Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo) scores a poker (all 4 goals) vs AC Milan HD

ITALY WOMEN´S NATIONAL CURLING TEAM: LET` S DISCOVER IT!

This article, which I wrote around one month ago after the European Curling Championship in Stavanger, represents an exception for this blog, basically based on football. This article is an interview with Italy women´s National Curling Team. A «gaggle» of young women involved in trying to put in the spotlight this sport on the ice, which has not been so well known in Italy yet. 
We could say  that these girls, in their own way, are sport pioneers. And as pioneers they are brave, unconventional and challenging. I have always had a passion for out of the common-people. Practising curling in Italy, where football throw his weight around, is, in my view, something both out of the ordinary and brave. That´s why I want to give my readers the opportunity to know these passionate girls better and, why not, through them discover curling as an interesting sport. Here below, the article:

The curtain is fallen on the European Curling Championship in Stavanger. So, now, for all the 49 teams which took part in the competition held in Sørmarka Arena, it´s time  to take stock of their experience in the European Championship and draw conclusions for the future. 
Sweden and Swizerland, winners in the female and male tournament, respectively, are obviously going to enjoy the taste of glory. On the contrary, for the women´s Italian National team, ranked at the last place in graduation, the moment to understand what went wrong, has arrived. 

The Italian head quarter is located in a hotel in the heart of Stavanger. The Italian National team´s components look relaxed, sitting around and playing cards. Nevertheless, it´s just a facade. They, really, remind about lions licking their wounds.

DISAPPOINTMENT

«We are disappponted with the result» Arianna Losano, lead of the team,  croaks. It is barely more than a whisper. But soon the tone of her voice become more confident: «We wanted to reach something more, but we were at the first experience at this level» she tries to give as a possible explanation. «We were really tense» adds Veronica Zappone (skip). Italians are very emotional and sensitive people, so it´s not difficult to believe in this honest examination of the competition. 

Autocriticism is an important quality, for both life and sport which helps to improve and grow up. The Italian girls show to possess it, despite being  the youngest team in the competition. The "Azzurre" are looking inward to be aware of their limits in order to go beyond them. One of the secrets of the Italian team´s wisdom is surely the coach, Lucilla Macchiati. 
Here is the proof: when one of the young component of the team starts complaining about the quality of the ice (It was too soft, she says), the coach, up to that point silent and respectful of the interview, admonishes her: «Finding an alibi is not the right way to face a sport competition like this",  she says, disguising firmness as a maternal advice. In short, the message in a bottle is: No excuse, please!

Finally  when the team is asked about the experience in Stavanger from  a personal level,  the disappointment shades immediately into happiness.

STAVANGER WHAT A COOL CITY!

In particular, the Italian team is in love with Stavanger: «It´s a friendly-people city. It´s nice. We prefer it to Oslo where we have already been. People are so polite! Not to mention the volonteers and the perfect organization of the tournament. It was without a shadow of doubt a great event. A great competition held in a modern structure. «The arena is amazing. We are a bit jealous of the curling structure in Stavanger. It would be great, if we had the same in Italy" is the honest admission of all the Italian team. «Maybe in the future we could move here» some of the girls don´t descart the opportunity. They seem to say: «Goodbye Stavanger, see you soon or later»

NEW CHALLENGES & DREAMS

In the next future there are the qualifications to the winter Olimpic Games in Sochi. It´s a dream, but it´s not the only one. «I would like to be an airplane pilot», confesses Elisa Patono (second). «I would like to be a physioterapist» echoes another team-mate. 

After all, they know how to make dreams come true: it´s important the committment and the hard work in order to avoid any regrets. Exactly the same happens with curling. When that heavy stone made of  granite, just as life does, takes curvilinear and unpredictable trajectories which players try to influence by the action of curling brooms: sometimes they are able to bring the stone where they want, sometimes not. All that matters is giving your best. In sport and in life!

