Re: [A-List] World Cups and Argentina

[Chris Burford <cburford@xxxxxxxxxx>]

At 23/12/01 18:19 -0300, you quoted:
> En relación a Re: [A-List] Argentine spontaneous insurrection,
> el 23 Dec 01, a las 9:06, Louis Proyect dijo:
>
> > What shocking nonsense and a willful distortion of reality. This is
> > not a celebration over a World Cup victory, it is a spontaneous
> > uprising against a regime of imperialist austerity.

Although there is a subtle haughty contempt in the pages of the Financial 
Times about Argentina's problems, I can confirm that there is no haughty 
contempt among the English public towards Argentina in the next round of 
the World Cup.

The English are used to being beaten at cricket.  Apart from hooligans 
organised by right wing racists, as a whole English people have had to 
learn modesty about football too. Even the Murdoch populist press has had 
to be more cautious.

Football is a game of the urban working class. Despite the gigantic 
transfer fees it retains strong democratic features. It is a test of 
collective group intelligence and courage which can be relatively 
independent of the economic strength of the country in the system of global 
finance capital. Cameroun can win the respect of European countries, and 
Argentina is regarded as the strongest team in the world today.

The English appreciate their able and diplomatic Swedish coach. He has said 
without hesitation that England has been drawn with the most difficult 
group with Argentina in the next round of the world cup. That is not 
because it also includes Sweden.

We fear that the Argentinan goal shooting is more accurate than their 
Exocet missiles.

Now if it had been the other way round, Mrs Thatcher, rather than the 
Videla regime, would have gone many years before she did.

Chris Burford

London