Vol. 74/No. 28      July 26, 2010

From Florence

Dear Friends:

Spain won, and it won convincingly, in the face of a Germany that bet on errors and its tall and strong players. But they could not control or surprise the red fury. A goal by Puyol, who had flubbed an easier one that was also a head shot, was enough to make history and to put two teams into the final, Holland and Spain, that had never won a Cup.

When they speak about the “European final” or of European domination in getting teams to the semifinals and finals of this event, I have no choice but to reiterate that the best of world soccer is concentrated there and that what takes place there is, as Eduardo Galeano has well-titled his book chapter: "The best business on the planet."

“In the southern part of the globe, this is the itinerary of the player with good legs and good luck: from his town he moves to a provincial city; from the provincial city he moves to a small club in the country’s capital; in the capital, the small club has no choice but to sell him to a big club; the big club, choking on its debts sells him to a bigger club in a bigger country; and finally the player crowns his career in Europe.” [From Galeano’s book El fútbol a sol y sombra]

Just think about how many “nationalized” players are on the roster of countries that are at the first level, for example this young German team that has 11 players born in other countries.

A lot can be said about this topic. Let’s continue enjoying the World Cup this weekend, in its closing days.

I try to imagine how the Yara [a large movie theater in Havana where the World Cup was shown] was this afternoon, details from my Cuba.

Five hugs. We will overcome.

Tony
July 7, 2010
 
 
Related articles:
Cuban government releases 17 arrested in 2003
Mandela: ‘Cuban Revolution is source of inspiration’  
 
 
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