Well, out from behind a rock I come. Like Batman responding to the spotlight over Gotham, the sight of Alexi Lalas relaxing on ESPN's swanky new World Cup set spouting 'knowledge' of the beautiful game immediately triggered me into action.
A personal excitement for me is the returning punditry on this side of the pond of one Roberto Martinez. 4 years ago, I listened to this polite young man with light enthusiasm....now I find myself hanging onto every word from Bobby Brown Shoes. A supremely classy guy, just hoping for the "and Neymar is close to signing, which is phenonemal (Bobby's most used word - quite impressive for a Spanish native) "
Sooo, what have I missed so far (Brazil own goal aside)....
- Roy Hodgson in old man sunglasses
- An amazing lack of planning from team England organizing a friendly in Florida at 5pm in June and being surprised as a thunderstorm
- Scapegoating of a key England player (Rooney) before a ball is kicked in anger
- Overplayed bellowing for potential young player to start (Barkley)
Oh my, Neymar just scuffed a shot into the corner - 2 goals inside the first 30 minutes. That's my big hope for this summer's tournament.... attacking threat and lots of goals. That, and lots of goals for Mr Messi. There's a decent amount of pressure on him already, and I was happy to add to that with the weight of my own financial investment. Don't let me down Lionel.
Ok, let's relax and see if Big Phil's head explodes if Brazil score a second......
So another World Cup is coming to a close, and while recriminations, inquests and debriefs will continue - the distraction will stop and life goes on. Sometimes, almost guaranteed, that means dealing with heartbreak along the way. I for one hope Mr and Mrs Birchy have had their share and, the future has in store many more good times to balance out the tough. Wishing you both strength at this tough time. There's no great segue to get us back to the footie, but I talked about distraction and here is my distracting run down on all things Brazil, team by team, with omissions of those that didn't leave an impression : Africa: Algeria weren't bad at all. Great game v Sth Korea and gave the Germans a run for their money. The rest made the squabbles for win bonuses the height of irony... Asia: Sth Korea: pelted with toffees upon arrival home. Need I say more. I've forgotten what Japan did United States of Australia: plucky effort team, sum of parts blah blah..., could run all...
Welcome back Stevey C!
ReplyDeleteStevie, sack the work and life admin. This is the World Cup and the next 4 weeks are your first priority. Everything else takes back seat. Good to have you two back opining. Cheers Ed
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