parla calcio?

Espinal, Espinal; la - la, la, la, la, la… And repeat. But not...

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:18:00 +0100

Espinal, Espinal; la - la, la, la, la, la…

And repeat. But not too many times; you don’t want to be the last person caught singing.

Espinal, Espinal; la - la, la, la, la, la…

That’s all I have had going around inside my head since Sunday night. Like the most delightful earworm imaginable. It has a dance too. Not one I’ve really attempted, not even when swaying in a Tipopils induced haze.

Espinal, Espinal; la - la, la, la, la, la…

And then I close my eyes. I can hear myself thinking – what on earth is Malatesta doing with the ball on the wing? He should be in the middle; in the box. Then he’s obscured from view. All I see is the ball, floating in to the box. I see Vinicio Espinal, Pro Vercelli’s 29 years old, Dominican midfield mastermind running, stooping and then diving in the box.

Espinal, Espinal; la - la, la, la, la, la…

His head connects with the ball; glancing it past Taranto’s keeper – rooted to the spot as he watches the ball hit the net.

Espinal, Espinal; la - la, la, la, la, la…

I’m grabbed – from all sides. I am dragged in to the throng of jubilant fans. If I was trying to pull off the nonchalant, casual observer – then what I do next shatters that lie. With both arms gripped, I jump up and down on the spot – screaming at the person in front of me. The only thing we had shared to that point was our names. The nature of conversation was never going to move beyond that point – but at this point, who needs a shared language, when all you want to do is scream.

Espinal, Espinal; la - la, la, la, la, la…

We quickly forget the missed penalty, the injury to Rosso or the red card for Stefano Murante. It was a red card. I tifosi might have thought otherwise, we always think otherwise – but in the modern game – a player going in with that much pace, with that little control is always going to get his marching orders. The ref did what he thought he had to.

Espinal, Espinal; la - la, la, la, la, la…

We even, for one moment, forgot the rain. We were wet, but boy where those around me happy. Singing and dancing – five minutes in to injury time. People I had only met that day, that afternoon, either in Caffe’ Imperiale or there, on the terraces – of, well, I was corrected on Sunday and told that it should be called Stadio Leonida Robbiano and not Stadio Silvio Piola – but what difference does a name make, when all you want to do is jump, and scream, and sing,

Espinal, Espinal; la - la, la, la, la, la…

If I only ever see one Pro Vercelli game then I am glad it was this one. It had everything – drama, debate, goals and above all – good, spirited support. That is a contentious issue in a city that doesn’t go to watch its team; a team that some think are a lie. Tell that to the fans that were there – young, old, local or, like me, travelling great distances to see that game. They will all tell you, I Leoni were true that day.

Espinal, Espinal; la - la, la, la, la, la…

The message is clear – Pro Vercelli continue to dream. But this isn’t a dream. Pinch me and you won’t wake me up. Dreams rarely come true. Pro Vercelli have put themselves in a position where what they wish for – is now in their control. Of the three possible results: win, lose or draw – Taranto can only go through with a win on Sunday. They are well placed to do so – but then, so are Pro Vercelli. And what does Pro Vercelli have that Taranto doesn’t?

Espinal, Espinal; la - la, la, la, la, la…

Thank you to Luca and Francesco Impellizzeri and to the Ghigni Bianchi and their friends for a brief, but brilliant afternoon in the rain. Here’s to next season – in Serie B!

Shit just got real

Tue, 08 May 2012 16:20:40 +0100

Apologies for the vulgarity of the title to this post – it is actually a quote, from at least two...

Silent screaming. It’s what I do. Since Lauren was born,...

Fri, 04 May 2012 13:48:33 +0100

Silent screaming.

It’s what I do.

Since Lauren was born, I’ve near enough perfected how to shout, scream and cheer in absolute silence. I have to. You can’t put a baby to bed (even if she is three on Sunday), get on the beers and start singing your club’s anthem at the top of your voice.

I can think of at least two people who would not be impressed if I did.

