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www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Mon Feb 01 01:30:46 GMT+00:00 1999
Mail: barry@www.red11.org

This Issue:
1. Charlton v Man United 31/01/99 4.00
2. BBC report
3. United edge ahead in tightest title race for years
4. RESULTS AND TABLE + RED STATS
5. FERGIE: WE'RE DOING SOMETHING DWIGHT!
6. Ole pledges loyalty
7. Superga"
8. FA Cup Fun with Richard Martin 

++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++

Daily RED Trivia  Mon 1st February 1999:

1/2/1957: Horace Blew died in Wrexham. A sure-tackling Full-back, Blew was signed from
 Bury and made his only senior appearance at Chelsea in April 1906, during Uniteds
 promotion season. He moved to Manchester City in September 1906, and won 22
 caps for Wales. 

1997: United beat Southampton 2-1 at Old Trafford in a Premiership game watched
 by 55,269. Gary Pallister and Eric Cantona scored for the Reds. Team was:
 Schmeichel, G.Neville, Irwin, Clegg (Johnsen), Keane, Pallister, Cantona, Poborsky
 (Cole), Solskjaer, Beckham, Giggs.
      
***************

Barry Daily Comment:
REDS go top for the 2nd time this season!

Shareholders United Against Murdoch [SUAM] have written to the Cabinet
Secretary asking whether the appointment of Benjamin Wegg-Prosser as
assistant to the editor of The Sun complies with strict rules on civil
servants taking jobs in the private
sector. http://www.stopmurdoch.com

Inter Watch: BRAZILIAN SIGNS FOR INTER
Inter Milan have added another Brazilian to their Champions' League squad.
United's next opponents have signed Gilberto, a left wing-back, from
Cruzeiro for an undisclosed fee. The transfer was apparently made on
Ronaldo's recommendation. New boy Gilberto told the Italian press, "If
Ronaldo wants you to play on his team, it means God's on your side too!"

Previous News:
 Brian Kidd Press conference, pic, real audio
  http://www.iol.ie/~redcafe/kidd.htm
Peter Schmeichel's last Season at United!
   http://www.red11.org/mufc/news/schmeichel.htm

Next games: 
ALL Result/Fixture Index:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/fix9899z.htm

Today!  Charlton     (A)  16.00 UK
February
3  Derby          (H)  20.00
6  Nottm Forest   (A)  15.00
14 Fulham         (H)  14.00  FAC 5th round 
17 Arsenal        (H)  20.00 
20 Coventry       (A)  15.00
27 Southampton    (H)  15.00

UNITED Stats v All teams:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats/

*** TEAM RESULTS - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 31/01/99 ***

Date        Opposition                        Score   Pos.   Attend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
15/08/98    Leicester City           Home     D  2-2    11    55,052
22/08/98    West Ham United          Away     D  0-0    11    26,039
09/09/98    Charlton Athletic        Home     W  4-1     9    55,147
12/09/98    Coventry City            Home     W  2-0     5    55,193
20/09/98    Arsenal                  Away     L  0-3    10    38,142
24/09/98    Liverpool                Home     W  2-0     3    55,181
03/10/98    Southampton              Away     W  3-0     2    15,251
17/10/98    Wimbledon                Home     W  5-1     2    55,265
24/10/98    Derby County             Away     D  1-1     2    30,867
31/10/98    Everton                  Away     W  4-1     2    40,079
08/11/98    Newcastle United         Home     D  0-0     3    55,174
14/11/98    Blackburn Rovers         Home     W  3-2     2    55,198
21/11/98    Sheffield Wednesday      Away     L  1-3     2    39,475
29/11/98    Leeds United             Home     W  3-2     2    55,172
05/12/98    Aston Villa              Away     D  1-1     2    39,241
12/12/98    Tottenham Hotspur        Away     D  2-2     1    36,079
16/12/98    Chelsea                  Home     D  1-1     2    55,159
19/12/98    Middlesbrough            Home     L  2-3     3    55,152
26/12/98    Nottingham Forest        Home     W  3-0     3    55,216
29/12/98    Chelsea                  Away     D  0-0     3    34,741
10/01/99    West Ham United          Home     W  4-1     3    55,180
16/01/99    Leicester City           Away     W  6-2     2    22,091
31/01/99    Charlton Athletic        Away     W  1-0     1    20,043

