Most expensive transfer flops

I have been wanting to write this post for some time but found the time today.

Our modern day football has become a case of Crony Capitalism where every owner wants his club to win the League title and Champions league ASAP after he has taken over. In that quest of fulfilling his dreams he usually hands an open chequebook to the director of football, which results in inflated transfer prices.

With the price tag looming large it is but often that many times they fail to live up to the expectations, I will look at in my view the 10 transfer flops and these players after the moves have a looked a shadow of their original self in no specific order

1) Andriy Shevchenko: The Ukrainian poacher was a legend at the San Siro, He had it all speed, quickness, predatory instincts and an amazing midfield to assist him. But his move to Chelsea backfired and tarnished his legacy, he was 30 and did not have the creative minds of Pirlo and Seerdorf to support, the price tag of 30 Million made matters worse, he played intermittently and never showed signs of being his old self,

2) Fernando Torres: Liverpool Legend, the nemesis of Nemanja Vidic, Scoring in the final of European championship, He was one of the best in the Planet in the final third, he made Liverpool a contender, but similar to Andriy an ill fated move has killed his career to this extent now he is more known for missing sitters than exquisite finishing for which he had built a reputation. Chelsea have shipped him out to Milan where he is looking even more bad, No budding footballer today wants to be compared Fernando and what a shame it has become

3) Juan Sebastian Veron: The man nicknamed "La Brujita" was expected to destroy the opposition's midfield when he joined Manchester United, But he remained injury prone and unconvincing causing people to doubt where was the man who guided Lazio to the Serie A title. He never adjusted to the pace of England and even after another expensive transfer to Chelsea where he was even worse.

4) Denilson: Before Cristiano Ronaldo was dazzling with his tricks, there was Denilson the "Magician" from Brazil for whom Real Betis broke the transfer record and the rest as they say is history, rather Denilson was history, other than the stepovers he could not produce any chances for his team mates

5) Owen Heargreaves: The Man is only 33 but is unable to play and no one wants to take a chance on him, with his injury chequered past it was silly why Manchester United paid 17 million for him. You can't blame heargreaves, he did what he does best, Stay Injured throughout his time

6) Andy Carroll: The Domino effect, Fernando Torres dramatic departure allowed Liverpool to press the Emergency button and sign Andy Carroll for 35 million !!!1. 35 Million for a man who had scored 10 goals in 6 months seemed Outlandish, but not for Liverpool who bought him for his Physical strength and Rocket left foot which made him a sensation in the North East, but i guess the 35 Million did not cover those two as he flopped badly and now currently trying to revive himself at West Ham

7) Kaka: The Man had the World at his feet, he was the World's best player, Milan's formation was designed in a way to ensure Kaka could score, but he chose to leave it to become a Galactico at Madrid and tough he boosted his Ego he shot himself, he could never stay fit and always seemed off pace during his stay, his going to paly out the twilight of his career in MLS

8) Dmytro Chygrynskiy: How Barcelona forked out 25 million for him still seems to baffle me. After Two Solid performances at the Camp Now while playing for Shakhtar he somehow convinced Barca to break the bank for him but he lasted one fateful season and was sold back at a Discount to Shakhtar, Now at 27 he is in his prime but no club wants to even go close to signing him

The two names which are close to my heart, it was tough to see them struggle after making their name at the Mestalla and will be forever legends in our hearts

9) Roberto Soldado: It was a homecoming for Soldado, the kid from Valencia who went to Madrid, blossomed in Getafe and became awesome at Valencia. Signed to replace David Villa, he did his role amazingly well of leading the line and banging the goals, he score more than 25 goals in all of his three seasons which earned his mega money to Tottenham where he has become the butt of Jokes, hope he could rediscover the old self

10) Gaizka Mendieta : He was the star of the Valencia team which reached the final of Champions league in 1999 and 2000. He was the complete midfielder and was destined for greatness but for money and Lazio broke the bank to sign him for 48 Million and his performances were not even worth a player of 4.8 Million subsequent spells at Barcelona and Middlesbrough helped him ride away time but snatched away his legacy.

Do let me know your views if someone else should be in the last

Cheers !!

Arvind

 

Am a Nervous wreck ! But hey it is Diwali

This post deserved to posted earlier, but it was shrunk into 70 words into a Facebook status.But now that i have the time to think through it, i would want to share this adrenaline inducing incident in detail.

End of the months are always painful, the couple of thousand rupees are what generally what saves you from the ignominy of asking money from family or friends. This was during 2013 Diwali, I was in Ahmedabad and maa was anxious to know when i would come home, thanks to lack of proper planning i got my tickets at the last minute at a decent price and not at a throwaway price. 

