Watch out Group B, Croatia have rawk on their side
When he’s not chain smoking or embarrassing England, Croatian coach Slaven Bilić loves nothing better than rocking it old school with his band Rawbau. The ‘Healing & Easy Listening/ Religious/ Experimental’ quintet have recorded Croatia’s official Euro 2008 anthem, entitled ‘Vatreno ludilo’ (‘Fiery madness’) and Slaven is the guy in the video with the shades and snazzy Explorer guitar.
It sounds like something you may have heard on continental MTV in 1999, but it’s a damn sight better than some of England’s recent anthems.
The clever chaps at the Croatian Offside have translated the lyrics, and any song that squeezes the names of four nations into a single line is a winner in my book:
Does national pride come a distant second to domestic success?
Not so long ago, pulling on an England shirt would have taken precedence in the careers of those lucky enough to be chosen to represent their country. Nowadays, however, it may be argued that the stars of the Premier League care far more for their performances in the domestic league - representing the country has become nothing more than a distraction. The transition is quite understandable - the clubs keep the players in fast cars, the Premier League has grown exponentially in the past five years (both financially and in terms of global interest) and the pressure to perform week-in-week-out is higher than ever.
In the current climate, why would a player risk upsetting his employers by playing out of his skin and picking up an injury while on international duty? Consider the pressure Kevin Keegan currently puts on Michael Owen. If he had picked up a serious injury last night, he would instantly become Newcastle’s scapegoat in their battle with the dropzone.
And can you honestly say, for example, that you saw the same passion in Steven Gerrard during the all-important Croatia game as you see in the league every week?
So is it simply that the players are devoting more of their energies to the Premier League, or is it that the England shirt no longer holds the appeal it used to? Votes and comments below, please.
The last time England failed to qualify for a major tournament (that’ll be good ol’ USA ‘94), our boys went on to win their next two friendlies. Admittedly, these were against Denmark and Greece, and not our cultured friends from across The Channel, but a surprise could be on the cards tonight. Bookies are currently offering 21/10 for Beckham and co to topple the Euro 2008 qualifying nation on their home soil, a bet I fancy much more than the optimistic 15/8 being offered for Scotland beating Croatia. For the best odds on all tonight’s internationals, head to the oddschicken.
International Friendlies
Luxembourg/ Wales International (S4C, 7.15pm)
France/ England (Sky Sports 1, 8pm)
Scotland/ Croatia (Sky Sports 2, 8pm)
Spain/ Italy (Setanta Ireland, 9pm)
Fans of the hilarity that stems from innocent verbal stumblings briefly had their needs met in the early nineties by the Ronnie Corbett-hosted vehicle Small Talk. This show featured celebrities trying to guess what small children were describing with their limited yet winning vocabularies.
Paul Wilson, writing his excellent column in the Observer yesterday, has stumbled across a potential solution for this long-neglected gap in the entertainment schedule. You wouldn’t even need the panel of celebrity guessers, just footballers thrashing around in search of an escape from the most basic enquiries should provide comedy enough.
Over to Paul: “There’s something satisfyingly old-fashioned about footballers liking steak, though. It reminds you of all those questionnaires in all those old match programmes, when every week the answer to ‘Favourite meal?’ would always be the same. I thought that tradition had died - the format, not the favourite meal - but it resurfaced last week when Richard Chaplow, two-goal hero of Preston’s win against Stoke, allowed his finishing prowess to be undermined by an interview in the programme. To the innocent question: ‘Which team will you be supporting in Euro 2008?’, Chaplow replied: ‘England.’ When the unfortunate facts about England and Euro 2008 were pointed out to him and he was invited to change his mind, Chaplow plumped instead for Argentina.”
Thank God we won’t be in Austria/ Switzerland to hear this shite
When selecting the official theme song for the European Championships, the powers that be had to find an artist who would represent the history and culture of the host nations, while spreading a positive message about the beautiful game. So naturally, they chose Jamaican reggae artist Shaggy.
