Shaun Murphy

[Clara White]

... nu a prea "stat ascuns", de fapt. Sa luam lucrurile cronologic:

1997: Devine profesionist la virsta de 14 ani.

2000-1: * Primeste unul dintre cele 6 premii acordate tinerilor jucatori care s-au distins in timpul sezonului; * cistiga turneul BENSON & HEDGES, ceea ce ii aduce sansa de a patrunde pe teritoriul atit de exclusivist al MASTERS-ului. * Primeste si titlurile de World Snooker Newcomer of the Year si Young Player of Distinction of the Year. * La MASTERS, il spulbera pe MARCO FU cu 6-1 ( pentru a pierde apoi cu 6-4 la STEPHEN HENDRY, ATENTIE : dupa ce il condusese pe acesta cu 4-1 ! )

2001-2: * Realizeaza primul sau 147 intr-un meci oficial, la BENSON & HEDGES Championship. * Cistiga ( pentru prima data ) 5 meciuri in calificarile pentru EMBASSY - dar, la debutul in competitia propriu-zisa, cedeaza in fata lui STEPHEN, cu 10-4.

2002-3: Tot 5 meciuri cistiga in aceleasi calificari pentru MONDIAL, si iarasi pleaca dupa prima runda, infrint de KEN DOHERTY, cu 10-9.

2003-4: * Ajunge in primele optimi ale unui ranking event ( la LG CUP ), unde ii bate pe IAN McCULLOCH si STEVE DAVIS. E invins de HIGGIE. * Rateaza calificarea la Crucible, dar patrunde prima oara intre primii 50 - la sfirsitul sezonului, mai urca doua trepte : 48. ( Se muta de la Northamptonshire la Rotherham.)

2004-5: Ii bate pe IAN McCULLOCH, PAUL HUNTER, MICHAEL HOLT si BARRY HAWKINS pe drumul spre semifinalele OPEN-ului britanic, unde pierde drastic la HIGGIE ( 6-0 )

2005: 30 aprilie – devine primul "calificat" care a ajuns in finala dupa 26 de ani de la performanta lui TERRY GRIFFITHS.

BRAVO, SHAUN !!! WELL DONE, MY BOY !!!

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Laureată a Premiului Oscue - German Masters 2018, German Masters 2019, Masters 2022
Moral principles do not depend on a majority vote. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong. Right is right, even if nobody is right. ++ Fulton Sheen

[zsolt_tuser]

Intr-adevar, BRAVO LUI. Nu m-as fi asteptat la o asemenea performanta din partea lui.

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"Computers are incredibly fast, accurate, and stupid. Human beings are incredibly slow, inaccurate, and brilliant. Together they are powerful beyond imagination."
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

[luiza_hunter]

BRAVO Shaun ... baby face

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HUNTER Lover 4 EVER!!! ...♥ PAUL!!!!!!
" daca vom ajunge in rai, sa nu ne miram de va fi sa vedem printre ingeri si unul cu tacul in mana..."

[Smaranda]

Go home, Shaun... ma calci pe sistem, fac overheating si tre' sa maresc frecventa coolerului.... and i turn noisy... (vezi injuraturile din ultimul timp)


Simtiti-va liberi sa imi sariti in cap.... but i just can't help being honest.

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Score one-four-seven... Snooker heaven!

[Cristina_23]

Nu prea cred ca aici isi are loc mesajul asta, dar aici o sa-l vada cine trebuie.
Dupa ce mi l-a invins pe dragul de Stevens si a devenit campion asa, hop-top, am hotarat, desi o sa ma dezic repede, sa nu ma mai uit la nici un meci de snooker. Paulie a iesit, da` are scuza, Ronnie a iesit - si n-are scuza. Imi ramasese si mie Stevens la care sa ma uit cu placere si palpitatie in inima, si vine pustanu asta si ia totul. Nu zice nimeni ca nu a jucat bine, da` io cand mai apuc sa ma bucur?

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Snooker... can`t live with it, can`t live without it!!!

[Smaranda]

Hear, hear...
Mai zi-i, ca-mi place!

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Score one-four-seven... Snooker heaven!

