Friday, February 19, 2010

 

Brugges 1, Valencia CF 0 & Another Bar Added To My List

In general people here in Valencia will stay at home to watch important football matches if they are shown on regular television stations. Only when the games are on the pay channels do fans come out in numbers to see the games. Last night I had to rearrange my schedule at the last minute in order not to miss the Brugges-Valencia contest in the UEFA Europa League. I was able to make my dentist appointment an hour earlier so that >I could watch the game at a bar next door to the clinic.

It was one of the thousands of bars in Valencia, a bar de puretas, or old man bar, as a Spanish friend calls them. I sat in the back at the bar and look over a sea of bald spots and gray hair before my eyes reached the big flat-screen on the wall. I have really been cranking up the pressure in my bid to learn Spanish in these past few weeks so I noticed that I was understanding just about all of the chatter from the game announcers, even above the noise of the bar. Not that understanding football-speak is my goal in learning Spanish but it serves as sort of a measuring stick as to how well I am progressing in my studies.

Although this bar is only a few blocks from my apartment it seemed like I was in Comanche territory as they say in Spanish. It’s just that I see almost all of the games in one of three bars in my neighborhood: La Tasca de Russafa, L’Almudin, or my new favorite, Bar Canadá. I think my true goal here in Valencia is to visit every bar in the entire city. I think I have at least 950 to go after drinking in over 1,000 thus far.

As I have said on countless occasions, I stop in at a bar or café at least once a day. I like different cafés for different reasons. In some I like to read and they provide a quiet, uninterrupted chance to pass an hour plowing through whatever it is that I am reading at the moment. Other bars are for food. I have been on another quest to find the best tortillas de patatas in the city. I already found it at El Mercat but I can keep trying. Other bars I go to because they have nice terraces when the weather permits (it hasn’t recently). I have a network of places all over the city that I visit on a fairly routine basis while others in my neighborhood I stop in almost daily. I think if I had to say it bars are what I love most about living here in Valencia. I like the community they provide—the food and drink are secondary considerations at best.

Labels: Football, Valencia Spain

9:37 AM

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Monday, January 25, 2010

 

Levante UD, Valencia CF, and Paella

What could be more Valenciano than watching a Valencia CF football game and having a paella at my house? How about going to watch Levante U.D.—the other Valencia football team—play, have a paella, and then watch Valencia CF? That was yesterday’s schedule for me—not the worst way to spend a Sunday. It was my first time to see Levante play and I had never even seen their stadium before even though I used to live fairly close. It’s hard to miss as it isn’t very big and even if you do miss it you aren’t missing much—truth be told it’s pretty much an eyesore. They played Betis yesterday and it was a pretty good game, at least the second half when Levante scored on a great free kick. This was enough for them to get three points from Betis. It would be great to see Levante climb back up into the first division for next year. Valencia CF is trying to hang on to third place in the first division behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. They only managed a draw against Tenerife yesterday.

The Levante game ended at 13:45 which gave us just enough time to take the metro from the stadium back home, cook the paella, eat, and then walk next door to see the Valencia game at Bar Canadá which has turned into my new proxy living room. I go there almost every day now for a coffee or maybe a glass of wine in the evening. They show all the games there, the food is pretty good, and it’s a great place for me to read. It just so happens that this was also the first bar I entered in Valencia when I moved here over three years ago. After settling in a bit in my first short-term apartment my brother and I started walking towards the historic center of town when we came upon this bar on a palm-lined boulevard and stopped in for a caña. Now I live a half block away; it’s like god wanted me to move next to Bar Canadá.

Labels: Football

7:51 AM

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Monday, December 07, 2009

 

Visca el València*

Valencia held on for the win last night against Bilbao despite a late and very dubious penalty call. The shot hit the post for a bit of frontier justice. I don’t think I could have watched Valencia CF suffer another draw because of a late-game foul like last week. At least last week’s penalty was deserved. The win puts Valencia ahead of Sevilla with 28 points. David Villa scored his 11th goal in twelve games. I have been saying how fun it is to watch Valencia play this year but I wouldn’t say that about last night’s match. The team looked fairly rudderless without David Silva who will miss about a month. I hope the team can get it together without Silva before the next game.

This Saturday Valencia hosts Real Madrid and a win could give us a tie for second in La Liga (with Real Madrid) behind Barça. Valencia did manage a draw against Barça earlier this season and a draw against Madrid wouldn’t be horrible. Valencia certainly is capable of winning against Madrid and any other team in Europe, for that matter. The team has fantastic players with five of them on the Spanish National squad. In the area of management is where Valencia is lacking. I just don’t understand how you can lose money on a European football team is a city as big as Valencia and with a team with so much tradition.

Barça doesn’t suffer from the problem of poor management. The team has more money than god and fills their huge stadium every single week. There only seem to be and handful of teams in La Liga here in Spain that are legitimately capable of beating Barcelona: Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, and perhaps Villarreal and Atlético de Madrid, and these teams have to play the game of their lives to win. Barça does occasionally lose to lesser teams but it’s a fluke.

*Hooray for Valencia in Valenciano. This is a line taken for the hymn of Valencia Club de football. Feel free to sing along:

És un equip de primera
nostre València Club de Futbol
que lluita per a defendre
en totes bandes nostres colors.

En el Camp de l'Algirós
ja començaren a demostrar
que era una bona manera
per a València representar.

Amunt València, Visca el València, és el millor
Amunt València, Visca el València del nostre cor.
Units com sempre els valencianistes et seguirem,
en cada estadi per a que triomfes t'animarem.

En la capital del Túria
és el València qui vist de blanc
i defén la camiseta
ple de coratge per a guanyar.

En Mestalla continuaren
sempre esforçant-se per a triomfar
i les glòries arribaren
i en competència continuaran.

Amunt València, Visca el València, és el millor
Amunt València, Visca el València, del nostre cor.
Units com sempre els valencianistes et seguirem,
en cada estadi per a que triomfes t'animarem.

Amunt València, Visca el València, el campió!

Labels: Football, Valencia Spain

9:32 AM

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Saturday, December 05, 2009

 

World Cup 2010

The World Cup groupings are out and it’s time for everyone to post their opinions about how the tournament will play out next summer. What the hell else do I have to do while I sit at home waiting for the football match to come on TV at 22:00 between Coruña and Barça?

Group A:
South Africa
Mexico
Uruguay
France
And leaving this group for the next round… South Africa, Mexico. France got in by the skin on their ass with a hand ball by Henry against Ireland in a playoff game because they didn’t qualify outright from their lame-o group. The host team always advances, that's just the way it is.

Group B:
Argentina
Nigeria
South Korea
Greece
… Argentina, Nigeria. I predict that Argentina won’t even lead this group and may qualify on goal differentials. Maradona was a great player but he is a retard as a coach.

Group C:
England
USA
Algeria
Slovenia
…USA, England. England was shit-hot in their group and the USA did beat Spain last summer.

Group D:
Germany
Australia
Serbia
Ghana
…Germany, Australia.

Group E:
Netherlands
Denmark
Japan
Cameroon
…Netherlands, Cameroon.

Group F:
Italy
Paraguay
New Zealand
Slovakia
…Italy, Paraguay. God, I hate Italy.