******
  
Champions League:
Group D         P  W  D  L  F  A   Pts
Bayern Munich   6  3  2  1  9  6  11   
Man United      6  2  4  0 20 11  10
Barcelona       6  2  2  2 11  9   8    
Brondby         6  1  0  5  4 18   3   

Dec  9 Brøndby         0-2  Barcelona
Dec  9 Man Utd         1-1  Bayern Munich

	******

CHAMPIONS' LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
 Manchester Utd    v   Inter Milan
 Real Madrid       v   Dynamo Kiev
 Juventus          v   Olympiakos
 Bayern Munich     v   Kaiserslautern

 Ties to be played on March 3 and 17

++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++


Great Pic of the FA CUP Celebration!


Subject:  Charlton v Man United 31/01/99 4.00

Charlton                (0) 0 Man United              (0) 1 FT
                              Yorke 89

Charlton more than held their own against in-form United in the first half
of their FA Carling Premiership clash at The Valley and deserved to be
holding them to 0-0.

Charlton started with an assurance that belied their woeful run of form and
dominated early possession.

Neil Redfearn, just back after a one-match ban, threaded a ball through for
Andy Hunt but he was marginally offside.

United, as always, looked threatening on the break. Richard Rufus turned a
dangerous David Beckham ball away for a corner and Simon Royce in the
Charlton goal claimed a couple of important crosses.

An intricate move involving Nicky Butt and Dwight Yorke almost created a
chance for Andy Cole but the flag was again up for offside.

Redfearn released Martin Pringle down the left but only Hunt made a run
into the box and the Swede's low cross couldn't find him.

Ryan Giggs tested Royce from 20 yards, Mark Kinsella had his heart in his
mouth when a header back to his goal keeper was almost intercepted by
Yorke. At the other end the Charlton skipper was trying to unlock United's
back four. A driving run took him to within shooting distance of Peter
Schmeichel's goal but his effort went wide.

A flash of Giggs' magic sparked the game into life. He danced inside John
Robinson and Rufus before finding Irwin in support.

The Irishman pulled the ball back from the by-line but Royce reacted
quickly to force it behind for a corner which Beckham wasted.

Butt came within a whisker of breaking the deadlock in the 36th minute. Roy
Keane found his midfield partner in space on the edge of the area and the
England international unleashed a crisp shot which whistled inches wide of
Royce's right hand post.

Then Giggs volleyed a Beckham cross goal-wards only to find Royce equal to
it, leaping to his left to tip the ball wide.

From the corner the Charlton goal was under siege again. Beckham's kick
drifted out to Giggs on the left and when he turned it back into a crowded
goal mouth Henning Berg's snapshot flew wide.

Referee Gary Willard rejected Charlton's appeals for a penalty in first
half stoppage time as the home team produced a late rally.

Pringle went to ground underneath Berg as the pair battled to get on the
end of a Robinson cross.

Kinsella and Schmeichel were then involved in a race for a through ball but
the big United keeper got there in time to palm the ball out for a corner
under pressure from the Charlton midfielder.

From the resultant corner however the big Dane was in trouble. He flapped
at Kinsella's kick and the ball dropped to Redfearn 12 yards out in front
of goal, but his first-time shot flew over.

Charlton: Royce, Brown, Rufus, Tiler, Powell, Robinson, Kinsella, Redfearn,
Jones, Hunt (Bright, 77), Pringle (Parker, 82).

Subs not used: Ilic, Newton, Konchesky.

Man United: Schmeichel, G. Neville, Stam, Berg, Irwin, Beckham (Solskjaer,
70), Keane, Butt (Scholes, 82), Giggs, Yorke, Cole.

Subs not used: Johnsen, P. Neville, Van Der Gouw.

Attendance: 20,043.

Referee: G Willard (Worthing).

Great Pic of the FA CUP Celebration!



Subject:      BBC report

Sunday, January 31, 1999 Published at 19:08 GMT
Dwight delight as United go top

Charlton 0-1 Manchester United
Dwight Yorke sent United top of the table with a face-saving late winner
against struggling Charlton at the Valley.

Just when Alan Curbishley's men looked set for the vital point that their
valiant rearguard action looked like earning, Yorke popped up in injury
time to give manager Alex Ferguson the victory he demanded.

It was the second time in eight days Ferguson had seen his side triumph in
stoppage time, following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's winner against Liverpool in
the FA Cup.


