Les grenats

I admit that for me the word 'granata' meant only Torino. But residing at this crossroad is bringing me to unexplored stadiums, cities and fans. The latest one is the Stade St Symphorien home of les grenats of FC Metz. Of course we chose the best fixture possible as they were playing Gerard Houllier's Olympique Lyonnais. Any further comment on the opponents would be superfluous. So here we were in a very welcoming stadium, in the grenats' ultras favourite sector supporting the team currently anchored in last position of Ligue 1 playing the first, and undoubtedly best team of the league.

Planning is of course part of the fun...first consulting a map to see which team in which league would be playing the best fixture on the day chosen, getting to know where to get tickets from, making sure we will be able to find the place etc etc. Then comes the company of a couple of equally sick football lovers which is essential. Of course there will be many other trips to come and by time I will perhaps get better.

Metz have been quite resilient in the French top league along the years. Their best era was the mid-nineties when they won the League Cup and finished second in Ligue 1 behind RC Lens a year later. For the record they have won the French cup and another league cup all between 1984 and 1988. Their participation in European competitions has also been rather constant, albeit always anonymous.

Anyway, if you really want to know the final result was 0-4. But against the likes of Carew, Juninho, Wiltord, Tiago and Malouda we could not really hope for anything much different. But there is always an element of sympathy towards the underdog. We will have to see what the grenats will be up to in 6 months time...

And to look for an interesting Bundesliga fixture we go...

This is a sign in Ecthernach, on the very fringe of Luxembourg on its border with Germany. Now I know why they stand 152nd in the Fifa rankings and why you can have a (lower division) competitive match and the referee does not show up... Coming from a Maltese fan it's really bad.

The game at its worse...

From Il-Giornale (21-10-05):

Profondo Sud. Nei metodi, nel vivere lo sport, nel far risuonare sullo sfondo un vago clangore di «scacciapensieri». C'è un terzino da comprare, sarebbe pure bravo. Anche perché è figlio di quel Loseto che giocò in serie A. E allora? Compratelo oppure andatelo a guardare quando gioca. No, in questo profondo Sud che sta ritrovando consuetudini selvagge, un terzino bravo non lo si compra, lo si ottiene gratis con la forza. Roba da Padrino, da retro di un macello con i quarti di bue appesi e l'ostaggio che ulula. Roba da mazza da baseball fatta luccicare davanti al naso. Il fatto è regolarmente accaduto come da denuncia. La polizia ha sottoposto a indagini le due persone che ieri sera avrebbero aggredito il presidente del Monopoli calcio Vito Ladisa per costringerlo - secondo la denuncia che lo stesso imprenditore ha presentato - a cedere a titolo gratuito al Brindisi calcio il terzino del Monopoli (serie D) Gianluca Loseto, figlio di Onofrio (mediano del Bari negli anni '90).
A quanto si è saputo, agenti della squadra mobile sono giunti ai due aggressori, che hanno agito con i volti coperti da bandana, su indicazione dello stesso Ladisa che ha indicato i loro nomi nella querela presentata mercoledì sera in questura. Secondo la denuncia, Ladisa è stato aggredito nella sua ditta di ristorazione che si trova in via Napoli, a Bari. I due malviventi hanno fatto irruzione e con metodi da telefilm di quart'ordine hanno tentato di estorcere al presidente la firma per la cessione gratuita del calciatore. Della serie: «Se non firmi ti sfregio. Se continui a non firmare ti ammazzo».

Da qui la denuncia, l'inchiesta, gli arresti. Loseto junior resta al Monopoli. Che trattativa.

Sheffield FC oldest club in the world

From Soccernet.com :

Real Madrid will make the trip to Sheffield in 2007, but not to Wednesday or United.
The Spanish giants have agreed to be part of Sheffield FC's 150th anniversary celebrations.
Sheffield FC, who play in the Northern Counties East League, are the oldest football club in the world, formed in 1857.

Last year, Real and Sheffield FC became the only two clubs to be awarded the FIFA Order of Merit as part of the body's Centennial festivities.
FIFA usually concerns itself with international football but specifically chose the two clubs for the special honour - uniting the oldest and the greatest.

Sheffield FC chairman, Richard Tims, has spent years reorganised and rebuilding Sheffield FC - including moving them to their own ground in Dronfield, a village just south of the city. And in more recent times he has been organising a huge party to celebrate their 150th birthday.
This week Tims was in Madrid to meet Real officials and confirm they would be supporting the celebrations.

