How life drastically takes a U-Turn - a sporting perspective.

Date: 8th Feb, 2012 -

Fabio Capello resigned as the manager of England National Football team. Around the same time, in the English Premier League, Harry Redknapp - Tottenham Hotspur manager - was leading his team to a possible premier league victory. He was within points away from Manchester clubs and Arsenal (4th in the league at that time) was miles away to even challenge them for 3rd place. Best case scenario for Harry. This is how the EPL table looked at that time:

The moment Capello resigned from his managerial duties, media and soccer legends worldwide started speculating and linked Harry to the then vacant post. Harry himself didn't deny the speculations.

A dream phase for Harry started.

The speculations went on for few months and Harry apparently started drifting his priorities (some would say). Until..

Date: 01st May, 2012 -

Roy Hodgson was officially appointed as the England Football manager. Dreams shattered, you might say. But hey, he still was the manager of Tottenham Hotspur remember? Guess they might have overtook the Manchester teams and would be leading the race for the title. This was the status of the EPL table that day:

And eventually on 13th May, Tottenham remained 4th on the table behind bitter rivals Arsenal. But if you follow EPL, you will know that finishing in the top 4 will give you an opportunity to qualify for UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately for Harry, this is what happened later that week -

By virtue of winning the Champions League, Chelsea automatically qualified for next years Champions League and that would mean the 4th placed team in the EPL will fail to qualify. Who was 4th in EPL. Ohh dear, it was Tottenham Hotspur! Within 3 months time, a guy, who could have become a legend and a hero not only for his club but also for England, eventually lost everything.

Date: 13th June, 2012:

Harry Redknapp was officially sacked of his duties by Tottenham management.

Bottom-line: Life can suddenly change from a truly lovable one to a disaster. Today, Harry could've been the manager of England team after leading Tottenham to a possible and unlikely championship season. However, somethings don't work out as planned right?

Sports teaches us two things:

• Be dignified in defeat. Accept defeat like a man. It's easy to criticize others, play the blame game and never accept defeat.
• Rise up from the fall and yet, remain dignified. The same people who belittled you will stand up and applaud you. Respect!

PS: I am an Arsenal fan. A Gunner for life! Genetically, I don't like Tottenham Hotspur. But as a sports fan, I believe Harry Redknapp will rise. Just the same way Tiger Woods is rising. The same way Lance Armstrong rose. And many many more legends did in their times. Harry should rise, if he has anything more left to prove.

Images courtesy: premierleague.com