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
To the questions.
1. What is your full name?
Let's just stick with my given first name, Michael
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
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
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
10 years of FIF
