Much too wet

The Women's preliminary tournament is over...or almost. Malta lost heavily, as expected, against a clearly superior Slovakia side. However, the weather and pitch conditions sweeped all hopes of entertainment as the players ended up clearing the ball to and fro by just a few meters. On the other hand, in some other obscure stadium in Luxembourg, the match between the hosts and Lithuania was rightly abandoned. Both matches were being played at the same time and certainly not miles apart, under the same weather. One ended up being a farse...the other apparently not.

We still thanked the girls for their effort. No doubt, the biggest disappointment is the defeat against Luxembourg which had probably illuded us all in the beginning. Still a good experience. And we enjoyed it.

UEFA Women's Championship:

Malta 0-0 Lithuania

It was my first time, and I must say I enjoyed it. With me a good numbers of compatriots here in the Grand Duchy. Apart from the result, which is probably a fair reflection of the game, our team showed great spirit and that was the best thing of the evening. The girls' collective effort was admirable and they were very appreciativ of our modest, but probably unexpected, support.

There are two other fixtures to be played here, one against the home team, which is making its international debut, and another against Slovakia, the clear favourites to win the group and proceed to the next round.

Well done and good luck girls! Keep it up!

Commerce et démocratie: Le double jeu des Occidentaux

La France n’a pas d’amis, elle a des intérêts, disait en substance feu le général Charles de Gaulle. Des décennies après, un non moins célèbre héritier du gaullisme, Jacques Chirac en l’occurrence, redonne du tonus à cette assertion en se rendant en Chine populaire, en quête de...marchés !

Parce que ce pays a longtemps été décrié pour la question des droits de l’homme, il apparaît fort important de dénoncer le double jeu des Occidentaux, auquel on commence à trop s’habituer, ce "dialogue stratégique" qui se fait de moins en moins discret !

L’Occident, il est vrai, ne s’embarrasse plus de considérations morales. Au nom du pétrole, du gaz, des métaux précieux, du bois, de l’aéronautique, du nucléaire, de l’armement et de l’électronique, il est prêt à tout brader. La sempiternelle question des droits de l’homme appartient bel et bien au passé. Vive le commerce : l’argent n’a point de couleur, le marché point d’odeur !

- from Le faso.net

Bojkott

Mela nhar l-Erbgħa, fit-tentattiv li nivvinta xiħaġa x'nagħmel, ħadt spunt minn nofs kelma ta' Mark u spiċċajt kaxkart is-solitu Letis, u did-darba ġie wkoll Aaron, sa l-Istade Josy Barthel. Kif! Ma tafx liem hu? Ma ntikx tort. Dan huwa l-verżjoni Lussemburgiża ta' Ta' Qali. U biex ingħidilkom Lussemburgu vs Bulgarija ma setgħetx tfakkarna aktar minn hekk f'Ta' Qali: attendenza kemm kemm issejħilha suffiċenti għall-pajjiż li hu, Bulgari daqs kemm kien hemm Lussemburgiżi, logħba medjokri, prestazzjoni tajba u telfa.

Minn banda ħassejtni qed nitkessaħ meta bdejt ngħaddi battuti ironiċi fuq l-ambjent li konna fih. Jien li ġej minn pajjiż b'tim ta' l-istess kalibru imma li x'aktarx f'kuntesti oħrajn wasal ħafna inqas. Imma nsomma dik ħaġ'oħra. L-għada ġiet f'idi l-gazzetta, u t-titli u l-kummenti kienu l-istess! Ħasra wara prestazzjoni tajba...jonqosna nagħmlu dak il-pass biex niksbu r-riżultat eċċ eċċ.

L-ironija hi li kif jaf kulħadd, dakinhar Malta kisbet l-aktar rebħa pretiġjuża fl-istorja tal-logħba fil-gżira. Il-mistħija mbagħad kienet riflessa fuq l-iskrin tal-kompjuter meta għamilt sa nofsillejl nistenna li b'xi mod nara l-gowls jew għallinqas x'ħa jgħidu l-aħbarijiet Maltin. Dlonk intasabt, kif ngħidu, quddiem id-di-ve u spiċċajt nara l-aħbarijiet tan-Net. U dawn għamlu siegħa jitkellmu fuq Tonio Borg, nofs ta' nhar jitkellmu fuq il-GWU (li ma setgħux jiffilmjaw ġewwa, li għalhekk il-GWU għadha u ħa tibqa' union leninista u x'naf jien...), imbagħad kien imiss rappurtaġġ minn Ħal-Safi dwar 'ċentru ta' matul il-ġurnata' għall-anzjani (il-bqija taċ-ċentri huma ta' bil-lejl), u mbagħad....iva ta! semmew il-problema nukleari mal-Korea ta' Fuq f'5 sekondi! Wasal l-isports (sa bħalissa kont wasalt biex nidħol għax-xogħol). Tennis......boċċi.......spiċċa!

