Lewandowski, Neymar, Ronaldo. And many others. Immense, slightly less tall than the skyscrapers that house the blow-ups along the Convention Center, one of the most exclusive boulevards in Doha. Giants without empire or kingdom, those already eliminated from the world championship, of which the imposing and empty image remains, reflected and multiplied by the sun, glass and mirrors, while other stars, real, concrete, human, are about to compete for the trophy that is perhaps worth a whole life, certainly a whole career.
Human, perhaps all too human, appeared the Messi who to the sound of anger, talent, fury has bent the tulips: never had she been seen so determined and angry, the Pulce, and the impression a few more hours later is that so much garra has not only been turned against the Dutch , but almost introjected into the Argentine locker room, as if one and only demonstration of strength and will were needed, to convince oneself that the dream is possible, that that Cup is not a chimera or a mirage, but a truly realizable dream.
Coupons at double the official price
Whatever happens, Croatia andFrance, in the two semi-finals, will play away from home: thousands and thousands of Argentine and Moroccan fans present or arriving in Doha, with or without tickets. There are rumors that Albiceleste fans arrive in force via Dubai, and that many have devised a way to duplicate the electronic ticket with their smartphone, so as to be able to enter the stadium even without actually buying it. Obviously this would pose inevitable security problems. Meanwhile on the secondary market – perfectly legal, of course, even if the official coupons have no nominal constraint, and therefore are easily resold by private individuals – some tickets for the Croatia-Brazil and Holland-Argentina matches have been purchased for around 600 euro, double the established amount.
Certainly a handful of Italians already have their place guaranteed for Croatia-Argentina: they will be on the pitch, and the not too implicit reference is to the referee Beardedto the assistants Carbone e yellowisha the radio e Valeri in the Var room. It will be up to them to direct a challenge that promises to be incandescent. Just a few hours ago, while eating a pizza in an Italian restaurant in Doha, I happened to come across Valeri, Carbone and Giallatini: an informal chat, with closed notebooks and switched off microphones, between men of sport, reciprocal ”good luck ” and the desire on their part to close a high-level World Cup with another good performance.
Giroud bomber of Fantasy Football
Speaking of close encounters and lowered inhibitions: after two hours of waiting in the belly of the Al Bayt stadium, the night after the victory over England I finally happened to meet Olivier Giroud, the man of the match (and perhaps, why not, of the World Cup…): taking the usual fleeting declaration, by now tired and shivering from the desert wind, I ventured a timid encouragement: “Olivier, keep it up, you’re the striker of the my fantasy football team!”. The gentle giant reacted with a smile and a ‘high-five’ which made the three abundant hours of travel that still separated me from the pillow, touched only around 5.30 in the morning, lighter.