I first realised that I possessed this skill when Spurs beat Man City a couple of seasons back. It was billed as the winner-takes-all, £30m Champions League game. When Peter Crouch scored, I leapt about like an idiot – but uttered, not one sound.

It was the same when Sorrento beat Pro Vercelli last Sunday. Although my mood should have been down, what with I Leoni conceding a late winner – it’s just that, at the same time, Benevento were trailing 2-1 to Viareggio. Those results ensured that, given the better head to head of Pro over The Witches, Pro secured the last playoff spot ahead of this Sunday’s final game of the season, against Carpi.

I was screaming, internally, as it meant that I would be going to the playoffs.

But what does that actually mean?

Slide rules at the ready. Here we go:

If Pro Vercelli beat Carpi and Sorrento lose or draw with Pisa, Pro Vercelli will play Carpi and Sorrento will play Taranto in the playoff semi-finals.

If Pro Vercelli draw with Carpi and Sorrento lose against Pisa, and Taranto lose to Avellino – Pro will play Taranto and Sorrento will play Carpi (given Pro’s better head to head with Sorrento).

If Pro lose to Carpi and the teams above them all win. Pro will play Taranto and Carpi will play Sorrento.

If Taranto and Carpi lose, and Sorrento win, the three teams will finish equal on points. Taranto have a better head to head over Carpi and Sorrento. Carpi and Sorrento are tied in their head to head – which means Sorrento would have to better Carpi’s results by three goals – the difference as it currently stands (Carpi lose by two, Sorrento wins by two) – to jump up in to third place.

And breathe.

It’s most likely to be a Pro v Taranto, Sorrento v Carpi playoff race. I’m quite happy with this. Both Pro/Taranto games have ended in 0-0 draws. I’m confident that they can hold their own against any of the top four sides, even if they’ve failed to beat a single southern club away from home. What would have been hard is if Carpi come to the Silvio Piola on Sunday, beat Pro, and then come back in three weeks time with plans to do the same. Losing twice to a club in a season that you then have to play twice in the playoffs? – I’d rather leave that to the final.

So flights are booked. Accomodation is coming together. Tweets are flying about with plans to meet up. Let’s hope the result contributes to making it a weekend to remember.

Sorrento

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:02:00 +0100

I’ve done something that goes against what I believe in. I have placed a bet on the outcome...

What do you normally bring back with you when you take a trip to...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:17:28 +0100

What do you normally bring back with you when you take a trip to the seaside?

A shoe full of sand? A cracked tooth off a piece of sugary, seaside rock – rising anger from the traffic jams that blighted your journey back home?

How would you feel if it was three points?

That’s what Pro Vercelli picked up from Sunday’s trip to Viareggio, the seaside home of one of the finest youth tournaments in the world.

An early goal from Marco Martini, matched with a red card for the home side – and a disallowed goal for offside – finally got the three points Pro Vercelli needed from their recent run of games. Four points from games against the bottom three is a poor return, from anyone looking for promotion out of a league – irrespective of the league they are in.

The side travelled back to Piemonte knowing that Sorrento would be playing ahead of their match tonight, against Lumezzane. With a full fixture programme taking place tonight, 4^th April, due no doubt to the Easter weekend, Sorrento could only manage a draw against the out of form league leaders, Ternana, earlier this afternoon. This leaves the southern side one point behind Pro, but having played a game more.

Elsewhere Carpi travel to Monza, who have won only one of their last seven home games. Benevento face Pavia, an inform side with three wins from three on the road, and Taranto play Pisa – who have only lost one game in five.

If Pro win and Benevento lose, it means I Leoni only have to win one more game this season to secure their playoff place.

Forza Pro!!!

You have to laugh, really. If ever there was a more...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:47:39 +0000

You have to laugh, really.

If ever there was a more inappropriate use of a word, it was to call the video of the Foligno v Pro Vercelli match – highlights. But be thankful – there is also a four minute version of the match on YouTube. At least I saved you from that.

