The World Cup of the World Cups. Yes Qatar 2022 was the tournament of surprises, the biggest of all was that the tiny piece of the map set up an unforgettable Cup.
Everyone doubted his organizational capacity “because he doesn’t have a football culture” and because he was too small, but not a single light bulb failed, everything turned out perfectly. No one protested at all. And tinyness ended up being an ally of success, everything was at hand.
(Pelé is surrounded by his relatives in the hospital, video (Sensitive images)
(They reveal the VAR dialogue that could leave Argentina without the World Cup in Qatar)
Without a doubt, Qatar will be a hinge and a very high bar for future hosts. To begin: will they have something United States, Mexico and Canada to make it easier for visiting fans to travel or stay…?
Qatar put all its infrastructure, its wonderful transportation system at the service of the people. Free. Even hospitals were free for tourists during that month. There are many highlights left in the notebook. Let’s untie them.
the novelty
The cooling of the stadiums, closely linked to the fabulous physical display of the teams. The players had guaranteed freshness in the rectangle, with temperatures of 20 to 22 degrees. Revolutionary.
the success
The dispute date. The protagonists arrived with between 20 and 25 games played at the World Cup, not with 60 as usual when it takes place between June and July. That improved the physical performance of football, they were ready.
The doubt
The Fifa He lowered the line to the referees: add all the lost time that was necessary. It seems a fair measure, although in some cases they went too far: Argentina-France he had 18 added minutes between regular time and extra time. Maybe 9 was enough. He needs to adjust, but that’s okay.
the lode
Presumably, Fifa will know how to notice that it has won a fabulous potential market: the Asia, a giant with increasing economic growth. In Qatar, the Asian fans were very involved, they have discovered that they too are part of the party and can travel, go to the stadiums, buy shirts, encourage, participate in this phenomenon that is the World cup.
The dimension
Planetaria, which reached the World Cup in Qatar, the biggest event of any kind. Teleaudience records were broken on five continents. And for a month it was the cover of all the newspapers in the world. Soccer should paraphrase Maria Elena Walsh: “So many times they killed me / So many times I died / Yet I am here / resurrecting”.
The awakening
Of Africa. Morocco he reached a world semifinal for the first time. And she unleashed madness in her country. She marks a path: that of daring. Y Tunisia he followed it. They proved to themselves that they are not just participants, they can compete. The two also brought tens of thousands of fans and were total euphoria. Ghana Y Senegal they didn’t do it wrong Cameroon he beat Brazil.
The disappointment
the rancid Europe He hated the tournament for months before it started and was the continent with the fewest fans present. about Spain and Holland, to give an example, was at least striking: his followers could be perfectly counted given how few they were. The Eurocentrism of its media bordered on arrogance. And in the game itself, no European team dazzled. That which, compared to South America, “play another sport”, was not such.
The break
Qatar 2022 definitely changed the equation about number one in history. For a very large percentage, no less than 80% according to surveys in different countries, Messi is now the undisputed monarch above Maradona and Pelé. And the appreciation is not based only on its quality and his achievements, but on the time when he has achieved everything: this is the one with the greatest degree of difficulty, without a doubt. “Messi can legitimately say that he is the best soccer player of all time,” explains Mark Meadows, a columnist for Deutsche Welle (German television) simply. Yes, the great Brazilian Pele he won three World Cups, and he’s still the only one who could do it. But football was very different in 1958, 1962 and 1970. Messi has played in a fiercer time, with many more games and much more pressure.
doubt II
How long will Messi continue…? By June 2026 he will be 39 years old. It seems impossible for him to arrive. Can he, will he, will he be healthy…? Some say “that he go as a substitute, even if it is”, “that he play at least one game and reach six World Cups”. Only he knows. So many things can happen in three and a half years…
The event
This World Cup cleared up any doubt: there is no country in the world where football means more than in Argentina.
disappointment II
Several: Belgiumwith an aging generation. Germany, too busy with the gay bracelet. Uruguay, who thinks she has more than she really has. Spain, “the team of a thousand passes”, is a shy boyfriend, he goes round and round and does not specify. It is also true that he has a poor squad. Y Denmark, whose federation was basically dedicated to torpedoing the tournament. They all went home early.
The failure
Cristiano Ronaldo. He came from Manchester Utd involved in polemics and rudeness and continued with Portugal. He resigned with the club two days before his debut, perhaps thinking that he would shine and score goals for his country and then offers would rain down on him. He did not play anything, he lost ownership, he had bad gestures with the coach, his teammates no longer support him (they publicly supported his replacement, Gonçalo Ramos), the Portuguese public gave him thumbs down and on top of that Messi was champion and star. All wrong. They offered it to all of Europe, nobody bit.
The revelation
Also several: Jude Bellingham (England), Marcus Thuram Y Kolo Muani (both from France), Enzo Fernandez Y Alexis MacAllister (Argentina), Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco), Dominic Livakovic (Croatia), Goncalo Ramos (Portugal), Salem Al-Dawsari (Saudi Arabia), author of the second goal against Argentina.
the meeting
Of many races. Arab fans mixed with sub-Saharan Africans, Indo-Chinese, Latin Americans, and Europeans as rarely. And absolute pacifism reigned. There was an acceptance of the other.
the revelation II
Among the technicians, lionel scaloniwho in a very short time went from being the assistant to the assistant to champion of America and of the world.
revelation III
Arab kindness. Always suffering from bad press, we were able to verify that it is a friendly, calm, silent town. He was not bothered by the visit of millions of fans, he made himself available. Nice check.
The future
The future is Qatar. Impressive little country. And he had an Asian luxury: organizing a World Cup. It’s not little.
Jorge Barraza
For the time
@JorgeBarrazaOK
#sands #Qatar.. #Tango