11/21/24
October 13, 2007
Morality and soccer 2: Catholic church takes over Italian pro team AC Ancona.: "Our aim is not to save football, but to give a valid witness. We hope that witness gets picked up by other clubs and used as a sort of template. What is needed is to bring the true values of sport back into the professional game."
posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 05:55 PM - 20 comments
Heh. I had excitedly clicked on the linked article only shortly after it was posted, such was my interest. I merely waited until now to comment because digesting the weighty and thrilling matters I read of therein was not a matter to be taken lightly. One can only applaud the church's willingness to commit hard cash to an admirable campaign to restore dignity to the world's game in the troubled home of one of its traditional powerhouses. The old pope was a goalie, you know.
posted by Abiezer at 10:00 PM on October 13, 2007
The old pope was a goalie, you know. [obligatory poor taste joke about being good at dealing with crosses] I'm not sure how I feel about the half-time orange being replaced with wafers, but anything that might just clean up the actions of the players on the field is worth trying. I'm presuming of course that quiet pressure will be put on Ancona players to not be seen to cheat, through the usual diving and so on. I was very pleased this week to see Milan's Dida get a two match ban for his farcical acting performance against Celtic. I even wrote to Platini to say "well done" and suggest that UEFA continue to use retrospective video evidence to ban the worst offenders. I'm sure he'll press ahead with that now he has my ringing endorsement.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 10:18 PM on October 13, 2007
em>Squad members, meanwhile, are to be turned into models of virtuous behaviour, and will have to set aside a certain number of hours each month for good works. "There are lots of clubs in which the players sponsor projects," said Mr Achini. "But what really happens is that the manager picks them up a half an hour before and says we're going to this or that hospital. The players have no real idea what they're doing." Between this and the idea of getting Disney to provide entertainment for the kids, they just may pull this thing off. Or at least make some money and move up through the series. From what it sounds like the moving up and staying there is the hard part. Is this of any interest to anyone? Our well respected Ms. Lbb tried to explain comments like these to you the other day rather politely. However, I see that it did not work too well for you, and thats OK, some are slower than others. Here is a link for you to look at and see if it may help you out some. If after you are done reading it and still have no clue what we are getting at. I'll be blunt for you. It means just because you are not interested in the topic of the post does not mean you may enter the thread and sh!t all over it like a Troll! Thank you for reading our guidelines, and have a wonderful time here at sportsfilter.
posted by jojomfd1 at 01:43 AM on October 14, 2007
Can we swap Brahdakine out and get Crafty back?
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:34 PM on October 14, 2007
Can we swap Brahdakine out and get Crafty back? posted by worldcup2002 at 12:34 PM CDT on October 14 If it costs anything to swap, I'll take up a collection. Please?
posted by hawkguy at 01:09 PM on October 14, 2007
Ancona is a classic example of how Italian football works outside the big teams: it makes a run to Serie A, usually on the back of some dubiously-financed ownership, gets relegated, goes bust, then has to start over in C1 or C2. The one thing you can say about being funded by the CSI is that it should free the club from that cycle. Let's put the 'new standard of ethics' thing to one side for a moment. The problem with Italian football is that it's wrapped up in the corruption of Italian government and business life. Unfit stadiums get re-certified by local mayors because they're intimidated by the ultras and the club board; top clubs are not just the playthings of multi-millionaires, but an integral part of the financial and media rackets they run. Now, the Catholic church isn't free from corruption, but by Italian standards, it's less subject to the kinds of local pressures that have plagued the game.
posted by etagloh at 01:12 PM on October 14, 2007
"Give us some favourable decisions, ref, or my God will spank you!"
posted by Drood at 03:39 PM on October 14, 2007
Huh. I had heard that Vatican would be fielding a pro squad soon, but I thought that it would be the surprisingly good Swiss guards/priest team I saw at an annual charity game.
posted by romakimmy at 04:24 AM on October 15, 2007
And I hear they're working on a new movie... "Bend it like Benedict".
posted by SummersEve at 11:53 AM on October 15, 2007
"He didn't dive.... He's praying." "And all the writhing around?" "...... Speaking in tongues?"
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:14 PM on October 15, 2007
I can't get past the concept of the Roman Catholic Church presenting itself as a ethical guide for anyone. This the same organization that has condoned the widespread and continued molestation of children, for decades, by priests in cities around the world.
posted by tommybiden at 12:33 PM on October 15, 2007
Yes, the church has clearly condoned it and is trying to work that into its marketing content. NAMBLA + Church = Sunday Fun.
posted by yerfatma at 01:28 PM on October 15, 2007
Yes, the church has clearly condoned it and is trying to work that into its marketing content. NAMBLA + Church = Sunday Fun. Definition of condone: 1. to disregard, or overlook(something illegal, objectionable, or the like). 2. to give tacit approval to (by his silence, he seemed to condone their behaviour). Seems like the correct usage of the word to me.
posted by tommybiden at 01:49 PM on October 15, 2007
I had heard that Vatican would be fielding a pro squad soon, Will they enter the World Cup? become members of UEFA? Who gets be eligible - any Catholic?
posted by owlhouse at 03:40 PM on October 15, 2007
Think what this does for impartial officiating (I know, a contradiction of terms) in games with this team. One red card and you are ex-communicated.
posted by irunfromclones at 06:49 PM on October 15, 2007
I guess you have to say "Hail Mary's" and do some sort of penance for a yellow card.
posted by Howard_T at 10:30 PM on October 15, 2007
I went to a NAMBLA meeting a few years back thinking it was the North American Marijuana Bi-law Association. Boy was I surprised. I kid, I Kid
posted by Folkways at 02:54 AM on October 16, 2007
I kid, I Kid Dude, that's a rough one.
posted by jojomfd1 at 12:00 PM on October 16, 2007
Will they enter the World Cup? become members of UEFA? Who gets be eligible - any Catholic? I had assumed that they would start out in a lower league like C1 or C2 and work their way up. Again, I heard this during said charity game and assumed that the squad playing (Swiss Guards) was the target of the hearsay. Digging slightly deeper, the Vatican has had an internal competition for years, the Vatican Cup, which is one of those little pieces of trivia I had forgotten about. And a second tournament I wasn't aware of, the Clericus Cup, sprung up earlier this year. The former is for Vatican workers (ie aforementioned Swiss Guards, Vatican museum curators) and the latter is teams from seminaries & pontifical colleges.
posted by romakimmy at 07:33 AM on October 17, 2007
It made it into the Guardian and caught wc's attention, who posted it here. It's no screensaver site, but we'll soldier on.