A tribute & homage to the great Indian legend Sailen Manna.

                Sailen Manna the great Indian legend was died in the age of 87 at 1-55am on 27^th February in Kolkata. Indian football lost one of its parent due to the death of Sailen Manna. The FIFA president Sep Blater expressed his deep condolence regarding the death of taht legend, Asian Football Confederation's acting president Zhang Jilong also expressed his condolences, AIFF president also did the same. Sailen Manna was not only a name, he was a myth in Indian football, One of the finest defender country have ever produced,  as a defender he was known for his anticipation, covering and a strong free kick.

                    He was born at Batra in Howrah on 1^st September 1984. He captained India in several occasions in different international tournaments including Olympics and Asian Games. Sailen Manna was a part of the Indian Football Team for the 1948 London Olympics, where Indian lost to France by a margin of 1-2.Under Manna's captaincy, India won the Gold Medal in the 1951 Asian Games and also won the Quandrangular Tournament for four consecutive years from 1952 to 1956. Apart from his 14-match international career as player, Manna coached the national team in the 1961 and 1968 Mardeka Cup, and became the second footballer after Goshtho Pal to receive the Padma Shri in 1970. Apart from his 14-match international career as player, Manna coached the national team in the 1961 and 1968 Mardeka Cup, and became the second footballer after Goshtho Pal to receive the Padma Shri in 1970.Manna started his playing career for Howrah Union in the 2nd Division Kolkata Football League, in 1940. After turning out for the club for a couple of seasons, he joined Mohun Bagan in 1942 and continued playing for the club for a period of 19 years, till his retirement in 1960. During this period, he was the Captain of Mohun Bagan from 1950 to 1955.After retiring he also attached with Mohun Bagan, in local football circles,  Mohun Bagan and Manna have been synonymous with each other.After calling it a day as a player, Manna joined as Mohun Bagan coach in 1961, and in later years served the club administration as football secretary and assistant secretary. The club acknowledged its gratefulness by conferring on him its highest award Mohun Bagan Ratna in 2001.

                "Manna-da was a perfect gentleman both on and off the field. He was never booked during his long career. It was an amazing achievement and spoke volumes of the dignity with which he played," said former Indian Olympic captain Samar (Badru) Banerjee, who played for the national team under Manna's leadership.

                 He is the only Asian Footballer ever to be named among the 10 best Captains in the world by the English FA in 1953. He was awarded by the Padmashree award by the government of India in 1971, awarded the "Footballer of the Millennium" by All India Football Federation in 2000, Awarded "Mohun Bagan Ratna" in 2001.

                   He immensely contributed to the game in the country, whether as a player, captain or coach, Sailen Manna was an inspirational leader whose contribution to Indian football was justly recognised during his lifetime and will continue to live on in our memories. He will also be remembered for his 19 years service to his club Mohun Bagan, which is another reason to place him among true footballing greats, particularly in the modern age, where such royalty is becoming increasingly scarce.

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Liverpool won the Carling cup, Indian legend Sailen Manna passed away.

          Finally Liverpool come out of their trophy drought  since last six years. Liverpool lifted the League Cup crown by beating Cardiff in a 3-2 margin by penalty shoot-out after a thrilling extra-time at Wembley stadium in London.

                     Joe Mason gave the lead to Cardiff in the first half of the schedule time, Martin Skrtel equalized for the Merseysiders after the restart of the game in schedule time. It remain 1 all in the schedule 90 minutes. the match went to extra-time. In the second half of extra-time the Liverpool substitute Dirk Kuyt  made the score 2-1 in their fore,  but Ben Turner of Cardiff leveled once again just two minutes to spare. Though Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard missed the first shoot-out but premier League club’s victory was clinched when Cardiff substitute Anthony Gerrard, cousin of Steven Gerrad, shot wide with Cardiff’s fifth & final spot-kick.

                      Another disaster day for Indian Football, they lost to Azerbaijan in a 3-0 margin in international friendly match at Rugby Sevens Stadium in Dubai, while they are in the conditioning camp for the upcoming AFC cup. A poor clearance by goalkeeper Subhasish Roychowdhury helps Nidirov Vugar of Ajerbaijan to score the first goal in 3rd minute, Raju Gaikwad, made a mishap in 43^rd minute by pulling Mahir Shukrov down inside the box, result penalty, Mahir Shukrov didn’t make any mess to give his team 2-0, Hasiyev Nizami scored the third goal for Azerbaijan in the 82nd minute. Apart from reducing the goal margin it seems everything remain same like the previous Oman match

                    
                         India lost one of his finest stars in today very early morning, ex captain ot the country legend Sailen Manna passed away in Kolkata in the age of  87, he was also the captain of Mohun Bagan since 1945-55, in his entire career of 19 years he only played for the national club Mohun BaganHe has represented and captained India in different international competitions including Olympics and Asian Games, He is the only Asian Footballer ever to be named among the 10 best Captains in the world by the English FA in 1953. He was awarded by the Padmashree award by the government of India in 1971, awarded the "Footballer of the Millennium" by All India Football Federation in 2000, Awarded "Mohun Bagan Ratna" in 2001.

