European Nights

Surely, those who know me must have foreseen this. A post dedicated to football. You just didn’t know it was going to come this early. Well, by the title alone you can guess what I will be talking about.

The European Champions League produces some of the most scintillating football on Earth. Just look at some of the matches we’ve been watching recently and you’ll see how evident this is. Take, for instance, Liverpool’s triumph over Arsenal in the quarterfinals. Then again, the atmosphere in Anfield contributed to an electrifying night.
Or how about the Nou Camp crowd when Barcelona played Manchester United this past Wednesday night? Even Shaheen, a buddy, said, “I would be intimidated if I was playing there.” Hence Cristiano Ronaldo’s missed penalty.

In June we will witness another European extravaganza – the Euro 2008 championships in Switzerland and Austria. European nights just get better and better.

According to the Brazilian writer Paolo Coelho, after he witnessed the 2006 World Cup final in Germany, football is a triumph of the human spirit over our animal nature. He wasn’t talking about the players but of the crowds that gathered inside and outside the stadiums. There were millions from different cultures and races, getting together to enjoy a single moment together. Perhaps it is a triumph of the human spirit, which is why it can reduce powerful strikers such as Fernando Torres to tears after the huge night against Arsenal at Anfield. Apparently, he couldn’t stop grinning after the game and said that that night was the reason he signed for Liverpool. He wanted to experience moments like those.

Another great night of football was had right here in South Africa. No, I’m not talking about the PSL but the five-a-side nights I play in. Barbados was formed three years ago by a bunch of friends eager to play football. We join leagues wherever we can. So Thursday nights are dedicated to the league in Linden, Jo’burg. Though we’ve been getting fair results in our recent games, they came off mediocre performances. Until last week when we were trounced 14-7. We played shit. That’s as much as I can say to describe the performance. Then a week later we picked ourselves up and the guys gave a performance that rocked not just the opposition but us too. Although our opponents were very weak, Amit made a good point, saying, “We could have chosen to fuck it up by playing shit or we could have chosen to win by playing beautiful, neat football.”
Last night, we played a splendid brand of football, in a style of our own.

The attackers were coming back to defend when we were on the back-foot. They would come as far as our box to fetch the ball. The marking was superb, our men sticking to theirs like hungry hounds. Our passes were perfect. We kept the ball rolling, making it do the work instead of us having to huff and puff after it. And by putting those neat passes together we managed to slot the ball in the opposing net seventeen times without allowing our adversaries a single goal.

Amit scored his first goal in the league, one that he has been searching for endlessly. He got into great positions and made some decisive passes. A great striker in the making, this after torturing himself and his ego after the previous fixture. Vay was tackling subliminally. Vuyanda was dribbling elegantly. Sanjay made a comeback that could eclipse Eric Cantona’s 1996 return from suspension. He played a perfect defender’s game, even though he is not fully fit. So imagine when he is what he will do. Santhan’s passing was flawless and the finishing from Ash, Dins and Milo was spectacular, especially since those goals came from a series of magnificent one touch passes.

Unfortunately, Nadeem sat on the side with a crutch. He was heartbroken. Any lover of the game would feel the way he did, watching impotently (wonder what else he is impotent at) from the sideline as his fellow players took the match. But he was there in full force, supporting, encouraging and making worthwhile decisions too. And even though we rolled the subs like a baker does with dough, everyone had a chance to take part in what was a glorious African night for Barbados.

Note: For those who’re not football lovers, don’t worry, I’ll make these football posts as understandable as possible – with little jargon. I’ll try and get as close as I can to the sports stories of the New Yorker standard. According to a colleague who hates sports, even the New Yorker’s sports pieces are worth a read.

Image references:

First picture: Fernando Torres scores against Porto at Anfield, in one of those European nights. Picture courtesy of Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images.

Second picture: Mozambican children enjoy a game. Picture from BBC.com

Third picture: Former American legend of the women's game, Mia Hamm, leaps over a defender.