Soccer as a symbol of oppression: it’s not a common theme across the globe, but nevertheless, the game that’s usually synonymous national and regional identity inevitably manages to get mixed up in domestic politics somehow. Jonathan Wilson says that soccer and ice hockey became “outsider” sports in Estonia once the Baltic nation lost its independence to the Soviet Union. Instead, they turned their attention away from Russian games and more towards sports like basketball, cycling and skiing. And to a certain extent, soccer is still a minority sport in Estonia, he says, as evidenced by its winless record in Euro 2008 qualifying.
Nevertheless, Wednesday in Tallinn, the tiny 10,000-capacity A Le Coq Stadium is expected to be filled to the brim when Estonia hosts England in what is undoubtedly the most important match of the latter’s Euro 2008 campaign. The chance to beat mighty England is a great one, as is the chance to see a global celebrity of the likes of David Beckham.
The Financial Times report delves even deeper into the political schisms that mar soccer’s progress in Estonia. For example, Estonia’s national team controversially includes six naturalized Russians — Russia is still hated by many Estonians today. As far as the soccer goes, Estonia will not qualify for Euro 2008, which is discouraging considering the country’s fourth place finish in World Cup qualifying. Even worse than its winless record is the fact that the team has yet to score in qualifying. In other words, England really better win this one.