Għall-kronaka....minn qiegħ il-Lussemburgu naf li la TVM, la Super 1, la Net u lanqas ħadd (ħlief l-RTK mid-dehra!) ma għadu jsemmi r-riżultati tal-futbol. Għala? Għax Joe Mifsud talab xi 400 biljun Euro għad-drittijiet (qed nitkellmu dwar xi Lm 25000). Dawn l-istazzjonijiet kollha f'daqqa (wieħed minnhom taħt l-obbligu tas-servizz pubbliku) qed jirifjutaw li jħallsu aktar minn kwart li kienu jħallsu sas-sena l-oħra. U sadanittant, jgħolli subajgħ min kien jaf li Malta rebħu (aqta' 'l dawk li ħaqqhom prosit talli marru l-grawnd - nofshom tfal tan-nurseries) jekk mhux l-għada filgħodu - probabbli minn xi uefa.com!

Lille (Lens)

Dosing off with Gazzetta pages all around me I was gearing up for the Lille-Milan Champs Lge fixture. I was sure I wouldn't finish off the article before passing out. Yet, a tiny parenthesis in the middle of nowhere said (in a way indicating it was so superfluous to the reader that it could have easily been left out) that the match was going to be played in Lens, not Lille. Yeah right...I might have been dreaming already. No I wasn't! I had a hotel booked in Lille, and my French geography did not permit me to stay calm since Lens is only half an hour south of Lille. Only after checking mappy did the panic start to ease off.

Since the group draw was made, I knew I couldn't miss the fixtures in Lille and Anderlecht...Milan close to home. To say that getting tickets is rather complicated is an undrestatement. It involves a lot of emails, telephone calls (some of them including some very helpful, gentle, colourful Italian language), mad driving, meeting strangers etc. The end result is you're entering the Felix Bollaert, Lens's concrete people container - used in France 98 - with the visiteurs surrounded by hoards of impressively serious looking policemen in full riot gear.

I won't bother you much with the game. A 0-0 which won't exactly be remembered in the history of football. With just one forward Milan are always less spectacular. But it's always nice to be close to your beniamini.

By the way, the 30 minute drive back to the hotel waiting for us in Lille took us an hour and a half. It was to be expected when a city moves to another to watch its football team play. It proved to be worth it. Lille is a charming city...3 hours to reach it slightly less.

Latest football trip: Turkey 2 - 0 Malta

Commerzbank Arena, Frankfurt


This one was even more complicated. Normally getting tickets is the trickiest bit. This time around we wanted to watch a game which was being played behind closed doors (a disciplinary consequence of the Turkish fracas against the Swiss in their decisive World Cup qualifier), which, as the name suggests, is intended to do without the presence of the fervent amongst us. Yet, there we were, watching the game from the Commerzbank Arena VIP lounge, sneering as the Turks got edgy until they were sure (late in the game) the points up for grabs were theirs, albeit not without much effort.

But, about the game itself, more to come as I've got some thoughts to share for those who are interested...

Summertime is boring

For the football fan, especially in world cup years (after a month-long indigestion), summer is the most boring time of the year. Not only because no (real) football is played, but especially because of the truckloads of rubbish we have to endure on all kinds of sports media who just spread news for the sake of filling their pages or websites or whatever. I personally end up following Intertoto matches, all kinds of European competition preliminaries (where you get to brush up your georgraphy, especially that of Eastern post-1989 Europe as you try to figure out who the hell Hafnarfjördur are), and ...erm I admit..even the Norwegian League (well, they at least have their league in its most interesting stages, and I can say I have been to one match this year in Lillestrom to watch my compatriot Michael Mifsud - by the way, he might be on his way to a better club elsewhere...). The rest is crap: judiciary proceedings in Italy, lambasting Cristiano Ronaldo in England, and all the transfer news imaginable linked to Real Madrid and Inter (they might take me up for a trial as well in the end).

Happy holidays!

What's next?

Corriere.it:

Juventus, Fiorentina e Lazio in serie B e Milan in serie A. I rossoneri restano però senza Champions League e partiranno con 15 punti di penalizzazione. In B la Juventus partirà con 30 punti di penalizzazione, la Fiorentina con 12 e la Lazio con sette.

La Caf ha deciso di revocare lo scudetto del campionato 2004-05 vinto dalla Juventus e di non assegnare quello del campionato 2005-06, vinto sempre dalla Juventus.

...u issa s-sitwazzjoni fl-Iraq...

