Last night's 3-2 victory of Slovakia over defending champions Italy should provide a lot of writing materials for any football writers around the world, let alone a passionate budding football writer like me. However, I faced some sort of the dreaded writer's block today and I simply couldn't muster any inspiration to write a good piece about yesterday's match. Despite that slight hindrance, finally I received some sort of salvation. It is well known throughout my social circle that besides football, I also have an intense passion in history, despite many people dismissing it as a dead subject, studying about some dead guys killing other dead guys in dead places and in dead eras. Nevertheless, now I am able to at least draw a certain parallel of football with history. The salvation came from someone I did not expect to give me such a huge inspiration (thanks Niwde! I appreciate it). This guy simply sent me one solid sentence about a certain parallel between the World Cup 2010 so far with the World War II. I think I really have many things to say about that as well as to expand that aforementioned solid sentence.
Let us first take a look at the European theater. We have France who have just been knocked out from the competition so meekly and shamefully. They also surrendered quite early to the Nazis during the World War II initially before USA's landing in Normandy, but that's for much much later as we will see when we get to that. We also have Italy who also surrendered tamely and also shamefully. In World War II, especially in the 1940s even before Hitler's fall, Mussolini's Italy was already in tatters, a series of mismanagement and internal strife culminated in Mussolini being ousted from the Prime Minister post as well as arrest and even with Hitler's assistance to bring him back by rescuing him from prison in the famous (or infamous) Operation Eiche, and also by establishing an Italian Nazi Puppet State in the name of Italian Social Republic, the puppet state soon collapsed as well. As for Holland who have just started the World Cup brilliantly by winning all of their three Group matches so far, it is just like the full glory of the Dutch domination with their array of colonies spanning from the West Indies (Suriname) to the East Indies (Indonesia).
Still in Europe, we also have Germany. In the World Cup, Germany started in a really convincing manner by beating Australia 4-0, but then suffered a setback against an Eastern European nation Serbia as they lost 1-0 and ended the match with 10 men. But then, they regained some footing by defeating Ghana 1-0. In World War II, we know that Germany also started in a blistering fashion as they annexed countries in Europe as such speed that people simply felt that the whole world might soon be a Nazi world. However, a very big mistake in Hitler's part by trying to invade Soviet Union by arriving there in a cold, harsh Eastern Europe winter. They simply lost a lot of men and simply failed big time, having to retreat shamefully. However, around the 1940s, Germany also launched an African campaign with their Afrika corps. We also have England, who are totally unconvincing so far and only with USA's sudden victory at the very last minute, that England managed to get some footing to go through to the last 16. In World War II, the UK simply could not fend off Germany alone and son they formed an alliance (Allies) with the likes of USA to fend off Germany's threat. How fitting that Germany and England are to meet in the last 16, just like in the World War II in which they traded blows such as when Germany launched their blitzkrieg campaigns against the UK, and the UK launching its own strategic bombings all over Germany later on.
Moving on to the North America. As I have mentioned so many times above, the USA only stood up and be counted at the last minute. In this World Cup, they simply drew 2 games, before winning against Algeria in the very last minute to win 1-0 and book their ticket to the last 16. In the World War II, the USA simply stayed neutral for most of the duration of the war, until Pearl Harbor was heavily bombed by the Japanese in 1941 then the USA decided to join the World War at the very last minute and they finally do so with a blazing trail at that.
Moving on to Asia, we have Japan who have just booked their ticket to the last 16 by beating Denmark. This is also quite parallel with the Japanese Empire in World War II when they really threatened to conquer the whole of Asia and was truly renowned as a world power at that time. As for Korea, their form in the World Cup 2010 is more parallel to the Korean War, which is in 1953, so I am not going to really delve into this in detail as I have to stick with World War II, and besides, the Korean issue is a sensitive issue at this time.
It is in Africa that the similarities with World War II really struck. During this time, Africa were only the Europeans' toys. They were simply colonies, partitioned in the way that the Europeans wanted to do and they were simply in chaos, under their European masters. Sadly, this is also the case in World War II. Just look at the six African team managers. Besides Algeria which is managed by Sabah Raadane, the rest are managed by European managers. Also, under their European managers, the African teams simply lose their footing so much that one by one dropped like flies when a lot is expected from them considering the resources that they have, especially Ivory Coast. For now, only Ghana managed to go through to the last 16 by the skin of their teeth. Even then they are not expected to go through further as USA lies in wait. This is the same as in reality. Africa is continuing to be pincered by poverty and chaos despite the obvious potential and the abundance of natural resources that they have.
The similarities of the World Cup and the real world is so uncanny that I am starting to shiver. Football is supposed to be so different, so separated with real life, with history and even more so politics. But it seems that it can't be helped that football is after all part of those reality however grim, and I could only say one thing, reality bites. OUCH!
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