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I promised in my last blog post (about Piketty and the end of the American Dream) that I would "return to the top soon." To keep my word, this post is about the pinnacle of the humanity these heady days: the World Cup. (At least until Wimbledon gets into gear.)
In Tuesday's match against Italy, Uruguay's Luis Suarez, 27, looked clearly as if he was biting into Giorgio Chiellini.
Suarez has been suspended twice before for biting opponents.
The Liverpool forward was given a 10-game ban for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic's arm during a Premier League match in April 2013. He was also suspended for seven games for biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal's shoulder while Ajax captain in 2010.
Asked about the alleged bite, Suarez told Uruguayan television after yesterday's game: "There are things that happen on the pitch and you should not make such a big deal out of them. It was just the two of us inside the area and he bumped into me with his shoulder."
Chiellini, 29, described Suarez as "a sneak" He added: "I'd love to see if Fifa has the courage to use video evidence against him. The referee saw the bite mark but he did nothing about it."
it is not yet clear if Suarez will be convicted and what the sentence will be if he is.
The longest ban in World Cup history is eight games, for Italy's Mauro Tassotti for breaking Spain's Luis Enrique's nose in 1994 with an elbow.
The ferocity of some players (and some teams, for example Cameroun against Brazil on Monday) brings up another question: Is football (to borrow from 19th-century general Carl von Clausewitz) merely the continuation of war with other means?
When Brazil was playing, the aggression of tens of thousands of Brazilian fans against the opposing team made you certainly grateful not to belong to the other team, or even be an "enemy" fan.
The other interesting questin: the Is there an idiosyncratic, unmistakable football style of each national team?
The short video below certainly makes that case (in a pretty hilarious way, I might add).
Do the French really have their "Gallic flair"? Are the Germans really playing in a Teutonic and super-efficient way, and are the Brazilians really as playful as their "samba-infused jogo bonito" reputation claims?
Some disagree vehemently. Andrei S. Markovits, for instance, professor of comparative politics and German studies at the University of Michigan, writes in the Washington Post:
"if there is one thing that my life-long engagement with Germany has shown me, it is the fact that national characteristics of any meaningful longevity do not exist.
"After all, the Germans mutated in a matter of a few years from allegedly being Europe’s most bellicose nation to its most peace-seeking.
"So what then is the German national character?
"And even if such existed, it is very doubtful whether it would spawn a commensurate on-the-field demeanor in any sport, soccer included."
They have a point: Take the Italian culture of "la dolce vita." The Italian team is not like that at all. As the video shows, its trainer inculcated an iron defense in the team. There is no sign of sweet living. The team is extremely organized, to the point of being a bit boring. (My Italian sister-in-law may forgive me for this insult.)
Perhaps that is why Italy lost last night to Uruguay.
Anyway, enough thinking. Back to the game, back on the court. Enjoy the remainder of the World Cup, and may the best team win. (Well, being a dual U.S. and Swiss citizen, I am rooting for Switzerland and the United States, at least until they are both out...)
Do the French really have their "Gallic flair"? Are the Germans really playing in a Teutonic and super-efficient way, and are the Brazilians really as playful as their "samba-infused jogo bonito" reputation claims?
Some disagree vehemently. Andrei S. Markovits, for instance, professor of comparative politics and German studies at the University of Michigan, writes in the Washington Post:
"if there is one thing that my life-long engagement with Germany has shown me, it is the fact that national characteristics of any meaningful longevity do not exist.
"After all, the Germans mutated in a matter of a few years from allegedly being Europe’s most bellicose nation to its most peace-seeking.
"So what then is the German national character?
"And even if such existed, it is very doubtful whether it would spawn a commensurate on-the-field demeanor in any sport, soccer included."
They have a point: Take the Italian culture of "la dolce vita." The Italian team is not like that at all. As the video shows, its trainer inculcated an iron defense in the team. There is no sign of sweet living. The team is extremely organized, to the point of being a bit boring. (My Italian sister-in-law may forgive me for this insult.)
Perhaps that is why Italy lost last night to Uruguay.
Anyway, enough thinking. Back to the game, back on the court. Enjoy the remainder of the World Cup, and may the best team win. (Well, being a dual U.S. and Swiss citizen, I am rooting for Switzerland and the United States, at least until they are both out...)
What do you say? Do national football teams have a unique style given by their culture? I look forward to reading you on my blog:http://thomaszweifel.blogspot.com/.
Dr. Thomas D. Zweifel is a strategy & performance expert and coach for leaders of Global 1000 companies. His book Culture Clash 2: Managing the Global High-Performance Team offers a practical how-to methodology for managing across borders. 
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