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Magnifique
July 1st, 2006
This morning wasn't my most exciting as I spent it undoing the chaos that
my luggage was in and washing enough clothes to get me as far as Thursday
(6 July), when I fly back to Australia.
I decided to enjoy the afternoon and evening elsewhere and, while I know
this column risks descending into a continuing advertisement for tourism
in Germany and the Netherlands, I discovered another gem today - Utrecht.
Utrecht, just a 30 minute train ride from Amsterdam, is smaller than the
Dutch capital but it certainly has its charms.
The canal wharves are Utrecht's unique feature. They are a few metres
below street level. You often see outdoor dining at two levels - on the
street above the canals and by the water's edge below. Stalls selling
flowers add to the splendour.
Utrecht's cathedral tower is 112 metres high and has 465 steps. You know I
can't resist these things so up I went. It's not as high as the steeple in
Ulm but the view from the top is more attractive because Utrecht has so
much history.
After following an excellent walking tour around the city, I settled into
a bar for England v Portugal. Surprisingly only half a dozen people were
there watching the game on a massive screen. Then again, I suppose it's
quite hard sitting through a match involving the Portuguese (the
Paraguayans of the knockout phase).
My girlfriend isn't a big football fan but she was obviously watching
because late in the match she sent me a text message that asked, "Is this
a football game or a performance for the Oscars?"
Good question.
Anyway, we know this script, don't we? It's a quarter-final; the referee
is no help to the English; and then they go out on penalties.
I never really thought that England would go all the way. Can you imagine
Sven Goran Eriksson joining the small group of managers that have won the
World Cup?
I'm sure there are already journalists writing that Luiz Felipe Scolari
scored another tactical triumph over the Swede but, given equal teams, I'd
also score a tactical triumph over Eriksson.
Fortunately tonight's second match showcased more of the things that are
great about football.
This time I found a fantastic pub in the heart of Utrecht. There were lots
of people there watching football and talking about it. During the match,
they all applauded every piece of Zinedine Zidane skill.
France's victory was no surprise to me as I wrote about the Brazilian myth
in this column two weeks ago. Now everyone has seen the reality - the
Brazilians are not the best in the world. Indeed, on the evidence of the
last three weeks, they're not even the best in South America. Argentina
looked much better.
The Argentines may have also suffered quarter-final elimination but they
won a tough group and played their part in a difficult match against the
host nation. The Brazilians simply wilted when they faced a World Cup
heavyweight for the first time at these finals.
Take no credit away from les bleus. They were magnifique and deserved to
win by a greater margin.
We must now pray that France's form holds in the semi-finals. Just
thinking about Portugal's anti-football being rewarded with a place in the
World Cup Final is enough to make me feel ill.
I usually love an underdog and Portugal is the only remaining nation that
has never won the World Cup. But I would now be happy to see anyone except
Portugal win the tournament.
I'll raise my glass to Germany, Italy or France. If, however, Portugal's
name goes on the trophy, the sport has a problem. The "How to win the
World Cup" guide would need new chapters that talked about the value of
surrounding referees, incessant playacting and filthy tackles.
It'd be enough to make you want to follow synchronised swimming.
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