Espanha vs Holanda

Ou o combate mortal entre o racionalismo tentacular alemão de Paul e o misticismo exótico pontuado com alpista do singapurense Mani.

A sucção contra chilrear. A envolvência contra a esquivez. O borrão de tinta contra a cagada de pássaro.

Terá Paul a retaguarda dos orientais amigos, Harry "Crocodilo Dundee" e Lui Ping o monocromático panda tailandês?

Ou conseguirá Mani suster todo este ímpeto com a sua brigada Hanseática constituída por Apfelsin e Pino, o porco e o chimpanzé estónios [porém nascidos em Amsterdão]?

Não perca. Muito mais que um simples jogo, toda a ética futurológica no reino animal pode ficar definida hoje. Como se uma bola de cristal se tratasse. Ou neste caso um balde de ração.

Hoje às 19.30.

O regresso dos Incríveis!

Por estes dias uma triste analogia.

a global World Cup

"Hundreds of angry football fans smashed vehicles in the Bangladeshi capital after power outages interrupted live TV broadcasts of a World Cup match, police said Sunday.

The violence erupted late Saturday when the blackouts hit Dhaka's southern Saidabad district just before the match between Argentina and Nigeria (...)" in ctpost.com

One of the odd subjects in football literature that always intrigued me, was the weird relation between Bangladesh people and the football World Cup. For a country who has never qualified for any major competition and puts cricket on top of their preferences, in a western view, it may seem a little strange all this buzz and madness around the sport.

"The elimination of Cameroon also mean the end of my life" said a bangladeshi woman in a suicide note after the african team lose to England in World Cup 1990. In 1994, after Maradona was throw out for using ephedrine, "20.000 Bangladeshis marched through Dhaka chanting 'Dhaka will burn unless Maradona is allowed to play" [Simon Kuper's dixit in is aclaimed "Football Against the Enemy" p.221].

In 2006 "The Hindu", a newspaper in India, stated that in the same World Cup and for the same reason, "about a hundred fans in Bangladesh commited suicide" [Kuper and Szymanski "Why England Lose" pp.243]. I always though that all this was a little hyperbolized.

Like a myth buster, last saturday proved me that I was wrong. Curiosly, with Maradona in the bench.

I'm starting to think that "La Mano de Díos" probably is real.

image from here

"You are asking which is more important - Brazil or US invasion?" one Haitain fan asked asked an American reporter in 1994. "We are hungry every day. We have problems every day. The Americans talk about invading every day. But we only have the World Cup every four years."

Simon Kuper "Football Against the Enemy" pp.226

Já começou!

Porque eu, nos meus tempos de petiz, fui igualmente um fiel coleccionador de cromos da bola...

...de repente recordo com muita nostalgia, a colecção do USA'94.


vídeo via irmaolucia

efeito "Back Splash"

Queirós quando chegou prometeu um corte radical com a era Scolari.

Depois do jogo de hoje, onde 67 ataques efectuados, 28 remates e 68% de posse de bola da equipa se materializaram num 0-0 frente a uma "poderosa" Albânia, podemos adiantar que este corte tem realmente funcionado.

Esperemos é que o corte não seja demasiado grande e nos leve "a participação na fase final"...