One moment. This was Germany's moment. Schuerrle's moment. Goetze's moment. Mario Goetze. I hate you. In that moment, at the Irish Village, Dubai, I was shattered. So were half the spectators. The other half: Elated. Led by the husband and wife couple known to me and my friends as 'the Choms'. She couldn't believe her eyes. He held her in her arms and was overjoyed. I wanted to murder them. And then as it always is, everything went back to the way it was. People got on with their jobs, the babies wailed, the children played, etc. I needed about 36 hours to get back into the swing of things by which time another adventure was fast approaching.
Tomorrowland. The perfect antidote to my grief. Bizarre, Enchanting and Exhausting. An unforgettable experience. Its been two days since I have returned and I can still hear the music resonating. But that's a tale for a different time. Football. Soccer to some, futbal, fussball, whatever you want to call it. The European Season beckons. The English Premier League beckons. Chelsea FC rallies their worldwide troops. The battle lines have been drawn. The war cry's have been sounded. This time we are prepared. This time we are here to win. This time we are ready.
Football isn't everyone's cup of tea. Like each individual, we have our own opinions. Similarly, we have our favorite sport (most people do). Mine has been football for the longest time. Sure as an Indian, I get patriotic and watch cricket whenever India plays a major tournament. But, there's something about football that leaves me wanting for more. There's drama, comedy (mostly unintentional) and more drama. Referee's getting the offside calls wrong, players diving, players play acting, a magical moment of skill and wizardry with the ball that draws the oooooh's and ahhh's, the shots that hit the bar that make you swoon, absolute genius finishing that make you smile with glee, resolute defending, dreadful defending, horrendous tackles and supremely timed tackles that both frustrate and draw applause. The pace of the game, the frantic finishes, end to end assaluts on goal, dreadfully boring matches, pre and post match media assaults. They all have their own charm.
For four years Chelsea have been evolving. The process has been tumultuous with our trigger happy Owner firing four coaches and several more earlier. Then there's Jose Mourinho. Now into his second year of his second tenure. Last year Chelsea failed to win a single trophy. Jose had never gone a season without winning a single trophy until last season and boy is he pissed. I was surprised he wasn't fired what with our over demanding owner having an itchy trigger finger. At the same time I wasn't surprised he was still our coach. Because for the first time in years Chelsea fought and fought well. Sure we may have won the elusive Champions League trophy two years ago but that was with a team well on borrowed time. This is an almost new look Chelsea. Only two of the legendary old guard remain. I don't know if they will make it past this season. This time Chelsea is battle ready. Because for the first time in years we have an elite striker. This guy. Diego Costa.
A proper psycho. Exactly what a team needs. Every team needs a madman. One that your fans adore and rivals despise. This is our new psycho. And what a madman he is. He picks fights with rivals for no apparent reason, he playacts, he moans and groans but he is driven to win. A winner. The last time we had a similar striker we were unstoppable. This is what Chelsea lacked. And if the big mouthed complete striker aka Romelu Lukaku stays, then we have one of the most fearsome strike-force in world football. This season is our moment. This season will define the current squad. Everybody who hates Chelsea hates us because of foreign money being pumped in and claims of lacking/having no history. But all big clubs have money and we do have history. It's different from other big clubs but at the same time most big clubs can't compare their silverware to ours over the last decade. This is what we are. We are writing our own Legacy. We are writing our way into the history books every single day. Write and Re-write. It isn't easy being a Chelsea fan. But, once a Blue. Forever Blue.
- Anil.
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