Group G:
Brazil
North Korea
Cote d’Ivoire
Portugal
…. Brazil, Cote d’Ivoive. Portugal may squeeze by if Ronaldo is healthy. This is hardly the "group of death." Brazil is certainly capable of winning it all but I just don't like how this team has meshed together thus far.

Group H:
Spain
Switzerland
Honduras
Chile
… Spain, Switzerland

I have to go with Spain winning it all next summer. Spain is incredibly deep at every position. They could easily field two great teams but just one should be sufficient to make it all the way. A lot can happen during the weeks of play.

Labels: Football

9:39 PM

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Monday, November 30, 2009

 

Barça 1, Real Madrid 0

If you live in Spain this game, this “classic” as they call it, is a huge deal. When I first arrived in Spain three years ago I remember that they were running TV spots advertising the Madrid-Barcelona game on the national TV channel La Sexta. “Only 100 days to go before the big game” and then they counted down the days until the apocalypse. Teams in the Spanish league play each other twice a season and last night was the first match up of these two perennial Spanish powerhouses. The hype on TV wasn’t as thick this time because the game was on a pay channel but it was still incredibly big news all over the country. Miss it at your peril!

I certainly wasn’t going to miss it. The problem was that because the game wouldn’t be shown on regular television everyone in Valencia would be out searching for a bar that shows games on the pay-per-view. As many bars as there are in Valencia—and there are thousands of them, thank god—there are even more football fans who wouldn’t miss this game to go to their own weddings (Ladies, check the football schedule before making nuptial plans). We decided on a place just a few blocks from my apartment that seemed a continent away. Almost all of the other people in the bar were Latin Americans and just about all of them seemed to be rooting for Barça. I can understand why most Valencianos will root for Barça against Madrid; it’s sort of a solidarity of language and culture as Catalan and Valenciano are just about the same thing. I don’t really have a theory as to why the Latin American would pull for Barça. I suppose I lean more towards being a Barça fan, too although for me the ideal result of this game would have been a draw, giving both teams—both of them above Valencia in the standings—only one point, thus limiting their advancement over my team. Even in Valencia it’s lonely being a diehard Valencia Club de Fútbol fan.

If I were a bar owner in Spain I would petition that all football games be played on the pay-per-view channels which sends everyone and their grandmothers out into the streets to find a bar playing the match. The little corner where we watched the game is home to three bars, all of which were packed to the rafters with fans. During the half I walked across the street to look into the two other bars. One of the bars was filled with sub-Saharan African fans. A few of them were wearing Real Madrid jerseys although I don’t know if this reflected the general sentiment of that group of fans. The other bar is a pool hall with a giant projector screen and seemed to cater mostly to Spanish fans.

I wiggled my way back to the bar where we were watching, ordered another bottle of beer, and waited to see what would happen after the scoreless first part. After making our way through a mediocre plate of patatas bravas (fried potatoes and a staple in every bar in Spain) we ordered a plate of grilled cuttlefish which was quite good. I need to practice making this dish more at home. It is sort of a pain in the ass to clean cuttlefish and squid but it is worth the effort if the end result is as good as the dish we had last night in Bar Sabina.

Barça prevailed in this game and also took the lead in La Liga. Valencia CF hangs on to fourth position after a bitter draw against Mallorca on Saturday.

Labels: Football, Valencia Spain

10:03 AM

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Friday, October 02, 2009

 

Valencia 3, Genoa CFC 2

(See game highlights)

It’s only October 2 and already we are in the throes of European football competition. As an American now heading into my full third season here I really like how interest in the game is kept at a fever pitch throughout the entire year. Champions League and UEFA qualifying matches begin almost at the onset of the season keeping interest in the game fairly frantic from start to finish.

Valencia hosted Genoa last night in a UEFA qualifier. Valencia was trailing 0-1 then moved ahead 2-1 only to have Genoa tie it up with a penalty kick. Once again David Villa came through with a penalty kick after being fouled. Valencia is now even with Lille with 4 points in Group B. I think Valencia CF has a fantastic group of talent which means they have a slight chance of finishing third overall in the Spanish Liga after Barça and Madrid (assuming something terrible happens to Sevilla between now and the end of the season).

In the Champions League all that I can say is that if I were forced to bet everything I had on one team at this point in the competition I would have to go with Barça once again although Real Madrid has a fantastic team this season. For my dark horse pick in this year’s Champions League I will go with Sevilla. I won last year’s pool among friend by picking Barça (no surprise there) and choosing Villareal to go the farthest among our dark horse picks.

Labels: Football

9:06 AM

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Monday, June 29, 2009

 

USA 2, Brazil 3


I’m the only American in my circle of football hooligan friends so they all came out to support the USA against Brazil. This picture is of my Belgian friend Ludo who got the t-shirt from another Belgian friend who bought it off a homeless guy while traveling in the US. Cost of super funky t-shirt: priceless. Could you imagine anyone in their right mind wearing a Bush t-shirt? America is back in style, folks!

Just when you thought that the nine month European football season is finally over they throw a sort of not-shit tournament at you, this one was called the Confederation Cup of whatever. The USA was soundly trounced in the group play by Italy and then by Brazil. They made it into the finals by the most bizarre set of eventualities in the history of football tournaments only to be paired up against Spain who are ranked number one in the world. Two unanswered goals later the USA team finds themselves in the final game against Brazil. I arrived a ten minutes late for the game and the USA was up 1-0 already only to score again at 27 minutes by a brilliant breakaway goal by Donovan.

There were already too many miracles this week for that score to stand and Sevilla star striker Fabiano scored in the first minute of the second half. Brazil hacked away at the US squad like someone chopping down a tree with a very sharp ax. I said before the match that I really just wanted to see a good game and I didn’t expect the USA to win. I got my wish and then some although seeing that 2-0 lead change into defeat was a bit of a heartbreaker. The bottom line is that Brazil is just a better squad. Spain is a better team than Brazil, in my opinion but the USA just played way over their heads. Hopefully the brilliant play by the USA will work to get them a little better placement in the group play next summer in South Africa for the World Cup.

Labels: Football, Valencia Spain

10:19 PM

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

 

Estados Unidos 2, España 0

EEUU Baja a España de la Nube -Levanter (USA brings Spain down from the cloud)
EEUU Acaba con el Sueño de España – El País (US ends Spain’s dream)
La Roja Recibe una Cura de Humildad ante EEUU – Super Deporte (The Red gets a dose of humility from the US)
Los Defensos Unidos de América - Levante (The united defenses of America)

Only that last headline really tells it like it happened. I have never seen Spain so stymied by a defense as they were last night in South Africa against the US national team. One of the guys I was watching the game with said it right when he said that every time Spain takes a shot there is a damn American right in his way. The US scored on two defensive errors, one in each half. Spain had no answer although they pounded the American defense and controlled possession for a big part of the match. Capdevila let Jozy Altidore (teammates at Villarreal up the road from me at Castelló de la Plana) get in front of him with only Casillas between the ball and the goal. Later Sergio Ramos thought he was controlling the ball in front of his goal when Clint Dempsey (Fulham) stole it and scored.

The two goals and superb goalkeeping by Tim Howard gave the US their first FIFA tournament final since starting play in 1916. I would like to see just one more miracle. Brazil would be a nice win and a sure way for the US to get a break on their group in the World Cup draw next summer.

After the game I couldn't resist sending a text message to all my friends here: U-S-A, U-S-A. I had to do a text message; I don't have a car to drive around in while I honk the horn.

