For those of you who are interested Leinster & Munster (unbeaten) topped the group with 7 points and Abruzzo (also unbeaten) were second with 5 points.

Final Goup 3 Standings

Match Details

Post from: About Abruzzo

Abruzzo Unbeaten but Finish Second to Leinster & Munster in UEFA Regions Cup

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I arrived at 14:25 about 5 minutes before the game was due to kick-off. The sun was shining and although rain was forecast it promised to be a good day for a football match.

The venue was Tolka Park in Drumcondra, Dublin. Tolka Park is the home ground of Shelbourne Football Club. Shelbourne are currently 4^th in the Airtricity League First Division and their next match against Waterford United at home is crucial.

But I wasn’t at Tolka to see Shelbourne. I was there to see a UEFA Regions Cup match in which a Leinster & Munster selection took on a visiting selection from Abruzzo, Italy. The competition is for amateur players and this match was the first for both teams in the Intermediary Round Group 3 which also includes teams from France (Ligue de Normandie) and San Marino.

Readers of this blog know that I like to visit Abruzzo as often as I can and spend as much time there as possible. This time Abruzzo came to me and I was able to enjoy a hard fought contest between two very skillful teams.

There weren’t too many chances as both defences closed down goal scoring opportunities very quickly. There was plenty of skill on show and a few robust tackles caused the referee, Michael Svendsen (DEN), to reach for his yellow card. But overall the game was played in very sporting manner with plenty of honest endeavour.

The best of the chances in the first half fell to Leinster & Munster. David Lacey came close but his header was tipped over the bar by the Abruzzese keeper Pierfilippo Carfagna.

After a bit of half-time pitch repair the second half got under way and Leinster & Munster immediately applied pressure and almost scored with a chance that fell to Daniel Loughran which went over the bar.

At this stage the Irish seemed to have the upper hand and the Abruzzese substitutes looked on anxiously.

With about 10 minutes to go the heavens opened and the rain that threatened for so long finally arrived.

The Irish didn’t have it all their own way as with less than 5 minutes remaining, a final chance fell to Abruzzo as Manlio D’Amico almost stole the match with a volley that luckily for Leinster & Munster, crashed against the crossbar.

The full-time whistle sounded soon after and the match ended all square with no team managing to score.

A detailed game commentary is available here along with more statistics than even the most ardent football anoraks among you could possibly need.

Although Leinster & Munster had more goal attempts than Abruzzo I think a draw was a fair result as none of the chances were easy to take. The teams even had the same number yellow cards with two each.

For me the highlight of the match was probably whatever was happening on the pitch in the first half when a photographer from Chieti asked me if I was Italian! He knew better after we chatted for a while but I think he was surprised that I knew Abruzzo so well.

The Abruzzese play two more matches in Dublin. Tomorrow, Monday 25^th October, they play the Ligue de Normandie French selection at Dalymount Park, (2:30 kick-off) and on Wednesday they play San Marino at Belfield, (2:30 kick-off). Please note that all times are local.

I wish them well but as I’m a Dub I hope Leinster & Munster top the group. Vediamo.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Honours Even as Abruzzo and Leinster & Munster Fail to Score

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Stage 12 was starting from Città Sant’Angelo Village at 12:05 and was going to make its way hugging the Adriatic until it reached Porto Recanati 206 km later.

Based on the Gazzetta Dello Sport timetable it was going to pass Pineto at around 12:45.

We wanted to make a day of it and take in the atmosphere of the Giro but also visit some new places. Regular readers of this blog will know that I’ve spent quite a few sunny days in Pineto so since it didn’t qualify a “new” we included Silvi Paese in the plan.

Silvi Paese shouldn’t be confused with Silvi Marina which is a lovely seaside town nearby. Silvi Paese is perched on a headland and has fantastic views of the Adriatic and the surrounding country.

We got to Pineto at about 10:30 and did what any normal red-blooded Italian would do on arrival – we had a coffee. Then we walked around the town and back to our car along the beach, passing the time pleasantly as we waited for the cyclists.

The Giro wasn’t going through Pineto itself but was passing by on the SS16 (Adriatica) so at 12:00 we based ourselves on the roundabout where you’d exit the SS16 to enter Pineto.

Apart from traffic police and a local photographer there weren’t that many people waiting in anticipation.

After a few minutes more spectators arrived. Mostly they came on foot but a few amateur cyclists arrived to see their heroes in action.

