World Cup Rivalries to know about
You might not believe this but the 2014 SWC (Soccer World Cup) will affect your wardrobe – or rather it should says Darren. Find out why here:
'Try walking into a restaurant which houses Brazilian supporters wearing something with blue and white vertical stripes when they are playing Argentina and you are literally taking your life into your own hands!
You are safe with minnow teams’ colours like South Korea, Algeria or Iran. They aren’t the ones you need to worry about. It’s the entrenched rivalries that you need to look out for. You need to understand that some footy supporters are religious about their teams!
The Brazil/Argentina rivalry will rival any Muslim/Christian conflict; the border of those countries is not dissimilar to “The West Bank” during footy season.
Wearing the wrong colours at the wrong time and place is like waving a red rag to a bull and that rag gets bigger and brighter the worse their team is doing.
So wherever you are make sure you know which games are on and which colours to stay away from.
Other rivalries to watch out for:
Netherlands/Spain
Most people know of the Dutch/German rivalry but the Netherlands, which holds the unenviable distinction of making it to the SWC finals more times than any other country without actually winning the World Cup, was beaten by Spain in the 2010.
USA/Mexico
This is on off pitch rivalry for obvious socio-political reasons. Yes, South Korea and Japan have past historical issues with America but the Mexican Pride trumps that today. If America is smart however, they could reveal that one of their players is Gay before a Russian match up and things could get colourful.
So before you book at a restaurant for a nice quite meal, make sure that restaurant is not aligned with a team that might be playing that night. You can subtle do this too by asking the manager leading questions like:
“Do you have Eisbein and sour kraut?” If not, it’s safe place to go if Germany is playing.
Bangers and Mash for England, Feijoada for Brazil, Mole Poblano for Mexico and Paella for Spain…etc…
They used to say – You are what you eat, but during a SWC year, it’s more like – You are ‘where’ you eat.
Good luck and happy World Cup!'