Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
THE SPECIAL ONE IS BACK
In May 2019, not a single person would have predicted that Tottenham Hotspur would sack Mauricio Pochettino after he led them to a Champions League final where they eventually lost to Liverpool. Fast forward to November and the unthinkable has happened. Pochettino is no longer the Spurs manager after their torrid start to the Premier League campaign where they are sitting in 14th place after 12 games and just 6 points off relegation.
Since then, Tottenham have appointed ‘The Special One’, Jose Mourinho. The appointed of Mourinho has surprised lot of people around the world. Especially looking at the fact that Spurs are not known to be spending big in the transfer market where as Mourinho on the other hand is known to spend big on players in the transfer market. But appointment of Jose can prove to be the best deal of business Spurs has done in years. Spurs, who have failed to win a trophy since 2008, are desperate to win one. They had come close with Pochettino but failed at the last hurdle. On the other hand, Mourinho is a born winner. He has won trophies at every club he has managed. If there is any person to end Spurs drought for a trophy, its Jose Mourinho.
There are going to be a lot of changes at Spurs in the next 6 months, new playing style, new approach towards the game, new transfer policies and much more. Mourinho has a swagger in him. He likes to dominate the opponent and the dressing room. It’s going to be an interesting few weeks for Spurs and Mourinho as they face his former clubs Manchester United and Chelsea in December. Tottenham Hotspur chief Daniel Levy has evidently changed his approach were previously he was looking for a long-term plan for spurs and since changed it to short term success by appointing Mourinho. Now the only question remains is whether this move will turn out to be a master stroke by Levy or a just another mistake?
WALES. GOLF. MADRID. IN THAT ORDER.
Gareth Bale. The first 100-million-euros player. The most expensive player in history at one point, had has his dream turned into a nightmare since his fall out with the current Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane. A player who at one point was considered as the third best player in the world only behind the great Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has had a torrid time at his current club since the start of 2019. Since his world record move to Real Madrid in 2013, Bale has had a lot of success at the club, winning 4 Champions League titles in 5 years and playing a crucial part in all of them.
Fast forward to 2019, Bale, who is on 350,000 pounds-a-week at Real Madrid have missed a lot of games due to injuries and in the run, has lost the faith of his manager and has fallen behind other players in the squad. Bale have been very vocal about his disappointment and has not been shy to talk about it to media. This has already made the Madrid fans turn on him and the latest incidence was probably like rubbing salt on the wound. It was Pedja Mijatovic who started it. One night on the radio, the former Real Madrid player and sporting director said he hadn’t spoken to Gareth Bale but the impression he got was that his priorities were Wales, golf, and Madrid – and in that order. Bale clearly did not like what was said and he decided to act on it. In the recently concluded Euro qualifiers, the Wales National team qualified for the Euros. They had to win their last game of the group to secure qualification and the 2016 Euro semi-finalist comfortably secured the win. After the win while celebrating, Gareth Bale was seen holding the Welsh flag which read ‘WALES. GOLF. MADRID. IN THAT ORDER.’
Since the incidence, the Spanish media have blasted Bale for his actions with the National team. All eyes are now on the Real Madrid manager who is still yet to respond since the drama. One thing seems to be very clear; Bale has got no future at the club anymore. Though Gareth Bale, who has his contract running till 2022 is in no rush of leaving, Real Madrid will want to sell the troublesome winger at the earliest. But one question still remains – will there be any takers?
A Star is Born
Stefanos Tsitsipas. Get use to hearing this name over and over again in the coming years. When you hear the word tennis, 3 names pop in our mind – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. But as these legends of the game are heading to the dawn of their glittering careers, the new generation of players are ready to take over the realm. Alexander Zverev from Germany, Daniil Medvedev from Russia and Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece, all have been tipped to replace the legends of the game and they did not disappoint. Though none of them won any Grand Slams during the year, all of them did manage to win ATP tournaments throughout the year. Daniil Medvedev came closest to winning a Grand Slam this year, losing only in the finals of the US Open to R. Nadal.
In the recently concluded ATP World Tour Final, Stephan Tsitsipas came out on top after a closely fought duel against world no. 4 Dominic Thiem. On his title winning run, Tsitsipas came out on top against his closest rivals Medvedev and Zverev in the group stage. He lost his group stage match against Nadal, but still managed to qualify for the semi finals of the competition where he faced the mighty Roger Federer who was looking for redemption after his shocking Australian Open fourth round exit in the hands of his Greek counterpart. But Tsitsipas was in no mood for playing around as he defeated Federer again convincingly in straight sets. The final turned out to be the toughest match he faced in the competition where he had gone a set down to win the game 6-7, 6-2, 7-6. Tsitsipas who is currently world no. 6, became the first Greek player ever to win the prestigious ATP World Tour Finals. This was his third title in 2019 and 2020 promises to be even better.
Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
The Sports Guy Blog 