ROME – Comments from Ireland players Brendan RODGERS (ROI) and Gary MOORE (ROI) after the group phase of the Open Team category at the FISTF World Cup in Rome on Sunday.

Brendan RODGERS (ROI)

On being at the World Cup:
“This is my first World Cup. It’s an amazing experience and I think the team event is really fantastic. It gives you that feeling of team spirit and everybody’s rooting for the other person more than in the individual tournament.”

On how aware he is of the other tables in the team event while he’s playing:
“I wasn’t aware of anything that was happening on any other table at all. I was concentrating on my own game and I only realised what the score was when the final whistle went. I think maybe that works for a lot of people. Other people might like to see where they stand and maybe they play towards that depending on what’s happening on the board. But I think just play your own game and see what happens.”

On what he takes away from the tournament:
“The standard is amazing, the standard’s so high. The best players are just so accurate and so fast. It really is amazing.”

Gary MOORE (ROI)

On whether defeating Germany 2-1 in the group phase was a surprise:
“A surprise? No … but yes. We thought of it as a game that we could definitely compete in and I think the lads played outstanding. It was a real team effort.

“We’re very proud in Ireland, no matter what sport it is, we get behind the team, especially when we see them winning.”

On the game against Germany and his game in particular:
“Brendan wasn’t aware of what was going on; I was very aware of what was going on. And I was also in an envious position of being 3-1 up at halftime but I knew how tight that would be if he scored again quickly in the second half, and that’s exactly what happened. So then I became very aware of what was going on in every other game.

“But then of course when you start your own game proper and switch off to the rest, you can concentrate more and thankfully I hung in there and the guys did really, really well.”

On what the team learned from the 4-0 loss to Malta:
“How to not miss the ball [laughs]. How to hold possession, how to attack so quickly. They practice, practice, practice, they play in the big tournaments all the time. They’re at the highest level for a reason, they didn’t get here by fluke.”

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ROME – Comments from Gianfranco CALONICO (ITA) after he defeated Jason PISANI (MLT) to win the Veterans Category at the FISTF World Cup in Rome on Saturday.
It was his second Veterans title after winning in 2016 in Belgium.

Gianfranco CALONICO (ITA)

On his emotions after winning his second Veterans world title:
“The emotions are very important because it’s been six years since the last title (2016), and to win here at home in Rome brings a lot more happiness. This World Cup in Italy is very important for Italians. Clearly, to have won at home is a great source of pride.”

On whether this victory was more emotional than the last one:
“The first time, you never forget. But clearly, to win at home is a unique feeling. In 2016 when I won, my son was two months old, he was just born. Now he’s six years old. For that I dedicate this victory to my son above all and my wife who supports me and gives me freedom to do the training I need to do to compete for this victory.”

On how he survived the knockout phase of the tournament:
“I always believed, which helped me a lot. The last four matches, I won three in sudden death, which gave me belief. Even in the moments when I didn’t play well, I limited the damage and was then able to close out the match.

“I tried to find physical and emotional strength and I was able to bring the title home.”

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Rome – Italy’s Luca COLANGELO claimed the Open Category gold medal at the FISTF World Cup, beating reigning champion and compatriot  Matteo Ciccarelli on shots after the match finished all square after extra time.

It is COLANGELO’s second world title, after winning the U16 event at the 2011 World Cup in Palermo, Italy,

Luca COLANGELO (ITA) – gold

On his feelings after the victory:
“The feelings are still fresh so it’s not easy (to describe) but of course I’m very happy. Already this year I made a final and lost, this was the second one but it had a good ending.”

On deciding the final on penalty shots:
“Very stressful.”

On how he will celebrate:
“We are in a city like Rome, so we’ll see, but there’ll be somewhere to celebrate this world championship.”

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Rome – Italy’s Eleonora Buttitta  won the FISTF World Cup Women’s event, with an enthralling 1-0 win over France’s Margot Diradourian.
With time ticking down, Diradourian forced a ‘back’ against the Italian, and the referee added six seconds for the shot to be taken, but Buttitta saved to claim Italy’s first women’s event since Giuditta Lo Cascio took the title in 2011.