FREDDY GUARIN: A WILD JAGUAR FOR CHELSEA

Freddy Guarin is running away from Inter Milan.
The Jaguar, it´s Guarin´s nickname, is ended up in Jose´Mourinho´s sight.
The Chelsea boss, putting himself into the shoes of a hunter, is ready to "capture" the black jaguar, Guarin in the January transfer window.

The deal is almost sealed: Inter director Marco Branca and Mourinho laid the foundation of the agreement in London around 10 days ago. Chelsea would be willing to pay up to 15 million euro for Guarin. An amount, which Inter board would consider fully satisfying.

Now, the question is: why should the new Inter owner, Erick Thohir, let Guarin go away?

Let´s try to figure out a possible explanation.

E.T. is an Indonesian entrepreneur, who works in the mass media and communication environment. He is a type of Berlusconi´s Indonesian "alter ego". For this reason, he looks out for public opinion, in particular during the first period of his presidency. Thohir, in fact, is still trying to build a popular support within Inter supporters, who still seem to be skeptical regarding the new ownership.

Therefore, Freddy Guarin´s selling could be a double edged sword.

On the one hand, trading the Colombian midfielder,  in return for 15 milion euro, could allow Inter to purchase new football players in the winter transfer window. On the other hand, Guarin´s  abdication could cause the Inter supporters´disappointment.

Anyway, is Guarin such a popular and loved player to cause consternation in Inter fans?
Not at all, is the easy answer.

Guarin, in fact, is one of the most detested football players by a consistent part of Inter supporters. Despite his triumphal arrival last season from Porto, the Colombian is actually sonorously whistled during his performances in the San Siro Stadium.

Guarin is not a complete dud, Chelsea supporters keep calm, but he is an anarchic player.
He is a sort of football player to whom a coach can´t easily find a position on the pitch.
Guarin is a wild jaguar!
He is a midfielder, but he can be neither a central midfielder nor a back miedfielder: he tends to attack and he never keeps the position. Guarin is an advanced midfielder or an insight forward. He is in particular at ease going on the counterattack. So, Mourinho´s style could be tailored for him.
Nevertheless, the 27 years old Columbian has a terrible flaw: he is extremely selfish: he never passes the ball to his team-mates, even though they are in an enviable position, on the field, to score.
Guarin is provided with a powerful long distance shot. This quality brings him to try the shot even from a sidereal distance, missing the mark most of the time. That´s why some Inter supporters presented an ironic petition on the web  to stop Guarin´s tries. According to Inter´s fans, the Columbian´s shots, out of target, would threaten the lives of spectators sitting on the stands.

Now, it´s up to Murinho to tame the Colombian Jaguar (or, if you prefer, Colombian crazy horse) in the Stamford Bridge circus.

WAS IT A TURKISH TRICK TO CONDEMN JUVE?

Juventus were knocked out of Champions League after a two-days lasting match against Galatasaray.
The Tuesday-night match was, in-fact, suspended after just 27 minutes because of a strong snowfall/hailstorm which made impracticable the pitch.
Immediately, Uefa decided to postpone the clash to the day after, starting it again in the 27th minute. A cursory decision due to the last-sixteen´s draw, on the agenda for the next monday, which didn´t get the situation better. On Wedensday, infact, the Telekom Arena´s field was in terrible condition due to the persistency of the bad weather.

Surely the pitch wasn´t worthy of a Campions League clash. In particular one half of the pitch looked like a newly plowed field. "Strangely", it was the part of the field on which It were up to Juve to attack for the most of the match´s remaining time.

Now, both italian supporters and newspapers are instilling a doubt: did Galatasaray decide deliberately to make impracticable Juventus´ attack zone?

The fact that the other part of the field was greener and more decent to play football on seems to strengthen the conspiracy thesis.

Anyway, conspiracy or not conspiracy, finally Juventus were not able to attack nor to go on counter attack.

Frankly, when the ball can neither normally roll nor bounce on the pitch, and the only way to play football is the full toss, it´ s another type of sport, but it´s not football. Maybe "it is hide and seek" as Juventus coach Antonio Conte said after this strange match.

