Old (and picky) Europe (Last Tango, opinion)

In France gathered a few thousand signatures to ask Fifa to repeat the final against Argentina because, supposedly, the penalty against Di María was not such. And in Argentina -which are not dull- they began to collect signatures to ask that the French stop crying. It is curious: France is a sea of tears for having lost a World Cup that it hated: the one in Qatar. She always hated him.

Though Qatar He will be grateful for life to Napoleon’s homeland: Blatter confirmed it, without the votes that Sarkozy and Platini got him, he would never have been able to host him. And without the help of French engineers, architects and companies, the stadiums would not have looked so wonderful. Without counting on the support of Emanuel Macron, who blessed the tournament by shouting the goals from the box.

Didier Deschamps He did not even think about whether or not Di María was penalized and received the prize for the least hypocritical of the tournament for his phrase at halftime against Argentina: “Do you know what the difference is? That they are playing a fucking final of the world and we are not doing anything “. He preferred not to adhere to the signatures, Deschamps.

Antoine Griezmann (left) and Lionel Messi (right), in the World Cup final.

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A bloody winter is coming in Germany, however, the footballers of the national team, those who covered their mouths in protest against the lack of freedoms in Qatar, will heat their houses with Qatari gas. For them it is less dignified than heating up with firewood, but going to look for firewood in the snow is a hassle, you get wet all over.

Juanfe Sanz, the special envoy of El Chiringuito, returned to Madrid, said that the World Cup was not so perfect. That there were many zig zags to enter the field, that is, the metal fences to order the queues, and that, even if there was no one, he had to do it the same and it took fifteen minutes to do so. That in the Argentina-Holland match he missed the extra time and the penalties because he came out two minutes before thinking that he was finished and then, when he heard the equalizing goal, he wanted to return and they did not let him through due to a security issue. And that crossing the streets of the fast avenues was an odyssey because there were no nearby pedestrian crossings, he had to walk a lot and that was wasting a lot of time. Poor Juanfe…

The twenty-four Dutch fans who attended the Cup to cheer on Orange, which has nothing to do with Mechanics, complained that on the Qatar Airways plane that took them back to the Netherlands (be careful not to say Holland…!) Sandwichitos did not have mayonnaise. And that the Argentines, always so unfortunate, shouted victory in their faces. It is true that they provoked the entire game, but there is no right to be yelled at like that.

Denmark, the mother of Greenland, that big girl who wants to go live alone and they won’t let her, has loosened up a bit on the issue of the gay bracelet. There, too, public opinion was mobilized to disaffiliate from Fifa, but then they understood that it is like taking their feet off the map. And that maybe the world can get on without Danish football. They archived the topic. The 2022 World Cup was not a pleasant experience for the aristocratic Old World. It took place in the dubious Qatar, that nouveau riche, where for the worse, everything was dazzling and efficient. And on top of that, the detestable Argentina won it, that ragged one that has forty thousand fans. “How do they…? Where do they get the money…? Intolerable any way you look at it.

Europe’s complaints against a well-organized World Cup

Europe fell all wrong in Qatar. “Isn’t so much Eurocentrism already disguised racism…?” a Brazilian colleague asks us in a little bar in Zouk Wakif, that delicious Arab market in Doha where one can buy anything from a rug to a camel saddle. And a camel too. He takes a sip of karak, the delicious black tea with spices, and continues: “Europe is like an old man with certain diseases who is respected for his past.” There we no longer agreed so much and we changed the subject. But it is true that the European media were waiting with the ax and left without being able to use it. It was the best World Cup ever organized. Luckily the gestures of Dibu Martínez were there to grab hold of something… The European media had already seriously questioned the holding of the World Cup in South Africa also due to human rights issues and that of Brazil due to excessive spending on stadiums. Unless they are…

European fans definitely did not do the Silk Road. They despised the tournament from day one, although their teams did attend it. The pitches were equally filled: Latin Americans, Asians, and Africans provided heat and color.

Arabian fans celebrate victory against Argentina.

The World Cups visit Europe less and less. The last time the Cup was hosted in the “real” Europe (let’s say the one that reaches Hungary and Poland to the east) was in Germany 2006. Then it traveled to South Africa (2010), Brazil (2014), Russia (2018), which for Westernism does not qualify as Europe-Europe, now it was in Qatar (2022), the next is in the United States, Mexico and Canada (2026) and by 2030 there is a serious application from South America: Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile. If the latter occurred, the World Cup would not step on that sacred ground for almost thirty years. A scandal. What is remarkable is that, without stepping on it, it has become the biggest global event. Because, even if it hurts, this one in Qatar was the entry of the World Cups to a planetary, political and transversal status like never before.

The European associations are rabidly against Infantino, the Swiss-Italian president of Fifa. But Gianni will be re-elected in March until 2027 because there is no other serious candidate against him, and because he has the votes of Asia (47), Africa (54) and Concacaf (41), that is, 67.3 percent of the total. . Infantino is young, cunning and loves the position, with which Uefa will have its little problems. Uefa’s weapons power is based on its new and close alliance with Conmebol. Together they add up to 65 votes, but they are considered “the power of the game”: the 22 World titles were obtained by both confederations. It is a very nice fight for the next five years.

Europe won in the prudery section and lost in fans, although also in the field. It contributed 13 selections -the largest number- and South America 4. But the shirtless took the crown. And although we all said that “Europe plays another sport”, due to the high level of its football, it was completely disappointing. None of his teams returned home with nods of approval. France did not play half an hour well throughout the tournament, Spain was heavily criticized, Germany eliminated in the first round; England as usual, tactically good and naive, Italy didn’t even qualify; Denmark, pointed out as a possible surprise, a fiasco. In Belgium there were even street riots because of how badly they did it. Poland very poor and defensive, even Lewandowski received sticks. The Croatia of the old men, the only ponderable one. None of the others is saved. One word encompasses the overall performance of the Europeans: disappointing.

The most salvageable thing on the other side of the water was Emanuel Macron. A natural president, who accompanied his players, went down to the field of play, encouraged them in the locker room, enjoyed and suffered. He did not play sanctimonious or give moral classes. He was authentic.

Never has a World Cup been so politicized. It’s best to go play.

last tango…

Jorge Barraza
For the time
@JorgeBarrazaOK