Ago

[AS Collie]

Giovanni, I'm only seeing this thread now. Would you have any interest in 11 Metri if I ripped it and uploaded it to a dropbox folder for you? I've been meaning to do it for Edzo for a while now anyway.

Obviously, in principle I'd rather people bought the DVD, but it's not readily available outside of Rome as far as I know, and anyway, some fans just deserve it.

Fammi sapere.

[stefano]

I'd certainly be interested in watching it if you did that, Collie.

[romawi]

+1. Wanted to buy it, but couldn't find it anywhere.

[AS Collie]

RIght. So it's piracy on a grander scale!

I'll try do it tomorrow.

[RomaShield27]

Please note, internet movie piracy is a crime, and we should all do our part to report illegal uploading and sharing of such files to the proper authorities. So with that in mind, if everyone contributes €20 to my Paypal we'll just overlook this little misdemeanour. Thank you.



Colly, post download links to it in the , grazie.

[Italiamia]

[Italiamia]

I wanted to give a public thank you to Collie for sending me 11 metri. I wish that some of you had a better command of Italian because some of what I had previously said about Ago's shameful transfer is discussed in this documentary. It's all on Viola, and the fans bombarded him with letters and phone calls to force him to reconsider. Ago's wife explains it well. I actually forgot how beautiful she was back in those days.

Fuck Dino Viola and his whole fucking family. I curse them all. His name should never be mentioned in the city of Roma.

[AS Collie]

[Italiamia]

[RomaShield27]

[Italiamia]

[RomaShield27]

I see, grazie. I didn't quite realise that Roma under Anzalone was a team on the rise and weren't quite as low as I made them out to be. Anzalone was in financial difficulty himself and so I presume was looking to sell the club to make money, and so Dino Viola stepped in and then provided some cash injection.

Kawasaki Rocca's story is a sad one, alight. He was forced to retire at 26, is that right? What injuries did he suffer from? Would be nice to hear more about him when you have the time.

[Italiamia]

[RomaShield27]

Thats a shame. Knee injuries are probably the worst there are, and especially back then they must have been much harder to recover from.

Not I'm not familiar with that site romatiamo.net, but it looks good, some good sections, will check it out.

[RomaShield27]

We were talking about '11 Metri' a while back, and for those who didn't get to download it, now some cheeky chap has put it up on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c25qUqjjl1o

(in several parts so you'll have to find them on the related vids)

[Italiamia]

Hard to believe it's been 18 years now since that tragic day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGJ7YqXv2go

[Italiamia]

[Italiamia]

The sadness of bygone days. Suffering, that is Roma. Never forget the boys who gave everything to the team, the city and the fans.

[Italiamia]

Amici tifosi della Curva Sud: In alto i cuori e fuori.......la voce...Roma..!

[RomaShield27]

Film review


/ October 23, 2012 / By Tom Sweetman

As respected European football journalist Gabriele Marcotti introduced the showing of 11 Metri - The Penalty at the Kicking and Screening Film Festival in his dulcet Italian/American tones, he left the audience in no doubt that what they were about to see was one of life's incredible stories - one that you wouldn't really be able to write if you tried.

Marcotti gave a teaser of what the film was to be about: a Roma captain, adored by his fans, who would lead the club to their darkest ever hour - a penalty shootout defeat to Liverfekkin'wankscum in the 1984 European Cup final in their own back yard. Ten years to the day after that loss, he would shoot himself in the heart. With the protagonist of the film, Agostino Di Bartolomei, a little before my time, this was all news to me.

The film - shot in documentary style - kicks off showing how a young boy from a working-class neighbourhood in Rome grows up to be an idol in the city. It paints a vivid picture of his upbringing and how he possessed the qualities required to lead a city into battle from an early age.

And then bang. Fast-forward to a fully-matured Di Bartolomei wearing the colours of the Giallorossi and doing what he does best... hitting the ball into the back of the net, very hard. He is now the "captain with a capital C", commanding the respect of the whole team - the link between the players and the board, the link between the players and the fans. He is the most important person in the city of Rome barring the Pope. He may be the man who never smiled - a hint towards his future depression - but he was a man who could get his message across without needing to.

As the film progresses, you begin to understand just what a complex character Di Bartolomei really was. We learn about a mugging involving the player at a restaurant, and from that day on he would never be seen (except on the pitch) without his bag, with a gun nestled inside. Was this paranoia or just playing things on the safe side, in a city where one man can be loved by the Roma fans but despised by Lazio followers? After one Derby della Capitale we see how the Roma players are somehow caught up among the Lazio fans outside the stadium. In what soon becomes an intimidating and threatening atmosphere, Di Bartolomei removes his gun from his bag and points it towards the opposition. Playing things on the safe side then, although I'd say there was some paranoia involved too.

The early 1980s is perhaps the most glorious period in Roma's history, with Di Bartolomei playing alongside such stars as Paulo Falcao and Roberto Pruzzo. And in 1983 these players guided the club to their first league title in 41 years. Cue beautiful montages of how the game should be played. The win in 1983 of course sets the side up for the focal point of the film - the 1983-84 European Cup and the final, played at the team's own Stadio Olimpico.

Knowing that Di Bartolomei's death comes exactly ten years after the final, 11 Metri - The Penalty does not quite do this uber-significant part of the story justice. Yes, it tells the tale of the night and how Roma eventually go down to Liverfekkin'wankscum on penalties (Di Bartolomei scored his). And, yes, we do learn what a terrible night it was for anyone involved in the club who thought it their divine right to win that final. It just seems to happen too quickly and move on to the next chapter of Di Bartolomei's career, leaving you wanting more. A lot more.

We soon learn about how the player was ousted by new manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and moved on to AC Milan, a switch that plants a seed of doubt in Di Bartolomei's head that his career is not going to last forever. The tension over the transfer, which severs his ties with Roma (though, in the case of the fans, only briefly), comes to a climax on his return to the Stadio Olimpico in the colours of Milan. A mini-brawl breaks out with him at the centre as he is targeted by some of his former team-mates. However, Di Bartolomei, as was his wont, rose above it and scored as Milan win 2-1. Sweet revenge.

His career soon fades out at Cesena and Salernitana, where he, naturally, becomes a hero at both clubs. He then turns his eye onto coaching kids and campaigning for a sports centre to be built in the local neighbourhood, making the foreshadowed ending all the more sad.

The final part of the film delves into the depression he suffered after hanging up his boots, culminating in his suicide. The final chapter is also over too quickly - and the two most integral parts of the film are just not given enough coverage. You can't help feel a little short-changed.

However, the story really stands up for itself - it is one so extraordinary that it would not be surprising if a Hollywood scriptwriter were to produce it. 11 Metri - The Penalty is a must-see film that will educate those who, like me, had not come across the tale of Agostino Di Bartolomei and one of football's greatest tragedies.