If someone now is thinking that Conte is just a bad-loser, it would be correct also to report the Juve coach´s  further statement: "This match should not have been played. Anyway, we lost the chance to qualify for the last sixteen before the game against Galatasaray", Conte honestly admitted. His reference, clearly  was to the away draw VS Copenhagen.

JUVE-REAL: THE OPPOSITE POLES

Not later than one month ago Juventus faced Real Madrid in an exciting and prestigious Champions League clash. A draw, 2-2, was the final result after a breathtaking match. Apparently nothing special happened, in particular if we consider the story of these two clubs. A common past made of several victories and balanced matches between these two giants of football. Nevertheless, this final result  sounds incredible if we compare the costs of both the lines up. A comparison that evidences two opposite philosophies on how to manage a football club now-days.
On the one hand there are Real Madrid, which can count on a record turnover (more than 500.000.000 euro represent the top for a football club all over world). Despite these sensational numbers, according rumors rumbled from sources close to Real, the «Merengues» would «show off» a gigantic debt: 520 million euro! A debt which can be mostly ascribed to the purchasing of football players for an absolute fortune.
On the other hand there are Juventus, whose management is pursuing a completely different strategy: the main goal for Juve´s President, Andrea Agnelli, is to reach the break even point, in the name of which it is absolutely forbidden to spend a crazy amount for a single football-player.

So let´s take a concrete look at these two different philosophies:  we are going to exam the cost of both Real and Juve´s lines up during the last Champions League clash:

The only parameter we are going to consider is the cost for each football-player with the exception of both the goalkeepers. The final result is unbelievable.
Let´s start from Real Madrid:

Marcelo: 5 milion €
Varane: 10 mln €
Pepe: 30 mln €
Sergio Ram:os 24 €
Khedira: 12 mln €
Xabi Alonso: 31 mln €
Modric: 26.500 mln €
C. Ronaldo: 94 mln €
Bale: 101 €
Benzema 31 €

Total: 364 mln €

JUVENTUS:

Caceres: 7 mln €
Barzagli: 0
Bonucci: 13 mln €
Asamoha 16 mln €
Pogba: 0
Pirlo: 0
Vidal: 11 mln €
Marchisio: 0
Tevez: 9 mln €
Llorente: 0

Total: 56 mln €

DIFFERENCE: 308 mln €

The moral is: through skills and parsimony it is possible to pursuit the idea of an economically sustainable football!

BALOTELLI: THE OWN GOAL OF BERLUSCONI

I was sure: I wrote that Milan would have bought either Balotelli or Drogba in an article I posted on this blog the 7th of January 2013. Almost a month ago. The fact was as predictable as all Berlusconi's communication strategies. Italian politics and Italian  football are two reality strictly linked since Berlusconi has been both a politician and owner of Ac Milan.  Many dynamics have always been repeating over the last 20 years. So also this time, the fact that Milan would have signed Balotelli was too easy to predict. It is just an attempt to make Milan supporters happier after the summer sales of Ibra and Thiago Silva, with a look at the Italian election day the 24th of February.

