David Beckham has been recalled into the England Football team for the first time since the World Cup last year. I always saw a similarity between the way Beckham was treated to that of Saurav Ganguly in the Indian team. Both men were long standing successful captains in their respective teams and on arrival of a new coach were unceremoniously dropped. Both new coaches were making a statement and stamping their authority by dropping a big and influential player from the team,with the message that the new era under them will succeed without them.
It is indeed a bold move and you can see why a new coach would do this but it is a silly one if it is done to the detriment of the team. In the case of Ganguly, there was indeed a need for a change in captaincy and his form had also dipped. The treatment meted out to him was unfair and inconsistent. It was clear that the management did not want him and were looking for reasons to drop him. To his credit Ganguly used the time to play domestic cricket to improve his from and fitness. He was recalled after Team India had a run of bad results and the youngsters that were picked to replace him failed to produce. Ganguly made a heroic comeback In South Africa ending up with the most runs in the series. He was hungry for success and used the time well and looked better than ever. The coach was almost forced to do a u turn,with Ganguly having the last laugh.
It is a similar story for Beckham, who was used as a scapegoat for Englands poor form in the World Cup. He was dropped and the door was seemingly closed for him. England drafted in new younger players as the coach built his new team, but the results one year down the line have been bad with England struggling to qualify for the European Championship. Beckham, meanwhile has never lost hope of playing for his country and has remained fit and is in a rich vein of form for his club Real Madrid. The cries for his recall have been growing and the coach has had to do a u turn for the sake of his team and recall him to help them qualify.
Both these players are very passionate about playing for their teams and have never given up hope despite challenging times and circumstances with their backs to the wall and in Gangulys case all and sundry calling for his retirement from the game. Their strength,determination and belief in their abilities has seen them fight their way back in on merit. It must be such a satisfying feeling to fight against the odds and win. They both must have had a smile on their faces. I know I did.
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4 comments:
Ganguly was needlessly dropped from the team and was victim of politics from Chappell and More. However, he is not the one to chicken out easily and he made a superb comeback to the team.
Ganguly proved everyone wrong, as he had few supporters anywhere when he was down and out.He showed great mental strength and self belief.
yeah... i saw the similarities myself for a long time now. Infact I came across your blog searching for articles on this similarities between the ex-england football captain and the ex-indian cricket indian. I was sure someone would have thought and written about the parallels of their lives since it was so obvious and both players not in the least unknown quanitities in either country.
There are more similarities. both are very gifted at particular areas of their game - beckham's right foot, long balls and free kicks, ganguly's offside play and lofted drives; but ppl kept harping on their weakness in certain areas; both apparently lacked pace, beckham was uni-dimensional, ganguly weak against genuine quick bowling etc... both played made their name around 1996; both have been passed over as they were thought to be relics of a different time - the modern sport it was argued was not for these men of great talent but limited athletic ability - they said we need faster legs, quicker movers; and moreover more multi-dimensional players, albeit of lesser ability. In both cases, 'they' have been proved wrong. after all, both came back, when their younger successors were found wanting. both were betrayed by a coach who had their support.
Hi
It's strange that no one seems to have written about the two before but it has been on my mind for a while. I am a fan of both these great players and am really glad that they have both come back successfully after being written off.
It was great to watch Beckham play against Brazil. The team looked so much better with him as did India when Saurav came back in South Africa.
I like the way both have conducted themselves with dignity and maintained their silence during their forced exile.
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