Interview with FCBarca

Besnik

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Hi.

It's nice to have you around here, and I think it would be good idea to interview you with some questions. :shades:

1. What is your full name?
2. How old are you?
3. Are you studing (what do you study)?
4. How did you became Barca fan?
5. How did you find Forza Inter Forums?
6. Except of Barca's matches, do you follow Inter regularly too?
7. What is your favourite player in Inter?
8. If you would have chance, would you visit Meazza?
9. Which league is better in your opinion (Serie A - EPL)?
10. Mourinho - Ancelotti?

Thanks!! :D


Kind Regards,
Besnik
 

Pajo

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Do you hate Real?

Do you fear Atletico Madrid? :D

Will you answer all those questions? :lol:
 

Handoyo

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1) What is your favorite place to eat in SF? Name one for everyday food and if you can, one for fine dining.

2) What are you doing in that city? Studying? Working?

3) Will you ever go back to your home country? Where are you from in the first place? :D

4) Any chance of you becoming a Nerazzurro? ;)
 

FCBarca

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Thanks, it's nice to be here...Truth is, this is the only rival forum I am a member of with any sort of regularity
cheers.gif


To the questions.

1. What is your full name?

Let's just stick with my given first name, Michael :D


2. How old are you?

28 years old


3. Are you studing (what do you study)?

As it happens, I'm training as a physician



4. How did you became Barca fan?

I think it was 1999...I wasn't playing football let alone watching it (Although I did play a little in high school)...I had a visit to Barcelona that was planned with a buddy of mine...Last minute, he had to cancel...We were going to see 'The Cure' in concert there and decided to explore a European city while we were there, Barcelona appealed to us out of the cities on the tour...Did and saw just about everything I could fit into a week and at the end of it, I asked locals what else they recommended and they said you have to see a football match...Got some scalped tickets and went to Camp Nou, sat nearly in the last row and had a pretty distant view of the pitch & players...I got swept up in the emotion and singing of the crowd, the energy really was different than anything I had experienced at a sporting event...I kept asking, 'Who's #7 or who's #11?'...And to the surprise of some of the people nearby, they couldn't comprehend how I didn't know Rivaldo or Figo :lol:

I came back to the US and the addiction to the club & game (I started playing every week after that, now up to twice a week) began...Rest is history.



5. How did you find Forza Inter Forums?

I think it was as simple as a google search for Inter Milan forums...I think it was right around the time the rumour mill was running full steam with the Ibra to Barca and I was curious because as I have mentioned before, I knew little of the player (Yeah, I'm in my Barca bubble at times)...The forum I regularly reside at has many other club forums and so I've interacted plenty with rival fans, this was a bit different as it was entirely fans of another club...Feel like it gives me some Serie A perspective, it doesn't really result in any club competitiveness (Apart from UEFA pitting the clubs in CL) and some insights from rival fans.



6. Except of Barca's matches, do you follow Inter regularly too?

It's tough enough getting to watch my Barca matches with any regularity as I'm not really a couch potato...Sometimes, from work, I'll try to stream matches from the EPL & Serie A (Esp Inter now)...But, yeah, I definitely have developed a fondness for Inter (Still on the hunt for the sleeveless training shirt)


7. What is your favourite player in Inter?

Well, non Barca linked player would be either Zanetti or César...Truth is, I've grown to like several of the Inter players...I'm a huge Barca fan but it doesn't preclude me from liking players from rival sides (Yes, even RM)...I liked Sneijder even when he was with RM and I have a lot of respect for Lucio...Balotelli interests me a lot since he's such a young talent with potential but just as frustrating for me as he is for many of you...Milito is a former Liga player that I wanted at Barca before he first went to Italy...There are several I like at Inter


8. If you would have chance, would you visit Meazza?

Sadly, I blew the once chance I had recently on a visit to Milan to actually visit the stadium...My wife is Suisse and we made a day trip to Milan since I had never been to Italy...We walked all over the city but never made it to the stadium (We bit off more than we could chew that day, we should've taken the train instead of drive - we were dead tired)...I definitely intend to return to Italy on one of our return trips to Europe and would love to get a chance to see a match there, hopefully even find my sleeveless top I want


