Weather ForecastThe return of the local football interviews is kicked-off by a discussion with Ces Serluca from FC Inter. Ces has graced the local game as a goalkeeper, assistant gaffer and Chairman – as well as contributing to the local league committee and helping to develop the Riverside Pavilion facility.
This is a first rare insight into a quiet, educated and thoughtful man, but hopefully not the last!
Raph: Which football team do you support and why?
Ces: I am a supporter of Juventus. There are two reasons for this: Firstly,
my late father, despite not claiming to be an avid football fan
supported them; and Secondly, I lived in California until 1981 and did
not have much experience of football. When I moved back to England at
the tender age of eleven my first real passionate experience of the
beautiful game was the 1982 World Cup. The spine of the Italy squad that
won the World Cup that year were from Juventus. Players like Zoff,
Cabrini, Gentile, Scirea, Tardelli, Rossi were like demi-gods after
defeating both Argentina and Brazil, plus the world-class players that
Juventus had signed on to play after the World Cup, Michel Platini an
Zbigniew Boniek. What a team!
Raph: Who do you think should be the next England manager and why?
Ces: In the words of a local man, John Major, I think England need to go back
to basics and offer the job to Harry Redknapp. He's a no-nonsense kind
of guy that I think the current crop of England players will respond to.
Raph: Who is the greatest professional football of all time?
Ces: For me it has to be Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de
Oliveira, more commonly known as Sócrates. He was the Captain of the
1982 Brazilian World Cup team. Probably the most educated person ever to
play professional football. He did not start playing professional
football until he was 25 because he wanted to earn a degree in Medicine
first. Sócrates was an intellectual, a heavy drinker and smoker, yet
when he played the game his vision of the pitch and his through passes
were sublime. He was also a two-footed player and a prolific goal
scorer. His ability to read the game was second to none, and his
signature move was the blind heel pass.
Raph: For those who don't know you, where does your accent come from
and how did you end up in Peterborough?
Ces: I was born in Peterborough. My parents both came to England separately
from Italy during the 1950's. They met in London and got married. When I
was a year old our family emigrated to sunny California in the USA. My
parents opened an Italian restaurant in Orange County (the O.C. as the
youth of today now refer to it as) and we were blessed with a successful
business and famous customers such as Lou Ferrigno (the green dude out
of the Hulk TV show) and Tele Savalas (the lolipop sucking bald dude out
of Kojak TV show). I remember the times when Lou would come in for
dinner, always on a weeknight after he had finished filming for the day,
he would still have green makeup behind his ears and on his neck. He
would always order the same thing, one whole chicken and salad.
Raph: What made you decide to leave Netherton and start-up SSPIO with
Pino Soccio?
Ces: After Italy had won the 2006 World Cup in Germany, a few of the younger
generation of Italians from Peterborough decided to set up an
organisation called PIO (Peterborough Italian Organisation). This was
basically a group that organised social events for our generation and
our friends whether they were Italian, English, Indian, Pakistani etc.
We arranged shopping trips, nights out in London, Dinner/Discos etc.
During this time I was Pino Soccio's assistant manager at Netherton
Reserves during the 2006-07 season. There came a point where PIO needed
to expand in order to further integrate our community of young Italians
with other communities in Peterborough. The best way to do this was
through sport. As Italians are not very good at hockey or cricket, it
was decided that I would start up a separate group called SS PIO (PIO
Sports Society). SS PIO applied to join the PDFL early 2007 without
success (it was a lot harder to join the league in those days). When the
powers that be at Netherton United found out that I was attempting to
set up my own club I was sacked without explanation whilst Pino remained
in charge of the Reserve Team, despite the fact that he was Chairman of
PIO. Football is a funny world I guess.
Raph: Why did you not just restart a men's team under the ICA banner?
Ces: That was not an option as I wanted full control over what the club did.
I was not prepared to take direction from the ICA Sports Committee with
which I had had dealings with in the past as I was a former Treasurer of
the ICA. Also, the first question the the PDFL asked me when I applied
to set up a new club was whether or not I had any affiliation to the ICA
as they left the league seasons before in somewhat acrimonious
circumstances.
Raph: Why did SSPIO change name to FC Inter?
Ces: As time has passed the club has become a home for "faces of all races",
something we are very proud of. As a result the club was renamed
"Internazionale", Italian for international which both represents the
Italian roots of the club but also the diverse collection of races that
have played for and have been a part of the club.
Raph: You are starting a new era this year at the Riverside Pavilion,
with Richard Sentance promoted to First Team Manager. What are your
targets for the forthcoming season?
Ces: Had you asked me this question before preseason started, I would have
said to you that out main target this season would have been promotion
to the Premier Division. However, during preseason the entire first team
squad left the club so now our aim is just to survive the season and not
get relegated, and during this season our new first team players will
hopefully grow in the confidence and ability to play in Division One.
Raph: What is your biggest bugbear when it comes to running a local
football club and why?
Ces: It saddens me to say it but it is the players that are my biggest
bugbear in running a club. In this day and age, especially the younger
players, there is little or no commitment. You have to do almost
everything for them with the exception of wiping their backsides. They
are more interested in talking about which city they are going clubbing
to the night after the match. A lot of lads just want to play football
with their mates now. Something which was saved for the realms of Sunday
Football is now commonplace on a Saturday. The will to succeed or win no
longer enters the minds of some of these lads; they just want to have a
good time.
