Although Holland seems to be ignored in this ‘Battle of the Flags‘ in Beirut, the Dutch are quietly moving forward. Very few places sell Dutch flags, but I think they are going to regret that after tonight. The more popular teams, such as France and Germany, all received a beating, but not the Dutch. And no, you cannot rotate the French flag 90 degrees and pretend it is Dutch!
The Saint George Hotel may be trying to change the mood; they had red white and blues flying all over the place yesterday afternoon. Unbeknownst to them however (I assume), the choice of blue was not the right one; Light blue. And that makes it the flag of Luxemburg. The Dutch flag carries a darker blue . As far as I know, Luxemburg did not make it to the World Soccer Cup. It’s the thought that counts though, no?
And so tonight’s the night! Are we going to make it, or are we going to lose from Cameroon? We beat the Danish and the Japanese, but neither had the Fifa ranking of Cameroon (Danish; 36, Japan; 45, Holland; 4, Cameroon; 19). So do we stand a chance? Yes. Are we going to win? I sure hope so. They did lose against the Japanese, but they beat the Danish. We will qualify for the 2nr round either way.
The Dutch don’t have a soccer spot in Beirut anymore. Both ‘Old Amsterdam’ and the ‘Rising Phoenix‘ did not make it through these difficult financial times, and thus we have to try a different venue. Where will we watch? I don’t know? I’m still waiting for the verdict. Give me some hint, Dutchies!
7 comments:
Good luck for today's match.
Does Lebanon have a national football team? Does the manager have to be a Maronite Christian, the captain a Sunni Muslim and the have to striker a a Shi’a Muslim?
Just jesting.
a 180 degree rotation wil do it
I am really happy, dear Siets, that you've taken the opportunity to talk one more time about Laura von Dawra and her toothless lover of Old Amsterdam... Those were the days!! Henri will surely agree, he being one of their main sponsors. And Anne can tell you about the lady running into the kitchen when we entered to bring some clothing and have an afternoon-beer... Strange things happening there...!
Meanwhile, The Aqaba House is still going quite strong... Not the Taj Palace yet, but keeping good spirits is a start, eh??
And no, a 180 degree rotation will also not do it... I have a share of followers by the way here in AQJ now also, who don't want to see another Dutch match without me anymore!
Ah Theo, even though we won, it just was not the same without you. We have not yet found ou former glory, but Maria is working on it with Tariq, so who knows, soon. Before Tuesday I hope, because that is the next game if I understand all this stuff correctly.
S
Hi Sietse we are in Beirut for the Worldcup final, where is it a good place to watch it with other Dutch people? Thanks Suzan
Hoi Suzan,
geen idee, want ik zit in Amsterdam. Maar ik geloof dat ze naar de Greedy Goose gaan in Monot. Mail me anders even (galama apestaartje cyberia punt net punt lb) en dan geef ik je het telefoon nummer van Tineke, die weet het allemaal wel.
Sietske
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