Football Poets

Well, the news from the hospital is really pretty grim.
Neymar broke a vertebra, looks like you’ve done for him.
They’re gathering at the hospital and shouting out his name
and searching all the buildings for the […]

Defeat for Brazil would have been unthinkable
but we were all amazed at the onset of panic.
This much-vaunted ship looks far from unsinkable,
the pressure a concern for the first mechanic.
The terrain has been […]

This match was definitely three-dimensional,
with length and breadth though not a lot of height.
The lack of depth, I’m sure, was unintentional
but deeper meanings did not come to light.
Schweinsteiger had c […]

It seems that you’re at something of a loss, dear,
as if you’ve just awoken from a coma.
Don’t worry ‘bout your goggly eyes because, dear,
it’s only temporary, this glaucoma.

Let me introduce you to your son, […]

Alongside football, FIFA has been holding
a most exciting World Cup of arm-folding,
a fringe event that is enjoyed by millions,
not only the arm-folding-mad Brazilians.
Eleven are selected from each nation
to […]

Breaking down the USA was tough,
a tired old fighter wobbling on his feet,
but in the end the Belgians did enough.

Trading punches in the sapping heat,
the USA looked punch drunk at the end,
a tired old fighter […]

Messi, at the death, shrugged off the knocks
and was, by far, the fastest off the blocks,
just as the final bell was nearly chiming.

Passed to di Maria in the box,
he of sweet left foot and shaven locks,
whose […]

Urging on the underdogs will always break your heart.
Algeria tore into those hyped Germans from the start.
But no more will their name appear upon your World Cup chart
for urging on the underdogs will always […]

The first half and the fancied French looked tense.
The Super Eagles swarmed through their defence
like ants.
Not good for France.

Red card ref? Matuidi rakes a shin.
But no, the referee must have been in
a […]

Costa Rica thought they’d snuck it
as the final whistle neared.
One more chance – and Papa took it
as the blue/white legions cheered.

Extra time, but one team in it,
Costa Rica tired but brave.
Even in the fin […]

Watching the telly through peripheral vision.
(Green versus orange. Come on Ireland!)
An early goal! We go ahead! A feast!
And then we think, in our cute hoor way,
ah yes, the best way to defend this lead
is to […]

Colombia passed slickly,
pushed the team in blue back quickly
with tenacity and not a little flair,
knocked the ball around precisely
and kept it most concisely,
the Uruguayans grasping at thin air.
Young […]

Has Phil been knocking back the Chilean wine?
No other cogent reason comes to mind
why Fred is the Brazilian number nine.

It must be the sweet harvest of the vine
that has big Phil’s selection so defined,
with F […]

Half the teams preparing for the knockouts;
half the teams back home with some regrets.
Defences hoping they will keep some lock-outs;
attackers hoping they will ripple nets.

Some teams eliminated […]

To get a red card when you’re through already,
you mustn’t be the sharpest in the drawer.
No need for rashness, keep it calm and steady –
don’t jump in with your feet up off the floor.
The last sixteen, your te […]

Déjà-vû? Does it make you shiver?
Postman Pat has failed to deliver.
A laser beam may have messed him up
but Pat’s now driving out of the Cup.
World Cup football? Had enough of that –
time to go and play with h […]

All day it had been raining,
Recife traffic aquaplaning.
God help you if your home was in a cellar!
But neither Jurgen Klinsmann
nor Joachim Loew, his kinsman,
came out onto the pitch with an umbrella.

Things got […]

The build up went well, Cristiano.
Played well for a spell, Cristiano.
The public was hooked
and it never once looked
like you might self-destruct, Cristiano.

A man in your prime, Cristiano.
This was your time, […]

In north South America sits a land
disappointed. And furthermore, it’s a land
whose team bow out proudly,
cheered on very loudly.
(They were probably better than Switzerland.)

Consensus in taverns in Quito
was t […]

More than sixty million records sold around the world,
famous for those mesmerising hips,
Shakira is the emblem when the World Cup flag’s unfurled,
with Waka Waka pulsing from her lips.

She even has a star upon t […]