The Mumbai terror attack has put Diego Maradona’s two-day trip to Kolkata in doubt.If it doesn’t work out there will be no doubt be many bitterly disappointed fans in Kolkata.However the people of Mumbai have weightier things on their minds right now.
The writer Suketu Mehta has captured brilliantly the dogged, resilient compassion of Mumbai in his book “Maximum City: Mumbai Lost and Found.”
He talk
s in the book of asking a man named Asad bin Saif, who worked at an institute for secularism, whether the chaos and slums and filth made him pessimistic about human beings. Here is how Mr. Mehta continues the story:

“Not at all,” he responded. “Look at the hands from the trains.”

If you’re
late for work in the morning in Bombay, and you reach the station just as the train is leaving the platform, you can run up to the packed compartments and you’ll
find many hands stretching out to grab you on board, unfolding outwards from the train like petals. As you run alongside the train, you’ll
be pic

ked up and some little
space will be made for your feet on the edge of the compartment. The rest is up to you; you’ll
probably have to hang on with your fingertips on
the door frame, being car

eful not to lean out too far lest you get decapitated by a pole placed too close to the tracks. But think about
what has happened: your fellow-passengers, already packed tighter than cattle are legally allow

ed to be, their shirts already drenched in sweat in the badly ventilated compartment, having stood like this for hours, retain an empathy for you, know that your boss might yell at you or cut your pay if you miss this train, and will make space where none exists to take one more person with them. And at the mom

ent of contact, they don’t
know if the hand that’s
reaching for theirs belongs to a Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Brahmin or untouchable, or whether you were born in this city or arrived only this morning, or whether you live in Malabar Hill or Jogeshwari, whether you’re from Bombay or Mumbai or New York. All they know is that you’re trying to get to work in the city of gold, and that’s enough. Come on board, they say

. We’ll adjust.”
I’ve
lived for few years in Mumbai and I think that sums up the spirit of the city pretty well.The people of the city will pic

k themselves up after this latest monstrous demonstration of meaningless savagery and their compassion will endure.But when will it end?

Sublime skill
“Yoann Gourcuff’s silky touches tormented Chelse and thrilled the home support all evening. Cries of ‘Ole!’ rang out when the 22-year-old lifted the ball over John Mikel Obi and darted past John Terry, prompting a reaction from the Blues’ skipper for which he was booked. In a stadium where Zinédine Zidane used to strut his stuff, comparisons between the two mercurial playmakers are inevitable, and Gourcuff’s sublime piece of skill on 27 minutes triggered memories of the former France captain. The Brittany-born player was grace itself as he pirouetted between two tackles before seeing his dangerous

shot saved.”

And some more…

People have almost

forgotten that he could score like this.It was scored in the last 7 minutes and brought AC Milan back into the UEFA Cup game against Portsmouth.So near and yet so far for Portsmouth - who were leading 2 - 0 till then.

One of the benefits of being a World Cup-winning manager is that nobody complains if you turn up at a party and start

badmouthing the hosts - they’re too grateful you came in the first place.

Italy boss Marcello Lippi did that this week when he reprimanded his country’s professional footballers for their treatment of referees at a ceremony celebrating the 40th anniversary of their union, the AIC.

“No one could have Italian footballers more dear to their heart than me, they made me world champion,” he said

. “But something unpleasant exists, there are bad manners on the field. Relations with opponents and, above all, with referees are rude, vulgar and taste of animosity.

“Insults, swearing, expressions of intolerance have become habitual. The referee is faced with the dilemma of pretending not to hear to save the match or sending people off and spoiling the spectacle. Either way he gets criticised.”

The problem is certainly not limited to Serie A and Lippi’s comments take him into a debate sparked by the FA’s Respect campaign in England.

Launched earlier this year, the initiative is already on the ropes as it seems to have amplified attention on the errors referees inevitably commit, producing more questions than solutions.

What can players get away with? Should refs be made to talk
to reporters after matches to explain their decisions and admit when they get things wrong?

Might it not be easier to encourage respect by upping the level of refereeing with the use of video replays rather than by ‘awareness-raising’ drives?

Jose Mourinho said

on Tuesday that Italian referees have it even harder than their Premier League colleagues because in England “there’s

lots of fair play and the game finishes with the referee’s final whistle”. In Italy, on the other hand, they’ve
to contend with a roasting in the media as well as grief from players and coaches.

Sevilla’s Italian midfielder Enzo Maresca said

he’d
seen “more replays in half an hour tonight than in four years in Spain” while taking part in a television
show on Sunday that was analysing controversial penalty calls in AC Milan’s 2-2 draw at Torino.

Lippi thinks that player associations should make moves to cut out the surliness because “a union should not just defend its members’ rights, but also their dignity”.

But I reckon this is unlikely to work too because in football, disrespect pays!

Dissent isn’t
just about letting off steam in the heat of battle. It’s also a way to pressure officials into being softer on your side in subsequent decisions. If a ref makes a dodgy call, it’s a good idea to make sure he knows so he’ll think twice next time. It’s a tactic and one that’s
hard to wipe out because it’s successful.

Lippi has won all the trophies in his illustrious car

eer. But this time he may well be on the losing side.

PHOTO:Italy coach Marcello Lippi conducts a training session in Coverciano, Aug. 18. REUTERS/Marco Bucco

A price tag has now been placed on this Harry Redknapp target, and it’s a price well worth paying!

Claim your FREE bet right now!

Bayern Munich president Franz Beckenbauer has now admitted that the club could be ready to sell Lukas Podolski – but say

s he’ll
cost €15 million.
The 23-year-old Germany striker has told the club he wants to leave in January after failing to establish himself in the first-team, and former club Cologne, who have first option on the striker, have repeatedly stressed their desire to sign the player.
Podolski has also been strongly linked with Manchester City, Everton and Tottenham.
Beckenbauer has revealed the club could be tempted to sell at the right price as the player does not fit into the Bayern system.
“Everything in life has its price,” he told Bild.
“Two and a half years ago, we paid €10m (£8.4m). Now, the fee is €15m (£13m).
“You can’t
keep a professional if he’s

unhappy, on the bench and not playing.
“Poldi does not quite fit into our way of playing. He is a top-class striker when he has space in front of him as he has the pace to run clear.
“But the teams we play against are usually very defensive, so we need players who can get into the penalty area – Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni in particular.” (Setanta Sports)

Podolski is surely one of the ideal
players out there actively looking for a move, rather than simply being rumour fodder. The German international has shown his ideal
form at international level, and has the ability

to be a Premier League success. He has been consistently linked with a move to White Hart Lane, and perhaps the links the club have with their former favourite and current Bayern Munich manager Jurgen Klinsmann could help any potential move. Do Tottenham fans feel that Lukas would be a player well worth signing?

Discuss the latest transfer gossip at the Brand New COS forum!