Researching...zzzzzzzzzzz!

Writing a paper is always the easy part. It's the most exciting part and the most rewarding, because you get to see the finished product right there and then in front of you. What happens prior to that is the ugly part and one that few enjoy. The dreaded research!

The story I am writing for the second part of the semester is about an Italian minor league soccer player, pinning his hopes and dreams on a soccer career in America. Wait, America? Why would someone come to America in pursuit of a soccer dream? Because some people need to find a back door in their pursuit towards success.

The person I am interviewing is an Italian citizen, who currently lives in Florence, Italy and is moving in August to Chicago in pursuit of his dream of becoming a professional soccer player. He is currently playing on a minor league squad in his native town in Italy and has not been able to make it to the professional level there. So, he has decided to try out his luck outside of Florence and pursue his soccer dream in America.

The problems I am going to encounter with this story is going to be in getting the Chicago Fire front office people to talk to me about Gregorio Portoghese and his prospect for making the team come next season. Talking to Gregorio himself will be a slight challenge but at least something I will have options with. Either by email, phone or the Windows Live Messenger I will stay in contact with Gregorio. The problems I will run into is getting into contact with any of the Chicago Fire people, because they simply do not need to talk to a Columbia student.

Pictures will not be a problem because his girlfriend, who lives here and is a friend of mine, has pictures of him and has given me the permission to use any and or all of them. The unusual part will be knowing that my interviewee does not live here but rather on a different continent. It will certainly be a unique experience but one I am looking forward to.

Can anyone stop Manchester United and Barcelona?

Champions League resumed its play this week after a 2-month hiatus and returned with a bang! Europe's most prestigious soccer club competition has risen to new heights in the past couple of years due to a mass English invasion (3 of 4 teams in the semifinals last year were English - Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool) and this year's competition appears to be heading in the same direction.

Round of 16 kicked off on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively with some of the favorites struggling, some doing just enough to still be in the tie and others leaving lots to be desired.

The most anticipated match up of the round was thought to be Internazionale Milano - Manchester United and the first leg did not disappoint. While the game ended 0:0, the match itself was highly entertaining. It features two of the best players in the world in Christiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and two of the best managers in Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho. With both teams almost on cruise control in their domestic leagues, this tie was expected to be a measuring stick for both teams. After the first leg Manchester United have a slight advantage, although Inter have shown the ability to win against anyone, anywhere.

The other odds on favorites, F.C. Barcelona, got a favorable result in France against the seven-time defending champions Olympique Lyonnais by drawing 1:1. Now, "Barca" can go back to Camp Nou and rely on Lionel Messi's home brilliance to see them through to the next round.

Other results of note saw Liverpool go to record holders Real Madrid (nine-time Champions League winners) and squeek out a 1:0 victory, while German champions Bayern Munich thrashed Sporting Club De Portugal in Lisbon 5:0 and almost certainly booked their way in the quarter finals. This result alone cements Bayern as one of the favorites, and anyone who disagrees with that needs to look no further than Sporting's results in the group stage. Sporting is a good team with skilled players at every position, yet there were no match for Bayern's precision passing and frantic pace. With a couple braces from their best two players, Ribery and Toni, Bayern appear to be hitting on all cylinders when it matters the most.

The second legs are scheduled for 10th and 11th and except for the Bayern - Sporting tie all the games should see plenty of action and drama.

Here are all the results from Tuesday and Wednesday's Champions League:
Athletico Madrid - Porto 2:2
Lyon - Barcelona 1:1
Arsenal - Roma 1:0
Internazionale - Man. United 0:0
Real Madrid - Liverpool 0:1
Chelsea - Juventus 1:0
Villareal - Panathanaikos 1:1
Sporting - Bayern 0:5

My sports...my passion!

Growing up in Croatia there were three sports I followed: soccer, basketball and tennis. Soccer itself is bigger than life in that region and is followed on a daily basis by women, men, old and young. Even if you are not born with this passion for soccer, later in life it is instilled in you through years of watching, and with peer pressure in general. In order to understand this "sickness", one has to live in the country for a while and in particular during a major soccer event, such as World Cup. Stores close early, public offices and banks all shut down prior to the start of an important game, making it possible for the entire population to watch and root on the home team. A victory in such a game is celebrated in the streets by honking cars and random fans, who aimlessly wonder throughout the cities. By the same token, a loss in a big game is seen as the end of the world and people can be devastated for days and weeks following it. Some have even committed suicide based on the disappointing outcome of a major soccer game. It's a big deal in this region and some take it to the ultimate level, by ending their own life as a sign of their devotion to the team.
Basketball and tennis tend to get a similar following and dedication by the home fans but nothing ever comes to the fanatic level, associated with soccer only. Soccer has been in its own fan-following category for decades and it continues to separate itself from other sports, with the amount of money being spent nowadays on it.
While I believe some people take their passion and love for this sport to the brink of lunacy, soccer is a fire within me that will keep burning until the day I die. Sure the flame gets weaker at times and stronger at others, but one thing is for sure: it will never be completely extinguished.