United's multimillionaires dominated throughout, but the
relegation-threatened south London side produced an excellent defensive
display to deny the visitors' illustrious strikeforce for fully 90 minutes.

But one lapse right at the death proved enough, Yorke heading in at the far
post to increase Charlton's gloom, after their rivals at the foot of the
table, Southampton and Nottingham Forest, had both won on Saturday.

Giggs into his stride

United - with Yorke and Andy Cole up front at the expense of the luckless
Solskjaer, who again had to settle for a place on the bench - enjoyed the
better of the opening 45 minutes without ever finding top gear.

Ryan Giggs, who was at the centre of most of United's best early moments,
brought the first save of the match with a right-foot volley from 25 yards
which was kept out comfortably by Simon Royce.



Charlton right-back Steve Brown cuts out another United attack
As the half wore on United began to dominate. In the 36th minute Roy Keane
took on the Charlton defence and slipped the ball along the edge of the
area to Nicky Butt, who sent a low drive just wide of the left-hand post.

Royce, starting only his second game in the Charlton goal following a
series of blunders from Sasa Ilic, justified his selection in the 38th
minute with a flying save from Giggs, who hit a sharp volley on the turn
from David Beckham's cross on the run.

From, the resulting corner Giggs squared the ball to Henning Berg, whose
first-time flick went just over the bar.

But in the dying seconds of the half Charlton had possibly the best chance
of the first period. Peter Schmeichel flapped at a corner and the ball fell
to Neil Redfearn 12 yards out, but the former Barnsley midfielder prodded a
weak shot well wide.

Charlton under siege

United continued to pile on the pressure, but Charlton looked dangerous on
the break. Ten minutes into the second half, Andy Hunt found himself in
acres of space in the United box from Redfearn's clever pass, but under
pressure from Berg he shot straight at Schmeichel, who also had to be on
his toes to collect a header from Martin Pringle.



Alex Ferguson: "We deserved to win" (BBC Radio 5 Live)
Despite their dominance, United were frustrated by the home side's defence
and had to settle for a string of half-chances, Gary Neville blazing a shot
high and wide and Cole missing with a header from Beckham's free-kick.

With 20 minutes to go, Alex Ferguson gambled with a three-pronged attack,
with Beckham pulled off at the expense of FA Cup hero Solskjaer.

But it was a midfielder, Butt, who came closest to breaking the deadlock.

First he stormed straight at the Charlton defence and executed a neat
one-two with Cole on the edge of the block, before stabbing his effort
across the face of the goal. And three minutes later he crashed a
long-range shot just over the bar.

The introduction of another substitute, Paul Scholes, did prove decisive,
however. With time ticking away, the England midfielder sent over a subtle
chip to the far post, and Yorke somehow sneaked his header past Royce from
seven yards out for his sixth goal in his last four games- to the great
relief of the United contingent in the crowd.

Teams:

Charlton: Royce, Brown, Rufus, Tiler, Powell, Robinson, Kinsella, Redfearn,
Jones, Hunt, Pringle. Subs: Ilic, Newton, Bright, Konchesky, Parker.

Man Utd: Schmeichel, G Neville, Stam, Berg, Irwin, Beckham, Keane, Butt,
Giggs, Yorke, Cole. Subs: Johnsen, P Neville, Van Der Gouw, Solskjaer,
Scholes.

Referee: G Willard (Worthing)

BBC Real Audio
John Murray reports (BBC Radio 5 Live)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/265000/audio/_269174_murrey.ram
Yorke scores 89min
http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/265000/audio/_269174_yorke.ram
Alex comments
http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/265000/audio/_269330_fergi.ram

If you have a fast connection: the goal
http://www.red11.org/mufc/sound/avi/dy89cha.avi
10 sec avi of the goal with sound (10 meg)
Great Pic of the FA CUP Celebration!



Subject: United edge ahead in tightest title race for years
                 By Mitch Phillips

LONDON, Jan 31  - Manchester United beat Charlton Athletic 1-0 and
champions Arsenal defeated Chelsea by the same score on Sunday as the race
for the English league title developed into one of the tightest for years.

United's victory at The Valley, thanks to a fine 89th minute header from
Dwight Yorke -- his 18th goal of the season -- put them on 44 points after
23 matches, one ahead of Chelsea and Aston Villa and two clear of Arsenal.

