

Part – 09

Arindam: - Good evening, viewers. In this episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ program in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have invited a famous England footballer, whose name is David Beckham. Mr. Beckham, welcome to our show. You may be very disappointed because due to injuries, you cannot play in this world cup.

Beckham: - Well, that’s part of life. You have to accept it and move forward. This time, I am unlucky. It’s always better luck next time. But, I don’t know whether I will be playing international football till the next FIFA World Cup or not.

Arindam: - Hmm…well, I can understand your feelings. Ok, let us hear about the match between England and Algeria. Mr. ARINAN, please proceed.

Mr. ARINAN: - the British Bull dogs started fighting against African Desert foxes, but foxes are the cunning species. Foxes started to spoil the game of the bull dogs in the midfield region. As a net result, the bull dogs started chasing the desert foxes without any strategy or plan. That’s why, at the end of the day, the foxes and the dogs shared 1 point each with a mere goalless draw.

Arindam: - Oops! Mr. Beckham, your England team is surely missing you. In this match, your team kicked out Green and brought in James. James did well. But the players like Rooney, Heskey, Terry and Gerrard played football without any plan.

Beckham: - It is indeed very frustrating when you don’t find goals despite having so many great players in your team. I am surprised that they played silly football whenever they were entering the penalty area of Algeria.

Arindam: - Surely, the whole world is missing you. Ronaldinho became famous much later. Before that, you were famous for your terrific swinging free-kicks. Every young footballer used to admire your free-kick. Even they still say, ‘Bend it like Beckham’. Your comment ‘I am what I am’ is also famous worldwide. How you used to swing the ball so much in your free-kicks? What is the technique behind it? Jabulani ball does not swing too much, but, I am very sure that if you would have played in this world cup, then we must have seen the swinging Jabulani.

Beckham: - There is no such technique behind those swinging free-kicks. Only thing you need to do is to measure the angle from your eyes and have a prior idea about the distance that the ball is going to traverse. If you are taking a free kick from a 30 m distance, then kick the ball in a diagonal direction keeping your body bent towards your left side. The ball will swing automatically while in the air. When you are taking a free kick from a 17m distance, then don’t kick the ball hard. If you do that; the ball will traverse above the goal post. Just chip the ball by using the tip of your boot. But in this case, keep your body straight while taking the kick to get the ball swing. Practice makes a man perfect. Practice is the keyword here. I always used to practice taking free-kicks from long distances in the training session. If you can score goals from a long distance with your speedy swinging shots, then nothing can be better than that.

Arindam: - This was all about football. But, side by side, you are also a stylish person. Your hair-cut is also famous. Whether you are in Manchester United or Real Madrid, people love to watch you in the ground; especially the young girls are just crazy about you. They are jealous of your wife.

Beckham: - Well, in this case, I can’t help it. But, I am lucky to be her hubby. At the back-end, my wife is my motivator, no matter, how much she criticizes or fights with me.

Arindam: - Hmm…behind a man, there is a woman! Anyway, viewers, before signing out, Mr. ARINAN will tell you about the other matches.

Mr. ARINAN: - White Eagles hunted the countrymen of Hitler with 1 winning goal. Klose was shown a Red Card and Polidski missed the penalty. In another encounter, USA fought back with 2 goals. USA also got another goal, but, alas, the referee wrongly cancelled it. Anyway, both USA and Slovenia produced some entertaining football to end the match with 2-2.

Part – 10

Arindam: - Viewers! Today in our episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ of your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have invited an African footballer, who is famous worldwide. His name is Roger Miller. But before we start our chat session, let us hear what Mr. ARINAN has to say regarding the match between Cameroon and Denmark.

Mr. ARINAN: - Cameroon should have scored at least 5 goals, but they missed those opportunities. They only scored 1 goal. Danish strikers also missed some chances. Denmark played well in the 1^st half. In the 2^nd half, they were leading by 1 goal. In the last 25 minutes of the match, it was Cameroon all the way. Cameroon tried their level best, but somehow luck was not in favor of them. For 2 times, the ball came back after hitting the Danish goal post. Cameroon is virtually out of the competition.

Arindam: - Aha re…Cameroon team is in great trouble despite the good and consistent performances from Etoo. Mr. Miller, you may be very disappointed about it.

Miller: - Oh! Yeah…it is very disappointing. Our national team has failed to score goals. At least, Cameroon should win the next encounter.

Arindam: - You played for Cameroon and it was you, who made Cameroon football famous. Probably, you were the first African footballer, who got fame in the International football. What to say about your unique celebration! After scoring every goal, you used to dance in your unique African style. From snake dance to rain dance, you have displayed all types of dancing after scoring goals.

Miller: - Ha ha ha…Yeah…I really enjoyed each and every football match, where I scored goals for our Cameroon team. Why not? You should celebrate even a small moment of success, without thinking about the final result of the match.

Arindam: - You retired from International football at the age of 43 years. My goodness! How you played football after 40 years also?

Miller: - Football is such a fantastic game that I will not hesitate to play at the age of 60 years also. For any footballer, the game of football is an addiction. You cannot completely stop playing this game, even if you retire from international football. Even as a coach also, you will play football with your boys during training session...he he he….Let me tell you that for a sportsman, the age is only on the mind. If you think that you have become old, then you can retire from international football at the age of 28 years also, but, if you think that you are as young as a child at the age of 40 years, then you will continue playing the football.

Arindam: - Ha ha ha…yeah, yeah…I appreciate you viewpoint, Mr. Miller. In this World Cup, which African team is looking good for qualifying in the next round?

Miller: - Somehow, all the African teams have failed to perform in this World Cup. South Africa, Ivory Coast and Algeria have just started. But the other teams like Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana are all experienced teams. These countries played World Cup before also. Their performances are very poor in this tournament. But, yes, out of the new teams, I have some expectations from Ivory Coast. I really like the way this Drogba plays. African football is proud of Drogba. Everyone talks about Messi and Kaka, but they don’t know that Drogba is a dark horse, who can start running from anywhere. Chelsea rocked because of Drogba only.

Arindam: - Well, Ghana played against Australia. Let us hear from Mr. ARINAN about how Ghana has performed against the Kangaroos.

Mr. ARINAN: - The match was not so impressive. Ghana played better football than Aussies, but still the match ended in a 1-1 draw. It was Asamoah Gyan again, who scored goals for Ghana.

Miller: - Yeah, Gyan is also a good African player in this world cup. He is getting goals. Accha, what happened in another match between Netherlands and Japan?

Mr. ARINAN: - Japan is not looking as a good Asian side at all. The Dutch defenders were just marking the Japanese strikers so well that Japan failed to score goals. It was Sneijder, who scored the only winning goal for Netherlands.

Arindam: - Well, we are running out of time. Viewers, we will end our show here. Goodbye.

Part – 11

Arindam: - Good evening, viewers. In this episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ program on your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have with us in our studio, a very famous footballer from Brazil. His name is Ronaldinho. Mr. Ronaldinho, thanks for coming to our show. Fans of Brazilian football are missing you in this world cup. You became famous with your superb long distance free kick against England in a World Cup. After that match, you became a star.

Ronaldinho: - How can I forget that match? That match was the turning point in my career. Actually, before taking that free kick, I saw that the England goalkeeper came out half a meter from the goal post. That’s why; I targeted the upper portion of that goal post.

Arindam: - You have scored many goals after dribbling the ball in the penalty area. One thing I don’t understand that why Brazilians as well as Argentine footballers are always expert in dribbling?

Ronaldinho: - That’s the traditional style of Latin American football. There is a difference between Latin American football and European football. In Europe, you will see lots of zigzag passing from one end to the other before the ball reaches the opponent’s penalty area. But in Latin American football, all the players try to cover as much distance as they can with the ball in their feet. If a player cannot keep the ball in control anymore, then only he passes the ball to the other player.

Arindam: - That is suicidal in this competitive football arena. If you don’t give rapid passes to the other players, you will not get goals.

Ronaldinho: - No, you are wrong. The more a footballer keeps the ball in his possession, the more confidence he gains. He also learns rapidly about the weak defenders of the opponent team while dribbling the ball. Next time; all the strikers try to target that zone of the opponents’ defense, where the weak defenders are standing. You can analyze any football match of Brazil. You will always find that in the first 20 minutes, we always play possession game and do dribbling inside the opponent’s penalty box. Then slowly and steadily we increase our pace from the weakest zone of the opponent’s defense and ultimately we get a goal. Latin American footballers believe in hitting the weakest point of the opponent first whereas the European footballers believe in conquering the opponents from all ends without bothering about their opponent’s strong and weak points. That’s why; you will always find a neck and neck battle when a Latin American team clashes with any European team.

Arindam: - Mr. Ronaldinho, we will carry on our discussion, but before that let us hear from Mr. ARINAN about the results of some football matches.

Mr. ARINAN: - Paraguay dominated the entire match against Slovakia. Vera chipped in the ball inside the Slovakian goal post to give Paraguay the lead. In the 2^nd half, it was Riveros, who scored another goal for Paraguay with his fabulous shot. Paraguay defeated Slovakia by 2 goals. On the same day, the Romans had a tough time with the Kiwis. The Kiwis scored a sensational goal to take the lead. Luckily, the Romans got a penalty to level the score; otherwise, the defending champions were just playing pathetic football. Italy and New Zealand shared 1 point each with the score line of 1-1. The real encounter was between Brazil and Ivory Coast. Everyone was waiting for some cracking competition between the two teams. But, Brazil got back some rhythm in this match. Fabiano scored one fabulous goal but his second goal was controversial due to his ‘hand-ball’ jugglery. Elano again gave a sweet touch to the ball to score a goal. Kaka acted like Zidane and deserved the Red Card. Drogba gifted Ceaser a superb header to score a goal.

Arindam: - Hmm…Fabiano was lucky to get that 2^nd goal because the referee was too much liberal.

Ronaldinho: - Nobody from Ivory Coast appealed for the hand-ball, so, the referee couldn’t cancel that goal as per FIFA rules. But, what Kaka did was totally unprofessional and unnecessary.

Arindam: - Anyway, Mr. Ronaldinho, your Brazil team is already in the round of 16. We hope to see Brazil clashing with Argentina in the ultimate final. We will end our show here.

Part – 12

Arindam: - Good evening viewers. In this episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ program in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have invited a famous Portuguese player, whose name is Nuno Gomez. Welcome to our show, Mr. Gomez. Now, let me ask you a question to test your general knowledge. Who was the first European to discover India through sea-route?

Gomez: - It was Vasco da Gama of Portugal.

Arindam: - Yes, you are absolutely right. In Goa, still today, you will find some Portuguese colonies.

Gomez: - Oh! Yeah…Goa is a lovely place in India. I have also heard that Goans are fond of playing football too.

Arindam: - People of Goa started playing football much later. It was the people of Bengal, who started playing football against the English people, when India was under the British rule. The Mohum Bagan team is the oldest club of India. Even you will be surprised to know that the flag of Mohun Bagan is almost similar to the national flag of Portugal. The flag of Mohun Bagan club is maroon and deep green colors. The national flag of Portugal has deep red and light green colors.

Gomez: - Wow! That’s really cool. But, I think that within the next 20 years, India should qualify for the World Cup. If North Korea and New Zealand can play good football, then why can’t India? North Korea really played well against Brazil. New Zealand footballers are not bad either.

Arindam: - North Korea is a good team! Is it so? Anyway, let us just check out from Mr. ARINAN about the match between Portugal and North Korea.

Mr. ARINAN: - in the 1^st half, it was just an ordinary fight between North Korea and Portugal. Portugal was leading by 1 goal in the 1^st half. Everyone was expecting a good fight from the North Koreans in the 2^nd half. But, surprisingly, Portugal footballers just started hammering nails on the North Korean coffin. It was a fabulous match to watch. The Portuguese footballers were just running yards after yards and giving accurate passes to score goals. Portugal won the match with the second best margin of all World Cup tournaments. The score line was 7-0. It was the biggest ever win for Portugal in any World Cup.

Arindam: - Mr. Gomez, Portugal has destroyed the North Korean nuclear missiles. What is your opinion about that?

Gomez: - Well, that will be a huge confidence booster for our Portuguese footballers. Portugal is expected to give a good fight against Brazil in the next encounter, though that match is meaningless, but still, Portugal team should not become complacent.

Arindam: - in your times, you have not scored too many goals, but, you always acted like a game-maker. The way you used to pass the ball to the strikers and used to rotate your own position was just outstanding. You were in that Portugal team, which rocked in a Euro cup. Even the big teams like France and Spain were scared of Portugal in that time. Do you think that this Portugal team is also going to rock in this World Cup?

Gomez: - Yeah, this team surely has the potential to beat any team. If they have been able to score so many goals against North Korea, then it is because of the fact that they played in modern European club football style. In European club football, a footballer does not keep the ball in his feet for more than 5 seconds. He just passes the ball to his teammate and keeps on moving to accept the pass from other teammates.

Arindam: - Yes, you are right. Portugal team just did that against North Korea. But, the passes were in a zigzag fashion and were very much accurate, which helped them to score goals so easily. Anyway, Mr. Gomez, thanks for coming to our show. Viewers, we will end our show here, but, before we wrap up, our Mr. ARINAN will provide you the details of other matches. So, just stay tuned.

Mr. ARINAN: - The red colored Chile team was hot for the Switzerland. Hardly, the Switzerland team was able to construct any fruitful attack. Chile won by 1-0. In other match, Daniel Villa constructed the ‘Victory Villa’ for Spain by scoring 2 goals against Honduras. Villa missed a penalty to miss his hat-trick.

