Newsletter

Welsh dances (nd current)

What does Hal Robson Canoe actually do? He turned 32 a few weeks ago, but the party was rather modest. His contract with the Premier League relegated West Bromwich Albion has not been extended, and he no longer even plays a minor role in the very big circus. Hal Robson-Kanu is not one of the red dragons, part of the Welsh national team, which wants to build on in Europe these days what it started not so long ago in France. It’s been five years since the little subnation from Great Britain celebrated a party that is still unforgettable in Lille. There, where the Welsh people bolted the Belgians out of the way in the quarter-finals of the 2016 European Championships, the not-so-secret secret favorites of the tournament. And the forward Hal Rabson-Kanu was one of their main characters.

Wales is a football dwarf. A country that has the exceptional players Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale, but also recruits its team from international second- and third-rate clubs. Before the European Championship in France, Hal Robson-Kanu was no longer good enough for the English second division club Reading FC. But then he scored the great goal in Lille to make it 2-1. With his back to the goal, he stopped the ball, first pushed it through his own legs and then circled it between two Belgians into the goal. A demonstration of great football art.

In the end Wales won 3-1, and then Robson-Kanu, Bale, Ramsey and Co. politely waited for the poor Belgians to leave. Then the party started, but how! The Welsh people slide on their bellies over the rain-soaked lawn towards the fan curve. We went on to the stands, where the wags were waiting, the wives and girlfriends. Women and friends passed children over the barriers to the football field. The Welsh kids bolted in the penalty area, the fathers danced and the stadium control had a sense of the magic of the moment. Someone turned off the boring music from the tape so that the Welsh fans could delight the entire stadium with their beautiful and programmatic song, it went like this: Don’t take me home, please don’t take me home!

Four days later, after a 2-0 defeat by Portugal, the party was over. Gareth Bale flew home to Real Madrid and Robson-Kanu to West Bromwich, which added a contract to his newfound popularity. He has remained loyal to West Brom and, after a temporary resignation, also to the red dragon.

Until that evening a few weeks ago in Vale of Glamorgan, where the Welsh people were preparing for their World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic and Robson-Kanu and two colleagues went on a small excursion that did not quite comply with the Corona guidelines. The hero of Lille has not played for Wales since then and will only be able to watch in front of the TV how his colleagues want to continue what began five years ago in Lille in the second game of preliminary group A against Turkey in Baku on Wednesday.

.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending