Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Phil Ball in Spain

On Sunday afternoon I attended the Real Sociedad v Sporting de Gijon encounter, which finished 5-1 in favour of the home side. However, I'd like to share a personal record with you. During many years of watching live football, I don't think I've ever managed to miss fifty-percent of the goals. The first miss came courtesy of a quick trip to the loo, just as the half-time break was drawing to a close. Why not go at the beginning, you ask? Well, I had been delayed in conversation with the legendary Alex Calvo-Garcia, who sometimes sits behind me in Anoeta. Now retired, he famously scored the winning goal at Wembley to promote Scunthorpe United via the play-offs in 1999, upon which he ripped off his shirt to reveal the Ikurrina below (the Basque flag), a point missed by almost everyone in the stadium that day. You can check it out on YouTube. He has a bar named after him now, at Scunthorpe's ground, but it was his fault entirely that I missed Sporting's first goal, netted in the opening minute of the second half. Lovely bloke though.

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