Spain’s World Cup victory is an act of rebellion

Brussels – There are still those capable of feeling outraged; there are still some capable of opposing the system, of ‘breaking away’, one might say. Because we’re talking about football, about a World Cup whose climax is perhaps its most significant and valuable moment. Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump being booed by the crowd as they took to the pitch for the award ceremony is the clearest act of rebellion against authority in this World Cup, one destined to go down in history more for its power struggles than for the game of football itself. Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, has found himself in the dock for allowing the lifting of a suspension imposed on a US footballer following a phone call from Donald Trump, president of one of the host nations of this World Cup, and later ceded the limelight to other key figures.

 In the stands, the many spectators who said “no” to the Trump and Infantino model – a rebuke for today’s America and tomorrow’s FIFA (because, believe it or not, Infantino is seeking re-election). Then came Rodri, captain of the newly crowned world champions Spain, who invited Trump to step aside during the customary group photo. This was a highly charged moment, with significant political implications. The message behind the gesture is: “We don’t want you in the photo with us,” which could also be interpreted simply as “we don’t want you.” It is also a clear distancing from the defeated finalists, Argentina: four years ago, a photo went viral showing the Albiceleste’s idol, Leo Messi, celebrating in traditional Arab dress, a gift from the Emir of Qatar. An image with powerful symbolic significance: that of the Arab world’s conquest of the competition. 

https://www.eunews.it/2017/03/10/associazioni-denunciano-pressione-di-israele-su-dossier-fifa-dei-club-negli-insediamenti/ 

Rodri’s Spain does not bow to the powerful, nor does it play along with their games. On the contrary, it invites them to stay in their place, consigning them to the fringes of a competition in which they should be spectators – seated in the VIP stand on more comfortable seats, of course, and as far away from the spotlight as possible. In the captain of La Roja’s gesture, there is also the slap of a country handed back to those who had insulted that very country by attacking its head of government.

 In football – which is never really just a game of football – by the way, it’s summer, so for a trip to the seaside, an interesting read we’d like to recommend, just to stay on topic, is “Football is Power” by Luca Pisapia – Spain’s victory over Argentina turns out to be a slap in the face for the Milei model. After all, the Argentine players have, ever since the previous World Cup, shown themselves to be foul-prone, rough, prickly, disrespectful of everything and everyone, arrogant and overbearing (for the sake of accuracy and objectivity, it must be said that the Spaniard Cucurella has also built up a fair reputation as a provocateur and unsportsmanlike player). A perfect illustration of the “attitude” of Argentina’s current ruling class, which, having spent so long talking tough and acting tough, has ultimately found itself on the receiving end.

 There is a part of the world, and of society, that still stands in opposition to the prevailing trends of the modern age, and the World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico has highlighted not only the ills of our times but also the presence of antibodies: there are still bulwarks and margins against the bullies and the social climbers. There is also another aspect worth dwelling on: the myth of race. In times of nostalgia and resurgence, Spain triumphed by fielding Lamine Yamal – whose mother is from Guinea and father from Morocco – and Aymeric Laporte – a Frenchman naturalised as a Spaniard – from the very first minute, and bringing on Nico Williams – born to Ghanaian parents. Players of foreign descent have also made positive contributions. Now, who’s going to explain this to a certain section of the political spectrum?