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:

Happy Day to all Mothers

Silvija Greko’s son Nickollas became a Palmeiras fan after meeting Neymar, who had been a Palmeiras fan as a child. When Nickollas was five years old, Silvija took him to Palmeiras' stadium to his first match, although Nickollas was born blind. Initially, she gave him a radio to listen to the matches, but Nickollas wanted to listen to the atmosphere and sounds of the Allianz Parque stadium in Sao Paulo, home of Palmeiras.
Today, Sivija narrates every detail of the match to her son, a fan who lives the marvel of football through the words of his mother.

2024 footballing memories

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good luck to us all.

How I became a Brøndby fan

Recently Brøndby won the Danish league for the first time in 16 years. This made me happy, very happy, but also led to a reflection about why I support Brøndby; how did I become a Brøndby fan?

The first time I saw Brøndby play was in 1987, the year that Brøndby won their second Danish title, and were emerging as the dominant force in Danish football through the 1990s. This was in Ikast, a small town in central Jutland, which had a team that competed in the top Danish league. Now, you could consider that I was an Ikast fan; living nearby I went to many matches in Ikast, so it was the team I supported. That said, Brøndby was putting Danish football on the European stage, and that same year, 1987, Brøndby made it to the quarterfinals of the European Champions Cup only to be eliminated by the later champions of FC Porto.

In 1989 I went to the Danish Cup final with my father. Ikast-Brøndby is a legendary match that ended 3-3, and only in extra time Brøndby ended up winning 6-3 (check it out on Youtube). This was a Brøndby side with players that would become legends: Peter Schmeichel, Lars Olsen, Kim Vilfort, John Faxe Jensen, Brian Laudrup..., and although I supported Ikast in that match, I was impressed by the club and the fans.

Soon after I moved to Spain, USA, and the reference point when living abroad increasingly became Brøndby, and less and less Ikast. In fact, Ikast FS ceased to exist in 1999, when it merged with Herning Fremad to form FC Midtjylland. By this time FC Midtjylland, a team based in Herning, was simply too far from my Ikast-memories, and although I sympathize with the wolves from Herning, I simply feel no connection to the side.

My attachment to Brøndby on the other hand only grew. As I moved to the outskirts of Copenhagen for university, a rivalry was emerging between Brøndby and the newly minted FC Copenhagen. For me Brøndby, the team that had already given me some memories became my natural choice among the many teams in the Danish Superliga. 

I went to Brøndby matches  once in a while (far from enough) and in 1999, when Brøndby qualified for the Champions League, I went to all matches against Bayern Munich, Manchester United and FC Barcelona. The first match, against Bayern Munich, remains a treasured memory, when Allan Ravn's memorable late kick gave them a victory against a German side that would make it to the CL final that same season (against Manchester United).

Although I increasingly spent time outside Denmark, I was in the stadium in 2002 against FCK, another memorable match, when a late equalizer by Mads Jørgensen effectively gave Brøndby the title. 

By this time there was no doubt that I supported Brøndby, and as I have moved from country to country over the last years, Brøndby has remained my point of entry to follow the Danish League. I have been hugely disappointed over the last 10 years, as the club almost went bankrupt (and I purchased stocks in the club) and as they have been unable to wrestle the two powerhouses of Danish football: FC Copenhagen and FC Midtjylland.

But a new title has come, hopefully more years of Brøndby giving us new memories, wherever we are in the world!

RIP 'Blue Girl'

Although I have all but abandoned football, the story of Sahar Khodayari ("Blue Girl"), really saddened me.
It saddened me because she was a young girl who saw no other way but to kill herself; it saddened me for the inaction of so many over so many years, for an outright violation that has existed for so long; it saddened me for the women and girls, all over the world, who are discriminated against because they are of the same sex as all our Mothers.
It saddened me because people die because of football and because of so many other irrelevant things.

Who was robbed?

