The beauty of the quadrennial event, he wrote, was that while countries got to cheer for their respective teams, "the event also affirms a global pluralism — it is as much a festival of cultural multiplicity as it is a competition featuring some of the best athletes in the world."
Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic also chipped in with some measured words.
"One thing is for sure: a World Cup without me is nothing to watch."
That is just Zlatan being Zlatan, of course.
Because there is so much to watch at the greatest show in sport
The 23rd edition of the Fifa World Cup starts in Mexico City this morning with a game between the host nation and South Africa.
In all, there will be 104 games played over 39 days across 16 cities in Mexico, the United States and Canada, culminating in the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 20.
It has always been, and will forever remain, the pinnacle of global sport.
Football means so much to so many corners of this planet, and there are no bigger stars than the ones who light up the stage every four years.
Even the casual fan can enjoy some of the thrilling action delivered to our screens.
There are defending champions Argentina, led by the immortal Lionel Messi, but also stacked with younger talent; French and Spanish teams almost impossibly loaded with elite talent; the always popular England with the great Harry Kane, the classy Portuguese with the great Bruno Fernandes and the enigmatic Dutch with the great Virgil van Dijk; and potential wildcards like Japan, Ecuador and 2022 semifinalists Morocco.
Joy can also be had in adopting a minnow — Jordan, Haiti, Curacao — or looking on a map to find Cape Verde (population 530,000, or about 10 Invercargills).
And, of course, we get to cross our fingers the All Whites make a good fist of things as they appear at a World Cup for the third time.
World sport’s biggest tournament might be seen as a bit bloated now, having expanded from 32 teams to 48.
But you can never have too much football. Let the World Cup begin.