United are top for the first time this season, not counting a 24-hour spell
in December when they had a match more than then-leaders Villa.

United were made to work hard for the points which left Charlton one point
and one place off the bottom.

The visitors dominated the second half but Charlton had several worthwhile
chances before England's Paul Scholes crossed for Yorke to head in off the
far post.

Charlton have now lost nine of their last 10 league matches, gone 13 league
matches without a win and seem set for a quick return to the first division
with bottom club Nottingham Forest.

While United were winning in south London, Arsenal were enjoying success
across the river as Dennis Bergkamp struck in the 32nd minute for the only
goal of the game.

That was enough to end Chelsea's 21-match unbeaten league which stretched
back to the first day of the season.

"It was very important to win today and it could prove very decisive,"
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.

"Chelsea are a very good side, and came at us powerfully in the second
half, and we did very well to win such a hard match."

Arsenal's goal symbolised their utter determination not to give up their
title without a fight.

Winger Marc Overmars beat Dan Petrescu to flick on Emmanuel Petit's
50-metre ball and Bergkamp ran on to coolly place the ball past Ed de Goey.

It was a rare chance in a tightly-contested first half that several times
threatened to boil over, as this fixture so often has in recent seasons.

Arsenal made an official complaint at halftime, claiming that Dennis Wise
had raked his studs down Bergkamp's shin off the ball, but the incident was
not seen by the officials.

Bergkamp looked set to score again three minutes into the second half when
he brought down a lofted through ball but then allowed the ball to run away
as he shaped to shoot.

Chelsea, who have been off-colour in recent weeks and needed a
controversial last minute penalty to escape defeat at first division
strugglers Oxford in the F.A. Cup last week, began to show more of their
neat passing football after the break, with Wise and Roberto Di Matteo
finding more space in midfield.

With Patrick Viera missing through suspension Petit faced a huge task in
the midfield battle but the French World Cup-winner delivered another
sterling display.

For all Chelsea's possession they failed to test England keeper David
Seaman, making his first appearance after missing the last seven games, and
a long-range left-footer from Di Matteo in the 51st minute was a rare
on-target effort.

Petit and Martin Keown both made vital interceptions as Chelsea probed
around the edge of the box but the defensive discipline that has seen just
four goals conceded at Highbury never looked like cracking. Gianfranco Zola
was again ineffective and he was replaced in the 73rd minute by Icelandic
youngster Mikael Forsell, making his debut. Wenger gave his latest French
signing Kaba Diawara his debut as a 75th minute replacement for Overmars,
but it was his tried and tested rearguard that took the plaudits as the
title race was blown wide open.

If you have a fast connection: the goal
http://www.red11.org/mufc/sound/avi/dy89cha.avi
10 sec avi of the goal with sound (10 meg)
Great Pic of the FA CUP Celebration!



Subject:   RESULTS AND TABLE + RED STATS

*** RESULTS AND ATTENDANCES ON 31/01/99 ***

             Arsenal   1-0   Chelsea               38,121
   Charlton Athletic   0-1   Manchester United     20,043

*** CONDENSED LEAGUE TABLE AS AT 31/01/99 ***

Pos Team                  P   W   D   L   F   A   GD  Pts
---------------------------------------------------------
 1  Manchester United    23  12   8   3  50  26   24   44
 2  Chelsea              23  11  10   2  34  19   15   43
 3  Aston Villa          23  12   7   4  35  22   13   43
 4  Arsenal              23  11   9   3  24  11   13   42
 5  Leeds United         23   9   9   5  36  23   13   36
 6  Liverpool            23  10   5   8  44  28   16   35
 7  Wimbledon            23   9   8   6  29  33   -4   35
 8  Derby County         23   8  10   5  23  20    3   34
 9  West Ham United      23   9   6   8  25  31   -6   33
10  Middlesbrough        23   7  11   5  32  28    4   32
11  Leicester City       23   7   9   7  25  27   -2   30
12  Tottenham Hotspur    23   7   9   7  29  31   -2   30
13  Newcastle United     23   7   7   9  28  32   -4   28
14  Sheffield Wednesday  23   7   5  11  25  23    2   26
15  Everton              23   5   9   9  13  25  -12   24
16  Coventry City        23   6   5  12  23  32   -9   23
17  Blackburn Rovers     23   5   7  11  22  30   -8   22
18  Southampton          23   5   5  13  23  46  -23   20
19  Charlton Athletic    23   3   8  12  26  37  -11   17
20  Nottingham Forest    23   3   7  13  19  41  -22   16

