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R.C.H.R. Words from the wise Football is not only a sport but a fun way of learning how to work together , infact a skill of football is teamwork itself. It's, not just a game it's become like a worldwide movement. The zeal and enthusiasm with which people of different sects come together and support a club of their choice is incredible. Every youngster today is lured by this extravagant game!

The Editorial team has thought and also executed a sport brimming with life into a bulletin. articles of famous football players, some of the highlights of this game are all in this bulletin. Members will surely have a gala time reading this one publication.

This will surely amaze you all. Proud to have such bulletins releasing even at the end of the year. Happy Reading!!!

-Rtr. Romeeta Sukhtankar, President 2010-2011, Rotaract Club of H.R. College.

From the Editor’s Desk A game of passion, aggression, emotion, grit, growth and glory! Football is a sport that will give competition to even the cricket craze in India. Every youngster today is either a Manchester United or Chelsea or for that matter any other football club supporter!

Men leave early from their work so that they can enjoy a Manchester United vs Chelsea screening. College students wear Chelshit and Manu Sucks, and are all gung-ho before every match! Many youngsters today get emotional when their favorite team loses or wins. it’s not just a game, it’s a way of life. Every individual today is inspired by this one game.

Describing this passion in words and showcasing the football fanaticism in not only India but towards the whole world collectively is what offside is all about! To summarize this football fever into a bulletin is undeniably impossible, however, the most memorable moments in a crucial match, the importance of destiny in the game, football in India- all this is just a glimpse of how inclined the new generation is towards this game. So sit back and have a fun read! Happy Reading!

-Rtr. Junaid Khan and Rtr. Yash Muthiyan, Editors 2010-2011, Rotaract Club of H.R. College.

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Superstars off the pitch-Managers Ever wondered what it takes to lead a team to glory, and to ensure that the egos of players earning over 100,000 pounds per week, function in tandem? It often requires men of great character, courage and a persona that supersedes all the players, and their huge egos, put together.

Welcome to the world of managing a football team, where the manager calls the shots, faces the axe and is the one who is responsible for putting together a good show from eleven players who come from different nationalities, different playing cultures and various mentalities.

Managers don't simply decide formations and positions, they come up with the best way to make a team gel together.

In recent times, we have seen managers with great charisma and of great panache, rule the football world. We have seen the abusive spoilsports like Alex Ferguson (I refuse to address a man with such low self-control as “Sir�), the enigmatic passion filled ones like Jose Mourinho and the strategic young masterminds like Frank Riijkard. What's important to note is that each of these managers come with a particular thought process and one that is distinct from the others. The world abuses Arsene Wenger for his youth-centred strategies, the world taunts Jose Mourinho for his strange way of dealing with things, and the world laughs at Gianfranco Zola for his defensive tactics. Guess what? These men have gone ahead to become premier managers today, not because they are eccentric, but because they come with a thought process, and know how to stick to it.

One of the greatest moments I have witnessed, was seeing Jose Mourinho lift the Barclays Premier League with Chelsea in 2004. After a long wait of about 50 years, when the fans got the trophy home, it was a sight worth witnessing. At the centre of this turnaround was not the money which Abramovich got, it was the way a man named Jose Mourninho channelled it. And therein lay one of the greatest conquests of him, as a manager. He is my favourite manager today, because he wears his heart on his sleeve, his runs down the pitch are almost as entertaining as those made by Lionel Messi, and he knows how to get the work done.

Managers aren't superstars, they aren't the ones who play on the field, they aren't the ones who play through a gruelling season... But they are the ones who make men out of boys.

-Rtr. Yash Muthiyan

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Football in India A Love Hate Relationship

In this world... there are literally 8000 kinds of sports which have been invented by some or the other country. These of course not only consist of physical sports, but also sports like chess, carrom etc. But 3/4th of the people in this world are not even aware about all the sports which are being played. Though people must have heard about few unusual sports...they do not seem to be interested and there are only few people who have the ambition and goal of being a part of the national or an international team.

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As the unusual types of sports are not liked by many people, it is not supported by anyone in the respective countries and these sports are not given so much importance as such. Half the population throughout the world mainly gives a lot of importance to two sports , which are supported by and known to all most everyone.

