Scarred Face

By Stefano Paolocci

The football World Cup is being played and Guglielmo, during its daily football match on the beach, enjoys identifying himself with the players who, during the same days, stand out on newspapers and TV.

Imitating actions of football players, reproducing sounds of radio-TV speakers, Guglielmo excites Alfredo’s envy who, frustrated, thinks up an exemplary punishment: every time Guglielmo interprets a football player, the corresponding sticker will be removed from his album, defaced with a pen, cut out and joint up with others stickers to make a kite.

This history has been made to explain the military regime in Argentine and the drama of the desaparecidos.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BadPress
• Release date: Mar 8, 2018
• ISBN: 9781507154373

Book preview

This book is dedicated to Lucrezia and Angelica.

For my father because, having given up on the torment of the few last days, he made up his mind to wake me up at one o'clock in the morning for that Italy-Argentina, Bettega's goal, of which I don't remember a thing, apart from the speckles of dust at the end of the game.

After all, everything in life happens for a reason........

At the bottom of it all, football is fantasy, comics for adults.

Osvaldo Soriano

Scarred Face

Contents

Cubillas

Dirceu

Rensenbrik

Rossi

Krankl

Kempes

Historical Facts

Cubillas

Now nobody could deny him that reward: it was waiting and the world could fall at his feet, because it was that and only that, what he was asking for.

He had called out Luz’s name, trying to sound pleasant but firm at the same time.

It was annoying that all this was for nothing, since he’d quickly discovered the small tiptoeing feet of the little girl, without a moment's hesitation, coming closer, swift and precise as church bells for the evening prayers. He hadn’t even finished calling her when she’d appeared.

-What's going on? - asked the girl in the purple pyjamas with oversized sleeves and with a robot picture splayed right at the centre, which undoubtedly was, a recycling in her older brother's wardrobe.

-I've made up my mind: with the fifty pesos I will buy five packets – he announced proudly.

-No, no stickers of Gazzosa-

-And what about mum? - continued asking Luz with an angelic smile on her face.

-I'll take care of mum tomorrow! Now hurry up to bed as it's late and I'm warning you: Try not to ruin my plans! - and having said that, Guglielmo watched the blond head walk swiftly like a policewoman in an American movie, zigzagging in between the cushions on the floor, flattening more than one could possibly flatten, against the walls, until finally, with one hasty look to the left and right, run away, swiftly to her room, less than five steps away.

Outside, the city was sleeping peacefully, waiting for the event of the century. Even the ocean, which up to a few days ago had been churning and rumbling, sounded now, peacefully calm.

It seemed like only the moon wouldn’t close any eye to the excitement, the moon and Guglielmo.

-Have you told her? -

-Not yet Luz, come on, be quiet, let me work!

There was only a moment, a specific time in which mothers were more lenient and would give in to their children's demands: whilst the radionovella on the radio was being aired. This, Guglielmo had learnt by heart, just from the moment that he was born. It was now only a question of minutes, in a short while the announcer would interrupt the playing music and would announce in a dreamy voice, the start of Rosas y amor (Roses and Love).

But it was the 1st of June in 1978 and from early morning the headlines being shouted out by the paperboys in town, wouldn’t leave room for anything else other than the commencement of the World Cup. With a huge disappointment to Guglielmo, even the radio programme transmissions had to do some changes to their normal schedule:

-Ladies and Gentlemen, to leave space for the live coverage, direct from Buenos Aires, for the inauguration ceremony of the World Cup, today, the scheduled episode of Rosas y amor, will not be aired.

Luz, having been pissed off at how she had been treated a while ago, had set off to her room and consoled herself with her rag dolls, and so the whole fifty kilos of boiled potatoes have had to be peeled off all by Guglielmo himself.

Having plucked up a little courage, he started by saying:

-Mum? The teacher has told me that if I carry on getting the same marks in my homework as I did the other day, I'll finish the school year with excellent grades in my report sheets.

But his mother wasn’t really listening. She was grumbling and complaining loudly about the World Cup, the ball and of those ‘twenty hot-headed guys in tiny shorts and leather shoes running around the football pitch like a flock of sheep following their shepherd’.

-They are twenty-two mum- muttered Guglielmo, but when he realized he’d said it out loud, it was too late.  The words had fallen on deaf ears.

-But of course, why not! You will get good grades in your finals! Is this the mathematics that they’re teaching you at school this year: how many players there are in a team, how many teams are participating in the world cup, how long does a football match last?? – replied his mother furiously - Oh go away with this nonsense! Meanwhile, nobody tells me if Javier is getting back with Manuelita! It’s all their fault, these silly football players!

The situation certainly wasn’t to his advantage, but sometimes one has to take the risk and Gulgielmo made up his mind that now was the right time:

-You promised me fifty pesos if I’d do well in my school work, and promises are made to be kept –

-Well, promises....- and having said that, his mum moved away from the kitchen table, opened the second drawer, ransacked amongst the tablecloths and took in hand what could make ends meet, the family’s nest: a canvas bag which contained some spared coins. She fished out two, a tenner, and two of twenty and to Guglielmo’s disbelief, her arm just stretched out in his direction, with palm open and money in hand.

Luz’s small footsteps, who had been watching the whole scene from behind the door, had confirmed that this was really happening and not some sort of an illusion.

At this time there was no time to lose: the five packets with the World cup stickers would be waiting for him with open arms in Ernesto’s shop, just across the street, after all this was a fairly short distance for such a dream to come true.

Alfredo met up with Guglielmo along the path which ran through the woods and ended on the beach, Playa del Sur.

Of the two one could certainly, without a doubt, say, that the two knew each other very well. In reality Alfredo had moved to the city in the last couple of years, whilst Guglielmo had never lived anywhere else in all his life. But now, they lived in the same area, attended the same school, had the same circle of friends, and if this does not count as ‘knew each other by heart’