Malta's Heart can't overcome lackadaisical Italians in 2014 World Cup Qualifier
Malta looked outmatched and outgunned by a disinterested Italian team in their recent World Cup Soccer qualifying match. While the Maltese played with heart and held the Italians to one goal, the general atmosphere of the game was that the Italians could run the score up any time that they wanted. For some reason they just didn’t want it.
Even when one of the Maltese players was red-carded in the first half and kicked out of the game leaving the Maltese to face a one player deficit for the rest of the game, Italy refused to take advantage of the situation. The Italians had the size, speed and ball control to handily defeat the Maltese national team. They just lacked the will or motivation.
Perhaps some of the Italians disturbing lack of interest was due to the Maltese fans. An announced crowd of 16,492 people rocked the stadium with singing and the wave, and more than a handful heaped down boos on the Italians – fans and team alike – from the singing of the Italian national anthem through the entire game.
As in any stadium game, the wave got started, and when a section refused to participate, those that began the wave booed and whistled their disapproval. The wave went through the crowd again, and this time everyone in the stadium participated in two full rotations before it petered out.
The drum and horn section played several familiar songs, even for someone who has never seen a live soccer game. From “The Entertainer,’ to which words were added, and “The Ants Go Marching” to “When the Reds Go Marching” sung to the tune of “When the Saints Go Marching” to “How Dry I Am,” there was plenty of music, which the crowd raucously endorsed with their voices even when there were no words. One song sounded strangely like “My Darling Clementine,” which seems like a weird thing to sing when supporting your team.
While the soccer stadium lacked the food items of a U.S. stadium, at least in the section I could afford, the fans were the same as those who go to see the NFL or the parents who are watching their children play a favorite sport (with a couple of spicy words that aren’t child appropriate added to the mix). As with any other sport, seeing it in person is the only way to really appreciate what the players can do with a ball.
Even when one of the Maltese players was red-carded in the first half and kicked out of the game leaving the Maltese to face a one player deficit for the rest of the game, Italy refused to take advantage of the situation. The Italians had the size, speed and ball control to handily defeat the Maltese national team. They just lacked the will or motivation.
Perhaps some of the Italians disturbing lack of interest was due to the Maltese fans. An announced crowd of 16,492 people rocked the stadium with singing and the wave, and more than a handful heaped down boos on the Italians – fans and team alike – from the singing of the Italian national anthem through the entire game.
As in any stadium game, the wave got started, and when a section refused to participate, those that began the wave booed and whistled their disapproval. The wave went through the crowd again, and this time everyone in the stadium participated in two full rotations before it petered out.
The drum and horn section played several familiar songs, even for someone who has never seen a live soccer game. From “The Entertainer,’ to which words were added, and “The Ants Go Marching” to “When the Reds Go Marching” sung to the tune of “When the Saints Go Marching” to “How Dry I Am,” there was plenty of music, which the crowd raucously endorsed with their voices even when there were no words. One song sounded strangely like “My Darling Clementine,” which seems like a weird thing to sing when supporting your team.
While the soccer stadium lacked the food items of a U.S. stadium, at least in the section I could afford, the fans were the same as those who go to see the NFL or the parents who are watching their children play a favorite sport (with a couple of spicy words that aren’t child appropriate added to the mix). As with any other sport, seeing it in person is the only way to really appreciate what the players can do with a ball.