One of the bad things about the World Cup is that people take it way too seriously. People who will never get excited about a Champions League or League match (which are so much better than the vast majority of World Cup matches) will get excited about the game because they get to wave a coloured piece of cloth called a flag, sing the anthem, and support 11 guys who happen to share their passport.
Some people get tears in their eyes because of the nationalistic fervor, others use it to confirm their wrong stereotypes about other nationalities.
The worst are people who in their indignant ignorance see conspiracies in the footballing results: "It is a scandal!!! We were robbed!!!"
Who the fuck robbed you? Did you call the police? And who is "we"? Are you one of the players who were "robbed"?
What did these people rob you? A football result!? Why don't you have a beer and relax? There are way more important things in the world...

https://fromacomrade.tumblr.com/post/171731237118

My predictions for the World Cup... or not....

I was going to make my predictions for this World Cup. But the truth is that I cannot. It is not because the usual reason (that I am always wrong). Rather, it is because I have realized I have a hard time getting excited about this World Cup.
I fell in love with the World Cup in 1986, and since then every four years have been special in my otherwise dull life. I remember where I have been every time, and remember many matches in a special way. Four years ago I was incredibly excited, and after trying vainly to get tickets for Brazil, I instead made a trip to many of the countries participating in the tournament, watching the tournament with friends around the world. My first disappointment in this tournament was again being unable to get tickets through a system that lacks transparency and ease.
But it goes deeper than this.
A friend recently asked me "Is it because it is in Russia?".
Absolutely not: I believe Russia will be as great hosts as anybody else would be!

No, the problem goes deeper to football: the ugly nationalism that football promotes (more or less consciously); the corruption and match fixing (having read the book "The Fix", I think this is much more widespread than us fans would like to know about); FIFA's insincere management of the game (well illustrated by the ticketing and the initiatives to expand the World Cup); the widespread misogyny in football that few really want to address; the hatred between fans that still assails the game; the players, who more as examples for youth, spend their time showing off their money and fame, and spend half their time acting on the pitch (football is sadly the most dishonest sport in the world); racism and xenophobia (yes, it exists and is growing in every single country and league); the hypocritical infiltration of politics into football (recently illustrated by German fans booing Gundogan in a match against Saudi Arabia); football's half-hearted and dishonest efforts in really trying to address all these problems....

Many years ago I read a comic by the great Enki Bilal, "Hors Jeu"; a bleak future world in which the last football match is being played, following the deterioration of the game due to violence, money, corruption, etc. While the comic ends with some hope when the narrator describes some children playing football on the street, as a symbol of the innocence of the beautiful game, I do wonder whether this innocence barely exists any longer, and that football is heading towards its own destruction.

The last World Cup...? Maybe I will get excited in a few days, but I have been trying without luck.

"My countries" in the World Cup

I am now living in El Salvador, a country that is not in the World Cup. For the last World Cup I was also in a country not represented, Liberia, and so I seem to be losing more and more countries in the World Cup. Of countries I have an attachment to, these are the ones in the tournament:

• Denmark: Surprisingly qualified after a strong play-off match against Ireland, but I don't have many expectations. I saw them in qualification play a hugely boring match against Poland. They will likely compete for second place in the group against another boring side, Peru (I tip 0-0), and if they make it to the next round, expect that they will lose to any team from one of the strong groups (Nigeria, Iceland, Croatia or Argentina).
• Argentina: Were it not for Leo Messi Argentina would not be in Russia. He is the only one can carrying a bunch of overrated and overpaid players without will or quality to play for a great country like Argentina. I find it sad that Higuain has made it to the team, and with a defense that has more holes than a Swiss cheese I cannot see that they will get beyond the first stage. Unless Messi is brilliant; he is the only one from whom anything looking like quality will come. But one man cannot make a football team; that is why it is a team sport!
• Colombia: Colombia is the only of "my" countries I am expecting anything from. They have a great team, and pressure does not seem as enormous as other years. At the same time their group does not seem incredibly difficult: a totally overrated Poland (with one quality player in Lewandowski), a Japan side with new coach and little confidence, and a Senegal side without much experience. I expect Colombia to make it through, and then their quality will be tested against what will likely will be Belgium or England.
• Belgium: I have lived the international life of Brussels, but will always have a soft spot for Belgium. They have a fantastic side, with one of their best generations ever, but were unable to shine at the highest stage in the Euro 2016, being eliminated by Wales. This should be their moment, again entering the tournament as favourites, but I do not expect them to perform when it counts.
• Spain:They qualified in style and have some of the best players in the world, and differently from 2014, when Del Bosque could not get himself to select young talented players or study the opponents, this squad has a good balance between youth and experience. Spain are surely favourites for the title. 