Part – 13

Arindam: - Good evening, viewers. In this episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ program in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have invited Mr. Ariel Ortega, the famous Argentine footballer. Welcome to our show, Mr. Ortega. First of all, I want to ask you that which is your favorite team in this World Cup other than Argentina?

Ortega: - Hmm…well, Brazil is looking good, but, personally, I don’t want them to win this world cup as they have already won for 5 times. Germany, Spain, Portugal, Uruguay as well as Netherlands look quite good. Before the world cup, England and France were also there in my favorite teams list, but, somehow, I am not at all impressed about France and England team.

Arindam: - Ok, we will continue our discussion on it, but before that let us hear what Mr. ARINAN has to say about the match between France and South Africa.

Mr. ARINAN:- The ‘humming bee’ tone of Vuvuzela blow-pipes of the Bafana Bafana team were more than enough to take the advantage of French revolution that ruined the practice sessions of France football team. The countrymen of Napoleon played pathetic football against the countrymen of Nelson Mandela. Not for a single moment, any of the French footballer looked like fighting against the South Africans. They were just playing the football as if they have been forcefully told to go and play this particular match. South Africa played well to defeat France by 2-1 but was not enough for them to qualify in the Round of 16.

Arindam: - French revolution! Hmm…indeed it is quite true that the ‘Anelka’ controversy spoiled the show for the French team. Mr. Ortega, what is your opinion about the France team in this tournament?

Ortega: - They shouldn’t have forgot that they came here to play for their motherland, not for a particular club. I don’t know why there were some ego clashes and even if that existed also, then it is not a right thing to stop the practice sessions. When you are skipping practice sessions, it means that you are compromising with football. As a net result, they lost against a weak team like South Africa also. I am not under-estimating South African football team, but at least, for a big team like France, the team of South Africa is a weak team. But, alas, France is out of this tournament after getting defeated by the host country.

Arindam: - Zinedine Zidane will be very disappointed about this result, because neither Algeria nor France has been able to perform in this World Cup. Ok, let us find out from Mr. ARINAN that actually which two teams have qualified from Group A.

Mr. ARINAN: - It was a good competitive battle between Uruguay and Mexico. The Red Indians tried their level best but the Uruguay footballers played better football. Uruguay defeated Mexico by 1-0. But the Red Indians still have something to cheer as they have qualified for the next round to clash against Argentina. The efforts of South African were not enough for them to qualify in the next round, but their consolation prize will be that they have defeated a big team like France.

Arindam: - So, Mexico will clash against Argentina. Hmm…Mr. Ortega, for Argentina, is Mexico a tough side or a weak side?

Ortega: - Well, there is no point in under-estimating Mexico. They also have some good strikers. Santos is already playing good football. And you should not forget Mr. Blanco of Mexico. Blanco is the experienced striker in that team, who is a very smart footballer. He can create opportunities from any position at anytime.

Arindam: - Hey, Mr. ARINAN, can you please tell us, what actually happened in the match between Argentina and Greece?

Mr. ARINAN: - The match between Argentina and Greece was a meaningless match for Argentina. That’s why; Diego Maradona rested 7 senior players and played all the junior players by making Messi as the captain. The Argentine team was struggling to get the rhythm in the 1^st half as the Greeks were busy in spoiling the game unnecessarily to get the match drawn. In the half-time break, when the Greece team heard the result that South Korea is leading Nigeria by 1 goal, then the think-tank of Greece changed. In the 2^nd half, the Greeks started playing attacking football, with Samaras almost getting two sure-shot scoring chances. The Argentine footballer were smart to understand that this is the time to counter-attack Greece, because unlike the 1^st half, now, only 3 defenders are there in the penalty area. The counter-attack strategy of Argentina worked well. They got 2 goals within the last 27 minutes of the match. Argentina won by 2-0 against Greece.

Arindam: - Mr. Ortega, don’t you think that this time, Diego Maradona has many weapons in his hand. Even the 2^nd level team of Argentina is as strong as 1^st level team. Demicheles, Parmer and Diego Milito are also good players. Then, Rodrigues is also a player, who acts like a submarine.

Ortega: - Yeah, this Argentina team is full of talented resources but the tough task will be to get the right combination to beat the opponents. That is where Diego Maradona has to play a key role as a coach.

Arindam: - after the retirement of Diego Maradona, you used to play for Argentina team with that Jersey No. 10. You used to play well, but, there is a black spot in your career that you used to foul the opponent players unnecessarily. There was a lack of discipline in you. Is it true?

Ortega: - Ha ha ha…in any football match, these things happen. Everyone pushes or tackles the other. Football is a second version of rugby only but it has been modified in a very sophisticated manner.

Arindam: - Then you are saying that if a player is fouling the other players, then he will not be shown the Red or Yellow Card. In this World Cup only, there are many matches, where a player was shown the Red Card and his team played with 10 men. Due to the shortage of 1 player, the team lost to their opponent team. You want to say that discipline is not at all a factor in football.

Ortega: - of course, discipline should be there. Nowadays, FIFA has become very strict in its rules, which is good for football only. In our days, you cannot imagine, what kind of foul used to take place. Go and ask Diego Maradona. He will tell you, how he was fouled brutally in many matches of the World Cup? In my opinion, Argentine players should maintain discipline in this World Cup rather than following the footsteps of Zidane and Kaka.

Arindam: - Thanks a lot, Mr. Ortega, for coming to our show and sharing your views. Viewers, we will end our show here, but before that Mr. ARINAN will tell you something about the match between Nigeria and South Korea. So, just stay tuned.

Mr. ARINAN: - Nigeria started off well to get a lead by 1 goal, but the South Koreans came back in the match by scoring 2 valuable goals. Mr. Park parked the ball inside the Nigerian goalpost. In the 2^nd half, Nigerian footballers gave their heart out to get an equalizer. Yakubu got a babysitter, but, alas, he failed to score. He should get an award for missing that opportunity to score goal. But, God gave him another chance and this time it was in the form of a penalty. He scored the goal to make it 2-2. As the game progressed, Nigerian footballers got the information that Greece is trailing against Argentina by 2 goals. So, there is still hope for Nigeria to qualify if they can beat South Korea. They tried their level best. Martinis was unable to give an effective final touch. The Nigerian footballer missed their chances like the school level football team. As a net result, South Korea qualified for the next round to play against Uruguay.

Part – 14

Arindam: - Viewers, today in this 14^th episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ program in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have invited a famous British football striker, whose name is Michael Owen. Mr. Owen, welcome to our show. But, before we start our discussion, we will hear from Mr. ARINAN about the match between England and Slovenia.

Mr. ARINAN: - England was not at all playing good football against Slovenia. Rather, Slovenia was playing more attacking football than England. Luckily, the British Defoe became ‘THE FOE’ for Slovenia. The Slovenian goalkeeper misjudged the ball and was unable to grab it with his gloves. Otherwise, the Slovenian goalkeeper saved many deadly shots of the English strikers. Also, the defense of this England team was looking good in this match. The defenders of England team blocked at least 2 sure-shot goals. England has qualified for the next round.

Arindam: - So, Mr. Owen, this England team is not playing good football at all. Luckily, they have reached the round of 16. What you say about it?

Owen: - Well, I am very much confident that England will get back their attacking rhythm in the ‘round of 16’ match. Rooney, Gerrard and Terry are always the hard-working players of our side, but, somehow, they are not getting the winning goals for the side.

Arindam: - in your times, you have scored a goal by dribbling through 6 defenders. That was one of the best classic goals of the world. Really, this England side is missing you.

Owen: - Ha ha ha…yeah, yeah, that was one of my best goals. There was one time, when I and Beckham used to rule for England. But, somehow, things have changed. But, that does not mean that this England side is a very weak side. Defoe, Lampard and Heskey are acting like good game-makers. If England plays in a combination of 3-2-2-3 formation, then they are sure to get an early breakthrough.

Arindam: - hmm…England team was looking like an attacking team against Slovenia, after they scored a winning goal from Defoe’s leg. Ok, now let us check out from Mr. ARINAN about the match between USA and Algeria.

Mr. ARINAN: - The countrymen of Abraham Lincoln were having a great fight with the African desert foxes. Algerians were thinking that the match will be a mere goalless draw, but, alas, within the 3 minutes injury time, Mr. Donovan just stunned the desert foxes with his winning goal. After 90 minutes of that match, USA football team fans were thinking of packing their luggage to go back to their home, but, in the 91^st minute, they got the confirmation that they are here to stay in South Africa to watch the round of 16 match as USA has qualified as a leader of its own group.

Arindam: - Really, if you look at the points table of both Group-C and Group –D, it is really a thriller to know, who will actually qualify to the next round.

Owen: - Yeah, that’s what is making this particular World Cup a very special World Cup. In our days, in every group, there used to be two strong teams with two weak teams. Automatically, people used to predict about the teams which will reach the round of 16. But, in this World Cup, even the weak teams are stunning the strong teams, which make the tournament more competitive and exciting. When a weak team beats a strong team in this tournament, it is not the weak team, but the game of football wins the match. When you see some new countries playing good quality football, then as a footballer you have to appreciate that the game of football is gaining more popularity nowadays.

Arindam: - Yeah, that’s true. Hey, Mr. ARINAN, what happened in the match between Germany and Ghana?

Mr. ARINAN: - It was a war between the blacks and the whites on the greenish surface of the world. The dark-skinned Ghana players were wearing white colored jerseys and the white-skinned Germans were wearing black colored jerseys. Only one goal from a German was enough to defeat Ghana, but the Ghana footballers were helpless from their end. It was due to some extraordinary defense from the German side that the Ghana strikers were unable to score the equalizer. At least, Ghana displayed better football than all the other African teams in this World Cup.

Arindam: - Mr. Owen, what is your opinion about these African teams?

Owen: - African teams believe in speed and power rather than in traditional football skills. But, the most disappointing thing for the African players is that they lack concentration. They take off their eyes from the ball during vital times. Yesterday, I saw Yakubu missing a goal just because he took off his eyes from the ball. Many African players don’t give passes to their teammates. Instead they take unnecessary long shots in which the ball traverses above the opponent’s goalpost. I am hardly finding any African strikers except Drogba, who knows how to convert a mere opportunity into a winning goal.

Arindam: - It is so sad that the FIFA World Cup is being played in South Africa and not a single African nation has been able to perform till now. Anyway, let us have some information about the match between Australia and Serbia from Mr. ARINAN.

Mr. ARINAN: - The Kangaroos were hopping in the 1^st half but in the 2^nd half they started chasing the European White Eagles from all ends to conquer their territories. The Kangaroos scored 2 goals where the White Eagles have nothing to do rather than staring at them. But, after the 70^th minute of the match, the White Eagles started playing their traditional European attacking game and it worked for them. They got a goal. They also got another goal, but this one was cancelled due to offside. There was a strong appeal for a hand-ball from the Serbian side, but, somehow, that hand-ball was not an intentional one, that’s why, the referee granted the benefit-of-doubt in favor of the Australian defender. Australia defeated Serbia by 2-1 but it was not enough for the Kangaroos. But, the Kangaroos shattered the dream of the White Eagles. Due to the defeat of Serbia against Australia, the Ghana team got the 2^nd spot and was lucky enough to reach the round of 16. As USA has topped in its group and England is in the 2^nd spot, so, there is a bad news. Both Germany and England will clash in the Round of 16, which means that one favorite team will be eliminated in the Pre-Quarter round itself.

Arindam: - Germany is going to clash against England! Mr. Owen, who will win the war? It is a war between the countrymen of the Winston Churchill and the Adolf Hitler.

Owen: - Ha ha ha…well, it is very tough to say. Both teams are equal in all respects. I will say that Germany has 51% chance to win and England has 49%. I am putting Germany ahead, because Klose is going to come back in the team and this German team has a good speed, whereas, England is yet to show some real good rhythm in the midfield area. If a team needs to stop Germany, then it has to play superb constructive football in the midfield area, otherwise, the German team will create the opportunities for goals through long zigzag passes.

Arindam: - Anyway, we hope that whoever plays better football on that particular day should win the match. No one loves to select a winner through tie-breakers or sudden death drama. Mr. Owen, thanks for coming to our show. Viewers, we will end our show here. Don’t forget to see our next episode. Take care and goodbye.

Part – 15

Arindam: - Good Evening, viewers! Just guess who is in our studio tonight. Well, it is none other than a famous Italian player, Paolo Maldini. Mr. Maldini, welcome to our show. But before we start our discussion on football, let us hear from Mr. ARINAN about the matches between Paraguay and New Zealand as well as between Italy and Slovakia.

Mr. ARINAN: - The match between Paraguay and New Zealand was a boring one. Again, the Kiwis ended up in a draw and this time it was a goalless one against Paraguay. In the other encounter, the Romans were attacked from all ends by the Slovakians. The match was the best match of this World Cup till now. Vittek emerged as victorious Vittek to score two valuable goals. Italy played well in the 2^nd half to give back 2 goals. The Romans were trying to give the last ant-bites before its death in this World Cup, but, alas, another Slovakian striker scored the third goal for his team, due to the callousness of Italian defenders and goalkeeper. Italy tried their level best to make the match 3-3, but, unfortunately the score line remained 3-2, which was enough to bid goodbye to the Romans from this World Cup venue. Slovakia after a stunning win is now second in the group after Paraguay and qualified for the round of 16.

Arindam: - Mr. Maldini, Italy has been defeated by 3-2 by a weaker team like Slovakia. The whole world knows that you were an icon of traditional Italian defensive football. But, in this World Cup, what went wrong with the Italian defense? They conceded 3 goals.

