After Naples, football joy is coming to Rotterdam – 08/05/2023 – Sandro Macedo

As the idol and columnist Juca Kfouri wrote well on Saturday (6), there was no other place on Planeta Bola to be that weekend than Naples, a city that exudes joy for the third Italian title won. The first without Maradona, in the stadium that is now called Diego Armando Maradona. The scudetto had been secured in the previous round, but Sunday was the day of the party at home, with the right to another victory, against Fiorentina.

However, this humble scribe will be less humble at this moment to say that he spent the first week of May in Europe, but without visiting Naples.

On the 7th of May (and on the 6th as well) I was in Dutch lands, more precisely in Rotterdam (the money counted did not allow for accommodation with the family in Amsterdam. That’s it, I said it).

Before that, in a brief and wonderful visit to Belgium, I had the opportunity to go on a day trip to Luxembourg, the country. And what happened on that fateful day? Luxemburgo, Vanderlei, left the state of hibernation to sign as coach of Corinthians. Coincidence?

All over Europe, the national championships are entering their final moments, which means that the joy mentioned by Juca is going on tour and should travel a lot in the coming weeks.

What apparently will be emotional until the end —as Luiz Carlos Jr. would say— is the German Championship, with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund fighting point by point for the title.

And the last time Bayern wasn’t champion (2012), 7-1 was just a simple state tournament score.

French is the funniest. That’s because Qatar Saint-Germain must achieve the feat of being champion and being in crisis at the same time. It’s not easy. But with Messi das Arabias and Neymar normally in the world of the Moon, the fans decided to protest. Okay, there’s a place where the joy of the ball won’t pass, Paris.

But let’s go back to beautiful Rotterdam, land of the curious “cube houses” —that would impress even Gustavo Scarpa, the former Palmeiras master of the Rubik’s Cube.

The city narrowly missed out on becoming Dutch champions this weekend — after four years in Amsterdam, with Ajax, and a year in Eindhoven, with PSV. The main team in Rotterdam, Feyenoord, won the local duel against Excelsior (2-0).

Meanwhile, in the same vicinity, pursuers PSV also won their game against Sparta Rotterdam. Thus, with three rounds to go, the eight-point difference can still be mathematically reversed. But let’s agree that it’s unlikely that Feyenoord —the last club Johan Cruyff played for, to the dismay of Ajax fans— won’t win at least one of the next three clashes.

So, dear Juca, take note: joy is already packed and will sail effusively around Rotterdam next weekend.

More joy in the Champions League
And, this Tuesday (9) and Wednesday (10), the Champions League semifinal first leg games will be played. On the first day, Real Madrid and Manchester City face each other in the Spanish capital, a rerun of the amusing (for those who watched) last year’s semi-final, when, after two games, the Spanish team proved their pact with the demo and dispatched the English team.

It will once again be Carlo Ancelotti’s confrontation against Pep Guardiola. Two guys who are always happy when it comes to the Brazilian national team, but who can only joke about managing the Brazilian national team. They will never come.

On Wednesday, the duel is between Inter Milan and AC Milan. Guaranteed happiness somewhere in the city.

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