Archive for October 2011
Memories Of Italy Vs South Korea (Japan/South Korea 2002)
October 31, 2011 | 
Author The day was lovely and I remember it so well despite its having been close to 10 years ago. It would be South Korea to face Italy and all my friends and I were back in full force with the certainty that we definitely could and should beat South Korea though not with the kind of naivety which might blind us to the fact that we could also lose. The atmosphere was as always in San Lorenzo though this time along with the flags and banners, there was an urgency about my Italian friends. As if their level of seriousness and devotion had increased now that we were in the part of the tournament where winning meant going on and losing signified elimination. This being something I felt as soon as I entered San Lorenzo yet it was not in anything said or done but in the eyes of all those about; who seemed to be declaring how the real world cup was about to commence.
The game began and right away we knew that this was going to be a long day for us and our team. A penalty right from the get go given for what in fact was contact yet football does allow for such actions in the box given that if a penalty were called every time something of the sort happened; then football would become like basketball. There being perhaps even more penalties in football than there are free throws in basketball. An Italian player collided with a Korean in the penalty box while both were going for the ball. How could this be a penalty since it was a 50/50 ball which both had equal rights to go for? This however was a world cup where the rule book for some had been cancelled. The call was made right away and did it ever send those about me in to a rage yet I did say that it still was not a goal. Read the rest of this entry »
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Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane, the monk-like fantasista – heir to Platini’s throne as France’s greatest ever player, is also widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the game. Maybe slightly overrated in some quarters when labelled with the ‘Greatest Ever’ tag, his achievements and trophy haul are certainly second to very few. For a time he was also the most expensive player in the world, costing Real Madrid a huge £46m. During his playing days Zidane became one of world football’s true superstars, and much loved players – his global fan base was (and still is) exceptional. From Europe, to North Africa (the origin of his roots) and the Middle East, to Japan – Zidane, was the man.
Zidane was born to Algerian immigrants who firstly moved to Paris, but eventually settled in La Castellane – a suburb with a huge North African community in France’s southern town of Marseille. It was here that Yazid Zidane was born in 1972. Yazid, his birth name, is what he was known by to his friends and family. The young Yazid looked to replicate his idol; Olympic Marseille’s very own fantasista, Uruguayan Enzo Franchescoli, by teaching himself tricks and repetitively juggling a football until he was better than most of the boys in the area. In a neighbourhood high in crime rate Zidane had to become tough, though this was mostly focused through Judo – something else he showed an early talent for. But it was football that won the youngsters heart. After school he would gather with the other boys from his tower block, in ‘Place Tartane’ – an 80 x 12 yard clearing in the middle of the housing complex, which served as a makeshift football pitch. By 13 years old his talent was such that he was spotted by a scout for Cannes who proclaimed: ‘I’ve found a boy who has hands where his feet should be’. After initial scepticism he was allowed to join the club’s ‘centre de formation’, leaving home and his family in the process to lodge with a club director’s family. Read the rest of this entry »
Top 5 Italian Fantasisti From the 90′s
During the 90′s Italy was blessed with producing a number of fantastic number 10′s. The country that gave us the term ‘fantasista’ now had an abundance to choose from. I take a quick look at the best five…
5. Francesco Totti…
Whilst Totti’s finer successes would come later than in the 90′s, he just makes the list, edging out his idol and another great Italian number 10 Guiseppe Giannini, who he would also go onto replace as captain and the very heartbeat of their beloved Roma. It was during this decade that Totti announced his arrival in Serie A, making his debut in 1993 as a precocious 16 year old. By 1995 he was a first team regular and in 1997 he was given the captaincy – in the process becoming the golden boy and symbol of his hometown club. 1998 saw him called up to the national side for the first time, qualifying for Euro 2000 where he would go on to star. Read the rest of this entry »