Was it the Pope, the Messiah or Haiti’s Liberators delivered from Heaven? (A Must Read) - By Jean Claude Elie

HAITI’S CHANGING COLORS – PART 4: By Jean Claude Elie July 24, 2014

A Little Background

Following the prior 3 articles published on my blog,, I am releasing  this 4^th  article to present  you with undisputable visual evidence of the ugliness of this national crisis which I entitled “Haiti’s Changing Colors – Sport Fanaticism or Treason?”

If you did not, read The previous 3 articles published on this subject, I encourage you to read  them before  viewing  the video featured below.  Here are the links:
Part 1-  Haiti’s Changing Colors – Extreme Fanaticism or Treason?
 Part 2- How Argentina ‘Eliminated’ Africans From Its History And Conscience
Part 3-  NY Times: Soccer's Odd Bonding: When Brazil Scores, Haiti Roars

Before embarking on this project,  I pondered the thought many times. This subject has been disturbing me for years. But I was held back by the uncertain repercussion that I could expose myself from the self-proclaimed Haitian/Brazilians or Haitians/Argentineans. As you know, we are in large a nation fanatics, not open to objectivity and open minded criticism. The accepted norm in communication is that the loudest person wins the debate, thus  every discussion becomes a screaming argument.

But having witnessed this extreme behavior expressed itself at a chaotic level during the last world cup, the feeling of embarrassment got too much for me to bear. Then with my wife’s motivation, I decided to move ahead.

Surprising feedback

The feedback I received on the prior articles was overwhelmingly positive. I never realized that so many of us were equally disgusted with this lack of individual personality, national pride and respect for our blue and red colors.

Even more surprising was the fact that 100% of the replies were positive and in agreement.   I did not get ONE, not even ONE reply in disagreement. So what happened to the thousands of Haitian/Brazilians/Argentineans who wore those countries colors with such pride during the games?  Why was their silence so deafening?

The only expiation I could derive was that the articles touched a nerve. A nerve of guilt,  a nerve of conscience,  and the fear of being identified as one of those “Achte de Figi”. How does someone defend a behavior that is associated with lack of personal and national pride? The sudden manner in which they went into hiding was just amazing and unexpected. Guilt is a powerful feeling.

THE  VIDEO IN EVIDENCE – FACT NOT TO BE DISPUTED

This takes me to the real purpose of this 4th  publication. The presentation of the video which led to this article being titled  “Was it the Pope,  the Messiah or Haiti’s Liberators delivered to us?

As a background, this video was filmed and distributed by Brazilians  to show to their countrymen how much Haitians are in love with Brazil. They divided the video in multiple chapters titled “The Passion, “The Love”, “The Emotions” that the Haitians people felt for them. Unfortunately, they forgot to include the most important chapter “HAITIANS STUPIDITY”

In return for this love, they proceeded to pump 6 goals into the net of the demoralized Haitian team during this friendship game. No Pity

NOW WATCH THESE 2 
Anyone with one drop of Haitian blood would be disgusted. The video had over 200,000 views in Brazil

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05G1IAxEe50]

- Now watch this more recent video -
MIZE AYISYEN YO NAN BRAZIL
(Made last year - 2013)
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqjbZt1Af7E[/embed]

Note
This is not about Brazil, it’s not about Argentina and it’s not about the sport.  I am a football fan who respects and loves Brazil fooib all. My problem is not the love for one’s team. It the inexplicable and cult like behavior we express over  Brazil and Argentine. The extreme fanaticism and adoption of another country’s color. Finally our uncontrollable urge to priority and adopt what others have while ignoring what is ours. giving others priorities over nation our flag and our team is the problem

LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

NY Times: Soccer's Odd Bonding: When Brazil Scores, Haiti Roars

By MICHAEL KAMBER - Published: August 13, 2004

When Brazil Scores, Haiti Roars

Djari Theophilo, one of the few Brazilian civilians living in Haiti, had an alarming experience after Brazil defeated Argentina in this summer's America's Cup Soccer Championship. Hundreds of thousands of self-proclaimed ''Brazil fanatics'' poured into the streets. People sang and cried, car horns honked, dogs barked, guns were fired into the air.

This is normal behavior in Haiti whenever Brazil plays soccer. What upset Mr. Theophilo was the lone Haitian who, in a frenzy, tore off his yellow Brazil jersey and began rubbing it on his face, and then seized Mr. Theophilo's hand and began kissing it, shouting: ''I love Brazil! I love your country!''

Mr. Theophilo shook his head as he recalled the incident. ''I urged him to calm down, it was too much,'' he said. ''In Brazil, we have a party when our team plays, but in Haiti it is insanity. The Haitians are bigger fans of Brazil than we Brazilians.''

Haiti's 40-year love affair with Brazilian soccer has grown to obsessive proportions over the past decade, and the outpouring of emotion Mr. Theophilo encountered on July 25 may be tame compared with what could happen on Aug. 18, when Brazil's national team, accompanied by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, arrives here to play an exhibition against Haiti.

The match, in which Brazilian players paid millions of dollars will face off against a Haitian team whose players have not been paid since April 2003, is expected to buoy spirits here and give a public relations lift to both the interim Haitian government and the United Nations peacekeeping force anchored by 1,200 Brazilians here in the capital.

The match was conceived as part of a disarmament plan in which guns would be exchanged for tickets, but that plan was scrapped for fear of alienating law-abiding Haitians. Now the Brazilians are billing the match as a gesture of peace and brotherhood, one that reinforces their standing as they wait for the multinational force to reach its full strength of 6,700 troops.

Franklin Desir, an unemployed bus driver, is a member of Bas Tanga, one of dozens of fan clubs around the city dedicated to Brazilian soccer. (Bas translates as base, or camp, and tanga means string and is slang for the Brazilian soccer style where the players move the ball around gracefully.) Most Haitians are too poor to own televisions so the club's 5,000 or so members -- essentially the entire neighborhood of Delmas 55, where Mr. Desir lives -- gather around televisions on sidewalks or in neighborhood storefronts to watch their team play.

Mr. Desir has a huge green banner with a Brazilian flag inset that he sewed himself and that he stretches between telephone poles across Delmas, a major thoroughfare, whenever the Brazilian national team plays. With his 10-year-old daughter, Francia, ---- also a Brazil fan -- at his side, he pinched his sinewy arm. ''Under my skin,'' he said, ''you will find Brazil.''

Across the street, at the Tropical Market, Michel Abraham, who is one of Bas Tanga's sponsors, sat at his desk in front of a photo collage of Brazilian soccer players and snapshots of various victory parties. But the Haitian obsession with Brazil extends to all things Brazilian. The prosperous storeowner pulled out his digital camera to show off a treasured image: a photo of his daughter standing between two Brazilian peacekeepers who came to shop at his store.