Satisfied that i had a plan, I bought tons of food items for home as i was going home as the reason for festivities (Mom and Dad could not celebrate as we had lost a family member). My Flight was at 6.50 in the evening so i decided to take my luggage and leave from office directly by about 4.30 so that i can check in properly. I have a certain luxury that i commute to office everyday with my manager as it gives us half an hour to joke and laugh around or discuss some issues which have been unable to cover   

 Armed with my luggage we started the day as usual and while i was keeping my luggage,  Krishna (My Manager, Friend and Literally a pillar of support :D ) asked me about specifics of the travel and when i mentioned that i planned to take a cab he offered to drop me at the airport as he was also leaving early. ("Eureka feeling, ah am saving 1500 Rs for Cab charges as well as No luggage entry hassle into office") to which i was overwhelmed and we decided we would leave by 4.30 PM so that i can reach the airport by 5.40 Pm. We did not discuss after that about the travel and started our work. I suddenly noticed that we had parallel meetings and when i wrapped up my work by 4.15 i could not find him. Couple of minutes later i realized that he was caught up in a meeting. The thought of missing the flight and missing Diwali made me quiver. I was pacing through the office hoping for an idea or rather a miracle. Suddenly Krishna mentioned we can start by 5. I made sure everything was ready including his bag and i was so preoccupied and that when Krishna asked me to slow down and not run i yelled "Am a nervous wreck what do you expect miss Diwali" he was taken aback and till this day has never forgotten about it though we joke about it on a lighter note.

We started and i was sitting there in stoic silence, part anger part despair.
 I started praying to the gods to help in avoiding slow moving vehicles and toll queues
 Suddenly there was a hope i could reach, then there was another twist, Krishna asked me what would happen if i miss the flight, i asked why out of the blue moon would you ask the question, He reminded a fact which sent chills down y Spine, He had recently received his car and the number plate was not fixed it was a piece of paper which was stuck and in the daily commute routine it flew away, What if while entering the Airport the security goods stop, It is 1.5 Km's to the Gate from the entrance. Having taken all the chances Krishna said we would just waltz through, I was praying not to get anyone in trouble, thankfully no one stopped us and i reached near the entrance by 6.05 Pm, i had 5 minutes time before the window was closing, I ran as fast as i could with the luggage past the two police officers who got suspicious and at the next point i was asked for reason and they had a laugh when i told am trying to rush in for the Chennai flight as the window was closing, he showed me the queue of 15 people who were waiting ahead of me and wished me all the best, I ran to the front to verify if the queue was for Chennai flight and they confirmed and said they had extended the boarding time window to accommodate all. Finally after 20 mins when i got the boarding pass there was a sense of relief and i forgot to check my phone and saw 15 unanswered calls all from parents, i called them after the security check and told them i was on my way nothing more nothing less :) Later i narrated the whole incident to them

There is one thing which i get reminded of through this incident and that is the great words from Alchemist "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it"

Cheers
Arvind !! 

Of Trains,Buses,Cabs and phew a train

Wow,

It has been almost two years, Since the last time i wrote a post. Lots of things have changed which has contributed to this, i moved out to Ahmedabad from Chennai 18 months back and have been living on my own, which is giving me truck loads of learning.   

Ahmedabad's proximity to Bombay has often tempted to me make the overnight journey and enjoy the sinful desire known as Bombay City. A city which still fascinates me every time for its ability to contort people and then yet show a straight line. The city has too many memories etched with me, There have always been great incidents/stories every time i have had to leave Bombay. The first one 12 years back was when i reached the station ahead of time for the train but my parents could not come due to traffic to the one last year where i realized people in Govandi forget traffic rules after 10 PM  and ensured i ran into the station with 3 mins to spare and boarded a moving train.  

This time it was even more interesting, I had gone to Bombay for performing the essential rituals of Yajur Upakarma over the Weekend((9th,10th and 11th August), I like to put myself through a period of abstinence leading up to these three days, essentially trying to cleanse body, mind and soul. The three days of Upkarama where extremely fruitful and under the guidance of learned individuals i was elated that i could do it properly. The third day which was Monday i had taken off from work and planned to finish the rituals in morning and board a train in the afternoon so that i could reach Ahmedabad by Night and with a proper sleep i could be fresh for work on Tuesday. 

