https://www.facebook.com/100227612506696/

Bogo Anderko, Miami, FL (2025)

08/03/2024

Nu știu exact câți români sunt conștienți de acest lucru, dar e posibil ca mulți să nu fie la curent cu participarea unei boxerițe românce la Olimpiada de la Paris 2024. Poate că ar fi benefic să existe mai multă promovare și acoperire mediatică a sportivilor noștri pentru a-i susține și a le recunoaște realizările.

Lenuța Lăcrămioara Perijoc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkYypsU7OcQ

08/03/2024

I like stories about human beings.

Since everywhere I read there are only things about disqualifications and chromosomes, here are a few words about the story of Imane Khelif.

She was born in Tiaret and played football, which was considered unsuitable for girls. Sometimes the boys would beat her, and there, at 16, she became passionate about boxing. But it wasn’t easy.

The gym was 10 km away, her father worked as a welder in the Sahara, and he did not agree with his daughter practicing a men's sport. The family struggled to find money for the bus that took her to the gym, so to raise money, Imane sold pieces of metal, and her mother sold couscous.

After 3 years, at 19, Imane ranked 17th at the World Championships; at 18, she was 33rd at the World Championships. At the Tokyo Olympics, she was eliminated in the quarterfinals quite clearly.

In 2022, she lost the final for the IBA World Title to the Irishwoman Broadhurst, where she was allowed to fight, unlike the following year, when the same IBA federation excluded her due to the well-known issue related to sexual characteristics, without formally clarifying the reasons for privacy reasons.

In 2022, she won the Mediterranean Games and the African Amateur Championship, and in 2023, she won the Arab Games.

51 matches, 42 won, 9 lost.

In 2024, the IOC admitted her to the Olympics, considering that she met the eligibility criteria. "I started with nothing, and now I have everything," says Imane, in an interview with UNICEF. "Both of my parents come to support me. They are my biggest fans."

Imane has been involved in the issue of overweight, which is relevant in Algeria (22% overall, 12% among children, placing the country among the worst 20 in the world).

"Many parents are not aware of the benefits of sports and how it can improve not only physical fitness but also mental well-being."

For her story and her interest in sports for children, UNICEF has chosen her as its ambassador.

"I am deeply honored to be a UNICEF ambassador. My message to young people is to follow their dreams. Don't let obstacles stand in your way; withstand any obstacle and overcome it. My dream is to win a gold medal. If I win, mothers and fathers can see how far their children can go. I want to inspire girls and children who are disadvantaged in Algeria."

In a strange, unpredictable twist, the Algerian Olympic Committee (where there is imprisonment for up to 2 years for homosexual acts) defended Khelif against accusations about her sexuality, calling the accusations "against our champion" unethical attacks and unfounded propaganda.

If she were to win an Olympic gold, it would be the first in Algeria's history. Surely, however it goes, and despite herself, Khelif has (re)placed Algeria on the sports map.

**************************************************************************

Îmi plac poveștile oamenilor.

Având în vedere că oriunde citesc doar lucruri despre descalificări și cromozomi, două cuvinte despre povestea persoanei Imane Khelif.

Se naște la Tiaret și joacă fotbal, considerat nepotrivit pentru fete. Băieții o mai bat și acolo, la 16 ani, se îndrăgostește de box. Dar nu este simplu.

Sala de sport se află la 10 km, tatăl lucrează ca sudor în Sahara și nu este de acord ca fiica lui să practice un sport pentru bărbați. Familia se luptă să găsească bani pentru autobuzul care duce la sală, așa că pentru a strânge bani Imane vinde bucăți de metal, iar mama ei cous-cous.

După 3 ani, la 19 ani, Imane se clasează pe locul 17 la Campionatul Mondial, la 18 ani este pe locul 33 la Campionatul Mondial. La Jocurile Olimpice de la Tokyo iese în sferturile de finală într-un mod destul de clar.

În 2022 pierde finala pentru Titlul Mondial IBA cu irlandeza Broadhurst unde o lasă să lupte spre deosebire de ceea ce se întâmplă anul următor, când aceeași federație IBA o exclude din cauza binecunoscutei probleme legate de caracteristicile sexuale, fără a clarifica formal motivele din motive de confidențialitate.