Those are cricket and football (soccer) In India, if you observe , much more importance is given to cricket than to football and each and every child who is born every second wants to become like Sachin Tendulkar or any other famous Indian cricketer. India is ranked 1st a number of times in cricket and has also won the world cup in 1983 and 2011. But the rank of the national football team of India is 146 in FIFA. This clearly shows that either the government doesn't support football and that's the reason that India is left behind at it, or else for a simple reason that Indian football players are not capable of competing with other national teams. There were many type of sports played with hands, legs, sticks and balls in the 19th century but they were not named and did not have any laws of the game.It was a mixture of all the sports. But then after sometime all the sports were differentiated and many types of sports came into being. Those were basketball, football, hockey etc. The 'Laws of the game' for 'Football Association' also known as 'Soccer' were written in the 19th century by a man called Ebenezer C. Morley. 1863 was the year in which the mighty game of "FOOTBALL" was invented People are really proud of Indian cricket players and that's why everyone has a dream of becoming a superstar like them. Youngsters dream of becoming Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar and that is a thing to be proud of as they are of our own country.

BUT, what about those youngsters who play football, only and only dream of becoming Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or in fact any other "international" football player. Youngsters in our country are ashamed of their own national team and if anyone conducts a survey amongst all the people who play or like football and ask them, "who is the captain of the Indian football team? " They won't know the answer...but if you ask them details of any international football player, they will surely know it .

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R.C.H.R. There are channels like ESPN, Star Sports etc. on which people in our country watch international matches.. They support various international teams and become their hard core fans. But the matches happening in India are not even broad cast. Its even ok if people watch them to learn something from it, but in spite of being an Indian citizen- still supporting an international team shows how much a person loves his country.

Generally people just say that the reason they support international teams is because the Indian football players do not deserve to be supported, but the people saying that are absolutely wrong as the Indians have achieved huge success and at the same time are also capable enough to be supported, but the only thing is that the people of India are not even interested in knowing things about India.

AIFF is known as All India Football Federation and in 1954, AIFF became one of the founder members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). At the peak of its success during the 1950s and 60s, the team was automatically advanced to play in the 1950 FIFA World Cup (all the other Asian teams withdrew), but they did not travel to Brazil for the tournament because FIFA barred them from playing in bare feet.

This clearly shows that the Indian football team was capable enough as they qualified to play in the world cup and only because they did not have shoes to wear, they couldn't participate in the world cup. The reasons for not providing shoes were of course because the country was under-developed, but even the Government did not support the AIFF which was the only reason they couldn't be a part of the world cup finals. The Government could have worked out something and provided the players with shoes, because if it would have been cricket instead of football, the Government would have surely done something about it.

They also won gold medals at two Asian Games, and held the record for the best performance by an Asian football team at the Olympics. The Indian football team proved their capability once again by participating at the London Olympics which was their first international tournament, where a predominately barefooted Indian team lost 2-1 to France, failing to convert two penalties. The Indian team was greeted and appreciated by the crowd for their sporting manner, determination, passion and zeal inspite of not having shoes.

The Indian football team also qualified for the Asian Games held in 1968 and also finished at 2nd place.

Baichang Bhutia was the player who was the highest goal scorer in the team scoring 43 goals and was also the only Indian who was offered a contract for being a part of the team of the West Ham United, but as he was loyal to his own country...he rejected the offer.

India's biggest win was against ceylon which was a 7-1 win. People should now realize that the Indian footballers are also capable people,and should be supported as they achieved so many milestones even after facing so many obstacles. To conclude, the Government of India should start supporting the AIFF so that like the Indian Cricket team, even the Indian Football team can get the world cup home.

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-Rtr. Rikin Sukhtankar

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Old Trafford- The Theatre of Dreams

