On the weekend, I watched Leicester City get downed 0-1 in the FA Cup. Personally this marked the first English soccer match that I have watched in several years. It was excellent to be watching competitive sports on television. Interestingly, I found I missed the storylines and narratives that emerged from the game quite a bit more than the spectacle or watching the limits of human potential.
I don't live anywhere close to the United Kingdom and the time difference between Saskatchewan and GMT is six hours, so watching matches can present a problem at times. I don't have a close personal connection to any of the clubs (except a great-grandfather with some weak links to Chelsea), I have tended to focus on following favorite players or team cultures.
Many of my old favorite players are now retired. On the culture note, I was impressed by Brendan Rodgers in particular - he was a positive and engaging interview and his analysis of his teams' performance was spot-on. Rodgers seems to have toned down some of the more intense parts of his personality since I last saw him at Liverpool and I get the sense he has turned into an amazing leader. It is unfortunate that Rodgers seems to be coming up short in performances against Chelsea over the course of his managerial career. I will definitely be keeping an eye on Brendan Rodgers.
It was also interesting to watch Frank Lampard as bench boss over at Chelsea, he seems to have made the leap from player to manager flawlessly and he has an excellent squad to work with.
Watching soccer without a crowd in attendance was definitely strange and it was difficult to tell if this arrangement made any difference as it pertained to home advantage. As the COVID-19 pandemic draws out, it will be interesting to see if fans really make a difference in athletic performances.
Overall, I was impressed by the return-to-sport of these two Premier League clubs and I am looking forward to watching future matches.
Comments
Post a Comment