Maldini: - This Italian team was not playing their traditional Italian football. They were playing attacking football in every match. But, side by side, they also gave little focus on their defense line-up. If you see the 3^rd goal scored by Slovakia, it was just a nightmare. Somebody threw the ball from the sideline and it entered the penalty area of Italy very safely. Then with a little touch, a Slovakian striker scored that goal. I mean that is just horrible. There was complete lack of co-ordination between the Italian goalkeeper and the defenders. The Italian defenders were not complementary to each other. If you want to make a strong defense, then first of all you need to create a virtual wall or maze, through which the ball cannot pass. In our times, we used to trap any opponent striker inside our penalty area. When a opponent striker used to enter our penalty area with the ball, two defenders used to run along with that striker and the other three defenders used to block the other opponent strikers diagonally so that the former opponent striker cannot give pass to his teammates. But, in this Italy team, I find that all the defenders were getting clustered at that region where the ball is. That’s not defense; that is just a childish game of chasing the ball rather than guarding or tackling the opponent strikers. I am really disappointed to hear that Italy is out of this World Cup in the 1^st round itself. I don’t remember also when it happened last time that Italy is not in the 2^nd round of the World Cup.

Arindam: - Hmm…European football is in great mess, but the small European countries like Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia have impressed with their new attacking styles. Anyway, let us hear about the other matches from Mr. ARINAN.

Mr. ARINAN: - Cameroon as usual proved themselves as one of the weakest African teams in this World Cup. Even South Africa played better football than Cameroon. In the clash between Cameroon and Netherlands, the Orange people have dominated the entire match with their counter-attacking football. Unlike the African footballers, the Dutch footballers know how to finish any opportunity in the form of a winning goal. Etoo scored a goal in the penalty, but that was not enough as Cameroon lost to Netherlands by 2-1. In another do-or-die battle, the people from the land of the rising sun rose to their extreme height of respectable football playing capability. Honda gifted a ‘Roberto-Carlos’ type free-kick to Denmark and after few minutes, another Japanese striker displayed the ‘David-Beckham’ style free-kick to score the 2^nd goal for Japan. The Danish goalkeeper had nothing to utter but to stare at the rising Japanese strikers. Maybe, the Danish goalkeeper would have asked the question, ‘Where from these Japanese footballers learnt the art of swinging free-kicks and that too with this Jabulani ball?’ Denmark was not leaving any stone unturned. They gave their best efforts and even got some good opportunities, but, the Japanese goalkeeper was as sharp as Oliver Kahn. The Japanese goalkeeper denied at least 3 sure-shot goals for Denmark. Denmark got a fake penalty. There also, Tomassen luckily scored a goal in a rebound from the Japanese goalkeeper. In respect to Japan, Denmark played poor football. Japan scored another goal also and made the final score line as 3-1 against Denmark. Japan has qualified from its group along with Netherlands. Netherlands will clash against Slovakia and Japan will clash against Paraguay in the Round of 16.

Arindam: - Wow! What a match it will be between Slovakia and Netherlands! You never know! This Slovakian team is now a very confident side, but we hope that they don’t become complacent also, because the Dutch footballers can attack from anywhere.

Maldini: - I don’t think that Slovakia can stun the Dutch people, because Netherlands team doesn’t need to care about their defense line up because they always play ‘all out-attacking’ football. In this match between Cameroon and Netherlands, I found many a times, Cameroon strikers were in the ‘off-side’ trap because all the Dutch Defenders were standing near the center line only, he he he…

Arindam: - What is your opinion about the Asian sides in this World Cup?

Maldini: - Yeah, the Asian sides are playing impressive football. The way, South Korea and Japan played their last encounter, really, hats off to them. Everyone was talking about African nations, but, I think the Asian nations have improved their football playing strategies. Asian teams are looking expert in playing mind game better than any European team. Even North Korea was playing the mind game against Brazil in their first match. Brazilian team luckily got a goal from Maicon, otherwise, North Koreans were frustrating the Brazilian footballers from all ends.

Arindam: - Well, there will be clash between Ivory Coast and North Korea a few hours from now. After a humiliating defeat in the hands of Portugal, can the North Koreans produce some stunning results?

Maldini: - Don’t underestimate Drogba’s Ivory Coast. The biggest challenge for Ivory Coast is that they are in the ‘Group of Death’ with Brazil and Portugal.

Arindam: - Yeah, yeah, Brazil and Portugal are the two great monsters and everyone is also eager to watch the fight of the monsters. Mr. Maldini, thanks for coming to our show. Viewers, we will wrap up our show here. Take care and goodnight.

Part – 16

Mr. ARINAN: - Brazil and Portugal played safe football. They knew it very well that a mere draw is enough for them to qualify for the 2^nd round. The battle was on, in the 1^st half; with both the teams getting at least two sure shot chances. The Portuguese goalkeeper performed well in this match. Ronaldo was sprinting like a dangerous cheetah inside the Brazilian penalty area. Brazil missed their Kaka. In the 2^nd half, it was a display of spoil-sport from the Brazilians. Portugal kept on attacking Brazil in the 2^nd half but they also missed some silly chances. In another encounter, Ivory Coast scored 3 goals against North Korea, but that was not enough. Drogba was the show stealer but that win against North Korea is just a consolation prize for Ivory Coast.

Arindam: - Thanks Mr. ARINAN. Viewers, we are back again with our ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ program in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT)‘ TV Channel. Today, we have invited Kaka in our studio. Mr. Kaka, you may be very disappointed that you missed the match against Portugal.

Kaka: - Yeah, a little bit, but, I am lucky that I can play in the Round of 16. Anyway, the match against Portugal was not so important for us, because we were already through to the next round.

Arindam: - as one of the reputed footballers of recent times, why you fouled an Ivory Coast footballer unnecessarily? Don’t you know that if you continue doing like this, then your career may also end like it happened for Zinedine Zidane?

Kaka: - Actually, somehow, I lost my concentration towards the game of football in that match. All the defenders of Ivory Coast were fouling me. That’s why; I also fouled one of them. I was sure that the referee will not be able to notice it. But, nowadays, the referees recruited by FIFA are like deadly hawks. They can notice every minute details of the match with superb agility.

Arindam: - Ha ha ha…That’s why; FIFA has its own brand. Many people don’t know that there is a special training session for all the referees. After that training, the referees need to give an exam. The exams were based on some simulated situations as well as some practice matches, where a referee has to prove his capability of controlling discipline. The referees, those who pass that test are selected for the World Cup. Even there is an exam for the Lines-men too. In the next World Cup, FIFA is going to formulate strict rules, like in injury time; no team can perform substitution of their players to waste time. Also, a player, if injured and lying more than 30 seconds inside the field will automatically be taken out of the field. If a player asks any invalid question to the referee or argues with the referee, then the referee is allowed to show yellow card to that player. During free-kick, only 3 defenders will be allowed to form a wall. There are some other strict rules also. So, it hardly matters for FIFA, whether you are a good footballer or a bad footballer, what matters is that you need to be a disciplined footballer, otherwise, you will be shown the door. So, Mr. Kaka, you need to be very careful.

Kaka: - Yeah, from now on, I will play football in a very decent manner. This Red Card is a learning experience for me.

Arindam: - Everyone was missing you in the match between Brazil and Portugal. You are the game-maker for Brazil. If Messi dribbles with his left foot, then you are classy with your right foot. Your correct passes inside the penalty area create the opportunities for scoring goals.

Kaka: - I am not the only game-maker in this Brazilian team. Without Robinho’s support in the other wing of the midfield, it becomes very difficult for me to enter into the opponent’s penalty area. Then there is Maicon, who can sprint anytime from the Brazilian defense area to the opponent’s penalty area. Maicon follows the strategy of Roberto Carlos. Even you are forgetting Elano, who is expert in giving the final touches to the ball. That makes him very special. Dribbling is very easy for me but for giving the correct pass at the right position is the toughest job for me. When I dribble and enter the penalty area, I just look for the options about whom to give the next pass. At that point, my brain starts working. Within fraction of a second, I decide the most feasible option and then I give the pass to that person, who is in an easier position in front of the opponent’s goal post. Ultimately, the pass works. To whom, I give the pass, he scores the goal. That is what Brazilian football is all about. It is a combination of your brainy decisions and leg-skills.

Arindam: - do you know, how famous you are worldwide? Even in Bengal of India, you are as famous as Messi. In Bengali, the word ‘Kaka’ means ‘Uncle’. Therefore, for every Bengali fans of Brazilian football worldwide, you are regarded as the ‘Uncle Sam’ of Samba football. But, alas, sometimes, you act like ‘Uncle Podger’ by forgetting about the basic ethical values of the game of football. Anyway, Mr. Kaka, it’s up to you now. Ok, now, let us hear from Mr. ARINAN about the other two matches.

Mr. ARINAN: - One should give awards to both the Switzerland and the Honduras team for missing the chances of scoring sure-shot goals. Even the Jabulani felt frustrated. The Jabulani tried its level best to go past the strikers of both the teams, but, alas, none of the strikers of both the teams were even able to give a little touch to it. As a result, both the frustrated team ended their frustration with a goalless draw to start their frustrating journey towards their respective homeland. The other encounter was a real war. The Spanish Bulls were chewing the red hot Chile. But, the bricks of Spanish ‘Villa’ are very strong. The Chilean goalkeeper came out of his territory and Mr. David constructed a new Spanish ‘Victorious Villa’ on that Chilean’s territory. Iniesta scored another goal. The Chile striker got back one but that was not enough. The match ended in 2-1. The neighboring country of Argentina will face Brazil and the Spanish Bulls will have to tackle their neighboring Portuguese matadors in the Pre-Quarter finals.

Arindam: - Wow! It will be Brazil Vs Chile and Spain Vs Portugal. Mr. Kaka, your next encounter is against red hot Chile, who were runners up in the World Cup qualifiers from Latin America. So, can Brazil win that match against them?

Kaka: - We know every pros and cons about this Chile team. We have faced them many a times in the qualifiers. We know how to tackle them, but, yes, the Chile team also has good strikers. They are not a weak team.

Arindam: - Hmm… so, we can hope for a great battle. In Pre-Quarters, there can be no tie, but a result is evident. Therefore, all the teams will go for the kill. Mr. Kaka, thanks for coming to our show and sharing your views. We will end our show here. Viewers! don’t miss our next episode. Take care and goodbye.

Part – 17

Arindam: - Good Evening, viewers. Tonight in our show, we have invited in our studio a very special person of USA. His name is Bill Clinton. He is the former President of USA cum the husband of Hillary Clinton. Mr. Clinton, welcome to our show.

Clinton: - Thank you. Wow! What a studio it is indeed! This studio of your ‘Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT)’ TV Channel looks like a spaceship. Everywhere, I can see some modern electronic gadgets, play stations with simulated environment, touch-screens and data -extraction kiosks. The light is bluish out here. Hey, what is that?

Arindam: - That’s a robot which works like an ‘Artificial Intelligence Analyzer’ toolbox. The name of the robot is Mr. ARINAN.

Clinton: - Wow! That’s great. Good evening; Mr. ARINAN, how are you?

Mr. ARINAN: - I am fine. I am a robot. I have no tension at all. I don’t have to eat, drink or let all things out from my body. I have only two activities. Either I am in activation mode (awake) or in de-activation mode (sleeping).

Clinton: - Ha ha ha…what a funny answer! God should have created only robots instead of human beings, he he he…

Arindam: - Mr. Clinton, may be you are not aware of the fact that self-controlled robot can also be created, but the problem is that it will destroy the whole world. Therefore, it is always feasible to create a robot, which remains under the control of humans.

Clinton: - Hmm…Indian scientists are very intelligent. I must appreciate that.

Arindam: - That’s why; NASA is repeatedly offering high lucrative pay package to our Indian Space Scientists to do the brain drain from India. Scientists are now not working for ISRO but for the NASA of USA. As a net result, the ISRO is failing in some of its projects like the recent one regarding the launch of GSLV-D3, the cryogenic engine rocket.

Clinton: - Come on, Arindam. For one failed operation, you cannot take all the credit away from ISRO. In Space Research, failures are the pillars of success. If you fail for the first time, then you will learn from the mistakes. I think that the combustion box of that cryogenic engine was too small to handle the pressure, that’s why; after going for around more than 500 Km, it did not got separated from the main engine to trigger itself. Arindam, don’t forget that it is ISRO only which is the first space research center in the world to prove that there is water on the moon. NASA just re-examined the moon’s surface to confirm it.

Arindam: - When you people know all these facts and figures very well, then why NASA is yet to work in collaboration with ISRO?

Clinton: - Then you may not be aware of the fact that already NASA is willing to work with ISRO and the space research center of Russia and other countries.

Arindam: - Well, Mr. Clinton, how is Monica Lewinsky?

Clinton: - She is fine, I hope. After all, she utilized me to come to the limelight. But, thanks to God, that I had the ‘Hillary’ medicine with me and her regular doses helped me to get well soon both physically and mentally.

Arindam: - Yeah, after all, Hillary is a hilarious ‘better half’ of yours, but, I really wonder, how you fell in the sleazy trap of Monica, despite having such an attractive wife like Hillary. USA is a very modern a liberal country where women molests a man but a man never dares to rape any girl. I have hardly heard that a girl has been raped in USA. Rather I have heard that a 13 year old boy has become a father because the school nurses failed to provide him a condom.

Clinton:- Ha ha ha…uff, Arindam, your statements are funnier than your appearance, he he he…But, in India, at least 9 girls get physically abused, molested or raped in a hour and in many cases, the minor girls become the victim. I have heard about lots of rape cases in Pune, Delhi and Goa. Poor and minor girls are treated like toilet soaps in India. That’s a shame.