When asked why they like Brazilian soccer, Haitians often point out that the players are black like themselves, or, simply puzzled at the question, answer, ''Because I'm Haitian,'' or, ''It's part of Haitian culture.''

Junior Laroque, a 20-year old dockworker and Citoyens Réunis member who sports a green and yellow cap, explained: ''I like their style, the way they move the ball. And they're confident and cool, not like the excitable Germans and Italians.''

Echoing other Haitians, he offered: ''We're talking about the No.1 soccer nation in the world. If I just rooted for the Haitian team, I'd be disappointed all the time.''

(The Haitian team's one claim to fame to date is that it scored a goal against Italy in the 1974 World Cup.)

Dr. Yves Jean-Bart, a physician and the president of the Haitian Football Association, agreed.

''Many Haitians have no satisfaction in their lives,'' he said. ''Brazil is one of the good things in their life.'' And, he pointed out, ''the Brazilian players are black and they're from the masses. Ronaldo'' -- the Brazilian star -- ''washed cars in the street when he was a boy.''

President da Silva has asked the Brazilian national team not to run up the score against the Haitians. ''He doesn't want us to spoil the party,'' said Ricardo Teixeira, president of the Brazilian Soccer Federation. All of the big name stars on the team have agreed to play, which is not always the case for ''friendly'' matches.

But such worldly concerns were far from the minds of those gathered at a soccer fan club in Cité Soleil, a desperate slum district here in the capital. Asked about the prospect of a Haitian victory over Brazil, they laughed at first, then fell silent for a moment, as if pondering the unlikely situation for the first time.

''If Haiti won,'' a man in the crowd shouted out, ''God would come down to earth.''

The fan club cheered.

Photos: Whenever the Brazilian national team plays, Franklin Desir, with his daughter Francia, displays a huge green banner with a Brazilian flag.; Haiti's love affair with Brazilian soccer has reached obsessive proportions. A bus in Port-au-Prince featured a painting of a Brazilian star. (Photographs by Michael Kamber for The New York Times) Map of Haiti highlighting Port-au-Prince: Brazilian flags and T-shirts are a common sight in Port-au-Prince.

VISIT THE FACEBOOK PAGE

Related Articles

How Argentina ‘Eliminated’ Africans From Its History And Conscience

Haitians should learn the History of the flags they adopt they adopt

How Argentina ‘Eliminated’ AfricansFrom Its History And Conscience 

Tens of millions of black Africans were forcibly removed from their homelands from the 16th century to the 19th century to toil on the plantations and farms of the New World. This so-called “Middle Passage” accounted for one of the greatest forced migrations of people in human history, as well as one of the greatest tragedies the world has ever witnessed.

Millions of these helpless Africans washed ashore in Brazil -- indeed, in the present-day, roughly one-half of the Brazilian population trace their lineage directly to Africa. African culture has imbued Brazil permanently and profoundly, in terms of music, dance, food and in many other tangible ways.

But what about Brazil's neighbor, Argentina? Hundreds of thousands of Africans were brought there as well – yet, the black presence in Argentina has virtually vanished from the country’s records and consciousness.

According to historical accounts, Africans first arrived in Argentina in the late 16th century in the region now called the Rio de la Plata, which includes Buenos Aires, primarily to work in agriculture and as domestic servants. By the late 18th century and early 19th century, black Africans were numerous in parts of Argentina, accounting for up to half the population in some provinces, including Santiago del Estero, Catamarca, Salta and Córdoba.

In Buenos Aires, neighborhoods like Monserrat and San Telmo housed many black slaves, some of whom were engaged in craft-making for their masters. Indeed, blacks accounted for an estimated one-third of the city’s population, according to surveys taken in the early 1800s.

Slavery was officially abolished in 1813, but the practice remained in place until about 1853. Ironically, at about this time, the black population of Argentina began to plunge.

Historians generally attribute two major factors to this sudden “mass disappearance” of black Africans from the country – the deadly war against Paraguay from 1865-1870 (in which thousands of blacks fought on the frontlines for the Argentine military) as well as various other wars; and the onset of yellow fever in Buenos Aires in 1871.

The heavy casualties suffered by black Argentines in military combat created a huge gender gap among the African population – a circumstance that appears to have led black women to mate with whites, further diluting the black population. Many other black Argentines fled to neighboring Brazil and Uruguay, which were viewed as somewhat more hospitable to them.

Others claim something more nefarious at work.

It has been alleged that the president of Argentina from 1868 to 1874, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, sought to wipe out blacks from the country in a policy of covert genocide through extremely repressive policies (including possibly the forced recruitment of Africans into the army and by forcing blacks to remain in neighborhoods where disease would decimate them in the absence of adequate health care).

Tellingly, Sarmiento wrote in his diary in 1848: “In the United States… 4 million are black, and within 20 years will be 8 [million]…. What is [to be] done with such blacks, hated by the white race? Slavery is a parasite that the vegetation of English colonization has left attached to leafy tree of freedom.”

By 1895, there were reportedly so few blacks left in Argentina that the government did not even bother registering African-descended people in the national census.

The CIA World Factbook currently notes that Argentina is 97 percent white (primarily comprising people descended from Spanish and Italian immigrants), thereby making it the “whitest” nation in Latin America.

But blacks did not really vanish from Argentina – despite attempts by the government to eliminate them (partially by encouraging large-scale immigration in the late 19th and 20th century from Europe and the Near East). Rather, they remain a hidden and forgotten part of Argentine society.

Hisham Aidi, a lecturer at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, wrote on Planete Afrique that in the 1950s, when the black American entertainer Josephine Baker arrived in Argentina, she asked the mixed-race minister of public health, Ramon Carilio: “Where are the Negroes?” In response, Carilio joked: “There are only two -- you and I.”

As in virtually all Latin American societies where blacks mixed with whites and with local Indians, the question of race is extremely complex and contentious.

“People of mixed ancestry are often not considered ‘black’ in Argentina, historically, because having black ancestry was not considered proper,” said Alejandro Frigerio, an anthropologist at the Universidad Catolica de Buenos Aires, according to Planete Afrique.

“Today the term ‘negro’ is used loosely on anyone with slightly darker skin, but they can be descendants of indigenous Indians [or] Middle Eastern immigrants.”

AfricaVive, a black empowerment group founded in Buenos Aires in the late 1990s, claimed that there are 1 million Argentines of black African descent in the country (out of a total population of about 41 million). A report in the Washington Post even suggested that 10 percent of Buenos Aires’ population may have African blood (even if they are classified as “whites” by the census).

"People for years have accepted the idea that there are no black people in Argentina," Miriam Gomes, a professor of literature at the University of Buenos Aires, who is part black herself, told the Post.

"Even the schoolbooks here accepted this as a fact. But where did that leave me?"

She also explained that almost no one in Argentina with black blood in their veins will admit to it.

