The best team wins
Last Saturday on the Malpensa airport express train I came across a group of young men and women who had been let down by one of the low-cost airlines and lost their flight to Madrid. Among them was a sweet Spanish nurse, who works in Milan, and who...
Last Saturday on the Malpensa airport express train I came across a group of young men and women who had been let down by one of the low-cost airlines and lost their flight to Madrid. Among them was a sweet Spanish nurse, who works in Milan, and who was talking to a group of Italian guys. After the introductory pep talk, this girl said, (in Italian) “It’s the first time, since 1984, that Spain is in the final of an important football tournament. I have to be in my country, because it is a rare occasion and I want to live it.”
It was with that thought in my mind as I followed the final of the European Championships. I believe that over all, the best team won this tournament. Spain have finally destroyed the myth of being under achievers.
The feeling I got was that the lack of success so far, the perception that they were the underdogs, gave Spain the most support from non-Spaniards yesterday. A small example. I watched the match with friends. There were two Maltese (who support Italy), a Dutch, a Polish and two Maltese kids (who support Holland). Everyone wanted Spain to win.
The match was generally one sided. Lehman and the goal posts kept the Germans in the match, until Torres scored the decisive goal, near the end of the half time. The Germans’ reaction time was limited to a few minutes in the second half. The Spanish victory was a confirmation that at times the best teams do win.
It might sound pathetic, but I honestly agreed with the Italian commentator who said: ‘so at the end Italy got eliminated, by not losing, to the winning side’.