Showing posts with label soccer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soccer. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

a losing winner

It is an embarrassing situation in the Netherlands.
Today the national soccer team returns from South Africa to receive a heroes welcome.
While they lost.
Nevertheless they go to meet the Prime Minister.
And then they go to the palace to meet the Queen of the Netherlands.
After, they go to the city of Amsterdam to go by boat through the canals and to end up on a large square where hundreds of thousands of people will cheer them.
All this for a bunch of losers.
Who lost in a most degrading way.
By becoming violent and aggressive in the field.
One Dutch player got a red card and was sent out of the field.
But most of them aggressed the Spanish in intolerable ways.
Obviously because they couldn't win by simply playing football.
What the Spanish did.
And this in a superior way.
The Dutch noticing they were inferior therefore tried to win by being mean and foul.

The next day in the major Dutch newspaper "De Telegraaf" the headline was:
"They fought like lions".
And this is the general opinion in the country.
They did their best but by chance they lost.
Very few want to see the truth like the foreign press is writing: the Dutch team was inferior and compensated by playing destructive and damaging football.

Nevertheless, the Dutch players are getting a heroes welcome.
But one newspaper wrote that there is a similarity between the Dutch soccer team failing badly and be honored anyway and what happened in the banking world.
The economic crises was caused by bankers who did get high bonuses nevertheless.

A friend works in an office building along a canal where this afternoon the Dutch soccer team will pass by in a boat.
He plans to put a huge banner outside.
With one word only:

L O S E R S


Because if you lose, don't pretend to be a winner.




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Tuesday, July 6, 2010

1 ball 22 guys

Now it is becoming a weekly national orgasm in the Netherlands.
Last night their soccer team won the semi-finals by beating Uruguay with 3 to 2.

On a large square not far from the current lodging about 40.000 people had gathered.
Most dressed in orange.
A gigantic screen with high quality image was erected and the soccer match was followed by all those people.
It was an amazing sight to see them in the setting sun.
Excited, exhilarated and peaceful together.
Exploding in a hurricane of joy when their players scored.

For hours after the match cars were driving in the streets of Amsterdam blowing their horns.
The drivers overwhelmed by joy that now the Dutch soccer team will play the final on Sunday.
Already they are the second best in the world.

Tonight is the other semi-final between Germany and Spain.
It is very likely that Germany will win.
Until now, they have played in this tournament in a most impressive way.
Fast soccer, intelligent, superb, smart, effective, courageous, highly skilled and determined.
Several matches they have won with big scores.

This is very contrary compared to how the Dutch team managed to get to the final.
Each match they did not play well.
They missed all those ingredients the Germans were having plentiful.
But somehow they managed.

So we will see two teams playing on Sunday for the World Cup of which one, the Netherlands, has managed to get there by not playing very well.
And if the opponent is Germany, a second team that has been playing in an excellent way.

Right now, this contradiction is not noticed in the Dutch press.
On TV and in newspapers they speak of Dutch victory as if they were already the World Champions.
Overwhelmed by something incredible: the last time a Dutch soccer team was in the final for the World Champion title was 34 years ago.

But it could become a cold turkey on Sunday.
If the Dutch do not improve and the Germans play as they did before, Holland will be drowned in tears.
Disappointed for years to come.
They will be beaten painfully.

However, if Germany reaches the final and the Dutch manage to beat them so they become the World Champion, it will be the happiest day in the lives of most Dutch people.
Because never before have they been the World Champion.
It will be historical.
To never forget.
While it is just one ball and twenty-two guys.



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Saturday, July 3, 2010

In heaven are the Dutch

The Netherlands is a country now that is in a festive mood.
This is only because the Dutch soccer team managed to beat the Brazilian boys recently.

This is quite an achievement.
The Brazilians are the best and they have been several times the world champions.
By playing what is called "Samba soccer".
Light, brilliant, fast, flexible and heavenly soccer.

The team from the Netherlands did find a way to respond to this Samba-thing and won with 2 to 1.
While it could have easily been 3 to 1 or even 4 to 1.
That was how dominant and superior the Dutch were.

The current joy in the Netherlands comes also from the fact that the next opponent, in the half finals, is Uruguay.
The team of Uruguay is not considered very strong.
Besides, their top player is injured and not available.
The match against Uruguay, this Tuesday, is already seen as a walk over and the Dutch expect to play the final to decide who is the world champion.
That will be against Germany or Spain.
And the Dutch people have high hopes, after beating the giant Brazil, that they have a good chance playing Germany or Spain to become the best in the world.