"Without a doubt, racial prejudice is great in this society, and people want to believe that they are white," she said. "Here, if someone has one drop of white blood, they call themselves white."

Gomes also told the San Francisco Chronicle that after many decades of white immigration into Argentina, people with African blood have been able to blend in and conceal their origins.

"Argentina's history books have been partly responsible for misinformation regarding Africans in Argentine society," she said. "Argentines say there are no blacks here. If you're looking for traditional African people with very black skin, you won't find it. African people in Argentina are of mixed heritage."

Ironically, Argentina’s most famous cultural gift to the world – the tango – came from the African influence.

"The first paintings of people dancing the tango are of people of African descent," Gomes added.

On a broader scale, the “elimination” of blacks from the country’s history and consciousness reflected the long-cherished desire of successive Argentine governments to imagine the country as an “all-white” extension of Western Europe in Latin America.

“There is a silence about the participation of Afro-Argentines in the history and building of Argentina, a silence about the enslavement and poverty,” said Paula Brufman, an Argentine law student and researcher, according to Planete Afrique.

“The denial and disdain for the Afro community shows the racism of an elite that sees Africans as undeveloped and uncivilized.”

--------------------------------------------------

Excerpts below from WIKIPEDIA Encyclopedia

Decline of the Afro-Argentine population 

• Heavy casualties caused by constant civil wars and foreign wars: Blacks formed a disproportionate part of the Argentine army in the long and bloody War of Paraguay (1865–1870), in which the loss of lives on both sides were high.
• Genocide. The rapid disappearance of blacks from Argentina has been attributed to racial genocide on the part of the Argentine government. Argentine President Domingo Sarmiento is noted for claiming that blacks can have no part in Argentine society [13] The Argentine government was known to have carried out similar ethnic cleansing of the countriesNative American population [14]. Historians that criticize claims of black casualties in the civil wars often cite the fact that women did not fight in the Argentine wars, yet black women disappeared simultaneously with men in Argentina.[15]
• Epidemics, especially of yellow fever in 1871: the traditional history holds that the epidemics had greater impact in areas where the poorest people lived.
• VISIT THE FACEBOOK PAGE
  

Haiti’s Changing Colors – Extreme Fanaticism or Treason? By Jean Claude Elie

A world Cup Phenomenon

What is the explanation for the uncontrolled fanaticism that drives Haitian nationals to wrap themselves with another country’s flag as if it was theirs, especially nations we share no  major historical/cultural connections, or significant mutual obligations? What is the driving force compelling so many of us to pay allegiance to another nation’s flag simply over a game?

For some unexplainable reasons, Haitians have chosen to bow to, and get emotionally attached to the yellow/Green and Blue/White colors of the Brazilian and Argentinean flags.

This phenomenon of a nation adopting the colors of other nations is unprecedented. National pride of a people prevents them from embracing the colors of another nation. In many parts of the world, this would be seen as treason. But in Haiti, this inexplicable phenomenon is practically taken as normal.

I understand very well reasonable sports fanaticism, or personal attachment to a sport team. As a young boy growing up in Haiti, I remember the way that young boys playing football idolized Pele, the legendary football player from Brazil. Most of us had never seen him play, but we knew from word of mouth that Pele was the greatest football technician with unparallel skills and magical moves. We spent our afternoon playing football in a dusty backyard using an orange as ball, or one made of wrapped socks. The kid who managed to get this home-made ball past the barefooted goalie, and between the two rocks used as goal posts, would yell in victory “Min Pele pou ou”. Any good football player was referred to as a “Pele”. Thus, we were all fanatics of Brazil being the country of our idol Pele.

But understand, we were kids and as we grew older, the fanaticism gradually wore off, especially when Pele was no longer an active player. This was not different than the fanaticism displayed in music those days when Port-au-Prince was divided between Nemours Jean-Baptiste (Compas Direct) and Webert Sicot (Cadence Rampa). It was an extremely deep fanaticism that would not be negotiated. You were either for Nemours or for Sicot. Some of the older folks were still stuck on “Jazz des Jeunes”. No one was allowed to be neutral. This choice was not based in musical knowledge, but purely on emotions that were developed either by your family’s influence, your social standing, who your friends were, what neighborhood you lived in, etc.. So based on these elements, you associated yourself with Nemours or Sicot. If you were from Cap-Haiti, the same formula applied. Either you were Septentrional or Tropicana. As a general rule, the higher your social standing or education, the more likely you were for Nemours or Septentrional. On the other side of the spectrum would be the Sicot or Tropicana fanatics. Again as a general rule.

From these facts, one can develop some logical reasoning that explains our fanaticism in those days. Fanaticism which was usually expressed in good taste.

Now, let’s get back to sports. As we got older, the strong fanaticism gradually wore off’ We no longer called ourselves Pele, and we could objectively enjoy music from Nemours, Sicot, Septentrional, Tropicana etc. Excessive fanaticism becomes manageable with maturity as logic and analytical abilities develop.

I also believe that as adults, our choice of team to support in a competition is derived first, by our country of origin, followed by the country, town and neighborhood of residence. Other factors such as the schools we attended etc. can affect this choice. So in reasonable individuals, the choice can be attributed to a personal connection that is easily identified.  Lacking all these elements, a logical person chooses to side with the underdog team..

Personally, in any competition, I rout for my country of birth Haiti, regardless of who, what or where the Haitians team is playing. Lacking Haitian team participation, I rout for America, being the country that gave me my education and professional career, among other things. Finally I rout for NY as my home state. And if Queens, NY is competing, I am Queens 100%.

By now, you should begin to understand my frustration over my inability to develop a scenario that justifies the behavior and extreme fanaticism of such a large portion of the Haitians population with its adoption of the Brazilian or Argentinean colors.

The 7-1 defeat of Brazil by the Germans is not only a humiliation to Brazil, but also a humiliation to Haitians. When you adopt something or someone, you take the good with the bad. You don’t get to choose. On the day of the infamous game, Haiti lost its blue and red identity as it was draped with Brazil’s yellow and green colors. Businesses, vehicles etc were displaying the Brazilian flag, while our citizen was wearing the Brazilian color everywhere.

While Brazil’s defeat became our defeat, the contrary would not hold. A Brazil victory would not have belonged to Haiti, but only to Brazil and the Brazilian people.

It has even been reported that when the Brazilian team had traveled to Haiti for a friendly game, the Brazilian team got most of the cheers and a stronger fan base at Stadium Sylvio Cator. What a demoralizing atmosphere for a home team. So the end result of the game was overly predictable.

• Where else in the world have such events taken place? Jamaica, Trinidad? Martinique? Mexico?, Dominican Republic? No.


• Will we ever see Americans nationals draped this country with the Canadian, French, English, etc. flags for any reason one can imagine? Again: NO.


•  If Haiti makes it to the next world cup, will Brazil and Argentine dress their country in Red & Blue? One more time: NO.


• And to anyone who says yes to any of the above, come see me because I got a bridge to sell you.

Starting today, with the upcoming world cup final game which includes Argentina, one can assume that Haiti’s colors are changing to white and blue. We might as well refer to Haiti as the chameleon land for its color changing abilities.

Finally after watching the video below, please try to answer the questions that follow

[youtube=http://youtu.be/MDX0K6ET30A]

It is obvious that Haitians have spent a fortune to support Brazil and Argentine. All these shirts, flags, caps etc come with a cost. Multiply the cost of these items by thousands or millions of items sold and you can imagine the magnitude of the number.

• Question#1: How much better Haiti’s team would be 4 years from now if all that money was donated to support Haiti’s national team or Haiti’s youth football programs?


• Question 2: To anyone who invested in Brazil or Argentina by purchasing a jersey, how much have you contributed to a Haiti’s sports program or national team?


• Question #3 (Conscience check): If you are wearing a Brazilian or Argentine shirt now, or when you put it on later or tomorrow, ask yourself this question:  If I had contributed this money to support Haitian football, wouldn't I be a better citizen?


• If you start feeling the guilt, then the answer is yes.

We have the unique ability to adopt what belongs to others
while not appreciating what is ours

Our colors are Blue and Red

 

Eng. Jean Claude Elie, MS, ME
CEO: RockMasters Marketing Services.
http://www.rockmasters.com
jeanelie@aol.com

Haiti returns to the tourist map

By Ian Thomson  -ntelegraph.co.uk/

Following the devastating earthquake four years ago, the 'beautiful, bedevilled’ Caribbean island of Haiti is ready to welcome visitors, says Ian Thomson

Rum punches on the veranda of a gingerbread hotel, delicious in the tropical noon… the sound of drums, rumbling in the hills, reaching your room at night. Haiti will always be entrancing for those in search of an out-of-the-way experience. It has echoes of west Africa – the houm-doum-do from that Vodou gathering – and a dash of French custom and Latin devil-may-care cool. This was apparent on my first visit almost 25 years ago in 1990, when I gathered material for a book about the Caribbean island, Bonjour Blanc.

Last June, I returned to beautiful, bedevilled Haiti for the first time in 10 years. I was itching to see how it had changed since I wrote the book and what damage had been left by the terrible earthquake of January 12 2010. This time, I would not be travelling by jitney, lorry or fishing boat, but in taxis and air-conditioned tourist coaches.

^{Jacmel’s colourful crafts}

From the air, Haiti is a sun-scorched clinker; deforestation, caused by a ruinous cutting of timber for charcoal, has destroyed much of the green. As the plane rolled smoothly along the tarmac at Port-au-Prince, the capital, a group of musicians at Immigration were shaking maracas and strumming guitars in welcome. Bright-coloured advertisements for Haitian beer and rum adorned the walls. The airport looked like any other in the West Indies.

Port-au-Prince was as exhilarating and exhausting as I remembered it. The streets, thronged with pack animals, porters and ambulatory salesmen, were a human ant heap. The smells I knew so well from the earlier visits – jasmine, burning rubbish – hit me forcefully and it was as though I had never been away.

Related Articles

• Haiti: A land of vibrant music and culture

  04 Sep 2012

• Haiti: check in to Hotel Vodou

  29 Feb 2008

• Caribbean travel guide

  09 Oct 2013

• Best activity holidays in the Caribbean

  25 Oct 2013

• Caribbean island-hopping by air

  24 Oct 2013

• The best Caribbean beaches

  21 Oct 2013

• Camping holidays for the whole family Canvas Holidays

 

Parts of the city were visibly still damaged from the earthquake. One of the worst natural disasters in Caribbean history, the earthquake claimed up to 316,000 lives. The National Palace was turned to dust; the twin-spired Episcopalian cathedral, the Palais de Justice and the Palais des Ministères were all pulverised. The convulsions lasted just 35 seconds, but a more graphic image of municipal chaos would be hard to imagine: the heart of Haiti’s national and civic life had been razed. Rich and poor alike were reduced to a state of homelessness and despair.

^{Art for sale on the street in Pétion-Ville}

Now, four years on, Haiti is a nation on the road to recovery. The tent cities have mostly gone and I was impressed by the industry of rebuilding and sense of hope for a new start. No traveller should feel put off. The Haitian government is wooing travel companies in Europe and North America. Things are still a long way from perfect – Haiti lacks the refinements of its Caribbean neighbours – yet the US State Department considers the country safe for tourists, while the Foreign Office warns only against travel to four specific slum districts in Port-au-Prince: Carrefour, Cité Soleil, Martissant and Bel Air. Given all this, it will not be long before the first charter flights and cruise ships arrive. I would urge people to visit now, before the country is marketed as the “edgy new Cuba” and loses something of its haphazard allure.

Next day, I took the local Sunrise Airlines flight to Cap-Haïtien in the north. On a mountaintop there stands a fortress they call the Eighth Wonder of the World. It was built by King Henri Christophe of northern Haiti, who committed suicide with a silver bullet (they say) in 1820 following a coup. Obscured by clouds, the Citadel is overwhelmed at first by the king’s rococo palace of Sans Souci, intended to be the Versailles of the New World. With its terraced steps mounting like a ziggurat temple, Sans Souci resembles an Aztec or Sumerian ruin; tangled with lianas, the palace is a luminescent, haunting relic of state power.

^{Iron Market art}

Tourists can reach the Citadel by foot or hired horse; the walk uphill takes about two hours, but it is worth it. The Citadel was built as a defence against a return to slavery. A mass of titanic stone apparently welded to the landscape, it towers above the trees on Pic de la Ferrière like a gigantic Crusader castle. Inside, I was shown a maze of passageways, oubliettes and galleries laden with English and French cannon. They say Christophe was buried here in quicklime to deny the mobs his corpse. The view from the ramparts is one of the most magnificent in the western hemisphere: a great antiquity of mountain, forest and sea.

No visit to Haiti would be complete without a Vodou ceremony. Vodou reflects the rage and ecstasy that threw off the shackles of slavery. On the night of August 15 1791, a ceremony was held outside Cap-Haïtien that marked the beginning of the African slaves’ revolt against the colonial French. (Haiti, the world’s first black republic, gained independence in 1804.) For many Haitians, Vodou is a way to rise above the misery of poverty and the devastation wreaked by hurricanes, mud slides, storms and other natural disasters. When a Haitian is possessed by a loa (spirit) he is taken out of himself and gratefully transformed.

^{Football in Canaan}

To attend a Vodou ceremony, you have to follow the rumble of drums into the countryside. This I did on my birthday, June 24, St John’s Day. In Vodou, St John the Baptist (Sen Jen Batis) is a powerful, rum-drinking divinity who is propitiated with bonbons and bottles of alcohol. At the village of Trou-du-Nord, not far from the Citadel, the night air was dirty like a smoked ceiling and eerie with the barking of dogs. Around the parish church of St John the candles and the swaying, crowded bodies suggested a Mexican Day of the Dead.

