The Goal Keeper's story!

I'm not a great follower of football and was even less a player as I was growing up. The reasons are pretty obvious, at 5'6" and slightly built you don't stand much of a chance tackling burly boys whose sole intention is to crack a rib or two of yours.Well, this short blog is not about my football days but more about decision making.Surprise, surprise! One of my memories of watching a football world cup was the great Frenchman Michel Platini winding up for a penalty kick.It was June 21, 1986, on a blisteringly hot day at Guadalajara, Mexico France played Brazil. Platini takes the kick and the ball aimlessly floats over the cross piece as the goal keeper dives away to the right. The French supporters groan in dismay and hold their heads in disbelief even as the goal keeper looks around to see where the ball is. The point here is the action of the goal keeper. Research has shown that during a penalty shoot, one of three things are likely to happen - the ball is shot to the right corner of the goal, the left corner of the goal or goes straight, unless of course like Platini did the ball is kicked out of the goal. However it is generally seen that the goal keeper dives either to the right or the left while there is a good 33% chance that if he just sits tight the ball might head straight to him. Why then does a goal keeper dive all over the palce? Psychologists say that it is human nature to look busy. Looking busy and failing is more acceptable than failing while appearing to be doing nothing. Hence from our football analogy, while it makes good sense for the goal keeper to sit tight and wait, he dives to either side simply because he does not want to be seen to be doing nothing, even at the cost of conceding a goal. Managerial decision making is unfortunately similar and many managers think that incessant action looks better than calibrated and calculated decision making.Senior managers need to impress upon their subordinates that action without progress is a waste of resources and does not pay in the long run!

It's all in the mind....

Not withstanding its distinctive name, the food at La Marvela, Bangalore's latest upmarket hotel is pretty good.Sipping a Zinfandel, I watched Germany maul England, 4-1, at football, on a giant TV screen.
The loss was tragic & rather sad to see, because, the difference between, the two is not that great. When I started on my wine,England were down, 2-1 and fighting.Frank Lampards glorious shot at the goal was disallowed & I knew it was curtains for the Brits.The Germans counter attacked furiously and England were staring down the proverbial barrel.
I've spent enough of time with Germans to have learnt one thing. You allow the chaps to get on a roll and there is little to stop them. You get the better of Germans by guile, tactics and wearing them down.The Brits were tactless and allowed the Germans to dictate the game.You never allow the Germans order......if you want to beat them.
The battle for Stalingrad was a brilliant example.What the Germans hate is being bogged down and attrition. In this context had the Lampard goal been rightfully allowed and England gone 2-2, my gut feeling is that the match might well have ended differently.
But then as they say, that is how the cookie crumbled and the Germans went through, to the round of eight and England home.For me, it was a skewed match. The Germans played true to form but not the Brits. Traditionally they are a tough lot & I would have expected them to hang in there.But then it's all in the mind.As I finished my red wine, the taste was a trifle awry.
I'm going to miss seeing, the Brits on the field and Beckham with his tattoo's and fine clothes, cheering his mates on!

The Indian Connection!

The excitement in the air is palpable, as we wait with bated breath for the Football World Cup to kick off in South Africa! I wonder why? What stake does India have in the world cup? Our national football team, has never been within sniffing distance, of the event & India has at best done something of interest only in SAARC tournaments with Bangladesh, being their biggest threats......

While not holding anything against the Indian football fan, I'm still unable to get to reason as to what connection does India have to the World Cup, till I cam accross the following interesting story!

The Jules Rimet Trophy or so the FIFA WC was called back then, was stolen on 20 March 1966, from the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster where it was being exhibited in a glass cabinet. Five guards were detailed to keep constant watch. On the Sunday, though, the guard stationed next to the trophy had the day off. With the others enjoying a cup of coffee or a call of nature, it was only when George Franklin finally inspected the case just after midday that he discovered the theft. The thieves had broken in through the back doors.

For the Football Association and Sir Stanley Rous, the English president of Fifa, this was the nightmare scenario. Three months before hosting the 1966 World Cup, there was no trophy. England was in frenzy & the police clueless, as to the thief or the cup.

The story continues......

On a Sunday evening in March 40 years ago, David Corbett left his ground-floor flat in Norwood, south London, to make a telephone call from the kiosk across the road. With the Thames lighterman was Pickles, the four-year-old mongrel he had taken off his brother John's hands, when he was a puppy, because he chewed furniture.

'I put the lead on Pickles and he went over to the neighbour's car,' recalls Corbett, now 66. 'Pickles drew my attention to a package, tightly bound in newspaper, lying by the front wheel. I picked it up and tore some paper and saw a woman holding a dish over her head, and disks with the words Germany, Uruguay, Brazil. I rushed inside to my wife. She was one of those anti-sport wives. But I said, "I've found the World Cup! I've found the World Cup!"'

Pickles was a overnight hero & went as far as being felicitated, by the Prime Minister of England & a grateful nation. The dish 'Pickle' is very Indian & is recognized with curry, as being Indian. I'm afraid that is as far as we are going to get with the FIFA World Cup, for the moment!

As for Pickles.....

Now Pickles began the life of a celebrity. He starred in a feature film, The Spy with the Cold Nose, and appeared on Magpie, Blue Peter and many other TV shows. He was made Dog of the Year, awarded a year's free supply of food from Spillers and there were offers to visit Chile, Czechoslovakia and Germany.

The end was swift & sad.The poor dog hung itself with its lead, from the branch of a tree, a few years hence, but "pickles' is remembered with a great deal of affection, by football fans world wide!