Raph: If you had the option of sending someone from local football into
"Room 101", who would it be and why?
Ces: Plenty but I will keep it short as I do not want to bore anyone:
The majority of the FC Inter First Team squad from last season, what a
bunch of Pimmelkopfe (you can translate that from German to English).
Talk about no club loyalty...
Raph: What is your role within the PDFL and does this conflict with your
post at FC Inter?
Ces: I am on the PDFL committee. There is no conflict between my role at the
league and that at FC Inter. During PDFL meetings if there are any
discussions or decisions to be made about a club that a committee member
is associated with then that committee member has to leave the meeting
room until the issue at hand has been resolved.
Raph: Who is your favourite local referee and why?
Ces: My favourite local referee is Glenn Adams. He is a firm but fair man on
the pitch, always consistent, explaining every decision he makes. When
he gives a player his version of the "Pierluigi Collina Stare" you just
know he is about to open a can of whoop-ass! Do not respect him at your
peril!
Raph: Who is the best player that has played for one of the Clubs that
you have been involved with?
Ces: I remember one day at preseason training a couple of seasons ago, when
you brought a young Portuguese lad to train. This lad completed all of
the fitness work and played in a training match afterwards wearing a 1
kilo ankle weight on each leg. Unfortunately for our club we could only
keep hold of him for 2-3 months before Blackstones came knocking at his
door. His name is Avelino "Bebe" Vieira.
Raph: Which people within local football do you have the most respect for?
Ces: For me there are two people that stand out, a league official and a team
manager.
Firstly, Wendy Newey at the PDFL. She works tirelessly behind the scenes
to help make the league what it is today. The end product of Wendy's
efforts is that our league is Charter Standard and bucking the national
trend. The PDFL continues to expand while other leagues around the
country contract.
Secondly is Gino Agius of Eye Sports. Off the pitch he is a true
gentleman and nice guy, but on the pitch he is ruthless and one of the
most tactically astute managers I have seen - he is like Iceman from
Topgun - he rarely makes a mistake, his teams are always fully prepared
and they grind you down, forcing you to make mistakes which they
capitalise on.
Raph: Who would you class as the best player, who you have seen play
locally in your time?
Ces: When I played for ICA Juventus Sunday Mens team several years ago I had
the pleasure and honour of competing against a young Malcolm Christie.
Being a goalkeeper I was on the receiving end of many a shot from him.
He could hit a ball very hard or place it accurately in either corner of
the goal. Playing against him helped me to raise my own game and I've
not seen anyone as good locally since.
Raph: If you could either watch Italy win a future World Cup final at
Wembley or see FC Inter get into the UCL, which would it be?
Ces: I have already seen Italy win the World Cup twice in my lifetime (and
lose in a final and semi-final), so it would be interesting to see FC
Inter in the UCL. I cannot see it happening however unless Silvio
Berlusconi or the Gaddafi Family decide to invest in the club!
Raph: How do you think that local football in Peterborough could be
improved?
Ces: I think that two issues need to be addressed here.
Firstly, the footballing facilities in-and-around Peterborough need to
be improved. One could say that this has already started to some degree
because of the Riverside Pavilion in Woodston which is home to three
PDFL clubs and two PSMFL clubs, the new 3G 11-a-side pitch at Netherton,
and the new facilities at Kings Cliffe and Yaxley. This is only the tip
of the iceberg however. Pitch quality throughout the city leaves a lot
to be desired, and there are a lot of facilities that have not seen an
upgrade to their changing room facilities in years. I would like to see
clubs or groups of clubs being given a leasehold on facilities to
improve and manage. Only then will these facilities get the care and
attention they deserve.
Secondly, I would like to see the PDFL introduce end of season promotion
playoffs for every division. That would prolong and maintain interest
throughout the season.
Raph: Finally, what is your favourite (clean) joke?
Ces: Sofia just got married, and being a traditional Italian was still a
virgin. On her wedding night, staying at her mother's house, she was
nervous. But mother reassured her.
"Don't worry, Sofia. Luigi's a good man. Go upstairs, and he'll take
care of you."
So up she went. When she got upstairs, Luigi took off his shirt and
exposed his hairy chest. Sofia ran downstairs to her mother and said,
"Mama, Mama, Luigi's got a big hairy chest."
"Don't worry, Sofia", said the mother, "All good men have hairy chests.
Go upstairs. He'll take good care of you."
So, up she went again. When she got up in the bedroom, Luigi took off
his pants exposing his hairy legs. Again Sofia ran downstairs to her mother.
"Mama, Mama, Luigi took off his pants, and he's got hairy legs!"
"Don't worry. All good men have hairy legs. Luigi's a good man. Go
upstairs, and he'll take good care of you."
So, up she went again. When she got up there, Luigi took off his socks,
and on his left foot he was missing three toes. When Sofia saw this, she
ran downstairs.
"Mama, Mama, Luigi's got a foot and a half!"
"Stay here and stir the pasta", said the mother. "This is a job for Mama!"
Many thanks to Ces, for taking the time to answer our questions. Do you know a leading light in local football, who you would like to hear about? Drop their name to me within a PM to “Admin” or email me … raph@pst-uk.co.uk
Discuss this interview or anything else within sport that gets your interest, within our discussion forum. Just click the “Forum” tab on the PST home page.
_____
Recent Forum Posts