For the final on Saturday night it will be Brazil and the USA. This comes after a very uninspired win by Brazil against the host South Africa. Dani Alves (formerly from Sevilla and this year with Barça) came in very late in the game and scored a free kick, much to the disappointment of everyone else in the bar except the one American. The Spanish were hoping to at least salvage something from their loss by playing Brazil for third place. They will have to settle for South Africa. Everyone gave their support for the USA in the final. They also told me that at least they weren’t beat by Italy. One of the patrons accused Obama of fixing the tournament in our favor. I told him that I thought that made sense. Beating Spain outright certainly defies logic.

I hear a lot of conservatives in America talk about how the rest of the world is so anti-American. I have never witnessed this first-hand, quite the opposite, in fact. I have noticed a lot of anti-Italian sentiment, all of it stemming from their national football team that plays a boring brand of soccer. The USA doesn’t play the most exciting game I have ever seen but that is simply because they lack the overall talent of teams like Spain and Brazil. If Brazil plays as rudderless on Saturday as they did against South Africa we may see yet another miracle this week.

Labels: Football

6:43 PM

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Thursday, May 14, 2009

 

Rei de Copes

I can’t seem to get away from football, not that I’ve tried very hard. It was impossible not to miss all of the people who showed up in Valencia as early as Monday wearing the red and white jerseys of Athletic Club Bilbao. The Bilbao fans were everywhere from beachside restaurants to every bar in town and every tourist attraction in between. This year’s Copa del Rey final was hosted at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium. Valencia CF won this trophy last year and I remember that it was a pretty big deal, but the game was in Madrid so I didn’t get a very good idea of just how seriously the fans take this game.

If I needed further evidence of this I found it last night when I had to pass by the stadium a couple of hours before the game last night. I used to live a block from the stadium so I have seen more than my share of crowds on game nights. Last night’s final was unlike anything that I have seen so far at Mestalla. As soon as I got on the bike path near my apartment in Ruzafa I noticed that all of the bars and restaurants were filled with people wearing either the team jerseys of Barça or Bilbao, mostly Bilbao. Oh my God were there a lot of Bilbao supporters. I can’t believe they left behind enough people at home to take care of their pets while they are visiting Valencia. “You’re on your own, Fido. I’m going to the game and I’m coming home drunk.”

In fact, there were about 40,000 Bilbao fans as opposed to half as many from Barcelona. Valencia’s response to the onslaught of outsiders from Bilbao seemed to be—at least as reported in today’s paper—a sort of “Thanks, but no thanks” attitude. The bar business was appreciated but the Bilbao fans uprooted all of the plants on the bridge of flowers which crosses over the Turia park. The paper mocked the Bilbao supporters by saying that it was no wonder so many showed up to back their team when you consider that the youngest fans who truly remembered their last victory are now sprouting their first grey hairs. Ouch! Of the Barça fans the paper reported that they came, they took the Cup, and they left.

The way was so littered with fans that I practically had to walk my bike along the entire bike path that runs down Avenida Aragón in front of the stadium. I only wish that I would have brought along my camera. This must have been the least Spanish final of La Copa in a while: the separatist Basques versus the separatist Catalans. Euskadi vs. Catalunya. You could actually here a lot of jeering whistles when they played the Spanish National Anthem before the game. I didn’t hear anyone speaking Euskara or Català in the street so I suppose that Spanish is still the lingua franca of sports fans.

I suppose they use Spanish so that others can understand the insulting football chants they sing, like when a group of Barça supporters all chanted in unison when they turned the corner and first got a glimpse of Mestalla, “This isn’t a stadium, it’s a foosball table.” Granted, Barça's home field of Camp Nou is huge, but Mestalla is pretty big. A local Valenciano told the group good-naturedly to have a bit of respect. After the game the Barça players all donned jerseys emblazoned with “Rei de Copes,” Catalán—not Spanish—for “King of the Cups” in reference to their dominance in this tournament.

All I was doing was riding past on my way across town but I have to say that the atmosphere was thrilling. I haven’t experienced anything like it since I was in Madrid when Spain won the Eurocopa. It would have been fun to attend the game but it seemed like a private party. I was relegated to watching it on television like all the other fans of teams that weren’t in the match. Bilbao scored first on a remarkable header from a corner kick. The Basques went crazy. And then Barça played like they have all season and put on a clinic of creative scoring. This was the first title to fall to Barcelona this year in which they hope to capture two more. They could clinch La Liga this weekend, on Saturday if Madrid loses to Villarreal, or if they win on Sunday against Mallorca. The last title in this year’s quest will be against Manchester United in the final of the Champions League in Rome on May 27. Futbol Club Barcelona has been a real joy to watch this season and I hope to see them win it all.

Labels: Football, Valencia Spain

11:08 AM

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Thursday, May 07, 2009

 

Chelsea-Barça 1-1

Barça really pulled one out of their butts last night at Stamford Bridge to advance to the finals of the Champions League with Manchester United. After the 0-0 draw at Camp Nou last week Chelsea had the goal they needed early on in last night’s match with a terrific shot by Michael Essien in the ninth minute. From this point on Chelsea had the sort of game they relish and that fans despise: a defensive slog in which they throw the entire squad in the box and then counter attack with lightening speed. Barcelona was fairly stifled throughout the match and, like in the first game, seemed timid and afraid to make a mistake instead of playing with brilliant abandon like they do so well.

I just couldn’t believe that Barça was going to play two games without scoring a single goal (as they had done last year). It was probably the worst officiated game that I have ever seen and the referee lost control of the match very early on. The culmination of the terrible calls came in the 66th minute when Abidal was given a red card when he didn’t so much as touch Anelka. Now Barça was facing a formidable defense with 10 men. In the 93rd minute Iniesta came through once again and stunned the crowd with the second great goal of the game.

I started off watching the game at La Tasca de Russafa but it was incredibly over-crowded. I left that firetrap at the break and walked a block down the street to El Faro. The atmosphere wasn’t quite as festive but at least I could move around without pushing someone over. When Barça scored I actually shook hands with a few of the other patrons whom I had only seen once or twice before while watching other matches at the bar.

I can understand people who think that watching sports on television is a moronic pastime. I sometimes feel this way if it concerns a sport that doesn’t interest me. After a great game like this one I feel a lot better about life in general than I probably should. I mean, why should I care if one sports team defeats another? All that I can say is that I’ve never felt that elated after walking out of a symphony or an opera, and I like symphonies and operas as much as the next guy (and probably more than the average knucklehead sports fan). I don’t want this to sound like an apology or an excuse for indulging in an activity that some would say is hardly worth the time of a serious person. It was a great night to be a sports fan. I’m glad I didn’t miss it.

Labels: Football

10:37 AM

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Sunday, April 26, 2009

 

Football Overdose

Valencia played number one ranked Barcelona last night to a heart-breaking 2-2 draw at home last night. Valencia was leading until Thierry Henry chipped in a ball in the 85th minute to even the score. Henry didn’t play the first half and went on to completely dominate the game when he entered well into the second half. La Liga (as the Spanish football is called) is really heating up in these remaining weeks of the season—at least for the teams in contention. Barcelona has been on top most of the year but Real Madrid has had an incredible few months and could be within four points of Barça if they win today against Sevilla. Valencia is desperately trying to hang on to their number four spot so as to gain a berth in next season’s Champions League. I have watched more matches this week than I can even count.

