GOL?

by Azmi Sharom

One of the questions raised every now and then in this project, both by the writers (like John Lim) and a few comments I have seen, is “Why do you support any particular team”?

It is a deceptively simple question because answering it actually raises other questions. When I was a boy I supported Penang because that was my state. And Penang supporters were a funny bunch. Until today my brother and I laugh at the memory of a hapless RTM reporter on the field asking a Penang fan immediately after his team lost, what he thought of the game.

His answer was typical of any islander; “Penang mein macam teik” or to translate that into standard Bahasa “Penang telahpun bermain seakan tahi”. This was live TV and there was no chance of an edit. You could feel the reporter’s horror through the screen.

Supporting Penang has strong logic to it. It was my home; the players were representing my state. However that logic does not apply to my undying support for Tottenham Hotspur which has been going on for thirty years and has long outlasted my loyalty to Penang football.

I know when and why I started to support Spurs, it was the 1981 FA Cup final against Manchester City. Being naive I thought that Spurs were the underdog. I had never heard of them. What a strange name for a football team. Whereas I have heard of the mighty Manchester City and they were supposed to be giants. Actually, I was mixing City with that other team in Manchester and I was too ignorant to know about Spurs’ own wonderful history in the FA Cup and even in the league having won the first modern double in the early sixties.

Anyway, there were these “underdogs” in their white gear playing with such beauty, style and passion. They were a combination of otherworldly skill (Ricky Villa’s goal) and pure grit (one of the players was playing with a bloody bandaged head), and I was for the first time totally taken by the game and the team playing it. Finish…I was a Spurs man there and then and will be forever.

But how can a Malaysian boy derive such an affinity to a team from a foreign country. Isn’t football a tribal thing? In which case there is no conceivable way that I am part of any North London tribe. Perhaps it is the need to be supporting something better than what we have nearby? Or could it be the propaganda that is Match of the Day and other English broadcasts? Horrors, maybe I have some sort of longing for the good old colonial days and there is remnant loyalty to the mother land! Arrgghhh!

Well, whatever it is, I remain a Spurs supporter. And this is why I support England. For one thing, those of us who follow the English game will be familiar with all the players wearing the Three Lions. When I went to Majeed’s Restaurant in Subang Jaya, second home to the Malaysian Tottenham Hotspur fan club and co-owned by one of the team’s most ardent supporters, me and the other Spurs kaki can talk about every single player in the England team. Debate their strength and weaknesses and basically say things of such wisdom and insight that the English FA should just fire Capello and bring us on.

I can’t possibly have that kind of conversation about Slovenia, Greece, Paraguay or any of the other national teams. So supporting England for me is simply supporting a group of players I recognise. And I recognise five of the 23 man squad very well since they all play for Tottenham; the team that has contributed the most players to the England squad. Chelsea has four, Liverpool and Manchester City three, Manchester United two and Arsenal… err… I don’t think Arsenal has any actually.

One of the things those of us in Majeed’s were in agreement about is that Capello should just play all five of them (if King regains fitness). They understand one another and are used to playing with each other. Let King and Dawson take care of the back with Lennon tearing down the wing in order to put in a high cross which Crouch can nod down in the path of Defoe who will then slam it into the back of the net with his thigh.

Anyway, on to the match. England played a lot better than they have over the last two games. There was a better cohesion to them and to use that most overused of English football clichés; passion. Their attacks came often and they seemed to have more imagination than they had before.

Having said that it will be very doubtful if they can progress past the next round. Not only are they playing Germany their old bogeyman but in all honesty, although they have improved, they have not improved to the extent that they appear like they could beat the big boys, so it looks like the English commentators will still be harping on about 1966, at least till the next World Cup.

Still, one can hope. For now it is enough that they are into the knock out stage courtesy to a solitary goal scored by Jermain Defoe. Who, in case I did not mention it already, plays for Tottenham Hotspur.

Related posts:

1. England vs USA by Azmi Sharom ~~~ "...they had to play the great modern Caliphs, the saviours of Islam, and so this Vincent...
2. Algeria vs England by Azmi Sharom ~~~ The cutting of the foreskin and the development of football madness go hand in hand. ...
3. Slovenia vs USA by Yasmin Masidi ~~~ If Malaysia was to have a footballing style, what would it be?...
4. Algeria lwn Slovenia oleh Zulhabri Supian ~~~ "Semacam melihat aksi Nigeria di Piala Thomas mungkin"...
5. England vs Germany by Kam Raslan ~~~ There were oohs and aahs and a palpable sense of hope when England made a double...