The Day of the Moldova!

Ever since I fell in love with the game, I've always tried to be the best at it while playing. That did not pan out as I imagined and I was always the mediocre. The vision of the game I had in my mind never really translated to the game I played on the field. I always lacked the talent to convert my love for the game to it's practical application on the pitch. But that kept changing as I kept playing and the major change it took for the better was during my time in the UK for my postgrad. I met a group of Malayali lads in Liverpool who were settled there and were regularly playing football whenever they could. They had good unity and were also a team spiritually (not the religious one), and they took me in as one of their own. Playing with them changed the way I played the game as well. Those were the best of my playing days, in the UK. This doesn't mean I reached great heights at playing football in my life, but I was finally able to convert what I had in my mind a little more than what I was usually able to. I  still remain a very mediocre player, but with better satisfaction of trying my best every time. We played almost everyday during the summer and I have them lads to thank for improving my game. We called ourselves the Liverpool Vedi Street Boys (LVSB) because of the proximity of  our play ground thst we used to play to a certain street that provided certain sort of services, if u know what I mean. Incidentally, this ground was also next to a Police Station. Not sure what the story is there.haha. I felt like a member of a true gang for the first time then..... There were other times I felt like that to come later in my life.. but that's for another time....

Today we decided to hit Moscow town and watch the game from some cafe with the right ambiance accompanied by light refreshments. Some call it beer. The feel of the world cup had to be absorbed in another angle we thought. And we found the perfect spot. The joint was called Marrakesh, a Moroccan establishment. They had sheesha and the above-mentioned light refreshments (and other fruit jucies for those who aren't inclined to the vice of alcohol) and the screen was very large and we we're all set to see what comes of the Germany South Korea match.

We saw Germany leave Russia without any progress from the group stages, like they did during the first and the second world war! Some say Stalin's ghost still protects Russia from the Germans! I wonder tho! I think that the Germans are also hit with the Curse of the Champions. Last 3 world cups the reigning champions have exited the competition on the very first round. Like Argentina the Germans also did not play to their potential and the Koreans from the south gave the game everything they had, which was what the world cup was all about. The way they celebrated their victory over Germany makes it clear what the game meant to them. Pride and Glory!

After the game we had a bit of time to kill before the the brazillian Samba began and we decided to take a stroll through the, now very busy, streets of Moscow. We were so very close to the famous Red Square, we had to have a go see. We had saved the Red Square for later. We are waiting for Babujimaman to reach on 29th to really go see all the historical monuments, including THE LENIN. However, our path today took us very close to the Red Square and we couldn't resist the temptation.  We rushed through the square soaking in whatever we can, taking a few pics.

We made our way into the shopping mall called GUM, which means state departmental store, set up by the Soviets at a time when shopping malls were not even a concept.

This huge space is now modified to meet the standards of a modern mall but it used to host the things which the Soviets thought the citizens would need. Impressive, considering the position of this mammoth of a mall in the time-space continuam. More.time.needed.to.explore. YES.

Our quick runnaround lead us back to the avenue with all the cafes, which absolutely reminded me of Liverpool One from my times in the UK, and we started searching for our next spot to watch the next game. I noticed a senior citizen standing in the middle of the street with a board which said live FIFA matches and at the bottom it said "Moldova". It was clear that it was the name of the restaurant but I knew it was not just the name of a restaurant. That was to be our destination. Although I had heard the name, I couldn't quite place where this land was. Google was kind enough to inform me that Moldova was in fact a part of the old U.S.S.R. and is a relatively small stretch of land placed between the Ukrain and Romania.  Right, something new now. The place was in the basement of an apartment complex and the place was beyond belief. Felt like visiting a restaurant in pre colonial era and the Walls and the interiors were rustic, romantic. They have moldovoan wine and vodka and they gave me a taste of their wine for free. Aiwwwa. We sat down near the tele to watch the game. Thats when we saw this gentleman at the piano playing and singing. I soon  realised it was a bad idea to try and watch the game there because his Charismatic performance distracted me and I stopped watching the game and was fully immersed in his music. Unbelievable.

I later found out that Brazil scored 2 goals and are the group champions going into the next round. Good for them.

But Moldova.... You have been good to me!