News from Raszków & Suðuroy
6

Becoming ‘The One’

It happens at every club… a player is signed that makes an immediate impact, gets noticed by managers of other clubs, has his name chanted before and after every game and seems to be the focus of most of the fan memorabilia on sale outside the ground. We are talking about the player that is often referred to as ‘The One’. In Raszków there are several candidates, but one of late seems to be standing head and shoulders above the rest. We are talking about Mr. Brandname himself, Julien ‘iHoudin’ Houdin.

A graffiti artist sprays iHoudin’s on the side of an empty billboard outside the Raszków Arena (not illegally we hasten to add.)

“It’s been a brilliant ride so far,” admitted iHoudin as we interviewed him this morning at the Sprezzatura Training Grounds in Ścinawka. “I couldn’t have envisioned a better beginning to my career here, but I know I have much more to give yet.”

Full interview coming soon.

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COME ON!!!

Live from Raszków (Martin Bros Nielsen reporting):

“Kicking off in 10 minutes at the Raszków Arena is the battle for 1st place against KS Oleśno II!!! The atmosphere is electric and the green and orange flags are flying all around the stadium. The hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end!

Team news:

No big changes but one minor one up front is expected. Rumours suggest Houdin might not start and be saved for midweek, but it isn’t confirmed. All eyes will be on Marasca today. Will he finally break his duck? We could see some amazing scenes in 90 minutes from now.

(11.30)

We’ve kicked off. Houdin IS up front after all. ‘The Fox’ is in his usual Scholes Hole role… sorry about that, and Marasca out wide on the left. Oleśno seem to have gone for a 4-4-2, which means our boys might outpower them in the middle. Not good for the visitors if they play creatively, which it looks like they are intending to do.

Our defenders must do a good job against the two attackers from KS today.”

…(some time later, just after half-time)

YES! Yes! GOALLLLL MA-ra-SCA!!! He scores at last and the little lad is going crazy doing somersaults down by the corner flag… what a game.

… Final score: Raszków Revival 6-0 KS Olesno II

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The Long March

“The time is right.  We felt it was a mistake to rush this. Tomorrow we will begin.”

These were coach ‘Showboat’  Temmink’s words as Raszków finally entered the fray of the Dolnoslaskie (Lower Silesian) tournament ladder. A match has been arranged with a team 50 places above Revival’s starting position, Blitzkrieg FC. With injuries clearing up in the squad, Temmink will have everyone except Trzaszkowski available.

This coming week also sees Golden League action against Faroese sister club, The Lost Saxons. It wasn’t so long ago that certain statements by Saxons President Valentino Giachello were aimed, presumably, at Raszków and Temmink in particular. Some believe though, that this is more about the murky history between Giachello and Revival President Peroni.

The weekend game against league leaders KS Olesno II May prove a distraction. It’s also a difficult one to call. Noblemen have only one other question: when will huge talent Patrizio Marasca ‘break his duck’? All eyes will be on the Raszków Arena come Sunday.

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Introducing: iHoudin

He is the Revival joint top-scorer (not counting tournament games) with Ryszard ‘The Fox’ Szymkiewicz. His brand name plays on the similarity between his surname and that of the great escapologist Houdini. We are, of course, talking about a player known to the Noblemen but maybe not to you. Who? Julien ‘iHoudin’ Houdin.

Last weekend, his two goal haul helped Raszków destroy Zemsta Warszawa 1-4 away from home. iHoudin opened the scoring on only 11 minutes down the right hand side (he is perhaps even more at ease on the wing than centrally), then having seen Zemsta get back to 2-1 it only took him 8 minutes to bring the gap between the two sides back to two goals, as he struck on 40 minutes capitalizing on a silly mistake at the back by the team from the capital.

He may not have featured in the Golden League game against Los Mejores, but Showboat is sure to pick him for the top of the table clash on Sunday against Olesno. You haven’t heard the last of ‘iHoudin’.

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Introducing: Patrizio Marasca

Patrizio Marasca signed with Raszków Revival on the 14th of May for a fee reputed to be around 350,000 euros. Since then his performances have been steadily improving as he has begun to acclimatize to a new home and a new language with passionate and hungry fans… fans who are starting to warm to their new acquisition from Italy. These are the same fans after all, who fell in love with the home of the Renaissance.

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 Marasca has yet to score in the league but did get a chance to play in the cup for his new team. He is however keen to impress:

“I really am keen to do well. I want to show that I can score for this team. We have some really talented players at this club who will create chances for me, but I need to put them away.

There is a strong competition for places right now. The manager has signed some good young talent. I don’t mind the competition though, and I’m equally happy playing out wide, up front or wherever the manager will want me.”

This Sunday sees Raszków play away against the current league leaders and title rivals Zemsta Warszawa. Zemsta have a formidable team for Raszków to overcome. The last time these two teams played it was in the league in March. Zemsta won both games with a 2-0 scoreline. Revival have never scored and so Marasca is hungrier than ever to earn a starting place and be the first player to do so.

“Zemsta are a difficult opponent for sure. They have a really strong wing attack. We’ll have to be really tight at the back. However, I personally think that we will surprise them. We are strong all over the field… do not be surprised if we cause an upset this weekend and are top of the league come Sunday night.”

Strong words from a young player yet to score, but neutrals are suggesting he may be right. The recent 1.2 million zloty signing of Giancarlo Fabrizio from CROWN in the Iranian 3rd Division signals a strengthening of the midfield and attack by coach Temmink that leaves Raszków in strong fettle for the approach to the mid-stage of the season. With a couple of youth talents poised for promotion and rivals for Golden League training spots, Marasca must score soon… and many suggest he will.