The Big Test

   
        The Investec Test series between India and England is about to begin. It is called as the big test as young generation of India take on the English bowling attack which can take opposition's 20 wickets with ease. The batsmen life would be incredibly difficult with the presence of Anderson and Broad in the opposition line-up. Meanwhile England is in all time low with lot of critics surrounding the team. It will be interesting to see how captain Alastair cook handle the pressure and it is widely regarded as India's best chance of beating England.

FIRST HURDLE : TRENT BRIDGE :

 

        Trent Bridge ground was established in the year 1841 and first official test took place in the year 1899 between England and Australia. The highest scorer in this ground is England's great Mike Atherton, who played 11 matches at this venue and scored 1083 runs with 5 centuries against his name. Most runs scored by the Indian at this venue is 541 by Sachin Tendulkar with an whooping average of 67.62. Amongst the present players, Bell tops the chart with 383 runs. When coming to the Bowling Department it has always been the happy hunting ground for James Anderson who leads the chart with 49 wickets in mere 7 matches with six fifers and two 10-fers. India's leading wicket taker is Z Kahn with 12 wickets from two matches.

        In 2011, when India toured England the visitors were already 1 - down in the series and it was the important match of the series at Trent Bridge. Indian bowlers did well to restrict England for a total of 124 - 8, but the rescue operation came from unexpected Broad and Swann who manged England to a decent total and rest is history. The host bowlers tormented the vastly experienced Indian batting lineup before they handed the visitors their second loss in as many matches.

        Now with World class players retired from the sport, the Indian team has travelled to the host nation with the inexperienced side in which only three Indian players has played in England before. Indian batting line-up lies on the shoulders of Pujara and Kolhi. Both have to score runs consistently but they have to face Anderson who is like Lion at its own den, who may single handedly torment the inexperienced Indian batting line up.

        When it comes to the Bowling department, likes of Shami and Bhuvi will be handful for the Indians as both can swing the ball either way. In the English camp the fast bowling is not a concern but lack of quality spin bowling will hurt them. When it comes to the batting, it revolves around Ballance, Bell, Root. Moen Ali, Prior and Broad can chip in with handy runs which can frustrate the opposition.

       The biggest cricket season is about to begin where we would see some intense battles, sledging and fun parts. It is widely regarded as the India's best chance to beat England. Will the young Indian brigade live up to the expectation or will they loose their ground against the English fast bowlers? only time will say... Let the fun begin.......

Brazilian National Football team

        In continuation of our effort to expose the history of various Football teams, we now try to expose the history of one of the most successful and most feared team in the history of Football - Brazil.

START OF ASSOCIATION :

        Football was introduced in Brazil during 19th century. Proper football association was formed at the year 1916. This governing body has been the member of FIFA since 1923 and member of South American Football Confederation since 1916.

EARLY STAGES :

        The early Brazil football history is like a dark age. They won matches but they failed at Biggest stages. During that era, their famous match was against Hungary which was considered as one of the dark game in the History. In Football arena it is called as Battle of Berne, after which Brazil players went to Hungary change room and made the things even more worse after the final whistle.

PELE - THE GREAT MAN : 

        The Golden Era of Brazil stared with the entry of One of the all time greatest footballer - Pele. In 1958 World Cup, the Brazil coach Vicent Foela imposed several strict rules that should be followed by the players. In that World Cup, Brazil team was drawn in toughest group, but they manage to sneak through to quarterfinals with help of star players like Garrinicha, pele and zito.  Then Brazil defeated Wales 2-0 in which Pele scored one goal. In Semi-finals they France 5-2 and Sweden in final which gave them their first World Cup. 

SECOND HOME COMING :

        The 1962 World Cup was second World Cup for Brazil in which Garrinicha was player of the tournament. During this tournament Pele got injured and was unable to participate after the second group stage match. But with the services of Garrinicha, Brazil won the tournament for the second consecutive time.

1966-WORLD CUP HORROR :

        The 1966 World Cup was better known for physical play as it turned out to be the one of the most brutal tournaments of the game. Brazil team was not strong as usual because of the political issues which affected the selection process. At one stage, Brazil coach Vicent Foela has 46 players in which he has to chose 22-members squad for the World Cup. Every club members pressurized the coach to add particular players who represent their own clubs. So gradually team's quality lost which resulted in their worst World Cup campaign ever in the World Cup history as they crashed at group stages. After the match against Portugal, Pele told that he don't wish to play World Cup again in his carrier because of the brutal play by Portugal in final group stage match.