Tfakkarkom f'xiħaġa din l-espressjoni li saret qisha parti mil-lingwaġġ li nisimgħu fl-isfond kull filgħaxija int u tiekol jew tizzappja. Saret qisha l-għamara, parti mill-ambjent tal-kamra. Jew il-Grande Fratello, it-Twistees jew Daphne Caruana Galizia. Dan l-aħħar xahar aktar u aktar, kienet qisha l-għabra li tħammeġ naqra naqra mingħajr ma tinduna. L-aħbarijiet 'iddominati' mill-futbol. Għalija m'hemmx isbaħ. Imma anke lili ttini f'għajni li wara xi għoxrin minuta ta' skandli għax ir-referi keċċa lil xiħadd inġustament jew għax il-gowl kien offsajd....imbagħad naslu għas-sitwazzjoni fl-Iraq jew fil-Palestina. Niftakar tajjeb meta kont żgħir l-appuntament sagru tal-ġenituri ma' l-aħbarijiet tat-tmienja. Kont nisforza biex nipprova nifhem għala qishom kienu jkunu l-kulminu tal-ġurnata, meta jum wara l-ieħor konna nisimgħu fuq il-Palestina, il-famuża Strixxa ta' Gaża (qatt ma kont nifhem għala jgħidulha hekk) eċċ eċċ...tafu xi rrid ngħid - dawk l-aħbarijiet li dejjem hemm u qisna rassenjati li nibqgħu nisimgħu dwarhom infilsati f'kull bulettin.

Imma terġa' u tgħid, għalhekk sabiħ il-futbol. Għax għallinqas din il-l-logħba sempliċi ġġiegħel lil kulħadd jitkellem dwarha. U mhux retorika din. Hija analiżi sempliċi ta' x'iwassal il-ferħ jew il-pjaċir, id-delużjoni jew id-diżgust, insomma l-emozzjonijiet varji lil persuni differenti madwar id-dinja. U dan kollu għax plejer ikun għeja u ma laħaqx iwaqqaf avversarju, għax Trezeguet ħariġlu penalti 5ċm ogħla milli riedu, għax referi jiġġudika deċiżjoni sekonda tard, jew għax Maxi Rodrigez joħroġlu xutt li kien joħlom bih meta kien għadu daqs tikka. Veru li hawn min ma jinteressah xejn, u li m'għandniex nippretendu li l-logħba tinteressa lil kulħadd...iżda ma nistgħux niċħdu li f'dan l-aħħar xahar il-parti dwar l-Iraq tressqet addirittura aktar lura fl-aħbarijiet. Għax qabel dik kellna ridna nisimgħu li l-Brażil inqalgħu mill-Franċiżi, li Cannavaro qed jilgħab tajjeb, li r-raptus ta' Zidane ħalla lil kulħadd jitkaża...u li l-pizzajoli, Mafjużi u parassiti rebħu t-tazza...

Edson

Is-suq jiddetta li l-awtobijografija ta' l-akbar leġġenda fl-istorja tal-logħba toħroġ lejlet it-tazza tad-dinja. U jiena ta' marid li jiena kont ili li ordnajtha minn qabel minn fuq l-internet. Onestament minn banda ddeludietni. Miktuba qisha komponiment tat-tfal, u mhux li tgħid li fiha xi rivelazzjonijiet ġodda li jixxukkjaw id-dinja tal-ballun. Pele' qatt ma kien magħruf għal xi intellett ta' l-għaġeb, u għalhekk forsi l-aspettazzjonijiet tiegħi kienu għoljin wisq.

Iżda mill-banda l-oħra sirt naf aktar dwar x'irnexxielu jagħmel dan il-ġenju fil-25 sena li dam jilgħab il-futbol. U għalhekk fittixt vidjows bħal dan...nistedinkom tarawh sa l-aħħar biex tapprezzaw ir-repertorju kollu. Kollox hemm: xellug, lemin, bir-ras, dribbles, finti, kreattivita', saħħa...kollox. Ix-xettiċiżmu tiegħi ġiegħlni saħansitra nżomm għajnejja fuq id-difensuri. Ta' spiss tisma' li l-futbol ta' dak iż-żmien kien aktar 'faċli' jew soft. Pero' f'dan il-klipp ma stajt nagħti tort lill-ebda difensur vittma. U allura, ħa nagħmel pass lura. Għax minn banda veru li l-futbol kien differenti...għal ħafna miż-żmien li kien jilgħab fih lanqass kien hemm il-possibbilta' ta' sostituti jew karti ħomor u sofor(kienet tiġri ħafna li logħba tiddeġenera u tispiċċa b'xi żewġ plejers jitkaxkru u jibqgħu fil-grawnd). U veru li t-tattika tal-logħob dejjem tiżviluppa. U forsi l-kompetizzjonijiet kienu inqas strutturati (ħafna mill-mijiet ta' gowls Pele' skurjahom f'logħob ta' ħbiberija, tournaments, u leagues differenti)...għax lanqass kampjonat veru u proprju Brażiljan ma kien hemm. U veru wkoll li kellu x-xorti jilgħab ma ġenerazzjonijiet ta' plejers ta' barra minn hawn (ma nsemmu xejn, Didi, Vava, Rivelinho, Garrincha, Zagallo eċċ eċċ).