 Some of "my other countries" will be missed, mostly El Salvador (as I am currently here), but certainly also Chile (my country of birth) and my favourite African side of Ghana.
All this said, I have a hard time getting excited for this World Cup. Will this be the last World Cup worth watching?

A ticket for me?

I have seen in the news that most European leaders and Royals will not attend the World Cup due to some alleged political case against Russia. While all these great and intelligent world leaders seem to be riling against one another, a small average guy like me is still hoping to get a ticket for the World Cup. I can take one of these leftover tickets. I will pay for it. I may not be a world leader, intelligent, nor even special in any way. But I just really want to go to a World Cup.

Shout out to the World Football phone in

The BBCs World Football Phone In just celebrated its 20 year anniversary, and as always I greatly enjoyed the show. I have been listening to the show on podcast since 2006, when I was in Ghana. During my time in Mozambique it became a staple on my rather dull life, and I think I have barely missed a show since then, as I have been in Venezuela, Liberia, and now in El Salvador.

In all these places the show has been a fantastic companion. I am rather more dark and pessimistic than the show is, but the positive spirit of the show has always put me in a good mood, and made me feel I am part of this family of worldwide football fans, who love the game, and can have a pint and laugh at our silly discussions about the beautiful game.

This is more rare than common, which makes the show so much more special!

Football is like love

Lionel Messi is a sore loser. So am I.
I admit it. I have many times said I will never watch football again when I get depressed after bad results (which has happened more than once...).
But football is like love; you suffer it, but you always return to it.
After Lionel Messi's hugely disappointing defeat to Chile in the 2016 Copa America final (his third final defeat with Argentina in as many years), Lionel Messi announced that he would quit the Argentine National Team. But now Messi has reversed his decision, as he has accepted a call back by the new Argentine Manager Edgardo Bauza to the World Cup qualifiers in September.
This is great.
I am sure Messi will be criticized by many for this, which many will see as inconsistent and hypocritical.
But I understand it, as I am sure any real football fan understands it.
I will now watch football again.

Top 10 excuses for England

England is out, and with that their boring team and hooligans are going home to lick their wounds after showing their "skills" in Europe. Surely their manager Roy Hodgson (the most highly paid of all Euro managers) will have to go, and England will be reflecting and making excuses about their 2-1 loss to a much, much better Iceland side.
So with that, I would like to help the English and their excuses:

10. "Uh! Is that an Icelander farting or a mighty volcano!?!"
9. "We contributed to making football history"
8. "The Iceland manager is a part time dentist, which explains why they have more Teeth than the English"
7. "At least we lost to a non-EU side; better than being humiliated by France."
6. "The Icelanders do not have a professional league, which means they have more time to train passes and free kicks"
5. "Russia is out anyway, so nobody to get into fights with"
4. "We are still second best among the British teams"
3. "There are too many foreigners in English football; that is why we cannot develop the skills of our players"
2. "We are better off outside Europe anyway"
1. "I thought Iceland was part of the Shetland islands...?"

Absolute boredom

I thought that now that we have reached the knock-out stages of Euro 2016 matches would get more dramatic and interesting.
How wrong I was...
When I sat to watch Wales-Northern Ireland I was not expecting much, but got even less than I bargained for in a match where neither team seemed to have quality to break the defenses, and only an own-goal gave Wales the victory to make it to the quarterfinals.
After this bore, expectations were nevertheless high for the next match: Croatia-Portugal!
But this was even a greater bore; an insult to paint drying, which is far more interesting than what both these teams showed. It took them 116 minutes to make a shot on target, and when finally done, it gave Portugal the victory. I drank many beers to forget these two dreadful hours of my life.
The match compares to another absolute bore, Ukraine-Switzerland in the World Cup of 2006, and probably is worse, since this is apparently the first match in a major tournament since 1966 without shots on target.
After big expectations, I am happy that Croatia is going home, but must now live with the terrible knowledge that a Poland-Portugal quarterfinal is awaiting, and I will have to find something better to do, such as watching paint dry.