1970-BACK TO OWN :

        After 1966 World Cup, the Brazil was very furious to make amendments for their early exit. The team was dependent on Pele who was at his peak. As expected, next year Brazil team dominated the group stages and finally won the World Cup finals by defeating Italy 4-1.

LONG WAIT :

        After the 1970 World Cup win, came the toughest period in the Brazil Football History. They were not performing well and they could not win any trophies. In 1974, Brazil's new generation cannot defend their title, finishing 4th in that tournament. The 1978 World Cup was one of the controversial World Cups, as Brazil and Argentina was fighting for the top spot in group in which Brazil defeated Polish side 3-1 and had a goal difference of +5. Meanwhile Argentina has the goal difference of +2 in which they have to beat final group game against Peru and they do it by the margin of 6-0 which gained the them the superior goal difference than Brazil and hence latter had to settle for Third place. In 1982 World Cup, Brazil starting as favorites cleared the group stages with ease and their campaign came to end with shocking defeat from Italy. This was the best team of Brazil which could not lift the trophy. Then more pain came in 1986 and 1990 World Cup, as they lost to France in penalty shoot out. That game was considered as classic Football game as neither side deserved to lose. In latter year they lost to Argentina in Group stage.

RETURN OF GIANTS :

        Brazil spent 24 years without being in World Cup finals. The year 1994 was a milestone year for Brazil as they won the World Cup for the fourth time. In finals, Roberto Baggio scored the winner and the new era of dominance started. In 1998 World Cup, Brazil lived up to the reputation of Champions as they advanced to Finals where they lost to France 3-0. Then came the 2002 World Cup, the Brazil team was powered by Three R's (Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho). These Three players made the team to top group stages and they won the finals against Germany quite easily by the margin of 2-0 where both goals are scored by Ronaldo who won the Golden Boot Award. The Germany and Brazil was one of the most consistent teams as the met for the first time in Football History. Brazil eventually won the tournament for the record fifth time.

WAITING FOR SIXTH :

        In 2006 World Cup, the Brazil formation is regarded as  The Magic Square as they start the tournament with win but the Brazil's forwards could not break the defense of other teams as they were forced to change the combination in the final group match, which they won comfortably. Then for the quarter finals match against France, they restored the combination and they lost to France in quarterfinals. This is the tournament when Ronaldo became the highest scorer in World Cup Finals. In 2010 World Cup, they were drawn in Group of Death and they somehow managed to sail through the first round and they defeated Chile in next round by the margin 3-0. But they lost to Dutch in Quarters despite earning an early lead. They left at tournament's Business end. The 2014 World Cup, as the tournaments host has lots of expectation from the country. Responsibility rests on star players like Neymar and Oscar. Will they win the coveted trophy for the record sixth time or will they fumble? 
Only time will say. Lets hope for the best ...

FACTS ABOUT BRAZIL TEAM :

#1. Brazil is the most successful team in World Cup History as they won the WC Five times.

#2. Brazil is second in the chart of teams played most matches. This chart is lead by Germans.

#3.Brazil is the only team to qualify for all World Cup tournaments.

#4. Brazil is the fifth country to host Football World Cup tournament for second time.

#5. Brazil never lost a game when Pele and Garrincha played together.

History of German National Team

        Since the World Cup fever is on, many football fans had started expecting more from their favorite teams. The most excepted teams have started their World Cup campaign with a win. On our attempt to expose the history behind each team, first on the cards is one of the greatest and most consistent team in the Football history - Germany.

START OF GERMAN TEAM:

        The German Football Association was formed in he year 1900. Before their first official match, German team played some unofficial matches which they ended up losing all matches. The first official match was on the year 1908 when it faced Switzerland in which the Germans ended up losing 3-5. 

SPLIT ED GERMANS :

        The Football history has seen a total of three german teams playing football from same origin. The Teams are West Germany, East Germany and Saarland. But only West Germany dominated the the tournaments as both East Germany and Saarland were weak enough to compete at highest level.

