To Velden with the San Fao

And at last I get to set foot in neighbouring Austria too, and it was a truly special occasion!!

It was a trip planned long in advance and carried out with my teammates from San Faustino di Rubiera, 2nd Category, where I have been playing for about 6 years….with results and performances….up and down.

We don't consider ourselves just a football team; the bonds between us have grown incredibly strong and, besides being great dressing-room mates, real friendships and deep ties have been forged that let us sweat and toil side by side on the pitch and share special moments on the most varied occasions.

Already in winter we were talking about the international tournament in Velden, which features amateur and non-amateur teams from Italy, Germany, Austria and Turkey. At first maybe nobody really believed it, but then, month after month, our participation in this event became a reality.

Unfortunately, for all sorts of reasons, not all the "members" of the team could take part, so we had to fill out the "squad" with mutual friends. Having barely reached 11 players, booked the rooms and hired a pink minibus….off we go!!

Me, Zaro, Caso, Fasso, Antonio, Matte, Melli, Fabio, Claudio, Visco and…..Cadregari, here are the heroes of Velden who, without any particular trouble….defended themselves so well even beyond the border, finishing 14th out of 90 teams, playing 2 matches, drawing the first, winning the second and…..withdrawing before playing the third….!!! We were supposed to play on Sunday around 10, but first…..we had to get through Saturday night, so it was the wisest decision ever!!

The experience was fantastic; the trip in the minibus reminded me a bit of when I was a boy and in summer we went to play youth tournaments in Spain and Germany; there was only one small difference, the vehicle at our disposal was a 20-seater with no air condition