Imma veru wkoll li l-ħiliet ta' dan ir-raġel kienu akbar minn kull wieħed ieħor li lagħab il-ballun matul is-snin. Forsi taqta' xi e%u

Eros: «Moggi voleva imporsi anche con me»

Corriere.it:

Ramazzotti a Milano per l'ultima tappa del suo tour: voleva dirmi lui cosa dire e fare in una trasmissione tv in cui si parlava di Juve

«Moggi? Ho avuto modo di conoscerlo anch'io: voleva imporsi anche con me». Lo ha detto il cantante Eros Ramazzotti, a Milano per l'ultima tappa del suo tour primaverile, rispondendo ad alcune domande su quanto sta accadendo nel mondo del calcio.

LA TELEFONATA - Ramazzotti, oltre ad essere uno dei più popolari cantautori italiani, è anche appassionato di calcio e tifoso juventino. Proprio in qualità di fan della squadra bianconera era stato contattato qualche tempo fa, così ha raccontato, da Luciano Moggi che lo voleva ospite in una trasmissione in cui si sarebbe parlato della Juventus. «Io avevo accettato ma poi lui ha cominciato a telefonarmi per dirmi tutto quello che avrei dovuto fare durante la mia partecipazione - ha raccontato Eros Ramazzotti - Mi diceva: "prima di tutto canti l'inno della Juventus, poi fai questo e quell'altro". A quel punto, quando ho capito che con lui non era possibile discutere, ho smesso di rispondere alle sue telefonate e non ne ho più saputo nulla».

comments anyone?

PS This is to answer my guilt trip for another blog which I should have posted days ago...when there was a powercut as I was almost finished writing it...

One big disillusion

You might be thinking this is a great time for futbolite. Lots of stuff to discuss. This whole story going on in Italy, the world cup coming up. Yet there has been complete silence. Indeed, personally I cannot really get myself to talk about football these days. Everything which could be said has already been splashed on all kinds of media, including, and most of all, on non-sports-related media where people who don't have the necessary passion discuss investigations by prosecutions and who demand the resignation of x and y. It's so not good for the game.

So here I am, wondering what a cheated disappointed fan might still have to say. Nothing at all. Hope to see some real football during the world cup? I should be more than eager, being one of the lucky ones to plan to actually watch a match in Kaiserslautern on the 26th June. Yet, the feeling is that football - and probably most sports - on a professional level is one big mess. World cup and all included. Fan talk is there no more. The much loved sfotto' on Moggi and co. has actually been revealed as true!

This is why I insist, today more than ever, that the real game is just round the corner, not on tv in midweek. It is in grassroots football, the one kids play at school, the one you play with work colleagues where the heart is often way more willing than your physique allows! It's amateur teams battling out on sunday mornings where the best part is having a beer with the opponent at the end.

That's were the game resides. That is what leads to an acute form of futbolite.

Not requested by Nike this time...

Juventopoli

Conversazioni tra Moggi e Pairetto

L'11 agosto 2004 il dg bianconero e il vicepresidente della Commissione arbitri dell'Uefa si telefonano e parlano dell'andata del preliminare di Champions League disputato la sera prima tra Juventus e Djurgarden, terminato con il punteggio di 2-2.
Pairetto: «Pronto»
Moggi: «Gigi? Dove sei»
Pairetto: «Siamo partiti»
Moggi: «Oh, ma che c... di arbitro ci avete mandato?»
Pairetto: «Oh, Fandel è uno dei primi...»
Moggi: «Ho capito, ma il gol di Miccoli è valido»
Pairetto: «No»
Moggi: «Sì, come no? (...) Ma poi tutto l’andamento della partita ha fatto un casino a noi»
Pairetto: «Gli assistenti non mi sono piaciuti molto, in assoluto, no, ma stavo pensando ad un altro, quello che aveva alzato era quello di Trezeguet che mi ricordo davanti»
Moggi: «Quello è un altro discorso. (...) Ora mi raccomando giù a Stoccolma, eh?»
Pairetto: «Porco Giuda, mamma mia, questa veramente dev’essere una partita...»
Moggi: «Ma no, ma si vince, ma sai, si dice...»
Pairetto: «Ma questi sono scarsi»
Moggi: «Però con uno come questo qui resta difficile, capito?» (...)