As you can see from the video above, the stadium appears to have set the tone for the game – missing any kind of structure or quality. I shouldn’t mock the stadium. This is Lega Pro after all – where clubs, in the regions, are often closer to English non-League status than that of Serie A/B.

I also shouldn’t mock a stadium just to deflect from the poor showing on the pitch. Pro have now picked up just one point against the bottom club this season; so that’s five dropped points that would see them clear in second place. Not really the performance levels expected of a club that have aspirations – misplaced or not – of starting next season in Serie B.

Pro now move on to the second game in their run against the bottom three sides. Pavia are in the middle of a positive run of results, with away wins against Viareggio (the side above them) and Lumezzane – as well as a home draw against Ternana.

The reverse fixture saw Pro win 2-1, with second half goals from Fabiano and Masi.

The game, which takes place from 7.30pm GMT, will be shown live from the Silvio Piola on SPORTITALIA. You can see for yourself if Pro are in a similar second half to the season slump that cost them promotion last term, of if they are now on an undefeated run heading in to April.

Well, one win from one is still undefeated.

And so it begins. A run of three games against the bottom three...

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:04:55 +0000

And so it begins.

A run of three games against the bottom three sides, starting with Sunday’s away trip to Foligno. The side, from just south of Perugia, lost four penalty points almost as soon as the season started. That start left them rock bottom, and they’ve not been able to claw back the difference with the teams above them.

They’ve won only one of their last three home games, drawing the other two. They have also lost their last two away games – results that appear to have all but confirmed their drop down to Seconda Divisone.

They did however pull off an unwelcome surprise when they beat Pro at the Stadio Silvio Piola back in October. Pro had all the running that day, but the solitary Paolo Castellazzi goal, almost derailed I Lenoni run to the playoff places.

With Taranto playing Benevento tonight, depending on the result, a win for Pro could either lift them in to second place – or just as importantly – move them nine points clear of sixth place, with only seven games to go.

Another big game this weekend sees Carpi at home to Sorrento. No matter what result Pro achieve, they will not finish lower than fourth come the end of the weekend.

If Pro really do have aspirations of following the lead of Hellas Verona from last term, and starting next season in Serie B – they don’t just need tre punti from Sunday; they really need to put their next three opponents away – nine points is what is needed. Such is the level of expectation that currently exists within the club.

Video: Pro Vercelli’s 2-0 win over Tritium

CAZZO!!!

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:55:00 +0000

Mi dispiace ma – if you’re going to learn a language, you sometimes have to understand the fruitier...

Zero Gol. Uno punto. Ancora terzo. As soon as I published last...

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:33:17 +0000

Zero Gol. Uno punto. Ancora terzo.

As soon as I published last weekend’s preview piece, I questioned whether I had been too harsh on il leoni. Whether I had got myself caught up in the anxiety over a trip down south, that has reaped little in the way of reward – at a time when Pro needs all the points they can get.

But this was a trip to second placed side, Taranto. A side that, had they not been docked points for financial discrepancies, could be one win away from the top of the league. Was it really right to preview the match in a negative way – to look at the previous games and draw comparison?

Maybe this is what Pro Vercelli’s season has become. When you go beyond expectation for so long – do you suddenly start to expect too much?

Three players in the Lega Pro Azzurri side, a playoff place since September – all this from a side that were dumped out of the Seconda Divisione playoff by Pro Patria back in May last year; a side that were only promoted due to the clubs above them not meeting the new financial demands of the league.

Where should our expectation levels now be?

The side stayed down in Puglia for an extended break ahead of the game with Avellino tomorrow. It is a wise move given the proximity of Avellino in Campania – to its neighbouring Puglian region. The team can now relax, train locally and prepare for the game without having to worry about the 800+km journey down from the north.

This is Pro’s game in hand over the sides around them. A win will bring them to within uno punto of Taranto in second, quarto punti from Carpi in fourth and more importantly – nove punti from Benevento in sixth. Nine points clear with ten games to go. Is it still too early to expect a playoff spot from this side?

