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SERIE A STRIKES (BACK)

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:41:00 +0000

And so it has come to pass. The first week of Serie A 2011/2012 will not be played this weekend. An emergency meeting between the footballers and their trade union (AIC) leader Damiano Tommasi on one side and on the other, the presidents of the clubs, represented by Lega Serie A president Massimo Beretta and Cagliari’s Massimo Cellino (the League’s other representative Lazio’s Claudio Lotito couldn’t participate because of a ban until September over insulting the Italian Olympic Committee) was held on Wednesday, convened by Giancarlo Abete, president of the Italian football federation (FIGC).

When it came to the vote, 18 presidents refused to accept the collective contract proposed by the footballers. There are two aspects where no middle ground can be found. The first – the so-called Article 4 – is concerned with who should pick up the tab of the emergency tax to be imposed by the Italian government on all high earners. The clubs maintain that the entire bill should be met by the players and that it should be written into the contract. The second, Article 7, deals with training matters, which players should be part of the first team group should be a choice made by the training staff and the club according to the presidents. Surprsingly Cellino voted in favour of the players (as did Siena) and stormed off back to Cagliari immediately; and as expected, former Roma midfielder Tommasi held a different view,

"The presidents brought two modifications, neither of which can be inserted into the contract. The first deals with a solidarity contribution which cannot be included because it is unknown which exact form this contribution tax will take. The players have never said they don't intend to pay the solidarity tax. We expect to pay taxes, as we have always done and we are willing to pay the amount set out, however the proposal by the government is not definite.

“The other point is a request to modify Article 7. The paradox is that the Lega felt it necessary to have an interpretation of this article before the agreement was signed. When the legal interpretation was supplied they decided to rewrite the article.”

In a attempt to mediate, FIGC president Abete offered to create a fund to cover any problems with paying extra tax over the next three seasons. This proposal was dismissed out of hand by everyone, and Abete succeeded only in becoming a target of scorn from one of the more vociferous presidents, Maurizio Zamparini from Palermo. Chief of Lega Serie A Beretta’s response was emphatic when he simply reminded everyone that the presidents had dictated their precise conditions for the renewal of the collective contract the previous day and that the players’ union had to integrate the two proposals put forward by the Football League.

Union Chief Damiano Tommasi counter argued that there was a willingness from Serie A to delay the start of the championship. The player who once contemplated becoming a priest reiterated that the players had never said they weren’t going to cough up for the so-called solidarity tax, while the disagreement over who should be included in the first team squad, and the consequences thereof, was not in discussion until after December.

Tommasi perceptively concluded that not all presidents agreed on the stance being taken by the Lega Seria A, and when forced to answer by some persistent questioning from the press admitted that it was Lazio’s Lotitio the most adamant to enforce Article 7. The lack of cohesion was underlined by Palermo owner Zamparini who declared that the true anomaly was that the Lega Serie A didn’t exist but was merely a group of 20 presidents without any ties to one another, each trying to do his best for his own club.

On Friday morning, Tommasi offered last-minute hope when he proposed a stopgap deal to cover the season until 30 June, 2012 based on the agreement made by his predecessor (and AIC founder) Sergio Campana. However, it was all in vain. The reply from Lega Serie A arrived just after midday, the deadline set by the Italian Football Federation. Beretta stated that the proposal from the AIC was made to be rejected, which left the players the only option open to them if they were to keep face: to strike.

However, there is already a ray of light at the end the tunnel. Parma chief Tommaso Ghirardi admitted that the stop gap measure would have been interesting had they had a chance to discuss it, an attack on Tommasi and Beretta. Meanwhile Cagliari’s Cellino hit out only at Beretta. The differing opinions emerging from the club owners prompted Demetrio Albertini, FIGC vice president, to call on the dissenting presidents to meet and discuss a new line to take. An opening that appears to have been backed by Aurelio De Laurentiis, who tautologically admitted that talks had broken down due to a lack of negotiation and that the agreement had to be completely rewritten. Fiorentina’s majority shareholder Diego Della Valle feels the same way as his Napoli counterpart, although loathe to admit it, going as far as proposing a watchdog authority for football in Italy.

