FSV Duisburg II caused a sensation in the Kreisliga C, defeating VfB Obermarxloh 9er 19:6 (13:1). Striker Bulut
Zaccardo: “My own goal won us the World Cup. And I recommended Kvara to Napoli.”
The former Milan and Parma defender: “I lost my place, but Lippi put Grosso in. Cannavaro coach of Uzbekistan? It came from a joke I made.”
Cristian Zaccardo’s generational leap goes from the black background of teletext to the light green of WhatsApp. Since he embarked on his career as an agent, he has been constantly on the move. “Twenty years ago, I used to check teletext to see who had been called up to the national team, now I travel in search of talent. But when I come home and see the World Cup trophy on the shelf, well… I think it could have been worse.” He laughs. His last flight took him to Uzbekistan with Fabio Cannavaro, the new coach of that country’s national team.
How did the operation come about?
“At the end of August, Cannavaro, Materazzi, and I, along with others, were invited by the federation to visit the new sports center. When we were there, as a joke, I said, ‘Why don’t you take Fabio?’. They called him a couple of weeks later.“
And how did it go with Kvara in Naples?
”In 2020, I was devouring Wyscout. Kvicha was the player with the most dribbling attempts in Europe, ahead of Messi and Neymar. In February 2021, I met his entourage in Moscow. Edoardo De Laurentiis asked me to suggest two players who could make a difference, and I gave him the names of Moises Caicedo and Kvaratskhelia. They chose to negotiate with the Georgian. I’d say it went well.”
Have you ever thought about becoming a coach?
“No. I love the transfer market, I was undecided whether to continue as a sporting director or as a FIFA agent. I asked Galliani to start at Monza, even for free, but they were fine with the way things were. In the end, I chose to be an agent. I live between Milan and Fano and enjoy spending time with my children, Ginevra and Nicolò. He is a striker and plays in the Promozione league. When I see him, I want to play, but I can’t do it anymore.“
What kind of child were you?
”One who wanted to be a soccer player and succeeded. I started in Spilamberto, my hometown, then at age 10 I arrived in Bologna. My parents had a restaurant, then they opened an ironing shop. I helped them out from time to time. They made sure I had everything I needed.”
At twenty, he was already a starter for Bologna.
“In November 2000, I was about to go to Siena, but Guidolin convinced me to stay. On December 22, 2001, the day after my 20th birthday, I scored my first goal against Lazio. The second came a year later… again against Lazio. Mazzone would scold me: ‘Hey, you have to wake up’. I was in a room with Nakata. Before the games, he would give us dozens of language quizzes.“
What did Palermo mean to you?
”That’s where I became a man. Me, Barzagli, Barone, Grosso, Toni. From the Barbera to winning the World Cup together. I scored my first goal for the national team at the Barbera against Slovenia. That game secured our qualification for Germany. Those were the best years.”
But there’s no point asking him which was the best.
“2006-07. I met my partner, I won the World Cup, I scored five goals, and my son was born. I found out I’d been called up by watching teletext. Until you get confirmation, you’re always on alert.”
Does it hurt to be remembered for the own goal against the United States?
“Of course. Without that own goal, I would have remained a starter at the expense of… Grosso. But maybe we wouldn’t have won the World Cup.”
Are you still convinced that the own goal brought good luck?
“History says so. After Italy-United States, Lippi put Zambrotta on the right and Grosso on the left. That’s how it had to be. The same goes for Nesta: Materazzi took his place. Against Ghana, however, I played great.”
Is it true that a few days later you scored again against Buffon?
“Yes, so much so that Gigi jokingly said, ‘What the hell, enough is enough.’ It was a great group: when the news about Calciopoli came out, Lippi locked us in a room and told us to focus only on ourselves.”
How did you spend the night before the final?
“I went to bed at 1 a.m. I told my friends that a victory would change my life forever.”
Who writes the most in the 2006 chat?
“Buffon. At first, he never wrote anything because he had to stay focused even though he was over forty, but now he always replies.”
What kind of player were you?
“An atypical defender who liked to score goals. I deserved to play for a big team sooner. I got there at 33, in a Milan team that was rebuilding. I remember Donnarumma, who was already saving everything at 16. ‘Where did he come from?’, we wondered.”
Any regrets?
“Leaving Wolfsburg in 2009, as German champion. I gave up the money to return to Italy and rejoin the national team. Then, in 2011, there was contact with Juve, but nothing came of it.”
In 2014, he said no to a return to Parma.
“I had a great time at the Tardini, but I had negative feelings about the club and said I didn’t feel like it. Galliani got angry and turned to Bonaventura. In the end, it turned out as I said: Galliani jokingly told me that I would become his stockbroker.”
Why did you offer your services to clubs via LinkedIn in 2017?
“I had just come off a disastrous year in Vicenza, which ended in relegation, and my agent had disappeared. I received offers from all over the world, but I chose Malta to be closer to home.”
Are you a happy man today?
“Yes. I have two children, a great career behind me and a present as an agent. I would delete only one thing…”.
Intuitive.
“Yes, that damn own goal”.
Aksoy contributed eight goals.
On the 10th match day of Kreisliga C Group 3, FSV Duisburg II won 19-6 (13-1) against VfB Obermarxloh 9er. FSV striker Bulut Aksoy scored eight goals.
It wasn’t just the result that was unusual: the addition of “9er” to the visitors’ name meant that players and spectators alike witnessed an unfamiliar game. Both teams were only allowed to field nine players each.
“You never really stop learning,” explained eight-goal scorer Aksoy with a smile. “It was a 9-a-side team, so we also had to play with nine players. I didn’t know about this beforehand and first asked the league director how exactly it would work and whether any changes would have to be made to the pitch.”
In the end, however, the game took place as usual on the artificial turf pitch at the FSV Duisburg facility. Despite the unfamiliar situation, the home team never left any doubt as to who would leave the pitch as winners after the final whistle. “It was obviously totally unusual for us, especially in terms of positioning,” explained the striker, whose uncle Nihat Aksoy is his coach in FSV Duisburg’s second team. “Hats off to the guys from Obermarxloh for staying on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes.”
The 1.92-meter-tall center forward, who played for KSV Hessen Kassel and Borussia Mönchengladbach II in the then third-division Regionalliga Nord and Süd leagues during his career, went on to explain that the score could have been even higher if his team had “played it down sensibly.” The 37-year-old was also annoyed by the six goals conceded: “It’s not that I begrudge our opponents their goals, but at the end of the day, that’s not our level.”
With their highest win of the season so far, FSV Duisburg II consolidated their strong position in fourth place in the table and now have a goal difference of 80:26. The FSV had already won 12-0 at Post Siegfried Hamborn II on the previous match day. But anyone who thinks that this was also the biggest defeat of the season for the team from Obermarxloh is mistaken. On the third match day, VfB Obermarxloh’s 9-a-side team lost 0-25 to TuRa 88 Duisburg. VfB is currently second from bottom in the table and has conceded the most goals in the league with a goal difference of 16:111. MTV Union Hamborn III, bottom of the table, is only slightly behind in this statistic. With a goal difference of 9:104, Union also exceeded the 100-goal mark on the last match day with a 0:9 defeat against DJK Lösort Meiderich II.