Avellino are in a sorry run, that has seen the side lose three and win just one of their last five games. That said, other than the recent home defeat to Monza – the side have won four of their last five home games. Their home form has kept them clear of the drop zone this term. This will be a test of Pro’s ability to break sides down on the road; in the south.

The game kicks off at 1.30pm tomorrow. Pity the poor fans who would have wanted to go, but are stuck at work. Pity those stuck at work, in England, with little in the way of coverage to follow the game by.

Forza Pro – Riportare tre punti

Video: Highlights of the 0-0 draw with Taranto

Taranto

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:33:00 +0000

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt said that. I’m not sure the...

Voglio credere. Iommello mi aiuta a credere. Credo in...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:09:35 +0000

Voglio credere.

Iommello mi aiuta a credere.

Credo in Iemmello.

Credo a Pro Vercelli.

Though it’s still hard not to think, not to worry; not to slip in to that state of perpetual negatività where football is concerned.

Terzo. Otto punti di cui sopra sesto.

But still doubt exists. Still I am told that the players feel they are doing better than expected. Still I look at the run in – Ternana, Sorrento, Carpi – and pregare gli dèi that they can bring two more points; dieci punti clear by Aprile.

Due – Zero. Reggiana with their near perfect stemmo. They were no match for a well rested Pro. No match for the talent, the often derided – misfiring talent – that is Pietro Iemmello. Oh Pietro. If you really need to find a time to come good, now is most definitely that time.

He seems to be enjoying the fact that fellow Viola, Federico Carraro has joined the club. He also seems happy to shoulder some of the burden from Simone Malatesta. 14 goals they have between them. Is that enough to secure promotion to Serie B?

The only disappointment of the weekend came when Taranto scored an equaliser in the dying seconds of their match with Ternana. A defeat would have left them three points ahead of Pro in second. With the two sides facing each other on Sunday, it would have been a chance for Il Leoni to over take them in the playoff race. Now a win would still leave them one point behind.

But what chance of a win. Look at your map, dear reader. Taranto is sud. Like the best local produce, Pro do not travel well – especially not sud of Emilia-Romagna.

Robbed of points on their last trip – calls of southern bias withstanding – now is the time for Pro to show they can beat anyone. Especially a side they might have to face in the playoffs come May.

FORZA PRO

Neve say neve again!

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 11:15:18 +0000

OK – so the title doesn’t really scan, but you get the point. 20 days without football due to snow...

Terzo. Cinque punti di vantaggio sul sesto posto. Nine points...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:16:14 +0000

Terzo.

Cinque punti di vantaggio sul sesto posto.

Nine points clear of Sunday’s opponents Avellino. The march towards the play-off continues thanks to another high scoring encounter, this time in beating Benevento 3-0.

The scoreline flatters il Leoni. As you can see from the highlights, Benevento had more than enough opportunities to score, even had a goal disallowed. How times have changed – at the start of the season it was PRO that could not score when dominating, now they are picking teams off on the counter, or building sufficient pressure before capitalising on the errors of others.

The game on Sunday, if it goes ahead – even Italy is besieged by snow clouds – will be PROs first game in the south since Mr Braghin exploded in to life, accusing all and sundry of a southern bias. A perfectly good goal was ruled out on the trip to Foggia, which led to an outburst directed at the league and its referees. Interestingly the game against Avellino will be marshalled by a referee from Bologna. It is as if they are now splitting the difference.

If they beat Avellino, the side they crushed 4-1 to really kick start their season; it will be the first victory on their travels south of Toscana this season. And with Carpi and Benevento playing the top two this weekend, it could leave PRO eight points clear in the race for a play-off space.

FORZA PRO!!!

Pisa 1-4 Pro Vercelli I want to post in Italian. I really...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:34:19 +0000

Pisa 1-4 Pro Vercelli

I want to post in Italian. I really do.

But Michel Thomas is still telling me to apologise and to ask for things that way. Or the same. Or not like that.

Where is the CD that makes me want to scream Forza or Bellissima or take that Pisa, you b’stards? No offence Pisa. You have a lovely tower – just a poor football team.