Last night we went to the Plaza de Valencia CF across the street from the stadium of Mestalla to watch the game. Tickets started at 60€ so I didn’t mind sitting outside the stadium. When we arrived an hour before the match there were already thousands and thousands of fans mobbing the small square. There were police everywhere and quite a few riding magnificent horses while displaying equestrian skills that would have made the Spanish conquistadors proud. When the Barcelona team bus pulled up to the stadium the crowd went bit crazy and a few unruly fans chucked beer and other debris on it when it drove by. The chant of the evening seemed to be “Puta Barça, puta cataluña” which I won’t bother to translate if you will forgive me.

I used to live over by the stadium and I would watch all of the important matches at a place called Manolo el del Bombo (Manolo the guy with the drum). Manolo is an icon in Spanish national football because he attends every game and can be seen with his trademark drum leading the Spanish fans. His bar has a big outside terrace with two big televisions. I have never seen such a big crowd in the square, not even for the Champions League semi-finals two years ago against Chelsea. The night didn’t lack for football atmosphere.

The is certainly no shame in drawing with Barcelona this year. I think they are one of the best clubs I’ve ever seen and I picked them to win this year’s European championship way back in September. Valencia had just come off winning five games in a row and is playing as well as I have seen them play in my three seasons here. We are only one point behind third place Sevilla and four points ahead of Villarreal with five games left to play. Unfortunately, most of those games will be tough as we have to play Real Madrid, Villarreal, and Atlético de Madrid. Needless to say, it’s going to be an exciting end for this season.

On the way home we stopped at La Flor de Ruzafa for a drink at the walk-up window. I just feel a lot more Spanish when I hang out at these places. I was talking with someone I met there and they asked me where I was from. Just to tease them I explained that I lived right around the corner less than two blocks away.

P.S. Real Madrid won their game against Sevilla and are now only four points behind league leaders Barcelona FC. They play each other this Saturday night.

Labels: Football

10:12 AM

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Saturday, December 06, 2008

 

Valencia 1, Brugge 1

Queue the Beach Boy music, dig out the surf trunks, find the Frisbee, it's summer again. At least it's not arctic cold as it has been for the past two weeks. I noticed that it started getting warmer on Thursday evening when I went to the Valencia CF-Brugge UEFA Cup match at Mestalla. I was wearing just about every bit of clothing that I own and felt like the Michelin Man. I was warm but I wouldn't say that I was over-dressed. It turned out to be a great game even though Valencia had many of their starters on the bench resting for Saturday's match with Barça. It was a good chance to take a look at some of the up-and-coming players. I was especially impressed with Pablo H who made a bunch of brilliant crosses from the right. Fans were a bit annoyed that their giant striker, Nicoli Zigic, wasn't able to put one of these gifts in the net for Valencia. Brugge scored first in the 18th minute but then Valencia did something that I have never seen them do before—ever. They scored a corner in the 60th minute thanks to Zigic. I have never seen the Spanish national team score a corner goal, either.

Valencia is in second place (5 points) in Group G behind St Etiene (7 points) who they will play in France on December 17 for the top spot. It looks good for Valencia because the winners, runners-up and third-placed team advance to the knockout phase, at which point they are joined by the eight clubs which finish in third place in each of the groups in the UEFA Champions League group stage.

Group stage 23 Oct - 18 Dec 2008

Round of 32 18 - 26 February 2009 (Two game [home-away] knock-out stage)

Round of 16 12 - 19 March 2009

Quarter-finals 09 - 16 April 2009

Semi-finals 30 Apr - 07 May 2009

Final 20 May 2009

I hope to see Valencia in the final.

Labels: Football, Valencia Spain

10:24 AM

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Saturday, July 05, 2008

 

Som Campeons*

*(We are champions!) A text message I was sent in Valenciano after Spain defeated Germany to win the Eurocopa.

Pase lo Que Pase, España Siempre
--From the start I thought that this motto for the Spanish national football team was rather defeatist.

By default I became a Spanish football fan the day I arrived here in Valencia a little over one and a half years ago. I adopted Valencia Club de Fútbol and the Spanish national team as my own, with all of the ups and downs that come with being a sports fan. During my first year I watched as Valencia CF made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League only to be eliminated by Chelsea here in Valencia after we had fought them to a draw at their home stadium of Stamford Bridge. In the following season Valencia was ignominiously eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League and was looking at a pretty grim season in the Spanish league. Spain managed to beat Getafe in the final of the Copa del Rey, a tournament played within the Spanish league during the season. Valencia had a bad season this year but not all was lost as the Copa del Rey title ensures that they at least have a spot in next season's UEFA tournament (sort of a step below the Champions League). Spain had to push aside Barcelona to get into the final of the Copa del Rey and that victory was one of the sweetest games I have ever savored—at least as far as my professional club is concerned.

While I have been satisfied with the modest success of Valencia CF, the Spanish national team has been on an absolute terror since I had moved to Valencia. Spain won its qualifying group to enter the 2008 Eurocopa finals held in Switzerland and Austria. The Spanish team, known as La Selección, carries a heavy contingent of Valencia CF stars. Once in the tournament, held every four years between the World Cup, Spain managed to win easily all three of their games in the group stage, with Valencia CF forward, David Villa, scoring a hat trick in the first match against Russia. In the semi-final round Spain was paired with the current World Cup champions, Italy.

Spain had not defeated the Italian team in competitive play in 88 years. The game ended in a 0-0 draw and neither team scored during the 30 minutes of extra time. It would go into penalty kicks in which the two teams alternate taking five kicks from the penalty mark. Whoever leads after five kicks wins, if it is still a draw, the first team to lead wins. Spain and Valencia CF have not had the best of luck when games end in penalties. In the 2000-2001 Champions League final, Valencia CF lost in penalty kicks to FC Bayern Munich, a bitter defeat still felt here. Spain lost to England on penalty kicks in the quarter-finals of the 1996 Eurocopa. In the 2002 World Cup, Spain lost to Korea on penalties in the quarter-finals (although they beat Ireland on penalties to get to that game). Italy, on the other hand, is known for coming out ahead in penalty shoot-outs and had beat France on penalties to win the 2006 World Cup title.

Gianluigi Buffon, who plays for Juventus in the professional season, is considered by many to be the best in the world. Iker Casillas, the superstar goalkeeper for Real Madrid, is also thought to be one of the better players at this position. Buffon had blocked a penalty kick in Italy's game with Romania to keep their tournament hopes alive. If you were a betting type person the odds seemed stacked against Spain. In an earlier semi-final match the Croatian squad had come completely unraveled when it went into a penalty shoot-out with Turkey. You could see fear and resignation written all over the face of the first Croat player to make his attempt which he missed badly. David Villa was the first player to take a kick. He approached the ball with a confidence bordering on arrogance. He made his shot easily. In the end, Iker Casillas was able to save two goals to Buffon's one and Spain would move on to take on Russia in the semi-finals.

