Sonoma Valley Sun Sports Editor
Months before the globe’s most popular sport, now playing on its grand stage in the World Cup, I was singing the major soccer blues when the Azzurri, Italy’s national team, failed to qualify for the third straight time.
I’m a first generation, 100-percent Italian, and Italy has been my favorite national team since I started following the sport in 1962. When I was 12 years old I watched the great soccer legend, Pele, lead Brazil to its second straight World Cup title on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. And even though Italy fell short that year, I became enthralled with both the sport and the incredible athleticism that Pele displayed. With no opportunity to play on an organized team north of San Francisco, I finally found the pitch, playing on Santa Rosa Junior College’s first men’s soccer club in 1969.
Since that 1962 World Cup, I’ve never missed the event, and over the years I’ve been very fortunate to watch, witness and wade in the waters of joy as Italy won two of their four World Cup titles in 1982 and 2006.
Since the event debuted in 1930, only eight countries have won World Cup crowns. Brazil leads the pack with five titles, followed by Italy and Germany’s four each, defending champion Argentina’s three, initial champion Uruguay and France’s two apiece, and one for England and one for Spain.
Now that I’ve finally shaken off the disappointment of Italy’s three non-qualifications, I’m intently following my next three favorite national teams, the United States, England and Mexico. But I support North America, with its three countries hosting the current World Cup, so I’m also keeping an eye on Canada.
Of course all my support is for the United States, which is a no-brainer, since I am an Italian-American; then comes England, since my wife’s family is mostly of English descent and I played in a Bay Area English semipro soccer league for five years; and then Mexico, since I also played in a Mexican semipro league.
What makes soccer the most popular and passionately followed sport in the world, and what I’ve come to know through my playing career, is that it’s humanly, culturally, socially and joyously all-inclusive.
No matter the country’s size, ethnicity, faiths, economic strength, military might, or any other variable, all countries in the world that field soccer teams are equal in the hearts and souls of the people that enjoy and support them. Whether a country wins or loses, it’s still embraced.
When I played with Sonoma International, it was a truly international team, with Americans joining players from multiple countries, including El Salvador, Mexico, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland and more.
With the diverse mix of teammates, there was a sharing of cultures within the team, and among our opponents. And after battling throughout the matches, we would all join together after the final whistle, with family members, and share food, drinks, stories and our passion for the sport we loved.
Ciao!
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