În 2022 câștigă Jocurile Mediteraneene și Campionatul African de amatori, iar în 2023 câștigă Jocurile Arabe.

51 de meciuri, 42 câștigate, 9 pierdute.

În 2024, CIO o admite la Jocurile Olimpice considerând că îndeplinește criteriile de eligibilitate. "Am început fără nimic și acum am totul", spune Imane, într-un interviu pentru UNICEF. "Ambii mei părinți vin să mă susțină. Sunt cei mai mari fani ai mei."

Imane s-a implicat în problema supraponderalității, care este relevantă în Algeria (22% în general, 12% dintre copii, situând țara printre cele mai slabe 20 din lume).

"Mulți părinți nu sunt conștienți de avantajele sportului și de modul în care poate îmbunătăți nu doar forma fizică, ci și bunăstarea mentală."

Pentru povestea ei și interesul său pentru sportul pentru copii, UNICEF a ales-o ca ambasadoare a sa.

"Sunt profund onorată să fiu ambasadoare a UNICEF. Mesajul meu pentru tineri este să își urmeze visele. Nu lăsați obstacolele să vă stea în cale, rezistați oricărui obstacol și depășiți-l. Visul meu este să câștig o medalie de aur. Dacă câștig, mamele și tații pot vedea cât de departe pot ajunge copiii lor. Vreau să inspir fetele și copiii dezavantajați din Algeria."

Comitetul olimpic din Algeria, într-un scurtcircuit straniu și imprevizibil, a apărat-o pe Khelif de acuzațiile legate de sexualitatea ei (unde pentru acte homosexuale există pedeapsa cu închisoarea de până la 2 ani), numind acuzațiile "împotriva campioanei noastre" atacuri neetice și propagandă nefondată.

Dacă ar câștiga o medalie de aur olimpică, ar fi prima din istoria Algeriei. Cu siguranță, oricum ar merge și în ciuda sa, Khelif a (re)așezat Algeria pe harta sportului.

sursă: Riccardo Gazzaniga

10/27/2023

🏀 Drama on the Court! 🏀

James Harden was ruled out from the ' season opener against the sparking controversy! With the NBA's new in play, all eyes are on the league's next move.

🔍 Quick Facts:

Harden missed the season opener and is listed as "return to competition reconditioning."
He didn't participate in any of the Sixers' preseason games.
There are trade talks between the and .
Over the summer, Harden expressed his strong desire to be traded to the Clippers.
Tensions peaked when Harden called Daryl Morey, president of basketball operations, a "liar."
The NBA fined Harden $100,000 for his comments, leading the to consider filing a grievance.

Big Question: Is it Harden's fault or the 76ers?🤔 Comment your thoughts below!

🔍

10/26/2023

"Beyond the Bodyguard Buzz: Who Really is Yassine Cheuko, Messi's Protector?"

While the world's eyes are on Messi, Yassine Cheuko works diligently off the ball. His past as a "Navy SEAL"? A fabrication propagated by the media. Yes, he had MMA days, but there's more depth to him. Tata Martino, Inter Miami's coach, sums it up perfectly: "He’s an excellent guy, dedicated, always focused. More than just a guard; he's a vital part of our team."

Discover the man behind the headlines. 💼⚽️🔍

📌 Source: The Athletic

10/22/2023

The Complex Bond: David Beckham & Sir Alex Ferguson

🎬 As Netflix's new documentary "Beckham" peels back the layers on David Beckham's life and career, one of the most riveting aspects is his intricate relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson. This bond, laden with mutual respect yet punctuated by contention, is a central theme of the series.

From the outset, both Beckham and Ferguson are presented as figures of unyielding ambition, each driven, stubborn, and unapologetically dedicated to their paths. The documentary doesn't shy away from the tension that simmered between the two - the clash of a manager whose life orbited around football and a player for whom the sport was a launchpad to global stardom.

