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Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge made Van Gaal “Van Gone”.
What he said:
“As soon as he presented his autobiography in a snobby restaurant, I knew hard times were ahead.Louis van Gaal was not always easy-care. He wanted to ‘Vangaalise’ our club. He has a huge ego.”
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge terms former coach Louis Van Gaal “egoistic”.
Van Gaal was Bayern’s manager from 2009-2011.
The club clinched the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal in his first year.
What Rummenigge really meant:
“There’s only one alpha-male or alpha-dog at Bayern and that’s me. Van Gaal reported to me and any attempt to remake the club in his image would find opposition in me. PS: I have a huge ego, too.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I don’t have a queasy stomach. And restaurants are not where I would release my autobiography.”
Teymur Rajabov: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Русский: Теймур Раджабов (Азербайджан) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Teymur Rajabov clocks in for Magnus Carlsen versus Viswanathan Anand.
What he said:
Azerbaijani chess Grandmaster Teymur Rajabov makes it obvious that he expects partisanship on the lines of nationality in the play-off in Sochi between current world champion Magnus Carlsen and title contender Viswanathan Anand. The former prodigy was commenting on the third game in the series that Anand won to level scores 1.5—1.5.
What Rajabov really meant:
“Time is relative. Indian fans are in a hurry to see their champion reinstated; the Norwegians (and Carlsen’s supporters) are none-too-keen. The winner always seems to have all the time in the world to make his moves; the loser none.”
English: Viswanathan Anand, world chess champion (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
What he definitely didn’t:
“I wonder if Carlsen’s clock is broken. Could we have cuckoo clocks instead for the players?”
Emmanuel Adebayor: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Emmanuel Adebayor chased a ball for his first ever walk-about.
What he said:
“Anyway, I was in the church laying down and, around nine or 10 o’clock on the Sunday morning, I could hear children playing outside.Suddenly somebody kicked a ball into the church and the first person to stand up and run was me because I wanted to get that ball.”
Togolese footballer and Tottenham Hotspur forward Emmanuel Adebayor recounts how he was a late bloomer when it came to walking as a child. The young Adebayor had not toddled yet in his fourth year. His mother travelled all over the Dark Continent seeking a cure.
What he really meant:
“Believe it or not, I was meant for soccer and soccer for me. Ask my mother.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Actually, I couldn’t stand the long-winded sermon by the priest on the pulpit and I simply grabbed the first opportunity to go walk-about.”
Sanjay Manjrekar: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Sanjay Manjrekar perks up the Indian batting order.
What he said:
“Numbers 1, 2 and 3 in the batting order, in One-Day cricket in Asian batting conditions, is like travelling first class. You just get better perks.”
Sanjay Manjrekar makes it clear that most Indian pitches are so docile that batsmen at the top of the order are—for all purposes—handed free tickets to big scores.
The cricketer-turned-commentator was writing about Virat Kohli’s decision to promote Ambati Rayudu up the batting order in the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad. Rayudu made the best use of the conditions to notch up his maiden ODI century.
Manjrekar said:
“Now it must be said here, that there was no cricketing compulsion or logic for such a move.
As we discovered later, from Kohli’s post-match views, it was a move to basically give Rayudu the pleasure of batting in the top three against a moderate bowling attack in Indian conditions.”
He added:
“I thought this was a tremendously selfless move by Kohli the captain. I have seen many stalwarts of Indian cricket who never let go of such an opportunity , an opportunity to score some easy international runs. Virat, being the kind of player that he is, it was like saying `pass’ to an international hundred.He forsook his own hundred so that Rayudu could get his first one. What that has done is, it’s lifted Rayudu’s confidence sky-high. I don’t see him as a regular No. 3 for India, but whatever position he bats in now, he will be bursting with self-confidence.That’s what a 100 does to a batsman that a 50 or a 60 never does.”
What Manjrekar really meant:
“Numbers are very important in Indian cricket especially in Indian conditions. Get your eye in and you can bully your way to a flat-track century in the blink of an eye (if you are the cashing in kind).”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I shouldn’t be saying this. I was a No.3 batsman myself.”
Rahul Dravid: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Rahul Dravid relives a tale of Multani Mitti.
What he said:
“If I charged a penny for every time I was asked about the Multan declaration, I would be a multi-millionaire by now.”
Rahul Dravid responds to yet another query about the controversial declaration against Pakistan when he was the stand-in skipper that left Sachin Tendulkar stranded on 194. “The Wall” was present at the release of Sachin’s autobiography, “Playing it my way” together with Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.
Rahul added:
“My greatest memory of that Test is asking Sachin to bowl the last over of the day after the declaration. He got Moin Khan out and he was visibly overjoyed because he was again doing what he did so many times – helping India win. We walked off as a team.”
