Some shine is off the world’s greatest sporting spectacle. US advertisers have made football a game of 4 quarters. Tickets are too pricey. Trump’s immigration goons may target fans. India doesn’t have a broadcast deal as yet. What more can go wrong?
The late great English commentator, Jimmy Greaves, some people believe, coined a phrase that has since become an inescapable cliché – “football is a game of two halves…” It sounds tautological. You play 45 minutes. Take a break and go into the dressing room, where the coach gives his rousing speech (or just a terrifying ‘hairdryer treatment’, as made famous by Alex Ferguson), tweaks tactics, and sends the troops out for another half of battle.