Utrecht, December 9th

Since the rest of life doesn’t go to plan, it was no different with my attempt to listen to the games last weekend. Pasi, of Orzo Bialetti fame was in town, so I watched 1.25 out of the four games with him, and the rest I either missed or only caught a few minutes from. At this point, I hardly remember the games. For Netherlands vs USA I popped into a packed Irish pub where Pasi and his friend were watching. I only lasted a few minutes before getting the hell out of there. I had thought about listening to Australia vs Argentina, but then I worried it might be the last chance to see Messi Magic. Actually when Monday rolled around I made an honest attempt to dial in and listen to the radio stream. The pre match show was great, then at kickoff they informed that the BBC didn’t have the rights to the match. The highlight from the round of 16 was watching Spain versus Morocco from extra time onwards, while eating at a Vietnamese joint. They showed it on a small screen, without any sound, but probably for the better as it would’ve been a sensory overload. I keep hearing and reading that this has been a phenomenal tournament. I don’t experience that in the least. My pho trumps any excitement that I’ve witnessed. Of course, it could also be my state of mind, and given my circumstances I can’t be fully invested. Yesterday I thought of ‘quitting’ football altogether. To stop reading the news, to stop watching the highlights, to stop watching any game, big or small. Can you imagine that? Would that time be spent better? What memories would not be made? I can tell you exactly, well almost but with a fair degree of certainty where I was for almost all the last world cup finals for the last 24 years. Here you go.

1994 – Brazil vs Italy – I distinctly remember Baggio missing the penalty. I was watching by myself in my parents’ living room. I still remember the exact formation of the living room. It was hot that day and I was sticking to the leather sofa. I was by myself, and happy that Italy lost, for some reason.

1998 – Brazil vs France – Again, on that couch. I think, I was by myself again. Why was I by myself? My first exposure to Zidane. I can, and will, write a tribute to him.

2002 – Brazil vs Germany. Brazil again! If I recall correctly, I had to wake up early to watch this one. At the time I was visiting my girlfriend in Kingston, Ontario and we watched it together, on, well, a couch.

2006 Italy vs France. At this point, I may have been at my peak infatuation with Zidane. Would you believe that I missed the final? I was driving back from a beach volleyball tournament from northern Ontario. I remember driving into Toronto and seeing the Italian flag being waved, thus revealing the outcome.

2010 Spain vs Netherlands. Here I watched on Museumplein. Why was I at Museumplein? Was I smoking crack that day? No, I was with my Dutch girlfriend at the time and from that night I just remember crowds, an achingly boring match and a subdued train journey back to Utrecht.

2014 Germany vs Argentina. This is where it gets a bit weird because I can’t for the life of me remember where or with whom I watched this game. I remember around these years one of our good friends Jeroen would always host UCL finals, so to put myself at ease I’ll say we watched at his place.

2018 France vs Croatia. Fatima and I hiked in Slovakia, and our return took us to Vienna. Ouf flight back to the Netherlands was on the evening of the final. I managed to watch this anticlimactic episode from a Viennese airport bar, possibly with a schnitzel.

Looking at this list, maybe I’m not such a huge fan after all. Admittedly, with a bit of shame I have to tell you that I know nothing about the tactics. While reading Angels with Dirty Faces, the formations described were lost on me, and don’t ask me to identify anything during a live match. Tiki taka would be the only one I could pick out. Of course I’ve heard the term, but you’ll have to explain to me total football.

Still, it’s a nice way to bookmark times of our lives. Just think, in another 24 years, you and I can look back and say we tried this.

2022 Prediction: Argentina vs Portugal. Prediction: I watched on an Ipad in my living room in a tiny flat in Utrecht with the Christmas lights on, despite astronomical energy prices. I tried to get Milo, Fatima and my mom to watch, but in the end I watched by myself, again. At the time I was writing a blog thingy with my friend. It was another boring match, the next day I felt compelled to write a little about Messi, then went on to write about how much I deplore corporate life and Italy.

In all seriousness, hopefully during this project, and if not then shortly after I wanted to write and post about those two things.

By the way, when I couldn’t listen to the match on BBC Radio, I instead listened to a podcast from the New York Times Book Review about their staff top ten books of 2022, since I’ve had some success from their prior year picks. If you don’t have time to listen to it, there’s only one book that caught my interest, and one that I already had on my radar: Trust, by Hernan Diaz. When I read the first page in the bookstore, it sounded intriguing, about some rich asshole making a fortune. Also while I was there, I spotted a book called Reading the World; a book from every country. Apparently someone did it for the Olympics. It’s possible, Jitse! Are we doing this!!

What are you doing, what are you reading, ah and if you must, tell me of the football you’re watching. It is without a doubt, you’ll be up for Netherlands vs Argentina.

Jack