Spain had already trounced Russia 4-1 in the group stage but Russia looked like a completely different team coming off their victory over Holland, one of the heavy favorites to win it all. Not only did Spain beat Russia again but they gave them another hiding, 3-0. Now Spain had to play Germany in the final match to be held in Vienna. I had already mentioned that I was going to host the final at my place for all of the football hooligans in my circle. Sitting at a bar after Spain's victory over Russia, someone mentioned that we should drive to Madrid on Sunday to watch the final at the Plaza de Colón where tens of thousands of fans had been watching all the previous games. Big crowds aren't really my thing but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see a bit Madrid again. Besides, I was just about the biggest Spanish supporter of all the people I have met here so far. I was also the most optimistic about their chances from the very beginning since I wasn't saddled with the years of heartbreak like the average Spanish fan.

Madrid Bound

The drive between Valencia and Madrid isn't the most spectacular three hours of driving, but the views seem to go on for thousands of square miles in some parts. There is the odd castle, the occasional village cathedral, and lots and lots of agriculture—mostly olive trees and vineyards, although it seems impossibly dry and hot for grapes. You definitely know that you are driving through Spain as this section of road looks like every travel poster you have ever seen for La Mancha. I got a big kick out of my friend's GPS system that talked to him in a rather sexy Spanish female voice. I wonder if they use the comforting voice of a woman so as not to offend the normal male's obdurate refusal to admit when we are lost? I wonder if she's single?

Through a friend's recommendation we stayed at Hostal Naranco on Calle de la Puebla 6, 2° near the Gran Vía metro. We paid 16€ each for two huge rooms with bathrooms. I have paid over 100€ for a similar room. I had never stayed in a hostel before and I just always thought that they were crappy and only patronized by junkies.

Evidently, this section of Madrid is a gay neighborhood. I didn't really notice. The night after the game, the comedy television news program Intermedio did interviews with gay dudes about who they thought was the best looking player on the Spanish team and one of the guys they spoke with was standing about a block from our hostel. “It's a small world, gay people are everywhere, get used to it,” I think is the message here.

But we weren't here for the room (or a tolerance workshop) so we ditched our stuff and started off towards the Plaza de Colón. We had been delayed by a horrific traffic jam just outside of Valencia so we arrived only about two and a half hours before the game. This meant that we only had time for a quick bite to eat while we jumped into the flow of people heading towards Plaza de Colón. The mob consisted of almost equal parts drunk boys screaming football chants and great-looking young women—and a few odd foreigners, one of whom was wearing his Spanish team jersey.

We got to the square an hour before the game and immediately decided that it would be a shitty spot to watch the match, that's if you could even get close enough to one of the big screens to see anything. The viewing spots were woefully inadequate to accommodate the huge crowds that had been showing up to watch all the games. There were no screens outside of the interior of the square where most of the fans were smashed together. We decided to fall back and find a bar nearby—easier said than done as this area is just about the least bar-friendly neighborhood I have ever seen in Spain. If you want a to buy a Gucci bag or an Armani suit you are in luck, just don't try to buy a beer.

We finally found a place and it was more crowded, smoky, and suffocating that the Plaza. Two people in our group were steadfast in their desire to watch the game from the square so we headed back. Along the way we stopped into a completely overwhelmed convenience store that looked like it was being looted by people wearing Spanish national colors. The mob was actually well-behaved and the checkout lines were orderly and fast. The problem was there wasn't any cold beer. Nothing like a piss-warm Mahou beer on a hot summer evening, I always say. People weren't even waiting to get to the cash register before they consumed their purchases. I popped a warm beer and toasted the coming Spanish victory.

We muscled our way into the outer ring of the Square and I was able to see half of the screen from one direction and the other half on the opposite side. The game began with a huge roar from the crowd. It was on!

I got a kick out of everything people had brought to the square to eat and drink. Every sort of beer, wine, liquor combination was on hand. Lots of kids were drinking huge, one liter cups of sangria. The young guys standing right behind us had a bag of cheese doodles as big as a pillow. It looked like a comedy prop right out of Pee Wee's Playhouse. At one point they seemed to have tired of this snack option and when I turned around I saw that someone had stepped on it, ripping the bag open at the bottom. When I looked at it a bit later I noticed that a box of cheap sangria had turned over, mixing with the cheese doodles making a mess that would soon dwarf the Exxon Valdes oil spill. One of the guys in our group stepped in the goo and he looked every bit as pathetic as those poor, oil-drenched sea birds along the Alaska coast. The Brits call cheese doodles cheezy-what-its, which sounds pretty funny but not as funny as seeing a Brit's shoe completely covered in crappy sangria and cheezy-what-its.

From where we were standing our view of the screen was being blocked constantly by people waving flags or a girl getting up on someone's shoulders. This inspired improvisational chants from those whose views were being blocked. ¡Hijo de puta, que te caes por el culo! (Hey asshole, please fall on your ass). It was hilarious when the person on the receiving end of the chant finally realized they were the target. They would turn around and then meekly slide out of view. At one point two young guys climbed up on a hedge and completely blocked everyone's view in our section. They seemed resistant to the chants so I took it upon myself to wade on up and ask them to please get down.

I asked them very politely if they could move. They basically told me to fuck off and this was their spot. Without losing my temper I explained that they were blocking the view of about 100 people behind them yet they still held their ground, or perch, on the hedge. One of them began to raise his voice to me and I called him an asshole (gilipolla). I told them that I was going back to where I was standing and if I had to come back to tell them to get down, I wouldn't be talking any more, if they knew what I meant. I think they did. Sometimes people just need someone to remind them of their manners. I started heading back to my group and they got down after a short, face-saving interval. I was the hero of the mob. That is until Torres scored his brilliant, run-completely-around-your-defender-and beat-Lehman-to-the-ball goal.

The crowd reacted like no other crowd I have ever been a part of. Everyone who could, shook up a beer and sprayed it into the air which I thought was really immature and inconsiderate until I did it myself, and then I thought it was pretty funny. Everyone was drenched and loving it. Torres, who had a marvelous year at Liverpool scoring 29 goals, had yet to really come alive in this Eurocopa. I had been telling everyone to watch out for him because he was going to bust loose in this final. Luckily, he didn't need to bust loose. Spain was able to keep Germany scoreless and his one goal was enough. In six games Spain had only been scored on twice. While Spain's Iker Casillas is now considered the best goalkeeper in the game, he could have sat in a lawn chair for most of the Eurocopa because the rest of the Spanish defense was absolutely stifling.

The after-game revelry was riotous spontaneity, pure and simple. If there was a fountain, people swan in it; if there was a statue, people climbed it; if there was a bar, people entered, used the bathroom, ordered a quick shot, and left (OK, at least we did that a couple of times). Our group had an informal competition to see who could instigate the most football chants among the mob. My deep tenor chant of EEEEEE-KEEER (Iker Casilllas) never failed to get people going. A popular chant in the mob was “Yo soy español, español, español (I am Spanish).” I didn't really feel comfortable with that one as my citizenship status is merely honorary at this point. Chanting that I am an illegal alien who happens to be a fanatic supporter of the Spanish national squad just doesn't have a nice ring to it in Spanish.