TURNING POINT - 1954

        Since its first official match in 1908, Germany is a team which is constantly improving as the time goes on. The Germans team's first major victory was 1954 World Cup which came under the leadership of Fritz Walter. In the group stage, they met Hungary which was tournament favorite. In that game Germans were out of sorts as it slipped to one of the heaviest defeats losing by the margin of 3 goals to 8 goals. And Germans again met Hungary in the final who was unbeaten for 32 matches. By the time Germans played finals, they were rejuvenated with some of their victories in previous games. They fought spiritedly and defeated Hungary 3 - 2, to lift their maiden World Cup.

1974 - THE RETURN OF PRIDE :

        The German team was one of the most consistent team in the World Cup history. It earned the tag of Consistent team but the exclusive trophy eluded them. The 1974 was the year when they got their deserved trophy for the second time.

PILLING ON AGONY :

        The 1974 was productive year for Germany as it was enjoying it's second World Cup but then came the long wait. In next World Cup they were kicked out of the tournament in second round and more frustrating than that is in next two World Cups, they lost in the finals. They did not win Euro cups also in the middle of 1970s.

THE THIRD HOME COMING :  

        In the year 1990, when they started World Cup campaign every thing seemed to be in line and they handed huge defeats to the teams that they faced in Group stages. In final it was the rematch of 1986 final against Argentina. In this match both teams tried hard to score goals but the only goal of the match was for Germany from penalty at 85th minute. This Goal handed the Germans their Third world cup.

AGAIN DROUGHT CONTINUES :

        The 1990 was the year when they finally won the Trophy. Till date, it is the most consistent team making atleast semifinals in each tournaments. They have many quality players like Muller, Klose, Podalski, Ozil who have been playing quiet a long time. Will they turn this year as the milestone year or will they chock again...? Lets hope for best...

FEW FACTS ABOUT GERMAN TEAM :

  #1. All the three world cups were won by West Germany. After the reunification of Germany they did not win the single trophy.

  #2. Germans have good record in penalties as they lost their only one penalty shoot out way back in 1970s.

  #3. Germany and their defeats against Italy is still better love story than the twilight. 

  #4. Germany is the team which had played more matches in the World Cup with 100* matches.

  

  #5. Germany is the team which made into knock outs many times, with 12 appearances in last four spots.

Ten Interesting Facts About World Cup Football

      The World Cup Football tournament has seen many records that tumbles as years progress. It has also seen some of the strange and interesting happenings that are very rare. This article focuses on such kind of happenings in the football history. Here we list Ten interesting facts that Football WC history has seen.

#1. BRAZIL'S RECORD : 

           The Host of this year (2014) World Cup - Brazil, is the most consistent side in the Football history. Brazil played all the edition of the World Cup, making it the only team to do so in Football history.

#2. MOST CARDS :

           In the 2006 Germany world cup, Valentin Ivanov , broke one of the rare record by showing more number of yellow and red cards in the single match. During Netherlands vs Portugal match, the Russian referee showed around 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards. It was one of the diritest game in the Football History.

#3. HOST'S DOMINATION :

          In the 19 world cups, the host nation won the world cup six times. Uruguay in 1930, Italy in 1934, England in 1966, Germany in 1974, Argentina in 1978 and France in 1998.

#4. JERSEY NUMBER :

          Jersey Number was introduced in the year 1954. The Jersey Number wih most number of goals is number 9.

#5. ICONIC VENUE :

         There is only one stadium in the world which has hosted 2 World Cup Finals. That iconic venue is Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. It Hosted the Finals of 1970 and 1986 World Cup.

#6. CHOKERS :

         The Netherlands and West Germany are the only teams to lose two consecutive World Cup Finals. The Dutch lost in 1974 and 1978 and Germans lost in 1982 and 1986 World Cup Finals. 

#7. RAINING GOALS : 

        The most number of goals in a single World Cup tournament is 171 goals from 64 Matches during 1998 WC. This is the most prolific world cup in terms of goals.

#8. TOUGH GAME :

         England is the most unluckiest team in the Football History as it was eliminated from the World Cup tournaments without even losing a single game. It had happened three times in the years 1982, 1990, 2006. The elimination was due to goal difference.