The less hard line approach by the until-now unmoveable presidents has been echoed by AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani, who has suggested that the players forego a collective agreement this season and the clubs will not force their hand over the payment of an austerity tax – one of the stumbling blocks for the presidents, but not for the players. The Rossoneri vice president added that it was urgent to find middle ground to avoid an further strikes because the fans of Serie A deserve better.

Fans who have laid into the players on the comments pages on the major newspapers’ sites. The major argument which has upset the paying supporter (whether at the stadium or pay-per-view, the fans’ money ends up in the clubs’ coffers) is that the players earn a grotesque amount of money to do something which struggles to be called a proper job while the average worker is really making sacrifices to make it to the month’s end.

Tommasi has replied cuttingly that he is the first to know that football players have no right to raise any objections and must simply go out and perform.

Italy needs the distraction of Serie A.

There is a crisis and there requires the diversion of calcio.

The show must go on, so a deal will be found before Round 2 on September 10th (I’d put money on it but betting and football is still a touchy subject here, but that’s another scandal).

Paul Visca Riproduzione Reservata

SHADY BUSINESS

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:15:00 +0000

Shady Business by calcio and coffee

FALSE PROPHET

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Fri, 27 May 2011 11:18:00 +0000

False Prophet by calcio and coffee

MOONTALKERS

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:51:00 +0000

Moontalkers by calcio and coffee

Party Animals

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Sat, 14 May 2011 21:04:00 +0000

Party Animals by calcio and coffee

For Exor’s sake

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Sat, 14 May 2011 21:02:00 +0000

"We have to evaluate everything, we even have to evaluate this eventuality.

"We could even weigh up the possibility of taking the other four main teams to play in another league, maybe France or England."

Andrea Agnelli, Juventus president, at opening ceremony of photography exhibition dedicated to the two years of work to build the new Delle Alpi stadium, 11 May, 2011.

“If we reach an agreement, we’ll start production in 2011. If not, we’ll go elsewhere.

“If talks with the trades union fail, we could go to Serbia or Poland to assemble the new Panda.”

Sergio Marchionne, FIAT CEO, travelling to San Clemente, exclusive island in the Venetian lagoon, for Exor Italian-US think tank, June 6, 2010.

A striking similarity in the two statements.

The most recent was made following the vote to back the Smaller 15 clubs in Serie A’s definition of the word supporter, which will have a bearing on how much less TV money Juventus, Inter, Milan, Roma and Napoli receive.

The latter came before a vote taken by FIAT assembly line workers at the Pomigliano d’Arco factory near Naples over proposed new working conditions.

"Buffon? Great player, unfortunately we haven’t seen him play for a year and a half.

“Will Delneri stay at Juve? Why, don’t you like him?"

John Elkann, Exor and FIAT president, at a meeting with young publishers at ‘Grow between the Lines’ convention in Bagnaia, Siena.

The final quote bears no resemblance to that made by his cousin or his close friend at the vehicle manufacturer, but at least it shows more than a glimmer of irony.

The Television Will (Not) Be Revolutionized

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:42:00 +0000

In 1906 economist Vilfredo Pareto observed that 80% of his homeland was owned by 20% of the population. One year later, a Russian scientist Boris Rosing filed a patent for a cathode ray tube design after displaying simple geometric shapes onto a screen.

Two apparently disparate events separated by less than 12 months over a century ago are combining to dampen the first anniversary celebrations of the Lega Serie A. Pareto’s concept was hijacked by Quality Management pioneer Joseph M. Juran, who expanded the Italian’s observation to coin the universal principle of the vital few and trivial many, that is 80% of the wealth is generated or held by 20% of the population; Rosing’s patent went on to be developed into designing the first television.

Wealth and television, or more accurately, how to share the money earned from the television rights of Italy’s top football division.

Founded in July, 2010, Lega Serie A was formed to allow the clubs in the 20 team league to share the earnings of their labours without having to think about the cupped hands from the clubs in the lower divisions, especially Serie B.

