Preach for the stars
Friday 16 February 2007
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Italy's new German signing has made them favourites to triumph (©Getty Images)
Describing football as "God's own game" may on the face of it smack of blasphemy. But the Roman Catholic church is putting its own divine seal of approval on the sport.
Papal ball
This week clerics from Austria, Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain are gathering in Bosnia-Herzegovina and swapping holy water for isotonic energy drink as they take part in the third European Priests Football Championship. Croatia are the title holders, but as is only right and proper, Bosnian cardinal Vinko Puljić points out the purpose of the three-day event is "is to have priests carry the message of God to all society, even sport". The Vatican are not represented, but perhaps could enter next time as their new league championship launches this month with 16 teams, including one from the Swiss Guards. Run by the Centro Sportivo Italiano, a Catholic sports organisation, the Clericus Cup will feature no games played on Sunday and taking the Lord's name in vain will be a red card offence (as well as carrying a far more serious spiritual suspension).
Maiden voyage
That last curse may not bother heavy metal band Iron Maiden, whose first No1 album was entitled Number of the Beast, but such is the ecumenical nature of football that even the British rockers are received into the bosom of the game. And so it came to pass that the group's lead singer Bruce Dickinson flew Rangers FC to this week's UEFA Cup tie in Israel against Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC. The fortissimo crooner - whose own sporting exploits include winning the 1988/89 British team fencing title with his club Hemel Hempstead (pop fact!) - is a fully-qualified pilot with Astraeus, the firm used by Rangers for the trip. An airline spokesman explained: "When Bruce heard we had the Rangers charter, he was very keen to do the flight. He's a big fan of football and of a certain Ally McCoist." Rangers manager Walter Smith, who is assisted by former striker McCoist, is a confirmed fan of the guitar-led hit combo, and gushed: "I would never have thought Bruce would be flying our plane. I know his band's stuff quite well. I remember going to meet them when they played in Edinburgh a few years ago." Hapoel are yet to confirm if befrocked Israeli Eurovision winner Dana International will be at the controls for next week's return trip.
Cross at Victoria
Not quite so happy with the cross-pollination of football and pop music is FC Bayern München general manager Uli Hoeness, who has laid the blame for David Beckham's forthcoming departure from European football for the United States at the door of the midfielder's ex-Spice Girl wife Victoria. Hoeness, whose club meet Beckham's Real Madrid CF in the UEFA Champions League last 16 next week said: "I really like Beckham - but not his wife. People like her are the death of football. Beckham is a product of such people. It's a shame he has to go to Hollywood now because of that. He is actually a gifted footballer." Perhaps Hoeness should lighten up and follow the musical example of his erstwhile playing colleagues Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller, who respectively had hits with Gute Freunde Kann Niemand Trennen and Dann Macht Es Bumm, the latter a jolly brass-backed singalong as Bavarian as weissbier and bockwurst.
Roaring Hertha
On the other hand Uli's brother Dieter, sporting director at Hertha BSC Berlin, has the right idea. The club has set up a new women's fan club in an attempt to fill their 70,000-capacity Olympic stadium which was revamped for the FIFA World Cup, while a new website www.herthafreundin.de features topless pictures of Hertha players, with users encouraged to vote for their favourite each month. The site, firmly footed in the 21st century, also contains the squad's players' favourites dishes and handy fashion hints about looking good on a freezing matchday. "During the World Cup, we saw that the sport is no longer just for men," the younger Hoeness said.
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