Azzurri Dreams Calls for Peace

No. Not with the French but with the political powers within the International Community that read our site on a daily basis. Although the White House today came out and said Marco Matterazzi is not on the top 10 most wanted list, he is quickly closing in on the top spot held by Osama Bin Laden. Prodi, Blair and Putin have all decided to focus on capturing him to personally thank him for making the French seem, well you know French. Although there are many rumors that are circulating as to my spotty appearances lately, there is no truth that I am in Lebanon organizing a peace match between a Zidane-led team and a coalition team comprised of Israeli's, Syrians, and Lebanese.

If only the UN, the G8 and the WTO would listen to my podcast(circulating via the web, but you have really dig for it) advocating football as a way to spread love and peace, the world would be a happier place and I could charge more for advertisements on this site. I thought the shameless headbutt would be the most aggravated act of violence that I would see this summer but it was only the beginning. As I am writing this, my legal counsel has been alerted by Feyenoord that I am officially getting 'political' and they worry that this might alienate the growing readership of Azzurri Dreams. But that is not case.

My simple theory, in actuality, a simple template for World Peace is as follows. Watch and learn from the beautiful game and you will learn how to overcome all the atrocities that lead to war; ego, possession, religion, selfishness and lack of unity. Watch the great club teams in the world playing for 90 minutes, and you will see followers of Allah kicking around a ball with friends of Jesus. African players and Scandanavian players pass to each other. Language barriers are overcome through simple gestures. Strikers learn to trust their defenders and goalies look to midfielders for a quick link-up through the spine of the field. There are no barriers when it comes to soccer, because, in its ultimate simplicity, is the core value that it is a team sport. Hell bent on putting a little ball past a goalkeeper who is only waiting for his chance to shine, we realize that the game is the ultimate experiment in proper race relations, unity and team work. You need eleven men(sorry to all the feminist followers of Azzurri Dreams) to combine to carry out the ultimate goal. There is no need for ego or a mightier attitude. Personal differences, cultural and religious, are put aside as a team comes together to battle against a common opponent. Now calling your mother a bad name, well that is another case(but we won't touch that one, for a while).

And although FIFA is on my short-list(especially since the London Times ran an article saying they tapped the Azzurri Dreams switchboard) of people I currently dislike, they do stand united behind winning a war of prejudice and racism and inequality that is overwhelming the game, especially in Europe where an uprising in neo-nationalism is threatening to ruin the game for so many. And while that might seem like a lot to stomach(almost like Sepp's smile), the game teaches one thing. Man rallies around a common goal; whether it ends triumphantly or in defeat, the hand shakes and hugs after a match go a long way to bridging relationships that will help in the next 90 minute battle they wage together.

As for the crisis(call it a war, but I prefer crisis because it reminds me of men that need psychological assessments, constantly), I suggest this...let us start a pick-up game in the middle of Haifa or some remote Lebanese field and watch the as bombing stops, it will come to a standstill as everyone gathers around to come watch and ask if they can play. It will garner enthusiasm and calls, whistles and excitement and people will forget to bomb each other. They might still headbutt each other, but at the end of the day we'll leave the real crisis in the world(see Manchester United and the USA managerial void) and just try focusing on getting along and wondering, how in a world so dam cynical, a game could actually bring together people, so different, yet so similar that for about 90 minutes would let us all forget our problems.

Azzurri Dreams