Now the birthday cake has been baked and the single candle has been lit, burning slowly. The wax is dribbling into the icing, because no one is there to blow it out. The seats around the table in the plush offices in Milan are empty, and not because the club president’s are playing musical chairs: Nothing ruins a family’s well-honed harmony than a sudden influx of money. 810 million euro to be precise.

Everybody wants a slice of the pie, but no one can decide who is to do the cutting.

The cake ingredients were written by Giovanna Melandri. The former Minister of Sport proposed a bill to split TV earnings using a 40:30:30 system. The decreto Melandri-Gentiloni was born of noble thought i.e. to lessen the grip on power held by the big clubs. Under the proposed bill, 40% of TV income would be shared equally between all those playing in Italy’s top tier, 30% on the basis of results and 30% on the basis of quantity of supporters.

In the post-Calciopoli peninsula, with mud still clinging to the faces of those being found guilty in the most recent match-rigging scandal – although all that was verified by the sport’s own judicial system will be put into serious question once the criminal courts pass judgement in July on alleged-mastermind Luciano Moggi – Serie A chiefs went along with the proposal, as did the politicians, and the bill became law in February 2008.

Two years later the law came into force. To celebrate, an invitation to the exclusive VIP lounge called Lega Serie A, presided by Maurizio Beretta. At the former RAI journailst’s side, Rosella Sensi was awarded pride of place.

Aiding the president and vice-president, two advisors were nominated by the clubs themselves, and in keeping with the new air of openness, Massimo Morati and Adriano Galliani stood aside. Representing the Milan giants, Juventus, Roma and Napoli was not one of their own, but Claudio Lotito. To explain the point of view of Lotito’s Lazio and the remaining 14 clubs, the gravel-voiced Maurizio Zamparini boldly stepped forward. Bold is the Palermo president’s middle name after firing 28 coaches in 24 years, 14 alone at the Sicilian club in under a decade.
However, a variation on the game of Chinese Whispers has ruined the festive atmosphere.

Who said fans? Who said supporters? What is the difference? Is there a difference? Who cares?

The squabble has its origins in the division of the 30% of the TV rights to be assigned to clubs on the basis of each club’s fan base. Not the 5% shared on the grounds of the population of the council areas where the clubs play, but the 25% divided by the number of fans for each club, which this season amounts to 200million euro.

For the Big 5, supporters are passionate fans who follow only one team. For the Smaller 15, the word supporter refers to those who sympathise for a team or maybe two, who go to the stadium, who buy merchandise, who read the sport press.
A narrow definition for the Big 5, a wider for the Smaller 15.

On April 15 the Lega Serie A assembly assigned the task of undertaking market research to discover the number of supporters to three institutions. The majority 15 votes - all from the Smaller 15 – selected Doxa, Sport+Markt and Full Six to define the parameters of the fan base (allegedly one of these three firms is charging 600thousand euro for its services) and count heads.

With all the ingredients and the recipe now in hand, the cake could be made and the first anniversary would pass with the sound of popping corks as the teams shared their wealth.
Celebrations have been put on ice, however. One week later the Big 5 blocked the move. The advisory committee was called on, as is institutionally required, to ratify the hiring of the three market research firms with another vote. This time all the Big 5 were present compared to five representatives of the Smaller 15. Five votes against five. The casting vote was held by president Beretta, who abstained (what else could he do after accepting a new job, with Unicredit, a few months back and is now waiting for a suitable replacement to come along? Yes, Unicredit, the same bank that has just sold on its majority share of AS Roma to the DiBendetto consortium. Who’s the outgoing Roma president? Rosella Sensi, who is also vice president of Lega Serie A - but this is another story).

Catania CEO Pietro Lo Monaco raged, “What happened is something serious. The Lega council simply had the task of limiting itself to ratifying the deliberation and giving the mandate to the three companies to go ahead with their market research. Instead it went against the assembly, which is sovereign.”

Ernesto Paolillo, his counterpart at Inter retorted, “This is democracy at work. The assembly had the remit of examining the workability of the deliberation and the vote finished 5-5.”
Paolillo was backed up by Milan managing director Galliani, Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, Napoli owner Aurelio de Laurentiis and Sensi. Lo Monaco counted on the support of Sampdoria
chief Riccardo Garrone, Udinese patron Giampaolo Pozzo, Parma owner Tommaso Ghirardi and Zamparini.

