My trip to Russia

I had the fortune to go to Russia with a great friend for six days during this World Cup. The fortune was mainly due to visiting a beautiful and friendly country with a great friend. The football was so and so...
Of course, due to the impossibility of getting tickets for the best matches, we took tickets to whatever we could get: Croatia-Iceland in Rostov-on-Don. I have to mention that when Argentina did not win their group, and Denmark were to face Croatia, Argentineans in every street corner of Moscow were offering tickets for the Denmark-Croatia match, as many had bought tickets thinking they would be group winners. Seems strange that I could have bought a ticket off the street from almost any Argentine, while at FIFAs website it was all but impossible...
The World Cup in Russia is well-organised: the FAN-ID system worked fine and there were volunteers to help fans all over the country. Getting to Rostov-on-Don we took Russian-Trains, 19 hours from Moscow in a sleeping wagon.
It was a splendid trip going South, with a nice albeit slow train with eating wagon and very friendly Russians throughout. Perhaps the greatest of the Western myths about Russia and its people is that they are not friendly, but this was quite the contrary throughout, and I am sure that this World Cup is by far friendlier than any pervious or future tournament in Europe or North America, especially from what we will see in the so-called "World Cup" of 2026.
Rostov-on-Don is a nice city in southern Russia that probably does not see that many foreign visitors. One local told me that the city had been thoroughly renewed (among others a new airport that is one of the nicest airport I have ever seen) and that the city seemed in perpetual holiday atmosphere with the World Cup. And indeed the atmosphere was great.
The stadium, Rostov Arena, is beautifully situated next to the Don River and on match day it was a lovely walk across the river to get to the stadium.
Croatia-Iceland was an ok match. Croatia, who did not seem to stretch themselves, were clearly a better team. Iceland, who clearly had more support among locals and neutral alike, fought bravely but were eliminated from their first ever World Cup. Besides the atmosphere, experiencing the famous Icelandic "Hu" Cheer was quite amazing in the stadium.
Fans are the best thing about the World Cup, because the vast majority are nice people out to have fun in the guise of "eleven-guys-kicking-a-ball-who-happen-to-share-your-passport". Petty nationalism is the worst of this (and any) World Cup, but it remains rather in the background as fans meet and have a pint and a laugh. We greatly enjoyed hanging with fans from Iceland, Croatia, Russia and Mexico (Mexicans were numerous everywhere). But here one must mention the so-called Fan Zones: The one in Rostov was frankly, -and excuse my expression-, shit. The Fan Zones are a highly protected corporate propaganda area with watered down beer and large screens. But do not be fooled that it is for football fans! We went to the Rostov Fan Zone when Portugal-Iran and Spain-Morocco were playing, but turns out they only show one match among their 50+ large screens!! It was Portugal-Iran, but there were a huge number of disappointed Spain and Morocco fans unable to watch their teams...
Frankly, that is a disgrace, such as the whole FIFA Fan Zone concept.
Instead, the best thing was to hang out in the many bars and pubs of any of the host cities: in Rostov-on-Don we watched France-Denmark and Peru-Australia simultaneously in a pub before heading to Rostov Arena, and in Moscow enjoyed Colombia-Senegal in a pub with plenty of beer and fans (mostly supporting Colombia).
Moscow is a lovely city and the atmosphere was also great, with an even greater variety of fans than in Rostov-on-Don (on the Red Square saw fans from every place, but particularly the Latin Americans were numerous). We had no tickets for any matches there, but did see England-Belgium in the Fan Zone. As any Fan Zone it was shit, but it was certainly worth the visit because it is the beautifully situated at the foot of Moscow Univeristy. Of course, we had the annoyance with the volunteers after the match, who sent us on a one hour walk to reach a pub, instead of advising us better. That was the biggest annoyance of the trip (I lost my phone on the second day, but being disconnected during the entire trip was in fact fantastic!), but should mention that besides those idiotic volunteers the rest were friendly, smiling and very helpful, just as the vast majority of Russians.
In the end, football should only be a meager excuse to see Moscow (or all of Russia for that sake). A gorgeous city with a rich history, it is worth a visit any time, and that is something I certainly take with me from this short visit: the wish to visit again! And whatever all the petty nationalism, FIFA, as well as poor and unfair football, this World Cup will be remembered for being a great one because it was in Russia!

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t jetlag

I have just traveled for 22 hours from El Salvador to Denmark. I arrived a few hours before the Denmark-Australia match. I fell asleep during the match. It was not because of the jetlag, but more because this was perhaps the match with the lowest quality of the entire tournament. Two very poor sides with low levels of technique and organisation.The only good thing in the match was Eriksen’s goal. And while Australia’s penalty can be said to be controversial (in my view it was), it is not the reason Denmark did not win. Denmark did not win simply because they were crap.
And I will sleep again.

