Oh, the beautiful game. For as long as I can remember football (soccer) has been a part of my DNA.
Early in my childhood, I remember my dad playing football for Creek United in Arima, Trinidad & Tobago. If my memory serves me correctly; their kits (uniforms) were a stylish 1970s blue and yellow; similar to that of the Samba boys of Brazil but tight around the thighs and not quite delivering the same chic effect.
The final battle of the FIFA 2018 World Cup in Russia will be played this Sunday between 
v 
.
The game between France (Fédération Française de Football – FFF) aka Les Bleus and Croatia (Croatia Football Federation – HNS) aka Red Devils will be watched by ~ 1 billion viewers worldwide. The 2014 World Cup matches had 3.2 billion viewers according to FIFA.
These two teams are both quite capable of winning the ultimate match given their improbable route to the final game.
Les Bleus VOTRE FORCE, NOTRE PASSION. ALLEZ LES BLEUS !!!
The Les Bleus has one World Cup title which they won in 1998 and are in the quest for another title on Sunday. My favourite French players of all time are Zinedine Zidane -Algerian born- and Thierry Henry -Born in France from Guadeloupean heritage. French citizens on Sunday will be rooting for their multi-cultural team on the pitch while still wrestling at home with ethnic and class stereotypes in the streets. The Les Bleus consists of players with ancestry in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Mali, Angola, Algeria, Togo. Some say that this French team is the 6th team from Africa in the World Cup.
Zidane recently said that their 1998 win
was not about religion, the colour of your skin, we didn’t care about that, we were just together and enjoyed the moment.
The strength of Les Bleus will be fueled by the passion of their countrymen and the majority of the African diaspora.
Red Devils MALA ZEMLJA. VELIKI SNOVI
The lads from Red Devils this week became the second smallest country after Uraguay to play in a World Cup final. The Devils tenacity, vigour and drive is indicative of the actual trials -the break with Yugoslavia, the war for independence- endured by their country and many members of the team. Luka Modrić captain of the devils grew up during the war for independence and was a refugee of the war living in a hotel for seven years. Luka’s dad was slain when he was six and football was his distraction from the terrors around him.
“We were always afraid, that’s what I remember the most,” says Tomislav Basic, one of Modric’s early coaches at NK Zadar. “Thousands of grenades, fired from the surrounding hills, fell on the training pitch in those years, and we were always racing to reach the shelter. Football was our escape from reality.”
Source: The Guardian
Good luck to Croatia, a small country with big dreams!
Oh, the beautiful game allows us to ignore our struggles, roar for our beloved team with the hopes of raising the cup for the most popular sport in the world.
Featured image by FIFA World Cup by crz4all
Viva la France (pardon my French)
Nice choice but the wrong choice.