Arindam: - Mr. Clinton, extra-marital affairs in India does not fall under any sex scandal category. In India, if you are a powerful married man or woman and not indulged in extra-marital affairs, then you will not get respect from your subordinates or society people, but, if you sexually abuse, molest or rape any girl, then it is treated as a criminal offence. Whereas in USA, if a married person has extra-marital affairs, then it becomes a criminal offence but if an unmarried person sleeps with any girl, it is just normal. Take the example of Tiger Woods only. Tiger Woods has not raped or molested any girl. She just had love affairs with many girls including porn stars. The girls who have seduced Tiger Woods to earn money are not guilty but the Tiger Woods, because the Tiger has a wife. How funny it is indeed! The Tiger should have kept all the birds of his woods inside a cage.

Clinton: - Hmm…in USA, the media people just need a reason to whitewash any celebrity or powerful person. That’s why; every now and then, there are cases of homicides and suicides of USA celebrities.

Arindam:- He he he…In developing countries, the girls always complain that why the boys will always have fun, but in developed countries, the girls do all the fun and point fingers at the boys by stating that the boys don’t have any moral values. See the fun! Anyway, forget that topic. Mr. Clinton, recently you have been spotted in a football stadium of South Africa. Is it true? What were you doing there? Was Monica there in that stadium? He he he….

Clinton: - No, there was no Monica there, but, our countrymen was there to play football with Ghana in the round of 16.

Arindam: - Oh! Yes, you are right. I just forgot about the topic of football while chatting with you. Now, look, what this robot, Mr. ARINAN will do for us. He will give the analysis of the match between Ghana and USA.

Clinton: - Wow! That’s great. I have never experienced in my life that a robot is giving the analysis of any football match. Let me hear it.

Mr. ARINAN: - The Black Stars of Africa clashed with the countrymen of Abraham Lincoln. Ghana dominated the match with their speed and power. USA lacked that speed but put up a great fight against them. It was the ‘Prince’ of Ghana, who scored a ‘Princely’ goal but not in a princely style. It was just a simple shot, which was enough to beat the USA goalkeeper. The Kingson acted like the son of a King of Ghana. The goalkeeper showed his expertise to tackle any US striker with his two legs. Kingson saved at least 5 goals for Ghana. All was going well for Ghana, but USA suddenly increased their attack in the 2^nd half. In all their previous matches, USA came back from behind after the 80^th minute of the match. They repeated the same story here also. After 80^th minute, USA got a penalty and Donovan utilized it, but was lucky enough that the ball entered the goal post after hitting the bar post. The match went into extra-time. Everyone was expecting something extra in this extra-time and the ‘Gyan’ of Ghana fulfilled that expectation by scoring a golden goal with his terrific left-footed shot. In the extra-time, USA failed to come back from behind and the neighboring country of Ivory Coast and Nigeria qualified for the quarter final.

Arindam: - Oops! Mr. Clinton. USA failed to come back from behind this time. By the way, is USA expert in coming back from behind? If that is so, then why, the US economy is yet to recover? Do you think that Barack Obama is a good President of USA?

Clinton: - Ha ha ha…USA always comes back from behind but not in all instances. Arindam, what can a President of a country do, if the people of that country don’t understand the basic meaning of the word ‘savings’. Japan, South Africa, Brazil, China and India are the super economic powers of the future because the people of these countries know how to keep a balance between the income and the expenditure so that their savings become more than sufficient for them to sustain and lead a healthy life. But, in USA, if a person earns 100 bucks a day, then he will spend 98 bucks in that day itself. The next day, he will take a bank loan of 500 bucks to enjoy and party with his friends. So, if no one is keeping their money in their savings account in a bank, then where from the banks will get money and utilize it elsewhere to earn profit on that investment. Economy of any country is governed by the common people of that country, not by the President, Prime Minister or Finance Minister of that country. A President or Finance Minister can only implement a financial policy, but the common man has to realize the essence of saving their hard-earned money.

Arindam: - Well, Mr. Clinton, you are saying these things from the US economy perspective. It is a different ball game in India due to the population outburst. In India, there are lots of savings but hardly any profit on that money. A super power economy should maintain an optimum balance between investing money on market to earn more profits and saving money in the bank to secure it. In USA, people chase the inflation and in India, inflation chases the common man. That’s why; Indian economy still relies on US economy. So, we will hope that in the football match between ‘Global Recession’ and ‘Economic Growth’, the economic growth should come back from behind to win the match as early as possible and for that the strict financial regulation is a must at the root level of all the global financial transactions, otherwise, it will take another 2 years to recover from the global recession.

Clinton: - Yeah, you are partially correct, but, only USA cannot change the economy of the world. All the countries should co-operate with each other in this regard. Had Europe been more supportive towards the financial policy of USA, then there would have been no Greece and London crisis. You never know, what is waiting for Spain, Portugal and Hungary! We, the US people have learnt our lesson of liberal financing, but, now, we are tightening our screws from all ends and we hope that like in any football match of this World Cup, US economy will also come back from behind to revive the World Economy as a much faster rate than it was expected.

Arindam: - Let us see, what happens in future! Anyway; Mr. Clinton, thanks for coming to our show and sharing your valuable views. Viewers, before I sign out from this program, Mr. ARINAN has something to say regarding the match between South Korea and Uruguay. So, just stay tuned for another 5 minutes.

Mr .ARINAN:- The Blue Stars of Latin America played their terrific traditional football to beat the red brigade of Asia. South Koreans played better football than they played in the group stage, but, somehow, their defense failed to understand the tricks of Uruguay strikers. Forlan proved to be one of the smartest players for Uruguay to give a superb pass to Suarez. The ball went past the four South Korean footballers who were standing in a same straight line like fools. The South Korean goalkeeper also failed to grab the ball. Suarez got the ball in his feet and was bang on the target. A few minutes earlier of that moment, the South Korean striker was unlucky as his swinging free-kick hit the Uruguay bar post and came back. But, Chunyoung scored the equalizer for South Korea. Everyone was expecting an extra-time, but, Suarez changed the result. He got a ball in the South Korean penalty area and took a superb swinging shot. The Jabulani hit the bar post but still entered the South Korean goal post. The final score was 2-1. The small neighboring country of Argentina and Brazil, which won the 1^st World Cup football, became the 1^st quarter finalist of FIFA World Cup 2010. They achieved this feat after a long gap of 40 years.

Part – 18

Arindam: - Good evening, viewers. Tonight in our show of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have with us in our studio, the President of the FIFA World Cup 2010 organizing committee, Mr. Danny Jordan. Welcome to our show, Mr. Jordan. Your surname is the name of a small country also. First of all, our viewers want to know that at present how many football playing nations are there in this planet?

Jordan: - Around 211 nations. But, for this World Cup 2010, only 204 nations participated in the qualifiers. The qualifying round started at the end of 2007 and in 2009, the 32 teams got qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2010.

Arindam: - Suddenly, why FIFA decided to make South Africa as a venue? Do you people badly wanted to improve the economy of South Africa?

Jordan: - Ha ha ha…nothing like that. See, FIFA has its own rule of rotating the venue of every World Cup. Earlier, World Cup used to be hosted by either European or Latin American countries. But, now, the policy has changed. All the 6 continents of the World will get the chance to host the FIFA World Cup. Not a single continent can host two FIFA World Cup tournaments consecutively.

Arindam: - Why Antarctica is not in the FIFA list?

Jordan: - He he he…Who will watch the football match in Antarctica? Is it the Penguins only! I am not ruling out Antarctica totally. Maybe, who knows in later stage, we can formulate a game of ‘Ice Football’ for the polar countries. If there is Ice hockey, then why there cannot be any Ice football. Canada, Alaska, Russia, Greenland, Norway, Iceland, Arctic region people as well as Antarctica region scientists can participate in that ‘Ice Football’ game. Even in Winter Olympics, we can include the game of Ice Football. Now, coming to your question that, why we chose South Africa? We have not chosen any particular country at all. When FIFA decided that in 2010, a country from Africa will be given the opportunity to host the World Cup, 6 African nations placed their bids for it. The 6 African nations were: - Morocco, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and South Africa. Later on, Libya and Tunisia jointly placed their bids to increase their chances. But, South Africa thrashed them all in the bidding process. I will not disclose the bid money here, but, South Africa’s bidding call was at least 1.5 times more than the runners-up.

Arindam: - Many people are still confused about the mascot of this World Cup. I also don’t have any idea about it.

Jordan: - The mascot for FIFA World Cup 2010 is ‘Zakumi’. It is a special leopard of South Africa, but not the Cheetah.

Arindam: - Oh! Now I understand! Even the mascot of the Commonwealth Game, which will be hosted in India in 2010, is ‘Shera’, the Royal Bengal Tiger. After all, Royal Bengal Tiger is the national animal of India. Mr. Jordan, FIFA has so much money, but, still, why you people are not doing anything to improve the Indian football?

Jordan: - Hey, now, you have started mudslinging like the other media people. FIFA supports each and every football playing nation to improve their football. Don’t blame FIFA by saying that they have not done anything for Indian football. The problem lies elsewhere. There is no motivation among the people of India to create a good infrastructure for football at the root level. I have visited India. I can see there are many Cricket Coaching camps for school boys here and there in India, but, hardly, I have seen any Football Coaching Center. You go and visit any European country or any Latin American country; you can see that after every 2-3 lanes, there is a football coaching camp, with a new club name. In Europe or Latin America, people start playing football, when they are in class- IV only. But in India, the ‘Physical Education or Training / Sports’ is an optional subject in schools. Even I have observed that children of rich families play Cricket and of poor families play football.

Arindam: - hmm…I can understand, Mr. Jordan. Even nowadays in the age of Computer games, students don’t go to the playground to play a game physically. They just spend their late afternoons in playing ‘EA Sports’ Game or ‘Car Racing’ games. Mr. Jordan, this Jabulani ball has become a topic of discussion. Is the ball too hard to handle.

Jordan: - The Jabulani has been manufactured by Adidas. So, it has to be a perfect football, but, yes, the surface of this ball is harder than the previous ones. But, it hardly matters! Everyone is playing football by wearing spikes only. Maybe, some goalkeepers have complained that due to its hardened surface, the Jabulani often rebounds from their gloves. But, that hardly matters for the game of football. You cannot satisfy each and every footballer at the same time.

Arindam: - Where from you got this surprising name ‘Jabulani’? It sounds awkward.

Jordan: - Ha ha ha…well, Arindam, let me tell you that ‘Jabulani’ is an African word, as far as I know. In Africa, the word ‘Jabulani’ means ‘Bringing Joy to everyone’.

Arindam: - What joy, Mr. Jordan? The poor South African people don’t even get meals twice a day to survive. Unlike IPL, FIFA is not at all doing anything for the poor people of South Africa. In 2009, IPL got so much respect from the South African people because many sponsors came forward to take some initiatives for the poor little children of South Africa, who were unable to go to school due to poverty.

Jordan: - IPL has got so many sponsors. After English Premier League, the Indian Premier League is the best avenue for earning money both for the Team owners and the players. Sponsors get the best opportunity to market their products through IPL. FIFA is not like that. FIFA don’t get too many sponsors.

Arindam: - No, no, Mr. Jordan, I don’t agree to you. I have the facts and figures with me. In the last fiscal year only, FIFA has earned profits, which is around 3.78 times more than that earned by ICC. Don’t worry; I will not disclose the exact amount. Don’t say that FIFA is not having any money. In this tournament, every participant team got around 1 million USD for practicing and training. The teams which went out in the group stage got 7 million USD each. The teams which will go out in the round of 16 get 10 million USD each. The losing quarter finalists will get 19 million USD each. The losing Semi-finalists will get 21 million USD each. The runners-up will get 25 million USD and the World Cup Champion team will get 30 million USD. That is, at least 400 million USD will be the expense for the prize money distribution only and you are saying that FIFA has no money. How funny! Anyway, we will continue our discussion, but before that, let us hear about the matches of England Vs Germany and Argentina Vs Mexico from Mr. ARINAN.

Mr. ARINAN: - The Germans were playing the car racing game and the English were playing the Snake game. In a Car race, the car speeds up in a straight line, whereas, in a Snake Game, the Snake swirls here and there with a much slower speed. The speed created the difference. The goal kick from the German goalkeeper was more than enough for Klose to score the goal. The British defense was looking vulnerable. Podolski scored the 2^nd goal. England strikers were unlucky. Two of their shots hit the German bar post and went out. Gerrard, as a captain, did his best by scoring a goal. The fiery shots of Lampard was on target, but, unlike the case of 1966, this time a sure-shot goal was denied to the England team by the lines-man. FIFA is yet to implement the latest technology to judge goals or fouls. FIFA has not progressed in scientific and technological implementations. They remained in the same confusing position in 2010; what they were in 1966. In the 2^nd half, the seaside castle of England collapsed due to two cannon balls fired from the German submarine. The two cannon balls were the two deadly shots from the 20 years old German, Thomas Mueller. Germany thrashed England by 4-1. Even Adolf Hitler was dancing with joy in the heaven after seeing this match. In another battle, Mexico started off well, but, a clear cut offside goal from Tevez was enough to break the concentration of the Aztecs. The Red Indians came back only in the 2^nd half with a goal from Hernandez. Otherwise, Argentina rocked the show with Higuain and Tevez. The second goal of Tevez was one of the best goals in this tournament. But, Messi is still unlucky to get a goal in this tournament, even after performing those terrific left-footed dribbles. Maradona’s Magical Men defeated the Red Indians of Mayan Civilization by 3-1 to clash with the countrymen of Hitler in the Quarter Final. Whoever wins that match will either be the runners-up or the World Champion of this tournament.