Old Trafford is a football stadium in the Trafford borough of Greater Manchester England, and the home of Premier League club Manchester. United, with space for 75,957 spectators, Old Trafford has the second-largest capacity of any English football stadium after Wembley Stadium, the thirdlargest of any stadium in the United Kingdom, and the eleventh-largest in Europe.Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Old Trafford was requisitioned by the military to be used as a depot. Football continued to be played at the stadium, but a German bombing raid on Trafford Park on 22 December 1940 damaged the stadium to the extent that a Christmas day fixture against Stockport County had to be switched to Stockport's ground. hough Old Trafford was reopened, albeit without cover, in 1949, it meant that a league game had not been played at the stadium for nearly 10 years. United's first game back at Old Trafford was played on 24 August 1949, as 41,748 spectators witnessed a 3–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers which was considered as a boon of the ground of Old Trafford which took rebirth after the damage in Second World War.There after the ground has frequently hosted FA Cup semi-final matches as a neutral venue and several England international fixtures. When we think about football OLD TRAFFORD is the place where the origins of football lie.Out of all stadiums Old Trafford has a uniqueness which fills the football game with an enthusiastic atmosphere and puts its crowd on their toes cheering at every point of time.Every footballer craves to play and to gage the feel of this stadium no wonder OLD TRAFFORD is rightly known as "THE THEATER OF DREAMS". They say the interiors and changing rooms of Old Trafford display pictures of how Manchester United originated after a plane crash and other obstacles in their way and merged into victory. Old Trafford certainly brings the past and present of football alive.

-Rtr. Manan Gupta

BRAZIL-BALLET WITH A GIRL-A LOVE STORY

Why do we fall in love with soccer? What happens? At some deep level the reason soccer snags us is that good soccer is beautiful, and it's difficult, and the two are related. A team kicking the ball to each other, passing into empty space that is suddenly filled by a player who wasn't there two seconds ago and who is running at full pelt and who without looking or breaking stride knocks the ball back to a third player who he surely can't have seen, who, also at full pelt and without breaking stride, then passes the ball, at say 60 miles an hour, to land on the head of a fourth player who has run 75 yards to get there and who, again all in stride, jumps and heads the ball with, once you realize how hard this is, unbelievable power and accuracy toward a corner of the goal just exactly where the goalkeeper, executing some complex physics entirely without conscious thought and through muscle-memory, has expected it to be, so that all this grace and speed and muscle and athleticism and attention to detail and power and precision will never appear on a score sheet and will be forgotten by everybody a day later—this is the strange fragility, the evanescence of soccer. It's hard to describe and it is even harder to do, but it does have a deep beauty, a beauty hard to talk about and that everyone watching a game discovers for themselves, a secret thing, and this is the reason why soccer, which has so much ugliness around it and attached to it, still sinks so deeply into us: Because it is, it can be, so beautiful. No country tries as hard or as consistently to play beautiful soccer as Brazil. It's an ideological thing. That is why Brazilian players are so loved. Not in South America, of course, where they have the status of a regional sporting superpower, but by pretty much everyone else in the world. In fact, the Brazil soccer team is unique in sports in being an example of a beloved overdog. In general, sports fans, and especially soccer fans, hate the overdogs (Real Madrid in Spain, Juventus in Italy, Manchester United/Chelsea in England). But Brazil, the only team to have won five World Cups, the only team to have won it playing away from its own continent, is loved. So a great many soccer fans have, at the national level, two teams: their own, and Brazil. It is the only favorite that's a favorite.

-Rtr. Yash Muthiyan

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Witnessing the Legend Cristiano Ronaldo “Legends are born and not created” This one legend named Cristanio Ronaldo, the most expensive football player in the world, was born in a middle class family on 5th February,1985. This living Legend was born in Santo Antonio, Madeira. He was the youngest of the four children of the proud parents, Maria Dolores and Jose Dinis Aveiro.

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Ronaldo was passionate about football since the age of three. At the tender age of eight he played for the amateur of Andorinha, where his father was a mere kitman. He continued to be a part of this team for a span of two year and his next destination was the local club Nacional. After regular rigorous training and playing a series of local matches Ronaldo was bought by “Sporting's” . Ronaldo was a very emotional and lonely lad. He had lost all hope. As a teenager at Sporting Lisbon he was banished from a tournament after throwing a chair at a teacher. Emotional outbursts were not uncommon in a sensitive boy.

He needed motivation and support for which his mother was asked to join him at Sporting's.

With his mother's support and a morale boost this young lad began his Legendary journey.

He was the only player to have featured in under-16, under-17, under-18, B-team, and the first team, all within one season.

This amazing feat was almost going to come to a drastic halt when Cristanio Ronaldo was diagnosed with an ailment named “racing heart”. The area near his heart was operated.

