It was with great pleasure and relief that I noticed that I had
pulled-it-off and won the concorso. I had been in the lead for 3 or 4
giornate and the suspense is more intense when you have gone as high as
you can, and there only is room for going down.
I am also happy to have "repatriated" the title to this side of the
Atlantic - to date Loris Magnani has alternated with the "Finns". I
guess we could have a friendly challenge about this aspect of the
concorso and, being nostalgic, I hope that someone from Italy eventually
is successful.
On a personal note: I was born in Italy and immigrated to Canada in
search of fame and fortune - got neither. Presently I live in Sudbury,
Ontario, the nickel mining capital of the world. I played soccer as a
child and forgot all about it until Osvaldo Croci and Julian Amirante -
two other Sudburians - introduced me to the concorso. It's been a lot
of getting acquainted with the teams, players and the events of Serie A
and UEFA and a lot of fun ever since.
Alike many I try to predict the most likely or most useful outcome for
both teams. Sometimes, team strength and playing at home are not
everything: the position in the classifica and the chances or
engagements on the UEFA tournaments have their influence. I tend to
score low and get annoyed when a team sacks 4 or more goals. Above all
I try not to score with the heart: that's when Udinese has gotten me
into trouble especially this past year.
In conclusion thanks to everyone for the challenge and for giving me the
opportunity to be famous for a while, I promise not to brag too much,
and I look forward to the next edition of the concorso. Roberto, a
special thanks to you for all the fun and attention you give us.
Hope you Milan fans are grateful, fuarce Udin, e ciao a tutti.
Gianfranco Merlino.
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