Club America-Santos Laguna

Today I happened to be in Mexico City, and as America were playing at home on the Estadio Azteca I decided to go to watch the match.
There is something special about being at the mighty and impressive stadium where Pele and Maradona both lifted the World Cup trophy. Where Maradona and Carlos Alberto scored two the greatest World Cup goals ever!
So more than anything it was fantastic to be in this altar of the game.
The match between America and Santos Laguna was important as it was the last match of the league stage of the Mexican Championship, and with both teams qualified, America nevertheless wanted a good result to end with a lower standing opponent. Santos were above America before the match, so a tie was ok for them, and you could see it by the fact that they largely decided to park the bus (altthough Djaniny did create some dangerous chances) in particular in the second half, when America tried to put more pressure on the visitors. But two substitutes made the difference: The young Paraguayan Cecilio Dominguez (who was nevertheless a surprising non-starter) came on and got a penalty that the ex-PSG and Milan player Jeremy Menez (who came in after four weeks out due to injury) scored on to give them the victory.
America ends on second position (behind Toluca) and will be playing the seventh qualified team.

The America fans were great, but watching the Mexican league I still would love to see the splendid Chivas and Rayados fans. I have still not fallen for a Mexican team, but may still with time!

 

Real Madrid-Legia Warsaw

I am not a Real Madrid fan. But as a football fan it is important to visit all the great football venues, so as I happened to be in the Spanish capital I went into watch the Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Legia Warsaw.

It is indeed a place waded in history, proud and impossible to intimidate. The rowdy and loud Legia fans screamed like crazies, but nothing can intimidate experienced Real Madrid fans, who have seen everything, and who are really there to see THEIR own side play great football. In that sense Legia and their fans were just today's complementary extras. 

I have the greatest respect for Real Madrid fans, just as for Barcelona fans, and this visit confirmed it.

Real Madrid fans were interested in seeing the team after some poor performances. Although they won 5-1, the performance was not outstanding against a quite poor Polish team. Without Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos the team looked shaky in defence, where they gave away a silly penalty, and Keylor Navas made some fine saves. Cristiano Ronaldo had a bad day (and perhaps should have been taken out earlier) while the fans were happy to see some of the lads from the "cantera" come in and score in the second half: Lucas Vazquez scored and excellent goal on a pass by Alvaro Morata, while Morata himself scored the last goal.

Borussia Dortmund defeated Sporting Lisbon and are now leading the group, but it is clear that Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid will be the two sides to progress to the knock-out stages.

Interesting experience and I am now able to say that I have been at the legendary Santiago Bernabeu.

Netherlands-France

The best thing about visiting the Amsterdam Arena to watch the World Cup qualifier between the Netherlands and France were the always fantastic Orange fans. The same cannot be said for their home team, who losing 0-1 at home may be heading for another summer without participation in an international tournament. This may be like in the 1980s when the Dutch, after making it to the 1978 World Cup final did not qualify for the 1982 or 1986 World Cups or the 1984 Euro. We now had a Euro without the Dutch, and I frankly doubt that they can make it to Russia.

A pity because their fans will be missed.

In the meantime France, who should have been European champions, are looking strong. They still struggle in finding the right strikers to give them punch, but who cares when Paul Pogba is on fire and scores a great goal like he did against the Dutch!?

Poland-Denmark

I was in Warsaw and went to watch the 2018 World Cup qualifier between Poland and Denmark. Second match for both teams, where Denmark had opened with a 1-0 victory over Armenia and Poland had played 2-2 at home against Kasakhstan.

The atmosphere was great at the beautiful stadium in Warsaw (where they played the 2012 Euro final) and Polish fans were really behind their team. And in the first half they swept Denmark aside, leading 2-0 on goals by the fantastic Robert Lewandowski. Early in the second half Lewandowski made it 3-0 before Denmark scored two silly goals as Poland drew back, and let the Danes into the match, it became unnecessarily tense for the home side.

In the end Poland and Lewandowski prevailed to give them their first victory in the World Cup qualifiers, and us consolation hugs from Polish fans!

That said, if these are supposed to be the two top teams in the group, they have to do much better. Denmark lacks fantasy amid a lot of possession and Poland lack a defense that will not make you nervous. In the meantime Montenegro and Romania have become the teams to be beaten in this group (they both won 5-0 against Armenia and Kasakhstan respectively, teams Denmark and Poland struggled against).