Crowds stood around the edge of the Vodou temple made of woven palm-thatch; they paid me no mind. The mambo (priestess) was sweating and jiggering her shoulder like an epileptic, her hands loaded with masonic rings and bangles. The drummers, bashing furiously, looked similarly possessed. A peaceable religion, Vodou is derived from the rites and beliefs brought to Haiti by African slaves in the 1600s. It is as old as Christianity.

The main town on Haiti’s south coast, Jacmel, is a glory. Steamships used to sail there every month from Southampton, exchanging tweeds for coffee. Today the coffee exporters’ houses with their wonky verandas recall the French quarter of New Orleans. The Hotel Florita, off Rue du Commerce, is a beautifully restored 1880s town house with teak floors and overhead fans that used to belong to the American poet and art collector Seldon Rodman. From the Florita you can travel by horse or minibus up to the bassin bleu – blue pool – along a beautiful, jungle-like trail in the hills. The waters of the bassin, a series of amazing blue-green natural aquifers, are deliciously cool on sun-heated skin. I stripped down to my underpants and dived in. With the vault of bright blue sky above, I was in heaven.

^{The streets of Haiti}

Back in Port-au-Prince, I made a beeline for the Hotel Oloffson, a magnificent gingerbread mansion made famous by Graham Greene in his Haitian novel The Comedians. Illuminated at night, the hotel was a folly of spires and fretwork. Hurricane lamps flickered yellow, showing white rattan furniture. I had not seen the manager, Richard Morse, since I proposed marriage here in 1990 (I went down on two knees to Laura after a burst of gunfire startled me).

“Ian, it’s been too long,” said Richard, laconic as ever. Not only had he kept the Oloffson open all these years, but he fronts a world-class Vodou rock band, named RAM after his initials. The band played so well that Thursday night in the hotel that I thought I would levitate out of my seat. Past guests have included Noël Coward, John Gielgud, Marlon Brando and Mick Jagger (who wrote Emotional Rescue there). Laughably, a room had been named after me as the author of Bonjour Blanc.

By day, Port-au-Prince is a study in bedlam. The roads are crammed with buses known as tap-taps from the noise of their vintage engines; painted with psychedelic flamingos and palm trees, they list perilously and belch smoke. The Iron Market, a block of bargaining and bawling, is a great arched structure in vibrant reds and greens, with minaret-domes that might have come from India. It is the best place to buy fantastic Haitian paintings, raffia bags, globular straw baskets or Ali Baba jars. I bought a chromolithograph of my birthday divinity St John and a bottle of Haitian Barbancourt rum (five-star), pure ambrosia.

Tired and in need of a drink, I headed for the magnificent National Pantheon Museum, a sleek underground structure across the road from the razed National Palace. Inside was a display of rusted iron manacles, chains, branding irons, muzzles and other implements of slavery, along with portraits of the Haitian national heroes Toussaint L’Ouverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Forged in the crucible of French colonialism, Haiti was once the most profitable slave colony the world had ever known.

After a week in Haiti my time had almost run out, and I felt the same emotion as 10 years ago, a mix of impatience for home and regret at leaving. Haiti is one of the most astonishing places – a west Africa in the Caribbean. I found a courage and humour in the face of desperate odds that was like an intoxication of hope. Change cannot come too soon; I can’t wait to go back.

Ian Thomson’s 'Bonjour Blanc: A Journey Through Haiti’ is published by Vintage in a new and revised edition.

When to go

December to March are coolest. Carnival is held each February after Shrove Tuesday to mark the start of Lent. It is Haiti’s biggest party and, for me, the best time to go. The Carnival of the Flowers takes place in late July.

Flying time and difference

Eleven hours; GMT minus 5 hrs.

Getting there

American Airlines (020 7365 0777; americanairlines.co.uk), British Airways (0844 493 0787; ba.com) and Delta Air Lines (0871 221 1222;delta.com) fly via New York and Miami. Air France (0870 142 4343;airfrance.co.uk) and Air Caraïbes (aircaraibes.com) fly via Paris and Guadeloupe. The other option is to fly to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. From there it is a two-hour road transfer to Santo Domingo, then a 40-minute flight on Sunrise Airways (sunriseairways.net).

Packages

G Adventures (0844 272 0000; gadventures.co.uk) has just launched its Haiti programme and Undiscovered Destinations (0191 296 2674;undiscovered-destinations.com) also has trips organised. Wild Frontiers (020 7736 3968; wildfrontierstravel.com) has two tours scheduled for 2015, on sale from September, while Exodus (0845 287 7658;exodus.co.uk) plans to introduce a Discovery trip to Haiti next year. For details of other tour operators, visit experiencehaiti.org .

The best hotels of a budget

Hotel Oloffson ££
This truly magnificent, historic gingerbread hotel in Port-au-Prince is where the more adventurous stay. Thursday night is music night and well worth attending. Service can be a bit haphazard but what you lose in convenience you gain in atmosphere. Rooms from $100/£59, suites from $200/£118 (3810 4000; hoteloloffson.com).

NH Haiti El Rancho ££
Art deco folly that used to be a favourite with Richard Burton and the New York crooner Harry Belafonte, with splashing fountains and Italianate marble floors. Partially rebuilt after the earthquake but still lovely. Rooms from $120/£71 (0034 91 398 46 61; nh-hotels.com).

The best luxury hotels

The Karibe Hotel (2812 7000; karibehotel.com), Best Western (2814 2222; bestwesternpremierhaiti.com) and Royal Oasis by Occidental (royaloasishotel.com) all offer more luxurious if somewhat bland accommodation. Rooms from $160 (£94).

The best restaurants

Le Plaza Hotel £
Has an excellent Creole buffet every Wednesday lunchtime, and a barbecue buffet on Sunday evenings, accompanied by a Haitian twoubadou (countryside troubadour) band with drums, maracas and guitars (10 Rue Capois, Port-au-Prince; 3701 9303/2940 9800;plazahaiti.com).

Hotel Oloffson ££
Its lovely veranda restaurant is still one of the best places for breakfast in Port-au-Prince (60 Avenue Christophe; details above).

Le Quartier Latin £££
Atmospheric, bourgeois-bohême gourmet restaurant and nightclub with live salsa and meringue (10 Rue Goulard, Place Boyer, Pétion-Ville; 3460 3326/3445 3325; email: brasserieql@gmail.com).

Tips

The village of Croix-de-Bouquets, eight miles outside Port-au-Prince, is a must for carved iron sculptures of Vodou divinities and other art pieces.

The Galerie Nader on Rue Grégoire in Pétion-Ville has superb Haitian fine art for sale.

Always carry American $1 notes, the preferred currency, for bottles of water, tips, snacks and taxis.