Madrid will probably never be this insane ever again, even when they win the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. What happened in Madrid was the release of several decades of pessimism, defeatism, and self-doubt. What brought Spain out of this funk was a team of players too young to have any doubt about their abilities. Spanish fans maintained a sense of very guarded optimism after the first victory in the Eurocopa. Spain had disappointed too many times in the past for people to get too carried away. The players were another story. From the start they displayed a sense of confidence and belief in the team that carried them all the way to the end, and perhaps further if you are looking at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Labels: Football

3:55 PM

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Sunday, June 08, 2008

 

Eurocopa 2008

Euro Copa 2008 is underway which means a whole lot of football for the next three weeks until the final on June 29. It's an orgy of games, especially during the first round of the group selections when there are TWO games PER DAY! Sorry, was I shouting? OK, I have to calm down a bit or I'll never make it to the finals. A couple of deep breaths and I'll be completely composed. But then I start thinking about Spain's chances this year and their first game against Russia. Do you really think Spain can go all the way this year? Why not? Why the fuck not? Ooohhh, sharp stabbing pain in chest ... must ... eat... less... pork. Not to worry, I just needed to let out a big burp; too much junk food during last night's two games.

I would say that the mood here in Spain is one of very guarded optimism, and when I mean “guarded” I mean that the Spanish have put their optimism in a fortress with 50 meter walls and a moat around it and they are willing to throw their optimism—kicking and screaming—from the highest towers of that fortress at the first sign of defeat. I saw a video on youtube encouraging Brits to support Spain in the Eurocopa as their selection didn't qualify. I have also heard a song here to the tune of the Spanish national anthem that begins with words of hope for the Spanish team and then ends with Spain being defeated in the early rounds. The Spanish are then prodded to support teams that will still be in it.

It's going to be pretty frantic around here for the next few weeks so if you don't here from me just call 9-11 and send over an ambulance for me. Thanks. Until I do drop dead I'll be dividing my time between my apartment, where I can watch one of the daily matches, and the bars that have pay cable TV for the other game. It will be grueling—mostly for my intestinal track and my liver but this is when all of that training will really pay off for me.

Labels: Football, Valencia Spain

9:51 AM

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Friday, February 01, 2008

 

Fútbol News

It’s been a season of disappointments and failures for Valencia Club de Fútbol. At this point in the season I suppose there is a chance the team could be relegated to the second division next year (The three bottom teams in the first division sink into the second division while the three top teams in the second division move up). “Caída Libre,” or “Free Fall” was the headline after a recent Valencia loss. Ironically, after the team's most recent loss they were able to advance in Spain’s Copa del Rey when they split a pair of games with Atlético Madrid. Valencia advanced by scoring more away goals than Atlético. Talk about the skin of our teeth. It looks like next year will be about rebuilding as Valencia did not qualify for the coming Champions League. I'm going to go way out on a limb and say that winning is more fun than losing.

The good news is that the round of 16 of the Champions League begins on February 19 with three Spanish clubs (Real Madrid, FC Sevilla, and Barcelona) still in the competition. As far as the Champions League is concerned, I'd say that Barcelona has more potential but Madrid is playing much better right now. I suppose this means that Sevilla will outperform both of those clubs.

Labels: Football

8:37 AM

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Saturday, September 29, 2007

 

Spanish Soccer 101 (for Beginners)

I was already a pretty big fan of soccer before I moved to Spain. A big reason I have followed the sport is because I was lucky enough to attend a Real Madrid match when I came to Spain for a visit a few years ago. The 2006 World Cup finals in Germany were extremely popular in Seattle where I was living at the time. I would go to a bar and watch the games as early as six in the morning among crowds as big, boisterous, and beer-fueled as anything you see on a Saturday night. That was all good preparation for appreciating football in Spain.

The Spanish first division, ominously referred to as "La Liga" here, contains 20 teams, with every large city in the country fielding at least one team in this competition. The second league is made up of 22 lesser clubs. Each year the bottom three squads in the first division are sent down to the second and the top three in the second are promoted. Valencia currently has two teams in the first division: Valencia CF and Levante. As of this writing, Valencia CF is one point behind the leader while Levante is in last place. Teams are awarded three points for a win and one point for a tie. If there is a tie at the end of the season the winner is decided on a goal differential. The odds against this are fairly staggering so it never happens, except last season when Madrid was declared the winner on goals after the very last game of the year.

The Spanish football season starts at the end August and ends some time in May. There are international games in June, July and August, so I suppose that soccer is a yearlong sport. It’s kind of like our baseball, football, and basketball rolled into one super sport. It’s not that people here don’t take other sports seriously—basketball is very popular in Spain—it’s just that soccer has a special place in their hearts—probably where religion used to be before people here pretty much gave up on it. There aren’t many new cathedrals going up in Spain these days, now they build huge new sports stadiums. Teams in the Spanish Liga play one game a week, unless they play two games. Matches are on Sundays unless they are on Tuesdays, or Thursdays, or any other day of the week. Football is as essential as oxygen for lots of people here and they need to breathe it in on a regular basis.

I remember when I first came to Spain and I noticed that there was a soccer daily newspaper. I thought that a daily paper dedicated to soccer was a bit excessive. How much news could there be if there are only one or two games a week for each team? I thought that a daily paper for soccer was excessive until I realized that there is a daily paper for soccer FOR EVERY TEAM! I’m sorry, was I shouting?

I like sports as much as the next slob but this just seemed a little crazy to me. At least it did at first. Now I realize that one daily newspaper for each club is just about enough, that is if you supplement this with the regular newspaper’s coverage of soccer. Some cities have two soccer dailies. Of course, you also have to watch the constant television broadcasts of soccer news. How else are you going to see a replay of Baptista’s bicycle kick last night? I guess that following scores and different European leagues on the internet just goes without saying.

I am lucky enough to be living in a city that has a really good team. Valencia made it to the quarter finals of the Champions League in 2007 before finally bowing out to Chelsea. Valencia is back in the Champions League playoffs along with three other Spanish teams: Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Sevilla. I suppose that the Spanish are no more sports crazy than Americans except they dedicate most of the fanaticism towards one sport and it goes on almost all year. If this isn’t enough soccer worship for anyone’s taste you have to remember that every two years there are also the European Cup finals or the World Cup.

Just like in the United States, bars here are often heavily saturated with sports, if by sports you mean football, and if by saturated you mean that people just won’t shut up about it. Just like soccer in Spain takes on the roll of our three main sports of baseball, football and basketball, bars in Spain double as restaurants and coffee shops. Just like the Spanish football season lasts almost all year, people go to bars early in the morning until late at night. More than likely, the bar will have a television tuned to sports news or an actual game, if one is being played somewhere on the planet. The bar tops are littered with football newspapers and regular papers usually opened to the sports section.

I go to a bar at least once a day at the absolute minimum; I have to have one professional cup of coffee every afternoon. Quite often I go more than once a day depending on how much coffee, wine, beer, or food I decide to consume when I am out of the house. This is why I first decided to become fluent in Spanish football conversation. Talking about football is the great equalizer; it’s the great ice breaker, even if my Spanish language skills aren’t always up to the task. Talking about sports is sort of like the knucklehead’s version of Esperanto, the universal language. An offhand remark about football goes a long way in establishing my credentials as a local in the places I frequent. A casual reference to a player in the league who is currently tearing up the nets helps to gloss over any errors I make in grammar or diction.

Labels: Football, soccer

4:43 PM

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Saturday, September 22, 2007

 

Saturday Night Lights

It’s pissing down rain here, Seattle style, so I’m stuck at home tonight. I have my choice right now of watching The Englsih Patient in Spanish or the football game on La Sexta, the heavy weight TV station in Spain. The game is Barcelona against Sevilla in Barcelona. They are also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the stadium there, Camp Nou.