The win by Buttita was revenge for the last World Cup in 2018 in Gibraltar where she lost the final against France’s Audrey Herbaut (FRA) 2-1.

Eleonora BUTTITTA (ITA)
On her feelings after winning:
“I am super happy. I couldn’t believe it. It was a really high-quality tournament. After the last World Cup in Gibraltar when I made the final but lost, I believed and hoped this time.”

On what she learned from the group phase game against DIRADOURIAN earlier on Saturday:
“I learned that I need to manage the game well. That’s something that I think is more important in team events but it’s also really important in individual events. So it’s not just technical but also understanding the moments of the games. In the second half of this final I made many mistakes but in the end it went well.”

On how she will celebrate the victory:
“With a pasta carbonara tonight probably and a beer but not too much because tomorrow we have the team event, so I’ll celebrate more next week.”

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Rome – Willi Hofmann, a six time Europa Cup winner and 1986 Subbuteo World Cup winner, has been an honoured guest at the FISTF World Cup 2022 Rome.

We took the opportunity to have a question and answer session with the master.

How did you first start playing Subbuteo?
“I started in ’74 when I was 13 years of age. A friend of mine got it as a present and he needed an opponent and I was the victim, so in this way I got a way in. I started and thought, ‘That’s a very good game,’ and became a bit enthusiastic about it.”

Where there many other players in Switzerland at the time?
“Oh yes, back then Switzerland was actually quite leading in this Subbuteo world and I had great masters who showed me how to play the game and that was actually the base for my future success.”

When did you realise you could be a top player at international level?
“It took me about five or six years where I reached a level where I could win my first international competition with the Open Cup in Austria 1980. That’s a long time ago!”

Willi playing Australian Champion Gary Hosie in Sydney in 1988

Did Subbuteo ever become well-known in in Switzerland outside of the playing community?
“In Switzerland, Subbuteo was never a big thing. The market is far too small and the Swiss people really were not aware of that game and still aren’t. It’s a very small, niche game but still, in the course of the last 40 years, many people got to know the game, mostly through personal relationships.”

What are your best memories of your career?
“There are various good memories, great memories. The victories are probably those moments which are most staying in my memories but after all I had a very nice experience on various levels, not least on the personal side too.
“Thanks to this game, I met my wife and have two wonderful children with her. So there’s the game, competing, but also the social side, from meeting numerous friends and still maintaining those friendships to some extent and even down to the family level.”

Was travel part of what the game gave you too?
“That was a huge thing for me back then as a young man, or a teenager actually, to have gotten these opportunities to travel and meet other people with the same interests, which otherwise wouldn’t have been possible.”

Why were you interested in producing new equipment for the game during your career?
“When I was active, the limitation of equipment was a burden and the situation was dominated very heavily by Waddingtons, by the Subbuteo producer. And I thought it would be time to open this gate. So I put some effort in and developed this base, this figurine base, which had a larger, lower surface which gave the figure much more stability. This was the base for many other products to be released by other producers.”

What changes have you seen in the game throughout your life?
“I would say the actual game in the core itself is unchanged. But, of course, there are various components, starting with the rules, continuing with equipment. It’s difficult to point to one element which has a bigger importance than the other. There are numerous little changes but as I said, the core itself is unchanged.”

Why did you step away from the game?
“I finished my individual career in 1990 and then I focused on the creation of this federation, of FISTF, and then the job was done. The focus in life changed – I created a family, went abroad for business, so I just had other interests.”

After a long time away from the game, why did you come to Rome 2022?
“The reason why I wanted to come is that exactly 30 years ago we created this baby, this world federation, with the intention to bring all the Subbuteo players of the world together. I haven’t been in contact with the sport for many years but I thought 30 years is a good reason to come back and see how this baby has developed.