But, the passion for football and the determination dragged Ronaldo back onto the field within no time. He continued playing for Sporting's and also featured in the Under-17 UEFA champions League.

The Under-17 UEFA champions League gave the world a chance to view the breathtaking game of the “Legend in making”. Ronaldo's life was one the threshold of a creating history.

He was notice by the manager of Liverpool, who did not buy him as Ronaldo was too young. But, Sir Alex Ferguson did not think twice before signing Ronaldo after he saw his skills of playing in both wings when Manchester United lost against Sporting Clube de Portugal at Lisbon.

Being a part of the most Respected club in football, Ronaldo hesitantly accepted the jersey with No.7, as this jersey was meant for great players. He feared that he would not live up to the expectations, but Sir Alex Ferguson's trust made Ronaldo accept it.

From thereon, there was no looking behind for Cristanio Ronaldo. He has not let his personal life affect his professionalism inspite of being involved in many controversial issues. His career has scaled great heights and the biggest proof is that he is the most expensive player as well as a player who has won en-number of awards for his mindblowing and consistence performance. He is a perfect example of a Living Legend and yet continues his Legendary journey of creating history and breaking various records.

-Rtr. Purvi Parikh

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The League of the Champions- B. P. L. EPL -The English Premier League now known as BPL- Barclays Premier League is one of the fastest football leagues all across the world. What makes the BPL famous is not the royal country where it exists in but the quality of the players like Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and so on..Legends Were Born in this League.

Commentators nowadays say that if a player wants to test himself and see how good he actually is... he should play in a team of The BPL. This is level which BPL has reached in the current years. Apart from the football there are a lot of things which make This Football league different from the other leagues in the world. The Money..The managers...The glamour and most importantly the Competition is what makes BPL different from the other football leagues in the world. In other leagues u will see probably a competition between two or max three teams every year but in BPL every team has its own Day. Any day anything can happen. The measure of unpredictability is what makes BPL unique. All the top class managers like Sir Alex Fergusson, Jose Mourinho etc. have originated from BPL. Most of the top players got their recognition from the BPL. For eg - Cristiano Ronaldo became the best player of the world and showcased his talent in front of the world by playing in BPL. BPL has been a place where players love to play and a place where some players now belong to. In recent days there were rumours that with the transfer of Top ace players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka and with Messi already being in the Spanish Premier Liga... BPL will now be overtaken... but I personally feel no matter what happens the speed of the game in BPL cannot be matched by any league in the world. If a game between the relegation zone teams is more interesting than an El Classico according to me. Its the pace, the competition, the glamour ... which separates BPL from the rest of the leagues in the World.

-Rtr. Yash Ratanpal

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R.C.H.R. FOOTBALL AND DESTINY Football is a sport which is entertaining, rough and tough, requires immense skill and teamwork and many other characteristics. To give a little bit of football knowledge, there are eleven players on each side on one pitch, constituting of 22 players in total.

There are some top-most football clubs that most of us are aware off, manchester united, chelsea, arsenal, liverpool to name a few. These clubs have established their name and fame after years together. And as we see destiny always holds stake at any sport or anything for that matte For example when David Beckham while playing for England, was taking a free kick against Greece to qualify for the quarter finals in the World Cup. It was the 90th minute, extra time when he took the free kick, and if it wasn't destined from before it would not have gone in the goal.

Along with the skill, teamwork, enthusiasm, one major key is destiny. It is humanly impossible to conclude the fate of the game other wise the game need not have taken place. Predictions can always be made but at the end of it what is destined is what is going to happen.

In 1985 the entire manchester united football team was travelling to munich and the plane crashed, nobody survived from that crash but that very year Manchester United emerged victorious in the then called english premier league.

In the year 2010 when Chelsea won the Premier League title, there was a crucial match between Manchester United and Chelsea where Didier Drogba scored a goal when he was actually"offside". Eventually, it was always destined that Chelsea were going to win that match and going to lift the cup in that year. And we also saw Champions for 2011 Manchester United who lifted the cup on 22nd May 2011, it was destined for them to win!

Well, after all of this one other example at. Soccermania 2011 it was destined for the Rotaract Club Of H.R. College to emerge victorious. The beauty lies in what destiny has in store for us!

-Rtr. Nikunj Pherwani

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