FC Barcelona fishermen

Football transcends borders, and in the small fishing village of Marshall, in Liberia, I came across a number of fishing boats with football names. Andres Iniesta and Neymar were two of the nicest boats, decorated with FC Barcelona and Brazil colours respectively, paying homage to these two great players.

 

 

One boat also had the Chelsea logo on it. When I called him "Chelsea-man", all the other fishermen started laughing.
Football transcends borders; and so does making fun of Chelsea.

Monrovia traffic warning

Last week, at 7 AM, I was on my way to work in Monrovia. I usually pass by the Antoinette Tubman Stadium, but on this day, at that very early hour, the road was closed, causing an enormous traffic jam as cars were being re-directed around the stadium. The same happened in the afternoon, when closed roads led to more chaotic traffic congestions in the narrow pot-holed streets of downtown Monrovia.
The reason? At 4 PM Liberia were playing their first round World Cup qualifier against Guinea Bissau.
The match ended on a disappointing 1-1 for the Liberian fans, and before the away leg, I almost hoped that Liberia would be eliminated in order to avoid another agonizingly frustrating traffic jam.
But fortunately, there will soon be another traffic jam.
To many people's surprise, Liberia took a 1-3 victory in the away match against Guinea Bissau, with three goals by William Jebor, a 23-year old who is currently in the second Spanish Division club Ponferradina. Five goals in five matches for Liberia is not a bad statistic!
Liberia will now be facing none other than the African champions from Cote d'Ivoire! Also their neighbours, this has all the ingredients to be a dramatic match as the Liberians, highly motivated, will go for the upset!
Do not miss it! And plan for heavy traffic in Monrovia for November 12th!

The day I became Napoli fan

I have never had a favourites Italian team. Many years ago I used to follow the Serie A closely, but this ended with the corruption scandals surrounding Juventus in the mid-00s. As an avid Maradona fan I had also always sympathized with Napoli. But the lack of results and the fact that I had never visited Naples, caused me not to become a fan.
That has changed today.
I am visiting the beautiful city of Naples for the first time in my life and when I learned that Napoli was playing Lazio I immediately got a ticket for the legendary stadium of San Paolo, the temple where they adored Maradona. As much of the city, the stadium is somewhat worn down, but remains beautiful and imposing, and with a fantastic atmosphere provided by the Napoli supporters.

The team itself has not started the Serie A in the best way, without victories in their first three matches. But that changed tonight when they resoundingly defeated Lazio 5-0. What most impressed me was how they achieved the victory: high pressure and good passing. There were certainly some signs of weakness in the defense (which stronger teams than Lazio could punish), the attacking combinations were flowing through Hamsik, Allan and Jorginho, to very mobile offensive players like Insigne and Higuaín (Higuaín is not a player I am fond of, but I must admit that he played a great match scoring two excellent goals. He certainly loves playing against Lazio!).

The new coach Maurizio Sarri has now led his team to score 10 goals in the last two matches (last week they defeated Brugge 5-0 in the Europa League), and his side is starting to show the potential for what could be a great season for a great team and a great city.
And I will be cheering on them all the way!

Liberian chaos and delight

Every country I have lived in has done well in football while I am there, so I have expectations that this would happen to Liberia as well. And yesterday they were playing the first home match since the Ebola outbreak; a qualifier for the Africa Cup of Nations against Tunisia.
The match was not played at the main stadium, SKD, which is under renovation, but at the much smaller Antoinette Tubman stadium. Despite the never-ending rain I had bought myself a ticket for 50 USD, in the "around VIP" section. But when I got to the stadium one hour before the match it was complete chaos: people pushing through to get in whatever entrance; riot police that controlled nothing; and nowhere were there any Football Association assistants or ticket controllers to be seen. At some points it was outright scary, and at 4:30 PM (half an hour after match start) I gave up, as other Liberians with 50-USD tickets were loudly complaining that the Liberian Football Association would never refund the hundreds and hundreds of tickets that they probably have oversold.
It is sad for Liberia that their Football Association cannot even organize a football match...

Fortunately there are the Liberian footballers, normal Liberian guys who fight for their country, who managed to give them a not-entirely-expected 1-0 victory against Tunisia. I did not watch the match, but amid the chaos and heavy rain, I cannot imagine it was a good match, but who cares? Liberia are alive in the qualification: they lost their first match to Togo, but are still to face them and the underdogs from Djibouti at home, as well as what will be a difficult match in Tunisia.
That said, it is great that Liberia got some happiness for this fantastic victory!

