The Sports Bench Minal & Nani

Warren Brennan, the man behind the Hot Spot technology used in the India England series joins us to talk about his invention, challenges and the controversies surrounding Dravids dismissal in the last test and of course, VVS Laxmans Vaseline non incident.

Arunava joins Nani to talk about the future of Indian football. With tight budgets, Indian clubs find themselves in a fix and with older players being part of the national side, things dont look bright for Indian football at the moment. Discussion on news like Ariel Ortega, the man who was supposed to be the next Maradona, arriving on the Indian club scene. What are the chances of international stars joining Indian clubs? How much will Indian football benefit? And reminiscing a bit on JCT, the club that was.

Dhiman Sarkar of Hindustan Times joins Arunava and Nani to talk about the growing concern surrounding the Mecca of football in India called West Bengal. Arunava and Dhiman feel that while thousands gather to watch important matches in the state, the authorities who run the show have taken a lot of things for granted. The problem also may lie in the over-blown fan expectations, but both our experts feel that not all is lost in the state which takes pride in being the frontrunner of football.

Kolkata & Goa share the love for two F words: fish & football. The names that flash across the mind immediately on the mention of football in India are East Bengal & Mohun Bagan (not necessarily in that order). However, the fact is that Goan teams that have ruled the roost & sustained the tag of Indias champions in the last several years. The state seems to attract the best talent, the best coaches, the top goal scorers. In Kolkata, something must be amiss somewhere. We are trying to put a finger on it. In this one we have Mark Rodricks with us as the Goa expert for the Goa side of things. Mark is a FA level 1 licensed coach, plying his trade in Pune. We plan to penetrate into Kolkata football in the next episode.

Arunava joins us from Zurich, the venue for FIFA presidential election. Football lovers from around the world are shocked and concerned after news reports which announced that some FIFA officials received bribes for handing out World Cup bids. In this short podcast, Arunava gives us a ground zero update from the media centre.

Horst Wein is a renowned name in field hockey as well as football across continents. It is difficult to finish listening to someone who has experience spread over several decades and geography. And we found Horst Wein to be an absolutely charming man, full of energy and lots of stories. We have tried to capture the essence of his training methods in this podcast. We inquire whether or how his methods are relevant in the Indian scenario and his opinion on the appropriate coach for the Indian national football team.