Afterthought

I did not care much about the final as I was traveling. That said, from what I have seen, it was war, just as I had predicted; a match for the times. Good Spain won, the best team, and it is always good that the best team wins. 

But I think that the final is a sad reflection of a tournament that has lost its magic, at least for me. I never found that magic; on the contrary, I became more and more disillusioned by the bickering, hate and media. That said, I admit I am probably an old nostalgic fart, since it is clear that the tournament was perfect for the society today, and FIFA are brilliant at creating the narrative, the atmosphere and excitement that the world needs in difficult times.

So let me congratulate the World Champions of Spain, but most of all, congratulate FIFA for the best World Cup in history. 

It is just not for me.

War!

I was happy to see Argentina win against England, despite the fact that I no longer live or enjoy football as I used to, and probably never will as I enter the winter of my life.

I have seen it all, been hurt and sad, especially in this tournament, so I was expecting nothing from the semifinal, except the hope of seeing a fair and good match between great sportsmen, and no references to history of politics (where I am frankly also much more knowledgeable than the idiotic rabble).

As expected it was dramatic nevertheless, more intense than pretty, but fair enough. 

As many say that the entire tournament is fixed, they should probably look towards England, who had everything to win the match after going ahead 0-1 by the new Barcelona player, Anthony Gordon. But instead of pressing for another goal, England decided to defend deep, giving away the entire match to the Argentinean World Champions, and notably Messi, who after a poor match, suddenly had space and time to create perfect passes into the English area; the little master (whose skills I do not know how FIFA has fixed) provided the assists for both Enzo Fernandez’ and Lauraro Martinez’ goals.

Spain-Argentina in the final; the two best amid the top four in the world who made it to the semifinals in a tournament that despite 48 teams lacked real surprises (frankly, Cape Verde and DR Congo were not surprises). Two sides that have much in common, whose players in many cases know one another, and specially Messi, who is facing many players he knew as kids in Barcelona. Two different sides, two different cultures, two different nations.

It would be a beautiful story if I believed in any of the beauty. Instead what I see is two sides, two countries, that hate one another. 

This is war by other means, nothing else, and as any war, it sells, the rabble loves it. I have one prediction: it will be ugly, it will be violent, and whoever loses, will not accept it, because what characterises the world of today, is accusing the others of cheating whenever you do not win.

Argentina out

I am going to say something nobody likes to hear: Cape Verde are not a very good team. 

Yes, they qualified for the World Cup, they tied Spain, they tied Uruguay, and tied a very poor Saudi Arabia to luckily end second in their group. This was a surprise, yes, but was built on the luck of facing the poorest Uruguay side in history, as well as a Spain on its worse day in decades.

Facing Argentina, defending “world champions”, the Cape Verdians scored two goals by Dutch-born players Deroy Duarte and Sidney Lopes (we are unlikely ever to hear more about these players who play in the Bulgarian and Turkish leagues, respectively), with the latter perhaps the best goal of the tournament. 

In the end Argentina won 3-2 after extra time, taking away the aspiring sensation, but everyone is giving Cape Verde credit, when the result should be assigned exclusively to Argentina being a poor side that relies only on Messi and a bunch of overrated second-rate players who have no reason to call themselves “world champions” any longer. Argentina should destroy a team like Cape Verde 8-0; anything else is inacceptable. 

This predicts the end of the road for Argentina, who will be facing Egypt in the next match. 

Too many teams in the World Cup; too many teams that add nothing to football quality.

The Legend Leo Messi

Lionel Messi scored his first World Cup goal at the 2006 World Cup, at the age of 18, in a 6-0 against Serbia-Montenegro. It was the only goal he scored in that tournament, but today, 20 years and one week later, Messi has made history by scoring both goals in Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria. 

With 18 goals, he is now the most scoring player in World Cup history, two goals ahead of Miroslav Klose and Ronaldo Nazarinho. And we will probably see more goals from the Argentinean magician/legend, as Argentina is looking to win the group with one match to go against Jordan. 

We all witnessed history today.

The World Champions have checked in

Defending world champions often struggle to defend their title, but for Argentina tonight this was not the case. A solid 3-0 victory over Algeria, but most notably with an incredible Lionel Messi, who at his tender 38 years appeared to be everywhere on the pitch, and scored all three Argentine goals, equaling Miroslav Klose as the most scoring player in a World Cup.

Argentina also appeared solid in defense although I find it hard to assess how good the Algerians were. They passed the ball well and at times managed to put pressure on Argentina, but never really appeared to threaten the South American goal. At the same time they played slowly, something that only appeared to make the Argentineans comfortable. But it all may be to the credit of solid defense by Argentina.

