The people got crazy for the national team winner in the World Cup. For a day everybody met again the idea of unity lost in time
by Emanuele Bonini
Soccer makes a country more united. It could sound weird, but that's exactly what happened in Belgium after the first match of FIFA World Cup. The national football team won against Algeria causing for a day a great moment of national celebration. All the people started turning out to stay all together with national flags, singing and exulting for the victory. Everywhere - in the metro station, at the bus stop, on the screens put inside the tram - Belgian victory was notified with written messages. "Final result: Belgium 2 - Algeria 1. Congratulations to our red devils for this wonderful victory", has been written at every corner of Brussels. It's something surprising for a country too often divided and where too often "separation" is the word most used both by Flemings and by Wallons. Ok, it's true generally the capital cities are totally different from the rest of the country, there the perception of the country is different compared to the other cities. Take Paris, in France. Every French will say that Paris in not France. And the same can be said for Brussels, under several point of view the less Belgian city of Belgium. But for a day all the Belgians have been proud to be Belgian. They reversed themselves on the streets blaring to underline national football team victory, wearing official jersey or dressing in black-yellow-red, the colours of Belgian flag. People in car shaking hands to other people with the Belgian colours never seen before. For a day Belgians shared their nationality, were not strangers. On the contrary, they were ready to hug each other. It's true that Belgium came back to play the world cup after twelve years, but in time of secession threats a sense of Belgian pride. Suddenly a new country has been shown to the the public: a country crazy for football, a country with a sense of nation. A country united. United by soccer. It sounds weird, but on the Belgian national football team lies huge responsibilities. In a certain way Belgium depends on them. The impression is this.
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| Match final result advertising in the metro station |
Soccer makes a country more united. It could sound weird, but that's exactly what happened in Belgium after the first match of FIFA World Cup. The national football team won against Algeria causing for a day a great moment of national celebration. All the people started turning out to stay all together with national flags, singing and exulting for the victory. Everywhere - in the metro station, at the bus stop, on the screens put inside the tram - Belgian victory was notified with written messages. "Final result: Belgium 2 - Algeria 1. Congratulations to our red devils for this wonderful victory", has been written at every corner of Brussels. It's something surprising for a country too often divided and where too often "separation" is the word most used both by Flemings and by Wallons. Ok, it's true generally the capital cities are totally different from the rest of the country, there the perception of the country is different compared to the other cities. Take Paris, in France. Every French will say that Paris in not France. And the same can be said for Brussels, under several point of view the less Belgian city of Belgium. But for a day all the Belgians have been proud to be Belgian. They reversed themselves on the streets blaring to underline national football team victory, wearing official jersey or dressing in black-yellow-red, the colours of Belgian flag. People in car shaking hands to other people with the Belgian colours never seen before. For a day Belgians shared their nationality, were not strangers. On the contrary, they were ready to hug each other. It's true that Belgium came back to play the world cup after twelve years, but in time of secession threats a sense of Belgian pride. Suddenly a new country has been shown to the the public: a country crazy for football, a country with a sense of nation. A country united. United by soccer. It sounds weird, but on the Belgian national football team lies huge responsibilities. In a certain way Belgium depends on them. The impression is this.
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