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TWENTY YEARS OF EPL

 In late eighties  when England football was in a real crisis situation, they started a domestic league for overcoming that situation &  improving their standard in world football. There was a time in late eighties  when  the organizers  of UEFA Champions league authority  denied to take any British club in their tournaments regarding the death of 56 people after a fire at Bradford City’s Valley Parade ground in 1985, the disaster in Heysel Stadium in the same year& the  nasty activities of British Hooligans. Due to those incidents UEFA authorities banned British clubs for five years from taking part of their club cup tournaments. Situations started to improve once again when England reached in the semi-final of the World Cup in Italy, 1990,in the same year UEFA authority lifted that ban on British clubs, result Man U lifted the trophy in 1991. Though it was not sufficient enough to save British clubs, there were not any  good endorsements for the football in England, players started to move away in the other countries the condition in stadiums were very poor. The popularity of Football league was gone towards the bottom, even the standard & popularity have gone down  of La-Liga, Serie A & Bundesliga.

                         Then top 22 teams of First Division introduced this new format of English Premier League on 20^th February 1992 for taking advantage of a lucrative television rights deal which provided an additional financial boost, was  very much necessary for British football. EPL Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion & relegation with the football league, it changed the landscape of English football forever.

                        The inaugural version of the EPL was held on 1992-93 and was originally composed of 22 clubs. The first ever Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United. During the course of a season (from August to May) each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 38 games. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned the champion & three lowest placed teams are relegated. Barclay is the current official sponsor of EPL since 2007, so it is named Barclays Premier league now.

                     In the inaugural season of EPL, Manchester United became the champion, their tradition is still going on ahead, out of past nineteen  EPL championships Man U became twelve times winner of that crown. Apart from Man U the other teams could be the champion in seven times only, Blackburn Rovers once in 1994-95, Arsenal  thrice 1997-98, 2001-02, 2003-04 & Chelsea thrice also 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10. As the Premier League prepares to enter its third decade there has again been a change of emphasis at the summit, with Manchester City emerging as both a new force and a legitimate championship contender after a concerted influx of the foreign talent which continues to enlighten the division.

                     The EPL is not at all artistic, skillful & lucrative like Spanish La-Liga rather it is full of power, energy & strength, the footballers have to tolerate very hard-tackle in that version, EPL is all about power& stamina. Whatever EPL in its 20^th session, day by day its gaining popularity & success. Success in Europe has not been limited to the country’s biggest sides, though, and the Premier League has been well represented in UEFA competitions during the last 20 years.

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Most dramatic & attractive week ever in European football history,

This week could easily be considered as the most dramatic & attractive  week ever in European football history, the real superpowers of Europe are dominated everywhere  by the minnows throughout this week. Lastnight the British giant Manchester United  lost to the Dutch club Ajax in 2-1 margin in their homeground Old Trafford in the second leg of EUROPA league round of 32. Hernandez scored for ManU in very early moments of the game, Ozibliz equalized for Ajax in the first half, Alderweireld scored the winning goal for the visitors few minutes to spare in the  schedule time. Regarding their first leg 2-0 win in the away match Man U became through in the next round in 3-2 aggregate. In an another vital match of EUROPA league  round of 32 second leg Spanish side Atletico Madrid have beaten the Italian side Lazio in 1-0 margin & through to the next round in aggregate, Godin scored the decider for the Spanish side.

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Lastnight it was a disaster for both the European giants Bayern Munich & Inter Milan

               Lastnight it was a disaster for both the European giants Bayern Munich & Inter Milan while both the teams have lost their away matches against their easier opponents in UEFA Champions League first leg of round of 16. The story didn’t happen as it was expected, all the predictions gone wrong, in both the cases the hosts FC Basel & Olympique Marseille managed to secure 3 points in front of their homecrowd. It could be said that both the visitors are a little bit of unfortunate while both of them swallowed the goals in the dying moments of the game.

               

           In St. Jacob Park, Basel, Switzerland in front of 70000 visitors the entire match was dominated by the visitors from the beginning, the hosts couldn’t do anything apart from scoring the goal against the complete run of the play in 86^th minute.  Substitute Valentin Stocker scored the decider  four minutes from the schedule  time  to occupy  a famous first-leg victory & secured 3 points for his team also. Two of his sitters denied by the barpost before.

           

         Meanwhile  in Stade Vélodrome , Marseille, France the hosts  fought really well against their superior opponent Inter Milan, hosts took the entire home advantage & secured 3 points in their first leg. André Ayew scored the decider  through a header in the end moment of the three minutes of added time.

      

               In an another match of EUROPA league second leg of round of 32 Manchester City smashed the Portugesse side FC Porto in a  4-0 margin in Manchester  & stepped the next round in a 6-1 aggregate. The goals are serially scored by Aguero 1’, Dzeko 76’, Silva 84’ & Pizarro 86’.  In EUROPA league  second leg of round of 32 Manchester United will take on the Dutch side Ajax  in Old, Trafford tonight. ManU are already in strong position with their 2-0 victory from the away match.

