Who Will the English Support? Spain Anyone?

As the world (ok, the USA and England) prepare for today’s 2-1 USA win over England, we thought of the question: Who will the English support come Euro 2008?

Why are we asking this? Well for one, the English national team failed to make the Euro 2008 cut. For another, we’ve nothing to write about today.

The fine football section of the Guardian newspaper, the Guardian Unlimited has an interesting column that attempts to answer this question … Who should England back in Euro 2008? They’ve narrowed the field down to 5 countries - Spain, Germany, Sweden, Romania and the Netherlands.

Today’s guest correspondent is writer Juan Gabriel Vásquez, author of ‘The Informers’ who wants to convince the English to support La Furia Roja.

He comes up with five decent reasons why Spain should be supported. May I add an amazing nightlife, wonderful beaches, sun and great food to the list?

Here’s two of his reasons. Check out the article here for the rest plus a little video with Mr. Vasquez making his case …

1 Fellow underachievers: There are many similarities between Spanish and British football. Both countries have wonderful national leagues but, despite playing some of the best football in the world in their respective domestic championships, they have both been extraordinary underachievers on an international level. Spain has never won a World Cup, and has suffered in almost every World Cup and European Championship. England won the World Cup in 1966 but it did invent football, and its record has been shameful otherwise. I hope the British will relate to Spaniards’ record of pain and defeat.

4 Dinner at midnight: It’s a cliche, but the way the Spanish live life is different. I love the fact that they take meals seriously; a time to bond and to get to know people. A normal lunch in Madrid can take three hours. Life in Colombia resembles life in Britain or America - a nine-to-five routine - but now I live in Spain I feel like the days are longer. That’s because going to bed at 1am is the norm; you have dinner at 9.30pm, not 7pm, and the night is a part of normal social life. Spanish employers respect the fact that you do have another life. During the summer months, you can do something called the “intensive schedule”: you get to work at 8am, which is terribly early for a Spaniard, but leave work at three. This gives you the rest of the day to yourself, and, because it is summer, you have seven hours of daylight to do what you want with.

Tags: England, Euro 2008