What a great match we saw yesterday! Have you seen a better 0-0 draw (decided by the best set of penalties you will ever see)? This was an amazing, amazing match. Loved every minute of it.
More power to the Confederations Cup!
And the English paper reports will always be this underwhelming (Link Here). The English do the Premier League; the English do goals; the English do 90 minutes of headless-chicken-ness. This match was not that. This match was a paean to football the game, as opposed to football the public spectacle.
And yes, I’m a snob.
—-
On the same theme, do read this article about Spain’s new-found love for the #10 diminutive playmaker. (Link here), extract below.
…. the famed La Masia academy which gave birth to the tiki-taka philosophy; the blueprint of which is seen as largely responsible for the technical emphasis Spain switched to at youth level. Years later, the Furia Roja is no more; a conscious effort was also made to strip out the fury. Now Spain’s ‘La Roja’ are benefitting from the vast rewards and have seemingly managed to create a modern-day number 10 cloning facility such has been the regularity of which they are now producing playmakers of a similar ilk – Iniesta, Mata, Fabregas, David Silva, Cazorla – would this diminutive lot have been produced if the emphasis was all on furia?
Sporting thoughts and otherwise ... 