Your books have been translated into many languages, while footballers communicate through the universal language of movement. You’re both global artists in your own ways.
Football is art. It’s also much more than that. Every year I’m invited to the World Economic Forum in Davos. This year I took part in a session together with a Harvard professor and a journalist. The topic under discussion was ‘Things that move the world’ and how that affects the search for happiness. I began by saying ‘the most important thing is football’ because it’s the ultimate art form, uniting people and giving them cause for celebration. It reinforces team spirit without taking away a person’s individuality. Society should take the beautiful game as an example: we need to live together as a group, but respect each other’s differences. Football is the great metaphor and the World Cup the supreme example of a shared experience allied with individuality.
Today’s Question by Aart Hilal
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Leaf,
I may have over-reacted, I had a bad day, I realise that the british can be “hooligans” sometimes,
yet I believe that world peace can not be achieved, unless of course we conquer absolutely everything. You see, it is the very competition that has enabled us to talk like this, the computer you type on was built through competition, the british AND german troops that fought in ww2 died simply fighting for there country, but there deaths are not forgotten and everyone believes that they died for the greater good, the defeat of hitler. a bad peace is worse than war.
So if we were to conquer absolutely everything, then it would wipe out our entire objective as a race, to conquer, to survive, therefore, the universe would gradually grind to a halt and all violence would fade into history. But I strongly believe that the world will be better off with violence and progress, rather than peace and stagnation.
Tom
sorry if you felt labelled – i said we were well known for it, is all.
and I’m sorry for your families’ friends….but – I’m not proud of any of the ‘good’ stuff you listed as achievements
ie there were even more people killed on the way on both sides, Spanish armada etc
versus Football hooliganism?
what’s the real difference
it’s all violence
British?
Didn’t we come from Spain and Germany as Gauls/Celts?
where does it start?
when will it end?
Like I said before
there’s only one race – the human race – and it’s not a competition….
LOVE
Cher Paulo,
Quand j’ai lu ce texte, ça m’a tout de suite fait penser au livre de Paul Auster “Constat d’accident et autres textes” dans lequel il y a un court texte qui s’intitulle “Le Meilleur Substitut à la Guerre” datant de 1998 dont le sujet est évidemment le football entre autres (Europe, millénaire,…) et que je vous recommande chaudement.
Paul Auster, un écrivain dont je vous ai déjà parler dans un post précendent (il y a un an a peu près), qui a en commun avec vous d’être un auteur mondialement connu, d’être né en 1947, d’avoir un goût prononcé pour la signification des “hasards” ou des “ironies” de la vie, et un prénom.
Mais une différence de taille, si je peux me permettre une analogie bassement terrestre, lui étant Paul du Nord et vous Paulo du Sud d’où deux styles simples mais complètements différents.Sachant que pour faire un monde deux Paul vallent mieux qu’un.
Le plus fort donc, c’est quand je l’ai relu aujourd’hui (Mardis gras): “…des documents vérifiables confirment que vers l’an mil cent, le Mardis gras était célébré dans toute l’Angleterre par des matches de football géants opposant entre elles des villes entieres.”
Le texte finit ainsi: “cela veut-il dire qu’après mille ans de carnage, l’Europe a enfin trouvé une façon pacifique de regler ses différends?
On verra”
Tous ça pour dire que je suis d’accord sur tous les points que vous évoquez ainsi que je préfere sans conditions supporter une équipe de foot qu’un effort de guerre.
Cependant, je pense qu’il ne faut pas oublier que ce sport a été fortement perverti par les maux actuels de notre société moderne: des sommes d’argent indécentes en jeux (joueurs, transferts, paris, droits télévisuels,…), la corruption (joueurs, arbitres), le dopage (ruptures d’anevrismes, arrets cardiaques,…), les violences in ternes et externes (hooliganismes, insultes et crimes racistes, irrespects des adversaires,…) sans parler des petites magouilles minables d’apprentis sorciers.
Alors, pour rester sur ma métaphore du globe terrestre avec le ballon rond, la terre étant ovale comme tout le monde le sait puiqu’elle est applatie aux pôles (ni voyez rien de personel;), je pense qu’il est urgent de trouver un substitut au football, c’est d’ailleurs ce qui se passe avec l’émergence du Rugby actuellement.
Ce sport dont la violence est moins perverse, plus franche, dont l’esprit d’équipe est tout aussi fort, les individualités mises en exergue, l’argent moins présent et dont le public bon enfant est plus respectueux des adversaires et où tous se termine que ce soit dans la victoire ou la défaite par une fête mélangeant les deux camps.
Voila un modèle de société qui me plait.
Amicalement
Damien
I personally do not like football and I agree with what Leaf is saying about the “Hooligans” My friends dad watched his mate get stabbed, bricks have been lobbed at peoples faces, people killed over such a petty dispute. In my eyes, Football causes un-neccesary conflict.
LEAF,
I would appreciate it is you did not label the british. I am british and I do not even like football, let alone get so worked up about it that I turn it into an excuse for violence. Besides, it was us “hooligan” british that almost took france in the hundred years war, destroyed the spanish armarda, created the largest empire ever built, and saved europe from fascism and its “un-stoppable” armies.
My friend, we british have done far more good for the world than bad, but there are many regrets. Margaret thatcher, The iraq war, the rise of Idi amin to power.
I feel that way about the Olympics. I always get emotional at the opening ceremony because I just love to see all the world gathered together in a spirit of peace and happiness.
You sound to have a true love for “Soccer” as we call it here in Australia – my father is another football fan, getting up at all hours of the morning to see a game and waking everyone else up in the process with his shouts at the television haha
Kathleen xx
No, football is not the most important thing, it’s one of the most important things…to bring people together, to have some fun. yes, and it’s art, as in somekind every other kind of sports.
“we need to live together as a group, but respect each other’s differences.” normally you say a team is only as good as his worst member is. that’s not so in football because in a team with only star players often the ability of teamwork is missing.
and the hooligan thing: the main problem is not that people cannot lose, the problem is that people do not know how to talk about their problems and than they let off steam while watching sports. It does not matter if it is football, handball or anything else. There is no difference between a fan from England, Germany, Italy, Austria and so on. Everywhere you find stadiums closed to the public because of some excesses. certainly some countries tend to have more brutal hooligans than others. But it is the fault of the responsible in football and the governments because they do nothing – or very few – against it.
Because Austria together with Switzerland is hosting the EURO this year I’m praying that nothing will happen.
Love,
Svenja
Its amazing where our beautiful feet will take us .Things that move the world move us.Blessings Tania
I agree with Leaf about this competition thing.
I also think that some countries, nationalities,
have this spirit of fighting together FOR GOOD and also FOR BAD, but some unfortunatelly don’t.
I don’t know maybe it is in our blood to be like that or not.
Brazilians, Italians,.., I would say have this spirit of ….brotherhood, love, that is real precious,
but some countries, including the one I come from, don’t have it.
We have it only for Good, and that’s too bad.
Well, maybe I am exaggerating a little, sorry, but this is the way I see it.
Yes, maybe some people just don’t know how to lose.
:-(
love
Agnieszka
Yes, yes, in an ideal world, I do see the point.
BUT
what about these O’Hoolighans? (correct Irish spelling)
the Brits are so well known for it
there’s no team spirit
it’s just an excuse to jeer at the other side
and have a fight
football should be banned!!
and everyone take up painting
or tapestry
something nice and quiet
!!
hehe – I jest
Do you think that ‘competition’ is too much for some people??
Why does everything have to be made into a competition??
Is everybody a bad loser at heart?
Maybe I am too…..?!
Hmmmm
xxxx