While Spain grossly disappointed with 0-0 against Cape Verde, France won 3-1 over Senegal on a great second half and two Mbappé goals. Three of the biggest favourites for the title have started at different levels, but one thing is sure; everyone will be watching for Messi to break yet another historic record in his 6th World Cup.

My teams in the 2026 World Cup

In every World Cup, I have my favourite teams, countries that I in some way have some personal relationship to. That said, it is particular that in this World Cup with 48 teams, some of my favourites like Denmark and Chile have not qualified. That said, these are the countries I will follow:

• Argentina: where I lived as a child, will still be my favourite as I hope that they are able to defend their title
• Colombia: country of my mother. I hope they do well and will be supporting them as they play in Mexico City as well, with the certain invasion of a yellow army of fans for an overpriced match.
• Spain: Country where I lived and have family from, will be one of the favourites to take the title with an extraordinary team, and they will also play in Mexico, specifically in Guadalajara, against Uruguay
• USA: Lived there one year as a teenager; they may surprise at home, but I do not think they can go all the way, neither will I particularly support them.
• Ghana: My favourite African team since my time there 2003-2006, and their first World Cup in 2006, I have many lovely memories, and will be wearing my Black Stars shirt for the matches against England and Croatia!
• Mexico: I will surely support Mexico as they try to shine at home, mainly because of their fantastic fans as I do not find the squad very exciting. Perhaps it is good that they won't face Denmark!

All this said, it is not easy to get excited by this excessive, over-priced, over-hyped, and highly politicized World Cup; but I will watch nevertheless.

Greatest World Cup Matches: Argentina-France (2022)

The final of the World Cup in Qatar is one of the most memorable finals, in part because of the drama and many goals, but also because it was the final of a World Cup that truly defined FIFA’s commercial dominance over football; the tournament was awarded to a small nation with a lot of money, but with no football history or even participation in a World Cup, amid controversy about migrant workers and labour rights. According to some sources up to 6500 migrant workers may have died since the tournament was awarded to Qatar (although not directly involved in infrastructure building for the World Cup). At the same time too expensive ticket prices and no alcohol meant that the World Cup was full of controversy off the pitch. 

But on the pitch it had been a spectacle; and a spectacle that FIFA made a lot of money off, as they formed a narrative that made everyone forget the abuses of migrant workers. 

The masses were too entertained to care. 

Argentina was led by the great Lionel Messi. He was already a legend at club level, but the biggest prize had eluded him and Argentina: in 2014 they had lost a close-fought final against Germany, and in 2018 had flopped completely by falling in the first round. 

In 2021 Messi finally won his first title with Argentina with the Copa America in the final against Brazil, and the team had been strong during qualification under Manager Lionel Scaloni, who with limited experience when appointed in 2019, had forged a solid side that not only depended on Messi, but was able to exploit his qualities. So Argentina again entered the tournament as favourites. 

It was not only because of Lionel Messi, but Argentina had an outstanding team. On goal, a position that had hurt Argentina for years, Argentina had found a solid if provocative goalkeeper in Aston Villa’s Emiliano "Dibu" Martinez. Defenders included the veteran from Benfica, Nicolas Otamendi, and the veteran from Lyon, Nicolas Tagliafico, as well as Sevilla’s Gonzalo Montiel and Marcus Acuña, Tottenham’s Cristian Romero, Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez and the young Nahuel Molina from Atletico Madrid. A solid midfield to support Messi included Atletico Madrid’s Rodrigo de Paul, Alexis McAllister from Brighton Hove & Albion, Leandro Paredes from Juventus, Benfica’s youngster Enzo Fernadez, Sevilla’s veteran Papu Gomez, and the fantastic Angel DiMaria, who was known for scoring in finals (he scored the winner in the 2021 Copa America final). Attackers were from the best teams in the world and included Roma’s Paolo Dybala, Inter’s Lautaro Martinez, Atletico Madrid’s Angel Correa, and the young Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez. Manager Scaloni was a people-person, and forged a strong team spirit, where players who got replaced did not complain, but were still seen as a part of the team; it was thus that Lautaro Martinez eventually got replaced by the young Julian Alvarez in attack, while both Nahuel Molina and Alexis McAllister, who had been largely unknown before the tournament, became starters. 