“I’m just thrilled to see that it became an adult and successful in actually materialising those objectives that we started with and thought might be one day possible. It’s very satisfying and makes me happy to see what I have seen now these two days here in Rome.”

What do you see as the future of the game?
“I still think this game is extraordinary in various aspects – in technical aspects, in tactical aspects. Alongside all these electronic games and other spare-time opportunities for children or young adults, it still has its place.
“And I think that the social aspect of it is undervalued today and specifically in times of Internet and social media and so on, I hope – and maybe it’s more a hope than a realistic judgement – that it will continue to expand and bring up the value in its core: to meet people, to face people in a competitive way but meeting friends. And meeting friends is such an important thing, and if you can do this on a common base, across all continents, I think that’s a big value for hopefully many people to come and many generations to come.”

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ROME – Comments from Simon STEWART (NIR) and Richard BERLIAQUE (GIB) during the group phase of the Veterans Category at the FISTF World Cup in Rome on Saturday.

Simon STEWART (NIR)

On his physical issues at the World Cup:
“I had Covid and unfortunately it’s led to some complications. My knee is swollen, I have some fluid in the knee and I’m on anti-coagulant injections. Hopefully it’s not a long-term problem, but it’s difficult.”

On why he decided to participate despite his knee problems:
“I’ve been waiting for a year to come here. I did think about maybe staying at home, but two reasons: one, personally, I want to come to the World Cup and I want to play – it’s been 20 years since I’ve played at a World Cup. 
“But also my team, for the first time Northern Ireland have five players at a World Cup, so we actually have a full house of players. And I’m the captain, so as the captain I have to come and show my support and have some fun.”

On how his injury has limited him at the table:
“I noticed in my first two games, I was getting twinges and I was having to stop. But I have to say that the guys I’ve played so far, they’ve been fantastic. When they’ve seen me struggling to get back and limping, they’ve let me get back to get my goalkeeper.
“And that for me is what Subbuteo is all about. It’s about fairness. They’ve been fair and friendly and it’s been good so far.”

Richard BERLIAQUE (GIB)

On being the oldest player at the World Cup at 68 years, nine months:
“It’s an immense pleasure for me to be the oldest here playing in this tournament. At my age you don’t see many players.”

On how his age impacts his play:
“I have more experience but I get very tired, especially when you play, ref, play, ref – it’s too much for someone like me. I have to do it because it’s in the rules but it’s a bit harder for me than for the others. But I do it, I don’t mind.”

On raising the Veteran age from 45:
“It could be a good idea, why not? It might encourage other veterans to come in because when you’re 45 and you compete with (a player aged) 68, there’s about 23 years difference. So it would be a good idea to build up the category of Veterans and Open.”

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The oldest player at the world cup is Richard BERLIAQUE (GIB) at 68 years and 9 months, a full 61 years and 3 months older than the youngest player Apollon DIMAKEAS (GRE)  at 7 years 6 months.

ROME – Comments from Carolina VILLARIGUES (POR) and Eleonora BUTTITTA (ITA) during the group phase of the Ladies Category at the FISTF World Cup in Rome on Saturday.

Carolina VILLARIGUES (POR)

On how she feels after her 6-0 victory against Marianna MALINDETROU (GRE):
“Now, I feel OK. In the first half, my head was not here. I was missing, missing, missing, but I focused myself and it was OK.”

On whether participation for ladies is improving:
“Here I’m seeing players I’ve never seen before, so that must be a good thing because there are players I’ve never seen, I’ve never heard of them.

“But there are others who are not here. So some are coming up but others are letting it down.”

On how participation for ladies can improve:
“I think it’s always going to be hard, because what I’m seeing is most of the girls do not see this like a boy, like a major thing. I think the new ladies come because their fathers are coming – uncles, friends – not because they want this. There are a few of us who really want this and we go here, there and there, but the other ones, I think they come just because.”

Eleonora BUTTITTA (ITA)

On the level of play in the ladies category:
“The level of the game is improving, above all for women. We were talking just yesterday that in Italy there are many woman who play in the Italian championships.”

