Win at any Cost is a Big Lose..
It will be an understatement to say the
place place I was born and brought up
is football crazy. Along with Goa and
Bengal, you find fascination for soccer is in the blood of many Keralites. My own memory of World cup soccer starts from
the grainy ViDooradarshan recorded matches of 1982. My brother and myself would have seen the
video of Brazil- Italy match
innumerable times. We progressed to live
matches during 1986 Mexico world cup. And I still recall the night I walked
with my father and brother some 5 kilometers on a rainy night to watch Brazil-
France match. That was a thriller. Our
home did not have electricity leave alone a TV.
And since then I have not missed a Brazil world cup match on TV.
During those times, when everyone chanted Maradona, a good number of us were fans of Zico and Socrates. In my own early teenage mind, Socrates and
Zico’s place were no less than that of
Bruce Lee, Cheguvera and Bob Marley.
It is a fact that Brazil is the national
team of any soccer fan, whose nation does not figure in the sweepstakes of
World cup football. Even to many of my
European friends who belong to nations which had won the world cup, Brazil is the second team they support.
Brazilian team won its place in the hearts of
many, by their sheer brilliance, artistry, flair and the way they won and lost
matches. It is said that the loosing team
of 1982
Brazilian team of Tele Santana is
the most loved football team in the world. Who can forget the back flick pass
of Socrates?
Things changed as Brazil progressed
economically and became a solid member of BRICS. Style was given way to Substance. In 1994 World cup they had no hesitation to bring in dour and
dull Dunga in the place of Rai. We all
thought, the old way is back during 2002, when the RRR triumvirate held
sway over the football field and
hearts of many soccer viewers.
The way
Selecao had played this worldcup , would have made Socrates turn in his grave. They were more focused on breaking the flow of their opponent than create one for themselves. The
number of fouls they had made against an effervescent Columbia will tell the real story. It is also to be noted, the two goals of
Brazil came from the central defenders
and that too from set pieces. Infact, I felt, the foul on Neymar, just showed the frustration of an Columbian
team who received no protection from the
Referee. It was big let down.
Some 4 years back, waiting for the Final of
World cup between Spain and
Holland to unfold, I wrote a small
piece.
http://thewayiseethat.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html. It did come true.
This time, I pray my favuorite team loose unless they play the game the way it should be played. Hope they realize that Winning at at cost is a Big lose
to all of us who love this game. With sincere apologies to Joao. ( Who is a good friend.)