9. Which league is better in your opinion (Serie A - EPL)?

Simply due to the availability of the Premiership here in the US, I know most EPL sides quite well...We're inundated with coverage of the league so it's hard to find a match outside of that which would explain my lack of exposure to the Serie A...I have seen some good football (I like Fiorentina too, I must say) but being a Primera guy, I do get frustrated at how bogged down matches can get...At the same time, I really don't enjoy the longball game of the Premiership and all those physical challenges from defenders...The pace of the game is enjoyable but I would definitely say I prefer Serie A (Although I maintain a soft spot for Arsenal due to similar philosophies with Barca)...At the end of the day, when I know there's a good encounter whether it's in the Bundesliga, Serie A or EPL, I want to watch it.


10. Mourinho - Ancelotti?


As most of you probably know already, Jose was an assistant at Barca and so there's that connection...He became enemy #1 for most Culés when he was in charge of Chelsea and those encounters ended up having nearly as much drama off the pitch than on it...Truth is, I don't know Mancini very well but I've had a keen interest in Man City of late so I am beginning to get a feel for him...I don't know what sort of tactician etc. he is but I do like the way he carries himself, seems very respectful and professional...I like managers like that but I respect Mourinho's success, as well...Just haven't enjoyed his antics that I never understood the need for


Do you hate Real?

Absolutely...They are the evil empire...It's amusing in retrospect, for me, that as a non Spaniard or non Catalan, how much disdain I hold for RM...I'm interested in politics as one of my hobbies and I understand what it's like for certain regions, ethnicities etc. to be objectified or victimized through systematic prejudices etc...Over this last decade, I've learned a lot about the history between the clubs as well as the political implications (Amazing the relationship between the game & politics, eh?)...Plus, even from a sporting perspective, there's something to be said for building a culture of your own style and players rather than buying the most expensive things off the shelf like RM or the Yankees, for example....In La Liga, Athletic Bilbao in the Basque region, is a great example of a model I definitely respect...They develop their own talents and largely only play Basque players...They have a modest budget...They also happen to be the only club other than RM & Barca to have never been relegated...So, I respect that a lot - plus, they really have some passionate supporters


Do you fear Atletico Madrid?

Heh heh, not really although they have had our number at the Calderon of late...They inspired more fear in me back when El Nino was still there
 

Besnik

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Thank you!! :)
 

FCBarca

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1) What is your favorite place to eat in SF? Name one for everyday food and if you can, one for fine dining.


Nice, we like this topic, don't we, Handoyo? :p

I like to fancy myself a pretty open minded person and similarly I have a wide range of food likes...Top 4 cuisines types I love are Sushi, Persian, Thai & Indian...But Ethiopian/Eritrean, Mexican, Spanish, French etc. I love as well...Italian, as it happens, is pretty low on my rankings, however.

So, for a quick bite that I could eat everyday in SF?...You can often find me and my wife at King of Thai on Clement street in the Inner Richmond (Near 8th street as there are many locations)...I'm a Pad Kee Mao freak plus both the Tom Yum & Tom Kha are fantastic, sooo consistently terrific...Plus, it's cheap

Fine dining...We love French but I have to say our favorite in the city is Aziza's...It's a Moroccan place on Geary...Top to bottom, we love it all


2) What are you doing in that city? Studying? Working?

Working...I moved here because I have a sister here who had a baby and I wanted to be an active uncle...Met my wife here too so SF has been great for me...I've lived in Chicago & NYC too but SF is really my kind of city...Last place I will live in the US...We move to Suisse in a year or two


3) Will you ever go back to your home country? Where are you from in the first place? :D

I'm American :lol: This IS my home country...I've just had the good fortune of visiting around the world and you know, life is short, and I want to experience as much of it as I can....More & more, European living suits my tastes and I love my wife's family and the quality of life in Suisse...I'll be there (Also an hour plane ride to Barca
whistling.gif
)



4) Any chance of you becoming a Nerazzurro? ;)

Well, I am sure in some circles I'm already a Barca traitor, right?...I spend a good amount of time here :angel:

If it isn't already pretty clear, I like the differences among us...I sorta despise sheep mentality so I gravitate to differing thoughts, people, foods, culture, clubs etc...My group of friends in SF looks like a Benetton ad...My pickup crew of soccer has men/women, straight people, gay people and even one transvestite...Gotta love SF.

