From Europe to Africa, from East Asia to South-East Asia, they meet again in football heritage.
A tale from the lands of football continue the baton of history by bringing two historical countries to fight for 3-point in the group stage of Asian Cup Qatar 2023. The battle of proclamation. Allied victim nation meet their former colonies. Samurai blue meet Garuda warrior on the land of oil. The dignity meets the vengeful spirits of 45.
God gives his bless to this world thru football. It’s present from heaven that we can enjoy and watch the pure magic of beauty of football in this era. Football unites world. Only in football we can never burry our history. Only football that can remind us to the time where colonizing happened. And football can bring back that terrible memory into such an entertaining spectacle.
In the World Cup Qatar 2022 we are the noble witness of the journey of atlas lion, Morocco. They’re the first African nation that continue to World Cup quarter-final and semi-final. After beating European giants, Spain and Cristiano’s Portugal, we are brought back to take a look at early 20 century where France first took Morocco in 1912. Morocco met their old guest in World Cup semi-final to fight over their place with Argentina in the Final.
Also in World Cup 2022 we are given the show of USA against Iran, USA against England and don’t forget civil war between Wales and England.
Thirteen months later, on the same oil nation, God gave another chance for us to witness how our ancestor fighting over Japan back in 1942. But today, they no longer use Romusha and we don’t have to sharpen our bamboos to fight them. Indonesia meet their colonizers in the group stage of Asian Cup Qatar 2023.
We prepare our best 11 and so do they, having a chance that comes once in a blue moon, the origin of the sun face-to-face with Garuda’s spirit. For Indonesians, they already knew that impossible to beat country who have experience beating Germany and Spain in Qatar before. But we never loose our hope. The light will shine at the end of the tunnel.
On that two matches, the ex colonizers always wearing blue shirt and their old colonies wear red. Eyes are on the colonies side. It’s like colonizer against everybody, like blue against the rest of the world. The colonies took over their colonizers like they did in their independence day is what the world wanted.
Eventually, over 100 years gone, with different fight on different field, the colonizers are still the winners. They won over the red sides with two goals gaps. 2–0 for France and 3–1 for Japan. However, the colonies are winners for everybody’s heart.
Morocco and Indonesia steal the world attention by battling out in the competition. Haul the spirit of the warrior heroes of the colonial era. The atlas lion went on having 4th place in the World Cup and Indonesia qualified to the RO16 of Asian Cup meeting the land down under, Australia in Asian Cup.
Football is the only war that is worth watching yet being used as a medium to recall the history of nations. As Tarver Noah said in his latest special: “never burry your history.” This is the reason why in some countries football is bigger than religion. Hope we can enjoy more moments like this and witness another historical countries meet in football stage.
