Barbara and Maurizio:

GOLDEN ANGELS

I wish to add a little introduction to my report of the Europeans 2001 in Bratislava, which were my first big international competition. I had not had the chance to attend any more events since Euros 98 in Milano, but thanks to the wonderful friends I had met mainly through the web, a whole new world of adventures was opening up for me.

I can remember exactly the day when things started... on december 23rd, 2000, I found myself shivering outside the Agorà Ice rink in Milano, with my friend Marianna, waiting for a girl named Silvia who would bring us to the morning practice session of Barbara Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio.
I was seriously nervous, and the idea of meeting Barbara in particular scared me... she seemed so strong and fierce on tv... how would she be, "live"??

I was up for a pleasant surprise - we enterd quietly and soon everyone came around greeting Silvia like old friends, and she made the introductions... we were shocked to find that we could actually sit as near as on the hockey benches, watching the practices... I never even thought it was actually possible to go and see some practices!
As soon as these were over, Barbara came ove to us and greeted us warmly again, inviting us to follow her in the changing room, "because it was warmer, and we could chat while she got dressed"...

So, after being so scared, I suddendly found myself chatting in the most relaxed way with a friendly - yet half-naked - Ms Fusar Poli. Mauri was just as nice as her, asking us with that unforgettable smile of his if we were planning to attend Euros in Bratislava... having been offered tickets for that event that very same morning, it is useless to say that even if I momentarily answered "no", as soon as I got home I was announcing to my mother that I had decided to take a trip to the Slovak Republic...