My Father would have loved it

 My father has recently passed away. His funeral was a beautiful ceremony on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Nyborg, Denmark. Amid the grief, I had forgotten that Denmark was playing Portugal in the Nations League that same evening, a match that my father surely would have watched, although lately Denmark has not been as good as we would have hoped, and I must admit that I did not feel much like watching the match played in Braga, but did anyway.

Perhaps it was the Danish National team’s way of saying goodbye to Father, who had seen Ole Madsen play against Sweden, loved the 1986 side, and celebrated the 1992 triumph, but Denmark were fantastic against the number five National team in the world. Denmark went deservedly ahead on a penalty kick by Pierre Emil Højbjerg (it was in my opinion not a penalty though, one of those involuntary handballs that VAR tends to always call), but in the second half destroyed Portugal completely with two excellent goals by Rasmus Højlund and a header by Joachim Andersen. The consolation goal by Bernardo Silva in the 93rd minute meant nothing.

Denmark were superior, a great match, and I know my Father enjoyed watching it from Heaven.

Champions League record

Today Como 1907 played against RC Lens in a Champions League match that many would probably not have looked at. Although Como, managed by another Spanish genius manager, Cesc Fabregas, has been one of the most exciting surprise sides in the CL this season, and were probably favourites against the French side, what happened was totally unexpected. Como defeated the home side 1-9, in what is the biggest score in Champions League history. Although Lens had a penalty call overturned early on in the match (in my view correctly, one of those involuntary handballs that should never be called but are too often), it was really total dominance by the Italian side, for whom the Greek striker Anastasios Douvikas scored three goals, with captain Lucas Da Cunha and the elegant Argentine midfielder, Nico Paz, also netting some of the many goals. The last goal was by the only 18-year old Italian Matteo Papaccioli, on his first match for the senior side, and hopefully the start of a great career.

Como are an exciting side, and no matter what happens for them in the tournament, they have already written themselves into the CL history books.

Valdano’s reflection

The death of the Tenerife player Miguel de Angel is a huge tragedy, for the player, his loved ones, and I think every person is shocked by what seemed such a meaningless death. I cannot express the tragedy better than Jorge Valdano, who in a piece in El Pais wrote eloquently about it, but also expressed the need for not looking for culprits in a society obsessed with blame:

“No one and nowhere is safe from an accident. Perhaps, our inability to explain chance moves us to look for culprits. It is difficult for us to admit that a misfortune of this magnitude does not have a culprit. A collision of someone looking for the ball against someone who, foreseeing a crash, tries to defend himself, is part of the unpredictability of football. An urgent and innocent action to which the consequences make tragic. Life is full of them. Football is not, and that is why we are bewildered. Let's not look for culprits. For so much pain, a victim is enough”

RIP Miguel de Angel.

Finally a victory

Valencia are second to last in the Spanish league, but today they got their first victory under the Mexican manager Javier Aguirre. They defeated Elche, third-to-last, on a 0-1 goal by the Nigerian Umar Sadiq. Of course such a victory brings a feeble hope, but I have little confidence in Mr. Aguirre, who may have been a great manager in Mexico and with the Mexican national team, but who has a more mixed experience managing Spanish sides (Osasuna, Atletico Madrid, Leganés, Mallorca). Perhaps the best for a formerly great team like Valencia is to go down and get some humility, but it is generally disappointing for a club that used to be one of the best in Europe.

Smart Mourinho

Amid the Catrina parade in Mexico City I found a place to watch the clásico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. I must admit that it was not the best of these classic encounters, as FC Barcelona, having been strong in the league, were pressed by a disciplined Real Madrid side, where Mourinho had studied his adversaries well. Barcelona's stars were pressed high in midfield, and Real Madrid constantly threatened by splendid Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande. Both Real Madrid's goals by Kylian Mbappé were the results of that pressure, forcing mistakes on Barcelona's defenders (add a bit of luck of course). While Raphinha had equalised for Barcelona, Real Madrid's first league victory at the Camp Nou since 2021 was fully deserved, and it gives an extra degree of excitement for a league that has seemed to be heading to Barcelona.