Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

Paris: Cyprus pro duced the landmark performance of Wednesday’s batch of Euro 2008 qualifiers when the Mediterranean minnows held mighty Germany to a 1-1 draw in Nicosia. Captain Michael Ballack gave Germany a 15 minute lead but Cyprus, a yawning 73 rungs below them on Fifa’s world rankings, fought back courageously with Yiannakis Okkas’ first-time volley from the edge of the area just before the break earning them a deserved share of the spoils. Despite squandering a forecast three points Germany at least left Cyprus with the consolation of moving top of Group D ahead of the Czech Republic on goal dif ference. Cyprus are placed fourth with in fifth the Republic of Ireland who bade farewell to their creaking stadium at Lansdowne Road with a 5-0 rout over San Marino. Germany coach Joachim Low accepted the result was not what he had expected. “It’s obvious we are not pleased. This was a tough and at times physical games,” he said. However, he did concede that it was a “fair result” and w

By SALIM MIA Dhaka: French superstar footballer Zinedine Zidane delighted thousands of Bangladeshi villagers on Tuesday with an impromptu show of his legendary skills. Zidane was on a visit to the village of Kamar Basulia near the capital Dhaka to meet former beggars who had transformed their lives through tiny loans from Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus’s pioneering Grameen Bank. “He is my hero. I never thought I would see him in my own village. I still cannot believe this is happening,” said 16-year-old schoolboy Zakir Hussain as he watched Zidane play from a tree top. Zidane, who is on a twoday visit to the Muslimmajority country at Yunus’s invitation, was showered with flowers by the villagers. Some 10,000 people turned out to watch him play. “I am completely taken aback,” Zidane, a Muslim, told the private NTV television channel. “I never thought that people living thousands of miles away in small villages here in Bangladesh would know who I am,” he added. But he brushed aside qu