All this said, Argentina fought hard to make it to the final, and in fact opened with a sensational 1-2 loss to Saudi Arabia; it was a huge disappointment, so Argentina was extra motivated for the following match against Mexico. Dominating but unable to score, it had to be Lionel Messi who opened the scoring and Argentina winning 2-0, and in the last match winning 2-0 over Poland, it was enough to win the group. 

In the last-16 Argentina faced a surprising Australian side who had made it to the last-16 by defeating Denmark. The Aussies also gave Argentina a difficult match, but the South Americans won 2-1 on goals by Messi and Alvarez. 

The quarterfinal between Argentina and Netherlands was pure drama: 2-0 down, Netherlands managed to equalize to 2-2 at the end of the match, but Dibu Martinez saved Argentina in a nerve-wrecking penalty shootout. 

In the semifinals Argentina faced a Croatian side who had defeated Brazil and humiliated Argentina 0-3 in 2018, but this time the Argentines hit back with their own 3-0 victory and made it to the final where they were to face the defending champions from 2018, France. 

France undoubtedly had one of the best teams in the world managed by the veteran and experienced Dider Deschamps. On goal was Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris, who despite occasional mistakes was a solid goalkeeper, supported by a string of super defenders: Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard, Lucas Hernandez and Dayot Upamecano, Manchester United’s Raphael Varane, Barcelona’s Jules Kounde, and Arsenal’s young William Saliba. An extraordinary midifeld included the young Real Madrid player Aurelien Tchouameni, Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele, Juventus Adrien Rabiot, and the Real Madrid youngster Eduardo Camavinga. As offensive midfielder and strike threat was one of the best in the world in PSG’s Kylian Mbappe, complemented by other superstars that included Bayern Munich’s Kinglsey Coman, Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani, Borussia Monchengladbach’s young Marcus Thuram (son of the legendary Lilliam Thuram) and three highly experienced veterans in Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, and AC Milan’s Olivier Giroud. 

France qualified through a relatively easy group ahead of Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Kazakhstan, and were in the first round drawn in another relatively easy group D with Denmark, Australia and Tunisia. Despite losing to Tunisia, victories against Denmark and Australia were sufficient to win the group. 

They defeated Poland 3-1 in the last-16 and England 2-1 in the quarterfinals, before defeating the surprising Moroccans 2-0 in the semifinals to make their second final in a row and to defend their 2018 title. 

France did not appear to have struggled as much to make it to the final as Argentina, who nevertheless entered as nervous favourites; the 2014 defeat to Germany lingered in the Argentine mind, but the team was in its strongest lineup, including Angel DiMaria, who had missed the 2014 final. 

France was awful in the first half; perhaps the worst performance by a team in a World Cup final. It goes partly in credit to an Argentina side that pressed high and shot on goal from the start of the match, but the horrible first half, where France had no shots on goal, meant that Manager Deschamps already made two changes in the 41st minute, taking out an anonymous Ousmane Dembele and a hapless Olivier Giroud for Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram respectively. 

In the meantime, Argentina seemed unstoppable in the first half. High pressure, close chances by Alvarez and Messi, as well as a Rodrigo de Paul and Angel Di Maria who were clearly enjoying the match. The first goal came thanks to Di Maria who easily dribbled past Jules Kounde into the French area, and Kounde could do nothing but pressure him for behind and causing him to fall. Messi was cool despite the enormous pressure and scored, deservedly for Argentina. Argentina’s second goal was one of the best goals of the tournament: coming from a counterattack, three perfect first touches by Messi and Alvarez, the ball arrived at McAllister at full speed towards the goal, who passed it to an onrushing Di Maria on the left. Di Maria elegantly lifted the ball over Lloris and 2-0 for Argentina, who until then were totally dominant. It was a splendid goal and totally deserved for Argentina. 

As the second half started France's changes meant more organization, but it was still Argentina that dominated and had the ball. In fact, nothing appeared to threaten the Argentine lead, and Marcus Acuna came on for the splendid Angel DiMaria, who again had scored in a final for Argentina. 

With 20 minutes left Didier Deschamps made two additional changes: Eduardo Camavinga came on for Theo Hernandez to give more energy in midfield, and Kingsley Coman came on for Antoine Griezmann to put more pressure on the Argentine midfield and defense. 

With 9 minutes left France was given a glimmer of hope: Otamendi could not keep up with Kolo Muani’s speed and brought him down inside the Argentine penalty area. Kylian Mbappe was cool-headed and made it 2-1 on what was effectively France’s first shot on target during the second half. 

After the goal, France started to play football for the first time during the match as Argentina was ready to keep suffering as they had done throughout the tournament. 

