Posts Tagged ‘soccer’
Seeing as how soccer (football) is the most popular sport in the world, it is with great pride that Spaniards can claim to have two of the most incredible strikers in the sport’s history. I am talking about Fernando Torres and David Villa. This “dynamic duo” seems to be unstoppable at the moment, as they trample teams in order to be qualified for the FIFA world cup in 2010.
Taking them apart, each player is unique and extremely dangerous on the field.
David Villa, a 27 year-old from Tuilla, Spain, is more than qualified to be named of the best players in the world. He currently plays for Valencia CF, and the Spanish national team, where he exceeds in both these teams. Having made his way up to professional caliber in Spain, he is now said top be the second top scorer of all time for Spain. Right now, this soccer superstar is in the midst of being sold by Valencia, to several possible and very interested buyers. He could end up playing for either Real Madrid (said to be his more likely choice), Manchester United, or the champion team of FC Barcelona. Although he might prefer Real Madrid, United is offering a whopping 45million pounds for the young player. Sir Alex Ferguson from Manchester United, is really hoping that will be enough to persuade Villa to play for their English team, yet it appears that Villa is more focused on his performance with the Spanish national team at the moment. Which is more important since the world cup is quickly approaching.
Fernando Torres on the other hand, who is from Madrid, already plays for an English team, Liverpool. He was taken by the team in 2007 for 20 million pounds. Since then he has scored 17 goals with them, adding more to his high number of total career goals. His story is similar to Villa’s as he began his professional career playing in Spain’s segunda division with Atlético Madrid and moved his way up rather quickly. Since then he has received all kinds of awards. Currently, the 25 year-old has just finished up, as the article put it, “destroying New Zealand” with a 5-0 victory. Three of the goals on the 14th were from Torres, from which one of them was a hat-trick. The New Zealanders just did not have the adequate defense for 2 of the most skilled strikers on the planet. Villa also scored a goal in the game.
It is their international performances that fill their countrymen with pride. It is moving to see how they both play with such passion and strength which seems to sprout out especially when they wear their Spanish jerseys. They seem like two unstoppable forces, or two raging bulls as they penetrate other countries’ defensive strategies over and over. If they continue the way the are playing, Spain will definitely be near if not in the finals in the 2010 FIFA world cup.
Last night was one of the most unique experiences I have had yet. As thousands and thousands of Barça fans flooded the streets (with not a ManU jersey in sight….might I add), my roommate and I headed toward Maremagnum, where a big screen was being erected to show the Championship match between FC Barcelona and Manchester United.
Mind you, we are both 5 feet tall (around 1.5 meters), from the Midwestern United States, and accustomed to large crowds and fairly aggressive people. Yet.. nothing could have prepared us for the night that was to come. We laughed at the huge swarm of people crossing the bridge out to the mall area, and wondered where they could possibly all fit (I’m not sure it was the best choice of location, considering..). Then we realized, they couldn’t.
The majority of spectators couldn’t actually see the game, but a creative few climbed into plants, up light poles, and stood on chairs for more than 2 hours in order to watch Barça defeat Manchester United 2-0. After being shoved in too many directions to count, stepped on, and more or less physically assaulted (but not in a mean way), we made it to a ledge where we could sit and see (sort of) what was going on in the game. Looking over the crowd was incredible, and I am so glad I got to join in in such a great moment for the people of Barcelona. Tourists (aka guiris) and locals alike were decked out in red and blue, with scarves, flags, and banners wrapped around their necks to demonstrate the intense pride they feel for their team. After the final buzzer, pedestrians, drivers, and motorists flooded out into the streets, honking, waving, and yelling, and the noise level was unbelievable. It was certainly a once in a lifetime experience. Who would have though soccer (or should I say football) could be so exciting?
