Titans, Chapter 1: July 2006

Zizou, the Talismanic Frenchman.

I started following the fortunes of the French Football Team (Les Bleus) way back in 1996. It was the Euro cup, hosted by England. 10 years back, it was the French flair and the crisp passing that caught my eye. For some reason, I started backing them and took them to the Semis of that tournament. That was my first futbol tournament...

OK, so what if Zizou came off the bench in his debut match in 1994 and scored twice against the Czechs? For the French, there was no one who could match up to Michel Platini. 2 Years on and all hailed the arrival of Zinedine Zidane to the world stage. By then, Zidane had already collected enough Silverware with Bordeaux and Juventus but France'98 was about the Gold, something which had illuded the French for a long long time. Something on which ZZ had his eyes set. How can I forget those starting days of 10th Standard in Calcutta. A rank outsider, thats what I was with all the Brazil, Italy and Argentina supporters around me. France as World Cup '98 Champions...pooh pooh...! Zinedine Zidane...whos that? Lets talk bout Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Batistuta and Del Piero. And as the days progressed, the teams feel by the wayside.

July 12, 1998: Up steps the man, the French No. 10, the best player ever to control the middle third of a football pitch. 2 pin point headers, off 2 corners in the 1st half, silenced the Samba for 4 years. The yellow, green and blue company of Ronaldos and Rivaldos went home, silenced by the might of Zidane. For me, emotions were running high. A casual poll in class had revealed that my classmates were only deliberating the victory margin for Brazil, there was no doubt about the result, though. And how different were the things to be, 3-0, the last one pumped in by Emmanuel Petit and Brazilians were thrashed. The next day at school - "I told you...Viva la France!!!".

Then that was followed up by the Euro 2000 win, a last gasp victory against the Italians. There was the Champions League win against Bayern Leverkussen, Zidane showcasing his class with his Left footed volley, which ultimately proved to be the winner. All is well, says I, to myself.
And then World Cup 2002 happened...

4 years on, Zidane and the French had a chance to redeem themselves in Germany. It was the great man's final hurrah. We were so hoping that Zizou would bow out of Football with a Bang. And did he do that...
The sublime penalty. That deft touch. The header which almost went in. And a moment of madness. So close, yet so far. The glory that was not to be. God gives you hope and takes it all away in a second.

Minus Zidane, for me, there is a void in this great game of futbol, like never before.

Pele, Eusebio, Cryuff, Beckenbauer, Platini, Maradona, _______
Zidane?
Yes.

Still to come: Titans, Chapter 2.

Incommunicado

So it was Karnataka bandh on 4th October, Wednesday. Some dispute over Belgaum between Jai Maharashtra and Sakat hot Karanataka. Well...who cares...?!?

We decided to take advantage of the midweek off and went off to the hills...Nandi Hills. The nice Brigadier uncle from MES (Millitary Engineering Services) had arranged for 2 Fauji gadis, black Ambees with red light on top, et al. After that, there was no stopping us, errr..., except once. On the way, bout 30 km from Bengaluru and 40 odd from the hill top, we came across this group of "peaceful" protesters "requesting" us to "reconsider our trip", that too, ever so "peacefully". I couldn't make the sarcasm more evident. The scene was almost comic, we, nicely tucked in the Ambees, and one poor Policewallah trying to handle the, by now, quite irate mob. One gentlemen pointed his finger to the direction we came from and said..."Go Back". Not quite the Quit India Movements "Simon go back' though. I was in the front seat and cracked up, a very unsmart move, I must add. Neway, some conversation followed between the policewallah. Brigadier uncle rolled down the window and said "Suniye, hum sab Delhi se hain, aur hum bhee aapke saath hain...!". And that proved to be good enough for the floodgates to open. Off we were...to the country side.

I later discovered that the abbreviation MES had been (mis)interpreted by the mob as 'Maharashtra Ekeekarn Samithi'. Those familiar with the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute and the root cause of the Karanataka bandh will understand the significance of it all...