And they suffered as the saddest tango song when Kylian Mbappe made it 2-2: an elegant pass by Marcus Thuram above the Argentine defense and Kylian Mbappe resolutely volleyed the ball into goal. 

It was a dramatic end to the match as it went into extra time where France appeared on top as they had equalised a match that until the 80th minutes seemed to be under Argentina’s control. 

As expected both teams were tired but full of fight in the extra time. Argentina had brought on Lautaro Martinez for Julian Alvarez ten minutes into extra time, and the striker brought renewed energy into the Argentine attack; he had some close misses before one of his shots was blocked by Hugo Lloris, but Messi managed to score on the rebound from close range. 

Argentina was again ahead, but it was not to last. Another penalty was awarded for France in the 117th minute on a handball by Gonzalo Montiel, and again Kylian Mbappe scored, becoming only the second player in World Cup histroy to score three goals in a final, after Geoff Hurst in 1966. 

3-3 with 3 minutes left, but the match was close at not going into penalty kicks when Kolo Muani got the chance of a lifetime to win the World Cup: a lose ball landed for him at the edge of the area, alone in front of the goalkeeper, but an extraordinary save by Dibu Martines kept Argentina alive for penalty kicks. 

The two superstars, Messi and Mbappe opened by scoring, but it was then Martinez who took the stage. Openly using psychological tactics he first saved Kingsley Coman’s shot, and then made Aurelien Tchouameni shoot wide of goal. 

The Sevilla defender Gonzalo Montiel was to score on the penalty that gave Argentina the World Cup title, and make an entire country celebrate. 

In the social media hype of 2022 and after, some people have called this the greatest final of all time. I am sorry to say that it wasn’t, although it was certainly dramatic. But the French were simply too bad in the first half, and the reason it became so dramatic was because Argentina came so close to messing up a trophy that were basically in their hands. The South Americans were deserved champions, but they were not an overwhelmingly good team. It was certainly special for Lionel Messi, who could finally step out of the shadow of other great players, and sign up as a legend. Because you are not a legend until you win a World Cup.

Match Stats:

• Qatar, December 18th 2022 Lusail Stadium 
• Attendance: 89,000 
• Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland) 

Argentina-France 3-3 (aet) 
Goals: 1-0 Lionel Messi (p) (23) 2-0 Angel DiMaria (36) 2-1 Kylian Mbappe (p) (80) 2-2 Kylian Mbappe (81) 3-2 Lionel Messi (108) 3-3 Kylian Mbappe (p) (118) 

Penalty kicks: Argentina-France 4-2 

0-1 Kylian Mbappe 
1-1 Lionel Messi 
Kingsley Coman missed for France 
2-1 Paulo Dybala 
Aurelien Tchouameni missed for France 
3-1 Leandro Paredes 
3-2 Kolo Muani 
4-2 Gonzalo Montiel 

Teams:  

Argentina: Emiliano Martinez; Nicolas Otamendi, Cristian Romero,, Nahuel Molina (Gonzalo Montiel, 90), Nicolas Tagliafico (Paulo Dybala, 120); Alexis MacAllister (German Pezzella, 116), Enzo Fernandez, Rodrigo DePaul (Leandro Paredes, 102); Julian Alvarez (Lautaro Martinez, 103), Lionel Messi, Angel DiMaria (Marcos Acuña, 64). Manager: Lionel Scaloni. 
France: Hugo Lloris; Raphael Varane (Ibrahima Konate, 113), Dayot Upamecano, Joules Kounde (Axel Disasi, 112), Lucas Hernandez (Edouard Camavinga, 71); Adrien Rabiot (Youssouf Fafana, 96), Aurelien Tchouameni, Ousmane Dembele (Kolo Muani, 41), Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann (Kinglsey Coman, 71), Olivier Giroud (Marcus Thuram, 41). Manager: Didier Deschamps. 

2025 Football memories

It has been a bit of a poor year in terms of football as we await next year's big but probably overblown World Cup. Time-difference did not help as I worked too much and was more often than not too tired to watch football.

