Sometimes, it is very comforting to be able to take things for granted. The contrary is true too. Take England for example. Or France or even Italy, for that matter.
England: The ball hopped, skipped, jumped and walked into the goal post and everybody else watched, baffled. Since then, the entire team has been acting as if all of them were raised in very abusive family environments and are suddenly dealing with the ghosts from the past.
France: Well, before the tournament began, I was very curious about three teams- France, Germany and Italy. But their squabbles make me wonder if the French have confused FIFA with WWF (as in the World Wrestling Federation).
Italy: Ah, the Italians! They defy defining.
There was only one reason why I support them: they are the defending champion this time and nobody takes them seriously. Teams like Brazil, Argentina and Spain suffer from excessive exposure and expectations.
The Italian team- it’s as if nobody expects them to win at all. They're the Big Daddy of Underdogs this time. You dont often get to see a defending champion getting treated like an underdog.
• Recently there was an article somewhere about a survey of teams that, people think, are most likely to cheat. Italy figures in the top three.
• There also were reports that there is nothing artistic or graceful about the way the Italians play the game.
Hmm, so, nobody expects them to win, play fair or gracefully either.
It takes a special kind of talent to generate so much of bad publicity and “good will” before even stepping into the stadium.
A very good-looking buddy of mine from Italy, who insists on living in Pondicherry, says that the coach, Marcello Lippi, is a master strategist. “He doesn’t want others to know how good the team is and that’s why they’re playing like that,” he said. He wasnt trying to be funny.
He better be right. There’s no other reason why the Azzuris would play like a bunch of very pregnant women.
It looks as if Italy is not the only team that is following this strategy. A number of other usually strong teams are trying this out too, very successfully. The only problem is that they don’t seem to know when to stop.
On June 24, Italy plays Slovakia. They have to win the match.
On June 23, Wednesday, England plays Slovenia. They better win this match or lots of very unpleasant things await them back home.
I’m a big fan of the self-deprecating sense of humour that the English possess. If England loses, there will be some very interesting and extremely funny articles to read about their debacle.
I’d rather wish there aren’t.