Football - African / European style

Over the last few weeks there has been an eclectic mix of fans following the football here in Mazabuka. Marco rigged up a big screen in his house using a projector from work and friends from Italy, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Uganda, El Salvador and Zambia have joined us to watch the games. One of the most amusing aspects has been to see which teams our Zambian friends will support. Sometimes the pro-African (sub-Saharan) allegiances run deep with South Africa and Ghana being particularly popular. Whilst for others if their favourite player is a Messi, Kaka or (heaven help us!) Ronaldo then they follow Argentina, Brazil or Portugal. One Zambian cheered on Germany but was also desperate for Rooney to score against them – assume this means that he would have been happy whatever the outcome unlike me! Marco and I suffered together in the rubbish performances – to put it politely – of Italy and England, and rejoiced in the calamity of France. As for the final, it was fascinating for some, violent and tedious for others, but the right team won in the end as we all prayed that it did not go to penalties. Now there is a football void – what we do or talk about? Well the new footy season is only a month away so I won’t have to suffer for too long.