(standing (from L to R) - raj, sandeep, senti, prasanna, yahoo, vivek, popa, l2, lp
don't know what he's doing - bobo
kneeling/squatting/sitting (from L to R) - fm, pogo, G, talli, deja, soody/shaggy, shampoo)
i've taken my bows and my curtain calls
you brought me fame and fortune
and everything that goes with it
i thank you all
but it's been no bed of roses
no pleasure cruise
- queen ( we are the champions)
this is the story of the champions. the story of a team that defined what 'winning' is. this is the story of footer@iitm.
footer@iitm began the year riding a wave of confidence. the gold that we brought iit madras after fifteen years was still glowing in the minds of most of the players. with that incredible win on 18th december, 2005, the team had been transformed from a no-star team to, as someone put it, an all-star team!! the team did attract some lavish criticisms for its 'seemingly' defensive tactics which was compared to that of the italian national team. but footeer@iitm was unfazed, and had set out to prove wrong every critic who saw the win as an abberation.
a glimpse of what footer@iitm was capable of was seen in the match against satyabhama in sportsfest. the win was remarkable, not so much for the fact that it brought us silver, as for the manner in which it was achieved. one goal down in a match against a seemingly superior team, the team fought back with a ferocity and confidence that the opponents couldn't cope with. the 2-1 win proved how much fight the team was capable of putting.
sadly, chaos reigned in the run-up to inter-iit with a chunk of the main players opting out of the tournament due to personal reasons. replacements were sought frantically. it was an opportunity for some, and oh boy, did they use it to prove themselves.
the problems were not over when we reached guwahati. it began with a terrible disappointment for me: getting injured in the first quarter of the first match that left me out of the field for the rest of the tournament. players got bogged down by the sudden change in weather - many of them taking ill. and yet, no one was able to stop our march to the final!! the match that we played against kanpur on the way to the final (in the semi-final) was one gritty exhibition of the team's skills and temperament under adverse conditions.
the final against kharagpur was one match whose memories would linger on for years to come.
footer@iitm was, but crippled. i was out because of my fracture, raj because of his anjle injury. yahoo and senti were unfit to play the entire match. what ensued in the next 2 odd hours was totaaal drama.
towards the end of the second half, me, raj, yahoo, senti, popa and vivek (for a funny red card!!) were sitting out. and we were to play with ten men for the rest of the match - a full 40 minutes.
the 10 men team now led by talli with l2 played like champions and not only managed to keep the now weary kgp players at bay, but launched some incisive attacks of our own.
after the extra time was over, the two teams were still in a deadlock with no goals scored from either side. 3 madras - kgp matches had been played in the last 3 inter iit's and all of them had been deadlocks, with no goal scored by either team! the better team had to be determined once and for all.
what unfolded before our eyes was a treat to watch!! iit kgp was decimated in the penalty shoot out with talli, g and prasanna netting in the only 3 penalties tht we needed to take. sandeep, our custodian, was one force to reckon with as he psyched their players to some nervous errors. iitm had achieved an unbelievable and unexpected feat - win gold for the second time, that too with a depleted, 'crippled' team!!!
so, this was the story of footer@iitm. it is incomplete without the memories that each player must have harboured in his own way, and that's the way it will be. suffice to say, it was an experience that culminated in tears of joy for almost all the players. others may see the team in different ways - 2 time gold winners, the team that got lucky, the star team, the ultra defensive team etc etc.
for us who have played for the team, it's different. personally, it was a defining moment in my foooter 'career' and i couldn't have asked for more. having played with and learnt from people like jet li, jimmy, bongi, mallu in the insti and ash from our own hostel for over 3 years, being a part of this winning team was coming of age for me. we had achieved something that had remained elusive to all those whom we have admired. it was a fantastic feeling indeed. i bet it has been one unforgettable experience for everyone involved with footer@iitm.
and finally, the secret. (well, it's not so much of a secret anyway.) iitm's winning strategy consists of 3 fundamental principles or acts which are -
ah! to be the champions!!!
