You can learn a lot about someone from the World Cup.

Which do you prefer: vengeance, or justice?

Notwithstanding the complexities of the particular teams that might be involved in any given situation, if a team beats your team, do you want that team to lose its next game, or keep winning? If they lose their next game, one can say, “Now they’re losers too,” whereas if they win the competition, at least we lost to the best team.

I realized recently that it’s hard to dislike a baseball team.

It’s hard to dislike a particular city, too. If I say I hate some city, I’m exposing myself as someone lacking the insight to appreciate the charms and characters of a given city. I don’t have to want to live there, or even visit, but humans live there, and humans always have their positive sides so that one can benefit from their acquaintance.

All the more impossible, then, to dislike an entire country. Certainly one can appreciate the histories of nations, and how much mud can be thrown because of that?

When Mexico plays the US, when Ireland plays England, when England plays Germany, when Argentina plays Brazil, it’s easy to appreciate how hotly contested are such matches, and how keenly the fans feel about a win or a loss against their ancient enemies.

These feelings aren’t hard to understand. As the Seattle Sounders fell behind to our great rival, the Portland Timbers, in a match earlier this season, as I sulked over my beer, if it was up to me, I said, the coach should be fired if our team was going to be humiliated like that.

But as someone fond of all things Portland, it’s just silly and weird to think that I’d think that the only thing I don’t like about Portland is their soccer team. Their fans, perhaps? Well, if there’s really a difference between Seattle and Portland fans, or Husky and Ducks fans, or Red Sox and Yankees fans, or German and English fans, I haven’t seen it.

Then there are Brazilian fans– different! No complaints from me about that! On the contrary.

I’m lucky to live in Seattle during the World Cup. We have stores that sell food and drink from all around the world.

The Netherlands plays Spain: an excellent opportunity to drink Spanish wine and eat Dutch cheese.

As the matches line up, it’s fun to think of meals for those games that feature food and drink from the various countries.

Brazil, this Cup’s host, takes pride of place, so one can spotlight the vast world of Brazilian music and play that at every opportunity.

Ireland is not in the World Cup, and as my favorite, after the US, they deserve some recognition, so during games played on Bloomsday, some Irish drink will be had.

Why do I like the Netherlands? I’ve read about the “Total Football” concept the team used, I think during the ’70s. I don’t know exactly how it actually worked, but in my mind, the myth is that every player on the team has the freedom to roam at will, to attack, to defend, to cover the midfield. All 11 players would function as a smooth, cohesive, selfless unit, every player capable of playing every position with intelligence, sophistication, and skill. Such a team would run circles around other teams, who would never know what to expect.

If I ever coach junior soccer, we’re totally going Total Football.

When I am frustrated by rigid hierarchies and protocols, by rigidly defined roles that thwart the effectiveness of an organization, I think of Total Football.

In my house, when my wife and I are each cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, shopping, watching the kid and the dog, watering the plants, working, paying the bills, each of us doing everything without getting in each other’s way (except in our tiny kitchen), that’s Total Football.

May the officiating be fair, and may the best team win!