Saturday, June 17, 2006

Italian Soccer: The Azzurri: Now That’s Amore

The ANNOTICO Report

During this last week, all of a sudden I've become aware of  the enormous number of "submerged" Italians that are now emerging to root for the "Azzurri", like for instance John Canalis, journalist. Here's his story. Interesting!

Commentary     
ITALIAN SOCCER: NOW THAT'S AMORE       
John Canalis
Long Beach Press Telegram
June 16, 2006

No offense to American soccer fans, but I am not going to root for the USA against Italy Saturday in the World Cup.

I am pulling for the team in blue that would be Italy even though I was born in this country and grew up nursing bruises from slide tackling on dry Southern California fields.

Soccer loyalties are complex, just like they are in what Americans call football. Many root for USC, for example, even if they went to another college.

In soccer, American fans like winners, too. They back foreign clubs because they or their parents came from elsewhere. European and Latin American leagues are better, though Major League Soccer (MLS) is steadily improving.

So why Italy? My father was born and raised in Peru. Pretty far from Italy, I know, but his parents immigrated to Lima from Italy. My moms parents were also Italian but they came to the United States.

My blood is Italian, but my cultural influences are American, both South and North. The children of immigrants tend to grow up playing soccer. I did my duty as a so-so defender.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the decades of my childhood, the U.S. had lousy national teams, so I adopted Italy.

I caught World Cup fever at age 11 in 1982 in Switzerland. The tournament was in Spain, and my family and I were living in an Italian neighborhood in Zurich. Time stopped throughout Europe during that cup. Stores closed. Streets emptied. Soccer ruled.

My father and I caught games on TV, and he turned me on to the Italian team. When Italy beat West Germany 3-1 in the final, our Italian neighborhood went nuts. The Italians, much like Hispanics here, were a visible working-class minority in primarily Germanic Switzerland, and they took to the streets.

Olive-skinned people draped in flags jumped into fountains; the honking, singing and partying lasted for hours. That tournament is now considered the second-best in soccer history after the 1970 cup (Brazil trounced Italy in the final).

Since 82, Italy has disappointed. Even though they are always highly ranked, the three-time cup winners break hearts every four years.

Take 2002. I watched with Robin, my soon-to-be wife, at her Bluff Park apartment. She was a newcomer to soccer, and I boasted about Italy, only to watch them lose in the one-eighth finals to South Korea, hardly a powerhouse.

I went to my parents house in L.A. in 1998 to watch Italy play France in the quarter finals. Italy lost, in the weakest manner, on penalty kicks.

But that wasnt the worst of it. The real red card of all memories I wish I could erase took place right here. In 1994, Italy made it to the cup finals at the Rose Bowl against, of course, Brazil.

At the time, both teams had three cups, so the game meant even more. And, as soccer fans know, Europeans win in Europe and South Americans win in the Americas. Plus, yellow-and-green Brazil won over plenty of the red, white and blue, who always like a champion.

I remember watching inches from the TV with my roommates in Belmont Heights. Italy played lazily, forcing the match to be decided by penalty kicks. One Italian kick famously sailed well over the goal.

Brazil won. Mama mia.

So I will root from the other side of the world for Italy once again, this time against my home team. I hope it doesnt come down to penalty kicks.

Long Beach resident John Canalis is assistant editor of the Editorial Pages.




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