baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
thanks!
Can Dissensus offer up a collective prayer for Hungary to be victorious? Evoke the spirits of Puskas and Kocsis et al?
i just went to hungary for the week to play for the england writers team against the hungarian writers team.. we got a very well-earned 1-1 draw. all of the hungarian writers we were drinking with after the game were great, they have little to no confidence in their (real) national side though. we all talked a lot about puskas, inevitably - and there was a literary 'match' in the evening after the game, called 6-3 reloaded, with patrick neate and a couple of others representing our side.. i'm not sure who won. anyway i will certainly be repping hungary today.
But for a second-tier Euro team like Poland, I just never get the feeling they give enough of a shit when they actually get to the finals
The problem with world cup qualifiers is that they go on for bloody months/years, then some teams are out after one or two half-arsed performances in the finals.
It's brilliant for a team like, say, Honduras, for whom getting there is a huge achievement given the infrequency of their appearances at WC finals, not denying that. But for a second-tier Euro team like Poland, I just never get the feeling they give enough of a shit when they actually get to the finals, and almost accept they're beaten before they start agaionst someone like Italy or Brazil - there's not the same intensity/will to win I associate with the Champs league.
You'd think if you spent two years getting there, you'd care a bit more.
But Uruguay-Argentina is gonna be war! Is there anyone who hasn't played for Argentina for 15 years since they missed 5 penalties in 5 minutes against Ecuador that Diego can drag out as a matchwinner?
having said that, Algeria-Egypt has one hell of a fractious history as a fixture, no?
I fucking love the qualifiers - you get all the intensity of the World Cup without the excessive surveillance and "think of the children" prudery. All the really mad shit happens in the qualifiers (remember the fake blood?). Wish there was more of them on TV - can we get Don Quixote his own show?
don't get me wrong - i like them a lot too, especially when they end in extortion or violence, but I just wish the same passion was applied to the Finals themselves, and I think that often it's not. England of course are one of the worst offenders - 2002, 2004 and 2006 exits were some of the weakest, most shoulder-shrugging displays I have ever seen (Rooney aside, but do we need that kind of caring?)
England 2006 were a disgrace. 2002 and 04 they tried, but weren't good or brave enough (that means you Sven).
Talking of WC romance, everyone should read this if they have the time (which I haven't yet). For people my age, Denmark 86 were like the Dutch 74 or Brazil 70, except only about half as good.