p.s. this post is written with my 'un-fractured' hand. so forgive the capitalization (or lack thereof), grammar, etc.
footer@iitm began the year riding a wave of confidence. the gold that we brought iit madras after fifteen years was still glowing in the minds of most of the players. with that incredible win on 18th december, 2005, the team had been transformed from a no-star team to, as someone put it, an all-star team!! the team did attract some lavish criticisms for its 'seemingly' defensive tactics which was compared to that of the italian national team. but footeer@iitm was unfazed, and had set out to prove wrong every critic who saw the win as an abberation.
a glimpse of what footer@iitm was capable of was seen in the match against satyabhama in sportsfest. the win was remarkable, not so much for the fact that it brought us silver, as for the manner in which it was achieved. one goal down in a match against a seemingly superior team, the team fought back with a ferocity and confidence that the opponents couldn't cope with. the 2-1 win proved how much fight the team was capable of putting.
sadly, chaos reigned in the run-up to inter-iit with a chunk of the main players opting out of the tournament due to personal reasons. replacements were sought frantically. it was an opportunity for some, and oh boy, did they use it to prove themselves.
the problems were not over when we reached guwahati. it began with a terrible disappointment for me: getting injured in the first quarter of the first match that left me out of the field for the rest of the tournament. players got bogged down by the sudden change in weather - many of them taking ill. and yet, no one was able to stop our march to the final!! the match that we played against kanpur on the way to the final (in the semi-final) was one gritty exhibition of the team's skills and temperament under adverse conditions.
the final against kharagpur was one match whose memories would linger on for years to come.
footer@iitm was, but crippled. i was out because of my fracture, raj because of his anjle injury. yahoo and senti were unfit to play the entire match. what ensued in the next 2 odd hours was totaaal drama.
towards the end of the second half, me, raj, yahoo, senti, popa and vivek (for a funny red card!!) were sitting out. and we were to play with ten men for the rest of the match - a full 40 minutes.
the 10 men team now led by talli with l2 played like champions and not only managed to keep the now weary kgp players at bay, but launched some incisive attacks of our own.
after the extra time was over, the two teams were still in a deadlock with no goals scored from either side. 3 madras - kgp matches had been played in the last 3 inter iit's and all of them had been deadlocks, with no goal scored by either team! the better team had to be determined once and for all.
what unfolded before our eyes was a treat to watch!! iit kgp was decimated in the penalty shoot out with talli, g and prasanna netting in the only 3 penalties tht we needed to take. sandeep, our custodian, was one force to reckon with as he psyched their players to some nervous errors. iitm had achieved an unbelievable and unexpected feat - win gold for the second time, that too with a depleted, 'crippled' team!!!
so, this was the story of footer@iitm. it is incomplete without the memories that each player must have harboured in his own way, and that's the way it will be. suffice to say, it was an experience that culminated in tears of joy for almost all the players. others may see the team in different ways - 2 time gold winners, the team that got lucky, the star team, the ultra defensive team etc etc.
for us who have played for the team, it's different. personally, it was a defining moment in my foooter 'career' and i couldn't have asked for more. having played with and learnt from people like jet li, jimmy, bongi, mallu in the insti and ash from our own hostel for over 3 years, being a part of this winning team was coming of age for me. we had achieved something that had remained elusive to all those whom we have admired. it was a fantastic feeling indeed. i bet it has been one unforgettable experience for everyone involved with footer@iitm.
and finally, the secret. (well, it's not so much of a secret anyway.) iitm's winning strategy consists of 3 fundamental principles or acts which are -
- score and don't concede. could be just 'don't concede'. in the two years that we have been champions, footer@iitm has but conceded just one goal (in 8 matches) which is a remarkable feat in itself.
- listen to 'we are the champions' by queen before the match.
- take the right side of the players arena
ah! to be the champions!!!
p.s. this post is written with my 'un-fractured' hand. so forgive the capitalization (or lack thereof), grammar, etc.