[Miss Chigwell]

Pai da, Smaranda! Nordu'extrem rulllz, yo! (just kidding...a bit. Toata lumea rullzzz )

Nu e elegant, nu are clasa, nu pare prea ingrijit (for crying out loud, ce-i cu fetisoara lui cea atat de...adolescentina la 22 de ani??), are nervi, are stapanire, are curaj-chiar nebun-, are tehnica, are strategie, are un noroc chior.Si mai are 250000de lire.
Da'nu-mi place!! NU SI NU, DE TREI ORI NU! Se spune despre snoker ca este jocul gentlemenilor jucat de...cum sa-i spun?-o clasa inferioara, tot asa cum rugby-ul e jocul periferiei jucat de gentlemeni.
Si uite ce bine vine de se leaga o anumita fraza, pe care o citez cu imensa placere: FORMA ESTE TEMPORARA, CLASA ESTE PERMANENTA.

[luiza_hunter]

[Smaranda]

[Miss Chigwell]

AAAAAWHH! Mi s-a topit monitorul precum ceasurile lui Dali . Multam, Smaranda!
Sau te refereai...asa, in treacat, ca un gand fugar la..."nu spui cine, persoana importanta"?
Ba nu! That heart belongs to meeeeeee!!! Dar cum is generoasa, o transmit si altora, fara de care acest CM ar fi fost mult mai sarac. Da-da, cei din fata monitoarelor.

Stiu ca-i topicul lui Shaun, dar promit ca nu mai fac .

[Smaranda]

Pai daca vroiam sa i-o pun lui Ronnie (animatia pe forum, ma refer ) atunci o puneam la topicul lui, no? You spoke my mind on that one.

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Score one-four-seven... Snooker heaven!

[Clara White]

* SHAUN MURPHY e, se vede treaba, departe de tipul masculin care sa inflameze imaginatia fanelor si sa le inspire avintate zboruri lirice/epice/dramaturgice. ( Recunosc ca, in ceea ce ma priveste, as prefera ca fanii sa aiba si sportivitatea idolilor carora li se inchina ... Si mi-ar mai placea sa ne reamintim ca suntem pasionati, toti, in primul rind, de snooker. Intre altele, si pentru eleganţa comportamentală pe care o vedem la majoritatea eroilor săi - şi ai noştri. In rest, iubire nu e niciodata prea multa... ) Deci, ne/va place-nu ne/va place, cum Shaun e noul campion mondial, se va tot vorbi despre el. Si cu el. De exemplu, a „stat la poveşti” cu cei de la "The Yorkshire Post”. Impresia lasata ziaristului de noul as a fost una excelenta : Shaun e modest, politicos, fara „fumuri” si amuzant. Las deoparte lucrurile care se stiu deja. Despre inceputurile sale snookeristice, campionul mondial spune ca totul i s-a tras de la un cadou de Craciun ( ca si in cazul lui STEPHEN HENDRY !... Dar, spre deosebire de scotian, pentru micul Shaun, cadoul era unul ) nedorit ! "I wanted a Commodore 64 that Christmas. I was eight-years-old and all my friends had got one, but instead I went to the tree on Christmas morning and there was a 4ft Toys 'R' Us snooker table.” Asta in prima clipa. Pentru ca, dupa aceea, "I picked up a cue and loved it. I didn't open any other presents that day, I was hooked immediately."

Talentul pustiului de atunci a „sarit in ochii” uimiţi ai multora, nu numai in cei ai subiectivului tatic Tony. Drept care, atunci cind ţîncul a împlinit 12 ani, acesta a hotarit sa zideasca o anexa si sa cumpere o masa de snooker de dimensiuni competitionale. Iar Shaun, ca si ceilalti aşi pe care-i ştim bine, a inceput sa cam sacrifice şcoala pe altarul verde... De dragul a vreo şase ore de antrenament pe zi. "It gave me a great opportunity to practise whenever I wanted to but given the opportunity again I would steer clear of it. I would practise every morning before school. I would not go to school until I managed to clear a certain line-up, so needless to say some days I didn't make it on time. And I would wake my parents up at night with the balls being knocked around the table.” Ceea ce nu i-a prins rău. Culmea e ca acum, nu mai vrea sa aiba o masa in noua sa casa de om însurat, la Whiston, Rotherham. Si i-auziti ce judecata sanatoasa arata junele : "Whilst I love playing snooker, it is my profession and I need to make the distinction between work and play, between profession and personal life." Tinarul cuplu si-a pus in plan, totuşi, sa caute o placa mai mare pentru consola şemineului : ca sa incapa mai bine trofeul de la Sheffield. ( Trebuie sa marturisesc ca remarca lui Clare Llewellyn relativ la zisul trofeu mi-a displacut întrucîtva – dar bine ca l-a amuzat pe Shaun : "The first thing Clare said was 'It doesn't go with the house' but I am sure we will find a prominent place for it."Trebuie sa adaug, totusi, ca blonda Clare a fost foarte "supportive" tot timpul, nu numai in cele 17 zile de la Crucible. )