Arindam: - Mr. Jordan, that’s a shameful day for FIFA. Two wrong decisions taken by the Lines-men. Even a little child will say that the England was denied a sure-shot goal and Argentina got the 1^st goal in a clear-cut off-side. Somehow, for the first time, people saw that a referee is having a headphone and also consulting with the Lines-men for 5 minutes about a goal. FIFA should learn from ICC now, about how to use technology in taking fair and neutral decisions. In Cricket, there is a ‘Third-Umpire’. In Lawn Tennis, any player can appeal for ‘Video-Camera’ visuals to take a correct decision. Even in hockey also, a team can appeal for the ‘Second Referee’, who will give the right decision after seeing the video of the incident. But, in football, which is played by more than 200 nations, don’t have a technology to judge whether a decision taken by a referee or a lines-man is right or wrong.

Jordan: - We will implement it in 2014.

Arindam: - What is so special about 2014? Is Sir Issac Newton going to take a re-birth in 2014? What is wrong with 2010? What was wrong in 2002 and 2006? Mr. Jordan, implement the latest technology now, otherwise, it will be a shame for FIFA only. The whole world is watching the FIFA World Cup 2010. They will just laugh at you and your FIFA. When they will shout the ‘Boo Boo’ sound by pointing fingers at you, how will you feel as the Organizing Committee President of this FIFA World Cup 2010?

Jordan: - Ok, ok, we will surely do some ad-hoc arrangement so that a referee and lines-men can consult with the ‘Second Referee’ to take the correct decision. But, the players have to appeal for the ‘Video-Camera’ decision; otherwise, the referee will not consult the ‘Second Referee’.

Arindam: - Well, already the FIFA is under the scanner. Let us see, what kind of technological arrangements will be made by FIFA for the forthcoming matches of this tournament. Anyway, thanks for coming to our show. Viewers, we will end our show here. Don’t forget to watch our next episode. Take care and Good night.

Part – 19

Arindam: - Oho! Viewers! You people are already sitting in front of your TV sets to watch our program of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT) ‘ TV Channel. Well, there is a famous saying in India that ‘If Brazil has Kaka, then India has Dada’. Now, who is this Dada? Hmm…let us find it out from our guest of today’s episode. He is sitting beside me in this studio. Accha, who is this Dada?

Saurav: - Dada is my nickname. People call me Dada worldwide. My real name is Saurav Chandi Ganguly.

Arindam: - Your name is also Chandi?

Saurav: - It is my father’s name. As his son, I bear his name also.

Arindam: - Are you a South Indian?

Saurav: - No, I am a Bengali person. If I would have been a South Indian, then my name will be Behala Barisha Chandi Saurav Ganguly….ha ha ha…after all, in South India, people add their birthplace name and father’s name in their own name.

Arindam: - Anyway, forget that topic. Accha, which football team is your favorite in this World Cup of 2010?

Saurav: - Is there any other team, which plays better than Brazil? Of course, I am a die-hard fan of Brazil. Kaka, Robinho, Fabiano and other Brazilian footballers are just fabulous. Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Romario were also good footballers.

Arindam: - Hmm…Dada of India is a fan of Kaka of Brazil. That’s great. Ok, let us hear from Mr. ARINAN about the match between Brazil and Chile.

Mr. ARINAN: - The Red Hot Chile footballers were looking like Cool Cucumbers. What kind of spikes, the Chilean strikers were wearing is still a mystery, because, at least for 7 times in that match, the Chilean strikers were stumbling with the ball after receiving it in the Brazilian penalty area. The Maicon’s shot was too perfect for Juan to score the first goal for Brazil with a header. After that first blood, the Brazil team never looked back. Fabiano got an easy chance and converted it to a goal. Robinho scored the third one. Again, Kaka was shown the Yellow Card. Chile never looked like a team with any rhythm in this match. They were playing mindless football. Only for 2-3 instances, Cesar was really challenged; otherwise, it was just another cool day for the Brazilian goalkeeper. The Samba people defeated the western neighboring country of Argentina by 3-0.

Arindam: - Oh! Brazil has qualified for the quarter final. You must be a very happy man, Mr. Ganguly. Accha, have you ever played football in your life?

Saurav: - Ha ha ha…many people don’t know that in my childhood days, I used to play football only. In my school also, I was famous as a footballer only. My elder brother, Snehasish used to play cricket in Barisha playground and occasionally I used to watch him practicing at the nets. I always had a dream that one day; I will play for East Bengal football club. But, suddenly, in my youth days, I started playing cricket and then never looked back at all.

Arindam: - What? You are not a Ghoti. You are a Bangaal. That’s so sad. I am a Mohun Bagan supporter, that’s why; I am very disappointed to know that you are a supporter of East Bengal. Anyway, that’s your personal choice. Accha, you were one of the best captains of Indian Cricket. You were on the verge of lifting a World Cup for India. But, still, the Mumbai lobby started pouncing on you, because you hail from Eastern zone of India and that too from Bengal. Marathi people always try to bully the Bengali people. But, still you continued your fight against them, even when you were having bad patches as a batsman. The biggest blunder you did was to select Mr.Greg Chappell as a coach of Indian Cricket Team. The middle-fingered maniac and pervert, Mr.Chappell soon got transformed into a ‘Great Australian Chappall’ for the Indians. Ultimately, you won the battle. You came back to the International Cricket with a bang. Hardly, the world cricket has seen such a comeback in the past. That’s why; you are still the ‘Dada’ of India.

Saurav: - Ha ha ha…well, how I can forget those days! I should have played a football match against Chappell, though he would have got the Red Card within 5 minutes of the match, but, at least, I would have scored 5 goals in that match.

Arindam: - Australians are racists. Basically, they are the goons of Britain only, who were kept as captives in the Australia Island. Accha, why is India not doing well in football? Still, the FIFA ranking of India is 133. You have played football in your childhood. Still at this age, you play some charity football match also. So, you have a good idea about this game. What is wrong with Indian football in your opinion?

Saurav: - It is not that India does not have good footballers, but, somehow, they don’t get proper coaching and opportunities to excel further. In Cricket, BCCI is a very organized body, which controls and co-operates with all the state level Cricket Associations of India. But, AIFF is not as efficient as BCCI. There is lack of effective co-ordination between AIFF and the state level football clubs. Unless there is a demand for good footballers, the supply of players will not come. There is IPL, that’s why; there is a demand for cricketers. So, all school children automatically get motivation to play cricket. But, in football, only Goa and Bengal people have some spirit towards the game, otherwise, no one cares to play football.

Arindam: - Hmm…I got your point. Thanks for coming to our show, Mr. Ganguly. Viewers, we will end our show here, but stay tuned for some more minutes because Mr. ARINAN has something to say regarding the match between Netherlands and Slovakia.

Mr. ARINAN: - the Dutch man, Robben robbed the match from the Slovakians by scoring a goal with his left footed shot. Later on, the Dirk Kuit gave a superb pass to Sneijder and Sneijdar did no mistake to score the second goal. Slovakians forgot to play that attacking game in this match, which they played against Italy, the defending champions. The Orange men won the match with 2-1 score line because in the last 20 seconds of the match, Vittek scored a penalty goal for the Slovakians.

Part – 20

Arindam: - Good evening, viewers. Today in this episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ program in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have invited a famous Portuguese footballer whose name is Pauleta. Mr. Pauleta, welcome to our show. Your Portugal team has scored 7 goals against North Korea in this FIFA World Cup 2010. Portugal team is really looking like a great team to lift this World Cup.

Pauleta: - Yeah, of course. They have the potential to do that. I watched that match. The passing was accurate. All the players were playing ‘one-touch’ football and the shots on goals were accurate enough to beat the opponent’s goalkeeper. Moreover, a player like Ronaldo is always dangerous in the opponent’s penalty area.

Arindam: - There was one time, when you were the only striker of Portugal, who used to lead from the front! All the winning goals used to come from your legs only. Then, Ronaldo came in with his sprinting football from the left flank and you got some support in the forward line. Is it so?

Pauleta: - Ronaldo is a player, who don’t play football by using his brain! His tactics is that whenever he receives the ball, he just tries to enter the opponent’s penalty area, in such a speed, that out of tension, any opponent defender will foul him and Portugal gets a free-kick or a penalty. But, that tactics don’t work with big teams.

Arindam: - Ok, we will continue our discussion, but, before that, let us hear from Mr.ARINAN about the matches between Spain and Portugal.

Mr. ARINAN: - The Red Spanish Bulls were bull-dozing the Portuguese Matadors and the Portuguese Matadors were trying to pierce sharpened sticks on the Spanish Bulls. The entire match was full of attacking and counter-attacking football which made the match more interesting. Both the teams were able to create chances for goals, but, somehow, their finishing was not there. The Portuguese goalkeeper saved at least 3 deadly shots and even Casillas prevented 1 sure-shot header chance for a Portuguese striker. All was going well for Portugal, but, alas, the David Villa constructed another storey in the ‘Victorious Villa’ of Spain. The Portuguese goalkeeper fumbled with the ball and the Spanish Villa became a villain for the Portugal by scoring the winning goal. Spain qualified for the quarter final after defeating their neighbors.

Arindam: - Oh! No! Mr. Pauleta, your team is out of the World Cup and that too after a defeat against Spain.

Pauleta: - Spain is such a team which knows all the pros and cons of the Portugal team. Even if you go by the statistics, Spain’s record is always good against Portugal. Had it been any other team, then surely, Portugal would have beaten them. But, this Spain always plays tactics on our tactics. It is not that Portugal has played very badly against Spain. Luckily, Spain got the winning goal. That’s the difference. Otherwise, the score line could have been 3-3 also. Somehow, the rhythm among the Portugal players was not so good. Consistency in our Portugal team has always been a cause of concern. There is no guarantee that if Portugal wins a match today convincingly; then they will not experience a humiliating defeat from a weaker team in the next match. That’s why; earlier I said that they have the potential to win this World Cup. I have not said with full confidence that Portugal will lift the World Cup.

Arindam: - Ha ha ha…Well, it’s always better luck next time. But, one thing, the people of the World should appreciate that it is due to Spain and Portugal that the Latin Americans have learned to play football. If you go by the World history pages, then you will find that Spanish and the Portuguese discovered the South American territories and conquered it. Bolivia came into existence after the name of Simon Bolivar. Brazil, Argentina and Chile were totally a Spanish colony, including Bolivia. The other countries like Columbia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela were under the Portuguese rulers. USA and Russia came much later. In World history, when the Mughals were ruling in India, at that time, France and England were fighting among themselves for the conquest of Alaska and Canada region. The current USA was then barren lands only with some prairies here and there. Spanish rulers conquered Mexico. The Mayan civilization tasted modernization under Spanish Rule. Then came Portuguese rulers to counter the Spanish rulers and they conquered some portions of South America. So, at that time, there were four Super powers in Western World. They were: - England, France, Spain and Portugal.

Pauleta: - Ha ha ha…you have done too many research, dude. One thing you have missed that in those times, Portuguese traders were the richest traders of the world. Had Vasco da Gama not declared to the whole world that India is a land of rich natural resources, then England and France would have never showed interest to send their trading ships to Indian Peninsula for earning more money.

Arindam: - See the fun! At present, both India and Portugal is a poor country, he he he…anyway, we will end our show here. Mr. Pauleta, thanks for coming to our show. Viewers, just stay tuned for some minutes to hear the match analysis of Japan Vs Paraguay. Good bye and take care.

Mr. ARINAN: - It was simply a boring match. Both the teams were playing for a draw. But, in football also, the theory of ‘No Risk, No Gain’ works. Had Japan taken some risks of playing ‘all out attacking’ football, then they could have easily got at least 2 goals against Paraguay. The defense line-up of Paraguay was weaker than that of Japan. But, Japan did not capitalize on it. Rather, the Samurais played football like the Romans by playing traditional defensive football which proved to be suicidal for Japan only. In any battle, offence is always the best defense. The match went to a tie-breaker. Japanese strikers were taking powerful penalty shots except the left footed Honda who scored a penalty goal with a cool head. One Japanese striker took the penalty shot with so much power that the ball attained some elevation and ultimately the ball hit the bar post. That one mistake was more than enough for Japan to go back home. The tie-breaker ended in 5-3 score line and Paraguay reached the quarter final for the first time in FIFA World Cup history.

Part – 21

Arindam: - Good afternoon, Viewers! Today, in this episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have invited the famous Brazilian defender whose name is Roberto Carlos. Mr. Carlos, you are welcome to our show. Can you please show your thigh to our viewers?

Carlos: - Oh! Yeah, why not! Here it is.

Arindam: - My goodness! It is about 1.5 times bigger than my thigh. Hmm…how have you made that?

Carlos: - Well, you cannot make it in one day or in one year also. You need to do regular exercise for around 3 years to get that shape. These thighs were my weapons. Many strikers used to avoid me, because they knew that if I charge them, it is going to become a nightmare for them. In sliding tackles, a defender always has a chance to get injured in his thighs. Sometimes, cramps can also happen. The basic thing is that if you are not a sturdy and hard defender, then any opponent’s striker will get past you very easily. I always used to give a gentle push to those strikers and they used to fell down on the ground. So, in football, the body weight also counts.

Arindam: - Yeah, yeah….you were a terror for any football strikers. In those times, people were not so afraid about Ronaldo, Romario or Bebeto as they were about you. Everywhere there used to be some whispers, ‘Keep an eye on Carlos, if he starts sprinting from the left flank, then you never know, when he will score a goal for Brazil’.

Carlos: - He he he…yeah, I used to sprint all along the football ground. If you have big and strong thighs, then you can always sprint with great speed. In my case, speed was the key. I always used to wait for the opportunity to go for a counterattack.

