Any doubt that there is still a racism problem in Europe was confirmed by Emile Heskey’s treatment in Zagreb on Wedensday, and UEFA have now responded with a new anti-racism television advert, which will air at half time in every Champions League game this season. Well, they say it is ‘new’, but it was actually produced for Euro 2008.
On the surface, the video is just a bunch of fans cheering, but European Commissioner for multilingualism Leonard Orban is quick to point out how deep it is maaaan:
“A feeling of common belonging based on linguistic and cultural diversity is a powerful antidote against intolerance,” he said. “By increasing mutual understanding, multilingualism can significantly contribute to the dialogue between people, be it at school, at work or during free time. As this 30-second TV spot shows, football is a good vehicle for interaction and for learning about other cultures and languages.”
Very few of us expected England to get anything out of their trip to Zagreb (just 33 per cent of Spoiler readers felt a win was on the cards), but somehow the national side turned out their best performance in ages.
The scary thought that everyone is pondering but nobody is brave enough to say is that if Fabio Capello, who has won league titles with every club he has managed, can’t turn England around, then nobody can. And so far things aren’t looking too good.
Here are five reasons why England will lose to Croatia again, according to the prophets at chickendinner:
1. Since gaining their independence, Croatia are unbeaten in all 35 home qualifying matches.
2. Croatia have lost just one of their 16 competitive matches in 90 minutes under Slaven Bilic - an away qualifier against Macedonia when their Euro 2008 place was already confirmed.
Ahead of tonight’s crunch tie with Croatia, Fabio Capello has used his impressive new English language skills to tell us he believes the national team will perform better in Zagreb, where they will be free from the high expectations and boo boys of Wembley. However, confidence in England could not be lower, and the side’s only other visit to Zagreb (in October 2006) resulted in a 2-0 schooling.
So, should we believe that our overpaid underdogs can pull off a morale-lifting victory, or will tomorrow’s papers call for the head of a bespectacled Italian? Votes and comments below, please.