Banii ? Shaun se dovedeste din nou rezonabil. Bineinteles, isi va inlocui vechiul Ford Mondeo cu mult-visatul Mercedes, dar, spune el, "For any 22-year-old to have that amount in one go is fantastic. I'm not going to fritter it away. Clare and I are going to make some sound investments and some smart moves. We are probably a bit old before our time. We enjoy walking by the stream, pub lunches and a drink at the Golden Ball in Whiston and watching the entire Friends back catalogue on DVD."

* Shaun a cistigat titlul mondial cu un tac care a apartinut lui RAY REARDON !!!... „Doctorul de tacuri” Rodney Hinde ( gasit repede de gazetari, ce va inchipuiti ?!... ) a spus presei povestea acestui tac ( vechi de peste 70 de ani ! ). "I was a cue maker for 18 years. The cue he played was once owned by Ray Reardon. I loaned it to Ray for a couple of years but he gave it back. Then Shaun and his dad saw me about seven years ago and I adapted it to suit him and put a tip on before the Crucible."

* Despre SHAUN :

Primul break de peste 100 : inainte de 10 ani.
Primul 147 : de fapt, primele doua, inainte de 13 ani.
Prima sponsorizare : la 13 ani, 5 000 de lire, de la Doc Martens Shue Co.
Primul mare obiectiv ca puşti : sa devina campion mondial la 21 de ani, ca Stephen Hendry – a intirziat cu un an !
Prima porecla : acum, dupa Crucible - THE MAGICIAN
Hobby ? Ati ghicit : golful !...

* SHAUN “sare” de pe locul 48, pe 21. ( O data cu el, patrund in Top 32 : NIGEL BOND, NEIL ROBERTSON, BARRY HAWKINS, ANDY HICKS si JAMES WATTANA. ) MATT STEVENS urca de pe 6, pe 4. STEPHEN HENDRY e pe 2, STEPHEN MAGUIRE, pe 3 ( de pe 24 ! ) PETER e pe 7, JIMMY pe 8, JOE PERRY revine in Top 16 ( de unde ies CHRIS SMALL, DAVID GRAY si MARCO FU ). Mai multe, foarte curind, cind o sa pun clasamentul.


P.S. Tocmai am aflat ca tinarul campion mondial intentioneaza sa doneze o parte din premiu ( 10% ! ) bisericii de care apartine. Si am mai aflat ca cei doi logodnici NU cred in sex before marriage ...

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Laureată a Premiului Oscue - German Masters 2018, German Masters 2019, Masters 2022
Moral principles do not depend on a majority vote. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong. Right is right, even if nobody is right. ++ Fulton Sheen

[Mrs. Hendry]

[Aura]

Cred ca cel mai dezamagit de victoria lui Shaun este Ian McCullogh (de la care presa britanica se pare ca n-a smuls nici un comentariu )...saracu cat s-a chinuit sa intre in top 16 si acum ca este...tot va trebui sa dispute meci de calificare..culmea ghinionului.

Si apropo de Shaun de ce oare i se zice acum Magicianul?! Chiar nu mi se pare ca i se potriveste!!! Adik Higgi is the Wizard in Snookerland..nu se poate sa fie doi.

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"I want to make the balls talk, that's what it is all about." Ronnie

[Clara White]

Well, neagra sau argintie, asta-i intrebarea ! Masina, I mean. Probabil ca dilema asta - ca altele nu cred ca are atita imaginatie sa sesizeze/creeze ( - dar, ia stati o clipa : de pe cam ce "pozitie" snookeristica & generalmente umana as avea eu dreptul sa-l ironizez ?!... ) - dilema asta, spun, i-a stimulat pe cei de la "The Daily Telegraph" sa-i mai ia un interviuaş lui SHAUN, noul campion mondial. Păi, neagră ar fi cam funebră, iar argintie are mai toată lumea (?!) ... Deci, inca nu s-a hotărît. Preţul e acelaşi : 37 000 de sterlinuţe. Alegere grea, mai ales ca, in tot ceea ce face, Shaun se arata plin de responsabilitate. ( Atit ne-am obisnuit, oare, cu absenţa unor calitati solide, de om-alaturi-de-care-se-poate-trai incit le dispretuim numai fiindca ele le lipsesc tocmai idolilor noştri ?!... Ar fi cam trist, nerealist & disaster-proning in viata cea reala, nu ?... )