Regardless of your colour or race, you will be amicably addressed as “blanc”, which in Haitian Creole means “foreigner” as well as “white”.

Never dole out gifts of sweets or chewing gum, as this creates resentments locally and puts street vendors out of business.

The popular beach resorts are on the Arcadins Coast, 45 minutes north of Port-au-Prince. In Cap-Haïtien, Labadie beach is famous as a cruise ship destination. The Cormier Plage Resort hotel (cormierhait.com) outside Cap has a lovely private beach, a silver strand by moonlight.

Currency

The local currency is the Haitian gourde. HTG77 = £1. Most travellers use US dollars. HTG45 = $1.

Visas/vaccinations

No visa is required. Immunisations against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, hepatitis A and typhoid are strongly recommended. The oral cholera vaccine Dukoral is sometimes suggested depending on where in Haiti you are going. Anti-malaria prophylaxis is essential.

Further information

See experiencehaiti.org. The Bradt Travel Guide to Haiti by Paul Clammer is strongly recommended. My own hybrid of history and adventure, Bonjour Blanc: A Journey Through Haiti (Vintage), is still the only major modern travelogue about Haiti.

THAT WAS THE WORLD CUP...!

The party is over. The hangover is already unbearable... This 2014 World Cup may turn out to be the most entertaining ever. For all practical matters, it was a total popular success... The final was attended by an estimated 3.5 billion TV spectators, and generated a record of 280 million interactions on Facebook.  For the entire month, everything went hardly without hitch...

The only snag was the opening ceremony with Pitbull, J-Lo and Claudia Leite. It  was thematically and artistically inappropriate. FIFA official song for the competition just did not fit. Who chose that rigmarole? What were they thinking?

On Sunday, the closing ceremony fixed it all up. It was a spectacle high in elegance and artistry. Wycleff Jean was there; he did what the Haitian football team could not do; he qualified for the World Cup final. Also performed Shakira, Carlos Santana, Carlinos Brown (Timbalada), Ivete Sangalo, Rihanna, a plateau of beautiful Brazilian women, and some  more...

In the stand, there were heads of states and governments, such as Angela Merkel, Cristina Kirchner, Vladimir Putin, and Dilma Roussef.  Beside the FIFA officials and the executives from the regional confederations, the A-list of the world of sport and entertainment was in attendance, we saw the faces of James Lebron, Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady... Did you get a ticket?

........................................

Two months ago, the 2014 World Cup looked doomed. The stadiums, the airports, the tramways, the parking spaces, expected in December, were not ready.  Deadly construction accidents were frequent. Social protests had returned,  massive, disruptive; they had no specific claim beside the cost of daily living. They had no identifiable leadership. Someone wrote on social media: "Please, don't come here for the World Cup.  There will be no World Cup. No one has convinced the Brazilian people that there should be one..."

However, when 11 billion dollars were already spent, someone had to make the World Cup happen. So it happened. The second Brazilian World Cup, played by 32 countries in 32 days in 12 stadiums, was a resounding success, a supreme attainment.  It is a poster ad for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Bravo Brazil. Public statues and airport facades have yet to be completed, but no problem; they will be finished before the Olympics. Perhaps...

On the field, Team Brazil was terrible, as abominable as any team can be, more horrendous than any semifinalist in any living memory.  With a tougher draw, Brazil could have been eliminated in the early group stage.  The Auriverdes had merely a bumpy ride until came time for them to play the major European powers.

Then the Brazilians fell apart, 10 goals to 1, in two games. They now need to return to their playing concept, to the jogo bonito. They have to change their policy on Brazilian youth transfer to Europe. They must reorganize their local league, reduce the number of annual games, and create more meaningful competition between the clubs. They must do away with corruption and establish a policy of market fair-play between the clubs. For many, it sounds like the era of Brazilian dominance is over. Half a century ago, the era of British world hegemony was over...

The Africans and Asians only had a cameo appearance at the Cup. They should be looking into their own distinctive and instinctive abilities instead of blindly adopting European football. Countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Japan, Iran had the right players, but no specific winning strategy on the field.

The Americas did well beyond expectation. Argentina made it to the final. Colombia and Costa Rica pleasantly surprised. Team USA survived the group of death, and is now finally ready for prime time. The other teams, such as Mexico, drove a hard bargain to the Europeans. At the end, Europe won, but barely. This win was their 11th, the Americas have stagnated at 9, since 2002.

..............................................
WHAT IS IN THE FUTURE?

From Brazil 2014 to Russia 2018, the next World Cup will be staged for the first time in Eastern Europe.  It will be the 21st.  

Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, was at the Maracana, on Sunday.  He received the baton from Dilma Roussef, the Brazilian President. He stated: "We will do what it takes to organize an event at the highest level."  Let us bet, he is going to spend 50 billion dollars on this one...

The draw for the qualifiers will take place in Saint Petersburg in July 2015, that is in a year. The games will start, for the latest, in September 2016. One team is already qualified: Russia, as host.

Every year, in June-July,  is staged a major world event in senior international football. You will have plenty to pick from. In 2015, the Women World Cup will take place in Canada, and the Copa America will be in Chile... In 2016, the European Cup of Nations (Euro) will be in France.... In 2017, the Confederations Cup, otherwise called the mini-World Cup, will be played in Russia. ....

For the 2018 World Cup, Travel-O-Ganza intends to visit Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The Russia World Cup Adventure will depart on June 20 and return on June 30.

But you are already suffering from withdrawal syndrome.... How long will you have to wait before seeing high level football action again?  

Not much indeed. In five weeks, the five big European leagues (Spain, England, Italy, France, Germany) will be in full activity. The English Premier League (EPL) resumes on August 16, and the Spanish La Liga starts a week later.

The best football competition on this planet is not the World Cup, it is the Champions League. It is played annually between the best European clubs staffed by the biggest football stars in World Football.  The format is similar to the World Cup (32 teams, 64 ties).

The Champions League will kick off in two months, on September 16; the final will be played in Berlin on May 23, 2015. Real Madrid is the current title holder. Pick a team, a likely winner, such as Barca, Real, Atletico, Milan, Juventus, ManU,  City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayern, Paris. Follow your team to the end. You will fall in love and will remain forever connected.

.................................................

For a month, with in an upheaval of awe, emotion and passion, we lived the fairy tale of Brazil coming back 64 years later to seize and keep its Cup at home. But the story ended badly. We will have to wait for another 64-year to see Brazil, the only country that played all the World Cups, triumph on home soil. Dreams do come true in the magic Land of Football.

In the meantime, a little guy who watched this year's World Cup from his father's lap, or holding his mother's hand, will grow up to be, in two decades, the Best Striker at the World Cup. In 1994, his name was James Rodriguez, a three-year boy from Cucuta, Colombia...

Until the next World Cup....

