Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Vaya Espana!

I can't believe that Spain aren't thrashing the formerly uninspiring French. As a former resident and (occasional) tax payer of that nation, I'm very disappointed that they've just gone a goal behind. In many ways, though, their football setup reminds me of that of England: A tough league, dominated by a couple of teams that can buy the best players in the world. This must have a detrimental effect on the game at the national level.* And while they have considerably more depth in their squad, they also have a number of aging superstars and relatively untested youngsters -- and a history of underperforming in major championships.

Five minutes to go and it looks like they've left it too late. Que lastima!

* I am planning a post on the increase in university education and the decline in English football; stay tuned!

1 comment:

Mondale said...

I just avoided the day's results in order to hang out with cousin Kevin and watch the games on Spanish TV (Frau Random Doubt is on a business trip- lots of beer and man time). The Spanish channel showed the Brazil-Ghana game, oh so predictable! Would have loved to have seen the Euro derby.