“You see this also at world level. Even though there were no international tournaments, they’ve been training a lot and I’ve seen that the level is higher.”

On there being a separate ladies category:
“For the World Cup, I am happy to play in the ladies category. It’s always a challenge every year. The rest of the year, I would like that the game is more integrated but that is already happening.”

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ROME – Comments from Alberto DI MAGGIO (GRE), Fabrizio COCO (AUS) and Thomas PONTÉ (UKR) during the group phase of the Open Category at the FISTF World Cup in Rome on Saturday.

Alberto DI MAGGIO (GRE)

On his opening win against Kaspar BENNET (ENG):
“To be honest I didn’t play my best game. For me it was not a very good game but still if you win, you are happy, so I’m happy. But I can play better than that.
“You must be focused on the win – nothing else, not to play good.”

On which areas he needs to improve in:
“Shooting to be honest, because I shot too fast. And in the defence I see I have a little bit of stress, but it will change now. The next game will be better.”

On playing for Greece at a World Cup in Italy (he has a Greek mother and an Italian father):
“To be honest I am more than half Greek than Italian but I am always Italian. It feels always like home to play here. The Italians are happy that I play, even for Greece. Many of the Italians say, ‘We are with you because you are Italian.'”

Fabrizio COCO (AUS)

On coming back to his home country to play in the World Cup:
“It’s nice. It’s something that especially after Covid and the pandemic and everything that happened in the world, it’s something really special. I couldn’t wait to come here, see my family and friends, travel in Europe and Italy, and this is a beautiful location to play.”

On his first international trip since the outbreak of the pandemic:
“I left Italy to go back to Australia three days before they closed the borders for Covid so I was just on the border line. That was my last trip and now after Covid this is my first trip overseas.”

On his exuberant goal celebration against Justin LEROY (BEL):
“I believe that I should play more calm but I feel the pressure sometimes, especially when you play these kind of matches.

“But especially this goal, I screamed because I don’t know how I pulled that goal out, honestly, because three touches I was inside the goal. He didn’t even have the keeper in his hands, so I get excited when I score like this.”

Thomas PONTÉ (UKR)

On moving from France to Ukraine and establishing table football there:
“I moved to Ukraine two years ago because I’m a French teacher for Ukrainian people. I wanted to show the game to Ukrainians because they don’t know this game.

“In the school where I work, the Alliance Française in Odessa, I started with my students to play table football. In January we were 10 players and we wanted to do the first Ukrainian championships in June.

“But because of the war, I had to move at the end of February and then some players, more than 18 years (old), they have to stay in Ukraine, they can’t move.”

On representing Ukraine at this World Cup:
“I choose to play for Ukraine now because I lived in Ukraine, my wife is Ukrainian and I want to come back to Ukraine and I want to improve the game in Ukraine.

“For me it’s more to show that there are some Ukrainian players who can’t move from Ukraine and to honour them.”

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ROME – Comments from gold medallist Morgan CROCE (ITA) and silver medallist Stefano DE FRANCESCO (ITA) after CROCE won 3-2 in the final of the Traditional Cup at the FISTF World Cup in Rome on Friday.

Morgan CROCE (ITA)

On the tournament:
“I knew that probably in the elimination rounds there were really strong players against whom I could have lost. Then to play against Stefano, who I played against a month ago in the Italian final, it was a honour to play against him again.”

On his goal to make it 2-0 on the stroke of halftime:
“It was fundamental because I knew that I needed another goal to play a little bit more relaxed, definitely.”

On his career:
“I have played table football and Subbuteo for many years. But first, I play football and now I coach football. I am always busy with work on the weekend and I can only play a little bit (of table football), so I am very happy with what I’ve been able to do.”

Stefano DE FRANCESCO (ITA)

On the final:
“My opponent was better than me. When you lose while playing your best and your opponent was better, you congratulate him and accept the defeat.

“I knew we were probably the two best players but he was a tiny bit better than me.”

On whether he is happy with silver:
“No, but I accept it because it’s what I deserved.”

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