Getting Into the World Cup Fever

(All football photos courtesy of AFP via Yahoo's World Cup site)

WE’VE all been avidly watching the World Cup matches in the office, but it wasn’t until Brazil played against Croatia on Monday night that I finally got into the mood.

I must say that it is a joy to watch Ronaldinho literally dance with ball, making a samba of dribbling the ball closer and closer to the goal. Kaka was of course excellent, scoring Brazil’s sole goal against Croatia, who gave Brazil a run for their money. If it hadn’t been for Brazil’s excellent goalie, the Croats would have scored at least two goals against the Brazilians!

Cafu, at 36 Brazil’s oldest player, was also good as well as Roberto Carlos. Sorry to say, but the puffed out Ronaldo did not impress in this game, and was even taken out of play before the end of the game, presumably to conserve his energy for their next match.

Someone in the office sneeringly commented that cheering for Brazil was just like cheering for the Dallas Cowboys, i.e. the Brazilians are over-hyped and over paid. But I said I didn’t care, and after having lived in Brazil for seven years, I darn well have the right to support them!

Saudi Fan

MY friend Sara emailed me these pictures of a Saudi female soccer fan, who obviously supports the Saudi team. I liked them, except perhaps she could wear less make-up next time:

WATCHING the game Saudi Arabia vs. Tunisia game yesterday was nerve-wracking but fun to do with so many people at the office. We all screamed when the young Yasser Al-Qahtani scored the first goal for our side, and screamed some more when Sami Jaber scored our second.

We just couldn’t believe when that Tunisian player head-butted in their second goal, bringing the score to a final tie of 2-2. For all those naysayers who sneared that Saudi Arabia wouldn’t win this game, I say: Eat your hearts out!