J.ZANETTI: THE STORY OF A SPECIAL GOAL
Monday, 22 March 2004 18:24:59
WARSAW - (Chilometri News Agency) - Javier Zanetti saved the life of a Polish police officer. Strange, but true, the story which goes back to 1998 was reported today in Polish daily Super Express.
The protagonist is Marek Kopacz, a high-level official of the police force in Skarzysko-Kamienna, a small Polish city to the north of Krakow. In June six years ago Kopacz was investigating a band of criminals and soon became the object of anonymous threats. A man of the utmost integrity, he continued the investigations despite finding the roof of his car damaged one morning.
A keen football fan, Kopacz had to swallow the bitter pill of seeing his national team eliminated from the World Cup qualifying round by England and Italy, but nonetheless still followed the final phases of France '98. And on the evening of 30 June he sat down in front of the television to watch the quarter-final match between Argentina v England. He was supporting the South Americans as England had eliminated Poland in the qualifying round and Kopacz saw Batistuta give Argentina the lead, then Shearer and Owen turn things around for England before Beckham was sent off. The Polish police officer, glued to his TV set, didn't move an inch when his wife asked him to take the dog out for a walk. Kopacz also ignored another part of his daily routine: "Every day at ten o'clock in the evening I would go by car to the police station to check that everything was okay."
That evening the police officer remained in front of the television as extra time was about to begin. Then, around 22:00, he heard an explosion. Kopacz and his wife, who had returned home after taking the dog for a walk, ran to the window and saw their car on fire. The time bomb hadn't accounted for Argentina's will to fight for extra time.
"It was Boniek that first told me this story," said Javier Zanetti to Super Express. "Then I received a letter from Kopacz. It's incredible that my goal saved the person's life, but perhaps it's also the merit of my determination. I never give up and that evening I gave my all until the end, when I managed to score and make it 2-2. I would really like to meet Kopacz. Our lives have become intertwined without knowing it, but this also demonstrates the strength of football."
http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=13225&L=en
Monday, 22 March 2004 18:24:59
WARSAW - (Chilometri News Agency) - Javier Zanetti saved the life of a Polish police officer. Strange, but true, the story which goes back to 1998 was reported today in Polish daily Super Express.
The protagonist is Marek Kopacz, a high-level official of the police force in Skarzysko-Kamienna, a small Polish city to the north of Krakow. In June six years ago Kopacz was investigating a band of criminals and soon became the object of anonymous threats. A man of the utmost integrity, he continued the investigations despite finding the roof of his car damaged one morning.
A keen football fan, Kopacz had to swallow the bitter pill of seeing his national team eliminated from the World Cup qualifying round by England and Italy, but nonetheless still followed the final phases of France '98. And on the evening of 30 June he sat down in front of the television to watch the quarter-final match between Argentina v England. He was supporting the South Americans as England had eliminated Poland in the qualifying round and Kopacz saw Batistuta give Argentina the lead, then Shearer and Owen turn things around for England before Beckham was sent off. The Polish police officer, glued to his TV set, didn't move an inch when his wife asked him to take the dog out for a walk. Kopacz also ignored another part of his daily routine: "Every day at ten o'clock in the evening I would go by car to the police station to check that everything was okay."
That evening the police officer remained in front of the television as extra time was about to begin. Then, around 22:00, he heard an explosion. Kopacz and his wife, who had returned home after taking the dog for a walk, ran to the window and saw their car on fire. The time bomb hadn't accounted for Argentina's will to fight for extra time.
"It was Boniek that first told me this story," said Javier Zanetti to Super Express. "Then I received a letter from Kopacz. It's incredible that my goal saved the person's life, but perhaps it's also the merit of my determination. I never give up and that evening I gave my all until the end, when I managed to score and make it 2-2. I would really like to meet Kopacz. Our lives have become intertwined without knowing it, but this also demonstrates the strength of football."
http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=13225&L=en
