Batman and Robin… (Opinion by Jorge Barraza, Last Tango)

Two hundred thousand Scots came to Munich wearing their euphoria, their ancestral clothing. They came back with five goals. And drunks. It doesn’t matter if they lost, they get drunk just in case. Scottish fans are fantastic, always bringing color and heat to tournaments, but their team never reciprocates so much support. It’s curious, Scotland It is a football full of tradition, the founding country of the game. 152 years ago – in 1872 – Scotland and England played the first international match in history in Glasgow (they tied 0-0).

Just think about that one Celtic of 1967 and in Jimmy Johnstone There is a reverential respect for Scotland, even in the great managers like Alex Ferguson and Jock Stein. However, when they join the team they lack the joy of their fans, they have zero creativity, zero ingenuity, and this compromises their offensive possibilities. It’s always good to have a couple of Scots on your team, it’s warrior blood, but they don’t know how to be eleven together.

For that Scotland on Friday, there was too much Germany. A new Germany with old names (Neuer, Kimmich, Gundogan, Kroos, Rudiger, Thomas Müller)with the usual competitive seriousness and with the freshness that those two boys with their bodies and minds full of football give it: Musiala and Wirtz, Batman and Robin21 years old each and already champions in their clubs, already starters in a big team like Germany, to which they come to restore the hope, the faith of winning more titles.

Whenever two stars of such projection appear together, and who also empathize and connect with generosity, without jealousy, transcendent things can happen. They remember Pelé and Coutinho, Bochini and Bertoni, Xavi and Iniesta, Gullit and Van Basten, Romario and Bebeto. A small society like Musiala and Wirtz It elevates Germany directly to the top. The rest is simpler: defend well, support them, supply them, they will be in charge of unbalancing and winning the games. Musiala is skill, Wirtz is talent, both have imbalance and goal.

They should get together more on the field, touch, triangulate. At least for now, they go on a separate rope. In none of the five goals did they join in the maneuver. However, they will be sought and found, the good player knows who he can talk to, who can be his interlocutor on the pitch. Toni Kroos, a savant of game distribution, turned to the left, saw Mittelstädt alone, turned around again and preferred to give it to Kimmich. He would think: what can Mittelstädt do with the ball…?

The artificial intelligence (why does it have to be designated with capital letters…?) computed the predictions of 28 betting houses and that resulted in the favorite for the title being France with a probability of 19.2%, followed by England with 16.7% and Germany with 13.7%. However, that was until the start of the Euro Cup.

In the first of 51 games Germany He kicked the board and goes to first place for presumption, for demonstration and for those two young wonders who give him the added bonus of class combined with daring. They represent a new German football, less stuffy, more sparkling, just as winning and forceful.

The true football fan celebrates when a pairing like this appears. They are a blessing. Neither France nor England nor Spain have an explosive duo like Musiala and Wirtz. Which one is Batman and which one is Robin…? Time will determine it.

Artificial intelligence has a future in many fields, but in football two plus two equals seven. In this anything can happen. A thousand times it has happened that the underdog has won. Examples: Denmark 1992, Greece 2004. Besides, as long as life exists, the most relevant part of the analysis will be OBSERVATION, and that is exclusive to humans.

The ball that hits the club and comes out is not included in artificial intelligence. Neither do the labyrinths of the mind. There is too much imponderable in this physical, technical, intellectual and emotional game, where the scenic plays a determining role.

It should never happen, although it will surely happen one day, that a footballer must take a penalty in the last second of a world final to decide the championship, with three or four billion people waiting for the outcome. No one deserves such a burden. If he fails, he could be a living death like Moacir Barbosa Nascimento, the Brazil goalkeeper who was blamed for Uruguay’s second goal in the Maracanazo.

In the America Cup Artificial intelligence has better possibilities because failures are more infrequent. Or less likely. Above all, because there will not be an obvious locality like on other occasions. USA It is neutral ground. The differences that Argentina and Brazil establish on this continent are broader. And there is Uruguay, with its mystery of determination and commitment. Who can lift the beautiful cup forged in a jewelry store in Buenos Aires in 1916…? We are inclined to think that it could be Argentina.

It has the same team that won the world eighteen months ago, without absences due to injury, with Scaloni’s script completely internalized, without pressure from previous failures, and still with enthusiasm, with hunger for success, which is the most difficult thing to achieve in a group that has achieved high objectives: maintaining Tiger’s Eye.

What’s more, there are several elements at an exceptional level such as Mac Allister, Cuti Romero, Tagliafico, Dibu Martínez and with a Messi splendid, who does everything perfectly with the ball. From the day of the coronation against France in Qatar until today, the champion players have scored a combined 300 goals for their clubs and national teams, so they are still in airplane mode.

Who can take down the defending champion…? Brazil. It is always Brazil, even with its decline in recent years. Even without Neymar and with a new coach. But there is Vinicius (first candidate for the Ballon d’Or today), Rodrygo, Endrick, Lucas Paquetá, Militão, Marquinhos… There are strong names and the support of the shirt.

AND Uruguay, which can cause fuses to blow. This Uruguay has everyone scared Bielsa that runs, flies, puts in a leg as always and attacks like never before. It is a flurry and plays like the Celeste had never done before, with everything forward. With great figures like Luis Suárez, who despite his age is still a lion in the area and with Darwin Núñez, striker of any era, voracious scorer. He already beat Brazil and Argentina on the way to the World Cup, with notable authority.

The three –Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay– They promise to reach the top and expand their resume. But, if you allow us one last bet, we put some chips on Colombia. It is another Colombia, new, fresh, with a different mind, that wants to win, but essentially, is stubborn not to lose. She has a high-quality roster, with two figures per position and a coach who is the revelation of the Qualifiers.

Lawrence He wants it to always be played in the opposite field, which reveals the offensive nature of his idea. As ArgentinaHe also regrets no injuries and arrives with the wind behind him. And, like Uruguay, it has turned over big dolls: Germany, Spain, Brazil. Besides, he doesn’t have to go beat the big three on the road, on the contrary, he will play to a full stadium cheering him on. In the United States, only Mexico can boast a larger audience. The title would be absolutely consecrated for important football, which needs to be called a winner.

You can already feel the sound of a ball.

last tango

JORGE BARRAZA

For the time

@JorgeBarrazaOK

a ball noise is heard.