What Dravid really meant:
“I’ve been asked this question so many times now that I ought to just pen an autobiography myself and put all questions to rest. I’m sure it’d sell at least a million copies.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“It was a collective decision; we knew Sachin was no Sehwag to bring up his double ton with a six.”
Aaron Finch: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Aaron Finch is almost eye-lined by a pyrotechnics eruption.
What he said:
“I might need to touch up my eyebrows.”
Australian T20 skipper Aaron Finch is understandably furious at nearly being singed by a coloured flame-thrower during the first T20 game against South Africa at the Adelaide Oval.
Finch said:
“It shocked me quite a bit. I sort of stood off, waiting for them to go off.And they didn’t. It wasn’t until I started to walk in. It gave me a bit of a fright.
I thought they must have pulled the pin on them for that time – and then bang. It was a shock, I can tell you. I might need to touch up my eyebrows.
I think it might have been last year or the year before when Dave Hussey almost got his head blown off. Probably a bit more care has to be taken towards the players and anyone who is nearby.”
Cricket Australia responded quickly:
“We have apologised to Aaron for the incident last night.We have clear operating procedures in place for the use of pyrotechnics at matches.
They include strict rules about safe operating distances with respect to players and fans.
Clearly there was a breach of that last night which we take very seriously and have addressed with the contractor concerned.”
What Finch really meant:
“I’m not flame-retardant especially not my eyebrows nor my hair.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Now, that was a fiery game of cricket, wasn’t it?”
Sachin Tendulkar: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
English: Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar Wax Statue in Madame Tussauds London (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sachin Tendulkar: The 100 percent man.
What he said:
“I think whatever things I knew 100 per cent I have revealed because I back up those things. But the things I am not aware of fully, it would be unwise to comment on those.”
Sachin Tendulkar refused to address match-fixing controversies in his much-awaited memoirs, ‘Playing It My Way’.
The Little Master clarified:
“I should have some evidence, I should know something in detail to talk about it because then it makes sense and it will be appreciated by people. But if I just start talking then it will not have any value.”
English: Mohammad Azharuddin Sangeeta Bijlani (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja and Nayan Mongia were summarily punished by the BCCI with bans of varying durations in the aftermath of the match-fixing scandal in the 90s.
Asked whether some players deliberately performed:
“No, I mean the guys fail, but who doesn’t fail in life, everyone fails. It would be unfair to just pinpoint at someone and say that he was under-performing, didn’t try his best, I can’t. I have played the sport for 24 years and failures do happen.”
On why he never took a stand on major issues:
“If you see in my book, issues on which people believed I should have taken a stand, the only things which I was 100 per cent sure of I stood for that in my book.
If you have read some of the articles I have expressed myself whole-heartedly but on things which were not first-hand information, it is unwise to do that, it is (like) a loose statement and I didn’t want to fire loose statements.”
“Difficult, because there were times I felt like talking. I felt like I should focus on my game because one article would be followed by another article and I didn’t want to get into that tangle. It was always wiser, I thought, that I follow up with bigger scores rather than better articles.”
English: Image of Australian cricketer Ian Chappell. Courtesy of the National Archive of Australia. The NAA has given permission for the image to be used under the GDFL license. Confirmation of this permission has been sent to the OTRS system. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On Ian Chappell’s comment that `Sachin should look at himself in the mirror‘:
“I don’t think much about him. I showed him the size of the mirror in the VB Series in 2007. He has got nothing do with Indian cricket. Sometimes I feel people are given too much importance.
I don’t want his sorry . But in Durban, in 2010, when I was working out in the gym, we just bumped into each other and he said, `This is the secret of your success.’ I said, `You have conveniently changed sides.’ “
What Tendulkar really meant:
“In life, unlike on the batting pitch, I have to be on a strong ton before I start playing my shots.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”
Greg Chappell: What he allegedly said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Greg Chappell is ringmaster to Sachin, the Lion.
What he allegedly said:
“Together, we could control Indian cricket for years.”
Sachin Tendulkar dropped a bombshell in his autobiography, “Playing it my way” charging former coach Greg Chappell with playing politics and plotting to depose Rahul Dravid from Team India’s leadership in 2007.
Extracts from the maestro’s memoirs were released by his publishers, Hachette India, to the Press Trust of India on Monday.
English: Sachin Tendulkar at Adelaide Oval (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Tendulkar wrote:
“Just months before the World Cup, Chappell had come to see me at home, and to my dismay, suggested that I should take over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid. I was surprised to hear the coach not showing the slightest amount of respect for the captain, with cricket’s biggest tournament just months away.
He stayed for a couple of hours, trying to convince me before finally leaving.