                    That was a disaster day for Indian football while they are smashed by the superior side Oman by a clean 5-1 margin in Muscat, Oman during a practice match today. Since last one week Indian team are in Dubai for preparing themselves for the upcoming AFC  cup but Indian team never looked  in a committed rhythm to do anything better in that match  rather the Oman side looked  well determined form the beginning. Serially the goals are scored by the hosts  Mohamad al Gasani 5’, Ismail Alajmi scored twice in 7’ & 58’, Hasan Rabea 87’ &  Abdullah Thuwaini 90’. The only consolation goal for India scored by  Joaquim Abranches in the 64^th minute of the match.

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Big matches of UEFA champions league

There were two big matches of UEFA champions league round of 16, first leg lastnight. In first match Spanish giant Real Madrid shared the point with the homeside CSKA Moscow in Moscow, visitors took the lead through Christano Ronaldo in the 28^th minute of the game, the homeside equalized in the dying moment of the game through Wernbloom. In the seond match the British side Chelsea was clean swiped by the homeside Napoli in a decent 3-1 margin in Naples, Italy, Lavazzi scored twice & Cavani scored the other for the homeside, for visitors Juan Meta minimized the deficit in 27^th minute.

There are two big matches of UEFA champions league round of 16, first leg tonight. Italian giant Inter Milan will take on the French club Olympique Marseille at Velodrome stadium in Marseille, France. While the German giant Bayern Munich will take on the giant killer of Switzerland, FC Basel at St. Jacob Park in Basel, Switzerland.

Both the teams Inter Milan & Olympique Marseille became out of their domestic league championship already they have met twice before in the UEFA champions league 2003-04 when Marseille crossed the hurdle of Milan in 2-0 aggregate. The host will miss their top scorer Loic Remy due to hamstring injury while the visitors will also miss their key player Diego Milito in upfront.

Meanwhile the Swiss side is ready to take on their strong opponent, they remain unbeaten since their last 13 matches in all competitions, the hosts are also known for their giant killing ability, they snatched 4 points out of 6 from their heavily strong opponent ManU in the group stages to qualify for the super 16. In the other hand the visitors are going to miss two of their key players like Arjen Roben & Bastin Schweinsteiger who operates the mid-field from the behind.

In another match in England Manchester City will take on the Portugese side FC Porto in the round of 32 of 2^nd leg of Europa League in Manchester. The host collected the entire 3 points from their first leg away match, now its time to see can the visitors overcome the deficit or not.

Our Indian team will take on Oman national side in a practice match tomorrow at 3-00pm IST in their capital city Muscat. According to performance & FIFA ranking the Oman side are way ahead than India. India is going to drop few of their key players like Sunil Chhetri, Sanju Pradhan, Lalram DIka etc for saving their energy for the upcoming ASIA cup. The Indian side is in a training camp in Dubai since last one week regarding the upcoming ASIA cup in Kathmandu. Indian manager Savio Medeira told in a press meet that they will check their bench strength in that match & they will not be all-out form the beginning.

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Two big matches of round of 16, UEFA champions league 1st leg tonight.

Two big matches of round of 16, UEFA champions league 1^st leg tonight. Spanish giant Real Madrid will take on the Russian side CSKA Moscow in their homeground at Luzhiniki stadium in Moscow, Russia in another match the only remaining hope from England in the champions league Chelsea will take on the Italian side Napoli in their homeground San Paulo stadium in Naples, Italy.

Nine times European champion Real Madrid has to face the freezing cold condition as well as their opponent in Moscow. Real Madrid have won their two previous visits to Russia beating Lokomotiv Moscow & Zenit St Petersburg in champions league group stage matches. Real in a dominative mood now,in La-Liga they are way ahead than their arch-rival Barca. In this match Real might not get their Argentine star Angelo-Di-Maria & French star Karim Benzema, Mesut Ozil & Higuain can start in their places though Real boss Jose Mourinho looked hundred percent confident about winning their away match. In the other hand the Red Army side is looked like a mini hospital due to so many injuries, the are also in a lack of practice due to Russian league is currently on its winter break. The home team will miss their Brazilian star Vagner Love who returned to his native country to play for Flamengo, apart from him they will also miss some other key players too. Its time to see what the visitors can do in minus 10 degree temperature of Moscow.

In another match in Naples the British side Chlesea is the only expectation for English football whole Arsenal’s 4-0 thrashing at AC Milan last week. Chlesea is in a big dilemma with their Portugesse coach Andres Villas-Boas. Chelsea might start keeping Didier Drobga & Fernanado Torres in the bench. In the other hand Napoli have just returned into form, they have won their last two matches. The homeside coach Mazzarri will have to watch the match from the stands because he got a marching order in his last match against Villarreal.

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