Arindam: - You were also famous for your left-footed free kick. All the young generation footballers still admire your free-kick. The unique part in your free-kick was that the ball used to out-swing rather than in-swing.

Carlos: - Let me tell you very frankly one funny truth. If you are a lefty sportsman, then you are a gifted son of God because whatever you do with your left foot or left hand, the ball is going to take a natural swing. I used to get a natural swing, because the run-up that I used to take before kicking the ball was itself in a 45 degrees angle. Moreover, I used to kick the ball with utmost power, keeping my spinal-cord slightly bend towards my frontal direction. If you kick the ball, by keeping your spinal –cord in straight and stiff position, the ball is bound to get an elevation, if you kick it with power. I don’t know the science of ‘height and distance’ behind it, but, I am telling this from my experience only.

Arindam: - Hmm… ok, ok. We will keep our discussion on, but, just after hearing the analysis from Mr. ARINAN regarding the match between Brazil and Netherlands.

Mr. ARINAN: - the Orange brigade started off well, but, their defenders were so scattered that it was looking like some cattle grazing on a grassy field. As usual, Robinho was running like a sly fox inside that grassy field without any obstacle and ultimately got a long pass to convert it into a goal. All the Brazilian fans worldwide were dancing the samba dance. Some were even eating sweets with joy. But, this is football! The game is not over till the last whistle of the referee. Even in 1 second, a goal can be scored. The Dutch footballers were playing dull football when they were trailing by 1 goal. But, luckily, a shot from Sneijder went inside the Brazilian goal post. The Julio Cesar became the ‘Julius Caesar’ of Brazil. Melo was the main culprit. When the Orange men got their first blood in the match, they started pouncing like tigers from all ends. Brazilian footballers started showing their frustrations. Too much role plays were going on to pressurize the Japanese referee. There were some technical faults but that does not mean that all the decisions taken by a referee is always wrong. Netherlands got a corner kick. What a goal it was! The goal was scored with the help of two successive headers. After scoring the goal, Sneijder signaled to his fans that it’s all in our head. Surely, the Dutch footballers utilized their brain after they got their first goal. Had the Brazilian footballers played the game with their cool head, the match would have surely gone into the extra-time. Football is not only about skills and power but about mind game also. The Orange brigade entered into the semis by defeating Brazil by 2-1. Brazil team played the match in their unlucky Blue jersey to experience the bluish moment of this FIFA World Cup 2010.

Arindam: - Hmm…The samba magic failed in front of Orange men. Mr. Carlos, why this Brazil team displayed a very poor performance against the Netherlands in the quarter final?

Carlos: - No, it was not at all a poor performance. But, there were some flaws in the strategy. This Brazil team has not played the traditional Brazilian football. In our times, we played with our traditional think-tank. Our strategy was to get a goal within the first 15 minutes and then devastate the opponent from all ends in such a fashion that we will get another 3-4 goals by the end of the match. But, in the match against the Dutch, this Brazil team started relaxing after scoring a goal, as if, they have won the match. They forgot that they were playing against Netherlands not North Korea. Netherlands always have a record to come back from behind because they are expert in Counter-attacking. That’s what they did. The Dutch footballers were spreading in the entire field, as if; their strikers were marking the Brazilian defenders. Brazil defense was just too bad. There was not a single defender to block the pass between Robben and Sneijder. Even Dirk Kuit is a very smart footballer. He is expert in passing the ball with a single touch. But, hardly, I have seen anyone was there to support Kaka to that level. Maicon was running here and there but without any game plan. Dunga should have now understood the significance of ball possession and dribbling; after this loss. There is a saying that, ‘If you don’t lose a game, then you don’t learn the tactics to win’. Had Brazil lost any match in the group stage, they would have learned their mistakes. The traditional football of Brazil is, ‘Always go for the kill with cool heads till the battle is won.’ But, in this World Cup, their strategy was, ‘Hit them once so brutally that they cannot comeback till the last second of the battle.’

Arindam: - Hmm…he he he…yeah, yeah, I got your point, Mr. Carlos. Everyone is a warrior. So, you never know who will comeback from where to win the match. Ok, let us now hear about the match between Ghana and Uruguay from Mr.ARINAN.

Mr. ARINAN: - The Black Stars of Africa clashed with the Blue Stars of South America. When the Stars fight with each other, there has to be a fight which is as thrilling as stories of Sherlock Holmes. Just 1 second before the interval, Muntari of Ghana scored a goal with his left footed shot. But, in the 2^nd half, Mr. Forlan proved again that he is expert in scoring goals from long distance. His free kick was a master-piece. If you can swing the Jabulani ball, then it’s surely a credit. The fight was on. The ball was moving from this penalty area to that penalty area within moments. Such was the tempo of the battle. If Ghana played the game of power then Uruguay played the game of temperament. If Maradona showed the world, the ‘Hand of God’, then, Suarez showed the world, the ‘Hand of Luck’. FIFA do not have any rule that if a player other than goalkeeper saves a goal with his hands, then automatically a goal will be rewarded to the opponent team of that player. Suarez was shown the Red Card. But, after few seconds, Suarez was the happiest man because he acted like a real goalkeeper. Asamoah Gyan missed the winning penalty. The match went into a tie-breaker. Ghana team captain took the penalty without any run-up. That proved suicidal. In the last shot, Kingson surrendered before the left-footed, slow and straight shot was actually taken by the Uruguay footballer. The match ended in 4-2 in the tie-breaker. The Blue Stars are in the semis.

Arindam: - Oho! Luckily, Uruguay has entered the semis. Now, every footballer will try to save the goal like Suarez, unless FIFA makes it a rule that a goal will be rewarded to the opponent team if a player other than a goalkeeper saves it with his hands. Anyway, Brazil has gone out but another South American team managed to enter the semis. Mr. Carlos, do you think that Argentina will be able to win against Germany?

Carlos: - I think that the clash between Germany and Argentina is the final of this World Cup. Whoever wins this match will be the World Champion. I will keep Germany ahead of Argentina. Germany has superb speed and their young guns are as fresh as school footballers. I know that Messi is there in Argentina, but, football is a team game, not a one man show. Our Brazil also had Kaka, but still they failed. Why? It is because that the other 10 players have failed to deliver that superb performance. Frankly speaking, I will be very happy if a team which has never won this title lifts the World Cup of 2010.

Arindam: - Till now, only Spain, Netherlands and Paraguay are yet to win this title at least once. Anyway, Mr. Carlos; thanks for coming to our show and sharing your views. Personally, I wish that Argentina should lift this World Cup of 2010. Let us see what happens. Viewers, today we will end our show. Don’t forget to watch our next episode. Take care and goodbye.

Part -22

Arindam: - Good afternoon, viewers! Today in this episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ program in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have invited the No.1 footballer of the world for all times. He is the living legend of World Football. He is the one and only Mr. Diego Maradona. Mr. Maradona, welcome to our show. According to a recent survey results, it has been found that Brazil team has 3.21% more supporters than Argentina worldwide, but, Diego Maradona has 4.73% more supporters than Pele of Brazil. Therefore, you are a better footballer than Pele.

Maradona: - Please don’t go by those surveys and their results. I would rather be happy if you analyze me as per my performances both as a player and a coach. Pele is also a great player. Though, it is a different issue that we always fight with each other because he is from Brazil and I am from Argentina.

Arindam: - Well, we don’t know about your coaching, but, as an Argentine striker, you were just superb in those days. Except that ‘Hand of God’ and some ‘Cocaine’ drama, you are the best footballer of the world for all times. Where from have you learned those football skills?

Maradona: - Ha ha ha…in our times, there were no football coaching centers. We learned by our own by seeing the other players. Football is a passion. If you want to become a great footballer, then the urge should come from within your heart. Not a single coach in this world can teach you good football, unless you are ready to give your 110% on the field. A football coach can only guide you and tell you in which strategy you will play. That’s all. The remaining thing, a footballer has to do, only in the field.

Arindam: - Hmm…that’s true! Accha, have you ever visited India? You have so many fans in India!

Maradona: - Oh! Yeah, I visited Kolkata once. If any footballer ever visits India or go for a tour to India, then he must visit Kolkata. Boss, that city is the only city of India, where people are just crazy about football. Kolkatans just regard the footballers as next to God. I was showing some ball-juggling in the Salt Lake Stadium. After seeing that, there was such a roar of applauds! Wow! Believe me; I was just feeling as if I am in my second home ground.

Arindam: - Ha ha ha…yeah, yeah…that is Kolkata! That’s why, Kolkata is known as the City of Joy. We will continue our discussion, but, before that let us hear from Mr. ARINAN about the match between Argentina and Germany.

Mr. ARINAN: - before the start of the match, FIFA preached the message, ‘Say No to Racism.’ That was really a good message to the whole world. The Ballack-less Black jersey men from Germany did a superb ‘black magic’ to thrash out Mardona’s Magical Men out of this World Cup. If Germany had all the young high school footballers, then Argentina had all the Kindergarten school kids in its defense line up. In the 3^rd minute of the match, Mueller hammered the 1^st nail on Argentine coffin with a header. After conceding that goal, Argentine men were playing quality Latin American football. But, unfortunately, they were not getting goals. All the shots on target hardly had any power at all. German defenders were blocking almost all the important shots of the Argentine strikers. Germans had no problem at all. The young guns were too hot to handle for the Argentine defenders. In the later stage of the match, Podolski and Klose closed the entire novel on ‘Maradona’s dream to lift the World Cup’. The match ended in 4-0. The Germans reached the semi-final.

Arindam: - Oh! No! Mr. Maradona, now everyone will point fingers at you. Despite having so many dangerous football strikers and midfielders in your team, you have lost the match against the young German dark knights.

Maradona: - It is very easy to point fingers at any coach and that is what actually happens when a team loses an important game. Let me tell you very frankly that this Argentine squad does not have at least one good defender. I can replace a bad striker with a good striker or a bad midfielder with a good midfielder. But, here in this case, I hardly had any good defender in our squad to rely upon. The weakest point in this Argentine team is its defense. The German coach played like a typical German by targeting the weakest point of the opponent team as early as possible.

Arindam: - If defense was so weak, then how Argentina managed to win all those previous matches?

Maradona: - in all the other matches, Argentina was always at the giving end. This is the first time in this tournament that Argentina was at the receiving end. Our boys were dribbling the ball well but were also taking too much time inside the penalty area to take a shot at the goal. On the other hand, the German team was passing the ball to each other within moments. After seeing their speed and skills to counterattack, someone would have surely uttered. ‘Oh! Boy! From which high school has these young footballers learned to play some outstanding and stunning football.’

Arindam: - So, you want to say that the German team has beaten the Argentine team because they have terrific speed.

Maradona: - No, it is not speed! It is the stamina among the German players that dominated the entire show. All the players are more or less below 25 years. Therefore, it is evident that they can run for 120 minutes all along the field without feeling exhausted or tired, whereas, our players are not so young. There are some players, in our team who can play the game only for 50 to 60 minutes but not beyond that.

Arindam: - Messi and Tevez were not able to create any opportunity for goal! How funny!

Maradona: - German defenders were playing smart football. They were not at all marking any Argentine striker. Rather, they were spoiling the deadly passes between the Argentine players. Also, the German midfielders were spreading out in the field as the game progressed. As a net result, our midfielders fell into a trap in the midfield region and at that time the Germany strikers counter-attacked us to get the goals. It was just a bad day for Argentina. Germany already had a bad day against Serbia in a Group stage match. They learned from their mistakes. That’s why; in the next encounters, Germany played total attacking football in such a speedy fashion that before the opponent’s defenders could understand what is happening, the goals were already scored.

Arindam: - Hmm… it’s always better luck next time, Mr. Maradona. Now, let us hear about the match between Spain and Paraguay from Mr. ARINAN.

Mr. ARINAN: - The Spanish bulls were running in the field without hitting anyone with their horns. The Paraguay team played total sloppy football in the 1^st half, though they got two solid chances to score a goal. The drama started in the 2^nd half, when at the 60^th minute of the match, the Paraguayans got a penalty. But, the Casillas saved the goal. Just after 1 minute of that incident, the Spanish Bulls got the penalty. Carlos, the referee cancelled the 1^st goal due to illegal encroachment of other Spanish players inside the box. In the 2^nd time, the Spanish striker missed the goal. It was in the 82^nd minute that a new storey of ‘Victorious Villa’ got constructed. Iniesta created the opportunity and David Villa scored the goal. The ball hit the right bar post, then at the left bar post to enter the Paraguayan goal post. The luck was in favor of the Spanish footballers. Spain defeated Paraguay by 1-0 and will clash with Germany in the Semi-final.

Arindam: - Hmm…so, this is the scenario now. Mr. Maradona, to you, from these 4 teams, which team is in a favorable position to win this World Cup?

Maradona: - Of course, it is Germany. The way they are playing, my goodness; they can challenge any good defensive line-up of any other big team. But, I am not totally ruling out Uruguay. They can prove to be the dark horses, you never know! Forlan is a very smart football striker. He can do anything on any day. Also I am not ruling out Spain and Netherlands, but, their probability of winning this cup is lesser than Germany.

Arindam: - Ha ha ha…well, this World Cup tournament has always produced the unpredictable results since the group stage. Who knows, maybe, more thrillers are yet to come! All Superstars failed in this tournament but also, this tournament has created many new stars like Villa, Forlan, Suarez, Higuain, Sneijder, Mueller and Vittek. Anyway; Mr. Maradona, thanks for coming to our show and sharing your views. Viewers, here we will end our show. Don’t forget to see our next episode. Till then, take care and bye.

