My old friend Stef wrote one of these years ago, and it was great. Here’s my crack at the same sort of thing. If you like, please copy, provide your own answers and invite your friends to do the same.

Football survey

1. What team do you support and why?
Arsenal and I fell in love with them for no apparent reason 14 years ago. It was a dramatic penalty shootout against Sampdoria and a crush on Ian Wright that did it.
2. Any other teams you follow, and why?
Dinamo Zagreb - went to see them in 2007 and the atmosphere knocked me off my feet. I go to Arsenal for attractive football and Dinamo for the rush.
3. Which team do you hate the most and why?
Tricky one… I vacillate between Spurs and Man United. I think it’s Spurs atm. Not only are they local rivals, theyr’e actually winning sometimes. And they are accumulating players I used to like at an alarming rate. Gah.
4. Which other teams do you dislike and why?
Man U (annoying), Chelsea (rich and annoying), Hajduk Split (Dinamo’s rivals), Lazio (racist), MK Dons (plastic franchise football team)
5. Favourite all time player
Patrick Vieira. And also Ian Wright.
6. Favourite current player for your club
I love Gallas and Eduardo. They both push my buttons. I would have favoured Gallas until the last couple of weeks but the ridiculous way Eduardo’s been vilified has made me love him extra much!
7. Favourite current player not at your club
I think Artur Boruc right now. Also Patrick Vieira obviously, and Cristiano Lucarelli.
8. If your club had to sell one player, who would you sacrifice?
Almunia. We’d sign Boruc as a replacement.

9. Current favourite goalkeeper
Artur Boruc
10. Current favourite defender
William Gallas
11. Current favourite midfielder
Patrick Vieira
12. Current favourite forward
Eduardo
13. Current favourite manager
Slaven Bilic

Who do you prefer…

14. Arsenal or Spurs
Arsenal
15. Liverpool or Everton
Everton
16. Man U or Man City
City. JUST.
17. Real Madrid or Barcelona
Barca
18. Milan or Inter
Erm… I like both. Historically Milan but now Inter have Vieira!
19. Celtic or Rangers
Celtic
20. Rhyl or Bangor
Rhyl, having seen them play. I wouldn’t care otherwise.
21. Linfield or Glentoran
Linfield, because Stevie Baxter scores 26 billion goals a game!
22. Dinamo Zagreb or Hajduk Split
VOLIM DINAMO!
23. Legia Warsaw or Wisla Krakow
Don’t ask awkward questions! I still haven’t got to the bottom of my dilemma about Polish teams to favour!

24. Describe yourself as a supporter, in ten words or less.
Passionate, loud, community focused, pretty fearless ultra in training.
25. Favourite national side and, if it’s not your country, why?
Croatia, for similar reasons as why I like Dinamo. I fell in love with them around the same time, having visited the country.
26. Who will win the 2010 World Cup?
Erm…… England could actually do it, or Spain, or Brazil.

27. If you could watch any football game in the world, what would it be?
Dinamo v Hajduk. Hopefully I will, maybe as early as next May.
28. List some of the other fixtures you’re interested in.
Any Polish match; Galatasaray v Fenerbahce; Partizan v Crvena Zvezda; any Latin American derby.

29. Favourite… Championship team
Newcastle, for my mum. Also like Doncaster.
30. …League One team
Brighton and Hove Albion
31. …League Two team
Either Dagenham and Redbridge or Barnet. They can both be promoted this year! Also have a soft spot for Bournemouth despite almost getting hypothermia after a game at Dean Court!
32. …Non-league team
AFC Wimbledon. Community owned clubs are my thing.
33. Which is your nearest club, of any size?
Eastleigh. Saw them play AFC Wimbledon last season. 16 minutes of injury time due to an injury to the linesman!

34. Favourite… French team
Lyon I think. Glory hunting but they used to be an Arsenal retirement home so I had a soft spot for them then.
35. …German team
St Pauli. Like my sister, I tend to follow both Hamburg teams which is odd!
36. …Italian team
Livorno. Also have always liked AC Milan.
37. …Spanish team
Barcelona
38. …Polish team
Don’t ask me this, I’m still trying to work it out.
39. …Croatian team
Dinamo
40. …Dutch team
Ajax
41. …MLS team
Don’t know much about it but Adrienne would want me to say Colorado Rapids, so I just did
42. Any other teams you like from unpredictable countries or just those I haven’t mentioned yet?
A lot of teams capture my imagination. If there’s passion in the stadium, I’m interested. I’m also interested in teams with a left wing support base.

