By Bryan Arnold
Like many players all over the world, I had been anticipating the World Cup in Rome for several years: thinking on and off about what it would be like and what would happen. I looked forward to representing my country in a big way. I looked forward to being a teammate to some of our best players.
My anticipation did not lag. The world cup cycle was changed to two years instead of one. My anticipation grew as more time passed. Then, the nasty beast of a pandemic thundered across the face of the earth. Time passed as it does, table soccer was no where near my consciousness.
But, the joy, the pleasure to actually reach September in 2022!! And to know that only two weeks remained before the World Cup would flick off!! It was going to happen, and we’d all get to play in this coveted event.
I arrived in Rome absolutely thrilled. It was amazing to take in the sights even just on the highway, which eventually brought me to my hotel. I found a good hotel near the place where I were so very fortunate to train, the Centro Sportivo in Miniatura.
We were hosted there by Andrea Strazza, who created and made the facility. It stands as one of those iconic places where table soccer is played around the world like the “Cave” in Belguim, and “The Shrine” in the USA. I was there with my teammates Peter Alegi and Varant Kurkeyerian. The great Kasper Bennett of England was there for training as was Clinton Gahwiler of South Africa, and both Carlo Ciraolo and Enrico Guidi of Italy.
The matches were so much fun really, and competitive as well; a very memorable first night of play there in Rome. Varant and I continued our close matches, and I had a couple close ones also with Clinton. For my last match that night, I had the very great pleasure to play Kasper (shortened to 15 minutes I think). It was 0-0 with 3 seconds left when he scored the winner, a great goal. I think he was just toying with me to keep it that close; he’s such a great player all the way. Varant also had a very similar match with Kasper, it was tied with just one second left this time, and Kasper scored the winner!!
On to the first day of the World Cup, I played in the traditional rules event. I was very pleased to be included in the first ever edition of this category. I lost each of my three group matches including to an eventual semifinalist in the category 0-6; my other two matches ended 0-1, 0-1. There was so much noise in the venue, so much activity around me. And there was so much I wanted to remember: when playing in my matches, there were concepts and guidelines I wanted to use. There were behaviors from my training that I wanted to maintain in matches. And, as a referee, there was always how best to apply the rules. It was quite a collection of outside forces to myself, and inside forces as well.
The Vet category was the next day; it was for me, the main event. I had three matches ahead of me. I was drawn with a fantastic Italian player, Patrizio Lazzaretti as well as Manfred Pawlica of Austria, and Richard Berliaque of Gibraltar. I lost to Patrizio 0-6, and 0-1 and 0-1 to Manfred and Richard respectively. The same scores as from Friday.
My score for the team event on Sunday was 0-6 to Christian Haas of Austria. What an amazing experience and my highlight of the weekend!! I played well for 7 to 8 minutes focusing on the green pitch, my figures, and what I did in training to live out better play in matches. It felt sublime to be there playing against Christian. I watched him play many times on Youtube. It was like meeting and playing against a celebrity for me, like he was a professional. As the contest between Austria and the USA became more competitive, the intensity increased tremendously. I lost some focus, and came to become more aware of some nerves. I realized that I was actually playing in a world cup for my country against a top, top player. My match devolved from there into trying to keep the score from getting way, way out of hand.
On my travels, I realized that I’m not a museum guy, or visit forts or cathedrals or great houses. I don’t tend to go to art galleries. Those places are wonderful to visit I know, and I’m sure something must be wrong with me to not make those visits. I realized that I am interested in commonplace things in different locations around the world. I love my hobbies and all things soccer. That weekend on my personal time, I visited the AS Roma store there in Rome. It was another highlight. I love soccer, and jerseys, and all that goes with fandom. I took a friendly cab down into the city center. I walked straight to the store, which was pointed out by the driver. After a couple hours there–I can do some real shopping–I gathered up my stuff. I left out and found a street side place with the best pizza I could ever have. I tried sweets at a nearby pastry shop. The gelato I tried that day, chocolate gelato, was really the best I have ever had. The food in Rome was always special and tasty, and always looked amazing as well. So, it was table soccer, soccer shopping, and food as a treble combination, I couldn’t ask for better!!
I have always traveled. Sometimes with family and sometimes alone. I grew up as a Navy brat overseas. It was a special experience, and the icons of that upbringing are never far from my awareness. I love to travel to see how people are in commonplace situations, what places are like for everyday needs, and how willing people are to share a warm exchange.
And I also realized from my travels that what I love most is returning home. I travel for the return home. Like I felt when I was a kid, coming back home is uniquely special. I get to see things anew, and thrill at being at home close to my roots.
