Player Profile: Bobby Charlton

Bobby Charlton

11th October 1937

Country: England

Major Clubs: Manchester United

"I wonder all over again how so much could come to one man simply because he was able to do something, which for him was so natural and easy, and which he knew from the start he loved to do more than anything else", said Bobby Charlton in his autobiography, My Manchester United Years. He was a player whose life was changed in the blink of an eye. One of the original Busby's Babes, Charlton was a Red Devil throughout the extent of his career. He played 759 games for Manchester United, and scored 249 goals in the duration of 17 years at the club.

One thing in Charlton's life that haunts him till date is the Munich air disaster. Seven of his teammates, including the great Duncan Edwards, died in the disaster, but Charlton somehow managed to pull himself out of the injuries he sustained. Later, he along with Matt Busby's assistant Jimmy Murphy, was responsible for the resurrection of the club. He possessed qualities of being a terrific goal-scorer, as well as being able to score splendid goals; something of a rarity in English football at the time.

In 1966, England hosted the FIFA World Cup. The team that year was completely in the hands of Alf Ramsey, who selected Charlton for the side playing the World Cup Finals. His contribution to England was commendable throughout the tournament, as he won himself the Golden Ball that year. However on 30th July 1966 when England played their World Cup Final at Wembley, Charlton was rather quiet. England, though, went on to win the cup.

Two years later, he captained United to remarkable run in the European Cup, leading a team that became the first English side to reach the cup final. The final, played at Wembley against Benfica, was a tight affair, until Charlton scored twice in extra time to hand United a 4-1 victory.

Much later, during his days at Old Trafford, he was a part of the Holy Trinity which included himself alongside Denis Law and George Best. George Best said for Charlton, "I've never seen anyone go past players as easily as he did.". On the individual front, the list of the honours he's won is too long to be written here. But some of the greatest honours such as the Ballon d'Or, FWA Footballer of the Year, among others still dress up his cabinet.

Bobby Charlton went on to manage Preston North End towards the end of his career, and also had a brief spell at Wigan as a caretaker manager. However, he didn't embark on a full fledged career in management. Charlton was conferred with the knighthood in 1994, and is currently on the Board of Directors at Manchester United.

His contribution to the club is and probably will be unmatchable by anyone so far, and even in the future. Despite the many blows he took at Manchester United, starting from the Munich disaster, to the 1958 FA Cup loss, and the 1969 European Cup defeat, Charlton believed in hanging in there, unlike many of the modern footballers who change colours for medals.

-PRANAV MUKUL

Written for India's premier football magazine: 90 minutes (October 2011)

Player Profile: Alfredo Di Stefano

Alfredo Di Stefano

4th July 1926.

Country: Argentina

Major Clubs: River Plate, Millonarios, Real Madrid, Espanyol

Though you can read his nationality as Argentine, Di Stefano played for three different countries during his gilttering career as a footballer - Argentina, Columbia and Spain. However, he did not play at the World Cup finals even once.

He started his professional career at the age of 17 by playing for River Plate in Buenos Aires where he was born, and from there the journey of this legend started as he only made more than just a mark on Millonarios, Real Madrid and finally Espanyol. His journey from the Americas to Spain has been followed so much in Spain, that a Spanish movie titled as his nickname, "Saeta Rubia", has been produced to portray his life in Spain.

The list of his honours is never ending but what one always remembers him for is his pivotal role in Real Madrid's European success in 1950's. Also, it was the Spanish giants who asked Di Stefano to convert his citizenship to Spanish, so they could utilize their foreign spot for the newly signed Raymond Kopa. The 11 years he spent at Madrid were probably the golden years of his career, as he led a powerful line up from the front, with other star players such as Raymond Kopa, Ferenc Puskas, Francisco Gento, et al.

Di Stefano is essentially considered to be the best 'all-rounder' of all time. Yes, we're still talking about football, nothing else. The remarkable stamina and agility he possessed helped him to be an all-rounder of sorts, on the field. He could roam anywhere over the length of the pitch owing to these qualities, which allowed him to even defend, distribute the ball, give orders to other players and of course, score goals. His presence on the field was so crucial, that his former coach at Madrid, Miguel Munoz said, "The greatness of Di Stefano was that, with him in your side, you had two players in every position."

Apart from the other qualities Saeta Rubia flaunted, his main quality was very straightforward - to take the ball and out it in the back of the net. He scored 307 goals in 397 appearances at Madrid, and won the Pichichi award for scoring the highest goals in a La Liga season five times during his career there. Post Madrid, Di Stefano moved to Espanyol in 1964. He did decently at the Catalan outfit, and two seasons later, he retired from football as a player.

