God Bless ESPN Deportes

The wooden gate is flung invitingly open. Through the iron grilles of an old colonial style house I spy something that looks suspiciously like a football pitch projected onto a TV screen. A large green mass with dots on it - some in white, some in red. The dots shift around, as though chasing something. If im not mistaken, that is definitely a football. The squinting confirms it. The mathematical cogs in my head start turning, and a quick calculation leads me to conclude the time - about 9.00pm in the UK. I swear thats Nani rolling around on the floor. Gripped by cautious excitement, I attempt to seek confirmation.

'This is...football, right??' I ask the aged man lighting a pipe on the cobbled step by the front door. 'Si' he gruffly responds, with about as much interest as Wayne Rooney in a quiet night-in before a wedding. I marvel at the sight in front of me. That is Nani lying on the floor. And that is Portugal v Turkey. I have found EURO 2008 coverage in Cuba! In a country that cherishes baseball as its national sporting treasure, with boxing and basketball close behind in the affections of the people, witnessing some footage of EURO 2008 feels somehow like a victory to me, however small.

The game itself hardly matters. There are no animations in the top left or right hand corner revealing the score, and only by working out the time back home do I realise the game is nearly over. The Portuguese hit Turkey with a quick counter-attack, Cristiano Ronaldo delivers a sumptuous through-ball to Joao Moutinho and Raul Meireles puts the finishing touch to the move. Only minutes later do I realise that goal made it 2-0, which is how the game ends. In the grand scheme of things that is irrelevant. I am subsequently informed by others that Portugal deserved their win, but this information is superfluous. The important thing now is I am aware of the chance to catch the odd game here and there. So at the final whistle, like Luiz Felipe Scolari, I raise a satisfied smile, fully aware of what is a great result.

Minutes witnessed: 11