RedDevil's Turf

Football clubs today have a worldwide fan base. But which club has the most number of fans? Hard to count, but judging by the popularity in the social networks, its the Spanish giants FC Barcelona and Real Madrid with most number of fans, closely followed by Manchester United from England. Barcelona & Real Madrid both have 19 million followers on Facebook, Manchester United has 18 million. Then comes the London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea with 7 million each. Here is the list of some of the most popular football clubs:

As on 2nd September, 2011

Sports

Timetable for the inaugural Indian GP later this year is finally out. The 60 lap race at the 5.141km long Buddh International Circuit will take place on 30 Oct 2011 at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Here are the session timings:

Fri 28 October 2011
Practice 1     10:00 – 11:30
Practice 2     14:00 – 15:30

Sat 29 October 2011
Practice 3     11:00 – 12:00
Qualifying     14:00

Sun 30 October 2011
Race     15:00

All times are IST (GMT +5.5 hours)

Sports

Arsene Wenger and his captain, Cesc Fabregas’s injury “issues”.

Wenger and Fabregas

Wenger and Fabregas

Wenger and Fabregas

Wenger picks an unfit Fabregas and takes a “gamble” to play him. As logic would have it, he gets injured.
Wenger: “We took a gamble and as luck would have it, cesc is out, I don’t know for how long”.

After 2-3 weeks Fabregas returns still unfit.
Wenger picks an unfit Fabregas and takes a “gamble”, again, to play him. As logic would have it, he gets injured.
Wenger: “We took a gamble and as luck would have it, cesc is out, I don’t know for how long”.
After 2-3 weeks Fabregas returns still unfit.
Wenger picks an unfit Fabregas and takes a “gamble”, yet again,to play him. As logic would have it, he gets injured.
Wenger: “We took a gamble and as luck would have it, cesc is out, I don’t know for how long”…
And then the Wenger says Arsenal has bad luck with injuries all the time! Duh!

Sports

Nike is back with its Total 90 range of football with the ball – Tracer.

Nike Total 90 Tracer PL Football

This ball would be the official ball of the Premier League. According to Nike “This innovative ball matches your level of play with high-performance benefits to help you beat the other side. Made with advanced Geo-Balanced II technology, the T90 Tracer PL features geometrically precise panels to distribute pressure evenly across the surface. That means you’ll get a more consistent, powerful strike, regardless of where you hit the ball.”

The ball looks great with a new design for the season.

More on Nike Football.com

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There is news floating around that Manchester United has approached Sahara for a shirt sponsorship deal. I was shocked when I read that! Manchester United currently has a deal with American International Group (AIG) for £56.5 million (about Rs 415 crore) which began in 2006. I knew Manchester United would be changing the current sponsor because AIG is in some financial troubles of its own, and United will surely want a new sponsor. But what I didn’t expect was the sponsor to be from India! Its said that United has sent a proposal to Sahara Group for the sponsorship, which Sahara has confirmed. Its big, really big. Manchester United is the biggest football club in the world, and the increasing fanbase in Asia and especially in India might prove to be a big factor. Sahara already sponsors the richest cricket team in the world, the Indian Cricket Team, and their shirt manufacturer is Nike, who also makes kits for Manchester United. I really hope this does materialise as it will really open up big platforms for Indian football.

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A “Pink” football boot? See it to believe it!

I have seen red Mercurial Vapors, orange Mercurial Vapors worn by Cristiano Ronaldo, but pink! Thats a first! And I’m not sure if I liked it or not. But yeah Nike does manage to make boots in all sorts of colors, especially the Mercurial Vapors, and the T90 Laser.

NikeFootball.com

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And I’m so gutted to have written that post title. Absolutely shattered and sad about the way things happened. From a neutral point of view it might have been a great season, but for Massa and everyone who likes and supports him, its been a day to forget. Knowing what he had to do Felipe Massa did all he could, got the pole position, drove the the fastest lap during the race and eventually won it, and while winning it in hope that he just won the title too, but for the luck. Lewis Hamilton was behind Timo Glock when at the very last corner of the race, during the uphill climb, he overtakes Glock and grabs that 1 crucial point which sealed the title in his favor. For a moment I felt as if something was fishy in that move, why did the huge lead which Glock had over Hamilton suddenly just vanish over a single lap, and although Glock has said he was loosing grip, which might be even true, its caused an irreversible verdict on the championship. Many a times its been said that sports can be cruel at times, and we once again saw what it meant. I never felt this bad when Michael Schumacher lost the titles to Fernando Alonso, Alonso drove like a champ and won it, although that engine failure at Japan broke my heart when Schumi’s last hope went up in smoke, but still I always hated Lewis Hamilton and this year the hatred reaches supreme levels. Some of Lewis’s fans might argue with me, but then a champion is not just about who has the maximum points at the end of the season, its also about the way he gets the maximum points. Luck has been with him as much as against him, but whenever it was with him he benefitted more than when it wasn’t. And when that happens you have more good days than the bad ones. Anyways congratulations to Lewis Hamilton for winning the title. And Massa will have his day someday.

