There was no TV coverage of last night´s World Cup qualifier between Belarus and Spain. The price of TV rights was pitched too high by some greedy company and Spanish TV collectively refused to buy. So I along with thousands of other La Roja fans were left with the only option of listening to the game live on Spanish radio.
I tuned in , driving back to Barcelona from Madrid, across Castile and Aragon, over terrain that held together in its diversity, like a patchwork-delighted to hear the commentary praising Barca and Real Madrid players interconnecting in a flowing rhythm of possession and passing football and beautifully creative goals-one by Jordi Alba, a hat-trick by Pedro.
Tuned in to the footie, I forgot for a moment the deep political divisions that afflict the Spanish state, from region to region, from Catalan to Castilian, from club to club. Against this, how does one explain the coherence and spirit of the Spanish national team? They draw it from within themselves, this sense of common purpose, of being better at it than anybody else, knowing how to win, with grace, one for all , all for one.
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