Farewell, Sami…

It is indeed a sad moment for Liverpool fans, to bid adieu to one of its longest-serving players as centre-back Sami Hyypia departs for Bayer Leverkusen after 10 years of service.

 

The Fabulous Finn began his career at Anfield in 1999, when he transferred from Dutch side Willem II for a supposedly low transfer fee of 2.5 million pounds. Prior to that, he already had a huge 7 years of first-team exposure.

 

He captained Liverpool for over a year (2002-03) and though the armband was handed to the rapidly emerging Steven Gerrard, Sami continued to thrive. With a change in management through the arrival of Rafa Benitez, and a permanent centre-back pairing with Jamie Carragher, Sami kept on contributing to the club. In fact, one of the proudest moments in Liverpool’s European history, the 2005 Champions League trophy was won because of the miserly attitude of Carra and Sami.

 

 

 

The best part was that with his towering 6’4” presence, he was always a danger from set pieces too. I’ve always loved the aerial threat that he has been able to cause from corners and free-kicks. However, he also possesses a potentially lethal touch which Juventus found to their detriment in the first leg of 2005’s CL quarter-final when he scored with a beautiful volley that even Steven Gerrard would have been proud of.  

(Picture courtesy: ABC News Online)

 

To add to that, he superbly marshalled the defence in the second leg to power Liverpool to a semi-final clash against Chelsea.

 

 

 

 

Of course, if one were to tell tales of the 35 goals he scored, or the 463 appearances he made, one could write an entire book. He has been such a great contributor that it will be difficult to see Anfield without the sight of a white-haired Finn running around with more energy than players barely half his age.

 

I think it is absolutely fair on his part to wish for some more years of regular first-team football, which he would not be able to get regularly at Anfield, due to the rise of Agger and Skrtel. And it is indeed a tribute to his brilliance, that boss Rafa Benitez offered him a coaching position. However, Sami would like to play for a few more years, before ending his playing career and taking a coaching one.

 

It would’ve been great if he had been able to add a Premier League medal to the existing bunch of medals he has, but hopefully, once he returns as a coach, he will have many more.

 

Kudos to the player who is one those who shook the Kop. Kudos to the player who put in his heart and soul into each game. Kudos to the player who only wanted to win, once he donned that red jersey. Kudos, to Sami Hyypia.

 

Bravo, Sami! I look forward to the day when you’ll be back at Anfield.

 

You’ll never walk alone!!

You'll Never Walk Alone...

"In goes the free kick, and the shot come in, and it's INNNN! Milaaaaan have scored! A goal in 50 seconds for Milan... wouldja believe it? Paolo Maldini, the skipper! It's all gone wrong in the first minute; it's a wretched, wretched start for Liverpool."

"Liverpool could be stretched again... Shevchenko inside the penalty area... he's got Crespo for support! Shevchenko crosses, it's 2-0! Crespo, from close range, has doubled Milan’s lead… It’s Liverpool - NIL, and AC Milan - 2, and this final is over!”

“…pass there from Kaka… Carragher can’t get there…What a pass for Crespo! This could be 3-0 and 3-0 it is! What a goal that is!… and Milan now, playing football out of this world, no body can live with this!”

“…another opportunity… towards GERRRAAAAAAARDDDDD!! A goal from Steven Gerrard for Liverpool! Captain’s goal!”

“Hamann, 25 yards out, doesn’t shoot, but Smicer mighhhhhhhhhhttttttt! It’s IN!! It’s IN!! OOOOOOOHHHH, away for Vladimir Smicer!! Miracles are possible! And oh my goodness, do we have a game now!”

“Step up, Xabi Alonso, to equalise, yes, equalise for Liverpool… Alonso, MISSESSSSS!! But scores!! Mission Impossible has been accomplished for Liverpool!

………

“He’s saved it! The European cup is returning to England, and to Anfield! Liverpool are Champions of Europe again”

“Once a European Champion, ALWAYS a European Champion.”

 

 

Today, as the mighty Reds face another test of time, I’m tempted to harken back to that historic day in 2005, when everything was over, but 11 men wearing Red just refused to lose to a ‘superior’ team. They defied logic, the odds that were stacked heavily against them, and the fatigue that comes with a long season of football, to lift that glorious trophy.

