Title: What does football mean to you?
Contents
What is football to us?
What is football to you? ‘Football is [ ].’ Fill in your story in this [ ]. If the whole nation can become one through soccer, Christians may be thinking of spreading the gospel through soccer.
1. Soccer is [us]
Messi, Maradona's Second Coming
The 1986 World Cup in Mexico reminded me of an outstanding player named Maradona. Maradona's dribbling in the match between Argentina and England is one of the most famous scenes that will remain in people's minds for decades. Starting from the midfield, he dribbled 57 meters by fooling five players, and then made a goal by beating the goalkeeper. Even if it was a shinigami, it was a talent that was not lacking.
Then we see Lionel Messi, who is called “The Second Coming of Maradona”. Messi is also a dribbling magician. As he dribbles, the ball seems to stick to his feet. While running and dribbling speed are similar, it breaks the center of the opponent in an instant and moves forward. Like James Bond in the movie playing soccer, Messi's dribbling seems to be unstoppable by any opponent.
The ground heroes I remember were all players with brilliant dribbling skills. Ronaldo's dribbling is full of power, and Ronaldinho's dribbling is as fun as watching a circus. At the World Cup in France, Korea played its first match against Mexico. I remember Ha Seok-ju's free kick goal and Ha Seok-joo's sending off, but more than anything else, I remember the dribbling scene where a friend named Blanco dribbled the ball through two defenders in front of them. Thus, dribbling has a special feature that occupies my memory. So football without dribbling is dry.
Dribbling makes heroes. Makes me remember a person's face and name. The more you focus on his face, the more his surroundings fade away. It is the power of dribbling that has the magical power to make only one person out of the twenty-two players on the pitch remember.
But football doesn't just depend on the birth of one great man. This is because there is a harmony of powerful passing that breaks the defense and advances towards the goal even without one person's brilliant dribbling. A pass is premised on the harmony of two or more people. No matter how fast he dribbles, he can't outrun his running speed, but his advance through a pass can penetrate the opponent's goal as fast as the speed of the ball. Dribbling is like a sniper who gets to the enemy line by eliminating the opponent, but Pathwork is a technique that accomplishes its purpose by breaking through the opponent's sleeping area and reaching the enemy line. So, Pathwork is like a group photo where you can clearly see the faces of all the members, unlike the dribbling that results in one person's appearance and the other people's oblivion.
Dribbling is flashy, but passing is beautiful
Soccer is an art created by the harmony of eleven people. Erase the other ten and don't focus on one. The excellence of one person is a game premised on being helpless in the face of the mediocrity of eleven people. If the way of existence of one person is dribbling, the way of existence of eleven people is the path. The power of pathwork is rooted in Wenger's philosophy that no one is faster than the ball. So the path is faster and stronger than the dribble. Dribbling is based on the excellence of one person, but advancing through passes is achieved by the cooperation of two or more people. The charm of passing play lies in opening up space through passes. This is where tactics are born. Dribbling is not a tactic.
Birth of “we” in solidarity
Through the beauty of soccer, that is, the aesthetics of soccer, I think about the possibilities of many different ‘us’. I think that the way of life that forgets many “us” by making one outstanding hero is never beautiful. Just as it started from the philosophy that no one has the power of a pass that is faster than the ball, which gave birth to a tactic to score a goal, the need for solidarity and hand in hand to reach the dignity of mankind that human progress must achieve is also a matter of all one person. takes as its philosophy the premise that it is as heavy and noble as the other ninety-nine. This is the birth of “we” in solidarity.
Just as soccer is a game of harmony through a pathwork, my life is also about creating harmony through the principle of community where each person exists for the sake of others. Therefore, I must not separate my existence from the existence of others. I am connected to someone's life. By having the proper distance, I have to complete someone's existence and at the same time fulfill my responsibility. When we keep this relationship between me and someone in tension, we can reach the goal we dream of.
To reach the goal, we tend to give up on ourselves and rely on one great hero. This may be the goal, but the goal achieved this way is not beautiful. Because it highlights one person and forgets the rest. Moreover, this method reminds me of a lazy community that has neglected my responsibility. it is abnormal You shouldn't enjoy or allow this unusual situation.
2. Football is [ Round Peace ]
South Africa, where the World Cup will be held, is a land where there was a bitter black-and-white policy called apartheid just 20 years ago. Until the close of the 21st century, the land was officially ruled by whites, discriminating against blacks.
I never dreamed that the World Cup would be held there. Even at that time, FIFA did not even grant South Africa qualifications for the World Cup. That was the only way the international community could be angry with South Africa.
However, as it was later revealed, even in the land of anger, soccer was a beautiful game that created hope.
Materazzi, Zidane, and Robben Island
Now, to tell the story, let's turn to the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
There was an incident that became a bigger issue than the direction of the championship in the final. It's the head-butting incident between football star Zidane of the century and Italian defender Materazzi. Zidane, a native of Algeria, a French colony, could not stand Materazzi's racist remarks during the match and hit him in the head.
At that time, the incident developed into a global issue, creating a lot of talk, including stadium violence, racism, and Zidane's retirement. However, among the numerous references to the incident, there was one that stood out in particular. This proposal was made by a man named Tokyo Sexwallet, who was a member of the organizers of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and FIFA President Jeff Blatter.
“I will call two people to Robben Island in South Africa and arrange reconciliation.”
What does this mean?
What kind of place is Robben Island in South Africa, and what does it have to do with football to make this proposal? The story that solved the curiosity was published in a book a long time later and became known to soccer fans around the world.
This story was hidden.
Robben Island, near Cape Town, South Africa, was used as a political prison camp. Political prison camps were mainly places where criminals created because of the apartheid policy of black and white discrimination were accommodated. Apartheid, an extreme segregation policy in South Africa, was brutal and strict. Blacks could not live freely, work, or even roam the streets without a pass. Black people who resisted this apartheid and fought for the abolition of the black-and-white policy were being held in Robben Island and rotting sadly.
In the camps, they were subjected to difficult prison terms due to beatings and hard work. But even the prisoners had a chance to breathe. It was a soccer game that started by rolling up shirts without the guards' knowledge. Through football, prisoners created a little hope.
South Africa World Cup burgeoning
They were the same black people, but in a way they were separated from each other along political lines. It was even more sad. But this time, the prisoners, who had become united by playing soccer, came together in solidarity and insisted on the prison authorities the right to officially play soccer, the most popular sport in South Africa at the time, in the camps. At the same time, pressure from the international community and the Red Cross, who were opposing South Africa's harsh racial discrimination policy, was added, and the authorities were unable to deny this request and eventually allowed it.
Finally, in 1966, the Makana Football Association, a soccer league for prisoners, was formed. The name ‘Makana’ was the name of a black hero handed down in legend on Robben Island. The 1,400 prisoners were systematically composed of players, managers, referees, and coaches among them, and divided into three leagues, dozens of teams played soccer games every week. Matches were strictly governed by FIFA's rules, and the league continued until 1991 when the prison was closed.
What meaning did playing soccer or participating as a member of this league mean to them, who had endured the oppressive and oppressed time of darkness? How eager were their hearts when the seagulls flew to distant shores? Their football is the struggle that contains that aspiration.