This exhilaration and excitement can be very well noticed here in Holland.
Besides, the sun is shining and it is warm: beautiful weather.
Therefore it is unique to be in this country now.
The good and positive vibration lifts up any spirit that may be down.

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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

1 ball and 22 guys

There is something remarkable about what kind of sports American people love and the people of the rest of the world.

The rest of the world loves soccer but the Americans love sports like basket ball and baseball.
What is so remarkable is that soccer is played with the feet and the sports the Americans love with the hands.
There is no explanation for that.
In fact, it is puzzling.

Besides this major difference, the other observation one can make is that the sports the Americans love, have no worldwide importance.
Outside the USA, basketball and baseball are minor sports of no importance.
Therefore they are not on a worldwide level.
Painfully and shamelessly in the USA a competition of baseball is called "the world series", but the world has nothing to do with it.
It is a national American event bombarded with aplomb into a most important global thing which it is not.

Soccer though is loved by most people in the world except Americans who are too busy reading books or checking garage sales.

Now, the Dutch soccer team at the world championships currently taking place in South Africa
have beaten the team of Slovakia and has proceeded to the last eight.
On Saturday they will play Brazil that is a most dangerous adversary.
The Brazilian soccer team has been world champion several times.
Nevertheless, the Dutch people believe that this time they have a serious chance to become a world champion.
Stronger than any team in the world and that includes the United States who were not very unsuccessful in South Africa.

In the end, it is not much more than eleven guys running after a ball to be put in a cage as often as possible.
And eleven other guys running in the opposite direction with the same intention.
But soccer goes really deep in the feelings of the ones that love this sport.
Especially when it is a world championship and national teams play.
Suddenly nationalism and chauvinism come alive.
The way the nation is seen becomes related to the results at the world championship.
People believe they have a strong country with a beautiful culture and tradition and that they are clever and superior.
And this is expressed and learned from the results of their national soccer team in South Africa.
If they win, they feel they are all the best in the world.
If they lose, they feel the silly-billies of this planet.

Like recently when Mexico had to play Argentina.
The Mexicans lost 3-0 and the national coach said that they were not a country of winners.
And now the Mexicans believe they are good people but never winning.

But if the Dutch become world champion, be aware.
Every Dutch person will believe he is the king of the world.
While it is just soccer.



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Sunday, June 27, 2010

A good question

The weather in the Netherlands is fabulous.
Warm and sunny.
And the Dutch are in a good mood: their national team is doing very well at the World championship of soccer in South Africa.
So far.

Therefore, every restaurant has put tables and chairs in front on the pavement for people to eat and drink in fresh air.
And they see the decorations many have put on their houses, their cars and bikes, to support the national soccer team.
Orange flags, orange banners, orange mascots.

An appointment was made with a friend and because of the happy mood and the good weather the meeting was to take place on the terrace of a bagel shop famous for its excellent caffé latté.

The friend was delayed but who cares when the sun is shining and the coffee tastes good?

But then suddenly a guy passed by who saw the pioneering photographer sitting there comfortably and content.
He stopped and said: "Excuse me, but are you Michel?".
How to deny?
The friendly person turned out to be a fervent and loyal blog reader.
And recognized his daily servant of words from the portrait picture that can be seen on the blog.

Of course the fervent and loyal blog reader was invited to sit down and was generously offered a drink.
Who expressed how amused and entertained he was by reading the blog daily .

Except for yesterday.
When a rather strange image was published and nothing else.
A woman could be seen and she didn't look very much alive.
To the contrary: attentive fervent and loyal blog readers noticed that a cable was around her neck having ended her possibility of breathing making her leave unfortunately this existence.
She might have been a bitch or she might have made hell of the life of her guy but it goes really too far to strangle a blonde, correct?

What was that image about, the friendly blog reader asked.
What was the idea of publishing such a horrific picture?

And, in spite of the sunshine and the good mood and the national soccer team doing well, there was no answer that could be found.
There were no reasons that could be given for shocking the readers so badly.

Only one answer could be given.
A rather silly one.

Don't know.




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Friday, June 11, 2010

a 25 minute blog

This is in a tremendous hurry.
Within 25 minutes the blog must have been written and published.

What is the hurry?
Is it a train that has to be caught?
A plane leaving soon?
An important meeting maybe with hotshots?
An escape from a coming disaster?
The Japs attacking with their Zeros soon?

Not all of that.
It is that the first match of this year's World Championship of Soccer starts in 20 minutes.
In South Africa.
For them comfortably at 4 pm but that is 8 am Mexican time.