Things were all going as per plan and my Train was at 1.40 PM from Bombay Central and i was in New Bombay. I planned and left from Nerul station by  boarding the 11.30 am slow local hoping to get down at Sandhurst road by 12.30 and from there take a Taxi to Bombay Central. Things were going as per plan when suddenly my intuition stuck that something is not going right and Viola, the train stopped just before the Mankhurd Station for 5 mins and then later reached Mankhurd station where there was an announcement that because of a power cable cut all trains were stopped. There was my reality check and i came out hoping to catch a taxi, None of the taxi drivers were ready to come and then to compound the misery the clouds opened up and it started pouring. It was 12.15 and i still did not know what to do, By God's grace i spotted an NMMT bus going to Dadar which was caught in traffic at that junction, i sprinted like if there were 3 rabid dogs behind me and did not bother about the rain  my hope was reaching Dadar quickly and from there taking a taxi to Bombay Central. I was then praying to all the god's (Do note in Hindu Mythology there are 330 Million Gods :D) who could help me in reaching quickly, i was hoping for no traffic delay at Chembur and then at the dreaded Sion Junction, Thankfully it was clear and i reached Dadar by 12.45, this gave me reassurance as it takes only 20 mins from Dadar to Bombay Central and in 5 mins i found a Taxi and things were are all going as per plan till we got on the Flyover Near Grant road which was 3 Km Long flyover when suddenly the driver from the nearby taxi yelled at my driver saying that the rear right tyre was punctured. 

Boom suddenly the fear came back, i asked if he could drive till the end of the flyover from where i can get an alternate taxi, he reassured that he could change it in a jiffy and thus he took the tools and started working on the car and i had the ominous job of Indicating people that it was a stationary vehicle and they needed to take the nearby lane (Please note vehicles were cruising at 60-70 Km/Hr in that stretch) with the prayers i got my invigoration's, i did my work and was unscathed for the 10 mins in which the tyre was changed. The time was then 1.20 Pm and i was racing against the clock. I asked him to drive quickly and he raced through the lanes of Byculla streaming past bulls and goats and reached the station at 1.34 Pm i quickly gave the money and ran towards the platform just to realize that my seating compartment where i had a seat was the first from the locomotive meaning i had to cover at least another 1500 meters to check if my name was there on the list and then board the train. I ran like never before and reached the compartment and checked my name, i looked at the watch and it was 1.39. I quickly boarded the train and as i sat down it chugged and started on its way, I took a sip of juice to quench my thirst and reduce my tension, there was an immense happiness in catching and a chuckle remembering the experience.      

Amongst all the chaos there were frantic calls coming from Work and Home which i answered showing little insight of the stress.

P.S: I believe it was divine intervention which helped me catch the train. When i was stuck in Mankhurd in the downpour, i was standing outside a shop and they had a fairly large Sai Baba statue. I prayed to Sai for help and he surely did help me. 

Cheers 

Arvind !!

Kabuliwala

When we talk about school life there is always choke in mentioning about anything related to What was taught, and for a major part it was not the content but the delivery of the content which has created these bad memories.

Now Why am i referring to these ideas randomly ? In this week's KBC there was a reference to a story which kindles up the deep lying fears and emotions within me every time i read it. It is the famous "Kabuliwalla" written by Rabindranath Tagore. The synopsis of the story is it talks about an honest man whose single drive to live in life is his daughter and for her future he comes to an alien land to make a living by selling items in the streets of Calcutta.. He befriends a girl who is of his Daughter's age who begins to admire him as her father is not able to spend time with her. In an effort to gain some money to go back home to his daughter he gets angry with a rude customer and stabs him. He accepts his guilt in court, Once he completes his sentence he sees the world has changed and the little girl is ready to be married and with the gracious money given by the girl's father he starts back to his homeland hoping his daughter would remember him.

  I get choked every time i read read it. This story talks about two unadulterated pure things in the world

1) The innocence of a child

2) The Worth of Life for everyone

The second one is the most critical thing for us in life where we always should see if we can think of the consequences and act on it than on blind rages which hurt everyone around us

Ascendency to Presidency

It has been a while since i visited my blog to jot down my musings, Gone are those days of College ka Chokra and suddenly the Aam aadmi effect has kicked in with Job and Monetary responsibilities which has shadowed my time towards Blog but i hope to be regular fro now.

A major part of my day involves commuting and this gives the time to go through yesterday's updates in today's newspaper which does help in time go by, the whole scenario of India has changed in the past 18 to 24 months, Petrol Price, Multiple Scams,rising inflation to which i was indifferent suddenly start to pinch and i wonder about the future. But as always the country before it can grip itself and look at the problem  objectively to solve it media will throw a spanner into the works and create another story to cover it and the perfect one has been the presidential election

The fact of the matter is that the president almost has an autonomous role to do whatever he wants to the country which is why we had legends like Dr.Prasad, Radhakrishnan and Abdul Kalam to absolute Duds like Zail singh and later Pratibha Patil who have never taken the spot light to highlight issues. The recent row over who should be the new president is quite amusing, It is on the front pages of all major news paper ! I question why ? What can the public do with regard to that go and support Ram Jethmalani on his candidature ? An incident in which the public has no say is flashed wide and loud to masquerade our falling ratings and investment levels, Clashes over Agriculture and Food Minister (Do we need two separate ministers at the first place ? Job evaluation should be done ;) ) amongst others. The whole question of who needs to be a president can easily be decided by the seniormost people in the houses and decided than asking Allies nominating People representing various communities and then putting personal favors (mamata Backing Manmohan so that Pranab Becomes PM) makes it feel colloquial and worthless. How many of them also want to be the president ? Possibly none do you want to represent this sad situation now

Let there be a president who decides in Five years he can keep the treasury stacked up (Government's and personal) and be a Light bearer

Cheers 

Arvind  !!