Another twist came on May 4 when the sporting body’s Court of Justice threw out the Big 5’s appeal and the market research firms picked up their pens and questionnaires ready to probe into the secret world of football allegiance.

Having defected to defend his Lazio, Claudio Lotito claimed, “It is not understandable how these five clubs can maintain to have sustained economical damages when the results of the research have not even been presented yet.”

In response, Galliani warned, “It is only the first stage of what will be a long, drawn-out affair.”

So, how much money are the clubs actually bickering over? With the interpretation of the term supporter put forward by the Smaller 15, the first signals are that Juventus would be hardest hit, losing in the region of 50million euro; Milan, 8million.

Parma owner Ghirardi’s claim that, “the top 5 will battle it out for the European places, and the other 15 for the Championship of the Desperate,” purely on the division of the 25% up for grabs is alarmist.

There are other factors which need addressing, and if correctly resolved would bring about a significant increase in the revenue of all clubs. The most glaring is to eliminate the sale of fake replica kits within the perimeter of the stadia.

However, the mindset is firmly fixed on improving the cathode ray tube, not on searching for alternatives.

Instead of seeking improvements, new divisions are set to appear with Inter and Juventus preparing the ground for another tiff over whether fans abroad can be included in the count or only supporters within the Italian boundary.

Incapable of reaching an agreement, on May 11 the Lega Serie A assembly voted as before: five against five. The final decision once again fell to the president, a person ready to quit at a moment’s notice.

Cagliari chief Cellino piled on the pressure, “What is under discussion is the 15 minnows are voting against the five blue-bloodied clubs. President Beretta is trying to mediate because he holds the scales of justice in his hands."

As did Galliani, “Beretta works for Unicredit in the morning, in the evening he’s never at the Lega. Each must assume his own responsibility.”

Beretta voted in favour of the Smaller 15, the candle flopped into the icing and fizzled out. The legal wrangle could now shift out of the sporting jurisdiction to the civil courts because the television will (not) be revolutionized.

CONGRATULATIONS, MILAN!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Sun, 08 May 2011 11:15:00 +0000

The after-match celebrations on the pitch of the Stadio Olimpico showed just how much Milan's 18th title meant to everybody at the club and just how much there is a sense of belonging to the red and black stripes.

No other team deserved the scudetto this season. The Rossoneri surveyed the rest of Serie A from their lofty perch from November onwards, and never looked like being toppled.

Four victories over Inter and Napoli put paid to the nearest challengers' chances.

Max Allegri has emerged as another exceptional choice of coach by Adriano Galliani. The CEO was delighted that - with local elections around the corner - the Berlusconi family released some much-needed transfer funds, which were invested wisely.

The old guard are at a crossroads: Massimo Ambrosini is determined to reach an agreement to stay on, Rino Gattuso admitted he is tempted by Anzhi Makhachkala's mega-offer to play in Russia, while Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf are happy to wait and see what the future brings once the season is over.

However, what Allegri has demonstrated is that he is capable of handling big egos, blending youth and experience and more simply that he can just simply get on with his job and get it done without any fuss.

Congratulations, Milan.

Royal Descent

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:35:00 +0000

Royal Descent by calcio and coffee

The man who would be king

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Thu, 05 May 2011 13:28:00 +0000

Who would have thought seven little words in fifteen seconds would lead to fifteen minutes of fame?

Okay, it wasn’t up there with “One small step for man ...” but having yelled “The King of Rome is not Dead” or to be more precise “The King of Rome is not Dead: Francesco Totti” after the AS Roma captain scored his second goal in the derby against Lazio in March life has been a little different than normal.

There had been a surge of interest on youtube and an upping of friend requests on Facebook, but then last Sunday when the man himself unveiled my words on a t-shirt he had personally designed no less, well events took on a more surreal turn.

Waking up bright and early on Monday morning and switching on the TV to find out that America had finally got their man was quickly followed by a channel hop to Sky Italia’s 24-7 sports news SkySports24 where lo and behold there was non-stop coverage of Totti and the T.

