Thursday, July 14, 2011

THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF FOOTBALL

Fanaticism is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal, particularly for an extreme religious or political cause or in some cases sports, or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby. Philosopher George Santayana defines fanaticism as "redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim"; according to Winston Churchill, "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject". By either description the fanatic displays very strict standards and little tolerance for contrary ideas or opinions.



In 2011, River Plate was facing both an institutional and sports crisis. José María Aguilar left the presidency of the club with a debt of over 10 million dollars, being replaced by Daniel Pasarella. The team ended the 2008 Apertura tournament at the bottom of the table, and River's poor form followed through the 2011 Clausura tournament. As a result, River played the "Promoción", a two-legged play-off against Belgrano de Córdoba, the fourth placed team of the 2010–11 Primera B Nacional. Belgrano won the first leg 2–0 at Córdoba, and held on for a 1–1 draw at El Monumental. With the defeat, River Plate was relegated to Nacional B for the first time in its history. The second match was interrupted during injury time by rioting in the stadium and its surroundings which continued after the match was called, despite a substantial police presence. Almost immediately following River's relegation, Juan Jose Lopez resigned as manager.

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