"Steve Jobs" The Doubters mind

There Will be few people who would want to stand Toe to Toe against Steve Jobs If it came down to Marketing their products. Jobs was a master at getting attention and convince the fickle Minded American customer to switch regularly. Personally I have a lot of Respect for Jobs as a man who fought against adversities and troubles throughout his life. His Journey to the top is a sheer representation of his Grit which has also landed him in trouble. But once he got to the Top he never looked back or looked at the world. He looked to go forward but not help others get along. He was a great marketeer but not a great leader. I found a great article on DNA by Neeraj Thakur which captures many of my Thoughts

“ What makes you great to the world, so much so that you become the ‘greatest’ of your times? Is greatness the title for those who become successful in their respective fields? Or is it that everyone who appears on TV has the chance of attaining greatness? Steve Jobs, who died fighting pancreatic cancer, being showered with so much love and respect raises this question.

While any celebrity has a right to an obituary, posthumous encomiums by way of comparison with other greats should not happen just because of the bankruptcy of a particular age in producing truly great individuals.

What defines Steve Jobs? The fact that he could make people go crazy about his company’s products?

If marketing is what makes you great, then our Indian politicians are the greatest, because they market themselves so well that even after their failures in one term after another, we keep voting them back to power. If making a new product is what makes you great, then there are many new products being invented everywhere in the world. Yes, the claim to launching the first personal computer goes to Jobs, but he was not behind its invention; he was the chief of the company that invented it. Any man heading the company that has a product to sell can do what he did.

To those who think he revolutionised cell phones, the fact is he just re-packaged his products by mixing up what was already out there in the form of already available gadgets/software like Blackberry, Palm, Windows, etc. A man becomes truly great for humankind and his passing away deserves mass mourning only if he has done something to better the lives of his fellow beings, overcoming personal greed and lust for power.

While all of us take our newborn kids to have ‘Do boond zindagi ki’, to save our kids from the life-crippling polio virus, very few would know why those life drops come for free. There are many other diseases, medication for which does not come even at a reasonable cost, forget having it free.

The man who invented the polio vaccine, Jonas Edward Salk, decided not to patent his invention. After seven years of rigorous research, when he had the chance to become a billionaire, much like Jobs did, he refused to do so. When someone asked him ‘Who owns the patent of the vaccine, he replied, ‘Can anyone patent the sun?’ In civilisation’s history of one individual bettering the lives of fellow humans, can Jobs stand anywhere close to Salk?

Jobs did not even eradicate poverty with the immense wealth he accumulated by selling his so-called great products, invented by scientists who worked in his company. Instead, he rather stopped all philanthropist activity by Apple in 1997, saying philanthropy can ‘wait until we are profitable.’ Today, Apple is one of the world’s most valued companies (sitting on $40 billion cash) and ironically, it is perhaps the only one in its category that has no philanthropic contribution worth talking about.

I don’t own any Apple product, and most Apple aficionados would accuse me of commenting on something that I don’t use. I am not commenting on the products he sold; I am commenting on the tears that are being unjustifiably shed on the death of a rich man. I am not taking anything away from Jobs as an entrepreneur, and the fact is that he was an inspiration for his company. But I find it difficult to accept the belittling of the very notion of greatness by bestowing it on those who worked for themselves and promoted the noxious idea that ‘profit motivates humans’, a theory that would have never given us the polio vaccine.”

There Have been past accusations against apple that there are Underage Labours Working in the Factory In China. Which he merely acknowledged as a problem but never took steps to resolve it, At a time when companies where getting the Flack for not giving jobs to Americans, Jobs escaped the Perview Blame Roulette because people where so magnetized to his products.

Steve Jobs was the True Capitalist leader and thanks to his company we are connected across the world and his charisma captured audience across the world regardless of Age groups.

Cheers !!

Arvind

Soaking up the small pleasures of Life

We are at our pinnacle when we feel we have got a mountain of our back and have the feeling of being on top of the world by accomplishing something which is considered worthy by the world. But often we miss out on cherishing some of the small joys which we encounter daily and which makes a huge difference in the way look at the next day.

If we were able to understand a small joy joy of crossing a kid across the road or offering food to a hungry man/woman who blesses you. These small things we overlook on what could they matter to us and we get engrossed on a major work but if we give a minute's attention and enjoy that it would make a world of difference to what is happening around us

Cheers !!

Arvind