Part – 23

Arindam: - Good afternoon, viewers! Today in this episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT) ‘ TV Channel, we have invited Jaya (Bhaduri) Bacchan, the ‘Dhanyi meye’ of Bengal and one famous Dutch footballer whose name is Ruud Gullit. We welcome both of them in our show. First, I want to ask some questions to Jaya ji. Jaya ji, are you watching the FIFA World Cup of 2010?

Jaya: - Brazil and Argentina are out of this World Cup. What is there to see?

Arindam: - he he he…But, there are other teams also like Germany, Spain and Netherlands. They are also playing good football. You must watch it. Accha, why your name is Jaya Bacchan instead of Jaya Bhaduri Bacchan?

Jaya: - What an irritating question is that! I am a Hindu girl and that too of Bengal. As per Hindu tradition, when a girl gets married, she has to surrender her own parental surname and accept the surname of her husband. That is a kind of respect towards your husband. As per Hindu mythology, marriage is that institution where two different souls meet each other to create a single soul of a unified love relationship. When a girl is surrendering her surname to her hubby, it means that she is becoming his better half for the whole life. You are still single and just a kid only. You will not understand the real meaning of marriage now. Whatever I am telling you, all is going above your head. I can understand that.

Arindam: - Ha ha ha…ok, ok, at this moment, I don’t want to understand these things also. Accha, Jaya ji, you are still ruling in the hearts of old Bengali people as a ‘Dhanyi Meye’. Still, some people of our Grandfather age say that the film of ‘Dhanyi Meye’ is one of the best Bengali classics. Can you just tell us about that film as you were in the leading female role in that film?

Jaya: - Oh! That was a fantastic film. In Bollywood, everyone still praises me for my performance in ‘Abhimaan’, ‘Mili’, ‘Sholay’, ‘Silsila’ and ‘Chupke Chupke’, but, I will still say that my role in the Bengali film ‘Dhanyi Meye’ was a very special one. I played the character of a bubbly village girl. The story is centered on two football matches. The most important thing was that I got the opportunity to work with Uttam Kumar. Even all the co-stars were superb. Jahar Ganguly, Chinmoy Roy, Rabi Ghosh, Sabitri di, and others made the film very interesting.

Arindam: - There is a song in that film about football, ‘Sab khelar sera bangaalir tumi football, jiboney maroney paaye paaye acho football’, and that song was lipped by our favorite Goopi daa. His real name is Tapen Chattopadhay. He has expired recently, but, he will be always remembered for his roles in Bengali cinema.

Jaya: - Yeah, he was a very good artist. He was playing the role of a goal-keeper. His acting was so simple and down-to-earth that he always used to win the hearts of all Bengalis. The real credit for old Bengali and Bollywood films goes to Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Everyone talks about Satyajit Ray in Bengal, but, Hrishikesh Mukherjee was another outstanding personality, whose stories had some life in it. Still today, if you watch any film of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, you will still like it.

Arindam: - One last question to you. Have you ever played football?

Jaya: - Ha ha ha…no, never. I have always been a spectator of football matches, he he he…but, yes, I like to watch that game. In Cricket, sometimes, it becomes a one-man show. But, in football, all the 11 players work hard as a unit to win a match. That’s what makes football, a fantastic game. There is a saying in Bengali, ‘Sobey mili kori kaaj, haari jeeti naahi laaj’, which means that ‘We always perform together as a unit, that’s why; we don’t feel ashamed of ourselves if we lose or win.’ Bengali people abide by this statement in their daily lifestyle and that is why, they love the game of football from within the core of their heart.

Arindam: - My goodness! Jaya ji, you are really the ‘Dhanyi Meye’ of Bengal.

Jaya: - Accha, I need to go now. I have an important meeting to attend at our Samajwadi Party office.

Arindam: - Yeah, yeah, sure, Jaya ji. Thanks for coming to our show and sharing your valuable views with us.

***********************************************************

Arindam: - Viewers! Our respected Jaya ji has left our studio. Now, we will have a conversation with Ruud Gullit. Mr. Gullit, why have you changed your hairstyle? When you used to play in World Cup matches, everyone used to ask a common question in the stadium, ‘Who is this Dutch footballer with long hairs? His hairs are like tentacles on his head.’

Gullit: - Ha ha ha…almost everyone used to comment about my long hairs. That’s why; I changed the style. Everyone used to say that though I am a footballer, but I look like a pirate. So, I thought that it’s better to change my hairstyle into a decent one.

Arindam: - He he he…hmm…it’s a nice decision indeed but you were not looking so bad in your long hairs also. You scored one important goal for Holland in a back-volley position. That goal is still one of the best goals. More often, you used to kick a ball in back-volley positions. How you used to do that? Was it not risky for you?

Gullit: - Yeah, it is sometimes very risky. You can get injured while doing that. It is just about balancing your body. It is not always true that every time you will succeed in kicking a ball in your back-volley position.

Arindam: - Hmm…I think that your body was more flexible enough to take those risks. Anyway, we will keep our discussion on, but, before that, let us hear about the match between Netherlands and Uruguay from Mr. ARINAN.

Mr. ARINAN: - The Blue Stars and the Orange Brigade were neck and neck with each other. Uruguay was playing attacking football in the 1^st half. But, Van Bronkhorst brought bronchitis in the team of Blue Stars by scoring a superb goal with a left footed shot from a long distance. Hardly, any goalkeeper could have done anything about that shot. The 1^st half of the game was not over that Forlan proved again that he is a maestro in scoring goals from long distances. This time it was a cameo role from his left foot. In the 2^nd half, the Dutch footballer showed their real attacking football. Robben was sprinting through the right flank very easily without facing any obstacle from the Uruguayan defenders. All were clustering in the same area, but the shot of Sneijder was enough for the Jabulani to go and settle itself inside the Uruguay goal post. There is a saying that, ‘Bald heads are the best for heading a ball into the nets’. It has been proved again and again. If France had Zidane, then this Netherlands team has Sneijder and Robben with their respective bald heads. Robben proved that a header from a bald head never misses the target. Uruguay never deserved to be in the Semi –final unless Suarez had not displayed his ‘Hand of Luck’, but it is also true that in this match, Uruguay was missing Suarez. Forlan was not getting any support in the forward line due to the absence of Suarez, otherwise the match could have gone to the extra-time. In the injury time, Perreira of Uruguay scored a goal with his left-footed shot, but that was not enough because the time was up by then. The match ended in 3-2. Netherlands will play with either Germany or Spain in the final. Basically, it was a war between Forlan and Sneijder, where Sneijder had the support of Robben, but, Forlan was fighting alone.

Arindam: - Wow, Mr. Gullit, your countrymen have reached the final of the World Cup after a long gap of 32 years. Can they win the final match? They have to play either against Germany or Spain. Out of Germany and Spain, which is the easier team to beat?

Gullit: - Of course; Spain is looking much weaker than Germany. Germany team is looking very dangerous. I am not saying that Spain is a weak team. They have Villa, Torres and Iniesta. But, the Germany team has speed and stamina. The combination of Klose, Podolski and Mueller is really clicking in every match. That’s why; Germany scored 4 goals each against Australia, England and Argentina. I am not saying that it is impossible for Netherlands to win this World Cup, but, it is not too easy either. Our team needs to strengthen their defense line up, otherwise, in a pressure match like final, if you trail by 1 goal also, it is going to affect too much in your psychology and you will start playing bad football out of pressure or tension.

Arindam: - Hmm…but, nobody expected Netherlands in the Semi-finals. They are playing like dark horses now.

Gullit: - Show me hardly any World Cup where a dark horse has not lifted the cup. This is World Cup. Here, hardly, I have seen that the any of the teams which were considered favorites before the tournament has lifted the cup. You can go through the history of the World Cup to verify my words. Whenever a team starts thinking that they are the favorites, they become either over-confident or complacent and then in the most important match, they fail to perform up to their potential. Take the example of Brazil only. After scoring 1 goal against Netherlands, the expression of Robinho was such that they have already won the match and they need to just do the time-pass in the game. But, when they conceded two goals from the Dutchmen, they faced a mild shock and were undecided about what to do next. This is football! Here, every dog has its own day. Every new day is a new day and you have to start afresh. If a team can follow this theory, then no one can stop them from becoming the World Champion. I am confident that the Cup of FIFA World Cup 2010 will get its place in Amsterdam. I wish best of luck to the Dutch football team.

Arindam: - Yeah, yeah, we also wish best of luck to the Dutch football team. But, we are also not ruling out either Spain or Germany. But, one thing is sure that the FIFA World Cup of 2010 is going to Europe, not to South America, as was predicted before the tournament. Well, Mr. Gullit, thanks a lot for coming in our studio and sharing your valuable views. Viewers! Don’t forget to watch our next episode. We will end our show here. Take care and goodbye.

Part – 24

Arindam: - Good afternoon, viewers! Today, in this episode, we have invited a famous Bengali actor Tapas Pal and one of the best German goalkeepers of all times whose name is Oliver Kahn. We welcome you both in our show. Mr. Kahn, you are one of the best goalkeepers, the world has ever seen. In a particular World Cup, you impressed the spectators worldwide by your great saves. But, unfortunately, you failed to lift that World Cup for Germany.

Kahn: - Oh! Yeah! How can I forget that particular World Cup? The winning goal scored by the Brazilian striker Ronaldo was a shocking one. Still today, I am criticized for conceding that goal from Ronaldo.

Arindam: - but, no doubt, you were a great goalkeeper to watch. You were a nightmare for some strikers. You used to save all their deadly shots every now and then. How you used to do that so efficiently than others?

Kahn: - I always used to look at the eyes of the strikers and then to their legs. If you are an experienced goalkeeper, you can easily read the mind of a striker by looking at his eyes. You can easily predict in which direction he is going to take the shot. During penalties also, you can make out what tricks the striker is going to play. If he is eyeing to the right side of the post, then surely he is going to kick the ball towards the left side of the post. Experience helps you to read those tricks. Even the foot position and run up gives you a rough idea about that penalty shooter. Also, a goalkeeper should always be flexible like a gymnast. A goalkeeper always have to decide according to the situation that he will remain in the line of the ball or move forward to charge the striker. Boss, you cannot become an efficient goalkeeper in a day or a season. After playing so many games, you will learn how to effectively motivate your team defenders and how to make them co-ordinate with them efficiently. The success of a goalkeeper also lies in the fact that how well can you channelize the defenders of your team to form a wall or maze in front of your penalty area so that you can easily judge from which angle the striker is going to take the shot at you and you will save that shot.

Arindam: - Hmm…it is indeed a very difficult task to become a good goalkeeper. It looks very easy that a person is grabbing the ball with his hand, but, it is a very tough job. Accha, Mr. Tapas, you are a great Bengali actor. Your film ‘Dadar Kirti’ and ‘Guru Dakkhina’ were super hit films. If people still praises Prasenjit for ‘Amar Sangee’, then they also praise you for ‘Dadar Kirti’. But, you have also done a film ‘Saheb’, where you played the role of a goalkeeper in that film. That film was later made in Hindi also, where Anil Kapoor played the lead role. Even the song ‘Yaar bina chain kahaan re’ was a bumper hit song at that time.

Tapas: - Yeah, yeah, you are right. In the film ‘Saheb’, I was playing the character of a bachelor boy whose name is Saheb. Saheb hailed from a Bengali middle class family. The ending of the story was very touchy. Saheb will sell his one kidney to collect money for his younger sister’s marriage dowry. After that kidney donation, Saheb was unable to play football anymore. He used to go to the park and watch his friends playing football. Utpal Dutta was also there in that film, who did a fabulous acting and I still remembered that dialogue, ‘Saheb, you are not a goalkeeper for your football team but also for your family members’.

Kahn: - Wow! The story is very interesting! If I get time, I will try to watch this Bengali film ‘Saheb’ with English subtitles. But, one thing is true that in Bengal, many footballers die mentally due to poverty. There is no dearth of talented footballers in Bengal, but, somehow, due to lack of sponsorship in football, the footballers don’t get good amount of money to look after their family members. That’s why; those footballers always search for some government jobs and stop playing football. In Europe, there is so much money in football that there are people who resign from their lucrative jobs to play football. That’s the difference. If FIFA has not been able to improve the infrastructure of football in India, then it is due to the callous attitude of AIFF only. AIFF need to implement some innovative steps to motivate these talented Bengali footballers who hail from a poor family.

Tapas: - Mr. Kahn, have you ever visited Kolkata, the city of joy.

Kahn: - Oh! Yeah! How can I forget that city and that Yuva Bharati Krirangan stadium in Salt Lake area? I played my last official international football match in Kolkata only. Mr. Tapas, have you ever heard about the Bayern Munich club?

Tapas: - Yeah, yeah, that is the No. 1 club of German league.

Kahn: - Ha ha ha…I also know the name of the No.1 football club in India. It is Mohun Bagan, right?

Tapas: - Yeah, you are right. But, there is another club also which is not so bad either. The name of that club is East Bengal.

Arindam: - Well, Mr. Kahn, recently, there are so much talks about the Jabulani ball. Goalkeepers are complaining that the surface of this Jabulani ball is so hard that it rebounds from their gloves.

Kahn: - Yeah, that’s quite true. The balls that were used in other World Cup used to swing too much but it is also true that due to its softer surface, it was easier to grab with your gloves. But, this Jabulani is hard to handle. That’s why, you will more often see that the goalkeepers in this World Cup are either thrashing or punching the Jabulani in such a fashion as if they are playing volleyball.

Tapas: - He he he…they have no other options also. It is better to do those punching rather than trying to grab it. Julio Cesar of Brazil tried to grab the ball and conceded the goal against Netherlands. Now, Cesar is feeling the heat of media people in his own country.

