WHATSOC? Inter Milanguages!

The awesomely apt name of Southampton’s Modern Languages Football Team made us want to hear more, so I caught up with the striving team’s co-managers, Ben Green and Chris Williams.

Let’s start with the name. For those of us without an extensive knowledge of the ‘beautiful game’, can you explain why it’s so incredibly innovative?

Chris Williams: Sure! So one of the most famous and successful football clubs in the world is an Italian team called Inter Milan. Over at Inter Milanguages HQ we cunningly noticed that the end of ‘Milan’ and the beginning of ‘languages’ are the same. So, we whacked the two words together and there you have it!

 Genius. So what makes Inter Milanguages so special?

CW: Well aside from the name of course, the thing that I think is so special about the team is the sense of community that it creates among a group of students of different nationalities, who most probably will have never even met before the season kicks off.

Ben Green: By doing a languages degree and therefore having a year abroad in your third year, weirdly you only actually spend one year with the above and below years! This makes the role of Inter Milanguages incredibly important in creating unity among language students, a unity which can be seen each year on the pitch.

What are your roles? Can you tell us why you signed up in the first place?

CW: So this year I will be working together with my trusty partner-in-crime Ben Green to organise everything that is Inter Milanguages. From registration, kit and trials, to practices, matches, and of course socials! We put our names forward for the job because we feel we have the organisation and drive to pull it off and now we’re looking forward to showing that.

BG: The benefit of having two ‘managers’ as such is that not only can each be charged with different responsibilities, but during such a busy final year, one can donate their responsibilities to the other when they’re too bogged down – that way, the team always has a reliable leader. In our case, Chris and I have different expertise – he’s more athletic and practical, I’m more technical-minded – you could say we bring diversity to the managerial table!

 Is the team just open to language students or can anyone opt to play?

CW: The team is aimed at language, Erasmus and International students but of course anyone’s welcome to bring a mate along if they’re at a loose end or looking for a team. Especially if that guy ends up being the next Messi!

 A dickey-bird told me you’re heading for big things this year… Well, that you want to increase the squad numbers and drive the team to success. What methods are you using?

CW: Ben and I are definitely trying our hardest to be innovative. We want to do all we can to get as many people involved, get the team playing the best football that they can, and just have a great time with it really! As well as socials and our Facebook group which has been going for a few years now, we’ve created a Twitter account so we can let everyone know more easily about practices and matches. This year we’ll be at the Bun Fight too, getting our name out there and spreading the word about trials!

BG: We want more fans too, especially among other language students!

 Where do you guys play and how often?

CW: We practice once on the common each week, will hold a 5-a-side kick about in the gym each week for whoever fancies it, and will then have an 11-a-side match most Saturdays.

 How crazy are the socials? Any specific cases of good team banter?

CW: The thing with socials is that they depend each year on the particular person or ‘Social Sec’ that happens to be running them that year and, as I mentioned earlier, within languages that person changes quite a lot. This year all I can say is that Ben and I are running them, so yes they’re going to be crazy!

BG: As for the banter, we don’t only have it in one language; we have it in about six. So that’s got to be good!

 Finally, Soton Tab or Wessex Scene?

 Both: No brainer – Soton Tab of course!

To find out more about Inter Milanguages, follow them on Twitter or join their Facebook group.