 

That moment was special. Not because the match was won. But because, a team had shown enough courage to not buckle under the pressure, and simply give up. A team had fought back. Even if they’d lost, they’d still have remained Champions of Europe for me, if not the world.

 

Today, I’m sure they’ll put in another heart-warming performance and give it their all! I would be delighted if they win, of course. But even if the result is not in their favour, I’ll be happy as long as they can walk off the field with heads held high, and say that they gave it everything they had.

 

In fact, there’s a part of me that almost wishes that the match doesn’t take on the hue of that historic match versus Milan, and overshadow it. That match was, and is, very very special.

 

I’ve watched it hundreds of times. So much so, I even remember most of the commentary verbatim. Still, it never fails to bring tears to my eyes, and a feeling of warmth in my heart.

 

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone

REDS Rule!!

I had to bunk two classes and risk missing a surprise exam, but club loyalty is club loyalty. I just HAD to watch the match, in my Red jersey.

 

The atmosphere at Old Trafford itself (the venue of the match) could not have been more tense. There were hardcore fans gathered in the common room, in eager anticipation, waiting to watch their favourite teams battle it out. There was eager anticipation writ large on every face, when the match kicked off.

 

After 23 minutes, we were chasing the game already! The goalkeeper, Reina, accidentally fouled Ji-Sung Park, to give Manchester United a penalty kick. And that vile creature, C. Ronaldo, just doesn’t miss those.

 

1-0 to United! The Man Utd supporters leapt around in joy, while we shook our heads in disbelief.

But, only five minutes later, it was the opposite, as our best striker, Torres, (nicknamed El Nino) scored a peach of a goal. 1-1, the score, and the temperature of the game upped a few notches.

Things seemed to have settled down a bit, with both teams finding it difficult to break down each other’s defences, despite boasting of world-class attacking players in their line-ups. When, in one of the increasingly threatening Liverpool attacks, our talismanic captain, Steven Gerrard was fouled by Patrice Evra. The ref awarded a penalty, and we were delirious, because Gerrard just doesn’t miss from that range. He duly delivered, and we went into half-time, rapturous.

Woeful United must have got a major dressing down during the half from their manager, because they looked less like headless chicken running around, and tried showing some purpose. But then, the Liverpool defence was not in a particularly charitable mood, and refused to give Rooney and Co. any chances.

 

Their wily old manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, brought on 3 substitutes to change the pace of the game, and get that elusive goal. However, one of the defenders most terrorised by Liverpool, Nemanja Vidic, eventually lost his nerve, and ended up bringing Gerrard down, just outside the box. Free kick to Liverpool, and an early shower for Vidic, who was promptly sent off by the referee.

 

Our recent buy, Fabio Aurelio, the left-footed free-kick specialist curled a ball into the corner, with the United players looking on in disbelief. 3-1 to Liverpool, with barely 15 minutes left!

Then on, the result was pretty much a foregone conclusion. United tried pushing players forward, in the hope of nicking a couple of goals, but the move backfired. There were large, open spaces at the back, for the Liverpool attackers to get through, and late in the game, almost towards the end, the substitute, Dossena scored, with a sublime finish. 4-1 to Liverpool!

By then, a despondent United had all but given up, and the game ended shortly. They slunk away with their tails between their legs, while our folks celebrated. It was a massive humiliation for a team that had been greeted by calls of ‘Champions of England, Champions of Europe, Champions of the World’ and a greatly satisfying win for us.

 

In hindsight, perhaps United’s aging manager should have given more thought to the game, than making pre-match comments. And maybe, Rooney should’ve kept his mouth shut, instead of making ‘I hate Liverpool’ statements. Or maybe, he should’ve let his game do the talking.

 

A 4-1 mauling of a team that calls itself a ‘Champion’ is awesome! Of course, irrespective of what they achieve in the future, we’ll always be at hand to remind themselves of this game.

 

You’ll never walk alone!!

Clash of the Titans

Two of the biggies of English football clash today, with the winner of the match having a decent chance of winning the League Title in May.

 

It’s Liverpool versus Manchester United!!