43. Best match you’ve ever been to or watched on TV and why?
That’s really hard… I loved Arsenal v Juventus in December 2001. 3-1. Also the 3-1 over Man Utd in the same season, about a month beforehand.
44. Worst match you’ve ever been to or watched on TV and why?
I didn’t actually go there or watch on TV, I listened to it on the radio and it traumatises me for life… Man U, February 2001, don’t make me talk about it anymore!!!!!
45. How many games do you go to per season?
As many as i can. Sharing a season ticket atm, expected to make 7-10 games.
46. Would you go to more games if you afford to?
Yes, if I also had time.
47. How do you think the atmosphere could be improved at football games (especially if you follow the Premiership)?
I’m for anything which doesn’t involve racism or people punching each other. Someone let off flares right next to me at Hearts v Dinamo and it gave me such a rush! Short of such behaviour, I think everyone should take responsibility to join in the chants and generate atmosphere.
48. Do you envy any other club’s supporters, and if so why?
Dinamo and every other club whose fans give it their all for 90 minutes.
49. Have you ever joined in a football related protest?
I used to launch them! I ran a football action group called GRODD as a teenager. Good times. I’ve been involved in the Free Michael Shields (yay, victory!) and Save the Vuvuzela campaigns of late. I am also in favour of safe standing and have argued for it often.

50. If you had a time machine, what football related thing would you do?
Go to an Arsenal game when there was atmosphere at Highbury. Maybe a north London derby in the 70s would float my boat? Terraces would be involved, of course.

51. Do you play?
Sometimes. Not for a year. Must get involved at uni.
52. What position do you play/did you play at school?
Selfish striker.
53. How good are you?
Erm… not very!
54. Who was your childhood idol?
Ian Wright. I’m actually better at playing up front than anything else, so I don’t think I let my idol sway my choice of position.
55. As a player, what are your strengths and weaknesses?
I’ve always been able to get a shot on target and I’m tenacious when it comes to winning the ball. Main weakness is too much time on the ball, hesitation, lack of confidence in what to do with it. I also struggle to get power behind my shots in a competitive situation because I’m over worried about accuracy. Basically I psyche myself out and don’t have the competitive experience to fix this problem.

56. What problems does the team you support have (i.e. money, administration, board issues)?
Finishing 4th over and over and over and over again. Not having a plan B on the pitch, thus being vulnerable to teams who only want to kick us.
57. What problems do your club’s supporters have (i.e. racism, apathy)?
Complete apathy and general silence, unless you’re in block 6.

58. Everyone answer this question, even the straight boys, for a laugh… if you had to date one player from your club, who would it be?
Just one? Hmm, that would have to be Gallas.
59. Same question, but with a player from another club?
At the moment, Artur Boruc. Players aside, Slaven Bilic pushes my button too.
60. Ever had a serious crush on a footballer?
I was in LOVE with Ian Wright for 2 years as a teenager, in a “crying when he handed in a transfer request and wanting to marry his wife off to my IT teacher so I could have him” kinda way. I get very defensive when I have a crush on a player and want to fight their corner! I also write songs about them!
61. Which club side has the most attractive players?
Tough question that. Used to be unquestionably Arsenal but they’ve sold a few hotties. Villa are quite interesting. Barcelona because Henry alone is worth half a dozen cute players at another team.
62. Which national side has the most attractive players?
Croatia of course! Because when Corluka and Kranjcar have Croatia shirts on, they’re not disgusting anymore!

63. What do you think of your team’s current kit?
Home kit is fine, away kits are rancid. White one looks like school uniform and blue one is Facebook blue, which is a Spurs colour!
64. Do you buy the kits? If so, how often, and how many do you own?
I don’t buy new Arsenal kits anymore, but used to and have taken to buying random kits. I’ve got about 10.
65. What’s the most random kit you own?
Dinamo home shirt (2008-9).
66. What do you think of your club’s current sponsors?
They probably pollute the environment quite a lot. I think there are further issues but not quite sure what they are, to be honest. Not keen on shirt sponsorship in general.

67. Funniest thing you’ve ever seen at a football match?
People singing “are you Schmeichel in disguise?” at some diving Wimbledon player in 1997, days after Schmeichel had been pretending to have been fouled by Ian Wright.
68. What would convince you to streak at a football match?
Artur Boruc.

69. Who will win… the FA Cup this season?
Man City
70. …the League Cup?
Villa
71. …the Premiership?
Arsenal would be nice. Real answer = Chelsea.
72. …the Champions League?
Arsenal would be nice and more plausible than the League. Arsenal, Real Madrid or Barca.
73. …the Europa League?
Someone who gets dumped out of the Champions League… I’ll go for Rubin Kazan. At least then I can stare at Savo Milosevic a bit.

74. What would you really, really like to happen in football this year, even though you know it won’t?
Dinamo winning the Europa League.