That said, some footballing memories worth mentioning:

• Cruz Azul-Monterrey: I went to watch my favourite Mexican team, Cruz Azul, a few times, including this match, the debut of Sergio Ramos for Monterrey (he played one season in the side from Nuevo Leon) and the match ended 1-1
• Argentina-Brazil: Watched the match in a local bar in Mexico, and it was a mixture of delight and surprise as the World Champions of Argentina completely dominated their arch-rivals as I had seldomly seen. Argentina won 4-1 and this match qualified them to the World Cup and ensured that Brazil's coach lost his job to be replaced by the great Carlo Ancelotti.
• Independiente Medellin-Once Caldas: I happened to be in Medellin when one of the local sides played a league match against Once Caldas. Not a memorable match but a fantastic atmosphere in the beautiful Colombian city.
•  Crystal Palace-Manchester City: Probably the best result for a neutral in 2025, with Crystal Palace taking their first title ever by winning the FA Cup against mighty Manchester City!
•  Cruz Azul-Vancouver Whitecaps: Cruz Azul took the Concacaf Champions Cup at home by trashing the Canadian side Whitecaps 5-0. Despite the title it was generally not a great year for Cruz Azul against MLS sides, specially as the got trashed by Seattle Sounders 0-7 in the Leagues Cup...
• PSG-Inter Milan: Watched the CL final in a bar in Mexico with some very happy Frenchmen present, with all reason as PSG finally took the coveted title, and in awesome style, playing a fanastic match where the 5-0 victory was none too little. Great for the Manager Luis Enrique.
• PSG-Chelsea: The first club World Cup final was between PSG and Chelsea, and PSG were surely favourites, but were torn apart 3-0 by a highly motivated Chelsea, and sadly PSG, including Luis Enrique, were incredibly sore losers, making it an ugly final instead of the spectacle it should have been from what was surprisingly a great tournament.
• Morocco- Argentina: The two sides faced one another in the u-21 World Cup final, and the African side were by far the better team, and we will look forward to see some of these great youngsters in 2026.
• Denmark-Belarus: with a victory at home, Denmark could have qualified to the 2026 World Cup. But instead poor attitude left them with a 2-2, and in the next match Denmark lost to Scotland, ending second in a group they should have won. As many Denmark fans I was hugely disappointed, and now I doubt that they can take the play-off spot, even if the do, they will play Mexico in the city where I am currently residing...
• Cruz Azul-Chivas: Went to watch this match at the Olympic University Stadium in Mexico, where the home side won 3-2, but only after suffering and the veteran Chivas' striker Javier Hernandez awfully missing a penalty that could have put them in the final.

Wishing everybody a happy new year 2026, for all fans and their teams, to enjoy football no matter who wins and who loses, even for my Cruz Azul-supporting cat:

Morocco World Champions!

 Morocco has been crowned World Champions at the U-20 World Cup in Chile. In the final they faced a confident Argentina side, but the Moroccans sealed the match in the first half. Yassir Zabiri scored the first goal on a splendid free kick in a situation that perhaps should have been a penalty, but in the end it did not matter... Zabiri himself made it 2-0 on a great volley following a great pass from the tournament's best player, Othmane Maama.

After this Argentina pushed forward but without patience or a cool head. A lot of shots outside of the target and corner kicks that led to nothing. In the meantime the Moroccans let the Argentines have the ball, but stood back solidly and with a cool head. 

In every way Morocco deserves this great title, and adds to Morocco's extraordinary strides in world football, and they will be a country to watch in the World Cup next year, when we will hopefully be able to see some of these great youngsters that won the title today. 

Bad day for Mexico

Yesterday I decided to relax with some beers and football, as Mexico were playing two matches. Firstly, the young Mexicans were facing Argentina in the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Cup. The Mexicans were not bad, they tried to play the Argentineans, but Argentina went ahead by Maher Carrizo, who caught a rebound from the Mexican goalkeeper after only 9 minutes in what was effectively Argentina's first shot on goal. The rest of the game Argentina were in control despite Mexico playing well. In the second half the new Inter Miami player Mateo Silvetti completely outran two Mexican defenders to make it 2-0 and seal the match. It was a pity that two Mexican players got red cards in the dying minutes of a match they had already lost; but Mexico had a great tournament and can hold their heads high.

Argentina will face Colombia in the semifinals. Colombia defeated Spain 3-2. 

The bar I was at slowly filled out with Colombians, who came to watch the friendly match between Mexico and Colombia. These friendlies should be important for Mexico, who has not gone through qualification, as they try to find a squad for the World Cup here in Mexico. In the meantime, Colombia have qualified strongly and by far outplayed the Mexicans: 4-0, with goals by established players Luis Diaz and Jefersson Lerma, but also Bologna's defender Jhon Lucumi scoring his first goal for Colombia, and Internacional's Johan Carbonero scoring in his debut for Colombia.

Colombia is looking strong (and look at their strong u-20 side), but Mexico is hopefully going to improve before they receive the world in 2026.

