2024 footballing memories

For me 2024 has been an intense year, full of emotions and changes on the personal level, but also at the footballing level, and I have probably been a bit lazy and lacking passion in terms of this blog that I have now had for 20 years, but there are certainly some footballing experiences, good and bad, worth recalling:

• El Salvador-Inter Miami: I was living in El Salvador in January, not knowing where I would be at the end of the year. The Salvadoran national team is poor, very poor, and only appear to have become worse during the years I spent in the small but charming Central American nation. It was therefore with a lot of expectation that Inter Miami, with Lionel Messi, went to San Salvador to face El Salvador in an exhibition match. Despite totally overblown prices (that is why I decided not to go) there were huge expectations (the President even met the team) for a hugely disappointing and boring 0-0 match during which Messi was substituted at half-time. The match reminded me of the modern hype around one player...

•  Inter Miami-Nashville: But I did see Lionel Messi this year; I went to visit friends in Miami, and we went to the old Fort Lauderdale Strikers' ground to see Messi, Suarez, Busquets & co. play against Nashville in the MLS. Inter Miami is first and foremost a merchandising machine and only secondly a football club, and they lack many real fans who do not go to see Messi. Without the superstars Inter Miami are at most a second-rate side. The match and its surroundings was a very polished and organised affair with the required goals by Messi and Suarez, but completely lacking a passionate atmosphere. I enjoyed the evening, but hope this is not the future of football.

• Cruz Azul-Pumas: By the month of October I had finally left El Salvador and moved to Mexico, with its excellent Liga MX and went to my first match at the Olympic Stadium by the UNAM, to watch the Pumas take on Cruz Azul. The atmosphere was splendid, totally different from the polished match in Ft. Lauderdale: crazy songs, passion and a lot of emotion. Cruz Azul won easily and ended first in the league, but they nevertheless did not manage to win the championship. That said, I look forward to watching many more Cruz Azul matches!

• Alianza-FAS: It was not all a loss. During my many years in El Salvador I had never chosen a team to support. But that came on a day in May when I went to see the best team from San Salvador, Alianza, play their arch-rivals from Santa Ana, FAS, on the second leg of the final of the Salvadorean championship. Alianza won the match 2-1 amid a fantastic atmosphere where the numerous FAS fans were annoying, but I happily rejoiced in the triumph alongside the many charming Alianza fans!
  

• Brøndby-AGF: My team in Denmark is and always will be Brøndby! This season they were doing well in a very closely-fought league with the Wolves of FC Midtjylland, but in the end Brøndby had it all in their hands; all they needed to win the league was to defeat AGF in their last match at home. I was in El Salvador and full of expectations as I watched the match in the morning at the beach in El Tunco. I was proudly wearing my Brøndby shirt, only to have a very disappointing morning that ended with consolation beers: Brøndby lost 2-3 at home, and the championship went to FC Midtjylland (and a tiny consolation that at least it did not go to FC Copenhagen).
  

• Denmark-Germany: I was back in Denmark for most of the Euros, and watched the Denmark-Germany in Viborg with some great friends. Although the match was won by Germany amid some controversial VAR calls, there is little doubt that Germany were the better team overall, and in the overall view of the tournament Denmark was disappointing, most of all in the first round where I felt Denmark gave away matches against weaker sides (Slovenia and Serbia) and never played the counterattacking football that I think Denmark has always been good at. Kasper Hjulmand finally resigned as manager after the tournament and hoping for a better style in the future.
  

• Scotland-Germany: I was in Glasgow for the opening of the Euros. Wonderful atmosphere amid the charming Scots who are impossible not to support; I did buy a Scotland shirt! Unfortunately their marvelous support was not translated into their style, and in the opening match (that I watched in a pub in Glasgow) they were outplayed by a great German side. 5-1, and even the Scot goal (their only shot on target during the match) was scored by a German, an own goal. But Scots are living proof that to be World Champions it is not necessary to win at football.
  

• Spain-England: Personally the Euro final was not my dream final, but there was no doubt that I supported Spain in their 2-1 victory against an admittedly good English side. That said, except for one of my cats, it is difficult to support England. I watched the final at my house in San Salvador, barbecuing some choripanes with the few people who accepted my invitation to come over. Good times.
  

• Colombia-Argentina: Two countries that I love very much both in- and outside football faced one another in the 2024 Copa America final in Miami. I was very much looking forward to a clash full of passion and good football, but was not ready for the chaotic and hateful atmosphere that day in Miami and on social media. Argentina won, but both countries in reality lost, and most of all football lost. The racist chanting of the Argentineans after the match (and they refused to apologize, instead defending the indefensible) only added to a final that most of all saddened me.
  