La telefonata prosegue parlando di alcune amichevoli estive che il club bianconero disputerà nei giorni seguenti
Moggi: «Oh, a Messina mandami Consolo e Battaglia»
Pairetto: «Eh, l’ho già fatta»
Moggi: «E chi ci hai mandato?»
Pairetto: «Mi pare Consolo e Battaglia»
Moggi: «Eh, con Cassarà, eh?»
Pairetto: «Sì»
Moggi: «E a Livorno, Rocchi?»
Pairetto: «A Livorno Rocchi, sì»
Moggi: «E per il Trofeo Berlusconi Pieri, mi raccomando»
Pairetto: «Non l’abbiamo ancora fatto»
Moggi: «Lo facciamo dopo»
Pairetto: «Vabbò, lo si fa poi»

La seconda telefonata è datata 24 agosto 2004, il giorno prima del ritorno del preliminare di Champions contro gli svedesi: la Juve vincerà nettamente per 4-1 e si qualificherà ai gironi senza problemi.
Moggi: «Pronto?»
Morena: «Signor Moggi buongiorno. Volevo comunicarle arbitro e assistenti per la partita di Champions League di domani sera»
Moggi: «L’arbitro chi è, Cardoso? »
Morena: «No, io vedo arbitro Poll Graham»
Moggi: «Uhm»
Moggi: «Di dov’è l’arbitro...»
Morena: «È inglese» (...)
Pairetto: «Pronto»
Moggi: «Buongiorno»
Pairetto: «Ohilà buongiorno»
Moggi: «Oh, all’anima di Cardoso, eh?...»
Pairetto: «Eh»
Moggi: «Paul Green (in realtà è l’arbitro Graham Poll, ndr)»
Pairetto: «Come?»
Moggi: «Paul Green»
Pairetto: «Allora è successo qualcosa all’ultimo momento, io ho Cardoso, è successo qualcosa... si vede che è stato male o qualcosa del genere»
Moggi: «Informati, informati un momentino»
Pairetto: «Sì sì, verifico subito»

Sempre il riferimento alla stessa edizione della massima competizione europea, la prima gara del girone della prima fase è Ajax-Juventus in programma il 15 settembre e già due settimane prima (la telefonata è datata 1/9) Pairetto annuncia l'arbitro di quella partita, poi terminata 1-0 per i bianconeri.
Moggi: «Pronto»
Pairetto: «Ehilà, lo so che tu ti sei scordato di me, mentre io mi sono ricordato di te»
Moggi: «Ma dai»
Pairetto: «Eh, ho messo un grande arbitro per la partita di Amsterdam».
Moggi: «Chi è?»
Pairetto: «Meier»
Moggi: «Alla grande»
Pairetto: «Vedi che io mi ricordo di te anche se tu ormai...»
Moggi: «Ma non rompere, adesso vedrai, quando ritorno, poi te lo dico io se mi sono scordato»

Conversazione tra Moggi e Giraudo
Il 14 agosto 2004 i due dirigenti bianconeri si parlano delle designazioni arbitrali
Giraudo: «Lo vediamo subito come tira, tu hai qualche notizia di come tira l'aria, lì a Sportilia?»
Moggi: «Bene, bene con Gigi (Pairetto, ndr)»
Giraudo: «Ma non è come l'anno scorso?»
Moggi: «No, no, con Gigi è una cannonata»
Giraudo: «Perà adesso bisogna dirgli che si impegni per sto' corvo, perchè non si può mica andare avanti con sta testa di c...»

Conversazione su una macchina per un amico importante
Uomo: «Casa Agnelli buongiorno»
Moggi: «Sono Moggi buongiorno. Avrei bisogno di Nalla»
Nalla: «Ciao Luciano»
Moggi: «Io avrei bisogno in tempi rapidi perché siccome dobbiamo fare...»
Nalla: «Sì»
Moggi: «Per un amico importante, di una Maserati»
Nalla: «Sì»
Moggi: «Quattroporte»
Nalla: «Quattroporte?»
Moggi: «Sì. Ti diamo tempo una settimana dieci giorni, va bene?»
Nalla: «Va bene»


Enzo: «Pronto?»
Pairetto: «Enzo?»
Enzo: «Ciao Gigi»
Pairetto: «Ascolta volevo dirti la macchina ce l’ho già praticamente»
Enzo: «Quale?»
Pairetto: «Quindi quando vogliamo andare poi a prenderla c’è a disposizione praticamente la Maserati»
Enzo: «Ma dai»
Pairetto: «Sì quindi»
Enzo: «Madonna»
Pairetto: «Adesso quando rientro domani chiamo direttamente la Casa Reale».

Mazzini su Carraro
Il vicepresidente della Figc e Moggi parlano, il 6 settembre 2004, di elezioni federali e di un incontro con gli arbitri
Mazzini: «Perché questo cogl... (riferito a Carraro, ndr), ricordati che lui crede, che anche se passa così come vuole normalmente, di vincere lui. Invece devi metterglielo nel c... Ricordatelo».
Moggi:«Ooh se ti dico lasciamici parlare, poi domani io ho l’appuntamento»
Mazzini: «Va bene» (...)
Mazzini. «Venerdì vado a fare gli arbitri»
Moggi: «Venerdì vengo anch’io»
Mazzini: «Gliel’ho detto ad Anto’ e mi ha detto che non viene»
Moggi: «Lascia sta’, quello è un ambiente un po’ ibrido, meno uno ci si confonde e meglio è, e vale neppure la pena di starci alla lontana: io uno ci faccio partecipa’, o partecipo io o ci mando Alessio».