We waited…

There was a sudden flurry of activity and lead police cars and motorbikes whizzed through.

Then, out on his own, came the stage leader quickly followed by his team support car. I don’t know much about cycling tactics but with about 4 hours cycling ahead of him I suspected he wouldn’t be the ultimate winner of this stage.

We waited…

Two chasing cyclists sped by with their support cars.

We waited…

The peloton arrived and charged through the roundabout looking unconcerned by the minutes between them and the leaders. The remaining four hours worth of cycling was going to be less painful for a chasing pack then a lone lead cyclist.

After the trailing bunch went by and a convoy of team support cars, the Giro, as far as Pineto was concerned, was over.

I could say it was all over in a flash. I could say we waited for an hour to see less than a minutes actual cycling. But that would be unfair. In a country that can sometimes get bad press for its organisation abilities the Giro seemed to pass though Pineto without a hitch.

Yes there were a few motorists that were unhappy the roads were closed for a period before and after the Giro passed, but there were plenty of signs up saying when this was going to happen. There were also plenty of traffic police ensuring that the safety of the cyclists and that of the spectators was in hand.

I’m really glad I was there. Since I was based within easy driving distance of Pineto it would have been a shame not to see the Giro d’Italia as it passed. Next time I may try to park myself near the finish line or perhaps a stage starting line where I bet the atmosphere is more intense.

Feeling a bit hungry we walked back into Pineto hoping to find somewhere nice for lunch. Earlier it didn’t look like the seasonal restaurants on the beach were open yet so we went into the town centre.

On the way I took a few photos of some of Pineto’s impressive houses and also a town model of house miniatures.

After finding nowhere suitable to eat we asked a local and he gave us directions to a restaurant called La Braceria on the road to Atri, not far from Pineto.

It was really good. We shared ravioli with ricotta, rucolo and spec, and after that some agnello alla brace.

Back into the car we drove off to Silvi Paese. I was told by friends that Silvi Paese was a lovely little town with fantastic views of the Adriatic. They were right. As we approached the views from the road were getting more and more spectacular.

After parking the car we wanted around the new walls and stopped practically every 50 metres to take in the scenery. It’s well worth a visit. The town is very pretty and the relatively new fountain outside the church is a nice addition.

Well we’d had a damn fine lunch so there was nothing for it but to sit down and have some gelati taking in the views and watching the world go by.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Giro d’Italia Stage 12 and Silvi Paese

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Football, loved and watched by many, bores the pants off many rugby fans I know. Golf, a sport I’d happily watch on television, is the closest thing to watching paint dry for those with little or no interest. Cricket - the idea of sunny days in the open air politely clapping a glorious stroke has an appeal, but live televised test cricket, I just don’t get it.

If you don’t understand the subtleties and rules governing a sport then the chances are you’ll never understand why its on TV.

That brings me to cycling and the 2010 Giro d’Italia. I understand a little about cycling. I used to cycle a fair bit but in recent years I’ve  been lazy. This year I’ve started cycling again, no more than an hour at time, but I admit I’m finding it tough.

I don’t really consider cycling to be a TV friendly sport but whenever I’ve been in Italy when a major race is televised, especially the Giro, the bars are full of cheering fans. I was surprised the first time I realised that it was cycling and not football that was on the television. From the roars I thought somebody had just scored.

I’m full of admiration for the strength and levels of fitness that are required to compete in a major race day after day. Next to the Tour de France the Giro d’Italia must be one of the toughest races for any professional cyclist. They seem to go at speeds that God never intended.

This year the Giro d’Italia has two stages passing through Abruzzo. The 256km stage 11  on Wednesday 19th May from Lucera in Foggia to L’Aquila in Abruzzo looks like a tough one. That’s followed by the 191km stage 20 on Thursday 20th May along the Adriatic coast from Città Sant’Angelo in Abruzzo to Porto Recanati in Le Marche. I expect that the bars of Abruzzo will be full of excitement during these stages. That’s assuming that the Abruzzese haven’t closed up to go see the leaders and the peloton as it passes near to their homes.

But cycling isn’t without controversy. Today I read in the Guardian online “Italian Danilo Di Luca has been banned for two years for testing positive for illegal blood booster CERA during last May’s Giro d’Italia, the Italian Olympic Committee’s (CONI) anti-doping tribunal ruled on Monday”.