Sports formula one

Its the final race of the season and its the Brazilian Felipe Massa in his home race against the Brit Lewis Hamilton. The math is simple:
Hamilton will be champion if:
- He finishes fifth or higher
- He finishes sixth and Massa is second or lower
- He finishes seventh and Massa is second or lower
- He finishes eighth and Massa is third or lower
- He fails to score and Massa is third or lower

Massa will be champion if:
- He wins and Hamilton finishes sixth or lower
- He finishes second and Hamilton is eighth or lower

If the pair are tied on points at the end of Sunday afternoon (which would happen is Massa wins with Hamilton sixth, or if Massa finishes second with Hamilton eighth), Massa would win the title by virtue of more victories (six to Hamilton’s five) or more second-place finishes (three to Hamilton’s two).

So there you have it, both know what they have to do, and both know the stakes. Hamilton might be in a comfortable position thanks to the seven point lead he has, but he knows that it aint over till its over, and Massa would love to win the title at home infront of his fans and becoming the first Formula 1 champion since the great Ayrton Senna. Last season too Hamilton was in a comfortable position, he lost the title to Kimi Raikkonen. Constructors’ wise, Ferrari’s 11-point lead should be enough to win their title from McLaren. BMW Sauber is 10-point behind McLaren so they still have an outside chance of grabbing second from McLaren.

Its also the final grand prix of David Coulthard, aka DC. The oldest man on grid and a veteran of 245 grands prix starts, DC has been a popular figure in F1. Never won the title, 13 wins over a career of 15 years, with his last win in the 2003 season. Not an out and out championship material but he’s been always a tough guy to overtake. DC will surely be missed in F1. Farewell DC.

Here is the race schedule (all timings are in IST):
FRI Practice 1      17:30
FRI Practice 2     21:30
SAT Practice     18:30
SAT Qualifying     21:30
SUN Race     22:30

You just cant miss all the action. And I hope its Massa who wins it.

Sports formula one

He might not be in the best of positions in this year’s Formula 1 World Championship, but when its all about going around the track the fastest, no one beats Kimi, the flying finn has been in flying form when its about fastest laps. Raikkonen has already got 10 fastest laps this year, even with three races remaining, and no other driver has even more than 2 fastest laps, its pretty clear who’s the fastest on track, and the biggest surprise is that Lewis Hamilton, who is leading the World Championship doesnt even have a single fastest lap this season! Last season too Kimi had the most number of wins and shared the highest number of fastest laps with Felipe Massa. And not only that, Kimi is already upto third in the all time fastest laps list.

Top ten drivers in Formula 1 with fastest laps
1. Michael Schumacher     76
2. Alain Prost     41
3. Kimi Räikkönen     35
4. Nigel Mansell     30
5. Jim Clark     28
6. Mika Häkkinen     25
7. Niki Lauda     24
8. Juan Manuel Fangio     23
9. Nelson Piquet     23
10. Gerhard Berger     21

Sports kimi raikkonen

The new avatar of the famous Nike T90 series is out and its even better. It now has a even better “sweet spot” and a new “V-twin lacing” for better contact. They again have some color combos like the one in the pic below featuring a black and green combination, then they also have white/red combo, black/orange. Read more about the Nike T90 Laser II. We’ll get to see Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres sporting these shoes in the Premier League. The boot is really a mean looking thing, wonder what havoc Rooney and Torres are gonna wreak in the Premier League now

There is also a new ball called Nike T90 Laser II Omni. Its a new looking ball with a very new design. Like Nike puts it “The revolutionary T90 Omni Ball provides a 360-degree sweet spot, increased visibility and cutting-edge panel architecture, there’s never been a more consistently accurate Nike ball.” It will feature in the Premier League’s new season as well.

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