FIFA World Cup 2010 World 11(Dream Team)

-Anand Prakash

For the next one month, South Africa will be home to 32 teams all competing for the tag of being ‘world champions’! These teams will be relying on their star players- the big guns carrying big reputations, bigger salaries and most importantly the weight of their nation’s expectations.

Here we look at a team of such players by breaking the boundaries between the nations they belong to.

Goalkeeper:

The goalkeeper’s spot in most dream teams made in recent history has been occupied by Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon and there is absolutely no reason to discontinue the trend. The shot-stopper oozes pure class and has no match when it comes to making match winning saves. A big reason behind Italy’s world cup triumph four years ago, Buffon is like a bus parked in front of the goal.

Defenders:

At right back I have Germany skipper Philipp Lahm. Solid at the back and marauding in attack, Lahm pips Brazilian right backs Daniel Alves and Maicon to make it into the dream team on account of his versatility which comes from his ability to play on either flank.

At centre back, I have England’s John Terry and Brazil’s captain Lucio. Both are uncompromising to the core and any top striker’s nightmare. Both have been really successful at club level this year with Terry’s Chelsea winning two titles and Lucio’s Inter winning three.

At left back, France captain Patrice Evra pips England’s Ashley Cole on account of being more consistent at club level with Manchester United in the last year. Though a defender himself, Evra looks best when going past defenders on his typical zigzag pacy forward runs.

Midfielders:

At the critical position of defensive midfield I have Argentina’s captain Javier Mascherano. Mascherano is best at what his job is i.e. to protect the defense by being a shield in front of the back four. Not known for his attacking skills, this man is all about work-rate and hard tackling.

The dream pairing of Spain’s Xavi Hernandez and England skipper Steven Gerrard occupies central midfield in this team. Xavi’s orchestration and Gerrard’s dynamism mean that this duo would grace any dream team. The quality of these two is such that they would walk into the starting eleven of any football team in the world.

Forwards:

Going forward on the wings I have Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina’s Lionel Messi. No amount of words can describe these two geniuses and I am not even going to try. Constantly competing with each other for the tag of being the best player on the planet, these two have left all others far behind by the sheer audacity of the magic they do on the pitch. They surely are the brightest stars in this galaxy (team). As I said again anything in praise of the two is an understatement.

Choosing a striker for this team was the toughest job. However, looking at the balance of the team and the presence of plenty of flair, I have gone for Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba. Drogba adds an extra dimension to this team. Lethal finish and brute force is what describes Didier Drogba. He won the golden boot in the recently concluded season of the English Premier League beating stiff competition from England’s Wayne Rooney. Well, he pips Rooney to this team too.

So the final team is:

Gianluigi Buffon (GK)

Philipp Lahm (LWB)

John Terry (CB)

Lucio (CB)

Patrice Evra (LWB)

Javier Mascherano (CDM)

Xavi Hernandez (LCM)

Steven Gerrard (RCM) (C)

Cristiano Ronaldo (RF)

Lionel Messi (LF)

Didier Drogba (ST)

Those who just missed out due to factors like recent injuries etc. despite being equally good have been included as substitutes. They are:

1) Iker Casillas (Spain)

2) Wayne Rooney (England)

3) Arjen Robben (Netherlands)

4) Fernando Torres (Spain)

5) Nemanja Vidic (Serbia)

6) Andres Iniesta (Spain)

7) Daniel Alves (Brazil)

The team would have Guus Hiddink as its coach, Steven Gerrard as its captain and would play in a 4-1-2-2-1(4-1-2-3) formation.

This is a pre world cup dream team. After the world cup I would make a world 11 comprising of players who dazzled the crowds at South Africa. You make yours too and lets see if we match up! I wonder if it was noticed that this team comprises of 11 players from 9 different nationalities. Does it make you wonder: What if there were no boundaries?

Why choose IIT-BHU over new IITs?

Another year, another IIT-JEE, another batch of IITians. The results for the combined Joint Entrance Exam of the Indian Institutes of Technology for the year 2011 will be out on the 25^th of May. Successful candidates are provided with their AIR (All India Rank) which will be used to get them their desired branch and/or institute. This is done using a process called ‘counselling’ which in this context is far from how simple it sounds!

Candidates higher up the merit list (AIR1-2000) have the luxury to choose their desired course at a desired IIT. IIT Bombay or IIT Kanpur or IIT Delhi? As you can see, life is not too bad. However for rank holders below AIR 2000 getting selected in IITJEE brings in a month full of feelings of anxiety and depression. The joy of cracking the supposedly toughest examination at its level is nowhere to be seen as these students and their parents are lost in the one big question:

COLLEGE or BRANCH?