 

National Football Museum in Manchester

I was in Manchester and Liverpool a couple of weeks ago. Whatever one goes there for, football is at the forefront, and I saw this not only as I went to two football matches, but also as I was looking for Manchester Cathedral. A small medieval church was totally overshadowed by a huge modern building dedicated to the new religion of the 21st century.
The National Football Museum in Manchester is free to visit, and houses the Hall of Fame of players in the English league, as well as a fine collection of football items, such as the ball from the very first World Cup match between France and Mexico in 1930, or the shirt worn by Diego Maradona when Argentina played England in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal (and one has to admire the English for displaying a shirt that surely awakens mixed feelings). The exhibitions are organised quite well, telling the history of football in England from different perspectives, and does not shy away from including issues such as hooliganism, stadium disasters, or racism and the fact that Women's football in England was not recognized until the 1970s.
The museum includes a whole section on games, but I did not dwell into it. That said, for any football fan/devotee it is surely a great place to visit, probably more than the cathedral besides the museum...

Liverpool-Basel

I went to the legendary Anfield stadium, home of Liverpool FC, for the Champions League match between the home team and Swiss FC Basel. Incidentally, Anfield is situated in Everton, not far from Goodison park, where the other Everton side plays.

I am not a Liverpool fan. But as a football fan one must be excited at visiting one of the most legendary stadiums in the world. And even for such a match: Liverpool was forced to win to go through!

And therefore, I believe I also had justified expectation of seeing a Liverpool side at its absolute best; of seeing a world class side run over a Swiss side that has otherwise done far too well in the CL for many years.

But as disappointing as Liverpool have been this season, as poor were they against Basel. In the first half Liverpool's performance unacceptable, more so considering the importance of the match. I've got to respect Liverpool fans for sticking with their team, because I am certain that such a performance in Spain would have made fans turn against their own side.

Bad doesn't describe how bad they were, while Basel were solid, had a clear plan, and knew what they wanted. Without too much of an effort they were leading 0-1 on a goal by an excellent Fabien Frey.

Things could only improve in the second half, and they did. Liverpool came out with more energy and pressure in the second half, and a splendid free kick by Liverpool's only genious, Stephen Gerrard, gave them 1-1, and hope, despite having lost Lazar Markovic to a silly (but in my view deserved) red card.

In the end, a couple of good chances were not enough, and Basel even had some good chances on the counter attack (Mignolet had one great save), so 1-1 was a fair result.

Very disappointing for a Liverpool side that simply does not have the quality that put them in the Champions League last season and I think Liverpool and football fans alike have the right to expect more from Liverpool.

That said, who needs to win when you have great fans? All repect for amazing Liverpool fans who are the ones to give Anfield its legendary atmosphere. Add to this some splendid Basel fans, where both sides sang and supported passionately but respectfully. Great to see it, and an inspiration to all fans!

Manchester City-Everton

After an all night flight from Monrovia via Brussels I was not too tired to go to watch Manchester City-everton at the absolutely beautiful Etihad stadium in Manchester. The home team won 1-0 on a penalty goal by Yaya Toure. Sergio Aguero got injured and both Joe Hart and Tim Howard had amazing saves.

But for me the best was to experience two great teams in the best league in the world.

The Day After the World Cup: Football Hangover

I had really wanted to go to this World Cup, but unable to get a ticket I did not go. Still, I enjoyed as much as I could, taking vacation for the entire tournament, traveling to seven countries and seeing matches in Liberia, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, England and Denmark. I spent time with great friends, met a lot of people, discussed football, cheered and celebrated no matter who won.
It was a lot of fun. And in the end the World Cup is and should be about that: fun and celebration.
Too many people take it too seriously. And this was surely one of the things I disliked a lot about this world cup: many people, who never bother to watch football between World Cups, got overly excited about the tournament. Too often people had opinions about matches that were more borne out of prejudices and conspiracy theories and not at all on football knowledge.

This World Cup was not bad. I do not share the opinion of those who say it was one of the best. It had some drama, moments and a couple of historical matches, but only a few more than the previous three world cups. It was a far cry from 1986, better than 1990 and 1994, and barely a bit better than 1998.
There were many goals in the first round, but not that many absolutely brilliant ones. Too many goals were from set-pieces or defensive errors. The knock-out rounds were more disappointing, with many teams that did not risk much in the offense (Netherlands, Argentina, USA, Costa Rica, Greece...). In my view only Germany and Colombia, and to a lesser degree Chile and Mexico, offered anything close to entertainment and willingness to take risk. In the end this is perhaps because of the disappointing performance of teams that we expected so much more from: Spain, Portugal, and most of all Brazil.
In the end it is a sad thing to remember this World Cup for: The worst humiliation ever of the great Brazilians. We will all keep speculating about what happened, but it did not give me any sense of satisfaction.