• Real Madrid-Manchester City: I was widely disliked at my office in San Salvador, and one of my few joys was escaping during the Champions League afternoons to a small taco-restaurant to watch matches over lunch. One of these matches was the CL quarterfinal 1st leg in April 2024 when the two giants from Real Madrid and Manchester City tied 3-3 in Madrid (the return match in England ended 1-1 and Real Madrid progressed after penalty kicks). You can say anything about these teams, but they do give high quality entertainment, and this match was memorable, probably the best of the year seen with objectivity.
  

• Real Madrid-Borussia Dortmund:I watched Real Madrid win their 15th European Champions title at my local Cadejo bar in Santa Elena in San Salvador. Most people in the bar were supporting Real Madrid, but I was supporting Dortmund, a great club that has not had a good year. The Germans were better in the first half, but when you do not score, Real Madrid is always bound to punish you, and they surely did by scoring two goals in the second half, and me enjoying more Cadejo beers!
  

• Santa Tecla-CD Firpo: The only time I went to the stadium of "Las Delicias" in San Salvador was to watch the low-rated Santa Tecla team play CD Firpo in the Salvadoran league. I went spontaneously, just wanting to watch a match in the midst of a stressful period in my life, and I was fortunately rewarded with a fantastic match that ended 3-3 and a great atmosphere in the small but charming "Las Delicias". One of those low-expectation football experiences that just turns out to be perfect.
  

Let me wish you all a wonderful 2025; no matter who you support, may you and your team first and foremost live the joy of football, the sweetness of victory and losing with dignity! 

It is just a game, and beer is the fuel!

Good luck to us all.

The Right to Play

Women have historically not had it easy in the male-dominated world of football, and only in the 1970s did most countries lift bans on women's football. I just listened to a very interesting podcast from Danish Radio, "Retten til Fodbold" ("The Right to Football") that through two Danish stories told about the challenges and discrimination faced by women in football.

The first story is an interview with Lone Hansen, a Danish player on the 1970 Danish National team that won the first women's World Cup in 1970, and facing the discrimination from the Danish Football Association (DBU) decided to become one of the first professional female players in Italy, in 1971, when she went to play for Fiorentina, where she stayed for four years, but never received any recognition in Denmark, where DBU only allowed women football after pressure from UEFA in 1972 (and even despite the fact that Denmark had won the Unofficial Women's World Cup in 1971).

The second story is more recent, and is that of the Afghan-born Danish player Nadia Nadim. Born in Afghanistan she experienced the Taliban takeover and her family had to flee to Denmark, where she was able to play football, and was spotted early on by scouts and was invited for the Danish National team despite all the discrimination she faced as a woman, but also as a refugee. Nadia Nadim went on to become a superstar and has been capped 104 times for Denmark!

Even today women face discrimination in football despite huge advances, and it is clear that this even happens in Denmark, and the amazing story of these two strong women is a welcome reminder, besides it being amazing stories.

Liverpool in the lead

I don't have a favourite Premier League side, but over the years I have come to sympathize with Liverpool and despise Tottenham (as to the reason, that would be worth another post one day). So it was with interest that these two sides faced another in the Premier League.

A lot of people have talked about the fact that Tottenham under Ange Postecoglu (who apparently sees himself as a modern day Gladiator modeled on the very "historically accurate" Russel Crowe) are playing entertaining football; but entertaining football is not to play without defense! And we saw that yesterday as Tottenham's defense was virtually inexistant as Liverpool played around and was ahead 3-1 by halftime on goals by Luis Díaz, Alexis MacAllister and Dominik Szoboszlai, and one lucky strike for Tottenham by James Maddisson.

But not much changed in second time as Mohammed Salah scored twice to make it 5-1. In the meantime, Tottenham's tactics appeared more to be about playing so badly that Liverpool would fall asleep, and then be lucky to score; sadly it worked as Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scored rather lucky goals before Luis Díaz fortunately closed off scoring the final 6-3 goal.

With the bad runs of Manchester City and Arsenal (not to say Manchester United who lost 0-3 at home to Bournemouth!) Liverpool arrives at Christmas securely on first spot four points ahead of Chelsea, while Tottenham are on 11th place, which is not a position too high.

