After watching the game mentioned on the previous post (France vs Germany. Semifinal,1982 World Cup), I became a football fan. My new passion combined with an additive personality, made me want to now as much as possible about the magnificent phenomenon that football is.
There were not a lot of choices when it came to footy information back in Cuba in the eighties, so I had to use what was available. This were my first sources of information:
- Noticiero Deportivo: A daily sports news program that aired at 7 PM, and had a short football highlights show
- El Deporte en la URSS: A very good Soviet era sports magazine, with articles about football in the ex Soviet Republics, and Europe in general
- El Grafico: Argentinian monthly publication, 90% soccer, one of the best that I have ever seen, with spectacular photographies.(a friend that worked at a Hotel hooked me up with an issue every now and then)
- Olga: My charismatic Galician aunt, very proud of her heritage, she still lives in Habana and speaks Galician. Because of her Spanish roots, she received some publications from the Spanish embassy, that included “ABC” and “El Pais”, which I could borrow two at a time.
Little by little, the game was unfolding all its beauty before me. I will never forget a Cesar Luis Menoti’s article, in which he said something like: “ ……….football is the guy that sells newspapers in the street, football is the smell of warm bread with which your mother awaits you when you’re back from school, football is…………………..”. To read that, totally confused me at the time. Football is a game! What does it has to do with the guy that sells newspapers, and warm bread, and so on ?! LOL!
With time, I think I got it, though I could be wrong, you readers will be the judge of that. My actual interpretation of Menoti’s comments, which burned in my brain, is that one of this game’s main qualities is its capacity to reflect us, its capacity to reflect live in more than one way.
When you see a team play, the culture of an specific country or region somehow shows through its style, its rhythm. There is a different flow between Brazil and Denmark, right? However, it doesn’t stop there, the practice of promotion and relegation at the clubs level, reinforces that capacity to mimic reality. The clubs composition of every new season is different than the one before, since there are new promoted clubs, and the relegated ones are gone. That imitates the pass of time, since “change is the only constant”. Every new season is like a new chapter, on an always developing history.
GOOOOOOOOOLLLLLL, Right now Xolos Scored!
I’m watching the Mexican finals and
GGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL, right now, Xolos scored again!
Toluca 0, Xolos 2
sorry guys, finish this latter, got to enjoy the game now, latter
Roger 4 Pro Rel 