Ao longo da eurocopa de futebol 2016, que decorreu entre junho e julho, e foi ganha por Portugal, o jornal Politico (edição de Bruxelas, online) foi publicando umas interessantes crónicas de Tunku Varadarajan, sob o título The Linesman, que abordaram o torneio numa perspectiva antropológica, de política e cultura europeia para lá do desporto/espectáculo/indústria. Na sua última crónica, The Linesman enaltece a obstinação de Portugal neste microcosmo de visão de interacção dos europeus das diferentes nações que chegaram à fase final do torneio.
Destaco as seguintes frases dessa crónica (em inglês facilmente traduzível, mais não seja por tradutor online, mas que decidi deixar no original pela sua significância… antropológico-cultural, para lá do futebol, sobre o que pensa “o outro” europeu deste Portugal adormecido):
“This was Portugal’s greatest achievement as a nation since the day it was admitted to the European Economic Community in 1986”.
“At times like this, particularly in the finals of major tournaments, it’s best not to think of the game purely as football. Think of it, instead, as a broader human drama, a test of character, and of all the skills and arts of survival and penetration”.
“The Portuguese, for their part, played true to national and historical type. Theirs is a land that has always used its scarce resources wisely, cannily, stretching them to the utmost extent. How else could a sliver of land on the western extreme of continental Europe build for itself an empire of such magnitude. There is a dourness of resolve, a defensive fortitude, an indefatigable stubbornness to the Portuguese that served them well in empire and served them on the football field on Sunday night”.
“This, remember, was the last European power to yield independence to its African colonies. There was a cussedness to its colonial longevity, just as there was a cussedness to its football last night”.
“The final will be remembered longest in Portugal, where it will be remembered for an eternity. The rest of us would do well to admire the winners for their will to win”.
Vale a pena ler a crónica toda, sob o título “Portuguese character trumps French frailty” (Aqui).
Luis Miguel Novais
