Sourav Ganguly & David Beckham what do the have in common? No its not that both of them are called "prince" by their fans.Nor it is that both of them have been invited for the Liz-Arun wedding ( I doubt whether Sourav & Dona are invited) nor it is that they have actually come close to cheating with their wives (Remember the Sourav-Nagma connection & the Beckham-Rebecca Loos saga) .Well lets get real. The similarity is more to do with their sporting comebacks which has bought them on the verge of "greatness".
Lets begin with Sourav.The press gave him a very bad time over his slump in form post world Cup 2003.Once dropped,he was dismissed by ex cricketers,media & fans as a person who couldn't get back into the team & that his days of playing for India is over."Finished" screamed a headline above an article about him.But the Prince of Kolkatta had the last laugh .His comeback into the team through performances in domestic cricket accompanied with gutsy innings post his comeback & wholla ! we have a new cricketer !.A cynic could well say that given the bad run & form of other Indian players,Sourav's above average performance made him stand out which cannot be construed as improvement in his game from when he was dropped.But the fact remains that he did come out & prove himself when he had to.
When a commoner is called to speak about football,he/she are most likely to name David Beckham.In fact if you prod more & ask him/her about " great" footballers do they know ,chances are that his name be taken in the same breath as Pele & Maradona.Over the past season His performances on the field after being dropped from his club starting eleven have been limited.To make matters worse after his lucrative deal in the States ,his coach openly stated that he no longer would be an automatic choice to play in the team & would have to be content in training with the reserves.Post the despair of the world cup,his demotion from the national squad & being dropped from his club side , it seemed all doors were shut for him to envisage a comeback into the national side.
However with again his teammates showing uncharacteristic slackness in their game & the absence of any more "galactico" other than him in the center of the the field resulted in the performances on the pitch.When Capello was forced to play Beckham,he was forced to play him again because simply Beckham performed better than his teammates.He got an ovation from Madrid supporters despite the fact that he was going to leave them & the club president publicly stating that Beckham didn't show any intent of continuing there.Today the same people who were asking for his head have started backing him to get into the England Team !
So have we found a link between them both ? You may say that both are prime examples of great warriors who never give up .They may be called the epitome to the fact that "form is temporary but class is permanent".The unarguable fact remains is that your performance/actions are always judged on the basis of what your peers do at the same time.Historical Statistics do not have any significance in sports other than they are targets to aim for.They don't help in improving your game nor have any impact on your performance.They are just targets you aim to break.
Which brings me to wonder are the above two gentlemen on the verge of "greatness".Are they both players with "class" on the field?
My belief is from the fact that in case of Sourav ,if the Indian team lifts the world cup...then undoubtedly he would be felicitated as one of India's greatest cricketers .So what if he still has a weakness against the short ball.So what if he has started moving towards the off stump so much in his stance that his leg stump stands exposed( Quick Bowlers would have noted the same I think :) ) ,but the fact remains he will be called as " one of India's greatest batsman of all time" putting him along with the most technically supreme or wristy wizards like Gavaskar,Vishwanath & Azharuddin & of course Tendulkar.
In case of Beckham well he has already played football in two of the best clubs in the world,A comeback to the national team along with a victory in Euro 2008 would be enough for the media to place him along with Sir Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst etc.So what his game is still one dimensional.His pace is now even slower than what it was earlier & he cant do anything with his left foot :)
Both the above players have a single standout quality which makes them "special" .Sourav for his"offside" play & of course the dead ball & crossing expertise of David Beckham. These qualities any sport aficionado would say are just one of the qualities which a purist may look at calling a player as "great".But imagine the scenario where sourave having got the oppurtunity plays a role(he has to in some ways) in Indias World cup victory at West Indies 2007. Once Beckham gets his chance (which looks sooner than later) ,If England win Euro 2008 then is he one of the "greatest" footballers.
Wonder what Sir Garfield Sobers,Clive Lloyd,George Best & Pele have to say about this.
Lets begin with Sourav.The press gave him a very bad time over his slump in form post world Cup 2003.Once dropped,he was dismissed by ex cricketers,media & fans as a person who couldn't get back into the team & that his days of playing for India is over."Finished" screamed a headline above an article about him.But the Prince of Kolkatta had the last laugh .His comeback into the team through performances in domestic cricket accompanied with gutsy innings post his comeback & wholla ! we have a new cricketer !.A cynic could well say that given the bad run & form of other Indian players,Sourav's above average performance made him stand out which cannot be construed as improvement in his game from when he was dropped.But the fact remains that he did come out & prove himself when he had to.
When a commoner is called to speak about football,he/she are most likely to name David Beckham.In fact if you prod more & ask him/her about " great" footballers do they know ,chances are that his name be taken in the same breath as Pele & Maradona.Over the past season His performances on the field after being dropped from his club starting eleven have been limited.To make matters worse after his lucrative deal in the States ,his coach openly stated that he no longer would be an automatic choice to play in the team & would have to be content in training with the reserves.Post the despair of the world cup,his demotion from the national squad & being dropped from his club side , it seemed all doors were shut for him to envisage a comeback into the national side.
However with again his teammates showing uncharacteristic slackness in their game & the absence of any more "galactico" other than him in the center of the the field resulted in the performances on the pitch.When Capello was forced to play Beckham,he was forced to play him again because simply Beckham performed better than his teammates.He got an ovation from Madrid supporters despite the fact that he was going to leave them & the club president publicly stating that Beckham didn't show any intent of continuing there.Today the same people who were asking for his head have started backing him to get into the England Team !
So have we found a link between them both ? You may say that both are prime examples of great warriors who never give up .They may be called the epitome to the fact that "form is temporary but class is permanent".The unarguable fact remains is that your performance/actions are always judged on the basis of what your peers do at the same time.Historical Statistics do not have any significance in sports other than they are targets to aim for.They don't help in improving your game nor have any impact on your performance.They are just targets you aim to break.
Which brings me to wonder are the above two gentlemen on the verge of "greatness".Are they both players with "class" on the field?
My belief is from the fact that in case of Sourav ,if the Indian team lifts the world cup...then undoubtedly he would be felicitated as one of India's greatest cricketers .So what if he still has a weakness against the short ball.So what if he has started moving towards the off stump so much in his stance that his leg stump stands exposed( Quick Bowlers would have noted the same I think :) ) ,but the fact remains he will be called as " one of India's greatest batsman of all time" putting him along with the most technically supreme or wristy wizards like Gavaskar,Vishwanath & Azharuddin & of course Tendulkar.
In case of Beckham well he has already played football in two of the best clubs in the world,A comeback to the national team along with a victory in Euro 2008 would be enough for the media to place him along with Sir Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst etc.So what his game is still one dimensional.His pace is now even slower than what it was earlier & he cant do anything with his left foot :)
Both the above players have a single standout quality which makes them "special" .Sourav for his"offside" play & of course the dead ball & crossing expertise of David Beckham. These qualities any sport aficionado would say are just one of the qualities which a purist may look at calling a player as "great".But imagine the scenario where sourave having got the oppurtunity plays a role(he has to in some ways) in Indias World cup victory at West Indies 2007. Once Beckham gets his chance (which looks sooner than later) ,If England win Euro 2008 then is he one of the "greatest" footballers.
Wonder what Sir Garfield Sobers,Clive Lloyd,George Best & Pele have to say about this.
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