There is still more than the better part of an hour before the game starts so La Sexta is showing all of the festivities at the stadium in Barcelona. Everything at the stadium is being translated by the announcers for all of the slobs like me who don’t speak Catalan. It looks like a great time tonight in Barcelona. Their squad is so loaded with talent this year that it’s difficult to believe that they could lose a single game.

Their newest addition is French superstar, Thierry Henry, formerly with Arsenal. They like showing a clip of a game where Henry is literally getting his jersey ripped off his body by a defender and he uses the back of his foot to kick the ball between both his and the defender’s legs to score a goal. As if Barcelona even needed another star player. Every member of their team is a world class player: Ronaldinho, Messi, Deco, Marquesa, Abidal, Iniesto, among others. They don’t have a single player that any other team in the world would kill to sign.

Oops! I just turned the channel during a commercial break and The Simpsons is on the next station so it appears that I’ll miss the first part of the match. It looks like a good one. Gotta go.

Labels: Football, Valencia Spain

10:08 PM

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Thursday, April 05, 2007

 

About last night


After the first round of matches in the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League, four of the remaining eight teams are at a distinct advantage going into the second and deciding match. Valencia is in this group but has the least advantage out of those four. Here’s a quick rundown.

Liverpool all but clinched their bracket with a 3-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven. This means that Eindhoven has to win at Anfield with more than a three goal margin.

Bayern Munich managed a 2-2 draw away at AC Milan. They can advance with a win or a 0-0 or a 1-1 draw.

Roma defeated Manchester United 2-1 in their Stadio Olimpico so they have a clear advantage when the next game is played at Old Trafford.

Valencia and Chelsea battled to a 1-1 draw with an amazing left-footed golazo by David Silva and an almost circus-worthy header by Didier Drogba. When they return to Mestalla next Tuesday they need to win or secure a 0-0 draw to advance. An early goal by Valencia will save a lot of heart attacks among fans here.

Labels: Football, Valencia Spain

10:59 AM

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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

 

Valencia CF - Inter Milan 0-0


I was let in on the secret of how this elimination round of the UEFA Champions League works. Two clubs play each other away and at home and the winner is decided either by wins or goal differentials. Valencia tied Inter Milan in Milan two weeks ago with a score of 2-2. This means that for last night’s game Milan had to either win or score at least two goals in another draw. If the game had ended in a 2-2 draw, then it would go into an over-time. If the over-time did not decide a winner then there would be a penalty shoot-out.

Barcelona needed to score at least two goals and beat Liverpool to advance to the quarter finals. They won 1-0 and were forced out of the tournament. Real Madrid plays Bayern Munich tonight in Germany.

Luckily I knew this before the game began last night or my stress level would have been even higher. It was pretty crazy around the stadium last night as you would imagine. There was an army of police on hand complete with a horse brigade. Last week the Coach for the Sevilla club was hit by a bottle someone had thrown from the stands so it isn’t like Spanish football is immune from the violence that has erupted elsewhere. I also learned that the reason for the small crowd in Milan two weeks ago for the first match between these teams was because Milan was only permitted to let in 35,000 fans. This was a precautionary measure because of fan violence in Italy.

The crowd hanging out in the Plaza del Valencia CF was well-behaved. There were perhaps 400 people all singing and screaming at the televisions. At times it seemed that this mob was making more noise than the crowd inside the stadium. It was a very harmless group for the most part. I was, however, keeping an eye on the dozen skinheads standing directly in front of me. A television reporter from Channel 9 was interrupted during his filming when the skinheads started chanting “periodista, terrorista” but that was about as rowdy as they got. Even skinheads respect Spanish football.

At the very end of the game a tussle broke out on the field between the players. It was getting a bit ugly and all I said to myself, “This is how a huge riot probably starts,” but the only aggression was on the field. I watched the game recap in a bar down the block and everyone got a big laugh watching one of the Valencia trainers running away from a Milan player. He’ll have to live with the shame for a long time. Remember, if you are going to do something incredibly cowardly, don’t do it in front of 53,000 and TV cameras.

Labels: Football, Valencia Spain

11:24 AM

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Tuesday, March 06, 2007

 

Hype Quake

Cue the song Also Spake Zarathustra from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

After that you can pipe in Flight of the Valkeries through the deafening sound system of your attack helicopters.

Run clip from early 1960’s Japanese monster movie of terrified villagers fleeing for their lives.

This is big, people, as big as it gets (at least in early March).

There can only be one. There will be no prisoners. No quarter will be requested and none given.

Perhaps you just crawled out from under a rock in some god forsaken cesspool section of the globe, where soccer daily newspapers don’t litter the tops of every bar in the city. Maybe where you live the television airwaves haven’t been bombarding you relentlessly for weeks on end about this bit of news. If you are to believe the hyperbole, this could be the greatest challenge to Valencian society in all of history—or at least this season. Tonight at 20:45 local, in Mestalla Stadium here in Valencia, Spain Valencia Club de Fútbol plays Football Club Internazionale Milano known as Inter. I don’t know about you but I know where I’ll be tonight.

I’ll be standing in the Plaza Valencia Club de Fútbol along with all of the other lose-oids who didn’t score a ticket for this deciding match in the UEFA (The Union of European Football Associations) Champions League playoffs. This is round 16 and the last time these two teams met in Milan it was a draw so one of the teams needs to win tonight. Don’t quote me on this because I haven’t verified it yet but I think that this means a penalty kick shootout at the end if the score is still tied after an overtime period is played. The winner advances to the quarter finals and the loser stays home, so to speak.

I have read about four newspaper accounts of the match so far today and they all have the same quotes from the same people. There don’t seem to be any articles geared towards dumb Americans who, although they have been here for over three months, still don’t understand the Byzantine world of European club soccer. I’m sure that I will know a lot more about this match tomorrow when it has all been decided. I just like watching the matches in the packed bars in my neighborhood.

I thoroughly buy into all of the hype surrounding this match because that is a lot more fun than just seeing it as two teams kicking a stupid ball back and forth. Two teams kicking around a ball isn’t much fun at all unless you believe that somehow the fate of Western Civilization lies in the balance. I went out and bought duct tape and plastic sheeting to seal up my apartment just like after 9/11 just in case the shit hits the fan after the game. Or maybe the shit will hit the fan DURING the game! I bet you didn’t consider that option mister “I’ve considered every option.” I have some stuff left over so why don’t I just seal you up in duct tape and plastic. I won’t put any tape over your eyes so you can still watch the game. OK, I’ll leave a little hole so you can breath…and drink beer.

Maybe tonight’s game isn’t going to signal the apocalypse but it seems the closest thing to it since I’ve been in Spain. What’s that you say? Barcelona is playing Liverpool tonight in another Champion’s League elimination match? Listen, if you are going to the store can you pick up some more beer? And get more duct tape and plastic sheeting. Make sure you wear clean underwear just I case something happens.

Labels: Football, Valencia Spain

1:15 PM

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Sunday, February 25, 2007

 

Life and Death and Spanish Football

I was just about to head out on my bike to go watch one of the opening ceremonies for the Fallas festival here in Valencia. I’ve been told that Fallas is one of the biggest and most extravagant festivals in Europe. This was in conflict with a Valencia CF football match on television. I have been watching enough football lately and it wouldn’t kill me to miss a match. Simply making the decision to do something cultural instead of drinking beer and watching soccer made me feel superior.

Good thing that I just happened to walk out on my balcony just before I headed out the door because I saw that it was starting to rain pretty hard. That’s a good thing to know before you carry your bike down five flights of stairs. It looked like drinking beer and watching football was going to win out over a cultural excursion. The slobs once again beat the snobs. I couldn’t very well be expected to hike downtown and then stand outside in the rain. I had no choice, my hands were tied.

Instead, I walked the two blocks* over to my favorite sports bar in the Plaza Valencia CF in the shadows of Mestalla Stadium. It had stopped raining on my way over and I was feeling a bit guilty for not going to the ceremony, but about three sips into my first beer I noticed that it started coming down pretty good. That should teach all of those blue-blooded elites who went to the Fallas opening.

Valencia was playing Gimàstic from Tarragona. The left leaning accent on the “a” in Gimàstic should clue you into the fact that Tarragona is another Catalan city. All that I know about Tarragona is that it is somewhere on the coast between Valencia and Barcelona. The game would be there on this evening which explained why my part of town near the stadium wasn’t in complete chaos as it is on game nights.

There were a lot of draws in the games played so far in the Spanish league on this Sunday and at halftime it was 0-0 in this match. Since I have arrived here in Spain some three months ago I have seen the build up that one Spanish television station has been creating for the Barcelona-Real Madrid match in March. That station is going to televise the game and they have been counting down the days. The first commercial that I noticed mentioned that the epic confrontation was 100 days away, as if they were referring to some looming catastrophe or biblical reckoning.

The halftime commercial for this game showed a man in the shower. They showed his bare ass as he was washing up (It’s hard to believe Americans went ballistic over a woman’s breast). He gets out of the shower and slips, hitting his head really hard on the sink. They show him lifeless on the floor of the bathroom when suddenly his eyes open and he gets up. They cut to a caption that says, “This isn’t a good time to die,” and then you are reminded that there are only 14 days until the Barça-Real Madrid match. No one in the bar laughed at this commercial but me. Then I realized that maybe it wasn’t supposed to be funny and perhaps I should start taking my Spanish Professional League soccer a little more seriously. This same station was urged to pull another similar commercial that showed a man apparently dying in a traffic accident and then getting back on his feet as if nothing had happened. You can see the spot here.

Valencia scored in the second half. I paid my tab and walked outside to watch the remainder of the game on one of the outdoor televisions. I was really hungry and I wanted to go home to eat but I couldn’t drag myself away. Tarragona ended up scoring in extra time so Valencia had to settle for another draw. I must have jinxed Valencia by leaving early.

*In Spain, city blocks are called manzanas which is the same word for “apples.” I just learned this when someone I was talking to corrected me on my Latin American use of cuadras to signify “blocks.” Not that any of you give a shit but I just thought that I would write this down so I would remember.

Labels: Football, Valencia Spain

10:24 PM

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Wednesday, February 21, 2007

 

Valencia CF vs FC Internazionale Milano

The European Champion’s League soccer season is heating up, Last night Real Madrid defeated Bayern Munich 3-2 in Madrid. Tonight Valencia travels to Milan to plan Inter. I haven’t made too much of an effort to fully understand the intricacies of the different leagues and how points are awarded, but I have watched a lot of the crucial matches. I will definitely be parked in front of a television this evening for the Valencia game.

Soccer provides me with a nice bit of cultural literacy that I can share, not only with Spaniards, but with fans from all over. After Sunday’s game against Barcelona I struck up a conversation with a group of Japanese soccer fans at a bar by my house. Two of them spoke pretty good Spanish after having lived in Valencia for a couple of years. I can’t imagine how difficult Spanish must be for a Japanese student. It is hard enough for me and English shares thousands of words with Spanish.

I found it a little odd that none of the Japanese fans spoke any English at all. What they all did speak, including the two women I their group, was baseball. As soon as they found out I was from Seattle the first question that pops up is, “What do you think about Ichiro?” It was great to talk about baseball although I had to help them along with a lot of the Spanish terms.

After baseball we talked about how Spanish people are total sissies when it comes to eating hot food. We all agreed that the food here is excellent but sometimes you just need to scorch the inside of your mouth with something spicy. What I wouldn’t give for a tearfully hot bowl of pho but there are no Vietnamese restaurants in Valencia. I already asked around.

It is really a kick to be able to watch all of these great games live. I believe that tonight’s match begins at 19:45 local time here in Valencia which means you can see it on the East Coast at 13:45—a good way to spend your lunch break…and then some. Although the game is in Milan I will still go over to my sports bar on the other side of the stadium from where I live as there is more of an party atmosphere in this square. I watched the second half of the Real Madrid game over there last night and there were quite a few people in attendance. I will try to remember to bring my camera this time. I could curse myself for not bringing it to Sunday’s game because the square was a complete madhouse before that home game. I only live two blocks away and I was going to go get my camera between halves but it was raining pretty hard so I did the smart thing and continued drinking under the patio canopy.

Labels: Football, Valencia Spain

1:42 PM

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Saturday, June 24, 2006

 

French superstar Thierry Henry scores. 

World Cup Fever Briefly Defended

We have cut the field of contenders in half. All of the teams playing in the next round are exceptional, but as we shall see, some more than others. About the only surprise thus far is that the Czech Republic did not advance after trouncing the USA in the first game in group play. The USA was a bitter disappointment although I think that few people thought they would advance from this tough group. It would be difficult to pick a winner among some of the great teams, but I will, just for fun.

I thought that Spain played wonderfully. They won all three games in their group in convincing fashion. In their last match against Saudi Arabia they played a completely new squad and still won 1-0 on an excellent header by Juanito. The current hero of Spanish football, Raul, played a superb second half and scored an equalizer goal against Tunisia. 22 year old Fernando Torres put Spain ahead in that game with one of the best goals that I have seen so far in the tournament.

For what it’s worth, I also like Argentina, Portugal, and, of course, Brazil.

What I really like about this World Cup is that it is finally getting a lot of attention in the USA. I’ve watched a few games at a Seattle pub. The place is standing room only. Most people in Seattle are at least aware that the World Cup is going on and many of us have become rabid fans. Over the course of my entire adult life there has been talk that this will be the year that football catches fire in America, and every year it has been just that—talk.

This year is different. You can almost feel the tectonic shift in interest in the sport. It’s as if we have all done our homework and now players like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, Beckham, Henry, Zidane, Ballack, Figo, and Raul (among many others) have all become household names in front of televisions all across the country. We know what constitutes an off-sides. We know what should be a foul and what kind of infraction deserves a yellow card. We have come a long way.

I read an account of a group of American fans behaving rather badly before one of the games in Germany. A fan from another country said that was the way football fans are supposed to act and he had an increased respect for the Americans. Maybe we do finally have a passion for the game. I know that I do, but that is another story for another day .

I won’t get into the childish argument about whether or not football is boring, or why Americans don’t like it. It looks fairly obvious to me that we do like it and it is here to stay. I could kick myself for not being in Germany, if not to actually go to a game then at least to watch them on TV along with all the other fans drunk on German beer and a love for the game. The next World Cup will be in South Africa in 2010. Anyone interested in going?

Labels: Football

4:52 AM

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