Mountain of light

Yes the World Cup is on and yes everytime I watch a good match I feel the need to write about the beautiful game. The World cup this time is particularly wonderful in terms of the talent on display and the matches so far have been very competitive. It is just amazing to see the fans in the stadiums, the singing, and the fun on the streets. I wish I were in Germany to watch the world cup!

Of all the wonderful talent at display, the teams from Africa just astound me. It is no means achievement for these teams to qualify against immense odds, given their political and economic problems, and then to be able to hold their own against the football giants of the world. However, to be able to show their skills and to defeat some of these big names is no less a feat for them than winning the world cup itself. You can see by their playing styles that there is so much talent that if they just held themselves together and not completely lose it (Cameroon vs. England, 1990) they can go on to much higher levels. These very African players are stars in their European clubs and there is no reason why these teams can’t do better. 

My match of the tournament so far has been the Ghana vs. Czech Republic. The Czechs were the fancied team, highly ranked in the FIFA rankings and had just handed out a football lesson to the US in their previous match. Even the Africans themselves, their neighbors Ivory Coast were touted as more likely to succeed, did not give the Ghanaians much chance. Ghana had also lost their first round match to Italy. However, from the word go, Ghana set the stage with a brilliant 2nd minute goal. They then went to miss a penalty (!) and still managed to beat the Czechs by 2-0. I was absolutely on the edge of my seat during the entire match. The skills of the Ghana team were breathtaking and had it not been for the brilliant Czech goalkeeper who must have saved atleast 5 sure shot goals the scoreline would have been 5-0. By the end of the game, Ghanaians were playing with their heart on their sleeves and the entire stadium, except the Czech supporters seemed to be rooting for Ghana. Ghana has since then managed to move on to the second round by defeating the US. Wonder what it means to them to defeat the might US even though they are not half as mighty when it comes to football! I can only imagine what can become of this team if they just sharpen up their finishing skills.

The other African team, which is equally good if not better, is the Ivory Coast. Their first match with Argentina was equally breathtaking and the scoreline of an Argentina win by 2-0 did not do justice to Ivory Coast at all. Their next match against Holland was again evenly matched, and even though I am a diehard Dutch fan, I have to admit that the Dutch didn’t play fair and Ivory Coast were unlucky in not being able to convert their chances. The scoreline of 2-0 in the Dutch favor didn’t do justice again. 

Ghana, also known as the Brazilians of African football, play the second round match against Brazil (no less!) and if they can even get the Brazilians to raise their level of football, I will be applauding Ghana and I will be applauding the game of football.