The World Cup starts on Sunday. The World Cup that has been played for so many years finally begins. Since December 2, 2010, the date of Qatar’s ignominious election due to the inexhaustible controversy it has generated, which can be summed up in two chapters: contempt for human rights and the environmental aberration perpetrated to adapt the country, the capital, Doha, to the needs of the event.
The historic designation of Qatar, the first arab country to host a World Cup and the less seniority that its registration in FIFA (1972) –a concession made jointly to Russia-2018, another as such– never served, at least, so that the dirty network of corruption entrenched in FIFA could be uncovered and that it took for granted. in front of several of its leaders.
Even its president, Joseph Blatter, who a couple of weeks ago was ashamed to say that the choice of Qatar “was a mistake.” Not because of the circumstances of the country or the election itself, but because of the size of the State, the smallest that has ever organized one, argued the former Swiss leader, prosecuted as a result of that. The most distant stadium, site of the inauguration this Sunday (5:00 p.m.), is 44 kilometers from Doha.
warning for cold
So unspeakable was the choice that the schedule for the tournament in autumn was not set until 2014, as if scientific studies were needed to conclude that football could not be played at temperatures between 40 and 50 degrees that are recorded in the Arabian summer. No matter how powerful the refrigeration system installed in the stadiums may be. By the way: there is a warning from the organization for photographers on the grass to dress warmly, because the jets of cold air will fully affect them.
But, surely, Qatar is the richest host and the one that has spent the most on infrastructure, gigantic, visually excessive. Everything is colossal in Doha, from the building to the metro, from the stadiums to the avenues. The operators are still distributed in the sports facilities and in various parts of the city.
It does not seem that the World Cup is a culminating event, an end point of nothing, perhaps one in a row. The light gray of the cement, with the whitish grit of the sidewalks, indicates the youth of some streets, created without enough time to get dirty. Dirt is embedded on other levels. As if there hadn’t been enough mud, the inauguration is marred by alleged bribery of Ecuadorian players to facilitate Qatar’s victory.
Italy, the absent champion
At least, football will finally begin, the game, the ball, the purest of the event. Seven of the eight world champions are ready to compete, which blushes even more for an Italy that will see it on TV, without altering the work routine as much as in other countries. The selection of Roberto Mancini, current European champion (2021), went from error to error until the final calamity of being eliminated against Macedonia in the play-off He was not in Russia either. If Italy is the only absent champion, Qatar is the only rookie present, by virtue of its status as host.
Italy achieved its fourth title in 2006 and since then there have only been European world champions. Spain, Germany and France vetoed the two great American powers that compete against you. Like every occasion, Brazil and Argentina are presented with the flag of favorites. Surely, this time, with well-founded reasons.
Also Spain, and that is a regular custom, reaffirmed since the 2010 crown was won. That team had a base of Barça players, seven, a figure that increased to eight with the addition of Alejandro Balde instead of José Luis Gayà, injured ankle.
The same style of 2010
Luis Enrique, moreover, has endowed the team with a style similar to that of Barcelona thanks to his past as a coach at the Camp Nou. It is not the sports affiliation that supports Spain’s candidacy, but the quality of its players and the ambitious proposal of the coach, even though there is no shortage of adversaries that temper the euphoria, such as the lack of forcefulness in the two areas, the zones decisive.
Sergio Busquets is the only link with the title obtained in the winter in South Africa -summer in Europe- and with the new reality of La Roja. He then he was the squire of Xavi and Inista. Now he is the guardian of the descendants of those, Gavi y Pedri, Genetically and footballingly very different. That is where the criticism will come, which will certainly not be lacking for Unai Simon, the goalkeeper, or Álvaro Morata, the center forward, in the event of a fiasco.
The fight of the tens
The mainstay of that unforgettable Barça is in Paris now, but he is also in Qatar. So older, a little more, than Busquets. At 35 years old, Lionel Messi is the mainstay of Argentina’s candidacy.
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To the old 10 of Barça, inherited by Ansu Fati, who continues to improve from his tough phase of injuries to be his worthy successor, the last opportunity is presented to him to give him the world title that his country demands, orphan of the disappeared myth Maradona, whose death will be two years old next Friday.
The 10 from Argentina will be opposed by another ten, with whom he lives daily in Paris. So capable, so decisive on the pitch and so fundamental to their teams are Neymar, at the helm of Brazil, eager since 2002 and appearing with a formidable team, and Kylian Mbappe, that he has been world champion, with France, four years ago. His is the crown.