Tonight the feud between Egypt and Algeria continues in the Big Match no.2. As the Guardian puts it:
"This is probably the most explosive fixture in international football and comes, of course, less than three months after the teams' duel for a place in the World Cup ignited a bloody and hysterical ruckus involving players, officials, journalists, statesmen, diplomats, students, retailers, clerics, air stewardesses, farmers,
engineers, medics, singers, beggars, bigots, delinquents, ruffians and postmen. What is needed now, then, are cool heads, so praise be to deft-footed Egyptian striker Mohammad Zidan for previewing today's encounter thus: "For both sides this will be a war. This is a matter of life and death."
You can feel the tension in Cairo. I tried to take photos of the flag sellers who line the streets every 100m but with the delay on the camera phone shutter and the speed of the car did not get too many good ones. We did slow down this morning though as a water main had ""gone" (read breached by a workman) and had flooded the underpass - it looked like downtown New Orleans during a tropical depression.
I nipped out of work to grab a Sarnie at "On The Run" and came across the delivery of provisions. if you have never lived in a arabic culture you may not be aware that these guys and gals have very sweet teeth, eye-wateringly so. Coffee or Tea with 4 or 5 or 6 sugars is not uncommon. I came across the sugar delivery by the lift and joked that this was the months sugar usage with the chap, he said it was only half of it and came across the rest of Mount Glucose outside on the way to the garage.
STOP PRESS: By the time I've got around to publishing this Egypt humiliated Algeria 4-0. Honking horns outside, Cairo will be completely mad from now to the Final. The Saints and now the Pharoahs, now all we need is for Ipswich, the Tractor Boys, to start winning a few......
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