A footballing idol
Friday 29 November 2002
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While any number of clubs around the world have celebrated a famous son with a statue outside their ground, the new bronze of Carlos Valderrama outside a stadium in his hometown of Santa María has taken the honour to a new level. And that level is a gargantuan 30 metres. Indeed, the piece, made by artist Amilkar Ariza, is believed to be the biggest statue ever dedicated to a sports personality and Valderrama, regarded as Colombia's greatest ever footballer, is said to be "delighted" with it. And why wouldn't he be. The 41-year-old bottle blond, who still boasts his famous shock of curly hair, still plays football for Colorado Rapids in the United States after a career that also took him to Montpellier Hérault SC in France and Real Valladolid in Spain. Just what will be constructed if he manages to make his fifth FIFA World Cup finals in 2006 simply does not bear thinking about.
Cheer up or clear off
Brazilian side CA Juventude threatened to drop striker Claudio Mejolaro from a championship quarter-final game against Grêmio FBPA for refusing to celebrate if he scored a goal. The striker, usually known as Claudio 'Pitbull', is on loan at Juventude from Grêmio - the club that represents the town where he was raised - and has made it clear that he will not go against his roots by celebrating should he find the target against his hometown club. "I'm not celebrating. I know the Grêmio supporters like me and this is my way of showing respect to them," he said. However, Juventude's coach - former Paris Saint-Germain FC player Ricardo Gomes - was less than impressed with the striker's gesture, as he tries to take the unfashionable side from the south of Brazil to the semi-finals. "If he doesn't change his attitude, he won't play," said the former defender. "He's young and he needs to mature. At this stage of the championship, we need to fight as well as play and Claudio's not in the frame of mind for fighting."
Schalke drop a clanger
From refusing to celebrate to celebrating a bit too enthusiastically, FC Schalke 04 were finally allowed to wipe the embarrassed looks off their faces after completing their repair job on the German Cup. Schalke were overjoyed to take the title away from Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the final, but got a little bit carried away with their post-match celebrations, denting the trophy and cracking some of the gemstones which give the German Cup its distinctive look. A Cologne artist has now managed to repair the trophy, much to the relief of the club's commercial director, Rudi Assauer, whose clumsiness in Schalke's moment of triumph was cited by many as the major cause of the damage. The trophy was briefly returned to the German Football Association (DFB) headquarters to make sure that Schalke have left no permanent damage but has now taken its pride of place in the club's trophy cabinet for the remainder of the season, presumably under strict conditions that Assauer is not to be allowed within ten metres of it.
Don't forget your boots
Those planning a winter holiday this year would do well to bring their football boots with them and think about the lucky Scottish apprentice mechanic who earned a trial for RCD Mallorca while having a kickabout on the beach. Jamie Stevenson, who plays in the lower leagues in Scotland for Alloa Athletic FC, was convinced he had been the victim of a practical joke when a man called Paco interrupted him while ball-juggling on the beach. "I was kicking a ball about with my uncle and all of a sudden this guy approaches us and he can't speak English but starts taking down my details and proceeds to tell me he is a scout for Real Mallorca and would I come over for a trial," said Stevenson, who was let go as a 16-year-old by Aberdeen FC for being too small. He has since moved to Spain to chase his dream of Primera División football, although he admitted that the high life at the Son Moix stadium was something of a culture shock. "I remember arriving at the training ground and seeing the first-team players drive up in their Ferraris and thinking 'what is an 18-year-old guy from Alloa doing here?'." Given top footballers' tendency towards shabby driving skills, his mechanical knowledge may yet prove a valuable asset.
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