 

Angels with Dirty Faces

I just finished the book "Angels with Dirty Faces", by Jonathan Wilson. It is the footballing history of Argentina, and it is told vividly and in fascinating detail, from the early days of football in Argentina, brought over by the British, and in particular Alexander Watson Hutton, a Scottish teacher who was the spearhead in setting up the Argentinean league and founding the Football Association in 1893. It is indeed fascinating how the love-hate relationship of Argentina with England appears as a recurring theme, from the early adoption of the game to the legendary 1986 World Cup quarterfinal when Maradona scored his two most memorable goals, which are very much put in context in the book; the boy from the poor South American background who could do magic with the ball: "...a pibe with a dirty face, a mane of hair rebelling against the comb; with intelligent, roving, trickster and persuasive eyes and sparkling gaze that seem to hint at a picaresque laugh that does not quite manage to form on his mouth, full of small teeth that might be worn down through eating yesterday's bread. His trousers are few roughly sewn patches; his vest with Argentinian stripes, with a very low neck and with vmany holes eaten out by the invisible mice of use. A strip of material tied to his waist and crossing over his chest like a sash serves as braces. His knees covered with scabs of wounds disinfected by fate; barefoot or with shoes whose holes in the toes suggest they have been made through too much shooting. His stance must be characteristic; it must seem as if dribbling with a rag ball. That is important: the ball cannot be any other. A rag ball is preferable bound by an old sock. If this monument is raised one day, there will be many of us who will take off our hat to it, as we do in church".

This was written by a journalist in 1928 describing the ideal of a "criollo" footballer, made not by the British, but in the Argentinean "potreros", born in the street with cunning and magic. The book dwells a lot into Maradona, but does not fail to mention many of the legendary players that preceded him, from Guillerom Stabile, Luis Monti, Roberto Cerro, Bernabe Ferreyra, Antonio Sastre, Omar Corbatta, Jose Sanfilippo, and many others. 

The book puts all the history of Argentinean football in the context of the Argentine society, from its early days as a magnet for European migrants and growing rich amid the problems in EUrope, and also the time when Argentine football started to grow its own identity, not only in relation to the British, but also in relation to its little neighbour, Uruguay, who was the first seeing international success, and winning the first World Cup against an Argentina side who had many clashes against the arch-rivals, a rivalry that was later replaced by Brazil, something that also gets some great stories in the book.

In the 1940s Argentine football, and particularly club football, was perhaps the best in the World, but the national team did not perform, and strangely the political winds under Peron did not allow Argentina to play the 1954 World Cup. And in the 1958 World Cup when Argentina was humiliated 6-1 by Czechoslovakia, a wave of so-called "anti-football" went through Argentina, the first hints of the footballing schizophrenia of "Mennotism" versus "Bilardism" (style versus result) that becomes a theme in the book from the 1960s, and Estudiantes de la Plata victorious but largely hated team, for its football. In parallel with this, Argentina is going from crisis to crisis, economically, socially and politically.

The 1978 World Cup of course gets special mention, as it was held under a violent military dictatorship that wanted to win the cup at home, despite a Menotti who was largely seen as against the dictatorship. And even the reflection of how many political prisoners celebrated the victory against the Netherlands; as it was more than about a political victory for the regime, but more a victory for all Argentines in a country of paradoxes.

The book ends in 2016, shortly after the defeat in the 2014 World Cup final and the 2015 Copa America, when hopes were being put into a young Lionel Messi, who many still criticised for not being from the "potreros", and perhaps didn't fit in the Argentinean ideal of their players (and never having played in Argentina). The book is therefore not as optimistic when it ends; but it would be interesting to hear about the changes that led to the 2022 World Cup with Messi as its architect, and the enormous political changes that led to the election of Milei in 2023. A more cosmopolitan Argentina relying on players playing in Europe? Because while more and more Argentinean players were going abroad the quality of Argentinean clubs was decaying, with hooliganism rampant, something that sadly seems to be more the case today.

So even though the book ends some ten years ago, it is perhaps one of the best books to learn about the fascinating  history of Argentinean football, and in the context of the complex schizophrenia of Argentinean society. So I highly recommend it.

The World Champions have qualified

Argentina has been awesome in terms of defending their title in the World Cup qualifiers, and last night they could seal their mathematical qualification against none other than their arch-rivals of Brazil in front of a home crowd in Buenos Aires. 

Brazil, on the other hand, have been a shadow of themselves in these qualifiers, lingering on 4th-5th place, which may be sufficient to qualify, but is not where we expect to see the great Brazilians, who at least in social media were eagerly pumping up the atmosphere before the match.