Of course everyone wanted to know who had uttered such words now immortalised on a T-shirt so there was heavy rotation of the moment where along with my co-commentator Patrick “The Voice” Tarroni I had through no forethought entered the lexicon of AS Roma footballing moments.

After trawling through my twitter account @RichWman on air, Sky Sports were on the phone asking for a live interview and from there it was on to a phone interview with the daily newspaper dedicated to all things Giallorossi, Il Romanista, and all before an afternoon coffee.

In between answering calls and fielding texts from friends there were more radio requests before finally finding a quiet moment, but this weekend I am off to the Capital to commentate Roma-Milan and who knows I might meet the man himself – and you never know he might want me to sign his T-shirt.

Animus Belli

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:42:00 +0000

Animus Belli by calcio and coffee

The Duomo Recordings

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 05:57:00 +0000

The Duomo Recordings by calcio and coffee

LATIN BEAUTY

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 05:50:00 +0000

Hanging around in the mixed zone in the depths of any Serie A stadium waiting for footballers to breeze by without a sideward glance would on the whole seem to be a less than satisfying way to pass a few hours.

However, Italian reporters go about their task with amazing gusto and a homing technique that can bring even the most determined player to a halt for “a quick word” but in the period it takes for those said stars to gel-up and exit the dressing room there is plenty of time to muse over the meaning of life – well, life as we know it in the football universe.

The clubs send out two players who offer a couple of handy but in general inane sound-bites to the waiting cameras and hacks while their team-mates no doubt breathing a sigh of relief at not having to search for the right words to describe their joy/disappointment can either slip out a back door or plug in their headphones and take on the thousand yard stare approach as they stride by.

Having commentated ourselves to a standstill during Inter’s battling win over Lazio at the weekend, we decided to join our colleague Stefania in the bowels of the San Siro as she prepared to ask the pressing questions of the day to both the victors and vanquished – and find out if anyone would actually stop for a chat.

We opined that Lazio, having gone a goal up with Inter down to ten men, lacked the heart and desire to administer the coup de grace and thus stake a genuine claim for a top-three finish.

“Animus belli,” replied the scholarly Stef which apparently is a Latin expression for being endowed with many good qualities but lacking the necessary fortitude to see something through i.e. fighting spirit.

Having spent each and every Latin lesson at school staring out the window who were we to argue and certainly coming from the lips of a cheery Italian female it sounds a lot more romantic than calling them a bunch of bottlers or as Ernest Hemmingway would have coined: lacking cojones.

In fact, it would have been the perfect ice-breaker when confronting Lazio president Claudio “the Don” Lotito who after all is not averse to carrying out most of his post-game analysis in a mixture of Latin and Roman idiomatic expressions.

It is just a shame that his defence were not equally impenetrable ... but at least now we know that spending time with the post-game interviewers can be an educational experience.

PROVIDING INSPIRATION

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 22:26:00 +0000

Midway through the first half, Lazio momentarily drew level on points – albeit hypothetically in updated league tables across the cyber sphere – with Inter in Serie A. The head-to-head advantage, in fact, pushed the Biancoceleste into third place and president Claudio Lotito let a grin escape across his face.

Faced with the necessity of having to replace his sent-off goalkeeper Julio Cesar, Leonardo sacrificed one of his two strikers: off trudged Diego Milito.

“Wesley, Leonardo called you over to the touchline even before Zarate struck the penalty and the two of you spoke in depth. What was it your coach said to you and did it inspire you to produce the performance which has pulled Inter from fourth to second in the league?”

However, in the mixed zone, Mr Sneijder never strolled past the expectant journalists. The Lazio players, heavily protected by their media organiser, shuffled towards the waiting coach. The Inter equivalent explained that Castellazzi and Stankovic were to be the two players, as required by contract, to speak to the press.

No Wesley, whose expertly-struck free kick five minutes before half time took the teams into the interval tied 1-1. The player who, once shifted to the left of midfield, produced a sparkling performance, arguably his most inspirational this season.

