7 for the Rome Police

Italy is a place with rich culture and beautiful streets lined by magnificent architecture. However, the streets and culture are about to be stripped of their farcade.

[Postscript added a day after the rest was posted]
When the Italian national team was KO-ed by the Korean national team in the 2002 soccer world cup 2nd round, the Italians felt so humilated that they turned sore. The Korean player who scored the killer goal, Anh Jung Huan, was sacked by his employer - an Italian club Perugia which boldly stated that they didn't see the need to 'feed the mouth that they feed' and 'he (Anh) can go back and be a pauper'. The Italian players allegedly created a scene at the Seoul airport on the day of their departure. It was reported that some were even seen making obsene signs at the jounalists．The Italians need to go back to the basics of competition, where there is always a winner and a loser. If they are not prepared to lose, then they would do well not to play. Staying in their beautiful country and saying to themselves they can do better whenever they watch the world plays will be a well-cultured suggestion. For the record, the Koreans went on to reached semi-finals where they were eventually eliminated by the Germans. In the third/fourth placing match, which I watched from the streets of Seoul that were, in contrast, lined by not-so-magnificent architecture, the Turks won 3-2. The match ended with the touching scenes of both the Koreans and Turks holding each others' hands and thanking both sets of spectators for their support. This is grace within the highly competitive and some say the most beautiful game on Earth - soccer.

Italian national team was eventually crowned (un)worthy world champions in 2006 for playing disgraceful defensive, boring tactics against fellow world soccer powerhouses and headbutting the most influential player of its opponent enroute to victory. Kuodos to the Italian team for lifting up their heads and the Jules Rimet trophy without any tinge of shame.

A few Italian Serie A teams were found guilty in match fixing in the season 2005/6 and were punished. This is not what the most beautiful game is to be played. You may play the game as flamboyant as the Brazilian, as graceful as the French, as compact as the German but you do not fix the games and cheat the world over. Kuodos to the Italian teams for claiming Serie A is the best league in Europe, and possibly the world, without any strand of shame.

Shame must be accorded when due. When an Italian policeman was killed by an Italian fan post a Serie A match, along with grief and anger came shame. Shame to the fans who, in the name of the game, created havoc across the beautiful streets in Italy. Shame to the police for failure to control crowd trouble, which may now be a characteristic of the Italian police.

When Roma played Manchester United last month, thousands and possibly millions, witnessed how the Rome police so savagely and brutally whacked the United fans in a seemingly legitimate way of curbing the their unruly behaviour that was more beastly displayed by the Roma counterparts at the other side of the fence, where another group of Rome police was seen standing calmly and watching the projectile of hard objects over the fence. The 1st leg of the Champions League quarter-finals match ended 2-1 to Roma. Tragic ending to the injured and bleeding United fans. Tragic scene to the Italian capital. Tragic result to Manchester United, though all was not lost as it was only the first leg.

A week later, revenge was exacted. No, not by means of the booing treatment the Roma players were greeted with. Not even the way the Roma fans were treated by the Greater Manchester police in Old Trafford. Roma was completely outstyled and outplayed by Manchester United's swift and mersmerising attacking play, which recorded a historic 7-1 win over Roma. The 7-1 rout is dedicated to the Rome police for the effort.

Seven for the Rome police. For the Rome police who had lost their numerical skill except their own language which they so proudly speak in a pretence of civilisation, it's sette per la polizia a Roma.