World Cup in London: Uruguay

Or: Futbal! Football with London's Uruguay fans



It's World Cup time, so I'm going to watch football with London's foreign fans, starting with Uruguay -v- France.

London has a very small Uruguayan community - something like 900 people. According to a man at the embassy, Zoo bar in Leicester Square (where I'd been with Danish fans) was the place to be. He wasn't going though: "too touristy".

Lo, as I arrived, two Uruguayan flags were draped over the door. Hurrah. Inside, a woman sold empanadas. I was in luck!

The small crowd there watched the match in a very polite way. Neither chants nor flag waving, no whooping nor hollering. Just standing, just watching.

To be honest, the match was boring and made me re-assess my plan to sit through hours of football.

At one point, a man tried to start a chant but to no avail. I salute that man.

Highlights for me were: the Uruguayan goalkeeper's fabulous yellow jump suit, meeting another foreign football blogger (hello Jo) and seeing a rather attractive man surrounded by a veritable harem of women (there were 6! One even sat on him). They were like his bodyguards.

The match ended in a dull draw, to the gallic shrugs of the few French people present. And as I left, the Uruguayan flags had gone and were replaced by a French tricolore.

Next up: South Korea -v- Greece in London's improbable Korean centre: New Malden.