Never would it be known whether Leonardo’s re-reading of Sophie's World had brought the Brazilian coach an insight which brought about an “impossible” turnaround. Which, if any, of the Ancient Greek philosophers’ – or perhaps even Hegel’s or Marx’s – thoughts filtered through the words of author Jostein Gaarder led an outnumbered Nerazzurri side rediscover desire, hunger and conviction.

Sneijder was even treated to the luxury of a standing ovation as Inter, now playing 10 against 10, won their 11th home match on the spin and climbed the table to second rather than sliding out of the last direct Champions League berth.

A well-deserved early shower and no press commitments for the Dutchman. Damn.

The Comeback

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:31:00 +0000

The Comeback by calcio and coffee

WHAT’S IN A NEAPOLITAN GRIMACE? AFTERWORD

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:52:00 +0000

Maurizio Domizzi had a choice of three, the trio delle meraviglie. Which one between Marek Hamsik, Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi would the former Napoli defender prefer not to have to deal with?

In an interview published the day of the match in the Gazzetta dello Sport, the 30-year-old didn’t name the 25 goal El Matador who was raring to go after being obliged to vent his frustrations in the stands of the Dall’Ara stadium.

The defender, part of the Azzurri team that won promotion to Serie A in 2006/07, didn’t name the Slovakian attacking midfielder whose goal tally has reached double digits for the second consecutive season.

The man the Rome-born player picked out as the most dangerous of the Azzurri frontline was the tattooed-gun-toting El Pocho.

“He is less of a trickster than [Alexis] Sanchez, but he has something more when it comes to athletic force and progression,” he explained.

Lavezzi loves to score against Udinese. Four goals in all, including his first in the Italian top flight in his second league match for the team he joined from San Lorenzo in the summer of 2007.

That 5-0 mauling of Udinese at the Friuli stadium was the largest winning margin since another Argentine had inspired Napoli to success, and comparisons were quickly drawn.

Despite the loss, the Pizzeria Veraci on Viale Augusta was still packed, although silence reigned. Rather than share thoughts on the match, the disappointed fans let the words of the country’s most famous pundits fall on their ears. No comment was made until the last of the voti, the marks out of 10 awarded to the game’s key actors.

4.5 to Cavani, also for failing to score the last minute penalty, silence; 5 for Hamsik, silence; 6 for Lavezzi, after all he did set up Mascara’s goal in stoppage time.

Harrumphs, grunts and tuts.

Six, the number for that which looks upon the ground, and which didn’t look favourably on Napoli, including Lavezzi, who showed why comparisons with The Number 10 were drawn perhaps too quickly.

The player who turns 26 the first week of May did not inspire, and when you follow in the footsteps of Diego Maradona, the power to inspire is the minimum expected.

WHAT’S IN A NEAPOLITAN GRIMACE?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:57:00 +0000

The only business open to customers on Viale Augusto on a Sunday afternoon is the local betting shop where the football-crazy gambling-mad punters scour form books as they attempt to strike lucky.

When Napoli play at home, the main drag heading towards the San Paolo spills over with pedestrians, cars and scooters careening their way to the stadium.

Fans stop by for a quick bet on the weekend’s fixtures and also a flutter on the lottery. This is when La Smorfia comes into its own. The ancient rite of interpreting dreams has adapted with the ages, held sway in popular culture, embedded itself in everyday life. The purpose of La Smorfia is to yield meaning from the odd array of characters who populate nightly visions, the figures strange and familiar who also creep into woken existence.

Serie A Round 33, Il’Anne ‘e Cristo, the age of Christ, already a good omen if ever there was one.

20 wins from 32 matches for Napoli before heading into the meeting with Udinese. 20, ‘a Festa, the party, another positive portent.

Walter Mazzarri’s team has been beating the odds since Round 11, when the Azzurri defeated Cagliari in Sardinia by a solitary goal in the 93^rd minute from Ezequiel Lavezzi – who hurled himself into the advertising hoardings, inventing a painful but memorable style to celebrate - to climb back into third place, which apart from one week’s blip, is the lowest spot occupied since November 10^th.