However, he was still connected to the game. He later went on to manage clubs such as Elche, Boca Juniors, Valencia, Real Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, Rayo Vallecano, Castellon and River Plate. In 1990, while he was still managing Real Madrid, he was appointed as the advisor to the president of Los Merengues.

Only a year later he was appointed as the president of the former players of Real Madrid. His contribution to the club's administration didn't end there either, as in 2000, he was appointed as the honorary president of the Spanish giants. In 2006, to respect his contribution to the Los Blancos, the "Alfredo Di Stefano stadium" was inaugrated, and is the stadium which the first team uses to train.

Written for India's premier football magazine: 90 minutes (July 2011)

-PRANAV MUKUL

Player Profile: Bobby Moore

Bobby Moore

12th April 1941.

Country: England

Club played for majorly: West Ham United

He stands 20ft. tall at the Wembley weighing about two tons, portraying the many successes he has won for his country. “He was my friend as well as the greatest defender I ever played against,” said Pele himself for this English Captain who was the first and till date remains the only one to have won the World Cup for England.

Robert Fredrick Chelsea Moore a.k.a. Bobby Moore is considered to be one of the greatest footballers in the history of England as well as West Ham United. He held a record of 108 caps for England until March 28th 2009, when David Beckham played against Slovakia at the Wembley. But unlike Beckham, Bobby Moore has played every single minute of every single cap he’s earned. He was a poised central defender and was well known for his ability to foresee the opposition’s movements. To mock his ability former Celtic centre half Jock Stein once said, “There should be a law against him. He knows what's happening 20 minutes before everyone else.”

Moore joined West Ham United in 1956 as a youth player and advanced through this setup to join the senior team on September 8th, 1958 playing his first match against Manchester United. But he’s more a legend for the English team than for The Hammers. It is said that in early 1966 Bobby Moore wanted to leave West Ham the reason being some heat he shared with his club manager Ron Greenwood. Also, the fact that his demand of £10 more per week as his wage with his contract expiring at the end of that month wasn’t being fulfilled made him decide that he would leave the club as soon as his contract expired. But Sir Alf Ramsey who was then the manager of England, intervened timely and helped Moore realize that he would become technically ineligible to contribute for the England squad if he left the club. Ramsey called Greenwood to the hotel where the English team was staying and told him and Moore that they had one minute to sort out their problems. Moore then signed a one month contract to elongate his stay at Upton Park which allowed him to captain the English National Team for the World Cup they later went on to win.

After the World Cup win, he won several individual honours including the “BBC Sports Personality of the year” and the OBE (Order of the British Empire) at the end of 1966.

He ultimately left West Ham in 1974 after playing for 16 years and making 544 appearances while scoring 24 goals in the process. After leaving West Ham he joined Fulham where he played for three years. Ultimately, he retired from club football playing for the Danish club Herning Fremad which is now known as “FC Midtjylland”.

Other than football, he also played county cricket for Essex with his West Ham teammate Geoff Hurst. More than being just a good footballer, Moore was also a good person and a good teammate. When the English team got a £22,000 bonus for winning the World Cup, Moore insisted that the money should be split between every player in the 22-man squad regardless of whether he played or not.

Also published here

-PRANAV MUKUL

Follow @pranavmukul

OH YES IT WAS BORING!

The 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa is more than 6 months old now but still haunts a football fan. With Russia and Qatar winning the bids for hosting the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, people are scared of missing out action they have seen over so many years in the soccer-fanatic nations. It started with a day which concluded with draws followed by several other draws throughout the group-stage which summed up to 14 draws out of which 6 ended 0-0. Apart from the draws in the group stages, 13 games ended with just one goal separating the two teams after 90 minutes. So, on paper, 27 out of 48 games turned out to be a turn off for a football fan who must have bunked college or office, fought with his/her girlfriend/boyfriend just for the beautiful game which did not prove to be beautiful this year. Coming to the K.O. stages we had quite a spectacle in the Round of 16 as we saw U.S.A. exiting to Ghana which was a boost for the continent of Africa but that too “a.e.t.”. Nevertheless we had one of the most anticipated matches in this round of whose result turned out to be as it was anticipated by a major part of the following. Germany 4-1 England-One of the biggest international level football rivalries. Even half my friends go to sleep as the half time concludes 0-0. The line goes well then “Score To Live”. No goals is a dead game then.

Even the Finale was dead-boring. What made it more boring was that most people speculated a penalty shootout but last minute goal broke heart of many those who watch for entertainment and those who supported the Netherlands. What made the tournament so boring and obvious that almost every follower of the Beautiful Game knew who was going to win and without any hesitation the anticipation came true?