Conversazioni tra Moggi padre e figlio
Si parla anche di mercato nelle intercettazioni ed è il centro dei due discorsi tra Luciano e Alessandro Moggi. La prima telefonata è del 10 settembre 2004, la seconda è del 19 agosto dello stesso anno, l'ultima è del 28 agosto e si parla di Miccoli
Alessandro Moggi: «...io l’altro giorno, tu prendila come informazione, poi, io non lo so, mi sono rivisto con Preziosi (ex presidente del Genoa, ndr), come sempre capita»
Luciano Moggi: «Uhm»
A. Moggi: «Mi ha incominciato a fare tutto un discorso, il calcio come cambia, bisogna stare attenti di qua, di là, Carraro, Galliani, poi mi fa, non vi fidate di Montezemolo. Dico perché? Perché io ho sentito una conversazione alla Juve, vogliono fare fuori tutti, rimane solo Giraudo»
L. Moggi: «Sì, ma questa è una cazzata»
A. Moggi: «Io te lo dico come cosa, siccome molte volte Preziosi è negli ambienti di questo genere qui, lui c’è dentro»
L. Moggi: «Non c’è mai»
A. Moggi: «Bé, pa’, io te lo dico perché, insomma...»
L. Moggi: «È esattamente il contrario».

A. Moggi: «Mi ha chiamato Morabito (procuratore, ndr), in particolare Vigorelli (procuratore, ndr), per sapere se volevi fa un cambio di prestiti per pia’ Liverani»
L. Moggi: «No, no, ma perché ora lavorano per la Lazio?»
A. Moggi: «Che ne so, mi ha detto così?»
L. Moggi: «Porca miseria, da quando quello lì ha agganciato lì di sotto, mo ci voglio parla’ con quello, perché gli hanno dato Lopez e gli vogliono dare Marquez, a loro, eh?»
A. Moggi: «Eh, lo so»
L. Moggi: «Quindi è sicuro che sono riusciti a entrarci poco, perché lì non è che si possa anda’ granché, almeno che Cinquini (ex d.s. Lazio, ndr) non lavori ancora con la Lazio».

L.Moggi: «Io a Lotito gli ho chiesto 10 milioni e lui mi ha detto 5, no? Tu gli devi dire: guarda che io posso convincere mio padre a farlo a 7,5. Fagli un po' di storie all'inizio».
A.Moggi: «Ok».
Poi Luciano Moggi chiama un amico del giocatore: «Gli dica di fare meno lo stupido, altrimenti non lo faccio chiamare in Nazionale, così gli metto giudizio, perchè in Nazionale ce l'ho mandato io».

Conversazione con Biscardi
Il dg bianconero si arrabbia con Aldo Biscardi, poi parlano di regali
Biscardi: «Pronto?»
Moggi: «Vorrei il dottor Biscardi»
Biscardi: «Sono io»
Moggi: «Io sono Moggi Luciano»
Biscardi: «Uehh... Lucia’»
Moggi: «Allora ieri ho chiamato qui il nostro amico di Trieste...Baldas (ex designatore e commentatore delle moviole del «Processo», ndr). Gli ho fatto una bella cazziata, ma non ce n’era bisogno. Lui non ha colpa» (...)
Moggi: «Ma se non viene poi un cambio non prendo più nessuno, ma perché dobbiamo ammazzare il campionato?»
Biscardi: «No, tu non ammazzi un c..., magari l’ammazzavi l’anno scorso, mi dovresti da’ 40 milioni, hai fatto la scommessa con me e hai perso»
Moggi: «Aldo, ma io... sei come un orologio già assicurato, che vuoi che ti dica?»
Biscardi: «E dove sta?»
Moggi: «E lo sai che quando te lo dico...»
Biscardi: «E non lo so. Non me lo mandi mai...»
Moggi: «Ma vaff..., uno te l’ho dato costava 40 milioni»

One last tribute to Liverpool

The casual encounter with a past school mate over this blog gave me the opportunity to try something out, namely giving space on my blog to contributions by other fans.

Those who know me well would appreciate the fact that as a first I am going to publish an article on Liverpool's successful 2004-05 season. No further comment needed. But here you go, just as we get to know who will play this year's Champions League final - the best way to confer last year's ultimate fixture to the history books.

This is taken from the last issue of Anfield Island, the Liverpool Supporters Club (Malta) magazine. Thanks to Jean Paul...

Shankly used to call the league our bread and butter. Then the gentleman Roy Evans claimed that Anfield without European football is like a banquet without red wine. Lately, our banquet, the hollowed turf of Anfield along with its stands produced more than its fair share of wine. From its fierce red one to the mellower white one. One thing is for sure though, it’s been unique, different, making UEFA’s claim of Liverpool being a ‘club without country’ more credible by every day it passes.