🔍 The series delves into the nuances, bringing to light Ferguson's admiration for Beckham's work ethic, arguably unmatched and the cornerstone of his prowess on the field. However, as Beckham's star ascended off the pitch, Ferguson's apprehensions grew, fearing these distractions would dim the player's brilliance.

👟 Recollections of disagreements over a new hairstyle or a perceived lack of commitment on the field are well-documented, illustrating the growing chasm in their relationship. Yet, it wasn't all turbulence. Ferguson's protective instinct during Beckham's tumultuous return from the '98 World Cup and their shared joy at personal milestones hint at a bond that transcended the professional realm.

⚽ The unraveling seemed inevitable by the 2002-03 season, marked by private strains and public incidents - most notably the infamous dressing room fallout post the defeat to Arsenal. The "boot-throwing" incident, as it came to be known, wasn't just a momentary loss of temper; it symbolized a fracture too significant to mend.

🔄 Yet, as Beckham's journey took him away from Old Trafford, the documentary reveals a lingering sentimentality, a 'what could have been' had paths been different. Both Ferguson and Beckham reflect, not with animosity, but a palpable sense of disappointment.

In their shared stubbornness, there's an implicit acknowledgment of mutual respect, a complex understanding that their divergent paths were carved from the same unrelenting desire to succeed, to not be changed. Their reunion in later years, not as manager-player but as titans of the sport, speaks volumes of a bond that, while tested, remains rooted in profound esteem.

🎥 "Beckham" is not just a chronicle of David Beckham's career; it's a poignant exploration of relationships, ambition, and the sacrifices made in the pursuit of greatness. A must-watch for not just football enthusiasts, but anyone intrigued by the dynamics of mentorship, fame, and personal evolution.

10/20/2023

🚨⚽ BREAKING: Newcastle's £55M Man, Sandro Tonali, Caught in Betting Scandal Storm! ⚽🚨

"Shocked and standing by our man!" - Newcastle breaks silence on Tonali's alleged betting fiasco. The Italian maestro faces a potential FIFA, UEFA, and FIGC suspension, mirroring Fagioli's recent seven-month timeout. 😱🚫

🤔 Punishment on the horizon? Tonali could see a ban of no less than three years and a minimum fine of €25,000, following Italy's sporting justice code. Plea deals might halve the ban, but it's still a tough blow for the Magpies! 🥊⚖️

⚠️ What's at stake for Newcastle?

Immediate hit to their starting XI - Tonali's a dynamo in midfield! 💥
Financial strain under FFP rules - No quick fix or like-for-like replacements. 💸
Transfer repercussions - Tonali's hefty fee and wages restrict future squad enhancements. 🔄
💰 Tonali's pay during a ban? Full salary! Clubs can impose fines, but there's a cap. Sacking is an option, but with complex financial fallout. 💣💥

🔍 Could Newcastle sue Milan? Highly unlikely unless there's proof of intentional misinformation. Due diligence on players isn't typical, insiders say. 🕵️‍♂️❌

💳 Transfer fee aftermath? Most of Tonali's £55M still hangs in the balance, with Newcastle on the hook for the lion's share. One-time payment strategies like Gordon's £40M deal won't cut it here. 🏦🔓

👇 Tell us your thoughts! Should Newcastle stand by Tonali? How will this shape their season? Chime in! 🔊👥

05/29/2022

"The air was sparkling and cool, which seemed appropriate. A.C. Milan, ready for the bubbly. So I let the team vent and applaud for a few minutes, then I told them to calm down: "Look, when you're playing against Brits, a match is never really over, so let's be careful here. Let's make sure they don't seize control at the beginning of the second half. We can't, and we shouldn't, collapse. Let's manage our control of the ball and our control of the game. Go! Go, Milan!" That was my speech. Nothing more, nothing less.

