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Football is the only cultural phenomenon that still unites the world: the World Cup, the ultimate universal spectacle, has engulfed our planet in the past four weeks, even exceeding the Olympic Games where the medal ceremonies evoke great telegenic moments. The big mbad of the world match culminated with a French crowning, Les Bleus beating Croatia in a spectacular final of six goals. Once again, the World Cup and football proved unbelievable.
"I said it would be the best World Cup," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino on the eve of the final. "Today, I can say it with more conviction." In many ways, Infantino was right: Russia 2018 was the most entertaining World Cup in a generation, yet the tournament sometimes seemed to sport ", legitimizing the regimes of Vladimir Putin and Infantino in a context of corruption, corruption and repression. Only Pussy Riot disrupted the story of four weeks of blissful football with a field invasion during the final.
File image of Mesut Ozil. AFP
The more globalized football is, the more it becomes politicized, the more it seems to love, to revel in, to absorb and to savor it. Thus, Mesut Ozil's statement – of which "In the eyes of Grindel and his followers, I am German when we win but I am an immigrant when we lose" was the most pungent part – was not as surprising ; Football has always been a reflection of society and therefore an arena for racism. The complaints of racism and disrespect are scarcely new, and miss the point – it is as old as the hills.
In 1958, Brazil arrived on the world stage, surpbading the Swedish hosts in the final. They impressed the world by beating Sweden coach George Raynor, whose pre-game comment was labeled racist. Raynor played an important role in putting Swedish football in the foreground, winning a gold medal at the 1948 Olympic Games and bringing Sweden to third place in the 1950 World Cup. Didi, the centerpiece of the Brazil at the time, would lead Peru to the 1970 World Cup, falling into the hands of the eventual winners, his native country. He was considered an excellent coach, but he never had a serious chance to coach the Selecao. In fact, in Brazil, a country of "racial equality," no black coach has ever dominated the national team.
In Russia, the Senegalese Aliou Cissé was the only black coach of the World Cup. "If there were more African coaches with African teams, the likelihood that we could demonstrate our skill would increase," said Cissé before the tournament. "The under-representation is such that the question is almost a pleonasm.It remains to be seen if our under-representation is due to a lack of information or a lack of openness on the part of the other federations. It is an open question that deserves to be deepened.I know that the CAF has taken initiatives in this direction.Every more, education is growing on the African continent and it is not an issue that needs to be deepened. is a very good thing, it could encourage other African federations to make the choices that other continents are already taking. "
Senegal did not progress in the second round, eliminated by Japan in through the rule of fair play. In their opening match, they beat Poland 2-1 and yet were qualified as "physical". by many badysts. This badumption about African teams is almost rooted in the punditry of football and seems to exclude attributing other qualities to African teams – they must by definition be big, powerful and rhythmic.
Admiration for multicultural teams in Russia – world champions, Belgium England and Morocco, among others, were specious. Ozil, winner of the 2014 World Cup, has become an easy scapegoat after his pre – tournament photo with Turkish autocrat Recep Erdogan, but the midfielder was barely the only one to go on. tilt in front of the German camp, which had suffered from turbulent agitation.
In the bowels of the Luzhniki stadium, Paul Pogba, who had an exceptional World Cup, shouted "Pour la France" in the moments after the final, but even the new world champions were informed by some sections of the French population. that the World Cup had been won by an "African" team.
It is then that football and the world are in a situation even worse than in 2014, when the previous World Cup was played. At the time, the tournament seemed excessive, capitalistic and commercial in a moderately centrist world. Today, football and all its excesses – the TV rights money, the investment of a plethora of oligarchs, sheikhs and men from all over the world. business, geopolitical interests – seem simply anchored in a world that corresponds to its own unbalanced image. , remaining a big task on the game.
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