Modena contact exorcist
Tuesday 4 November, 2008
Modena have got in touch with exorcist Gregorio Colosio in the hope that he can rid the side of its demons.
The Canarini are currently bottom of Serie B, three points adrift of the relegation playoff zone and five points away from absolute safety.
“There has to be a devil in that dressing room,” declared Modena President Giancarlo Gibellini who decided enough was enough after his team won just one of their opening 11 games this season.
A couple of hours before Saturday's match with Cittadella, Gibellini called his old friend Father Colosio, a 70-year-old Benedictine monk from Modena's St. Peter's Basilica.
Answering a friend in need, Colosio made the short trip to the Stadio Alberto Braglia, entered the empty Modena dressing room and started a prayer from his book of exorcisms.
“O Lord, free this house, expel from it the dangers of the enemy. Take care of us in your peace,” Colosio then proceeded to read the rest of the prayer, which he had revised especially for the football club.
“Send your saints to comfort, support and visit our lads because in this stadium they have to carry the victory of the good.”
Unfortunately, his words did not appear to help much. Modena drew 3-3, had two players sent off and a penalty awarded against them.
However, Gibellini did not rule out bringing Colosio back in the future. “I am a fan first and foremost,” he said. “I want to do something to help the team, but I don't look for publicity. I don't want to do anything spectacular.”
Meanwhile, putting his faith elsewhere, Gibellini will today present to the Italian Football Federation a dossier of all the refereeing mistakes that have affected his team so far this season.