That evening, Liverpool had begun the match with a single striker, Baroš, which is why I would have expected Cissé to come onto the field at the beginning of the second half. It didn't happen. Strange tactics Rafa Benítez was employing. And, in fact, every thing looked great for us when the game resumed; we came close to ratcheting the score up to 4-0. Then, the unforeseeable happened: a six-minute blackout. The impossible became possible. ("Impossible is nothing" is a slogan that I've always hated, because it turned ugly on us that day.) We were our own worst nightmare. The world turned upside down. The second and minute hands of my watch started twirling in the wrong direction: ladies and gentlemen, we're running on disaster time now. We were hurtling into the dreamworld of the English bookmakers, and well beyond. If we had bet against ourselves, we would have become richer than we already were. The score: 3-1; 3-2; 3-3. I couldn't believe it. This couldn't be happening. I was paralyzed, and I didn't even have time to react. I was baffled; nothing made sense. Who could have kept their senses? In the course of just 360 seconds, destiny had changed the direction of the match, twirling it 180 degrees. A complete change of course, an inexorable and continuous decline. The light had gone out, and there was no time to change the bulb. It was moving too fast, there was no chance to run for shelter. A perfect piece of machinery in an irreversible nosedive. Incredible but true.

People often ask me what went through my mind during Liverpool's recovery. The answer is simple: nothing. Zero. My brain was a perfect vacuum, the vacuum of deep space. I did my best to focus, to concentrate. We went into overtime and finally started playing like the team we were, the team we believed we were, the team that still could, and had to, beat Liverpool. Even then, deep down, I still hoped to pull it off. Right up to the very last minute, when Dudek made a miracle save against Shevchenko. Andriy headed the ball toward goal, and we were already celebrating sweet victory, but the goalkeeper managed to block the shot. Andriy regained possession of the ball, and Dudek blocked it again, just as he was getting back up from the ground. Corner kick. Ouch. It was then, and only then, that I began to see ghosts-not until then. My brain began functioning again, and I managed to put together a complete and coherent thought: "This is starting to look bad."

In the meantime, the match had gone into a penalty shootout. I looked my players in the eyes, and I saw that something had gone wrong. They were overthinking it all. And right before you're about to kick from the penalty mark, that's never a good attitude to have. At that point, I was practically certain we were done for. And to think that the designated penalty kickers, unlike what had happened at Manchester against Juventus, were our good ones: Serginho, Pirlo, Tomasson, Kaká, and Shevchenko. When I saw Dudek dancing before each one of our penalty kicks to try to shake our concentration, I was reminded of the final that we, Roma, lost to Liverpool in a penalty shootout. There, too, Grobbelaar, on the goal line, had done a creditable imitation of a hysterical belly dancer. One no better than the other, him and Dudek. In the locker room after the game, I had very little to say: "In moral terms, we won that game. If we do our best, someday we'll have this opportunity again..."

I never watched that match again, and I never will. Not so much because of the pain, but simply because there is no point to it. I feel no need to watch it again. Now I think of the disaster of Istanbul as a loss like any other."

Carlo Ancelotti - The beautiful games of an ordinary genius (my autobiography with Alessandro Alciato)

12/25/2021

La terra di nessuno Di partite di calcio che hanno fatto la storia ne è pieno il mondo, ma quella che si giocò nella 'terra di nessuno' il 25 Dicembre 1914 resta e probabilmente resterà per sempre la partita più incredibile e importante della storia dell'umanità. La prima Guerra Mondiale strapp...

12/17/2021

¡Querido Kun Agüero papá!

12/03/2021

Bigotry in Football Culture

Arthur Wharton (photo), a goalkeeper for Preston North End, was the first professional black football player. This was in the 1880s. Although he was a reputed athlete in his time-also excelling in cricket and running-he died in poverty in 1930 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Edlington, South Yorkshire. In 1997, his grave was given a headstone after a campaign by anti racist activists.

Despite Wharton's achievements, the path to acceptance and respect was a tough one to follow for black players. Jack Leslie, who played for Plymouth Argyle in the 1920s and '30s was never selected for the English team despite being one of the country's leading goalscorers-he was convinced that the reason was racial prejudice.

