The Minnows of World Soccer
In a scene from The Other Final, players from the Bhutan and Montserrat teams pose after their 2002 soccer match. KesselsKramer hide caption
In a scene from The Other Final, players from the Bhutan and Montserrat teams pose after their 2002 soccer match.
KesselsKramerTwo sports-related posts in one day. I can't believe it. But this story is just precious. During the last World Cup in 2002, there was a Very Special Game between the two lowest-ranking teams.
This year, the event will not be repeated. Reuters quoted FIFA spokesman Markus Siegler at a daily briefing saying, "It's a shame, because it was a great occasion, and there was a great documentary made about it, but there are no plans to repeat the idea."
A documentary? It's called The Other Final. Dutch director Johan Kramer follows the team from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan and the Caribbean island of Montserrat (ranked at 202 and 203 respectively). I won't give away the ending, but afterward, the two teams together watched Brazil trounce Germany.
You can watch the trailer for The Other Final here. I wish I'd known about it a little earlier -- the DVD would have made a perfect Father's Day present.