In the end I think this World Cup has further confirmed what I knew already: the four-year event is a show appealing to nationalist passions, and the drama it engenders is the only reason for the event.
In footballing terms it has lost its way.
The best football is what you see in the big European leagues. Club football out-shined national football a long time ago.
And the majority of players, global citizens of today, also know this...

As a spectacle for football fans the World Cup is also losing its way: this was not the world cup of football fans, but of rich nationalistic blood suckers of the people. Greed and power rules FIFA, who showed their enormous distance to fans by its inconsistent disciplinary standards, giving prizes where they were not justified, and inexcusable excuses for excesses.
FIFA not only exists in a glass house; that glass house is on another world, totally disconnected from what happens on planet Earth.
But the show must go on. And the show will be on again in Russia in four years...

Day 28 of the World Cup: Copenhagen, Denmark

Denmark did not qualify to the World Cup, but this has not dented world cup fever in this small Scandinavian country. In fact, it is nice to see the world cup with fans without a dog in the fight, who nevertheless understand the passion and enjoy to discuss the game.

On top of all this, it was a lovely sunny day in Copenhagen; one of those days where the streets are full of music, beer drinking, beautiful women and cheerful crowds. No city in the world is as wonderful as Copenhagen on a day like yesterday. It was the perfect build-up for the semi-final.

I must admit that after yesterday's Brazilian debacle (it is still hard to believe) I was not optimistic regarding Argentina's prospects in the semifinal against the Dutch. The Argentines have given a lot of space and have taken pace out of their matches. It seemed to me that Europe would totally conquer South America.

So that is why I decided to play it safe and not wear my Argentina shirt (four years ago I wore it for the Argentina-Germany quarterfinal in a bar full of Germans in Brussels, and that was not a good experience).

After the great day I went with a group of friends to watch the match at a beautiful area by the harbor of the city called Islands Brygge. This is where Danish TV, Danmarks Radio (DR), has set up a World Cup fan area with giant screens and beer sales. It is from there that the DR football pundits, led by the former player Peter Moller, comment on the matches.

This has also, during the tournament, become the place to watch matches with fans of all nationalities coming through Copenhagen. Yesterday was no exception with a large crowd of orange Dutchmen and another large crowd of noisy and partying Argentines, who sang and screamed their way through the match. I could not help to get more and more smitten by their passion, and was fully immersed in the match as it progressed.

The Dutch have been strange in this tournament. After their flying start against the Spanish World Champions, they became steadily worse throughout the tournament: it was as if the fear of losing won the farther they got, playing more defensively and lacking creativity in attack. We saw it in their controversial last minute win over Mexico and their disappointing 0-0 with the Costa Ricans, where they continuously ran into off-sides.

Against Argentina they did not seem to have improved, although a strong Argentine defense, that has grown throughout the tournament, must be credited. Javier Mascherano played a fantastic match as holding midfielder, and hopefully Barcelona is watching.

Argentina were indeed the better team, creating the few chances of a very tactical match. In the end it was the first 0-0 semi-final in World Cup history (we have had two historic semi-finals!), and penalty kicks were perhaps predictable. 

Argentina have always been good at penalties, and this time looked as good as every other, with Sergio Romerio saving two penalties. The Monaco keeper has been one of the stars of Argentina in this tournament, and hopefully he will find a new club and get more games after the tournament.

Yes, Argentina play boring, but this is not equal to playing badly. Rather it means that the Argentines do not risk much. And when their (for some) fearsome offensive power is marked closely, as it has been throughout the tournament, they look boring. 

But they are in the World Cup final; without playing violently, without referee help, without controversy. It has all been about hard work, concentration and consistency for Argentina. Germany are favorites after their trashing of Brazil. But this is not to say Argentina are without chances, and that Germany should underestimate them. Argentina will work hard and fight to the last drop to get the title in Brazil.

And I will be wearing my Argentina shirt for the final.

Day 23 of the World Cup: London, England

After a lovely day without football (there is a life!) in Paris, I took the famous train under the English channel to make it to London, England, to see fantastic friends.

Of course, since England was eliminated, there has been much less interest in the tournament, and there was a certain resignation, although the interest for the World Cup remains unabated in the country that, despite it all, remains the home of football.

I watched both quarterfinal matches in Brixton, a lively and diverse neighborhood in the lively and diverse city of London. 

Germany-France is a match between two sides that England would like to compare themselves to, but in the current state of the game, are actually quite inferior to. The clash between the two European sides was in many ways disappointing, considering the great matches previously seen between these two countries. But there was no doubt that the best side won, repeating what they had done to France in 1982 and 1986. With Mats Hummels back, it is not only the German defense that looks stronger, but certainly also the attack, with Hummels scoring the winning goal.

France has been a good team and will surely take a lot with them from Brazil, and will certainly be a team to watch for Euro 2016.

So it came down to Colombia-Brazil to decide who would face Germany.

There are many Colombians in Brixton, and the yellow shirt was seen a lot in the street. With my Colombian background I prepared with some Colombian beers and even an aguardiente before going to a the Local Brixton Come Together. It was a good mixed crowd of Brazilians, Colombians and other nationalities, all there to enjoy the football amid songs and friendly taunts.

Brazil played the best they have played in the tournament, and went ahead 1-0 after some dreadful defending by Colombia. Even though they tried, Colombia did not get to dominate midfield in the first half, just as they had done in previous matches. The second half started a bit later in Brixton as it started raining and the TV had to be taken inside. However, we did manage to see Colombia go forward more, but Brazil take a 2-0 lead with a fantastic 2-0 free-kick goal by David Luiz.

David Luiz is going the opposite way as I did these days as he leaves Chelsea to go to Paris St. Germain. I must admit I doubted whether he was worth it, but I take it back.

Colombia did everything to get back, and almost did it. James Rodriguez made it 2-1 on a penalty kick, and were denied a 2-2 goal by Mario Yepes in a somewhat strange situation, where an off side call was only given belatedly after a strange situation.

For their last pressure Colombia could have deserved an equalizer, but in the end Brazil won the match on a strong first half and solid defending. The referee was highly criticized by the Colombians (Colombians always need conspiratorial excuses for any defeat), and he was indeed very bad, but not decisive for the match. Indeed, in the worst attack of the match, where Juan Zuniga fractured Neymar's vertebrae, was not punished as severely as it should have been.

Neymar is out of the World Cup and that is a loss to all fans of great football out there.

A pity for the Colombians, but the semifinal between Brazil and Germany is the semifinal of legends, between the two greatest sides in World Cup history facing one another in what should be an epic match.  That said, with the few goals we have seen in the knock-out stages, it is perhaps more likely to end 0-0 and go to penalties.

I hope not.

In the end everyone had a great time in Brixton. So did I, and was happy to see a place where people of different nationalities can get together and enjoy a game where 22 men chase a leather ball in great spirit and friendship.

I am afraid this is rather the exception than the rule in most of the world.

Day 19 of the World Cup: Paris, France

The sun was shining in Paris, France, before their last-16 match against Nigeria. It was a city that nevertheless seemed to have more in itself; it was not draped in flags just as Belgium or Netherlands. Still, you could clearly see that the city would leave the cafes, restaurants and galleries at 6 PM.
I did some tourism and went to the Pantheon, where men and women who have contributed to the French nation are interred. Voltaire, Rosseau, Emile Zola, Alexandre Dumas and so on and so on. If France had a Pantheon of footballers it would also be full of greatness.
France is a great nation both on and off the football pitch. And one of the reasons I like France is that they know that winning a football World Cup does not make you a great nation. It is great fun to win it anyway!
I watched the match in a cozy small pub full of French fans in the Latin Quarter. Some fans sang the national anthem with pride and some reluctance. The extreme right has hijacked national symbols in France, and in much of Europe. While football remains one area where nationalism can be expressed across the political spectrum, overtly open expressions are done with reluctance.
The French suffered; Nigeria started best. But I think that the French were patiently waiting until their better form got them into the match. In the second half only poor striking and a fantastic Enyeama were making the French suffer.
And suffer they did until Paul Pogba released all the repressed frustration of the French fans with the first goal. When Antoine Griezmann made it 2-0 at the end, the entire bar was celebrating, and they even started to play Queen's "We are the Champions".
Talking about overdoing their celebrations...
It was fun, but there is one thing to dislike about France: their violence. Mamadou Sakho should have been expelled and suspended for the rest of the tournament against Ecuador. And today Blaise Matuidi joined that list by an outright brutal tackle on Ogenyi Onazi that saw the Nigerian being carried out with a serious injury.
Matuidi did not get a red card, but if FIFA is serious about fair play, he should also be suspended.
But FIFA only suspends Luis Suarez...
I asked a Frenchman whom they preferred to face in the quarterfinals: Algeria or Germany? He said "Algeria" without hesitation. When I asked whether it was because they thought they could beat him, he just laughed and did not reply. I was in a pub called "The Bombardier", and most people supported Algeria. It could also be because Algeria has so many players who are French-born.
Could France have defeated that fantastic and fighting Algerian side that was eliminated by Germany? We will never know. But truth is that it was one of the best 0-0 matches I have seen, not least because of two outstanding goalkeepers: Rais M'Bolhi and Manuel Neuer. The former had many impossible saves, while the latter acted as much as a sweeper, saving the slow Mertesacker against the pressure of the Algerian players.
You could see the relief of the Germans when Andre Schurrle scored. While the Algerians tried to push forward you could sense that they had no more energy after their heroic match. The last two goals for Germany and Algeria respectively, were more an expression of how tired everyone was.
The French fans are satisfied nevertheless. Everyone is proud of what Algeria achieved. And certainly, they softened up the Germans before they are to face France!