Bringing Joy To No One!

Yes! The tournament had no balls! It had Jabulani. The irony is that “Jabulani” means “Bringing Joy to everyone”. Brazil goalkeeper Júlio César compared it to a "supermarket" ball that favoured strikers and worked against goalkeepers. Second part of the irony with the ball is that it didn’t bring joy to anyone except the players who endorse the producer and the ones who were able to score owing to some really wicked deflections. On one hand where the English ‘keeper David James stated that, "The ball is dreadful. It's horrible, but it's horrible for everyone" his teammate Frank Lampard who endorses the producer company of Jabulani gave good reception to it saying, "(It is) A very strong ball, true to hit." FIFA claimed that it would discuss the matter with coaches and teams after the World Cup. But what’s the use Sir? We’ve already been bored!

Practice makes a tournament boring!

The actual saying is that “Practice makes a man perfect” but perfection this time made the game really monotonous. Though on the other side we got to see some really good tackles but what is the use when it makes all the teams equally good? As time goes, in any tournament a group of death would probably kill the audience. Nevertheless, hitherto the game has been better than what it is speculated to be with the onset of goal-line technologies and action-video replays; gosh! Mr. Øvrebø, your career and our entertainment is in danger!

Viva La Espana!

It was much anticipated world cup win, unlike many previous large-scale tournaments. Spain were the favourites ever since they won Euro ’08. A true prediction is always welcome but the flawlessness with which Spain played was lukewarm. Big-Big clashes are sometimes unwelcome when rather Small-Big clashes manage to end up with more goals. Certainly the Portugal v/s North Korea match would have been more of an enthusiasm than even the Final. But then Spain aren’t held fully responsible for the murder of someone’s enthusiasm who wishes to get sheer entertainment and pleasure for 90 minutes, it is collectively the whole game out of which flaws are being picked out one by one making it just 90 minutes of disheartening goalless draws.

-­PRANAV MUKUL

Also Published HERE

Where can you see the World Cup in Ahmedabad?

Ahmedabad: Though there is a lot of Cricket following in the city there are still a handful of soccer fans scattered all over Ahmedabad who would love to gather up and watch the world’s biggest sporting event. Here, I have made a list of the best places in Ahmedabad where you can watch the beautiful game.

The Veni Vichi Restaurant (Sardar Patel Ring Road)

Out of the city, open air, garden restaurant and a special arrangement for the FIFA World Cup: what else does an ‘Amdavadi’ soccer fan need more than that? With a standard multi-cuisine menu and pleasant atmosphere, driving out of the city is an ideal way for you to enjoy the event. Special arrangements for the World Cup include a large screen and fascinating mocktails. Make sure you book your garden table well-in-advance to enjoy the world’s biggest sporting event in Ahmedabad.

The Ozone Hookah Lounge (S.G. Highway)

Word around is that they serve the best Hookah in Ahmedabad with all genres of music being played regularly including hip-hop, trance, techno and more. A famous theme-based hang out for youngsters which brings out a moderate bill for more than its worth of fun, this is the place you want to be at if you love your music as much as watching Rooney bang one in.

Tc’s Lounge (Ellis Bridge)

Popular with college students and young executives because of its moderate pricing, TC’s is an ideal place to gather up and watch the world cup on a large screen TV as you sip your milkshake or enjoy your Sheesha with some of your friends. A large variety of eatables ranging from Indian to Mexican (China and Italy come in between) makes it a perfectly hippy place to hang out at.

Detour Café (Vastrapur)

One of the newest café’s in Ahmedabad, Detour is a good place to catch up with friends and the creative art interiors can really amaze you. With large LCD’s for viewing the matches, Detour also provides its customers with a Wi-Fi service. A small cover-charge is to be paid to enter the café which can be reimbursed to buy food or goodies inside. Be it the world cup or just some good old internet surfing, Detour is one of the best places in Ahmedabad for you to unwind and relax.

Detour Cafe (ahmedabad burrp com)

The Chocolate Room (Navrangpura)

Go here with your family or go here with your friends. The Chocolate Room has come out with a unique chocolate-theme-based culture in Ahmedabad. One of the very few places in Ahmedabad to serve alcohol, The Chocolate Room is a certain hit from those coming from outside the state. One can play scrabble or Chess while having their milk-flavored Chocolate Melting pot or can even lie down on the couch while watching Messi put one through past Cesar. In all, The Chocolate Room is an ideal place where you can sit for hours and hours and enjoy your game.

-Pranav Mukul

Also Published HERE