The coming World Cups

 It was announced this week that the 2034 World Cup will be hosted by Saudi Arabia. This has engendered a lot of criticism due to the fact that Saudi Arabia has many democratic and human rights problems. Well, I think it is not a new issue as FIFA has awarded tournament's before without any political or human rights considerations, but rather cold-hearted economic calculations. 

FIFA is first and foremost a money machine, and this has probably been the main criteria in selecting Saudi Arabia. That said, other concerns risk undermining the quality and love we fans feel for the World Cup, and one of these changes will already be seen at the 2026 World Cup in USA-Mexico-Canada: the 48 team tournament is just too big, too many teams, too many mediocre matches that will be watched mainly by people from the nations playing them... With already too many tournaments and too many matches, the World Cup risks drowning in the infinity of choices; it will no longer be special...

Secondly these multi-host tournaments that will in 2030 include three "main" hosts (Spain, Morocco and Portugal), with additional matches to be played in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. 

It is simply too much, too massive.

Perhaps a symbol of our time when everything needs to be bigger and more extravagant, but I can assure one thing: despite the social media hype it will not be better than the World Cups that made my generation dream and love football.

I will of course keep watching the World Cups; I even hope that I will be able to get tickets for 2026 in Mexico through the murky and elitist FIFA ticketing procedures.

That will be another challenge...

America champion

 This year I moved to Mexico, and I have adopted Cruz Azul as my team. They ended 1st in the league, but that is not enough to be champion in Mexico where, after the league, they go into playoff matches and a final. Cruz Azul was eliminated by their local rivals for Mexico City in the semifinals after an intense 3-4 loss, and America faced Monterrey in the two-legged final.

America won 2-1 in Mexico City, and last night they took the title away in an intense atmosphere in Northern Mexico. They went ahead after half an hour by a splendid long-range strike by the Paraguayan midfielder Richard Sanchez. Monterrey pressured, and did get chances, but America were also incredibly dangerous on the counterattacks. It was only five minutes before the end of the match when Colombian striker Johan Rojas equalized on another outstanding strike. Monterrey attacked like crazy and even hit the post, but it ended 1-1, and America won the third consecutive title in a row.

I must admit that I am not too fond of this league format with playoffs and a final: America did not have a good season and had in fact only ended 8th in the league, barely making the playoffs, but now they were crowned champions despite it all.

Well, another season is coming...

Some good Champions League matches (despite it all)

I have already said that I dislike the new format of the Champions League, so I will not dwell into that, but just that I enjoyed this week's CL football which I had the fortune to watch in full as I am in Denmark on vacation.

Real Madrid have been lazy in the tournament and appeared to have their back against the wall as they faced Atalanta in Bergamo. Atalanta, on the other hand, are riding on a wave, as they were second in the CL league and first in Serie A before the match, at home.

But Real Madrid did what they have done so often: won 3-2 in a match where they were not the better side, but were efficient and punished mistakes. Kylian Mbappe, who has not been at his best, scored a splendid first goal early on, with Atalanta deservedly equalizing only on a penalty by Charles de Ketelaere in the last seconds of the first half. Real Madrid put more high pressure on Atalanta's defense in the second half, something that clearly made the Atalanta defenders nervous, and it was this high pressure that gave Vinicius Jr. an easy chance on a rebound that he did not let go to waste. The Nigerian striker Ademola Lookman was a threat throughout the match, and he made it 2-2, and one felt that the tide was now with Atalanta, but Jude Bellingham made it 2-3 on a quick counterattack which caught the Italian defense on a wrong foot.

The Spaniards fought for the victory as the Italians pressured, but carried the day in a good match thanks to the "BMV" (Bellingham-Mbappe-Vinicius).

The other match I watched was between the giants Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona. First half ended 0-0 with Barcelona creating more chances, but not dominating, before the second half where Hansi Flick proved the smartest with his substitutions. Raphinha brought Barcelona ahead 0-1, but barely five minutes later Dortmund was awarded a penalty on a really stupid foul by Pau Cubarsi, and Guinean striker Serhou Guirassy equalized. 

Then Flick substituted three of the most important offensive players: Dani Olmo, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha all left the pitch for Fermin Lopez, Frankie de Jong and Ferran Torres. Only five minutes later Ferran Torres scored for Barcelona in what seemed renewed dynamism on the Catalan side, but again Guirassy striked back for Dortmund to make it 2-2. Five minutes to go, and Lamine Yamal appeared with an absolutely splendid pass to Ferran Torres who did not disappoint to make it 2-3 and a victory for Barcelona, who are now second, after Liverpool, in the 36-team CL table....