What a great football day in wonderful Paris!

Day 17 of the World Cup: Berlin, Germany

I missed seeing a match with their national team in the football country of Europe, Germany. But I did arrive  as they had opened the biggest fan zone in Europe, right at the Brandenburger Tor, in a feast of football with beer, curry wurst, and most important of all, many of the awesome people from Berlin, capital of a country which is in a clear world cup mood, full of (justified) expectations about their possibility of winning the title.

With its beer, its culture, its people, Germany is already the most fantastic country! Do you also need to win a world cup!?

Spent the day wandering the streets of Berlin, dwelling into its sad history and all the architectural renewal, where the past is not forgotten but the future is celebrated. At 6 PM I was with a beer at the Hyundai Fan zone. There were most Brazilians, only a few Chileans, and quite some Colombians (myself arriving with a Colombia shirt as well). Brazil has wide support everywhere; they are impossible not to like. But Chile won many friends today as they played a passionate and outstanding match. Technically, they were at the level of the Brazilians, and even played a type of football that I could imagine that the Brazilians would like to see their team play. Only in glimpses, mostly from Neymar, did we see Brazilian skills. Then, Alexis Sanchez' goal was the best show of how one punishes a defensive mistake. In the end Pinilla hit the crossbar, which could have eliminated Brazil.

The tension of the penalty kicks was felt even in Berlin, where dark clouds covered the city, and the mood became one of somber nerves before the party exploded. So much adrenaline was released during these penalty kicks! Brazilians celebrated, and Chileans had no reason to cry. One great South American nation was bound to lose out.

The veteran Julio Cesar saved the day. But Brazil should be nervous about how their young players could not handle pressure. The tournament will only get more difficult and the burden greater. And next the Brazilians will have to face the sensational Colombians!

The Colombia match lacked the drama and intensity of the Brazil-Chile match, but had the outstanding play of Colombia facing the always-waiting Uruguayans.

Could Colombia defeat Brazil? Absolutely. Their team has been a strong unity, and in James Rodriguez they have a super-star at the level, at least, of Neymar and Messi. In my view, James Rodriguez has outshined them both. His first goal against Uruguay was a superb individual effort, while the second goal was a superb team effort. 

The magic potion in football is to blend Individuality and group considerations into a whole. Colombia is so far the team that has managed this best in the World Cup.

Uruguay was no match for the Colombians, and sadly, Uruguay did not win many friends in the tournament which will largely be remembered for Suarez. That said, they are another great nation eliminated today, and I look forward to seeing them again.

In the meantime, let us celebrate with the Brazilians and Colombians! I did so shamelessly!

Day 7 of the World Cup: s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

After the amazing victory of the Netherlands over the World Champions, I thought I would visit a friend in the Duke's Bush, or s-Hertogenbosch, in the Netherlands, to watch the match that the orange side would play against Australia. Taking the train from Brussels, it is often not immediately obvious that you are changing country, but for the fact that the colours displayed on windows suddenly changed from red to orange.

On my way to s-Hertogenbosch I decided to do a bit of exploring, and went off the train in the small and lovely city of Breda, where I visited the Gothic church of Grote Kerk, where the ancestors of the house of Nassau-Orange are buried. The football connection is undeniable, as this is where the use of orange for the Dutch national team comes from. Indeed, the beautiful Grote Markt in front of the church was decorated with orange colours in preparation of the match.  And you could feel the World Cup fever getting higher as more and more people dressed in often creative orange garments would appear on the train to s-Hertogenbosch.

Another lovely Dutch city, I was received by a great Dutch friend who gave me an orange shirt and a cape adorned with the Dutch lion. I blended completely into the orange sea of people who we joined at one of the lively pubs showing the match in downtown s-Hertogenbosch.

The Dutch are committed; the national anthem was sung with loud national pride. And I must mention that Dutch ladies are the most beautiful football fans I have come across. The Netherlands wins on almost all fronts, if not on their tiny beers.

But the Dutch suffered. And here I must be honest; I was caught on by the Dutch, and celebrated their every goal (how could you not with beautiful Dutch girls celebrating all around you?), but at the same time I was happy they were suffering a bit, as the match then got much more interesting for... me.

