Jogo Bonito? – more like a diving competition
Sleepless nights, heart-stopping moments of pain and joy, professionalism, skill and grit. These have been dished out almost every day, the last three weeks (Courtesy: SCV) in the name of ‘Jogo Bonito’ – the beautiful game. While all of this is beautiful, there is bad taste in my mouth. Let me tell you why!
I had the dubious honour of playing ‘the beautiful game’ for Madras University in 1991. Well, it was like the World Cup for us. And football, by nature is a rough game. You were tripped up all over the field, you were pushed, you were ‘sliding-tackled’ and you just got up and ran after the ball.
But in this edition of the ‘beautiful game’, all you need is for someone to touch an opponent (sometimes not event that) and the next minute both of them are writhing in ‘pain’ holding some strategic body part and the team mates start begging for a card, yellow or red to be shown. In fact, the histrionics are more pronounced from the side of the ‘fouler’ than the ‘foulee’. It seems like they almost train for the dives and ‘pain simulations’.
And sometimes the acting goes on after the match too.
Gary Bloom (at least I think it was him), one of the commentators on ESPN said that each match was a story. I think this World Cup the story that will be told will be that of how you need ‘fall to rise’.
Well, we are almost at the fag end of the tournament. Just hope that by the next one there is more football and less diving.