Travel-O-Ganza, Inc, The Travel Club
Visit us at TraveloGanza.com
Did you miss our World Cup Trip?
Would you like to go to Cartagena, Colombia?
(The Traveller, Monday July 14, 2014)

Indeed, like in 2010, the best team won... by Odler Robert Jeanlouie

...and Messi won the Golden Ball of the tournament as Best Player, followed by Muller and Robben. James Rodriguez won the Golden Boot for his six goals in five games; he his followed by Messi and Neymar. Neuer won the Golden Glove as the Best Goalkeeper. Paul Progba won the Young Player Award.

They are the new and the confirmed stars. By the next World Cup, most will look the shadow of their today's selves. Anyone remember Xavi or Forlan of four years ago?

For this World Cup, Germany has been on everyone's list of likely winners. But no one wanted to put their money on them. They have been on top of European and World football since 2002, regularly showing up among the final four, but completely unable to cross the winning line.


They lost their own 2006 World Cup, to Italy. Two years later, they lost the Euro finals to Spain. In 2010, in South Africa, they lost the World Cup semifinal to Spain, again. In 2012, they lost the semifinal of the Euro to Italy. Always bridesmaid, never a bride.

But we should have known in 2013 that something had changed. The crossing of the Rubicon happened when Bayern Munich, staging seven players of the German national team, destroyed, humiliated Almighty Barcelona, in a two-game tie, by 7-0. Seven goals, any association?

At the World Cup this year, they never seem to be in real difficulty. They took care of their serious business on Day One, by beating the Portuguese by 4-0, and thereby qualifying for the knockout stage. Later, they played as they wished, and every time did the essential, which was not to lose. Then they taught a 7-1 lesson of humility to Brazil, a lesson that has forever altered the psyche of the South American power. After this defeat, Brazil will never be perceived as same. Never again.

Argentina on the other hand, winner of the South American confederation for the World Cup never looked quite convincing, beside the argument that they had La Pulga, Messi. With Aguero, Higuain, Palacio. Lavezzi, Maxi Rodriguez, Di Maria, and Messi, their attack looked un-containable, the kind that can rain five goals on any opposition, on any given Sunday.

But at the World Cup, the messianic Messi did not really show up. The Albiceleste could hardly score one against Iran. Game after game, they managed to win by a mere one-goal margin. They even had to recourse to the penalty shootout against Holland. Stunningly, their defense, with Romero, Garray and Di Michaelis, was their stronghold, not their attack.

.........
During Sunday's final, the Argentine created illusion for half an hour. Then the individual and collective superiority of the Maanschaft became undeniable. Without Di Maria, it is pure luck that the Albiceleste could keep the game scoreless for 113 minutes. At the end, the dreaded penalty lottery did not happen. The Germans deservedly won their eight World Cup final and their fourth FIFA star on their national jersey.

Gotze, the Dortmund wunderkind transferred last year to Bayern, scored the lonely goal of the game. Messi, isolated, and even more isolated after Higuain's exit, did not do much. He even placed his last free kick in orbit.

The Spanish reign is over. The new king is Germany. Fort the third time in a row, the baton has been passed within the European Union. For the second time in a row, Europe has won outside of Europe. For the first time ever, a European team has won in South America. Rule #2 is no longer. Once again, we have witnessed History.

The future of North and South American football looks promising with the emergence of new competitive nations, such as the US, Costa Rica, and Colombia. But the next two Word Cups will be staged in Eastern Europe (Russia, 2018) and the Middle East (Qatar, 2022). A win at either one, for an American country, looks distant and uncertain. The European Century has started...

The king is dead. Long live with the king. Long live Germany! Bravo!

Travel-O-Ganza, Inc, The Travel Club
Visit us at TraveloGanza.com
Did you miss our World Cup Trip?
Would you like to go to Cartagena, Colombia?

(The Traveller, Monday July 14, 2014)

BRAZIL ROUT: HIROSHIMA OR PEARL HARBOR?.. by Odler Robert Jeanlouie

Germany 7, Brazil: 1. Fly de Plantin. But de Lato.

The last time Brazil lost a World Cup game that badly was in 1934. The last time a team score 5 goals in the first half of World Cup game was on June 19, 1974, when Poland beat Haiti, in Germany, by 7-0.

Again, 64 years later, Brazil, with tears and rage, is living another day of infamy. Where were you on September 11, 2001? Where you when Brazil lost 2-3 its 1982 quarterfinal against Italy? Where were you when Brazil was humiliated, on Brazilian turf, 1-7 by Germany? You will never forget today, it will remain impressed in your psyche for decades. We just lived a historical moment, not any lesser than the Maracanazo of July 16, 1950. After that game the Brazilian team changed its jersey, will they do the same as of Monday?

If defeat has its silver lining, winning may sometimes be detrimental. Many did not want to see Brazil winning the Confederations Cup last year. Brazil did. The immediate effect was to create around the Auriverdes an aura of invincibility for a team that was fundamentally weak. Felipao remained certain until yesterday that his team was going to win the World Cup. But how?

For a team to win the World Cup, it must have six Word Class players #1 or #2 at their position; Brazil have four. For a team to win the World Cup, it needs a skeleton from a single team; Brazil does not have that. For a team to win the World Cup; they need a midfield maestro who "owns" the team (Dunga '74, Rivaldo '02) and a ruthless striker (Romario '74, Ronaldo '02); Brazil has no maestro (Oscar is not one), and Neymar is anything but ruthless; he is more like a Doritos of the fragile type.

Hence, this team was favorite only because it was playing at home, and home happened to be the Land of Football, the patria of Pele, Garrincha, Zagalo, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho... It was jsut a dream, an unfettered dream.

....................................
The loss of Neymar and Thiago Silva did compound an existing problem. But no two players could have changed the outcome of this quarterfinal against. The writing was on the wall. There was no logical reason to think that Brazil was the best team in the world, it was just an emotional belief.

Going back to the last World Cup in 2010, Brazil was exited by Holland. What happened since then? They lost badly at the Copa America in 2011. They did not even make it the final four in a field of 12. Then they lost the football tournament at the 2012 Olympics, in London. Until then, they had nothing to show except average performances at friendlies, among them losing to Mexico 0-2.

The team could have Improved, but they had no opportunity for self assessment. Being pre-qualified for the World Cup, they were excused from all competitive games, except the four-match run of the Confederations Cup won against a decadent and tired Spanish team. That was an unfortunate happenstance, a fodder for overconfidence...

With four competitive games in two years, eight in four years, the senior team showed up at the World Cup a month ago. They had an disappointing opening against below-par Croatia (3-1), then they almost lost to Mexico that was better than them (0-0). Two weeks ago, they showed off against Cameroon the lowest-ranked team in the tournament (3-1). In the knockout stage, they were practically outplayed and eliminated by Chile, but the cross bar and the post saved them from expulsion. Finally, last Saturday, the only Brazilian team on the field was Colombia. It became clear to everyone that Brazil does not have the baggage of a dominant Champion; they were to entered the semifinals as underdog. Then today, reality came to shine...