The first ever black player to represent England was Viv Anderson in 1978. Still, this meant no end to racist abuse in English football. The famous photograph of the black Liverpool striker John Barnes casually kicking away a banana in mid-match dates from the late 1980s. Dutch player Ruud Gullit was subjected to a torrent of racist abuse when Holland played England at Wembley in 1988. Three years later, the entire Cameroon squad had to go through the same experience. Still in 2004, in a well-publicized incident, renowned English manager Ron Atkinson referred to Chelsea player Marcel Desailly as "what is known in some schools as a fu***ng lazy thick ni**er" on the BBC. Atkinson had wrongly believed that the microphones had been turned off. Ironically, Atkinson managed West Bromwich Albion in the 1970s, , when the club was regarded as one of the first to actively support black players. A DVD issued by England's FA in 2005, presenting the "seventeen greatest England players of all time" to new members, included only white footballers.

In 2005, every single member of the fourteen-member FA ruling board was white, and so were all of the ninety-two members of the FA Council.

In 2008, Paul Ince became the first black manager in the Premier League, Black referees remain rare as well. Uriah Rennie was the first in the Premier League in 1997. He was exposed to constant racist taunts.

Racism in British football is also reflected in the exclusion of black fans: although about 25 percent of all professional players are black, only about 3 percent of the supporters on the stands are. For a long time, the main difference between a black player and a black fan was that the former was at least somewhat protected from crowd abuse. In the New Football Economy, many non-whites are excluded for economic reasons. This includes members of England's large Asian communities, who have long been almost entirely absent from football, battling stereotypes of being "too frail" for the physical game. Zesh Rehman was the first English-born Asian to play in the Premier League when he represented Fulham in 2004.

Racism is in no way limited to English football, nor is bigotry in football culture reduced to racism. Sexist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic sentiments mar the game in many countries. "C*nt" and "f*iry" are regularly used as insults, and anti-Semitic taunts-including hissing to recall N**i gas chambers are frequently used, especially against teams with historical links to Jewish communities, like Ajax Amsterdam, Tottenham Hotspur, and Argentina's Atlanta. In Italy, Serie A team Udine had to abstain from signing Israeli player Ronny Rosenthal in 1989 after a series of anti-Semitic attacks against the club house. Claude LeRoy, a Jewish manager at Racing Strasbourg, had to leave the club after repeated anti-Semitic campaigns. True or supposed "Gypsies" are similar targets of right-wing bigots in European football stadiums.

Racism remains an urgent subject in many ways. When Edgar Davids suggested at the 1996 European Championship that black Dutch players were excluded from tactical meetings, he was sent home by the Netherlands FA-reputedly one of Europe's most progressive. In 2004, at a home game of the current Men's World Champion Spain against England, the "monkey chanting," a regular among racist football crowds, was so relentless that it caused an international outcry. The incident was downplayed by officials and reporters. The journalist Juan Castro, writing for the sports daily Marca went as far as to claim: "Monkey chanting does not have a racist cause. It is a way of insulting the enemy team. It has a football cause, not a racial motivation. The Bernabéu was a cultural thing. It was a joke. It wasn't racist."

The Spanish FA reacted similarly when the former national team manager Luis Aragonés referred to Thierry Henry as a negro de mi**da while being wired during a training session. A spokesman declared that "there is no racism Aragonés in our football [...] we are sure about it," while president Angel María Villar added angrily that "everyone knows Aragonés is not a racist!"

However, there have been changes, also on the official level. Most FAS have introduced punitive measures for hate speech, both by players and supporters. In October 2004, Rene Temmink was the first Dutch referee to break off a game when the sexist and anti-Semitic chants at a The Hague vs. PSV Eindhoven encounter did not subside despite crowd warnings. In Brazil, Leandro Desabato got arrested on the pitch in 2005 for calling FC São Paulo forward Grafite a "fu***ng ni**er." In 2007, Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller was suspended for three games after insulting the German-Ghanaian striker Gerald Asamoah.

General standards among football players are illustrated by the abuse directed at England's Graeme le Saux throughout the 1990s, for no other reason than him reading the Guardian and rejecting tough-guy attitudes. "Homo jokes" about le Saux were rife.

Football culture has largely been dominated by patriarchal values. Once the football authorities had put an end to the remarkable early history of women's the 20th soccer, women were excluded from the sport for large parts of century. It is therefore encouraging to witness a re-emergence of women's football today.

