A football-mad nation’s dream of glory
country’s passion for the game
IF YOU think the English and the Italians are crazy about football you haven’t seen the Libyans. The country’s fans do not commit wild excesses like their counterparts in Europe but they do display plenty of passion.
After 5pm city car parks or roundabouts are transformed into improvised football fields. Matches can go on until 2am as young Libyans make best use of the artificial light.
Gaddafi’s Green Book, the basic of the revolution, invites people to practise sports but not to watch them, which was considered by the leader to be a futile exercise.
The Libyans seem to have taken the first advice to heart but show no signs of obeying the second. Walk through the streets in the old town of the capital, Tripoli, on any night and you will see shopkeepers and barbers splitting their attention between their clients and the game being shown on the TV above their heads.
A mere qualification game for the Libyan national team is treated as if it were the World Cup final itself and when the Libyans score a goal the reaction causes the ground to shake like a huge earthquake.
Football in Libya suffered enormously from sanctions. International flights to the country were banned, preventing Libya from organising highlevel matches for its national team. But since the end of the embargo the sport is recovering quickly. While Libya’s shared attempt with Algeria to host the 2010 World Cup finals failed—South Africa was chosen instead — it demonstrated Libya’s eagerness to return to the spotlight.
Standing 67th in FIFA’s world rankings, the country still does not stir attention when it comes to football, but its managers are finding their way into the game through different doors
Libya has never participated in a World Cup finals tournament, despite continuous attempts since 1970, but it may be getting close. A 4-1 defeat by arch rival Egypt in March cost the national team’s coach the bench, but Libya is just one point away from possible qualification.
“We have no experience in international games,” Sameer, a young Libyan brought up in Switzerland, said helplessly as the Greens gave away the game to Egypt.
For a few moments, Libya had been ahead by one goal and Sameer had rushed outside to the balcony to join in the exhilaration of Tripoli. “Do you hear it?” he shouted over the noise. “Imagine if we make it to the finals in Germany
وهنا مقتطفات من المقالة
عاطفة البلاد على اللعب
لو انك تعتقد ان الانجليز والطليان مهووسون بكرة القدم فانت لم تشاهد الليبيون
فالليبيون لا يقلون هوساً باللعبة عن نظرائهم الاوروبيون
عند المساء ما بعد الخامسة تتحول مواقف السيارات الى ملاعب كرة قدم يمكن ان يستمر اللعب الى الثانية صباحاً (يعني ما بعد منتصف الليل) تحت الاضواء الصناعية .
لو مشيت بشوارع المدينة القديمة بطرابلس فسترى الدكاكين والحلاقين الذين قسّموا انتباههم بين الزبائن واللعبة على التلفزيون بحيث تكون الشاشة اعلى رؤوسهم بالمحلات .
اي لعبة للمنتخب الليبي يعتبرونها وكأنها نهائي لكأس العالم ولو سجل منتخبهم هدفاً فان ردة الفعل تسبب اهتزازاً للأرض وكأنها زلزال ضخم .
كرة القدم بليبيا عانت الكثير من العقوبات فمنعت الرحلات ومنع تنظيم البطولات لكن منذ انتهاء المقاطعة فليبيا عادت بسرعة للتعافي
ليبيا لم يسبق لها المشاركة في كاس العالم لكن توجد بعض المحاولات منذ عام 1970
شاب سويسري تابع مباراة ليبيا مصر وهو في طرابلس , تقدمت ليبيا بهدف صاح على الضوضاء واسرع الى الشرفة ليرتبط مع ابتهاج طرابلس تخيل ان نجعلها في النهائيات بالمانيا
ان شاء الجهور الليبيى الموجد فى المانيا سكون سند قوى لتونس و السعودية فى المانيا
لان معظم الليبيين فى الصيف يذهبون الى ايطاليا و المانيا
الوضع المتطور
