VIVA "SPAIN" - VIVA SPANISH FOOT-BALL.

Finally the Euro Cup ended with the best team Spain winning the title second time in a row. Kudos to Spain coming out as Hero of 2012 Euro.  They deserved this victory because tactically and technically Spain was far better than its rival Italy whose lone black player Mario Balotelli because of his excellent soccer skill gained lot of support and sympathy for Italy.  His two goals in the semi-final against Germany will remain as two of the best goals in the history of Euro Cup, especially his second goal which was the best in the whole tournament. First time in the history of Italian soccer a Negro is donning Italian Jersey in its national team.

It is said that "a rejected stone finally turned out to be the corner stone". This was what has happened to Mario Balotelli the son of Ghanian immigrants who came from Ghana and settled down in Sicily to earn their daily bread. When he was rejected by his mother Mario Balotelli was adopted on humanitarian grounds by the Italian Balotellis from where he was developed as a full fledged human being to become one of the best footballers in the world. Assigned thru contractual obligation to play for English top Club Manchester City, he shone into bright limelight at world level in Euro Cup 2012 winning hearts from the spectators attending the matches and viewers all around the globe watching him play thru TV’s.

Much of the glamour and grandeur of Euro 2012 was soiled by the dirty chants and mockery made by the white racist spectators of the black footballers, including of Mario Balotelli. But when Mario Balotelli scored his magnificent second goal against Germany in the semi-final, he removed his Jersey in excitement and stood still like a monument displaying his muscular body thereby giving an impression of his anger against those who were mocking at him for being a black. Seeing him in such a pose one could conclude that he was telling all the white racists that "you go to hell now, you are nothing in front of my footballing supremacy".

In fact Mario Balotelli made a mockery of all the racist white skinners when he was hugged and kissed by all his white coloured colleagues in the Italian team. This gesture proved that good acts and excellent performance by the blacks overpower the racist discrimination. When Balotelli was hugged and kissed by his white colour colleagues on the field and by the greater number of spectators after the match it proved that what matters in human being is not the colour of his skin but his performance. Baletolli really made mockery of those who believe is racism.

Spain really mesmerised the world by the superlative performance of its players who outclassed Italians in every segment of the game. All the 4 goals of Spain have class in them. It is a big honour to win consecutively 2 Euros, this and previous. Earlier Brazil won 2 World Cups consecutively in 1958 and 1962. The 4 goals scored by Spain is a big margin, such results are not meant for the final because final always have high a level where such margins are not seen.

This final with this big score looked like the preliminary encounter, possibly in the first round. Earlier in 1970 World Cup Final in Mexico, Brasil defeated Italy by 4-1 goals because Brazilian squad of that World Cup consisted of not ordinary players but extra ordinary soccer genii.

I have been watching regularly thru TV Euro Cups since 1976 but this time I found the standard of Euro 2012 extremely high where individual performances shadowed by the excellent team work as displayed by Spain.  Ronaldo failed to display his genius though Portugal went out in the semis but they have gone gracefully.

At least 4 times I got an opportunity to sing along with the Portuguse squad the National Anthem of my former masters as I was singing everyday in Portuguese school when I was a Portuguese student during Portuguese rule in Goa. It brought out lot of nostalgic feelings of yester years of my youth in Goa. 

As seen in this Euro, the standard of goalkeeping was vastly improved whereby goalkeepers displayed new and latest techniques to stop the ball from entering their nets, these techniques where not seen earlier; Cassilas of Spain and Buffon of Italy were of very high standard goalkeepers and befitting their status both were appointed as skippers of their respective national teams.

Defenders too have improved their techniques a lot of preventing the opponents’ forwards from scoring goals. The tiny number of goals scored in this Euro is enough proof of defence oriented soccer of today. The golden boot for the highest scorer this time goes to golden boy of Spain Fernando Torres for his 3 goals only.  And this three goals are treated as highest score by an individual in this Euro Cup 2012. Seeing this, Portuguese Eusebio, West German Gerd Mueller, Polish Lato, Italian Paulo Rossi and other such top scorers in the international tournaments must be silently laughing.  Yes they are laughing and I too am sarcastically laughing.

Well done Spain. You have not only played well but you have also showed how to play well with perfectly well teamwork.

A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.

DR HUBERT GOMES FAILS TO CORRECTLY DIAGNOSE THE BJP

 By Aires Rodrigues

It was announced through the churches and chapels at Benaulim that Government officers would be briefing the people and giving away application forms of various new social welfare schemes. To their utter surprise the meeting held at Don Bosco Centre yesterday turned out for doling out applications forms inducing people to join the BJP.

How puerile an explanation by quite an educated and well meaning person, Dr. Hubert Gomes – that he needed to join the BJP to serve the people. As if Goa is facing such a dire situation that one more saffron saviour had to stand up and be counted from among the faithful of South Goa. And the birthday greeting, held out like a lollipop, by the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, did the trick of roping in the good doctor, says it all… indeed holds a mirror to Goans.

With this frog-leap of Dr. Gomes into the BJP, Goa gains nothing but the risk of being further drowned in jaundiced communal pestilence that goes by the name of ‘parivartan’. It needs a total and ruthless extraction and extermination, a root canal treatment per se, not some cosmetic dentistry practiced by the comfortable dentist himself. It is a sad commentary on the state of mind of a good person like Dr. Gomes, that instead of issuing a prescription to cure the ill, he chose instead to issue a Character Certificate that BJP is not communal. He will soon have to change his diagnosis and prognosis, I am sure of that.

Joining a political party is no vehicle to serve the people. You are bound by the diktats of the party and this is something the otherwise outspoken Dr Gomes will soon realize. I have never joined any political party but for some years I did openly support the BJP but recognized my mistake when I had a firsthand experience that the party was utterly communal and that Manohar Parrikar could not be trusted.

The communal agenda of the BJP is here to stay. Besides the party is equally corrupt. With this change of government only the beneficiaries, brokers and the quantum of corruption has changed. We were promised zero tolerance to corruption. But Manohar Parrikar’s done a back track on illegal mining, Casinos, and mega building projects et al.

If Dr Hubert Gomes feels that the BJP is not communal he would have to wait and taste it for himself. In the meantime, all right thinking Goans will have to bear the grief of one more good Goan falling victim to naivety. When will Goans be less gullible and understand the tricks of the brainy IIT C.M. Parrikar? Goa at all costs has to remain secular. We do not need a Narendra Modi neither should we allow another Godhra in our State.