Do I take up a ‘better’ IIT and any non-core branch? Do I join IIT-BHU with a core branch? Do I join the new IITs? Even after a month full of discussion with all sorts of people ranging from the newspaperwala to corporate heads, the answers are unclear as ever and the student remains clueless as to how to fill up that counselling sheet.

Now coming to the aim of my article. Anyone with an AIR below 2000 who is confused between joining IIT-BHU or new IITs should know better after reading below. I’ve tried my best to remove all doubts and apprehensions regarding IIT-BHU.

The campus of IIT-BHU is incomparable to new IITs which do not even have a campus of their own and are running on temporary buildings borrowed from other institutions. The campus of BHU is legendary. The main campus is spread over 1300 acres which is bigger than any IIT except IIT Kharagpur. The sports facilities are amazing as there is 1 cricket field, 2 soccer fields, and 1 hockey field apart from swimming pool, tennis, badminton, volleyball, squash, and basketball courts. There’s a separate complex devoted to athletics too. Now these totally belong to IT-BHU however there are several more sports and recreation facilities that belong to BHU and you can easily use them. In the new IITs you will have to rub shoulder with students of the institute which owns the campus and it has been heard that IIT students are ragged by these students which is shameful and surely something you don’t want to face.

The University has “within the same campus” three pioneering Institutes, viz. the Institute of Technology, the Institute of Medical Sciences and the Institute of Agricultural Sciences and fifteen Faculties. Only in IIT-BHU you will have the opportunity to interact with students (girls) of IMS (medical) and other faculties like law arts which are in the campus itself-you won’t get this in any other IIT.

IIT-BHU Hostels are old just like those of Kanpur, Kharagpur - so if you want a new beautiful hostel you should go and join private colleges like SRM, Manipal etc. Here each hostel has a common room equipped with two TT tables, A TV with TataSky connection. Each hostel has volleyball and badminton courts inside the hostel itself and you can use them round the clock. Apart from that there are LAN and internet facilities and you will just have to buy some wires to set them up. Internet usage has no download limit; though sites like Orkut, Facebook are 'officially' banned students access them through proxy servers. Yes, the rooms are small for two people but go to IIT Delhi hostels and you will find the same size rooms. IITs are not about the size of the rooms but about the quality of people who live in those rooms! The hostel life here and the hostel mates is something you will never forget and always cherish in your life.

The academic pressure at IIT-BHU is far less compared to IITs. In IITs the professors are arrogant and really strict disciplinarians and you have to mug for hours if you want a decent grade. Here in IIT-BHU professors are lenient and the academic load is easy. So in the end you will get a good grade to show to the companies offering you jobs with a little effort only. Moreover, if you are serious about CAT/GRE preparations then you would have plenty of time to prepare for them while being in IIT-BHU.

The reduced academic load allows participation in Institute Gymkhana activities, mainly managed by the students, which encourage artistic and creative talents in dramatics, elocution, music and visual arts. Gymkhana has various active clubs, viz. HAM, Audio, Photography, Automobile and Aero-modelling, Cine, Computer, Astronomy, etc. Students actively take part in managing three national level events every year, viz. All India Cultural Festival “KASHI-YATRA”, All India Sports Competition “SPARDHA”, and All India Exhibition of Engineering and Technology Models “TECHNEX”.

Again placements of IIT-BHU are incomparable to new IITs. Placements are mainly dependant on the alumni which your college has. If some ex-student from your college is at a high post in Microsoft then there is a good chance that Microsoft will come to campus for recruitment. Since new IITs have NO alumni’s there placements won’t be as good as IIT-BHU. IIT-BHU is a really old college and there are plenty of its students currently at high posts in companies. The average package at IIT-BHU for electrical and electronics is around 7 lacs per annum while for computer science it is 9-10 lacs per annum. And it is obvious that everyone gets placed. Same goes for internships.

All in all the new IITs will never be able to provide you with the experience that IIT-BHU will.

While criticizing one IIT or another, the stark reality that people somehow tend to forget is that they did not do exceptionally well in IITJEE. So you have yourself to blame that you are not studying Computer Science at IIT Bombay or IIT Kanpur. The smart thing to do at this moment would be to accept this fact and realise that IIT-BHU is the best option this rank of yours. I hope I have made my case clear.