Anyway – there are times when this site allows me to try and work on my language development skills. Where I can say, happily: Quatro gol. La sorpendente Pro Vercelli. Possiamo ancora sognare. Forza il leoni.

But then there are times when all I want to do is revert back to English. To revert back to my comfort zone and say: What a game. What a thrashing. Four is clearly Pro Vercelli’s lucky number, as that’s now three games (Pisa, Sorrento and Avellino) that have shown what the side can do after an underwhelming display in the previous week.

Or there are times when I want to show concern that Simone Malatesta sat out the previous game – a fear I have, that should he miss too many it will derail such an impressive season to date – but then someone else steps up. Another lion roars – a new roar – the roar of a recent recruit; Marco Martini. He’s started two games. He’s scored two goals. He is the Martini man.

Any time, any place, any goal.

I keep scratching at the language. I keep walking the dog, playing the same CDs, wishing there was a way it would stick. That we would move quickly beyond “vorrei comprare la stessa cosa”. Oh, departed Mr Thomas – why didn’t you bring out a calcio edition. Full of clichés, insults and celebratory overtures – the language I want. Beyond knowing “alla spina“means on tap.

Apologising, buying, sharing, costing – these may be all well and good when I am buying caffe in a piazza with a duomo dominating the skyline – but what good are they to me when the negative, defeatist football fan wants to look ahead to Sunday’s game – against the witches of Benevento – where a win would push PRO five points clear in the race for a play-off spot. Where a defeat could see them drop out for the first time in months.

Oh mio dio. Why can’t I find the words?

I knew I needed to learn in a class. To have a teacher pushing me on. Private learning is no good for a procrastinator like me. No good when you have to concentrate and your mind is agog with other thoughts. Mi dispiace. It is always mi dispiace.

Forza Pro. With or without your language – I am here, right behind you.

Foggia 1-1 Pro Vercelli. Un pareggio. Ma, un gol annullato!!! Mi...

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:22:36 +0000

Foggia 1-1 Pro Vercelli.

Un pareggio. Ma, un gol annullato!!!

Mi dispiace ma non vedo il problema (4:48)

è un gol. è un gol!

Buon anno Yes, I am sure you’ve read, heard or said that a...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:53:00 +0000

Buon anno

Yes, I am sure you’ve read, heard or said that a hundred times or more so far in 2012 – but this is the first chance I’ve had to reach out to some of you that read this blog.

Blame the winter break. Oh, that dammed winter break. Pro Vercelli – how I’ve missed trying to find your highlights, three days after you play.

A bit of advanced warning for this New Year - I’m looking to change the way I blog about Pro Vercelli. I had a good chat with a friend who was over from Torino. I explained that I was writing a blog, in English, about Pro Vercelli – how I was using the club to try and improve my Italian development. She pointed out that I should try to write the blog in Italian; write to those Italians I speak to – in her language.

I’ve been full of excuses. My Italian is nowhere near good enough to put up a full post. I am currently trying to learn through the use of a Michel Thomas CD course. For some reason the late Mister Thomas has started me off with the phrase Mi dispiace (I’m sorry). Mi dispiace for not knowing more Italian. Mi dispiace for not getting out to Vercelli for a game in person. Mi dispiace for – well – not giving the English speakers a better insight in to the club I’m following.

So maybe Emma is right. Maybe I need to stop making excuses; stop saying Mi dispiace – and just say OK – time I really made the effort, both with this site and with my language development.

Even if I only accompany the highlights with a sentence or two – and keep the bigger previews in English, it will be more than I am currently doing. More benefit than simply churning out yet another guide to lower league Italian football, but only for the English readers out there.

Oh, Pro Vercelli won by the way. It’s hardly news – almost a given at times this season.

The 2-0 win keeps them very much in touch with the pacesetters at the top of Girone A. The win sets up a competitive start to the year, which sees I Leoni take on a number of lower placed sides – keen no doubt to build up as many points as possible, before the difficult run in over April and May.

Forza Pro. Forza Italiano.