But this time I'm not convinced about the goodness of this strategy. I think that this purchase could be negative for Milan and for the political destiny of Berlusconi as well. Basically for three reasons at least:
 1) Less than two weeks ago Berlusconi painted Balotelli as an rotten apple, describing him as a sure source of nuisance to Milan’s squad. He explained repeatedly how  Milan's style wouldn't have been suitable for Balotelli. Now Balotelli is a new Milan’s football player. This lack of consistency, if it was transposed in the political life it could have the effect of  a boomerang for Berlusconi. He could be considered a liar and frankly  it would not be the first time.
2) Italy is living one of the worst moment in its history. The economic crisis that is threatening the country seems to be endless. So I don’t know how possible it is to consider as a  wise decision to spend € 20 million for a “rotten apple”. At least it was a dangerous decision. In fact immediately Berlusconi’s main political opponent from the left wing, Bersani, emphasized  as Berlusconi in such  delicate moment for Italy is involved in situations related exclusively to football.  This time the impression is that even the attempts of the most important Italian newspapers to describe as a “masterpiece” even from a financial point of view the balotelli-deal could be fruitless. Italians are asking: why did Berlusconi decide to sell Ibra and Thiago Silva last summer in accordance with both the financial-fair play and  Italian economic situation, and few months later he spends 20r million euro Balotelli’s purchase? But this is clearly a rhetorical question.
3) Balotelli potentially is a great footballer. But the main risk is that his mad personality does not allow him to become a real champion as Mourhino predicted a few years ago. Balotelli could really be a loose cannon capable of breaking the harmony in Milan’s environment .Another concern may be the charisma of Allegri. The Rossoneri’s coach, in fact, has always shown to have difficulty in managing  difficult and bulky personalities like Ibra, for example.
Three reasons that might be enough to turn the  Balotelli-deal into a sensational own goal for AC Milan and Berlusconi.

GUARDIOLA: CIAO,CIAO ITALY...

Guardiola is the new coach of Bayer Munich. It's official. Even if someone still seems to not believe it. Someone  believes  or  wants to believe, that this is a joke and wonders: How can the inventor of tiki-taka (barcellona's playing style) - the man who transformed many young and talented players in great champions with the same masterly skills with which Gaudi, the great Spanish architect,  used to transform stone and iron in art - move to the cold city of Munich? How can a man used to the strong and robust flavor of Catalan vino “tinto”, convert himself to malted Bavarian beer? Not to mention the independent spirit of Catalonia or the unpredictability of Messi, both  replaced by the rigorous German organization. Why didn’ t Guardiola prefer Italy, a country closer to Spain, rather than Germany? Maybe to lead Inter  or Ac Milan? Italian newspapers have surfed for a long time the wave according to which Guardiola should be the new  Milan or Inter’s coach. Last August, even Corriere della Sera, the most popular Italian newspaper, wrote an article about Guardiola and his intention to buy a villa by  lake Como. That was enough to excite Milan and Inter supporters. There was even who wrote about an agreement between the Spanish coach and Moratti who, after the Mourinho era,  would have chosen only temporary solutions (Benitez, Stramaccioni) waiting for Pep's arrival. A  vain waiting since Pep has signed with Bayern. In my view this was a counter and forward-looking choice. Bayern in fact can guarantee  him  a lavish engagement besides  an economic viability  that no other team in Europe can provide. Bayern is a modern company with the economic account in good standing. The only team in the next few years really be able to afford to buy the greatest champions  according to the strict rules of the financial fair-play wanted by Uefa President Platini. Too precarious are sheiks (City and psg), whose football teams follow their capricious moods, and too long list of coaches sacked  by Abramovich to tempt Pep. And what about Ac Milan and Inter? Let’s not tell jokes: why should a coach like pep chose a country in economic crisis like ours. A football like ours where Berlusconi uses  Milan just to pursuit political purposes and Moratti must pay attention to make Inter’s economic account fit within the parameters of financial fair play? Why should Guardiola prefer the glorious but decaying  San Siro Stadium, to the futuristic Allianz Arena? No reason. In fact, Pep chose Munich. In these times the rich Germany of Angela Merkel is better than the shabby and unstable Italy after the end of Monti government. Impossible to blame Guardiola. His choice was clever and in line with his rational character. Let's not forget that when Guardiola  concluded his experience with Barca as a footballer many years ago he chose the provincial Brescia of Corioni as his new team. A small team but economically healthy during the golden age of the serie A. A smart choice, fully consistent with his actual choice. Italy should rather ask why Guardiola in the past chose the small Brescia and today has snubbed both giants Inter and Milan. To find an answer we should look in the depth of an economic crisis that is seriously threating our country and our football. So, today when I have read in a newspaper  the name of Mourinho as a possible new Ac Milan’s coach I thought: Please stop bullshiting!