Just a random story - I'm walking in Mall of the Emirates Dubai, and I spot a guy wearing an Estudiantes de la Plata (Libertadores Champions) shirt. Knowing he's in the UAE for the Club World Cup, I shout 'Vamos Estudiantes!' to which he replies 'Vamos!' and smiles and walks on.
A week later, and I'm leaving the stadium after Barcelona beat Estudiantes in the final - and lo and behold I pass by the same guy! We both think we recognize each other, so we stop for a chat. He speaks no English, I speak no Spanish. By the end of it, we've exchanged jerseys , ( my Barca one for his Estudiantes one) , taken photos, exchanged emails and had a great deal of laughs with him and his friends from Argentina. They loved it when I said Maradona and Iran were close like my two fingers crossed together.
I just thought it was nice that out of 43,000 people in the stadium, we managed to bump into each other again and use football between us as a language - it truly is a global game.
A week later, and I'm leaving the stadium after Barcelona beat Estudiantes in the final - and lo and behold I pass by the same guy! We both think we recognize each other, so we stop for a chat. He speaks no English, I speak no Spanish. By the end of it, we've exchanged jerseys , ( my Barca one for his Estudiantes one) , taken photos, exchanged emails and had a great deal of laughs with him and his friends from Argentina. They loved it when I said Maradona and Iran were close like my two fingers crossed together.
I just thought it was nice that out of 43,000 people in the stadium, we managed to bump into each other again and use football between us as a language - it truly is a global game.
Comment