Oh how the mighty fall. As I watched the World Cup final unfold with my ten year old son, I thought back to the 1974 final, when the Dutch mesmerised us with total Football. What message would my son and the millions of other youngsters watching around the world got if they'd won this time? Watching the Dutch systematically hack down player after player I started to dread what might be unfolding. There is no way that it could have been good for football.
As the dust settles, I was trying to think of my highlight of the competition? I think it was Paul, The Psychic Octopus.
3 comments:
Perhaps the octopus could take over decision-making in Barnet Council. It seems pretty random already, though.
Rog
I had not watched a single game of this World Cup before last night. Professional footballers, like our politicians, are in the main deeply unpleasant people who have destroyed the so called beautiful game with their manifest greed and cynical cheating, and they have ruined the game for me.
But the World Cup Final is a special event and I watched it with my 15 year old nephew. By half time, however, he was more interested in texting his friends than watching the game. On paper, this should have been a great match with two countries renowned for their creativity and attacking prowess, but sadly the Dutch players decided to cheat their way to victory. Happily they failed.
It is hard to believe that a country which has produced such sublime talent as Yohan Cruyff and Dennis Bergkamp should now give the world Nigel de Jong, who not only should have been red carded for his appalling tackle on Xabi Alonso, but should also have been prosecuted for assault. It was a disgraceful thing to do in the biggest game in the football calendar.
But rather than apologising for his team’s behaviour, the Dutch Coach has decided to blame the referee Howard Webb instead. Unbelievable! It’s rather like a council leader blaming junior officers for losing £27 million in Iceland when all along he was the one who failed to read his reports. If Webb is guilty of anything, it is of being too lenient. Perhaps FIFA should ban the Netherlands from the 2014 competition. This might concentrate the minds of all players in future.
@baarnett that would be no good. Truly random decisions would include a mix of good and bad ones... Barnet Council seems only to make bad decisions!
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