 

Sadly enough, I have a class at 6 pm and the match begins at 6.15 pm. Hence, considering the priorities, I shall probably have to bunk it. But, the gears in the mind are still turning, and any efforts to push them in the right direction will be appreciated…

 

Time to hit the gym now… so, further details about some guardian angels will be provided later…

 

Come on, Liverpool!! Come on, Gerrard!! Come on, Torres!!

 

Football!

This time it’s a serious post about football. No jokes, huh? So, if you’re looking for humour in this post, QUIT right now! No point reading further, because I’m a strong believer in the philosophy of one of Liverpool’s legendary managers:

 

Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.

 

 

I think that statement echoes my feelings perfectly. Of course, most of my friends will vouch for my die-hard following of the game, and fanaticism for one of the greatest clubs ever, football. Another quote of Shankly’s tells of my devotion to winning.

 

 

If you are first, you are first. If you are second, you are nothing!!

 

 

That’s precisely why I was up at 3 am to watch my team thrash Real Madrid 4 goals to zilch! Awesome!

 

And then, I decided to write about some awesome quotes from the world of football. Sample these:

 

Football is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, of controlling the ball and of making yourself available to receive a pass. It is terribly simple.

(Another example of Shankly’s sharp wit)

If you’re not sure of what to do with the ball, just pop it in the net, and we’ll discuss your options afterwards.

(Simple really! No wonder, Shankly was such an awesome manager.)

I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest, I just squandered.

(George Best has a nice perspective. I wish my dad agreed with this too.)

 

We lost because we didn’t win.

(Thanks for explaining that, Ronaldo. Duh! We’d never have figured it out.)

 

If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing.

(Wow, really?)

 

After reading these, you might be misled into thinking that I don’t have anything else to write. I’m not saying that you are wrong, all I’m saying is that you’re not right.

Narcissism Personified!

Apart from being a devoted Liverpool fan(atic), I think I’m becoming a narcissist too. Yesterday, we folks had gone out for the Founder’s day celebration, and I had worn my match-day jersey, because there was Liverpool vs. Sunderland to be watched later in the night.

 

So today, since I had nothing better to do, I was playing around with Photoshop, and messing around with some pics, when this came up:

 

Awesome fun! :D Even though this is pretty amateurish stuff, I now have demands from Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Man Utd. fans here, who’d like to get similar profile pictures. I think it could be a cool business idea. Any takers? ;)

 

P.S. What makes the day even better, is that our team won yesterday, defeating Sunderland 2-0. Come on, Liverpool!!

Walk on… Walk On…

It’s been a testing time lately… both literally and figuratively. With professors raining exams, submissions, and projects on our hapless souls like the torrential Indian monsoons, on the populace, life was never so busy.

 

To add to it, the mood’s been a bit blue too. Why? Well, I don’t really know. It could be the academic drudgery, the lack of sleep, the social reclusiveness that I seem to have donned of late, or a zillion other things. And so, I constantly find myself humming, “We don’t need no ‘ejj-oo-cay-shun’, we don’t need no thought contro-o-o-o-l,” pretty frequently.

 

And when one finds me humming/singing, or producing any kind of …ahem… vocal effect, one tends to acknowledge that , “Houston, we have a problem.”

 

Anyway, since this was supposed to be a tale of woe and misery, I think I should stop cracking jokes, and cut to the chase, as  they say. So, in the bleakest of moods, I sat, with my academic (under)performance topmost on my mind. (It can be quite frustrating when you know that you surely deserve better grades than what you have been getting.)

 

But then, as I do sometimes, when the clouds of despair gather around, I began to watch the highlights of that iconic match between Liverpool and A.C. Milan during the Champions League, 2005. That was when after being 3 goals down to the best team in the world, a team refused to give up a die. A team resolved to fight till the last breath, and WON!!

 

I guess the biggest takeaway from that is that one doesn’t lose, as long as one puts in one’s best. Even if the outcome is not in one’s favour, one still emerges a winner, albeit in a different sense.

 

There are loads of exciting things to do… a new startup, waiting to be launched… a couple of research projects to be undertaken… a story to be written (Thanks Mytho, for the encouragement in that direction…)

 

Like the Liverpool anthem says,

 

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone

 

And like Scriber says, “Life awaits you. Make good choices and have fun!”