 Perhaps a little air went out of the balloon as Argentina´s qualification was sealed before the match, when Bolivia tied Uruguay at home, but this was not obvious as the match started with a highly motivated Argentina who was leading 2-0 after only 12 minutes on excellent strikes by Julian Alvarez and Enzo Fernandez, and it seemed it could be a total trashing until Cuti Romero gave away the ball to the Wolverhampton striker Matheus Cunha, who scored easily in what was one of Brazil´s few shots in the match. For a short period Brazil seemed optimistic, but it quickly faded as Alexis MacAllister scored a splendid third for Argentina, first-timing a perfect pass from Enzo Fernandez. 

It is always a shame in these matches that players spend as much time bitching and crying as they do playing, and the first half ended in disgraceful arguments and fights between the players. 

Well, they may be great footballers, but they are not upstanding citizens. 

Second half was dominated by Argentina, who could have scored more, but Giuliano Simeone´s marvelous strike was the only goal amid many chances, and Argentina sealed a memorable victory, and appears as a serious contender for the title, even without a certain Lionel Messi….

Internationals

Thursday and Friday there have been a lot of internationals. In Europe the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals kicks off with the first legs, and Denmark defeated Portugal 1-0 on a goal by the young Manchester United player Rasmus Højlund. More surprising perhaps than the victory was that Denmark outplayed the classy Portuguese who are managed by Roberto Martinez, who for six years managed the best Belgian side ever, but never gave them any titles. The Portuguese were bad against Denmark, who may now eye a surprise semifinal?

In other matches Germany defeated Italy, Croatia defeated France and Spain and the Netherlands tied 2-2.

Nearer to home the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals took place. Mexico defeated Canada 0-2 to make it to yet another final, but the real surprise came in the USA-Panama match, where a last minute strike by the Coquimbo Unido striker Cecilio Waterman, gave the Panamanians the victory. The result may nevertheless not be surprising since the Panamanians have the screws on the arrogant North Americans: the have defeated USA in four of the last five matches, among them the 2023 Gold Cup.

Panama will face Mexico in the final on Sunday.

In South America the World Cup qualifiers are heading into the last phase. Brazil and Colombia played, and Brazil got a last second 2-1 victory on a strike by Vinicius Jr. and are third in the qualifiers behind Argentina and Ecuador. That said, Colombia is also likely to qualify as six out of ten teams qualify directly.

In the meantime the Argentine World Champions are all but certain to qualify after having defeated Uruguay 0-1 in Montevideo, on a fantastic long-range strike by the young Lyon player Thiago Almada. Argentina just have to not lose their next match (against Brazil), and will be assured qualification.

Brazil 6th World Champion

The 10th FIFA Futsal World Cup has just ended with Brazil winning an impressive 6th title since the tournament started in 1989. The final was a classic match between Brazil and Argentina.

I watched the final. Futsal is much quicker than standard football, and that demands more from the players' technical skills. Given that the pitch is smaller there are many more goal attempts. I have a much more difficult time disengaging the tactics (besides bringing the goalkeeper into attacks and getting caught up in the match, despite the fact that in this final that Brazil won 2-1 went into a thrilling final as Argentina (apparently) put all into attack, while Brazil (apparently) played defensive football.

The Brazilian goalkeeper Willian was outstanding and made some amazing saves. But at the same time Brazil were incredibly fast and dangerous on their shots (counterattacks?), so I had a hard time seeing who were the best and deserved the title. To me they were the same and only the luck of a great goalkeeper gave Brazil the title.

I was not engaged and Futsal is not something that thus interests me much. That said, congratulations to another title for great Brazil!

Disappointment and sadness

I have been so disappointed and sad about the racist songs of Argentina's national team players at France's national team, and understand the anger of the French. Argentineans would be as angry, justifiably, if anyone sang about the victims of the Malvinas, but they cannot look at themselves with any hint of criticism or empathy with the French players. Ignorant players as Enzo Fernandez even saw no problem at publishing on social media, while they are complete ignorant about French history or society (and probably as ignorant about anything beyond social media); because saying that "Frenchmen are already racist", by being racist against Frenchmen who have experienced racism for years, is one of the most idiotic things one can imagine someone saying.

I am disappointed and sad because I have always supported and defended Argentina. But I need to remember that Argentina fans (and apparently players) are as ignorant and hateful as anyone in this pitiful world.

The Aftermaths

The aftermath of both tournaments has started, firstly with Gareth Southgate stepping down as England manager. He is undoubtedly the most successful English Manager having taken England to the 2018 World Cup semifinals, to the 2021 Euro final, and to these 2024 Euro finals.