If you want to read a blog in Italian, why not try Emma’s food blog – North, South, West, East. It’s rather good. Or at least Google Translate makes me believe it is good.

Quatro I spent Domenica (Sunday) in bed. Nursing a hangover and...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:13:43 +0000

Quatro

I spent Domenica (Sunday) in bed. Nursing a hangover and avoiding all contact with the human race – including my increasingly frustrated Moglie (Wife) and inquisitive bambina (little girl).

I would close my eyes and wait for the room to stop spinning. It didn’t. Curse you, Vino Rosso.

When I finally found the energy to check the football scores, I noticed my first love – Tottenham Hotspur were losing. The room span a degree quicker with this news. I scrolled through my bookmarks to check on my other love – Pro Vercelli. I didn’t trust my eyes. I closed them. I felt queasy. I check again. I still didn’t believe what I saw.

4-0???

When the fixture list was first put out, I did casually glance through to see – read: my immediate thought was – when Pro Vercelli would first play Sorrento. Sorrento had started the season as a potential league champion. Admittedly they have lost their best player in Paulinho, who returned to Livorno this term, and had to deal with their owners threatening to walk out just before the start of the season – but still, many must have assumed they would carry last year’s form over with them.

It’s not exactly a crisis. They sit two places and two points outside of the play-offs, but they are nine points off the automatic promotion spot currently occupied by Ternana.

The chances of them getting in to Serie B look slimmer with every game – having won just one match from their last five league outings. Steve Mitchell aka @barafundler informs me that there is a summit meeting taking place today, which could spell the end for manager Maurizio Sarri.

But enough about the negativity of another side.

Pietro Iemmello went someway to making up with the tifosi with his late first half strike, running to celebrate with the section of the crowd, who only last week were questioning his appetite for the game. He has the talent to lift PRO up a division – sometimes he just fails to show that talent when it really matters.

A goal for Umberto Germano, the 19 year old making his first league start for the club and two more for top scorer Simone Malatesta added to Sorrento’s woes.

PRO now travel to Carpi ahead of the winter break. Irrespective of the result, I Leoni will finish the first half of the campaign in play-off places. Something everyone at the club will be 100% satisfied with.

Forza Pro!!!

Rigori

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:36:44 +0000

I painfully learnt three new words last night. When I say painfully, I am being – of course –...

NON SI MOLLA MAI!!! The beauty with learning a new language is...

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:30:05 +0000

NON SI MOLLA MAI!!!

The beauty with learning a new language is that you don’t just grasp an understanding of the words and their meanings – you also get a feel for the complexity of the phrasings used by other countries.

Their idioms.

A perfect example of this came at the end of a Ghigni Bianchi match report, after the recent loss to league leaders Ternana. The piece focused on the negativity of the fans after a solitary defeat that came in such an impressive run; against a side that has dominated the league to date. The fans were questioning the manager, the players and the selections – rather than simply accepting that losing 1-0 when down to 10 men for most of the second half, before losing another player to a red card in the closing stages, was a setback; nothing more.

The piece ended with the phrase: NON SI MOLLA MAI!!!

The rough, as I will always assume Google will only ever offer a technical direct translation, is “Spring is not never”.

I asked my fellow Calcio lovers on twitter to offer a better translation:

“We never give up!”

I guess it is the reverse of the slightly negative English idiom “One swallow does not make a summer”.

Here the writer was reminding his fellow fans that one defeat does not necessarily mean a dark winter for Pro Vercelli, but instead to keep the faith and turn the negativity back in to positive support.

For spring will come, and if Pro Vercelli are still riding high in the league come April, then the fans can look back on the Ternana result with the realisation that it was just a setback.

Nothing more.

The team get the opportunity to bounce back from Sunday’s defeat when they play Tritium at home in the Coppa Italia Lega Pro. The game kicks off at 7.30pm – with text updates available on Tuttoprovercelli

Amici

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 17:49:39 +0000

I have a two year old daughter. My daughter only has friends; no enemies. Her friends range from...