Can astrology help build winning football teams?
European Cup for the second time in two years, captain John
McGovern told a bewildered press: “Another surprise for the
media, and everyone else in football, but not for us, not when
you are under Brian Clough and Peter Taylor - miracles can
happen”.
Germany women
Not only are the German men in the top two when it comes to
FIFA World Cup titles, so are the women. Since they started
competing in European and World championships, in the mid1980s, they have won the European Cup seven times and the
World Cup twice. The synchronicity of their movement, their
seamless inter-passing and the destructive power of their
attack made them almost unbeatable between 2003 and 2011.
World Cup 2011, opening game: Germany 2-1 Canada.
Germany nucleus:
LAUDEHR (Cancer)
OKOYINO DA MBABI (Cancer) KRAHN (Cancer)
BARTUSIAK (Mars Scorpio)
GAREFREKES (Mars Cancer) BEHRINGER (Scorpio)
PRINZ (Scorpio, Mars Cancer)
The key to their outstanding results was the high performance
of their Sun-sign Scorpio striker and focal player Birgit Prinz.
Having successfully united their watery nucleus, Birgit retired
from international football in 2011 holding the FIFA World
Cup record with fourteen goals. Curiously, the Germany men’s
legendary finisher Gerd Muller (Scorpio, Mars Cancer) - also
the focal player of a fluid nucleus – held the FIFA World Cup
goal-scoring record for thirty-two years with fourteen goals.
Costa Rica
One of the biggest World Cup upsets (although not such a
surprise when the astro-profiles are considered!) was Costa
Rica finishing top of its 2014 Group – a group containing
three former World Cup winners: England, Italy and Uruguay.
Without a single ‘star’ player their strength was unity.
one-two with Santi Cazorla (Sun Sagittarius, Moon Leo, Mars
Aquarius) that didn’t come off, the BBC commentator pointed
out, “That’s why he’s not really in the thick of things in terms
of the Premier League”; and his co-commentator confirmed,
“Yeah, he thinks Cazorla is making the run...he doesn’t make it,
then you are made to look a poor player”. Joel was loaned-out
to Villareal two weeks later.
Integration:
Barcelona: 2009-11
Between 2009 and 2011 Barcelona was by far the best team in
Europe. With a well-balanced team - a rock solid goalkeeper
(Capricorn), offensive defenders (Aries), creative ball-players
in midfield (Taurus), a 360-degree visionary (Pisces), it had
Aquarian invention, Cancerian teamwork, a predatory leonine
finisher and telepathic partnerships – Barcelona just about
invincible.
2009 Champions League final: Barcelona
Manchester United.
2-0
Barcelona:
VALDES (Capricorn)
SYLVINHO (Aries) PUYOL (Aries) PIQUE (Aquarius, Mars
Aries)
MESSI (Cancer) BUSQUETS (Cancer, Mars Aries)
INIESTA (Taurus) XAVI (Aquarius, Moon Taurus) TOURE
(Taurus)
ETO’O (Pisces)
HENRY (Leo)
Balance in the outfield: 3 fire; 2 air (5); 3 water; 2 earth (5)
Alex Ferguson said that “Barcelona were the best team ever
to line up against my Manchester United sides”. Graeme
Souness, a European Cup-winner with Liverpool in the 1980s
and now a TV pundit said, “This is the best team I’ve ever
seen play football, including international sides: there was
balance, electric combinations and the right players in the
right positions”.
World Cup 2014, group stage: Costa Rica 1-0 Italy.
Costa Rica nucleus:
BORGES (Gemini, Mars Pisces) BOLANOS (Taurus)
UMANA (Cancer, Moon Taurus)
DUARTE (Gemini, Mars Cancer) CAMPBELL (Cancer, Mars
Taurus) TEJEDA (Pisces, Moon Virgo)
DIAZ (Virgo, Mars Leo) RUIZ (Leo, Moon Virgo)
On a personal note, one of Costa Rica’s outstanding performers
was Arsenal’s Joel Campbell (Cancer, Moon/Mars Taurus).
However, when he returned to London after the World Cup he
could hardly get a game in the first-team. And the problem? In a
rare starting-appearance (January 2015) and following another
42
Sep/Oct 2015 The Astrological Journal
Adapted from Alan Ayre’s new book The AstroLogic of Winning Football – and how giantkillings and Cup upsets happen, published
by Oodlebooks. For more information
about Alan’s books and his work visit: www.
thefootballastrologer.co.uk.
In conversation:
Shelley von Strunckel and
Frank C. Clifford
With Victor Olliver (Part 1)
Two of the world’s leading astrologers sat down together for a chat
about their work and the wonderful domain of stargazing (and its
knockers). Journal was there to record it
On a chilly February day this year, Frank
and Victor rendezvoused at London’s
King’s Cross Square for the short walk to
Shelley’s apartment nearby – a splendidly
spacious waterside loft overlooking the
tranquil Regent’s Canal and its residential
barges and wild fowl. The trio’s mission
was to “talk about astrology” though
no one had a clue what to expect. This
being the penultimate day of an Aquarius
Mercury retrograde, Gemini Victor’s
dictaphone naturally decided to call it
a day mid-chat. Fortunately, Frank –
with his unerring ability to anticipate
problems – had brought along his own
tape device, oddly immune to Mercury’s
optical illusion act.
London School of Astrology. In 2012
he became the youngest winner of the
Charles Harvey Award for Exceptional
Service to Astrology (conferred by the
Astrological Association).
Discovered by the late
great media astrologer
Patric Walker, Shelley
von Strunckel (SvS) is
a world-leading stargazer
of awesome range. Her
horoscope
columns
appear in countless publications the
world over, notably in the UK Sunday
Times and London Evening Standard
as well as in publications in Europe, the
Middle East, Australia and Asia, such as
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post;
and in Gulf News and foreign editions of
Vogue. She also lectures widely.
“Don’t ask the
astrologer what’s
going to happen –
make it happen
yourself”
Frank C. Clifford (FC),
too, has a global reach
as an astrologer who has
written many books and
published over thirty
titles (through his Flare
Publications) as well as
penned numerous magazine horoscope
columns. He also lectures and teaches
internationally and is Principal of the
Victor Olliver
publication.
(VO)
edits
this
Seated at a round table as if at a séance,
they discussed astrology education,
what drew them to astrology in the first
place, Richard Dawkins, the problems of
cookbook astro-guides, feedback from
the public and clients…and what precisely
gets Shelley and Frank up in the morning.
*
VO: I said to Frank, “I’m just the adjunct
here – you two are the astro stars”. But
he corrected me and said, “This is going
to be a conversation with all three of us”.
But you’ll find that I manipulate things.
So, it’s for you to say, “Victor, stop it”.
Shelley von Strunckel
it makes me any better at what I do, but
visibility in some people’s eyes gives you
a certain status or credence or something.
You see, when I was learning astrology,
even if there was a correspondence
course, I didn’t know about it. That was
back in Hollywood. So my thoughts also
are for people who are very, very deeply
interested in astrology but who may not
be studiously inclined or have not heard
of courses. There are many, many ways
FC: OK, deal.
VO:
So,
the
professionalisation
of astrologers piece we ran in The
Astrological
Journal
[Jan-Feb
2015]. Should astrologers have paper
qualifications for credibility?
SvS: I don’t have any of those credentials.
But I think it would be useful for readers
to hear from someone who has been, shall
I say, ‘quite visible’. Because it’s not that
Frank receiving the Charles Harvey Award
Sep/Oct 2015 The Astrological Journal
43