Kahn: - That’s not fair! Football is a game. You cannot expect everyone to perform well every day. But, one thing I have seen that a goalkeeper is always a tragic hero. If he saves many goals also, no one gives them too much credit. But, if they miss a goal, everyone point fingers at the goalkeeper as if only goalkeeper was playing against the other 11 players of the opponent team.

Tapas: - Yeah, yeah…everywhere, a goalkeeper becomes a tragic hero like ‘Saheb’.

Arindam: - Ok, we will continue our discussion, but, before that, let us hear from Mr. ARINAN about the match between Spain and Germany.

Mr. ARINAN: - Both Germany and Spain were aware of each other’s strength. That’s why; both of them were playing cautious football in the 1^st half. Though the strikers of both the teams got many golden chances, but, alas, they were not able to take those shots on target. Germany team was missing Mueller. Klose was hardly getting any valuable pass. Absence of Mueller in this Germany team was like a carnivorous animal having no canines in its jaw. In this World Cup, the young Germans outclassed the teams like Australia, England and Argentina by their speed and stamina. But, the same German team was not playing their natural attacking football against Spain. Rather they were playing the traditional German football which proved suicidal for them. Spain increased their attack in the 2^nd half. Xavi, Pedro and Alonso were playing well. Villa was not playing so well but Iniesta regularly kept on putting pressure on the German defense line up. In the counterattack, Klose also got many chances but was unable to keep the ball on target. One deadly shot was saved by Casillas. In a corner kick, the curly long haired Carles Puyol gave a fantastic header to put the ball inside the German net. The German defenders were marking only the Spanish strikers and this Puyol was smart enough to pounce on that opportunity. The countrymen of Hitler kept on attacking the Spanish Bulls till the last whistle of the match but were of no use. Had Pedro given that pass to Torres, then Spain would have scored another goal. At last, the match ended in 1-0 and Spain reached the final of the World Cup for the first time ever. Germany was earlier defeated by the Serbian White Eagles and this time by the Spanish Red Bulls. The Orange Brigade will clash with Red Bulls in the final. Neither of the teams has ever won a FIFA World Cup title before. Whoever wins it; it will be the 1^st World Cup title for that nation.

Arindam: - Wow! This World Cup tournament has been a thriller all the way. Hardly, 1% of the football spectators worldwide would have predicted that both Spain and Holland will clash in the final. Maybe, no one predicted it also. That’s what makes football a very funny and fantastic game. Mr. Kahn, you may be very disappointed that German team was so near to lift the cup but they are out now.

Kahn: - Yeah, of course, I am somewhat disappointed. This German was in top form in all the matches except against Serbia. I don’t know why they were not playing attacking football against Spain from the very first minute.

Arindam: - Well, it’s always better luck next time for Germany. By the way, who will win this World Cup?

Kahn: - I think that Holland is looking a better team than Spain. But, still, Spain has the edge to win the final match. Holland has good strikers than Spain. But, Spain has a good defense line up and one of the best goalkeepers of Europe. He is Casillas. He is leading from the front and it is very tough to beat him. Look at the statistics of this World Cup and tell me how many goals have been conceded by Spain in this tournament?

Arindam: - I don’t have that statistics, but, that much I am sure that Spain has conceded lesser goals than Holland in this World Cup. Mr. Tapas, whom are you supporting?

Tapas: - I am supporting Spain. After Brazil and Argentina, I always used to love the Spanish football. After English Premier League, the Spanish League is famous in the world. Even Real Madrid is as famous as Manchester United, but, still, Spain is yet to lift a World Cup. I want Spain to lift this cup for the first time and create history.

Arindam: - Wow! Everyone is keeping Spain ahead of Netherlands, but, you should never under-estimate the Dutch football. They can come back and counter-attack you at anytime. Let’s see, who wins the World Cup of 2010. Mr. Kahn and Mr. Tapas, thanks to both of you for coming here in our studio and sharing your valuable views. Viewers, we will end our show here. Do I need to tell you that you must watch our next episode, because I know that you will watch it anyway? So, wait for our next episode. Take care and goodbye.

Part – 25

Arindam: - Good afternoon viewers! Today in this silver jubilee episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have invited Koustuv Roy, the owner of Chirag United football club of Bengal. Also we have invited Michael Ballack, the injured captain of Germany football team who has not played in this World Cup 2010 due to his injury. Wait, wait, we have another special guest. He is K’naan, the famous African singer. We welcome three of them in our studio. First, I would like to ask K’naan about his song ‘Celebration’, which has become a theme song for this World Cup 2010. What is the meaning of this song?

K’naan:- The meaning is crystal clear. I don’t think that the lyric is too complex to understand. ‘Give me freedom, give me fire’. It means that a footballer is requesting to his team coach to give him more space and freedom to show his skills in the field. He is also requesting his coach to motivate him with inspirational words that will ignite fire under his belly to win a match. Then there is another line, ‘Give me reason to take me higher’. What is that reason and who will give that reason? It is the football fans who will expect their favorite team to win every football match. The fans’ expectations are the reasons for any footballer to perform well in any match and it will take his reputation and fame higher as a great international football player. Ultimately, when you perform well for the team, your team emerges as the winner and then there are celebrations.

Ballack: - Ha ha ha…well said, Mr. K’naan. I really like your ‘Celebration’ song. In South Africa, I have seen all the football fans rocking and dancing in the discotheque with the tune of Shakira’s ‘This time for Africa’ song, but for any footballer like me, the real inspirational song is the ‘Celebration’ song. The song has all the ingredients to ignite the fighting spirit within a footballer. I will keep K’naan’s song ahead of Shakira’s in terms of ranking.

Arindam: - Oho! Shakira will be so disappointed to know that Mr. Ballack likes the ‘Celebration’ song more than her ‘Waka Waka’. He he he…anyway, we will try to invite her again in our final episode to do some social work for African poor children. Mr. K’naan, one thing I don’t understand that why people sing with a very shrill voice. Even Akon also don’t sing with traditional male voice.

K’naan:- This type of voice suits well with the African musical beats and African people do not always prefer to hear hip-hop songs. The tribal people of Africa always love their own sweet tunes without any western instrumental touch in it.

Arindam:- Hmm…now, don’t tell me that Vuvuzela is also used to create those sweet tunes, he he he…Anyway, jokes apart, the African tribal tunes are not bad at all, especially in the tribal areas surrounding Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Koustav: - I have heard that there are many jewels and valuable ornaments kept in a cave inside Mt. Kilimanjaro, but, till now, no one has been able to collect those ornaments. Whoever has gone there to collect it has died.

Arindam: - Uff, Mr. Koustav, you must have read about all those things in a storybook. Even Discovery Channel is yet to explore Mt. Kilimanjaro in details. Let us not discuss about that mountain and the controversial stories associated with it. Mr. Koustav, you started your career as a mere computer assembler in Dalhousie and Chandni market of Kolkata. You were working for RP Communications. Then, you and one of your close friends opened up your own partnership business of computer parts and accessories. The name of your company is ‘Chirag Computers’. That business is quite ok. But, suddenly, what prompted you to buy the corporate football team of ‘Eveready’ and name it as ‘Chirag United’.

Koustav: - Ha ha ha…Believe me; I had no plans to buy any football team. Our ‘Chirag Computers’ were doing fabulous business. Even in 2007 and 2008, we sold the maximum number of computers in and around Kolkata than any other companies in the same business. We used to get huge response, whenever we used to give stalls in the Kolkata Book Fair. Now, the PC assembling business is slightly down because customers are switching to palmtops and laptops very fast. Maybe, who knows, after 2 years, laptops will also become obsolete. Everyone will use 3G mobile handsets as TV and laptops. You are laughing, but, I am telling you the truth. Anyway, so, suddenly, one day, I decided to buy that football team which was eager to sell it in the market. As a Bengali, I also have passion towards football. Since my childhood, I have seen Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Md. Sporting club doing great business through their football team. Before taking the final decision, I discussed a lot about whether to buy a football team or not. When I got satisfied with some futuristic financial valuations, I decided to buy that football team. Now, the entire India knows the name of ‘Chirag United’. The best thing about my team is that I give more chances to Bengali footballers than any other football clubs of Bengal and our boys are really playing well. Even big fishes like Mohun Bagan and East Bengal become stunned by our teams’ terrific performance.

Arindam: - Recently, media people were saying that there were some ego clashes between you and Subrata Bhattacharya, the coach of Chirag United football club.

Koustav: - No, there is nothing like that. Babu daa is totally passionate towards football. He never compromises with the performance of his players. I just requested him not to speak too much in front of the media about his personal grudges. Media people just need a reason to cook up a story which affects the moral of the footballers. We are a football team; so, let the fight with other teams be limited within that football playground only for 90 minutes. Outside the field, there is no need of going for war of words to show up a bad image of Bengal football in front of the whole world. Already the Goa football clubs are performing better than the Bengal football clubs. We need to regain our prestige in Indian football.

Arindam: - Hmm…a healthy competition between Bengal football and Goa football will ultimately improve the quality of Indian football. Maybe, I am sounding too much optimistic but it is not impossible also. We will keep our discussion on, but before that, let us hear about the match between Germany and Uruguay from Mr. ARINAN.

Mr. ARINAN: - for the first time in this tournament, the Blue Stars displayed the best traditional football of Latin America. Both the teams were playing powerful football, but, the Uruguayan goalkeeper was weaker than the German goalkeeper. German scored two goals due to the bad goalkeeping from the Uruguayan goalkeeper. Muller kicked the ball which rebounded from the goalkeeper’s hand. In the second case, the goalkeeper completely missed the line of the ball due to his lack of self-confidence. But, Uruguay was not far behind. Cavani angled the ball into the net. Suarez missed a sure shot goal. How he missed that one-to-one angle, only he knows! The pick of the match was Oezil of Germany. He was creating the game for the German strikers. But, how can you forget that Forlan is there as the Star of the Blue Stars. He scored a goal in such a fashion that the Jabulani entered the German goal post and the German goalkeeper was just stunned to see that. In a corner kick, Germans scored their 3^rd goal. That goal was a genuine one. In this case, the Uruguayan defenders were just clustering at one end of the goal post. It is not that the God has not given Uruguay a last chance to score the equalizer. In the last 15 seconds of the injury time, Uruguay got a free-kick. The shot of Forlan was on the target and was able to beat the German goalkeeper, but, alas, the Jabulani hit the upper bar post. Uruguay was unfortunate and the luck favored the countrymen of Paul, the octopus. Germans secured the 3^rd place with the score-line 3-2. It was a classic match of this tournament after the match between USA and Slovenia and between Uruguay and Ghana.

Arindam: - Ha ha ha…that octopus is 6^th time lucky with his predictions now. We need to see whether he will be lucky for the 7^th time or not. Mr. Ballack, your German team should have finished 1^st instead of 3^rd in this world cup. Before the tournament, everyone was saying that this Germany team is looking a very weak side in absence of Ballack. Some people said the other thing also. They said that Ballack is not there in the team, which means that the team will play some innovative football rather than their traditional German football.

Ballack: - Yeah, yeah, people are always there to comment, but, I don’t care who says what. Our team has displayed fantastic football in this tournament, which is more than enough for me. Whether I am playing there or not, it hardly matters! What matters is that our Germany team just rocked. Show me a world cup, where Germany has thrashed England and Argentina with 4 goals each.

Arindam: - Ok, ok, I have understood what you are trying to say. But, what really went wrong against Spain?

Ballack: - Spain is a very mysterious side. It is very hard to predict in which strategy they will play on a particular day. Germany was expecting that Spain will play a total attacking football against them and that will be fruitful for the Germans to counterattack. But, that did not happen. The Spain played a very calculated defensive football and trapped the German footballers so efficiently that hardly any German strikers were able to take some deadly shots at the goal. Even if they were taking shots at the goal, Mr. Casillas was there like a Pillar of a Spanish fort.

Arindam: - He he he…yeah, Mr. Casillas should get an award for best goalkeeping in this tournament. By the way, Mr. Ballack, to you, who should win this World Cup?

Ballack: - Spain deserves this World Cup. This team of Spain is playing like the traditional Brazil team. They don’t have any fixed strategy. They formulate the strategy on the spot according to their opponent team’s strength. Netherlands team is expert in counterattacking. I am damn sure that Spain will also play rapid counterattacking football against the Dutch to keep them under pressure.

Arindam: - Well, we are heading for a terrific battle and that is the final match of Spain vs. Holland. Thanks to three of you for coming to our show. We will end our show here. Viewers! Just stay tuned there. We have done an online polling to select the top 20 footballers in this World Cup based on their performances. Mr. ARINAN will declare the results of that poll with their rankings from 20 to 1. Don’t forget to watch our last episode tomorrow. Goodbye.

Mr. ARINAN: - Based on individual performances only, we did an online polling to select the top 20 players of this FIFA World Cup 2010. Here are the results from rank 20 to rank 1. They are:- 20) Tshabalala (South Africa), 19) Kingson (Ghana), 18) Santos (Mexico), 17) Chonyoung (South Korea), 16) Donovan (USA), 15) Simao (Portugal), 14) Maicon (Brazil), 13) Oezil (Germany), 12)Vittek (Slovakia), 11) Tevez (Argentina), 10) Robinho (Brazil), 9) Robben (Netherlands, 8) Suarez(Uruguay), 7) Messi (Argentina), 6) Casillas (Spain), 5) Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), 4) Muller (Germany), 3) Villa(Spain), 2) Forlan (Uruguay), 1) Sneijder (Netherlands).

Part – 26

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 9^th 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 11^th 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 11^th 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 2^nd 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 2^nd 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 1^st 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 ‘3^rd-4^th 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 5^th 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.

Disclaimer: - All the conversations in this article are fictitious and imaginary.

THE END