The opening match happens to be South Africa playing Mexico.
Therefore, the Gonzales family at Punta Boca del Salado, Baja California switch on their small solar powered SKY-satellite TV.
And watch expecting, as Ismael said last night, Mexico to win 2-0 or even 3-1.

Of course not all the members of the Gonzales family are able to watch.
Ketcha has no strong interest in soccer to begin with and then there is her work in the kitchen: the men need breakfast.
And Gumaro has his cows to milk and these animals always have his priority.

It is Ismael and Juan Manuel and Edgar who watch.
Their work can wait.
Which is not much these days to begin with.

Juan Manuel has a big truck to transport sand.
But because building houses in this area, due to the economic crises, has come to a standstill, he hardly has work.
Ismael drives a water truck to supply the houses in the area of the rancho.
But the foreign owners of these houses are not coming anymore that often: they are struggling to make money where they live.

For the next two weeks it will be soccer to see.
The most interesting soccer because the championship is between national teams.
The players basically want to win for the glory of their country.
Not for their bank account as they are used to do.

Watching soccer on TV has been giving up a long time ago.
Once it was allowed that the teams of cities could buy players from anywhere in the world.
This has created the situation that teams from cities like Manchester in the UK and Madrid in Spain consist mainly of non-Madrid and non-Manchester players.
Even non-Spanish and non-British.
This has resulted in teams winning competitions who were having the most money.
Able to buy players from anywhere.

But now the US-team is composed of Gringo's only.
Playing the UK-team of only English guys tomorrow.
And Monday Holland boys play Danish boys.

Only 10 minutes left.
Have to run.
2-0 Ismael predicts.
Let's go and see.



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Saturday, June 14, 2008

A temporary nationalist


“Those fuckin’ assholes.

Those imbeciles, screw them”

These words sounded loudly in an area as much as about 2 miles around the rancho Punta Boca del Salado yesterday.
Obviously someone at the rancho was very upset about something.
Screaming at the tops of his lunges.

What was going on that caused someone to scream this language more likely heard in certain neighbourhoods of Chicago?

Yesterday was the important soccer match between the Netherlands and France.
This for the European championships for national teams.
After the Dutch team had beaten the strong Italians with 3-0 some days ago, expectations were high to see another fantastic match.
France has been World champion and recently Vice-World champion and plays excellent soccer.
But the Dutch demonstrated against the Italians that they have invented a new version of the “Mechanical Orange”.
Experts will know that the “Mechanical Orange” is a certain style and tactic of playing football that is new and innovative.
And spectacular to see.

Hence, the match of the Netherlands against France was highly anticipated by football lovers worldwide and that included the nomadic photographer.
Who could see the match on the small TV of the Gonzales family at Rancho Punta Boca del Salado.

The terrible anger came when after five minutes in the match, the program was abruptly interrupted for commercials.
That is worse than a blasphemy.
It is the most awful thing a TV company can do.
The football fans will hate the TV channel and the products of the commercials forever.
It was ESPN where this happened and never before has such brutality been experienced.
And of course, right during the first commercial, the team from the Netherlands scored their first goal.
Millions and millions of people were not able to witness this fabulous goal just because of some stupid commercial.

Ketcha Gonzales was amused by the outbreak of emotions and anger of their photographic friend.
She likes men that have temperament.

But the excitement about the fabulous match was poisoned by these commercials that came back a few times.

It is amazing that the decision was made to interrupt a soccer match to show commercials.
They know that everybody hates that.
That it is counterproductive.
That it leads to boycotting of the products advertised.

In most civilised countries they never show commercials during the match.
They may have logos and banners but the viewers can always follow the game without being interrupted.

This is vital.
Contrary to sports like baseball and basketball, any second something important can happen in a soccer match.
This is why baseball and basketball are so popular in the United States and hardly anywhere else.
Because most of the time in baseball nothing is happening.
And in basketball there are constantly time outs.
Therefore there is plenty of time to show commercials.
Hence, baseball and basketball are made popular on TV in the USA because it generates money.

With soccer this cannot be done and this explains why the poor Norte Americanos have no idea how spectacular soccer can be.

Meanwhile the Fuso Szulc cannot move until the 29th of June.
This is the day the final of the European Championships of soccer for national teams will take place in Vienna, Austria.
There is a high chance the team of the Netherlands will play in that final.
There is no other option then to stay at Punta Boca del Salado and with the Gonzales family to share with them this fascinating tournament.

It is rare to see football of this high level.
And the 25 % Dutch ancestry makes a temporary nationalist and deeper involvement.
France was beaten by the Netherlands by 4 – 1.