Last year for a start was exceptional and totally unexpected after the previous season of poor harvest which only produced enough grapes to qualify for the higher European club in the very last minute. In May, the wine matured into champagne with a sweet, sweet taste – which I’ve never so tasted myself before.

Metaphors and analogies apart, European football has always been a rich part of Liverpool’s folklore. May 25th remains etched in every Liverpudlian’s heart and the glow that emanated from that glorious day carried on and on.
It gave a spring to our step, and a pride that personally I hadn’t experienced. This year’s campaign started well albeit more than a little bit early, and it would appear that the squad is now beginning to pay.

The group stages started smoothly enough with a victory away in Seville against Real Betis. Then Chelsea called at Anfield, and we had a share of the spoils and so on. For the first time, Liverpool won their group and qualification was ensured on the fifth match rather than in the eleventh hour.

The memories of that night in May echoed and echoed around Anfield, the length and breadth of the country and in the far flung cities that the UEFA draw reserved for us.
The belief came back and personally I believed every word I sung when Paris and six times were mentioned.

Along with the belief, responsibility, pressure and expectations followed. The draw reserved Benfica from Lisbon, Portugal. Another club with a European pedigree, a rich footballing history and boasting the great Eusebio as one of their legends. The onus, as holders and favourites was this time on Liverpool’s side with the underdog tag going the opposite side.
Two weeks after the first encounter, Liverpool found themselves with the onus to attack going into the home leg one goal down. It wasn’t exactly a formality, but as said before along with the belief, the expectations were to turn the tie and advance another stage to Paris.

Appetites were whetted for the wine, which makes a change from the usual draught beer. The vocal chords were more than lubricated and the atmosphere something to write home about, with the original banners remembering Liverpool’s history, having a dig at the no-marks and looking with optimism for the bright future.

Wave after wave of attack by the men in red accompanied the atmosphere, but the targeted net refused to bulge. The opposite one did though which left the task even harder.

In face of such adversity the atmosphere grew thicker and the wall of sound taller.

Once again the targeted net refused to bulge. The atmosphere though refused to subdue. European nights last year got the best out of the Liverpool players. The same can be said of the fans. The manager’s name echoed around Anfield and it didn’t go unnoticed. A bond was strengthened in times of trouble and the recipient is more than appreciative.

With talk of money (or lack of it) once again rising at the fore, trust seems to be the overriding factor. The much loved boss knows that talk of an open cheque book is out of question. But he is not looking for it either. He is a man of integrity and above all trust. The thought alone reassures me.

‘The most positive thing for me this week was the reaction of our supporters after the Benfica game. They were the winners. When you're losing at home it's difficult, but for them to sing my name and applaud the other team is amazing.’

The wine cellars will only wait a couple of months to resume their service at Anfield.

My favourite ads

The count down to the world cup is ticking fast now. Commercials exploiting the fans' passion and eagerness for the competition to start are in full swing. Adidas have given us the Teamgeist ball, announcing there will be an individual one for each fixture bearing the names of the teams, venue and date. Then there's the extra special golden one for the final match. The design of the various team shirts have long been unveiled. Not much fancy stuff here compared to the eighties and nineties.

But what most captures the viewer's imagination today is the tv advert, which now can hover through various other effective media - the internet and mobile phones in particular. Nike came out with the amazing Joga tv, Adidas have their own Impossible is Nothing ads (both excellent sites). I also enjoyed Carlsberg's Probably the best pub team in the world ad with several English past stars now making the most of their beer belly.

Cool stuff. Highly effective marketing. Enjoy the party!

Helpless

It is hard to bow in front of a better opponent. Yet that's exactly how I feel after tonight's match. In a field where space was surely not abundant, Barca managed to keep the ball, move it quickly and make the best out of the slightest chance given to them. Milan on the other hand did just the opposite. Didn't take the chances, weren't quick, and probably could not get anything more out of such a difficult fixture. Hope is the last to die of course. We'll see what happens next week.

PS I don't really like to write post-match blogs. Forgive me, but I have to bear this one in some way...

Irrid

Irrid nagħmel bloggata bil-Malti. Għax qaluli nikteb bil-Malti. Għalxejn nippruvaw nilħqu l-massa fil-babilonja diġitali qaluli. Il-Malti jinqara xorta. Jien irrid ninqara? Irrid nikteb wara kollox? Naħseb li naf nikteb? Jien kuntent li naħseb. Forsi frustrat li ma nafx nikteb. U għalfejn għandi nsemma' leħni?