*** TEAM RESULTS - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 31/01/99 ***

Date        Opposition                        Score   Pos.   Attend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
15/08/98    Leicester City           Home     D  2-2    11    55,052
22/08/98    West Ham United          Away     D  0-0    11    26,039
09/09/98    Charlton Athletic        Home     W  4-1     9    55,147
12/09/98    Coventry City            Home     W  2-0     5    55,193
20/09/98    Arsenal                  Away     L  0-3    10    38,142
24/09/98    Liverpool                Home     W  2-0     3    55,181
03/10/98    Southampton              Away     W  3-0     2    15,251
17/10/98    Wimbledon                Home     W  5-1     2    55,265
24/10/98    Derby County             Away     D  1-1     2    30,867
31/10/98    Everton                  Away     W  4-1     2    40,079
08/11/98    Newcastle United         Home     D  0-0     3    55,174
14/11/98    Blackburn Rovers         Home     W  3-2     2    55,198
21/11/98    Sheffield Wednesday      Away     L  1-3     2    39,475
29/11/98    Leeds United             Home     W  3-2     2    55,172
05/12/98    Aston Villa              Away     D  1-1     2    39,241
12/12/98    Tottenham Hotspur        Away     D  2-2     1    36,079
16/12/98    Chelsea                  Home     D  1-1     2    55,159
19/12/98    Middlesbrough            Home     L  2-3     3    55,152
26/12/98    Nottingham Forest        Home     W  3-0     3    55,216
29/12/98    Chelsea                  Away     D  0-0     3    34,741
10/01/99    West Ham United          Home     W  4-1     3    55,180
16/01/99    Leicester City           Away     W  6-2     2    22,091
31/01/99    Charlton Athletic        Away     W  1-0     1    20,043

*** TEAM RESULTS SUMMARY - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 31/01/99 ***

       P   Won       Drawn     Lost      For        Against    Points
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Home   12  8 (67%)   3 (25%)   1 (8%)    31 (2.6)   13 (1.1)   27 (2.3)
Away   11  4 (36%)   5 (45%)   2 (18%)   19 (1.7)   13 (1.2)   17 (1.5)

Total  23  12 (52%)  8 (35%)   3 (13%)   50 (2.2)   26 (1.1)   44 (1.9)

                                         Averages per game in (brackets)

League position:            1st
Form position:              3rd  (Index: 56%)
Predicted position:         2nd

       (The higher the form index, the higher the average
           league position of the recent opposition)

Highest league position:    1st
Lowest league position:     10th

       (Excluding the first 4 matches)


*** TEAM STATISTICS - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 31/01/99 ***

AVERAGE HOME ATTENDANCE: 55,174
HIGHEST HOME ATTENDANCE:
     17/10/98 - Wimbledon (55,265)
LOWEST HOME ATTENDANCE:
     15/08/98 - Leicester City (55,052)

BEST WIN:
     17/10/98 - Wimbledon (5-1)
     16/01/99 - Leicester City (6-2)
HEAVIEST DEFEAT:
     20/09/98 - Arsenal (0-3)
BEST HOME WIN:
     17/10/98 - Wimbledon (5-1)
HEAVIEST HOME DEFEAT:
     19/12/98 - Middlesbrough (2-3)
BEST AWAY WIN:
     16/01/99 - Leicester City (6-2)
HEAVIEST AWAY DEFEAT:
     20/09/98 - Arsenal (0-3)
Great Pic of the FA CUP Celebration!



Subject:  FERGIE: WE'RE DOING SOMETHING DWIGHT!
              By Matt Barlow, PA Sport

Alex Ferguson saluted his players' never-say-die attitude as Manchester
United moved into pole position in the race for the Premiership.

Dwight Yorke's last-minute strike, his 18th goal of the season, sealed a
1-0 win for United and left Ferguson bracing himself for a title chase with
London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal.

He said: "It's tight at the top and it's been that way for a few weeks.
Chelsea, Arsenal and ourselves will definitely be there at the end. Villa
are having a rocky spell but everybody gets them and they could still
bounce back.

"By the end of March it could be the usual two-horse race."