Euro memories

The Euro 2016 is soon to start in France. I must admit that I have a hard time getting excited about a tournament that comes in the background of political crisis in Europe and all the nerves it implies.
In football terms, the expansion of the tournament into 24 teams has in my view watered down the quality and excitement of the tournament; there are simply too many mediocre teams and too many matches before the excitement starts to get there in the quarterfinals. I predict that, as in the World Cup, the first round will be full of defensive careful teams who are more afraid to lose than wanting to take the risk of winning.
That said, in my continuing attempts at getting excited about the tournament I have reflected of some of the good memories of this tournament, based on the top 10 matches that have stuck to my memories. It is purely a subjective list, based not on the matches themselves, but on the circumstances under which I watched them (friends, place, time...);

10. Germany-Turkey 2008: This was the early build-up of a Germany that would take the world with storm and a Turkey side that took Europe with charm. This semifinal, won by Germany 3-2, I watched on a boat between Denmark and Iceland, with friends in a ship-bar where one could not help by get excited about what was a fantastic match.
9. Netherlands-USSR 1988: My first Euro memories are from the 1988 tournament. The 1988 final was an exhibition of a historic Dutch side with the fantastic Marco Van Basten scoring a fantastic winner.
8. Denmark-Sweden 2004: I watched this match full of dilemmas in a bar in Copenhagen. The problem was that 2-2 would put both teams through instead of one of the least charming Italy sides in history. And this was also how it ended after Denmark had tried to defeat their arch-rivals. So it was in many ways a great but bitter-sweet tie. On top of this I should mention that I started this blog right after the Italy-Denmark match in this tournament with the most boring post ever.
7. Spain-Yugoslavia 2000: I was in Spain for this match that Spain won 4-3. I watched it with a bunch of Spanish friends and one Yugoslav friend, and the taunting and good atmosphere of a fantastic and legendary match makes the day and the match specially memorable.
6. England-Germany 1996: In 1996 I was biking around the Danish island of Bornholm with two friends from High School. We watched the match in a bar in a small town. The bar was full of Germans, but all Danes in the bar supported England. The Germans in the end won on penalties to the delight of the Germans and disappointment of the Danes (who were not very gracious losers).
5. Spain-Germany 2008: This was the start of Spanish World football dominance, being their first victory since their meager 1964 Euro win, and I watched the match in a restaurant called "Matstofan" in Borgarness in Iceland, during a great road-boat-trip of the northern Atlantic, where football was constantly in the background (see 10 above).
4. Denmark-Netherlands 1992: I was actually in a hotel in Sweden, alongside my uncle and cousin, for this match. I had just returned from one year in the USA, where it had been difficult to follow football, and could not believe Denmark had made it to the semifinals. In the end Denmark won an incredibly dramatic match against the defending champions, and we were delighted.
3. Sweden-England 2012: I was there, in the beautiful Stadium in Kiev, for a great match won 3-2 by England. The Euro 2012 is the first and only time I have traveled to a tournament, alongside a great friend, and it was great.
2. Portugal-Denmark 2012: This match was won 3-2 by Portugal, and I was also there at the stadium in Lviv. Of course it was a bit disappointing to lose, but this was only secondary to the fun day in the beautiful and welcoming city of Lviv alongside many fans, and even ending the day in a karaoke bar after the match, singing alongside drunken Portuguese fans.
1. Denmark-Germany 1992: Every Dane alive in 1992 remembers what they were doing when Denmark won the European Championship. This was one of the miracles in footballing history. I had just returned from one year in the US, and was one week in Denmark before joining my parents in Spain. By the time I returned to Spain, Denmark were European champions, and I had watched the semifinal in Sweden (see 4 above) and I was in the small town of Ikast for the final. Ikast is not a city that is memorable for anything, but that day was an incredible party that I will never forget (just like everywhere in Denmark).

