Sports Quotient

Arsenal are the only big time club which doesn’t seem to be making any serious effort in holding on to its key players, thanks to a combination of two reasons : one is Wenger’s insistence on youth and his reluctance to spend in the transfer market. Second, which is actually a consequence of the first, is their inability to win titles which forces players to head out to fulfil their silverware ambitions.

How bad is this exodus for the club?

If you look at the list of players who have left in the last 3 years, there is enough quality to build a fine side; good enough to compete in Europe and England. The team looks something like this.

Emmanuel Adebayor

Thierry Henry

Aleksandr Hleb

Jose Antonio Reyes

Gilberto Silva

Mathieu Flamini

Lassana Diarra

Justin Hoyte

Kolo Toure

Fabrice Mumba

Jens Lehmann

This team could play 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1 or even a 3-5-2 such is the versatile nature of the squad.

These guys weren’t misfits during their time at Highbury or the Emirates. Most of them left for bigger clubs and Arsenal benefitted financially from the move. They have continued to perform at a high level for their new clubs; clearly proof that they were not let go because they weren’t good enough to play for Arsenal anymore.

The only other major European club which has had a similar outflow of top talent is probably Sevilla in Spain.

I can’t help but think.

Who would win if this XI took on the current Arsenal side?

The erstwhile Yugoslavia, which was a decent footballing nation, was broken up into many parts in the 1990’s. Today these countries have carved their own identities in world football.

Croatia – They have missed only one World Cup and one European Championships since they burst on the scene in 1993. Semi-finalists in the 1998 WC and 2008 EC. Currently ranked 8th and have been as high as 3rd in the FIFA rankings. Have a population of 4 million.

Serbia – They have been regulars in the WC, missing out only in 2002. Currently ranked 20th and have been as high as 8th in the FIFA rankings. Have a population of 7 million. Have topped their group ahead of France for 2010 WC qualifying.

Slovenia – They have qualified for the 2000 EC and 2002 WC. They beat eventual winners Italy in 2006 World cup qualification. Currently ranked 49th and have been as high as 25th in the FIFA rankings. Have a population of 2 million. Have finished ahead of the Czech Republic and qualified for a play-off spot for 2010 World Cup.

Bosnia – They have never qualified for a major event but have come very close. Currently ranked 42nd and have been as high as 25th in the FIFA rankings. Have a population of 4 million. Have finished ahead of Turkey and Belgium and qualified for a playoff spot for the 2010 world Cup.

Four quality football sides. Two of which have been in the top 10 and the other two in the top 25 of World football at different times. Out of a total population of 17 million.

Among the so called leading football nations

England has a population of 61 million

Brazil has a population of 191 million

Germany has a population of 83 million

Argentina has a population of 43 million

Spain has a population of 41 million

Italy has a population of 58 million

Russia has a population of 141 million

Holland is one country which compares with a population of 16 million.

All of them have, at different times, struggled to qualify for major tournaments.

Would they have the depth to put together 4 squads or more, with each squad capable of making it to the final round of the World Cup or the European Championships? The squads should be 22 strong each.

I seriously doubt it, save for Brazil and Argentina, but given their population they should be fielding 45 and 10 such teams respectively. And that is impossible for them.

What does that say about the strength and depth of football in the former Yugoslavia?

Most of the sporting facilities for the Delhi Commonwealth Games were built during the 1982 Delhi Asiad. They are now being upgraded to modern standards for the 2010 Games. Which means that they were in an almost ancient state and have not undergone any upgrades for 27 years. This could have happened in only one scenario;that most of these stadia have not hosted an international event of any stature since they played host to the Asian Games in 1982. Because if they had done so, then there would have surely been some upgrades. There is also a lot of renovation and repair going on which clearly indicates that these facilities were poorly maintained and looked after for all these years. Our sportsmen and athletes have been practicing in these poorly maintained and ancient facilities.

It is for the lack of regular upgrades and proper maintenance that we are spending so much extra on the upgrades now. That a substantial portion of this money is filling various pockets is another story.Should we be spending this massive amount of money if all this infrastructure will remain largely underutilized and left to rot once the games are over? Is there any reason to believe that the new facilities will be properly maintained and well utilized to train world-class sports persons and host top-level international events? They will probably get a makeover when we host the next international event; say sometime in the 2030’s under the aegis of Suresh Kalmadi operating from a hospital bed.

Is it still a matter of great pride that we are hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games?

Already the existing teams are struggling to find enough Indian players who are good enough to play at the IPL level. No wonder they keep asking Lalit Modi to increase the quota of foreign players. More teams would lead to an increased scarcity of decent Indian players. I don’t think we have the depth to support 10 or 12 teams.

On the other hand you can probably argue that more domestic players playing in the IPL would increase the depth of Indian cricket. Over a period of time, we will have a larger pool of battle hardened players thanks to more domestic talent getting exposed to top quality cricket.

What say you?

Virender Sehwag takes the cake when it comes to being direct and to the point, but Leander Paes has surely got to be the most articulate of them all. Or is there someone who has been better?

Because your name cannot offend anyone and no one can take you to court.

Guess the IPL teams must be smiling to themselves.

Coach Gary Kirsten’s mantra for Indian cricketers to have sex to boost competitiveness could soon lead to the following scenarios.

Coaching academies across the country also starting sex-education classes to ensure that their wards are in top quality mental shape.

Coaches accused of molesting their pupils pleading that they were merely trying to get them mentally prepared for the action.

The BCCI sending under-performing players to a recovery program in the red-light district of Amsterdam. This could also lead to a situation of players under-performing on purpose to get more ‘sexual’ treatment.

Dressing rooms to have a new section called the ‘undressing room’.

Viagra getting banned by the ICC as an illegal performance enhancing drug.

John Buchanan’s entourage of trainers and assistant coaches getting a new addition – a stripper. Also Buchanan coaching his players to be ambidextrous - in the practise of the going solo technique.

The next IPL could be sponsored by Playboy.

The ‘Kitkat break’ getting replaced by the ‘Kamasutra break’.

Tournaments  will also have an official condom like official drink, official chewing gum and official carrier.

A Russian indulging in the favourite hobby of uber-rich Americans in the heart of the capitalist world. Wonder what the stalwarts of communist Russia would have had to say about it?