Soccer vs The State - Gabriel Kuhn

12/02/2021

I was born in Rosario, the biggest city in Santa Fe province. We lived in a nice, ordinary house in a neighborhood in the south of the city called Barrio Las Heras. It's still my barrio. We have the same house - although we've done it up since I was a boy - and I always go home to visit when I can and still see lots of the same friends. Family too: I have five older brothers and cousins and we all still remember getting together to play football every weekend, amongst ourselves or against other little teams of boys.

I got given my first football when I was very young: three, maybe, or four. It was a present and from then on it was the only present I ever wanted, Christmas, birthday or whatever: a ball. At first, I used to collect them. I didn't want to take them out in the street in case they burst or got damaged. After a while, though, I started taking them outside and actually playing football with them!

There was green around the house but no garden to play football in. There was an abandoned military base nearby, which we called "Batallón", which had some pitches and sometimes we'd sneak in there for a game through a gap in the fence. But usually, playing football meant playing in the street, outside my house or anywhere else in the neighborhood where there was a game going on. In those days he road was unpaved, just dried earth. It wasn't the best of neighborhood but it was the kind of neighborhood where everybody knew everybody and we were out in front of our houses, so my mum wasn't worried about me.

I started playing when I was five. At first, I wasn't always allowed to play with the bigger boys but that changed as I got older. It's funny: sometimes my older brothers didn't want me to join in those games in the street. That wasn't just because I was small. They said it was because they were playing against older boys. The thing was that the other boys wouldn't be able to get the ball off me: my brothers were worried that I would end up getting kicked or that something bad might happen to me if the other boys got angry. I don't really remember that but it's what my brothers have told me since.

Almost at the same time as I started playing football in the street, I joined our little local club, Grandoli. In fact, it wasn't just me: the whole family was involved at the club; all of us played there at different age levels and my dad was one of the coaches. We used to spend the whole of Sunday at Grandoli because we would have a member of the family playing in every different age category, from me through to my uncle in the senior team. We'd be there all day.

When I started, we were playing in a seven-a-side league, against other little teams from the southern neighborhoods of Rosario. I only got the chance to play as young as I did because of my grandmother. Grandoli didn't have a team for boys as young as me but, one Sunday, an older boy didn't turn up for his game and my grandmother pushed me forward to play. The coach wasn't keen at first but he let me play in the end.

That first game for Grandoli was with older boys. When it came to training with boys my own age, my dad was our coach. By then, I was playing every hour of every day that I could. I'd go to school, come home and, straight away, go out with a ball. Then I might go to training at Grandoli, come home, have something to eat and then be back out in the street again. I was always out in the street. And always playing football. I even kept a ball with me when I was indoors. My brothers didn't have to worry any more: the other kids in the neighborhood sort of looked after me. They got to know me, got to know what I was like and how I played football. By the time I was eight or nine, I didn't have to be afraid of being kicked by anybody. I could just play.

Lionel Messi (Argentina)

A Beautiful Game - Tom Watt

12/01/2021

(2/2) What appeared to strike the Spanish most of all on seeing the game for the first time was the ball and how it moved. Columbus brought examples back to the Spanish court for investigation. Royal chronicler Pedro Mártir de Angleria was flummoxed: 'I don't understand how when the balls hit the ground then sent into the air with such incredible bounce."

Mesoamerica alone had balls that bounced, because it alone had rubber. Today rubber can be found all over the tropics but prior to the conquest it was indigenous to the forests of Mesoamerica. But rubber plants are not enough alone to make the ball. In the earliest settled communities of the second millennium somebody had to have the wit and the luck to mix the latex juice of the plant with the roots of the morning glory flower. What they got was a botanical form of vulcanization that created a solidified, elastic, jumping ball. When all you have known are pebbles and squashes, who wouldn't want to play with that? The playful energies of these ancient Mesoamericans must have been so intensely stimulated, so unreservedly released by the quicksilver bounce of the rubber ball that the game itself became sacred; a portal into the world of magical energies.