#9. FINALS CLUB :

         In the history of Football only 12 nations has entered the finals. The teams are 1. Brazil, 2. Netherlands, 3. Germany. 4. Spain, 5. Uruguay, 6. England, 7. France, 8. Argentina, 9.Italy, 10. Czechosolvakia, 11. Hungary, 12. Sweden

#10. Ten to Win :

         France is the only team to win the World Cup after being reduced to 10-men in 1998 World Cup.

 

Golden Legs in Football History

         History has seen many football players who just ruled the world of football from time to time. The footballers who turns good for their clubs wont be that effective when they play for their country, but some players will be ruling both.

              This article mainly focuses on the players who shined at the biggest stage(World cup) and the players who were awarded with the prestigious golden boot for their performance at the world cup.

         The football world cup tournament was started at the year 1930. The inaugural world cup was held at Uruguay. In that tournament golden boot award was introduced for highest goal scorer in th world cup.

WORLD CUP 1 : 1930, URUGUAY

#1. GULLIERNO STABLIE :

         Gullierno Stablie was an Argentine Footballer who was the winner of the first ever golden boot award. He scored 8 goals at the inaugural world cup. His first international match was against Mexico at 1930 world-cup. Stablie scored a hat-trick in his debut match which ended 6-3 in favor of Argentina.

WORLD CUP 2 : 1934, ITALY

#2. OLDRICH NEJEDLY :

        Oldrich Nejedly was an Czechoslovakian Footballer. In 1934 world cup he was the top scorer with 5 goals which was recognized by the FIFA on November 2006. Earlier his tally was credited as 4 and was declared as the joint highest scorer at that time. He also played 1938 world cup in which he scored 2 goals for his country.

WORLD CUP 3 : 1938, FRANCE

#3. LEONIDAS DA SILVA

         Leonidas Da Sliva was a Brazilian footballer who was called as the BLACK DIAMOND and RUBBER MAN due his flexibility in Field. Silva played two world cups for his nation(1934 and 1938). In 1934 world cup, his team lost at first round to Spain. In that match, Silva scored a solitary goal for Brazil. In 1938 world cup he was more stronger and hunger to play for his country and became the highest scorer of the tournament with 7 goals but eventually his team lost at the semi-finals and he did not play that game due to his manager.

 

WORLD CUP 4 : 1950, BRAZIL

#4. ADEMIR

         The fourth world cup was held after the gap of 12 years due to Second World War. Ademir was a Brazilian footballer who was one of the best center forward that the Brazilian team has produced. He was outstanding at 1950 world cup by outclassing the team's forwards and eventually became the tournaments highest scorer with 8 goals against his name.

WORLD CUP 5 : 1954, SWITZERLAND

#5. SANDOR KOCSIS

       Sandor Kocsis was the first Hungarian player to be awarded with golden shoe. Sandor has several records against his name such as : He was the first player to score two hat-tricks in a single world cup and he also has the best ever average in terms of goals scored per match.He eventually became the tournaments highest scorer with 11 goals which was by then the highest in world cup history.

WORLD CUP 6 : 1958, SWEDEN

#6. JUST FONTAINE

         Just Fontaine was a French Footballer who holds the unique record of most goals scored in single world cup (13 goals). His record is yet to be broken.

He is fourth on the list of players who scored more goals in world cup finals which was led by Ronaldo.

WORLD CUP 7 : 1962,CHILE

#7. ALBERT, IVANOV, GARRINICHA, VAVA, JERKOVIC, SANCHEZ

         This was the word cup which saw 6 Golden Shoe winners in which each of them scored 4 goals apiece. Among 6, two were Brazilians (Garrinicha ana vava) who took their country's golden shoe count to 4. Sanchez was from Chile and holds the record for most number of appearance for his country. Jerkovic was a Croatian who played for Yugoslavia.

WORLD CUP 8 : 1966, ENGLAND 

#8. EUSBEIO

         Eusbeio was a Mozambique born Portuguese football player. He is known for his prolific goal-scoring. He was called as the BLACK-PANTHER and BLACK-PEARL due to his speed and accuracy in the football field. In 1966, he won the golden boot award for being the tournament's highest scorer with 9 goals against his name. He is the only Portuguese player till date to win the golden boot award.

