The Beautiful Game

It’s the business end of the World Cup and I haven’t followed it live on television. Have caught the highlights for most games. Something feels missing even in the highlights not to mention something was also missing in the build up. The most expensive World Cup ever but the discussion has been around ethics, morality, equality. For those that follow the European club circuit; Japans performance would not have been surprising. 

I am better at playing other sport when compared to football. I guess it stems from the fact that all other sport gives you something that can extend the capabilities of the human body. Think about it in paddle and racquet sports the paddle or the racquet is an extension of the forearm. In sports that use clubs, sticks , bats etc to strike a ball it’s similar. The tool is an extension of your arm that helps you improve your range and ability to strike an object.  Not so in football. Football actually asks you to only use your legs. The entire objective of football seems to be , let’s make things harder to do and make you look like a fool while doing it. 

The ball is hard to control, the pitch and the atmosphere make it even more difficult. Look at any random 5 minutes of any game and you will notice how difficult ball control is and if it rains or snows it gets worse. Rugby at least allows you to use your hands.  Some games look confused you don’t know what the team or individual players are trying to do. Passes are not completed, ball is given away easily. It just looks a mess. If you see small kids play it’s almost like a melee; every kid is after the ball. The concept of teamwork has not yet evolved. Why then is this game considered beautiful? 

The history of football has many greats. I remember seeing Socrates from Brazil on TV in the 86 World Cup and considered him better than Diego. Individual brilliance from then and before till date in CR7 or Messi has always been appreciated. I digress, it’s the game that I am thinks about.  I guess it’s about how the games is played. 11 individuals with varying skills, maybe a few generational talent in the ranks (and if you are Brazil, it’s quite possibly more than half the side). The precision with which the German teams have played (not the teams they have fielded since their last cup win but the ones before); The resolute defence of the Italians; the total football played by the Spanish and obviously the Dutch ( The Dutch do this once every 3 or 4 world cups) and the absolute brilliance of the Brazilian sides every few world cups is probably the reason why it’s a beautiful game. There is poetry in the fluidic motion on the pitch. It is beautiful.  Football also mirrors the expectations of the national fans or the club fans. Those 90 mins are condensed life lessons. From the kickoff to the last whistle there is joy , disappointment, team work, strategy and a lot more ; the most important being having fun. 

No wonder it’s the beautiful game. 

C