Sachin added:
“I suggested to the BCCI that the best option would be to keep Greg back in India and not send him with the team to the World Cup. That is not what happened, of course, and the 2007 campaign ended in disaster.”
On Chappell’s equation with the other senior pros:
“Chappell is on record as saying that he may have got the job be cause of Sourav but that did not mean he was going to do favours to Sourav for the rest of his life.
Frankly, Sourav is one of the best cricketers India has produced and he did not need favours from Chappell to be part of the team.
Chappell seemed intent on dropping all the older players and in the process damaged the harmony of the side. On one occasion, he asked VVS Laxman to consider opening the batting. Laxman politely turned him down, saying he had tried opening in the first half of his career because he was confused, but now he was settled in the middle order and Greg should consider him as a middle-order batsman.
Greg’s response stunned us all. He told Laxman he should be careful, be cause making a comeback at the age of thirty-two might not be easy.
In fact, I later found out that Greg had spoken to the BCCI about the need to remove the senior players, no doubt hoping to refresh the team.”
On Chappell’s love for the spotlight:
“I also remember that every time India won, Greg could be seen leading the team to the hotel or into the team bus, but every time India lost he would thrust the players in front. In general John and Gary always preferred to stay in the background, but Greg liked to be prominent in the media.”
Greg Chappell responded to Sachin’s allegations in a statement released to Cricket Australia.
Chappell said:
“Whilst I don’t propose to get into a war of words, I can state quite clearly that during my time as Indian coach I never contemplated Sachin replacing Rahul Dravid as captain. I was therefore very surprised to read the claims made in the book.
During those years, I only ever visited Sachin’s home once, and that was with our physio and assistant coach during Sachin’s rehabilitation from injury, at least 12 months’ earlier than what was reported in the book. We enjoyed a pleasant afternoon together but the subject of captaincy was never raised.”
English: Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Rahul Dravid, in an interview to EspnCricinfo, said:
“I haven’t really read the excerpts of that book. Also I am not privy to any private conversation between two individuals. I have not heard about this before and I have no idea what happened and I would not want to make any comment.
It’s been a long time and it does not make much of a difference to me now.
Not looking forward towards reading this but yes anything that Sachin writes on batsmanship and things like what made him the best in the world. I am more interested in reading those parts.”
What Greg Chappell (allegedly) really meant:
“Allow me play kingmaker to the uncrowned king of Indian cricket.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Cricket’s a team game and we should all work together to move Indian cricket forward.”
Deepika Padukone: What she said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Deepika Padukone is a sports lover, biopics or no biopics.
What she said:
“It’s nice that so many biopics are being made, and they are leading to more awareness. But why do we have to wait for a movie to learn more about the sportsperson or sport? It just shows that we don’t encourage our athletes enough.”
Bollywood actor, Deepika Padukone, feels that the big screen should not be the sole medium via which sports stars are lionised for the public.
Padukone said:
“If we start writing and talking about them early in their careers, it will be much easier to create awareness about various sports and their champions. Also, I feel the media has a huge part to play in making people aware of our champions. It’s not just cricket, we have so many other sports.”
Deepika is the daughter of former shuttler, Prakash Padukone, the first Indian player to win the All-England Open. He is widely rated India’s best male badminton player ever.
On the Mary Kom biopic:
“But people didn’t know who Mary was. Four-five years back, I think she was a three-time world champion. Now, she is four- or five-time world champion. So, when Priyanka (Chopra) did the film, I thought it would be great as everyone would get to know her.”
What she really meant:
“I’m not just a pretty face, you know. I have sporting genes. That I chose to become a model and actress instead is beside the point.”
What she definitely didn’t:
“Now if I’d only known that I wouldn’t have to wear prosthetic makeup for ‘Mary Kom’, I’d have done the picture in a blink of an eye.”
Steve Waugh: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Steve Waugh tries hard to soften the blow.
What he said:
“The hard thing about Pakistan is that they throw up these cricketers that you’ve never seen before.”
Steve Waugh is hard-pressed to explain away Australia’s batting collapse against an inexperienced Pakistani bowling attack in the first Test at Dubai.
Waugh said:
“Their legspinner Yasir Shah looked a fantastic find, he bowled as good as anyone in the last couple of years in Test cricket and we hadn’t even seen him. They had an attack that had just eight Test matches between them yet they performed very well. So they are always a dangerous side.”
What he really meant:
“Australians pride themselves for their preparation. But it’s difficult to be prepared when you have no idea who’s going to show up. Better the devils we know than the devils we don’t, eh?”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Now if only the Pakistanis would play the IPL…We’d have an idea of their talent base… All our batsmen and bowlers now play the IPL and then graduate onto Aussie honours.. What an idea!”
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