AS Roma seen from Kuwait

On YouTube it is easy to come across the trending videos, the experience can also turn into a search for related video layers, which can lead to surprises. So from one of those classic "Best Skills and Assists" videos you can get to a beautiful documentary on the third AS Roma'a title, with just over a thousand views and made by a studio based in Kuwait.
The channel is called balón and currently has only 112 members, the founder Fahad Nouri posted the documentary "Rome: The Path to the Third Scudetto", which retraces the steps of the 2000/2001 season title. 

The story starts from the previous 1982/1983 title, passing through the three Italian Cups won in eight years ('83/'84, '85/'68, '90/'91) and Francesco Totti's debut. In the docu anecdotes such as the Totti's almost-transfer to Sampdoria, up to Zeman's cigarettes and 433, which revive the club consigned to Fabio Capello since 1999, are told through archive videos and newspaper pages of the time. Thanks to the goals of Totti, Montella and Batistuta, Roma reaches the Scudetto the following year - only the third in Giallorossi's history - a season that has boundless and for its uniqueness has passionate football fans up to Kuwait.

#1 How was the passion for Serie A born? And for AS Roma in particular?

 

My passion for Serie A was born when I first started playing the early Winning eleven video games when I was a child. Me and my friends usually always pick the Italian teams because of their superior and exciting players. That passion extended when I understood more about Football and tactics, and how Serie A always had some of the best tacticians. My passion also extended to the Italian national team as well.

 

As for AS Roma, my passion for them is the same as my passion for the Serie A, I don't have a particular team I follow the most. I'm interested in all clubs in Italy, Milan, Juve, Inter, Roma, Napoli. However, my close friend is a passionate AS Roma fan and knowing what he knew about Roma, I immediately though that the Giallorossi can be an interesting subject at first, especially with their eventful history which is never boring.

 

 

#2 Balón is a team based in Kuwait, how is the passion for football felt in your country? What is the most followed European championship?

 

Kuwait is a big follower of Football. I could confidently say that Football is the most popular sport in our country. We follow our national team and the local league, but nothing beats our passion for European Football. We have a knowledgeable group of fans here as Kuwait was one of the pioneers in the region when it comes to Football. Winning the Asian Cup in 1980 was a factor in converting our people to Football fans. And, the time difference between us and Europe played a big role as the big matches usually start at 8pm or above which is a great time slot for TV consumption.

It's hard to say what is the most followed European Championship here in Kuwait, but I guess it could be the English Premier League. Of course, there are big followers of both Barcelona and Real Madrid, but there are many passionate Serie A fans in Kuwait with fan clubs for almost all the big Italian clubs.

 

 

#3 Many clubs or directors are making documentaries about football, what is the main difficulty in portraying this sport?

 

I think with any research-based work, finding the right archives, whether it's video archives or newspaper archives, can be tough. Especially, when your are thousands of miles away from the source and ground work can be difficult or almost impossible.

It is also important to fact check information, especially as Football can be filled with rumors that are sourced from other rumors. So, going through that process can be tough as well. But in the end, it's all enjoyable when everything clicks.

 

#4 What will be your next projects? Will you work on other Italian clubs?

 

Currently I'm working on my next project which will tackle a Brazilian phenomenon, and particularly his time with Inter. So, I'm still covering Italian Football. I'll have to extend outside of Italy after that as my channel aims to cover all different kinds of topics in Football and not just Serie A.