Last week, on the evening these two great teams were playing in the Champions League quarterfinals, I was invited for a reception at the Royal Danish Embassy in Ghana, to meet the visiting Danish Mister of Development. What should I choose? To mingle among my countrymen whom I can talk work with? Or after a long day of work, go to Champs Sports Bar (Accra) and watch these great teams?
I went to watch the game.
The match wasn't great. Liverpool did what they had to do, and did it well. The Juventus attack was a disappointment in the face of Mr. Benitez' disciplined side. Liverpool deserves to be in the semifinal, but will almost certainly have their hands full against Chelsea.
And just an anecdote from the game:
Americans are not known for being great "soccer" fanatics, in spite of the growth of the sport in the United States. Now, I was joined in Champs for this game, by a good American friend. She seemed interested in following what was going on, and in situations like that, I am only too happy to share my football-knowledge. At one point, she asked "Why is the referee kicking that other guy?". I let the question go, but then she said "the referee seems really involved. What is his role?". At this point I realized that she thought Juventus players, with their black and white striped shirts, were referees... "Well, in the US the referees in games wear black and white stripes", she tried to defend herself. But at this point, I was already cracking up in laughter.
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