Ferguson said his team had shown the crucial ability to grind out results
like the 1-0 win at The Valley which puts United a point clear at the top
of the Premiership.

Ferguson said: "It's a quality of the team. We kept going and persevered
and Dwight can score as can Andy Cole. We've got finishers in the team.
That's always good to have.

"If you're top of the League that tells you you're doing something right.
We're doing a lot right at the moment. We've been playing very well,
working hard everywhere on the pitch. They're working hard to get the ball
back when they haven't got it. The movement is very good and you get
rewards from that."

Substitute Paul Scholes carved out the chance for Yorke to score. The
England midfielder turned a cross to the back post where Yorke had wriggled
free of his marker to head home.

It was a cruel blow for struggling Charlton, who have now gone 13
Premiership games without a win, and boss Alan Curbishley was disappointed
after seeing his team lose yet again by a single goal to one of the
strongest teams in the country.

He said: "The players gave everything they've got. I was disappointed with
the last 20 minutes because up until then we gave as good as we got."
Great Pic of the FA CUP Celebration!



Subject: Ole pledges loyalty

United's super-sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has once again turned his back on
rumoured moves to other Premiership clubs, and reiterated his desire to
stay and fight for his future at Old Trafford.

The Norwegian World Cup striker is more than happy to bide his time and
wait for an opportunity in the first team - and is optimistic about his
chances of doing so.

Solskjaer said: "For everyone out there who goes around saying I must be
disappointed at not leaving, I have one thing to say: I don't regret it at
all.

"And I'm not interested in signing for any other club. Absolutely not. I'm
planning to fulfill my contract with Manchester United."

A couple of months ago United accepted a £5.5m offer from Spurs for
Solskjaer, but the player was so desperate to remain a United player that
the deal broke down.

Solskjaer added: "I have six years left and this is the club where I belong
and this is the club where I want to be.

"Manchester United are the biggest club in the world. Alex Ferguson told me
he could not guarantee me a place in the team, but he could offer me the
chance to fight for a place.

"He said he never wanted to sell me - I was thrilled. It was just what I
wanted to hear because I wanted to stay. United could have put pressure on
me to change my mind, but they didn't.

"The boss told me he was very pleased with my contribution and, after our
chat, I feel there will be plenty of appearances for me at United.

"Of course I would love to play more, but I'm just hoping 1999 will be as
good as it already has been for me."
Great Pic of the FA CUP Celebration!



Subject:  "Superga"

Reading the Observer this morning, I discovered the following article.
Apart from Denis Law, Torina football club would seem to have little in
common with Manchester United.  Having had little success in the past fifty
years, they now languish in the second division of the Italian League and
play in Juventus's ground whilst their own ground decays, unused.   Deep in
the heart and soul of both clubs, however, is a tragedy which has scarred a
whole generation of supporters, players and staff and which has shaped the
club's history.  Despite our differing fortunes in the intervening years,
what happened in Turin almost 50 years ago and what happened in Munich in
1958 gives the "other" club in Turin a special place in the heart of United
fans everywhere - indeed many fans from this list took some time to visit
the memorial overlooking the city last time they were in Turin, just as
they visited the Munich memorial in Munich more recently.   Like many other
United fans though, I didn't know a lot about the tragedy - just that 9
years before Munich, the Torina team was killed in an air crash.  The
following article taught me a lot, but most importantly it touched my heart.

FIFTY YEARS ON - CAN TORINA BE REBORN?

By Simon Kuper, The Observer, Sunday 31st January 1999

It began with a rumour:  "An aeroplane has crashed."  No-one knew for sure,
because fog was limiting vision in Turin to 30 yards.  Within minutes,
people were saying:  "There were footballers on board."  And soon everyone
knew that the entire Torino team had died when their plane flew into the
Superga church, on a hill above Turin, at 5.05pm.  A stone plaque at the
site now lists the names of the 31 dead; wreaths are still laid all the time.

There are so many "if onlys."  If only the plane from Lisbon had flown to
Milan as it was intended to, instead of to Turin.  If only Mazzola,
"Captain Valentino", had stayed at home to nurse his flu.  But he had
helped fix up the match against Benfica - a testimonial for the Portuguese
player Jose Ferreira, who had his heart set on playing Torino - and felt
obliged to travel.  If only the Torino players had listened to the inner
voices that had been warning them for years not to fly.  They moved around
Turin by bicycle rather than car, but were almost alone among Italian teams
in flying to most away matches.  It was quicker and it added to their aura
of modernity.