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!

 

Warm-up for Chile-Argentina

These two videos, by Argentino QL, are hilarious!
Vivamos Esta Copa Sin odio
Argentino QI (I love the Condorito)

Vivamos todos un gran partido!

Legendary Moments

The UEFA Website has a pretty cool competition going right now where you have to vote for your favourite moments of the Champions League. With the (slim) chance of winning tickets to the Champions League final in Berlin, this is something I of course cannot let go. But of course, at the same time, it leads to a more personal reflection on the most memorable (and not necessarily best) moments of this fantastic tournament.
So here are ten memorable moments:
10) Lionel's Messi's one-man-show against Bayer Leverkusen in 2011
9) Bayern Munich's first half against Roma in 2014, which I watched in an airport before boarding a plane, but which is probably the best I have ever seen a team play in one half.
8) Rabah Madjer's heal goal for FC Porto in the 1987 final against Bayern Munich is a goal that is imprinted in my mind
7) Manchester United's late 2-1 victory in the 1999 final, which made me feel sorry for a Bayern Munich side that had played better throughout the match.
6) Bayern Munich's 2001 penalty victory in the final over Valencia which made me feel sorry for myself.
5) Chelsea-Liverpool's 4-4 quarterfinal in 2009.
4) The incredible final between Liverpool and AC Milan in 2005.
3) First time I was at the legendary Anfield was in December 2013, to see the great Liverpool against Basel in the Champions League. Incredible to be there, although Liverpool were not so great that day.
2) In 2000 when Valencia defeated FC Barcelona 4-1 in the semifinals of the tournament. 
1) The first Champions League match I went to was in Copenhagen in 1999 when Brøndby faced Bayern Munich in the first round. Allan Ravn gave Brøndby the victory and myself an out-of-body experience.

That said, I could think of quite a few more as I finish this list!!! The only ones I am completely sure about are the top 4.

Ten Year anniversary of my blog

Today it is ten years ago I started this blog, during the 2004 European Championships, and immediately after the Italy-Denmark 0-0 tie. That first post was in Danish, but since I have posted in English, on this blog that in ten years has been an expression of one of the most important things in my life. I don't write my blog for anyone but myself, but happy to know that someone may read it. I write when I feel like it; I write what I feel like, with only my passion for the beautiful game as my guide.
I have had my ups and downs in those ten years, both on and off the pitch. I have lived in five countries, traveled to many more countries, and always had football as an entrance and reference point in my otherwise pretty dull life. I wrote about travels in Ghana during the 2006 World Cup, where Ghana became my darling African side. I was in Iceland for the 2008 Euro, celebrating Spain's victory. I was in France when Spain won the World Cup in 2010, in Venezuela during the 2011 Copa America, and travelled to Ukraine for the 2012 Euro.
I have been to see matches in diverse places such as Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko in Accra, Benfica-Braga in Lisbon, Copa Libertadores matches in Caracas, NASL match of the legendary Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, a local match in the deep Mozambican countryside, and even an amputee national match in Monrovia, Liberia.

I have been sad, happy, disappointed, elated, angry, and many more of those emotions one goes through in football, and have expressed them here, sometimes too much, but I have also tried to be objective amid my unapologetic subjectivity.

I don't know if anyone reads this, but if you happen to run into me today, I am buying a beer. I will be hanging around bars in Rome.
Cheers!

Update 2: Trying to get a ticket for the World Cup

I am trying to round up things at work and home before I go on my World Cup vacation, even though I may not be going to the World Cup itself. But I made one last attempt to get a ticket when I was informed that FIFA had now put thousands of tickets on sale on their site. From my poor connection in Liberia in the rainy early hours of the morning I logged onto FIFA to see the availability of tickets a new.
Unfortunately, my plane tickets and agenda for my vacation during the first round has been bought and paid, so it is no longer an option to go to any first round matches. It was nevertheless with enormous regret that I saw that there were tickets available for matches I had previously not been successful in my application for.
Bummer.
I then looked at quarterfinals and forward. Indeed, there were some tickets available, and I tried, tried and tried. I would punch the "add to shopping cart" button, only to be told "this ticket is sold out' as the page reloaded.
Needless to say, I was not one of the lucky ones.