The coach from Tuscany has managed to build a team capable of challenging for a Champions League place, a team capable of competing for the... STOP! In such a superstitious city, the word scudetto must not be uttered. If spoken, all hope of lifting the league winners’ trophy for the third time in the club’s history evaporates into thin air.

Mazzarri has replaced the unspoken word with sogno, a dream for the inhabitants of the city-by-the-sea with well-noted problems. During the pre-match press conference for Udinese’s visit, the 49-year-old again intoned he had a dream, and the city dreamed along with him.

The fans flocked to Fuorigrotta, more than 55 thousand again, the third largest attendance of the season. Only visits from Juventus and Lazio had brought more fans to the Neapolitan shrine to football. Now more than one million have paid their respects.

The Azzurri were enjoying their best spell of form of the season, four straight wins – the last, away to Bologna, witnessed an influx of 15 thousand supporters to the Dall’Ara to deck Bologna’s stadium in sky blue. Four, ‘o Puorco, you lucky pig!

Five matches unbeaten, the longest unbeaten run. Five, ‘a Mano, the hand pointing to glory.

As much as Napoli were on the up, Udinese on the other hand, were on the down. Two consecutive defeats, against Lecce and Roma, appeared to have put paid to hopes of ousting Lazio from fourth place, and the right to scrap in the Champions League preliminary round.

The crushing last-minute defeat to the Giallorossi last weekend was compounded by the loss of Serie A top scorer Toto’ Di Natale on top of the confirmed absence of El Nino Maravilla Alexis Sanchez, both through injury.

Two and two, 22, o’ Pazzo, the mad man was laughing at Udinese’s misfortune.

The signs were evident: The unpronounceable dream could/would/must continue through to Easter weekend, when hope springs eternal.

Yet, the dream ended on Sunday, 17^th April. The number six ruled.

In Round 33, the sixth from last match of the 2010/11 Serie A season, six minutes separated Gokhan Inler’s non-celebration after scoring the opener from German Denis’s goal, non-celebrated by apologising to the stunned onlookers.

Napoli lost at home to Udinese to slip six points behind leaders AC Milan.

The Switzerland international, whose overall performance showed why the midfielder is on sporting director Riccardo Bigon’s wanted list for next season, became the first player in the history of the game not to celebrate a goal so as not to hurt the feeling of future fans. Meanwhile, El Tanque was obliged to alter his delightful existence near the Amalfi coast last summer – not that life in Udine is anything to complain about – and his hand on heart gesture was met with a polite round of applause.

Six games were left, six minutes between the two non-celebrations, six points behind the Rossoneri: 666 or simply 6, which La Smorfia explains is chella ca guarda ‘nterra. And that which looks upon the ground did not look favourably on Napoli.

66 per cent of possession by the home side was rewarded by leaving huge gaps for Francesco Guidolin’s honed midfield to slash an irreparable tear in the dream fabric which had been spun around Naples.

Again Mazzarri was unable to outmanoeuvre a coach of a team still competing for a place in “the tournament that counts” as Aurelio De Laurentiis, president of the Partonepea prefers to call it. Only one victory all season, that memorable 4-3 success over Lazio, against the other top teams. On the receiving end, two defeats against Milan, two defeats against Udinese, one a piece against Inter and Lazio.

Six again. Read it in the signs.

The fragile nature of the Napoli dream was clear for all to see, from the fans, who never recovered their voice once Inler’s swerving shot nestled into the back of Morgan De Sanctis’ net; also, from the players, too stunned to attempt yet another comeback. Stunned and incredulous, and on the verge of letting the tension tip over into folly. A late penalty was saved by Samir Handanovic and stopped Edinson Cavani from catching Di Natale as capocannoniere.

Di Natale’s family hails from the outskirts of Naples. The player whose hat-trick sunk Napoli back in late November was not present at the stadium although his father was, draped in sky blue, happy and sad.

The feeling of contented disappointment was displayed by the entire support at the final whistle. The players were treated to a dignified ovation as the cold wind painted a painful grimace on the Neapolitan faithful.

Fitting when you consider the general meaning of smorfia? Grimace.

calcio and coffee

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Visca & Richard Whittle) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:02:00 +0000

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