On 4 May it will be 50 years since "Superga", but one man still remembers
the crash almost daily.  Sauro Toma, a member of the Torino side, had been
left at home to recover from a knee injury.  Wandering blithely through
Turin that fateful afternoon, he came across a knot of people who were
discussing the disaster.  Someone recognised him and shouted:  "Toma is
alive!  Toma is alive!"  Everyone looked at him in wonderment.  "But," he
asks in his book "Me grand Turin", "Can you be alive if you carry death in
your heart?"  For a long time after the crash he was almost ashamed to
leave his house, knowing that people would look at him and think:  "He
escaped."

Toma, now a bald, kindly, formal man in his seventies, still lives in
Turin.  he says when he stops at traffic lights and sees the Superga above
him, or passes a car with a Torino sticker, he remembers his team-mates.

The club's washerwoman hung their red Torino shirts in the empty stands of
the Filadelfia stadium and their bodies were brought down from Superga,
some disfigured almost beyond recognition.  The funeral at the Palazzo
Madama the next day drew more than 500,000 mourners, who threw flowers and
broke down in droves. 

At the request of Milan, Inter and other clubs, the Italian Football
Federation awarded them their posthumous fifth league title.  No other
Italian side have dominated their era as "il grande Torino" did.  Mazzola's
team won the league in 1943, 1946, 1947 and 1948 (there was no football in
1944 or 1945) and did not lose at home between January 1943 and November
1949.  When Italy beat Hungary 3-2 in 1947, they supplied 10 of the side.

The club played their reserves in the last four matches of the season.  Out
of piety, their opponents fielded their reserves too, and Torino won every
game.  Toma briefly tried to resume his career, but gave up in 1950 at only
25.  "I was worth nothing," he explained to the Dutch journalist Wilfried
de Jong, "because I was always thinking about my old mates.  It's a
physiological thing, it ate energy."

Even so, the new Torino finished sixth in the league in 1950 and were never
whistled at by opposing fans.  Mazzola's son Sandro went on to become
another Italian great.  In the early Sixties they signed Denis Law from
Manchester City and Joe Baker from Hibs, but the "granata" have won the
title only once since Superga, in 1976, almost went bust in 1994, and have
now dropped to Serie B, where they stand third.  In May, perhaps they can
win promotion as a tribute to "il grande Torino".

The other tribute the club hope for is to return from the soulless Stadio
delle Alpi - shared with Juventus - to Filadelfia.  The little ground, in a
working class neighbourhoon, was bombed in 1943, last hosted a league match
in 1963 and in recent years has become deserted.  Weeds and rubble cover
the old playing area, most of the stands are gone, and squatters live in
the referee's changing room.  In the Forties, the fans would stamp their
feet so hard in the stands that the pitch itself would vibrate.

Toma can still hear them.
Great Pic of the FA CUP Celebration!



Subject: FA Cup Fun with Richard Martin 
------------------------------
From the funniest game of the season so far
Richard lifts the lid on the ever-pathetic liverpool fans:

'Being fortunate enough to be sat right next to the scousers on Sunday
(well,fortunate for 3 minutes that is...the stink for the first 88
minutes was unbearable !!),I can tell you what happened.When Porn Star
and Ole scored,Gazza ran up from near the half-way line to join the reds
in the corner of J & K in celebration,and at the same time gave the
scousers behind the goal a  mouthful of abuse and a couple of tasty hand
gestures which didn't leave much to the imagination,and very much to the
delight of us in the corner.After his "I hate Liverpool" article in The
Times that morning,it only served to show how much he dislikes those
scouse bastards.

Needless to say,the scousers in east lower went bloody bananas and
peppered him with missiles,including a ripped-out seat.Schmikes also
turned around and wound them up a treat as well (he also had a seat
thrown at him),as did Beckham when he went to retrieve the ball from a
ballboy down by the corner flag in the dying seconds.
You could see by the grins on their faces that they were loving every
second of this as much as we were !!!
Richard Martin (email on request)

Great Pic of the FA CUP Celebration!

          If ever they are playing in your town
          You must get to that football ground
          Take a lesson come to see
          Football taught by Matt Busby
          Manchester, Manchester United
          A bunch of bouncing Busby Babes
          They deserve to be knighted