Real Madrid vice-president Emilio Butragueno personally showed Timms and fellow club director Simon Webster around the famous Bernaneu stadium.
A partnership and in-principle activity was agreed and will be formalised over the coming months.

Sheffield FC are planning to invite a number of teams to play at their Coach and Horses ground in 2007, and it's looking increasingly likely that Real will provide the showpiece event.
Tims said: 'This is a huge step on the road to our goal of establishing Sheffield FC as a major brand within the sport. Our unique position as the world's oldest club means we are taken very seriously by football's leading lights - like FIFA, and Real Madrid.

'The fact that Mr Butregueno is exploring the possibility of sending a Real Madrid team over to play against us in 2007 says a lot about how far we've come and the potential for the club.'

Ok, so the question is whether this blog will be just about football. In actual fact, my very first thought was that this should be a place for lovers of the game. But coming to think of it the name should not act as a constraint. Instead, I'll try to express myself on other things, but I am sure I can still do it as a futbolite. Mixed up? We'll see.

In the meantime, my internet wanderings this week have thrown at me some interesting stories. For example the drama of poor Cameroon full-back Pierre Wome who missed a decisive penalty in the 93rd minute which meant that his team would miss the world cup. It can barely get any worse (Milan fans do know something about suffering lately...but more of that later). But there are several experiences of bitter disappointment and mishaps which at times carry the mood of whole city or nation. The rummaging through Wome's house and the danger for his relatives is stuff for non-fans. The same can be said for the rather unfortunate (to say the least) guy who shot himself by mistake while celebrating the Croatian qualification. A revolver isn't exactly a scarf, a banner or a flag....

But back to extraordinary stories of extraordinary fans. This swedish guy won a great lottery and the first thing he could think about was buying his idol Ibrahimovic to play in his hometown club in the Swedish second Division. I will add the sad part to the story myself: I guess Zlatan's opinion would not be so romantic. And only becauseVisby (yes, that's the name of the club) do not play Champions League football (!)

And finally....what about the results of the Maltese national team lately? Croatia and Bulgaria aren't exactly Tagikistan and Lesotho! Was it a fluke again? I'm glad I might have to swallow some of words of mine these last days. Results like these mean to us as much as a World Cup qualification (or let's say almost). Time for the hopefuls!!

El pibe de oro

Like the most naive of debuts, mine would start with the very best there is in the repertoire. And in the realm of football there is no better role than that of el pibe de oro, the one who did anything with a sphere at his feet, be it an adidas ball in a world cup final or an apple during a tv show, he who is the symbol of a nation and the peak of football aesthetics. What sparked my imagination was an interesting article by Ian Hawkey in the London Times (here).

However, I won't be so much daring as to keep trying to find further adjectives for Diego Maradona's twenty years of football, or to recount all that he has attained along the way.

"Beyond everything else, no ball ever had a better experience than when it was at his left foot.” - Jorge Valdano

Quite frankly Maradona has a rather particular relationship, to say the least, with the British. Since denying his achievements is close to impossible, they limit themselves to composed language when they mention the actor who they consider synonymous with the drama of La mano de Dios to which they assisted in a Mexican June night of 1986. In actual fact, it is hihgly unlikely not to find a reference to this match whenever he who cannot be mentioned is in the news [which is to say quite often]. One of the most remembered encounters in the history of the game, the 1986 World Cup semi-final had a significance way beyond the field of play and a place in the final.

“Before the match we all declared that football didn’t have anything to do with the Falklands. That was a lie. We hardly thought of anything else. A lot of Argentinian boys had been killed over there. This was revenge.” - From El Diego

To top it all he scored a game with the help of "God's hand". Till this day Diego hasn't been forgiven for his infamous act. And subsequent encounters between the two nations proves the point (does a rather notorious scene between Becky and Pablo ring a bell?). Hawkey's contribution brings us to the latest confession, which cannot really be described as a sign of good will. In fact in an episode of Maradona's most recent tv venture he declared “He who robs a thief gets 100 years of pardons”. Seems like he would have been an international diplomat in another life! And on this I am pretty sure. Look at how he put his rivalry with the only other person who reached such otherwise-unseen level of football, Pele':

“Who was the best out of us two?” asked a beaming Maradona. “My mother thinks I was. Pele’s mother thinks he was.”

And now? Fans wouldn't bemoan at another Anglo-Argentine clash on German soil next year. In the meantime Diego practices cha-cha, presents tv shows, and copes with the no less arduous task of technical director of his beloved Boca Juniors. And is he investing some of his money into Brighton & Hove Albion together with Osvaldo Ardiles? Oh no but that's another story...