In the end, it is all about me.

Australia are no pushover. They have proved that again and again, and therefore it is amazing to see that some countries, notably arrogant Europeans and South Americans, are again and again taken by surprise. I do not know if this was the case of the Dutch, who were a shadow of themselves in the first half. They were slow, imprecise and uncommitted. It was not deserved when they went ahead, but Tim Cahill's equalizer was fully deserved. And how ironic that a goal so fantastic that one would have expected to come from the feet of the great Dutch, came from an Australian!

The Dutch improved a lot in the second half, but had to suffer more when Australia went 2-1 up. In the end Van Persie and the young Memphis Depay gave them a deserved victory, and depending on the result between Spain and Chile, the Dutch could be the first team to qualify for the last-16.

Chile won 2-0 over the defending World Champions. Spain joins France in 2002 and Italy in 2010 as World Champions who have been eliminated in the first round. This Spanish golden generation gave the world of football a lot, but fell from greatness due to lack of preparation and respect for their opponents. I am sorry to say this, but the responsible is not Iker Casillas, Xavi, Diego Costa, or any of the players, but Vicente del Bosque. He did not set a team according to the opponents, whom he did not bother to study. Had he, Mr. Del Bosque would have known that Chile were a team to be reckoned with. Just being Spain is not enough to win a match; this is also to disrespect your opponents. As much as the Spanish team will be remembered as one of the greatest side ever, Chile did the world a favour.

Chile and the Netherlands will be playing for first spot in the group in what will be a great match. 

The last match of the day was Croatia-Cameroon. Cameroon proved to be perhaps the poorest side of the World Cup. They do not play like a team and are as committed as a cock to monogamy. Croatia's victory was too easy, and not too small. I guess we have all been expecting a lot from Cameroon since 1990, but truth is that since then they have gone out every time in the first round, and suffered some humiliating defeats. Of all those bad Cameroon sides, this is surely the worst of the lot.

Croatia will face Mexico in the last group match, a clash that will decide who goes on to the next round.

In my orange cape I have celebrated the Netherlands, and hope they get far, just because of this great day I had amid the awesome (and stunning) Dutch fans! Hup Holland Hup!

Day 6 of the World Cup: Brussels, Belgium

Landing in Brussels you could feel the World Cup atmosphere. There were flags and signs about the Red Devils everywhere. For a country so divided, it is amazing to see that the power of football can unite it in such a way. Football is one of the only reasons that the country remains united.

Belgium is not only a very nice country, but their football team has always been over-performing underdogs. In the 1980s they were surely among the world's best; I did see Belgium shirts with Mexico 86 on it, a year where they made it to the semifinals, where only Maradona's genius tore them apart. Their last World Cup appearance was in 2002, so they are eager to return to the world with their much touted side.

I watched the match in a crowded bar on Place Luxembourg, a square where the European elites hang out before and after they have been doing their things. It is a fun place to watch football as there are usually people from all over the world, but this day the square was wonderfully red in the Belgian colors.

It seems the Belgians suffered more than they had  expected. The Algerians were packed in the back, barely daring to move forward. In what was almost their only attack the referee gave them a  very doubtful penalty with which Sofiane Feghouli  brought the North Africans ahead.

The Belgian fans were suffering as their team pushed forward against a white wall. In the second half Marc Wilmots made two changes: Dries Mertens and a young Divock Origi came on. To everyone's surprise Romelu Lukaku went out. But Wilmots was right.

It was Marouane Fellaini who broke the wall when he scored with his hair, and ten minutes before time the Belgians for the first time caught the Algerians in the counter-attack, and Dries Mertens made it 2-1.

The Belgians in Place Luxembourg celebrated as if the World Cup had been won. This was really football passion! In fact, later, downtown Brussels was also full of celebrating fans with a lot of police guarding or rather protecting the smallest group of Algerian fans.

Happy for Belgium, I felt a bit sorry for the Algerian fans; but their team was not very good to look at.

I stayed in Place Luxembourg, less crowded for the Brazil-Mexico match. There was a group of lively Mexicans who saw goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa be the star of the match with some fantastic saves. At the same time Brazil was very disappointing, although you have to grant the Mexicans that they have always had a good take on Brazil. But 0-0 is always a disappointment when we talk about Brazil, and the home side must impress more if they are not to start losing fans.

I watched the last match in a rowdy and a bit scummy bar in downtown Brussels. It was a match that could have gone to both sides, so 1-1 between South Corea and Russia is well-deserved, although the Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev must like Coreans because he gave them a goal. In the end it plays into the hands of the Belgians, who are leading the group and despite the problems they had, they can beat both South Corea and Russia.