You either learn something new or you confirm the things you already really liked...I like that I know more about Serie A & Inter and that I've come across some great posters here too
 

Jnr

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kylan05

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Very interesting interview ;) thank you for taking the time.

It's refreshing to meet Americans who share the mentality of embracing the world with all it has to offer ;) but then you're in SF & married to a European. & I live in the back-country in Florida, so I guess I don't really meet a lot of interesting people to my liking around.

Anyway, it's great to have you here. Great posts and certainly bring a different taste to the forum :)
 

FCBarca

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Very interesting interview ;) thank you for taking the time.

It's refreshing to meet Americans who share the mentality of embracing the world with all it has to offer ;) but then you're in SF & married to a European. & I live in the back-country in Florida, so I guess I don't really meet a lot of interesting people to my liking around.

Anyway, it's great to have you here. Great posts and certainly bring a different taste to the forum :)

Great stuff, thanks...I can imagine about the backcountry of FLA...I grew up in a small town in the midwest and I know something about small town life in America too ;)

Gratzie :D
 

Handoyo

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Why are you moving to Switzerland man? That place only has cheese & sausages...Stay out! ;)

Btw, if you like Thai food, have you tried Tawan on Geary & 8th/9th? Or Marnee in Irving & 24th/25th? King of Thai is like the McDonalds of Thai food...You can do much better than that bro.
 

FCBarca

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Why are you moving to Switzerland man? That place only has cheese & sausages...Stay out! ;)

It's funny...When I was a kid, the first time I went to Europe with my family, I remembered Switzerland really well...It was so clean and modern - seemed like a Disney movie...And as I got a little older, I read articles about some musician who retired and moved to Switzerland...I remember thinking the guy's life seemed so perfect...Then I meet, fall in love and marry a Suisse girl...Crazy...But, yeah, I love it there...It runs sort of how you'd imagine a place running in an ideal world...You know?...Like one of their famous watches, with precision...People are genuine, care about the world, environmentalists, really believe in doing 'the right thing' all the time etc...Then there's the food and family...I'm excited about it actually...Eventhough I'm gonna leave behind great friends & family here

I do have to say, I've since become quite the Gruyere lover


Btw, if you like Thai food, have you tried Tawan on Geary & 8th/9th? Or Marnee in Irving & 24th/25th? King of Thai is like the McDonalds of Thai food...You can do much better than that bro.

Marnee on Irving near 9th is kinda ok....Never been to Tawan but I'll check it out...Dude, I'm tellin' ya, not the King of Thai you're thinking of, I bet...I know there's a chain of like 6 or something King of Thais...I've tried a few of them and really agree on the McDonalds comparison (Although I think Osha is more McDonalds)...But the one at 8th & Clement is awesome...We'll have to check out the Tawan and see how it compares...In general though, we really have disliked many a Thai place in SF...Look forward to checking that out

You miss some particular places in SF?
 

dynasty27

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What can we expect from Suarez against Chiellini and his frenemy Evra in the final?
 

Kenny

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Suarez won't bite no one from Rube, his mouth still tastes like shit after Chiellini.
 

Dylan

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If Barca are 3-0 I want Suarez to bite Chiellini in the last minute purely for the bantz.
 

Ed.

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Suarez won't bite no one from Rube, his mouth still tastes like shit after Chiellini.

it wasn't just taste like shit but Suarez lost his teeth too.
 

Kenny

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Not lost....stolen.
 

FCBarca

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What can we expect from Suarez against Chiellini and his frenemy Evra in the final?

I can say I'm not surprised that opposing fans seem to obsess about Suarez & his past experience with bites when he's had a monster season for Barcelona...Not unlike the sort of stereotype about Busquets & peekaboo

Evra will have his hands full with Messi to worry about Suarez

To the larger point, I expect Barcelona to win with Leo scoring, a certainty
 
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