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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Having options.

It is truly convenient sometimes to be multi-ethnic.
Although it needs some shuffling in connecting events with the part inside that is linked to it.
Two days ago the national soccer team of Poland was playing the team of Germany.
This in a most exciting tournament now taking place in Switzerland and Austria to decide which national team is the best in Europe.
The result of Poland playing Germany was 0-2.
Not unexpected as the Germans are always playing very well.
But painful nevertheless.
Especially because the coach of the Polish players is the Dutch Leo Beenhakker.
Hence, this event hurts the 50 % Polish vodka and the 25 % Dutch cheese inside.
However, yesterday, the world champions Italy were playing the national team of the Netherlands.
This is quite a thrill when in a tournament already the very first match two of the best teams must compete.
Usually they are both very careful and strive for a 0-0.
To get their advantage playing less strong teams later.
But this time it was sensational.
The Dutch players dominated the match and excelled in a most painful way for the reputed Italians.
The team of the Netherlands devastated the Italians in skills, ideas, cleverness and motivation.
The end result was a 3-0 victory for the Dutch but it could have been 5-0 as well.
This is a very rare and historical match.
That one of two very strong teams is so outclassed.

Of course the 25 % Dutch part moved to the very centre and it was again remembered how grandfather has been a very successful business man who was the first to have in his town a house with an electric elevator and who gave a golden watch to each player of the local soccer team when they became champion.

So these days the “Polska”-banner is taken off the Fuso Szulc and the walking on the beach is now with a swing like if wearing wooden shoes.
On Friday the team of the Netherlands is to play France.
Another gigantic adversary that has been world champion as well.
If the Dutch play a draw or have another win, we have a future.

So, one may ask, what about the 25 % Belgium part?
Where is that?
Ever tried Godiva chocolate, eh?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

To learn more about Belgium chocolate, click on:

http://www.godiva.com/about/faq.aspx


To learn more about the current European soccer championships, click on:

http://www.euro2008.uefa.com/






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Monday, June 9, 2008

Beyond origins.

These days are the championships of soccer for the national teams of Europe.
It is being played in Switzerland and Austria and happening only every four years.

Anybody interested in soccer will watch the matches because it is so unique.
Soccer over the years has changed very much.
It has commercialised in a most excessive way.
Soccer clubs, like FC Barcelona and FC Manchester United, have become companies.
They can buy and sell players and this makes any connection to the country and the city where a team comes from irrelevant.
A team for a soccer club these days is a mixture of players from all around the world.
For example, it is very possible that in the team of FC Barcelona not one player is actually from Barcelona.
The bare reality is that the club in Europe that becomes champion is the club with the best management and the most money.
The club that managed to get the most money out of the sponsor market to buy the best players wherever they are.

It is not so with the national teams.
Players in the national team must have the nationality of the country they are representing.
The men playing for their national team are not doing this primarily for the money.
Nationalistic feelings, honour, pride and privilege are the motivating forces.
A player has the potential to become a national hero never to be forgotten.
That’s something money cannot buy.

Hence, the European championship for national teams is an occasion to see soccer not influenced by money.

In the Fuso Szulc is no TV.
This is on purpose.
However, on certain websites TV can be seen but because of the relative low transmission speeds of the Datastorm satellite system the image is of post stamp size and often disappearing.

Fortunately the Gonzales have a TV and a satellite disk paying Sky for programs.
Powered by solar energy.
The National Mexican Television transmits the European championships of soccer live.
Hurray for that.
There is a match in the morning and one in the early afternoon Mexican time.
This because of the time difference with Europe.

Today at 12.45 am the national team of Italy is playing the Netherlands.
Being Dutch for 25 % it is a match to see.
Besides the fact that they both have excellent players.

Another 25 % is Belgium but that country has not qualified for this competition.
The remaining 50 % are Polish and one would assume that therefore most nationalistic feelings go that way.
This is not the case though.
The Polish team is not so good and the fear is that to be nationalistic for the Poles will lead to tears and tragedy because most likely they will be eliminated in the first round.

This is the advantage of a person with a multi-ethnic background.
The option to switch to a team that potentially can be a winner.
To act like an opportunist without being one.

Cousin Jerzek from Nowy Sacz made a banner available that many Poles put from their bedroom window these days.
As a sign of support for their team although for sure they will not be successful.
Heroes in loosing.
So, the 50 % part of the blood forced to put the banner on the Fuso Szulc.


A demonstration of identification.
While the preferred and the only true identification is with oneself.
Beyond the origins.





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