WORLD CUP 9 : 1970, MEXICO

#9. GERD MULLER

         Gred Muller is the first German player to be awarded with prestigious Golden boot award. Muller is one of the most prolific scorer who has the average of above 1 goal per match. He is second on the list of highest goal scoring average. He ended up with 10 goals in 1970 World cup which got him the Award.

WORLD CUP 10 : 1974, WEST GERMANY

#10. GRZEGORZ LATO

         Lato is the one and only polish player who won Golden boot award. Lato belonged to the era when the polish team ruled the game for almost a decade. He was the highest scorer in that tournament with 7 goals. He is one of the few players who capped more than 100 games.

WORLD CUP 11 : 1978, ARGENTINA

#11. MARIO KEMPES

         Kempes is the Argentine footballer who was instrumental in making Argentina to lift the trophy. He scored 6 goals to get the award and he was only second in the list to win all the three trophies in single tournament (Golden boot, Golden Ball, World cup). He scored around 116 goals in his international carrier.

WORLD CUP 12 : 1982, SPAIN 

#12. PAOLO ROSSI

         Rossi was the first Italian player to win Golden boot. His effort made Italy to lift the world cup. At the start of world cup, he was criticized as he was in poor shape to play a football game. In Round robin matches he did not shine much. His moment came when he scored three goals against Brazil in semi-finals. He became the tournament's highest scorer with 6 goals.

WORLD CUP 13 : 1986, MEXICO

#13. GARY LINEKER

           Gary was the one and only English player to be awarded with this prestigious award. He made his international debut against Scotland. He holds the record for most goals in world cup finals by any English player. He is second quickest in scoring a hat-trick in world cup and he was the second English player to score hat-trick in World cup. He scored 6 goals in 1986 world cup.

WORLD CUP 14 : 1990, ITALY

#14. SALVATORE SCHILLACI

           Schillaci was an Italian player who scored 6 goals to grab the coveted price. Schillaci was less known in 1990 and his achievement of winning both Golden Boot and Golden Ball Awards was a surprise for many people. He does not have a great international carrier but he played more games for clubs.

WORLD CUP 15 : 1994, UNITED STATES

#15. OLEG, HRISTO

            This is the second time in the history of world cup when more than one player has been awarded with Golden Boot. Oleg from Russia and Hristo from Bulgaria scored 6 goals each in 1994 world cup. Oleg scored 5 goals in a single group match which is a world cup record till date. Hristo was considered as one of the great players in his Era.

WORLD CUP 16 : 1998, FRANCE

#16. DAVOR SUKER

           Suker was the Croatian National player who scored 6 goals in 1998 world cup. He has been head of Croatian football federation. He played very less international games in which he has been vital for his teams success.

WORLD CUP 17 : 2002, SOUTH KOREA/JAPAN

#17. RONALDO

           Ronaldo was a Brazilian prolific scorer and he has been a nightmare for many teams. He is the fifth Brazilian to win Golden Boot award. He was electrifying in 2002 world cup where he thrashed the opposition single handedly and scored 10 goals. In finals they lost to France (0-3) and Ronaldo was not upto the mark as he collided with France goalkeeper.

WORLD CUP 18 : 2006, GERMANY

#18. MIROSLAV KLOSE

           Klose was the second German after the Playmaker Muller to win this award. He was the all time highest scorer for Germany . In his debut world cup (2002) he scored 5 goals and in 2006 he scored 5 goals. He scored around 65 International goals which is German National record.

 WORLD CUP 19 : 2010, SOUTH AFRICA

#19. THOMAS MULLER

           Muller was a German international forward, who was emerging player at the time of world cup. He has only played two international games before playing his first match in world cup. He played with great spirit which helped the team to move forward. He won the Golden Boot award by the virtue of more assist than David Villa who was tied with him with 5 Goals.

WORLD CUP 20 : 2014, BRAZIL

#20. ?????

        The 2014 world cup gonna start with greater expectation on players from different countries. Will the Germans continue their streak by getting another Golden Boot or some other players will get it to our surprise?
Or will it be the most expected Brazilian Neymar will steal the show?
Lets wait and see ...

WEIRD FACT

        Argentina giant Maradona and Brazilian giant Pele never won Golden boot award !!!

Will Messi and Ronaldo follow their footmarks ?!