This is sad news. I remember the Giro of 2009 and how Di Luca, who is from Spoltore in Abruzzo, came so close to winning overall, only losing out by 41 seconds to Denis Menchov of Russia. It was a very exciting Giro for Abruzzese who were still coming to terms with the earthquake of 6th April. I wrote about it at the time and was hoping for Di Luca to do well. Unfortunately it now looks as though my excitement, and that of many Abruzzese was  unwarranted.

So for 2010 I hope the Giro d’Italia is as exciting but without any of the negatives that have plagued this sport in recent years. I hope that those cyclists and teams who bend the rules and cheat do not profit by their efforts. I’d like to think that the 2010 Giro will be drug free but I don’t believe that will be the case. The most I feel I can hope for is that the major players, the stage winners and the overall winner earn their positions by honest means.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Giro d’Italia 2010 stages in Abruzzo

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There is a selection of sports that should suit all sports fans. The Beach Volleyball seems like a winner to me!

But if the range of sports was not enough to excite fans, then surely the news that the tickets for many events are free is a fantastic bonus. I’ve been keeping an eye on the official site and this news release appeared in the last few days.  Now my Italian is far from fluent, but I believe headline says “Online ticket service and free games except for the finals of team events and the swimming finals”. That seems like a really good deal to me!

I have not translated the entire news item, but I take confidence from another source.  A recent post to the Pescara section of the Tripadvisor Abruzzo forum by member TyroneSlothrop (a great forum for Abruzzo trip advice) says “All events will be free except for swimming finals and team play events. The tickets for the opening ceremony will be at a price from €15 to €60, depending on the sector of the stadium. Tickets will be available from the official site” .

I’m sure there’ll be great interest in the games, so I’d appreciate it if someone could translate the text of the news item and post as a comment to this blog. Just to make sure I’m not making a big mistake. There is also the possibility that the free events are ticketed to ensure that they are not over-subscribed.  I’ll post if I find out more.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Free Tickets: Mediterranean Games Pescara 26 June to 5 July

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Today, a rest day, a delegation of cyclists passed through the earthquake hit Abruzzo region as the Giro d’Italia paid tribute to the area.

“I’m hoping to give the Abruzzesi a day of joy, excitement and hope” Di Luca said. “Menchov is very strong but tomorrow I’m going to have all the fans on my side. I’m going to try and win it for them. ”

When I wrote that December post a reader asked if I knew the derivation of the word “Blockhaus”. At the time I didn’t but this article from the Giro d’Italia site of Gazzetta Dello Sport gives the answer and more besides. It says “Blockhaus takes its name from the local military fortifications built by the Germans on top of pre-existing fortifications dating to the Bourbon age. With the approval of “don” Carlo Travaglini, the local promoter, patron Vincenzo Torriani adopted the name in order to localise the area and give it an identity”.

The romantic in me would like to see Di Luca win. I haven’t been so interested in a professional cycle race since Stephen Roche of Ireland won the Giro d’Italia back in 1987, and he went on to win the Tour de France and the World Championship road race in the same year!

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Giro d’Italia Stage 17 Chieti to Blockhaus, Abruzzo

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Confession time: I know very little about skiing. OK, I know what it is, and I remember watching Alberto Tomba win at least one of his gold medals, but I have never skied.  Many of my friends have skied, and they love it.  I just haven’t tried it yet.  Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, who knows.

The odds have swung in favour of my giving it a go, because Abruzzo is full of opportunities to ski.  Just look at this snow bulletin site and see the number of resorts listed.  When I think of skiing in Italy I think of the Alps and Northern Italy.  It turns out that Abruzzo has 21 ski resorts. 

Now most of what I’ve posted so far and the photos that go with it point to a very sunny region.  That’s because that’s my main experience of Abruzzo.  Liane Katz writing for The Guardian in 2006 got it right saying “it’s often possible to combine a morning’s skiing with an afternoon at the coast” (read full article here). 

But skiing has helped me make a fortunate discovery!   While I was trying to find out more information about skiing in Abruzzo I stumbled across a post written by Alex Roe back in November 2007, describing how his Italian friend learned to ski in Roccaraso.   This introduced me to Alex Roe’s Italy Chronicles, which I’m enjoying very much indeed.  It is written in English and covers all things Italian.  Go on, give it a go.

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Skiing in Abruzzo

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Giro d’Italia 2009 in Abruzzo

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XVI Mediterranean Games – Pescara 2009

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