Sports can be such a different
career in a lot of ways. Sports persons peak at an age when young men and women
take baby steps in their careers. They retire in an age where every other
professional attain their peak powers. The moment their bodies don’t respond to
the mind, they call it quits. Yet in such a short career span, sport can be so
satisfying and fulfilling. As a professional sport, dominated by club games,
football can be so demanding on a player’s body and mind. Yet with their
endurance and skill set, they manage to illuminate our hearts as well as the
stadiums they play in. This particular season in English football, many players
who would be branded as greats in the not so distant future and one manager who
is probably the greatest of them all, chose to call it a day. Here is a look at
those amazing people.
He was the most naturally gifted
striker that England has ever produced. Fast as a blur, boyish charm and with
the kind of instinct inside the box, he was a nightmare for defenders around the
world. But post his explosive start and prolific scoring for Liverpool, Michael Owen never really found that
gear at Real Madrid where he found his chances limited among the galaxy of
stars at the Bearnabeu. His career hit rock bottom after a plethora of injuries
he sustained during his stay at St James’ Park. But that did not stop Sir Alex
Ferguson from signing him (Being a Reds fan, I was livid to say the
least). Though he played fewer matches during
his time at Manchester Unted, he did make his mark with a signature last minute
goal in that amazing Manchester derby. Despite his move to United, he is still
my favorite striker. Two moments still stays fresh in memory, that amazing goal
at the ’98 World Cup game against Argentina and his brace in the FA cup final
against Arsenal in 2001 where the Gunners did not lose to Liverpool but to
Michael Owen.
He would probably go down as one
of the last one club player in the premier league. The great wall of Liverpool,
Jamie Carragher’s legacy lies in his
loyalty, commitment, using maximum use of one’s potential, fighting instinct
and most of all, being the ultimate team man. He was the bedrock of Liverpool’s
defense for the past 15 years and every time I see his name on the team sheet I
feel secure and assured. Images of an exhausted Carra fighting cramps but still
throwing his body around against a marauding Serginho in 30 tiring minutes of
extra time at the Champions Trophy
finals in 2005 still stands out. Wonder if anyone can replicate that.
He retired a year ago only to
come back at his boss’ request. Though he had a very ordinary season by his high
standards, one can’t take away the fact that Paul Scholes is one of the strongest pillars on which lies the
museum of those glittering trophies that United won in the Ferguson Era. United
will sorely miss and will need a midfield general that was Scholes. Who is
going to deliver those killer passes from deep in the midfield? Who is going to
dictate the game? Can Michael Carrick step it up?
He is a superstar in more ways
than one. Despite not being an exceptionally talented player, with his dead
ball skills and that precise, defense splitting pass, he was such a potent
weapon in any team’s midfield. But David
Beckham’s footballing legacy lies beyond the pitch. He was an icon, a
poster boy who drove people, especially women to watch the game. Though the
game is much bigger than him, he became the reason why a lot of people watched
football. That is something very few people can do. You can talk about Dennis
Bergkamp’s technical acumen, laud Steven Gerrard’s leadership or wonder how
cool Alan Shearer is every time he puts it past a keeper. But you always need a
Beckham to make people watch all that in the first place. He was football’s
brand ambassador.
The English Premier League has
indeed lost its sheen a bit after the decline and retirements of so many greats
in recent years. When I first started to watch the game seriously, I remember
the great battles between two amazing quartets. Sir Alex Ferguson’s trump cards
Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Ruud Van Nistelroy for Manchester
United against Arsene Wenger’s invincible geniuses Robert Pires, Patrick Viera,
Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry for Arsenal. When will we ever get to see
something like that again?
And now the biggie, the actual
reason why most of you are reading this article. Being a Reds fan it is such a
difficult thing to talk, let alone praise someone from 40 miles away,
especially one who vowed to knock Liverpool off their perch and did that
successfully. But of late, Sir Alex
Ferguson is held in such high esteem that it’s okay to do so. Looking at
him from beyond my mental borders, I have to say, “Thanks Fergie”! I remember
my time in Manchester when I used to work at the Theatre of Dreams as a
bartender, interacting with the club’s long standing members. They spoke so
fondly of Sir Alex and how he is the source of all the glittering trophies that
begs for space in the Museum downstairs and that no matter who comes and goes,
as long as he is there United will be fine. I wonder if they can still say that
next season. Yes they do have a credible
replacement in David Moyes, handpicked by Sir Alex himself, but it remains to
be seen how the Red Devils play from here. Of course in all those interactions,
I had to put up with a lot of RED faced poking, making a mockery of Liverpool’s
current form and I had to endure all that with a straight face. Damn me and my
dignity! I also vividly recall the aura that he carried. I remember this one
time in the 1969 Suite inside Old
Trafford where I was working, suddenly there was a buzz around the place. It
was strange because I already saw Christiano Ronaldo, Nemaja Vidic and Ryan
Giggs walk into the suite a while back and it was all normal. But this time
there was a lot of buzz and this time it was Sir Alex himself. In a flash, the
whole place transformed into some sort of a hypnotized magic hut. Everyone,
including the players themselves was looking at him and only at him as he moved
from table to table greeting the members. That aura is carried only by one
other sporting icon that I know; a
little man who got the most British of all crowds in Brighton buzzing when he
walked in during a tour match, a certain Sachin Tendulkar. Very few
personalities justify this increasingly over used term, but from the next
season “Football will never be the same
again”.
This season significantly closes
the chapter of the end of a beautiful era in EPL. With only the likes of
Gerrard, Lampard, Terry, Cole & Ferdinand left, let’s hope that the
Suarezs, the Carricks, the Matas, the Hazards, the Wilsheres, the Bales and the
Walcotts will step up and become the next set of greats to have played the
beautiful game. There certainly is talent but it also needs careful nurturing.
This is where I hope the Rodgers’, the Villas-Boas’, the Martinez’, the
Ladrup’s and the Mourinho’s will step it up.