75. First match you went to:
Arsenal v Blackburn, 26/11/1995, 0-0.
76. Last match you went to:
Hearts v Dinamo Zagreb, 27/08/2009, 2-0 (2-4 on aggregate *yes*)
77. Favourite stadium visited:
Highbury.

It’s the sort of thing he does.

When he played for Arsenal he threatened to go on strike over the Iraq War, and according to Patrick Vieira’s autobiography, Pires is such a nice person that he trusts everyone and often gets hurt. I’d like to meet him.

Got me thinking about similar acts by footballers. Artur Boruc and Cristiano Lucarelli are well known to stick up for the rights of the fans of their preferred clubs (Legia Warszawa and Livorno respectively). Lucarelli pays the Brigate Autonome Livornesi’s fines.

I like it when footballers use their position to stand up for something important. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees. I remember when Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman were fined astronomical amounts for wearing “support the Liverpool dockers” T-shirts circa 1997. That made me really cross. Back to Vieira’s autobiography, it was nice to see that the back cover photo clearly displayed his Make Poverty History wristband. What happened to wristbands? They were part meaningul, part annoying, but it was all for a good cause

Finally, please vote in my poll. It’s the quietest one ever!

God bless, Jenni xx

Look at the bottom of the discipline stats.

That’s where I’d like to be

Sorry for lack of posts. I’m about to go and pray (really - have had a terrible few days of ignoring God and am going to try and turn things around). We must NOT let Man Utd win the title tomorrow! I’ve a feeling we’ll push it to the wire. At least it’s away so they won’t be able to sing about winning the league at the Emirates for 20 years.

Looking forward to Eurovision tomorrow - one of my guilty pleasures. Just found out that Croatia got to the final, so it will be interesting to hear their song. I’m often not a fan of their song, but support them cos I’d love to attend a Eurovision Song Contest in Zagreb List of the finalists.

Also I’ve just started reading up on the Croatian mayoral elections, because I got a message on Facebook from some Dinamo Zagreb fans telling me to vote for Josip Kregar. I’m now getting a lecture on the situation from one of my friends. Apparently the current mayor, Milan Bandic, is corrupt, but has done a lot of people a favour by allowing illegally built houses in the suburbs to remain. Over 5-% of people are saying they would vote for him, whilst a large minority say they won’t vote, and two per cent say they will vote for anyone but him. Javno has lots of information on the subject - use the search button (I couldn’t find a category).

Also, if any Facebook user is bored, try my Intermediate Football Quiz.

And finally… I’ve been singing this all day!

God bless, Jenni xx

I have become obsessed with Croatian football and here is an example of why.

Once I was disappointed that Arsenal were planning to paint the preserved front of the old Highbury stadium green. I emailed them and they said it was to match the new trees on Avenell Road, and that there had been a wide supporters’ consultation and nobody had complained. A quick visit to the Arsenal World message board confirmed that none of the committed supporters there had been consulted.  Many of these people were members and season ticket holders, who you’d think would be high on the club’s list of people to ask about the proposed changes to the stadium.

I therefore launched a petition which one Arsenal site moderator posted on his website. However, after a few days it had been removed and the moderator never told me why. A wise friend suggested that Arsenal probably leaned on him and told him he would have to remove all copyright content if he didn’t stop questioning them. I don’t know if this was true or if the moderator just lost interest in supporters’ activism, but the result was the same.

Compare this to Dinamo Zagreb’s Bad Blue Boys. Their website has a whole section dedicated to petitions - against moving to the new stadium, against some actions of the chairman, etc. They are much more organised than English fans. My friend Zvone tells me that there is an unspoken agreement that the fans don’t sing before kick off so that the fans are not tired of singing by the time their team needs them! And there is atmosphere at every game. I went to a 4-0 victory against Slaven Belupo (who brought no away fans - it didn’t matter one iota) and a 4-0 defeat against “the T team” (the other North London side) and the fans’ behaviour was similar - very, very loud, noisy and passionate! At Spurs, they sang after the game finished until the police let them out of the stadium, with all the White Hart Lane stewards and other staff standing around to watch!

I think if my first Arsenal game after that hadn’t been against Man United, the contrast would have scared me silly. I know that it’s good that we have less problems with hooliganism in the UK than many other European countries do, but isn’t it possible to find a compromise - neither silent nor violent?

So, Croatia 1 England 0 in terms of fan enthusiasm. I’d appreciate some feedback in terms of which other teams have great fans.

EDIT: The website full of “peticija” (Croatian word of the day = petitions!) is at http://www.badblueboys.hr/ - thanks Zvone for this!

God bless, Jenni xx