Yet Gareth Southgate was widely criticized, justly in my view, for his defensive and cautious style, as well as team selection (for instance insisting on Harry Kane this tournament). That said, these results speak for themselves for a country that had hardly achieved anything since 1966, and despite the criticism I think it will be difficult to follow in the footsteps of Mr. Southgate.

Spain's victory in the tournament was well-deserved, and one can hope that the only side that did not focus on only defending will inspire the many other sides who most often chose to defend than to attack. In this regard it was in my view one of the most boring tournaments in history, not helped by a poor refereeing that was just helped along by VAR.

Finally, as so many tournaments, passions were too high, both at the Euro, but certainly at the Copa America, where a shameful organization culminated in a final where the organizers, US and CONMEBOL, seemed on the one hand to not understand what football means for Latin Americans (in case of the North Americans), and on the other hand a CONMEBOL that prioritized making money and having pictures with Shakira.

This dreadful organization is at a country that will host next World Cup....

But otherwise it was also a boring tournament with defensive sides, and an Argentine side that won in majorly on routine and cold-bloodiness, while Colombia played entertaining football, but simply lacked mentality to win (they basically also lacked mentality to lose). The most positive thing about the tournament was sadly Canada who played a good 2-2 match for third place with Uruguay, but ended losing at penalties after Luis Suarez had equalized in the last second of the match.

I say sadly, because it is of course good to have a new strong side in North America, but sad because in terms of football Canada provides nothing new, but plays a defensive, controlled tactical game that is choking the entertainment value of football.

So these tournaments were another step towards the inevitable demise of national team football. At least we still have the club game, in particular the Champions League, for intense and good football, as well as avoiding the horrible specter of nationalism, xenophobia and racism that increasingly seems to be what national team football has going for it.

Football, hate

 Today I was happy.

For a while only. I was happy Spain won. Never supported England, and happy for the many Spanish people I know, even family, would be celebrating.

And then I was watching two countries I deeply love, Colombia and Argentina, face one another in the final of Copa America. I wore my Argentina shirt, but honestly, I would have been happy for anybody to win.

And then I was no longer happy.

All the hate I got for supporting Argentina (absolutely nobody bothers to congratulate), all the fucking problems in Miami where fans can't behave and an organizing committee who is more concerned about seeing second rate washed up pop stars than actually putting on a performance.

Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi, footballing stars who may have played their last match, and all they got is hate.

I had every reason to be happy, and instead football is just as depressing as ever, and I wonder if I even want to continue watching it. Irony is that I had every reason to be happy, but all people can do is punch you no matter what.

My recommendation for everyone in the final

After my gloomy previous post I want to give a recommendation to fans, players and any supporter of England, Spain, Argentina and Colombia. No matter what happens in the final, no matter the result or the match, it all has a simple solution:

Copa America 2024 Semifinals

Copa America 2024 has reached the semifinals, and my cat Whisky is still an excited sellout on all the teams that will play:

Canada	Argentina
Uruguay	Colombia

Canada, the only CONCACAF team left are surely the surprise in their first semifinal ever and will face the World and defending Copa America Champions of Argentina in the semifinals. Canada, who have only scored two ordinary goals in the tournament, already lost 0-2 to Argentina in their opening match, and if they manage to win, it will surely be one of the greatest upsets in the history of the game.

In the meantime Uruguay and Colombia are facing one another in a semifinal that is harder to predict. Colombia, led by a resuscitated James Rodriguez, is going through their longest streak of not losing ever, and are the most scoring team of the tournament after crushing Panama 5-0. In the meantime Uruguay is coming from three straight victories in the first round, and eliminating (no longer so) mighty Brazil in the quarterfinals on penalty kicks.

What we are hoping mostly is that the sides won't defend to much, and give one another some great matches. 

And despite of what my cat says, I hope for an Argentina-Colombia final!

Copa America 2024

More great football as the European championship continues underway, as Copa America started last night with the World Champions of Argentina defeating Canada 2-0 in the opening match. Argentina are also defending Copa America Champions, and are eager to retake the title. The sixteen participating teams (ten from CONMEBOL and six from CONCACAF) are distributed as follows:

Group A:

• Argentina
• Canada
• Peru
• Chile

Group B:

• Mexico
• Ecuador
• Venezuela
• Jamaica

Group C:

• USA
• Uruguay
• Panama
• Bolivia

Group D:

• Brazil
• Colombia
• Panama
• Costa Rica

It paints to be an exciting tournament running in parallel with the Euros.