...........................
One is to ask how did Brazilian football became so poorly talented that they had to take out-of-form Hulk and Fred to the grandest world stage. It is because Brazilian football is fraught with internal problems. Some people such as Romario have been vocal asking for attention and correction, to no avail. The proverbial Brazilian "don't worry" prevailed.

Now the CBD (Confederacao Brasileira de Desportos) will need to worry. Worry about rampant corruption at all levels. Worry about the Brazilian season that is too long with too long a distance between the cities of competitions. Worry about fatigued players. Worry about loss of Brazilian soccer values (no more jogo bonito). Worry about the decrease in the number of football academies and of coaches for the youth. Worry about who is really in charge of football development and where the buck stops.

.............................
While Brazil is stagnating and losing its values and valuables despite an improved economy, the Europeans have taken over. Spain has grown into a genuine powerhouse by multiplying its number of coaches and its youth academies. France, Belgium, and Switzerland are importing talents from Africa and Asia, instead of losing theirs.

The European Union for Football Association (UEFA) has stipulated fair-play rules for the betterment of the clubs on the continent. The Champions League has become a worldwide household name and a better product than every football trade name, except the World Cup. Brazilian stars, such Falcao (Colombia), da Costa (Spain), dos Santos (Mexico) surprisingly opt for foreign teams over the Brazilian national team. Tonight, God knows how much players such as the above-named would have been useful against the Germans.

...........................
Decimated inside and outside of its borders, with no clear solution in hand, Brazilian football will have to go back to the drawing table. Today's rout has been etched on the wall for no one to see; it was an humiliation waiting to happen. If it had happened last year at the Confederation Cup, Brazil would have patched up its problems and would have won the Cup this year.

It is unfortunate, but not surprising. It is a pity that a 64-year wait and hope was sunk in 18 minutes by the German impeccable war machine. It is unfortunate that the Americas have lost their most charismatic heroes.

But it is not the end of the road, as France and Spain did, a reorganized Brazil will rise from the ashes of its utter humiliation. Its jogo bonito blended, jumbled with the beat of samba will return to the stadia and football will be once again be played like only Brazilian can play it, and win games and cups.

Today's rout is not a Hiroshima, it is not a Nagasaki, it is not even a Waterloo. Today's loss of the Auriverdes is a Pearl Harbor, a day of infamy, and "whoever did that will have to pay for it"...

 

 

 

 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eTo-p36e8U[/embed]

Sponsor:
Travel-O-Ganza, Inc, The Travel Club
Visit us at TraveloGanza.com
Did you miss our World Cup Trip?
Would you like to go to Cartagena, Colombia?

(OdlerRobert Jeanlouie, Tuesday, July 8, 2014)

WC14: Then They Were 8... by Odler Robert Jeanlouie

..and the winners are: Brazil, Colombia, Costa-Rica, Holland, France, Germany, Argentina, Belgium.

While the group stage of this World Cup competition was a surprise box, the first knockout stage saw the re-establishment of world order. No more surprise, ladies and gentlemen; it is time for serious and responsible endeavors.

The challengers and the underdogs were all expelled, to the exception of Costa Rica that no one expected to still be running among the adults. But the Greeks, victims of the Costa Ricans, despite being surprise and unlikely European Champions in 2004, were never candidates to win the title.

Chile, Uruguay, Greece, Mexico, Nigeria, Algeria, Switzerland, USA are all out, and they all, at home, merit a hero welcome. All of them left with honor, with their head held high. Not a single rout. Five out of eight, yelling and kicking, dragged their victors into extra time, with two penalty shootouts. Tim Howard made a record of sixteen saves for Team USA. Four of the eight match-ups could have easily gone the other way, and fairly place Chile, Mexico, Greece and Algeria in the quarterfinals.

Experience and birthright have prevailed, save in the case of Uruguay; the two-time World Champion could not do it without Suarez.

The group stage led to the total ejection of Asia. Hereby, the inter-continental war that is the World Cup now sees the obliteration of Africa. The competition has then morphed into a simple and direct dual between Europe and the Americas, and the two continents are in parity: 4 to 4.
..............................

On Friday, the quarter finals will bring two major fratricide conflagrations: Brazil vs Colombia, Germany vs France. Despite an air of seniority adopted by the first-named, there will be no favorite. Surprisingly enough, host Brazil seems to be the most vulnerable among the eight.. Notwithstanding, it is a heartache to know that on Saturday morning, two out of four sympathetic strikers will go away, Neymar or Rodriguez, Muller or Benzema will leave for an unwanted vacation.

These two match-ups are highly anticipated. During this competition, the only team donning a yellow shirt that plays the Brazilian way is... Colombia. Brazil has been playing more like ... Ireland, being saved twice from elimination against C

ile by the woodwork. That was a pure miracle. Yes, God is Brazilian. Will He still be Brazilian on Friday?

The France-Germany quarterfinal will be the remake, or the revenge, of the 1982 semifinal between the two European heavyweights and World Champions. That was an Homeric game played in Sevilla. It ended 3-3. France, that led 3-1, was arguably the better of the two, but lost 4-5 on penalty kicks. However, this story happened long time ago, when France used to play with a team of white guys...

..............................
The Saturday match-ups look more original, more exotic.

Holland may think they are going to trample over a small Central American republic called Costa-Rica. The three-time unlucky World Cup finalist can sure do just that. However, sure could Uruguay (two time winner), Italy (four-time winner) and Greece. All of them were surprised and beaten by Costa Rica. All in all, this will be a game to watch and for the Orange Clockwork to lose...

By the way, everyone should enroll at that school where the Costa Ricans learned how to take penalty kicks.

At every World Cup, there seems to be that dark horse that comes out of nowhere, hops over obstacles and unexpectedly ends up among the top four. Think of Poland in 1974, Bulgaria in 1994, Croatia in 1998, Turkey in 2002, Portugal in 2006, and Uruguay in 2010. This year, it may just be Belgium.

With Courtois (best goalie in the world), Kompany, Hazard, Lukaku, the Belgians have a solid, rapid and talented team. They can be that dark horse that will surprisingly send Argentina home on Saturday and play the semi final next week against their Dutch neighbors. The Belgian team indeed has more balance and more imagination than the two-man Argentinian team. The Albicelestes were just lucky against Iran and Algeria. For sure, without Messi and Di Maria they would have been by now watching the games in Buenos Aires.

Don't bet on these ties, money will spoil your unadulterated anticipation and pleasure...


Travel-O-Ganza, Inc, The Travel Club
Visit us at TraveloGanza.com
Did you miss our World Cup Trip?
Would you like to go to Cartagena, Colombia?
(The Traveller, Thursday July 3, 2014)