I am looking forward for a wonderful vacation where I will go to different countries to watch football. But I will not go to Brazil, and this leaves me with a sense of regret and wonder at this ticketing process, where thousands can suddenly go on sale. Is this a result from the jungle of ticket sales in the first round, where I did not "win" either"?
I know that what I may say is sacrilegious, but what about the free market? I am willing to pay a lot of money for a ticket, but I am obviously so scary of tickets that will not be honoured that I have not done it. But I would gladly pay a much larger amount than what FIFA has sold them for.
I will be hugely disappointed if, like in South Africa, we will be seeing empty seats for the first round matches in Brazil.

I guess I have to plan for ticket for future World Cups. Who do I have to pay off to get a ticket for Qatar 2022?

"My" countries in the World Cup

The World Cup was my entry to football. I liked seeing countries play, learning about them, and also seeing countries play that I had an attachment to. This continues to be the case, surely more than the quality of football, which is generally much lower than even in secondary European leagues.
That said, of course, there are certain countries I will be watching with more interest than others due to personal attachment to those countries (but as you can see, it will not mean I will support them. This is football, and has nothing to do about my view of the country!):

• Argentina: I lived in Argentina as a child, and my heart is unapologetically Argentine when it comes to national team football. While I will support them, I have many doubts, perhaps because my hope has been shattered so often. Messi, Aguero, Di Maria, Gago, Higuain, Mascherano... It appears a strong side, but in my view they lack balance in defense and weight in midfield. I will be celebrating every one of their goals though.
•  Belgium: I have worked in Brussels, and visit Belgium every year. And even though it is in an international atmosphere where I have been far from Belgian reality, I have always been endeared to the Red Devils. Be sure I will drink a good Belgian beer and support them as their exciting young team may take Brazil with storm!
• Chile: I was born in Chile. I have not had particular attachment to their national team, and four years ago I was one of the few unimpressed as I thought they needed a bit more cynicism under Marcelo Bielsa. This year Chile are, if anything, better than four years ago, and may be the favourites of neutrals. While everyone has expectations, these can also be shattered, as Chile could easily be eliminated in the first round. Whatever happens I won't celebrate, but I won't cry either.
•  Colombia: I have Colombian background, and Colombia is finally back in the World Cup with a strong side. Under Jose Pekerman they play a bit old-fashioned Argentine football, but which also goes back to the strong Argentine influence on Colombian football. They have splendid attacking power (not only the doubtful Falcao) but a defense of old men. They will be popular as a team and for their fans, and I will be cheering with the rest of the world.
• Ghana: Ghana is the first African country I lived in, and was there during the 2006 World Cup, when I became a big fan of the Black Stars. In 2010 I cried with the rest of the world when they did not make the semi-finals. This will be a new test for a side that has nevertheless become more cynical over the years, playing a physical and defensive style that almost seems out of tune with the happiness of Ghanaians. I was almost happy when they were eliminated by Zambia from the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. While I will wear my Ghana shirt every time they play, I hope that they will play better football.
• Spain: I have lived in Spain and have Spanish family and there is little not to love about the country. That said, on a football pitch I have always been critical of Spain. While I was happy they won the 2008 Euro, and admit they deserved the titles in 2010 and 2012, I remain critical of the possessive-defensive style and lack of directness. The total dependence on two clubs that annoy me are also a cause of criticism that makes me generally not support the national team. I do believe they are favourites for the title though.
• USA: I lived in the USA and have visited the country, where I have so many friends, many times. Football (I refuse to call it soccer) has never been the priority but I have followed closely as they get better and better. It will be interesting to see them under Jurgen Klinsmann, who set forward to change US football when he became national coach.

There are of course some countries I will be missing: Denmark, Venezuela, and Liberia!