Daniel Cook: Eleven Men (11 burra)

This is a folk song I wrote the day of the UEFA decision.

Eleven Men - By Daniel Cook

(A Victory For Violence)

Eleven men set out across the northern borders

To represent their people in a game

Through the physical skill and competition of football

They hoped to elevate their nation’s name

But when they all arrived their race was not let through the doors

They met the opposition of a stadium in force

And with 4000 guns employed to keep them in their skin

Eleven brave men had to begin

Before a goal was ever scored the air grew full of hatred

And cries of “kill Albanians” rang out in Serbian tongue

Eleven men alone inside an overcrowded stadium

Who came to play a game and not to damage anyone

Then over the walls came flying an automated drone

Flying symbols of Albania above the heaving dome

A double headed eagle soaring high upon the wind

Likely sent by those who could not enter in

Down upon the field the fans attacked with brutal force

A rain of glass and chairs and even fireworks were hurled

The violence ascended as the crowd pressed hard upon them

Eleven football players up against a hateful world

They fled to safety battered, but they all left with their lives

The game was terminated at a zero zero tie

But the violent tale spread out into the corners of the world

And all awaited what would be unfurled

A weeks deliberation by the authorities ensued

To award a victory after the angry feud

The decision that was finally made should not shock me alone

The victory goes to defending Home

A victory for violence, a victory for hatred

A victory to show the world how racists are rewarded

And though you may be tempted to believe it’s just a game

You should wonder if the victims feel the same