Irrid ngħix, irrid naqra kull ma jinkiteb, irrid nisma' kull ma jindaqq u kull ma jittanbar u jitqies leġġenda. Irrid ngħid tiegħi dwar il-Kunsilli u l-Lvant Nofsani. U dwar ir-raġġiri tas-setgħana. Irrid inlaħħaq ma' l-espansjoni tal-Google u ta' l-Arcelor. U rrid inmaqdar lill-Inter u lil Bush fl-istess nifs. Għax id-dinja ma ddurx oħra jekk nimmissja l-aħħar rebbieħ tal-Pulitzer. U rrid nikteb?

U mbagħad jgħiduli nifhem f'kollox. U ma nkun nifhem xejn. U ma nkun nifhem f'xejn. Imma nifhem fl-immigranti u għaliex għandna nkeċċuhom 'l hemm. U fin-nukleari, għaliex l-Iran m'għandux skop ta' paċi, imma l-bqija iva. Għaliex m'jien ngħid xejn ġdid. U xorta nikteb.

Petange

Looks like I will start telling bollocks on Luxembourgish football now as well! Can you believe it? Yesterday, we have been to this remote (is it?) village 20km off Luxembourg city. To do what? There's nothing better on a Sunday afternoon than randomly choosing a match from the set of fixtures which you happen to go through browsing a local paper for the first time. So Patange be it. Against second placed Jeunesse Esch (mitica squadra). And, yes, the random addition this time was Norbert...

Freezing. 7 euros. How worse could it be? Where's the stadium? There's no stadium. It's a football field. Rightly so. There are spectators, not supporters. Referee and linesmen are not even Luxembourgish (Belgian, of course). Ladies club is where you can find a cup of coffee to help you raise your body temperature. Most exciting part: Red card, as your team is actually given a freekick - naturally you assail an opponent. Half-time, back home...too cold.

Result, as your curiousity leads you to look for it on the internet the following day: 2-1 for the visitors ('Eschites'?) with 10 men. And what does a Maltese like me, who goes to Petange and back to laugh his head off with his friends over these poor old Luxembourgish football lovers do after that? Can't forget these lot beat us twice last time we met in European Championships qualifiers...

FC Avenir oldest football club in the city

Forget Ronaldinho and Champions League gibberish. Here's a piece of news of utmost importance which all the fans around the world were anxiously waiting for:

After a while of research, it is now considered a fact that FC Avenir Beggen is the oldest still existing football club in the city of Luxembourg. Founded in 1915, the clubs that were "born" closest to FC Avenir and are still existing are Tricolore Gasperich, AS Luxembourg and Red Black Pfaffenthal, all founded in 1919. After the big merger(!) between Alliance 01, Spora and Union Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City's oldest club so far, Union, disappeared from the map. They were founded in 1908. But they were not the first football club in town ever. In 1907, Racing Luxembourg were established, but in 1923 they merged with Sporting to form Spora. Foundation years of all clubs in Luxembourg-City: Beggen 1915, Cebra 2001, Tricolore 1919, RM Hamm 2004, RFCUL 2005, AS Luxembourg 1919, Merl 1927, Muhlenbach 1932, Red Black 1919 and Weimerskirch 1926. (source)

Catching up

I still feel (and will for some time I guess) like a freshman within the blogosphere. What aroused my curiousity had been a circle of friends who were already very much into it. Maltese bloggers appeared to me as a most welcome relief making up for the everyday blabber we have to keep up with in our press.

Yet, somehow there are always undercurrents going on between bloggers and this represents another side to the whole blog activity. Irony and all ok, and it's great to show one is able to laugh at others as much as oneself. But doesn't this risk to end up in yet another syndrome of having to battle it out with the 'usual suspects' and leaving behind those debates which attracted me and several others to the Maltese blogosphere in the first place? Does tajbin biss għal bejnietna ring a bell?

I might be naive or even shallow. I might be cheesy, or what about tacky? In that case let me know, and I will return to blogging just on good old football.

Brugge

Here I am again. Months after my last blog. Evidently, it proved rather difficult for me to keep up with my own blog and with the blogosphere in general. The reason behind my total apathy will be confessed in a later post. In the meantime just wanted to update my football trips with the latest UEFA cup fixture which brought me, with Mark, David and Ian, to Bruges, the pictoresque Flemish city wherein Roma giallorossa embarked in their quest for a UEFA last 16 spot.

After having been constrained to bed for 3 days, catching the 3 hour train to Brussels wasn't really what I was longing for. Waiting for Mark in the grey drizzle in front of Central station was even worse. But soon we were on our way to the stadium, a pretty one indeed.

The match was ok. Roma without Totti but still a very helathy squad (on its way to the 10th win in a row). As usual the Italian style 90 minutes which ended in a 2-1 scoreline despite seeing De Rossi being sent off just after 20 minutes. Fans cheerful and appreciative of their team's effort (Evviva Portillo who is the star player, together with the Leko and Balaban). They still chanted as their team saluted all around the pitch at the end, as the winning team was already having a shower.

The next day we played the tourists in Bruges and Brussels. Although nothing beats the end of the trip at the auto-grill...