BERLIN - When youÂŽre constantly travelling, swotting up on players youÂŽve never seen before and simply thinking about the next game itÂŽs difficult to assess the overall quality of the World Cup so far.
If, like me, you saw BrazilÂŽs second-half exhibition against Japan youÂŽd still be purring about the beautiful game but then sit through UkraineÂŽs laboured win over Tunisia (me again) and youÂŽd wonder why people bother putting it on television.
Continue reading "What a difference a day makes....."
IBC, MUNICH - One of the best things about being at the World Cup (and there are many, many reasons why itâs great to be here) is celebrity spotting. I know, I should probably be above it. But Iâm not. Yesterday at the USA v Ghana match I met (âsawâ is perhaps more truthful) a true footballing legend. The only man in the world who can pull off a blonde afro â Carlos Valderrama.
Continue reading "King Carlos"
BERLIN - If you think our pundit is charming on screen, just try spending a day with him, as I did to secure our .
Firstly, when I arrived at Leonardo's hotel at 6am, heâd only had four hours sleep after doing the late-night highlights show.
Most of us, at best, might grunt a âgood morningâ or cursory nod, but he pretty much exited the hotel whistling a show tune, delighted to see what 6 oâclock looked like. And, somehow, he still resembled a movie star. Life ainât fair, is it?!?
Continue reading "The Boys From Brazil"
BERLIN - Television schedules are usually drawn up months in advance, set in stone weeks in advance, then fine-tuned by no more than a few seconds here and there. However, at this stage in a World Cup, all that goes out of the window.
At a couple of daysâ notice, ±«Óătv1 have completely redrafted their plans for the coming weekend and slotted in an avalanche of live football. Events like Wimbledon or the Olympics hijack the airwaves in a similar way, but they can be planned with a fair degree of precision months and sometimes years ahead.
Sharing a football tournament with ITV, and the absence of even a dayâs gap between the first and second phases meant that four daysâ television output was put on hold until the last possible minute.
Continue reading "If it's Sunday then it must be Stuttgart"
BADEN-BADEN - Turn your back for a minute and Italy win the World Cup.
It seems that in the time it takes to have a 20-minute spin on the treadmill and spend the usual several hours in the recovery position, the final fortnight of the tournament has actually taken place and Marcello Lippiâs men are triumphant.
Continue reading "Italy win the World Cup...apparently"
NUREMBERG - I'll come clean straight away.
I went on holiday to Ghana last year and I loved the place to bits - even more so the people.
Continue reading "Glorious, glorious Ghana"