Archaeological fragments suggest that ball manufacture had begun as early as 1500 BCE, but it was around 1200 BCE that the expanding Olmec Empire, with its emergent cities, public architecture and hierarchical religious and political institutions, provided the context in which the rubber ball and the insatiable desire to play with it could be framed by settled rules to create a contested team game. The Olmec version of the ball game contained all of its lasting characteristics. The courts the game was played on were invariably part of a larger public space or temple complex. They were either rectangular or a capital I-shaped, flanked by high sloping whitewashed walls and often richly decorated with brightly coloured murals. The very biggest complexes would have further levels of stepped stone serving as seating for a considerable audience. The rubber ball, varying in size between a large soft ball and a small basketball, moved back and forth across a central line between two competitors or two teams. From the protective clothing worn by players in sculpture and pictures, it seems that the ball was struck with some combination of forearms, shins, shoulders, buttocks and hips. The heavy speeding ball would have been dangerous and difficult to control with the head or bare feet. The aim appears to have been akin to modern volleyball: to keep the ball aloft in one's own half or restrict it to a limited number of bounces before returning it to one's opponents.

The precise form and meanings of the ball game changed over the next 3,000 years. In the smaller cities of Pacific Mexican civilization, at their height around the second century BCE, the game was played at village level in modest courts. In the city-state of Teotihulucan three centuries later, the game was restricted to the elite who played with bats and sticks. Among the Maya the game's ritual and religious dimension peaked, while the greatest enthusiasts for just playing were probably the civilizations of Vera Cruz on the Caribbean coast whose urban ruins are studded with simple ball courts. The game even spread east to the island. societies of what is now Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, and to the north it was taken up by the Hohokum Indian cultures of Arizona. The Aztecs, who knew the game as Tchatali, added decorated stone rings to the side of a court, and awarded the game to those who could send the ball through them.

The geographical spread of the ball game was matched by its social depth. From its inception the game was entwined with other features of Mesoamerican life. The sheer number of courts and ubiquity of objects indicated that the game was played informally by commoners as well as ritually by the elite. Aztec and Mayan records even point to the emergence of highly skilled players from the lower classes competing with nobles. The meaning of the game was tied to the complex systems of astronomy and calendrical time around which these societies were organized. The patron deity of the Aztec game was Xolotl who appeared in the night sky as Venus, and players appear in murals as representatives of other cosmic bodies. Statuettes and carvings show that the game was often accompanied or preceded by dramatic performances, and that gambling was rife. A number of Mesoamerican cultures record accounts of the nobility wagering their land and their tributary authority on the outcome of a game. Sometimes a substitute for war, the game could also provide its denouement as defeated opponents first played the game before being sacrificed- their heads cut off or their hearts torn out.

When the Spanish arrived they were amazed and appalled by the ball game. In 1528 Hernando Cortés was sufficiently intrigued to take ball players and equipment back to the court of King Charles V of Spain, where his captive athletes performed for the Castilian nobility. But the devil was in the ball, its capricious flight diabolical, its intrinsic rhythms pagan. The Spanish suppressed the game. They needn't have bothered: the introduction of Eurasian diseases into the continent, the enslavement of much of the population and the forced Christianization of those that survived were easily enough to destroy the societies and beliefs that sustained the ball game. All that is left are shadows; the odd, the quaint, the rural and the regional. For example, in the far north-western Mexican state of Sinaloa variants of the ball game-called Ulama - survive. Here the unpaved dirt streets provided the court for the rough rubber balls still hand-made by the players; broken Aztec words furnish its specialized language.

Modern football is now the game at the centre of the region's culture. The World Cup has been played out twice in a stadium called Azteca, on a site just a few miles south of the great Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. There, beneath the foundations of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City, lie the remains of its great ball courts. It is a cruel accident of global history that football's twentieth-century triumph in Mesoamerica was predicated on the epidemiological slaughter and cultural eradication performed by the Spanish conquest that preceded it.

The ball is round (A global history of soccer) - David Goldblatt

Bogo Anderko

08/03/2024

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10/27/2023

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