Sapte milioane de telespectatori au urmarit iesirea din quasi-anonimat a lui Shaun. Un sondaj recent a aratat ca, dincolo de unele lovituri curajoase & excelent executate, cel mai mult au impresionat calmul si aplombul lui. "I'd so often dreamed what the moment would feel like and when it came, I just felt very normal." Normal - vorba sa fie ! Cum sa ramii calm cind cunosti miza meciului, cind joci sub ochii atitor campioni ?... Si cum sa nu faci explozie - macar de bucurie ?! Well, Shaun n-a "explodat", dar "my phone did. It went nuts. When I finally got home at 5am the next morning, it was on the verge of collapsing. I had 40-odd calls, over 100 texts and something like double the next day." O sa-si ia si un telefon nou ! "I haven't even had time to sit down with Clare and ask 'Wow, what have we done?'"

Dupa meci, a fost obisnuita party. Pe drum spre casa, dupa party, Shaun i-a spus lui Clare : "You know, I always had three goals as a kid growing up. To be world No 1, world champion and own a Mercedes. And at 22, I've got two out of three. Now I'm going to strive to be world No 1 and when I get there. . ." Atentie : nu "DACA", ci "CIND". Ziaristul "telegraphian" comenteaza : It could be arrogance in the hands of a different man, but Murphy is quite extraordinarily disarming. He beams at you from a young boy's face, hair gelled upwards like a sixth former, but he speaks as though he has been an omniscient adult for 50 years. He wasn't born old. His experiences brought him up hard and fast.

Nu e o coincidenta ca o cunostinta a familiei, fost boxer, a cistigat saptamina trecuta, 11 000 de lire : in urma cu zece ani, omul a pariat ca micul Shaunie va fi campion mondial (pina) in 2005 !!!... Iar Tony Murphy, tatal lui Shaun, a spus ca sponsorii dolofanului au devenit cu citeva zeci de milioane de lire mai bogati datorita acestuia. Nu ca vreuna dintre lirulicile baiatului ar fi fost obtinuta fara sudoarea muncii. Shaunie-Babyface isi aminteste : "I had a hard time of it at school from other kids. I was bullied a lot. From the ages of 10 and 11 I was constantly in the local press, on the radio, on Look East. It wasn't the norm. Some of the children were supportive, some of them weren't. I suffered at the hands of not very nice people. So much so that on the penultimate day of year nine at the school I was beaten up again, blood everywhere. My nose was splattered all over my face. I remember my geography teacher, Mrs Heathfield, dragging me into her car and taking me home. My dad said: 'Right, you're not going back.' I never went back to school. I was 13. I lived in an adult world from then on. I had private tuition for my GCSEs and I could play snooker almost full time. If I could have my time back, I may well have asked to go to another school but as far as snooker was concerned, it was the best thing that could have happened. I was miles ahead of my peers."

Ca sa vezi ce te poate "forma" ( si aici imi amitesc de situatia oarecum similara a lui STEPHEN HENDRY ) : "When I was around 14, my parents split up. It affected me hugely. Mum left. I remember it vividly because she left very much around the time Princess Diana died. I used to go cycling in the mornings as part of a keep fit campaign. I came back one morning from my ride and she'd gone. It was that quick. No note. Nothing. She'd just gone. So that was horrific, you can imagine.

I still speak to my mum, and see her, but I didn't for a long time. It wasn't easy when we started to see each other again and it hasn't been easy since, but she's my mum. I'll only have one real mum. I started seeing her again about three years ago. I just decided to ring her one afternoon. When we met again, it was emotional. No matter what had gone on, I was still her little boy. But unfortunately, she had missed out on so much. I was 14 when she left and when she returned I was 19-years-old and a man. It has been brought home to her what she has missed. Everything that's gone on she's played no part in. She wasn't at the Crucible last week. But I know she watched it and I know she was very proud."

Si iar comenteaza ziaristul : What all this made was somebody who, when everything in the world was going wrong, when the chips were down, they managed to pursue their dream. They looked defeat in the face and said, 'I'm not having this'." And he wasn't. Once there was a teenager, bullied and bereft, and now he is champion of the world. "It's a fair story, isn't it?", suride Shaun. Iar gazetarul completeaza : He might be one letter short. It's more like a fairy story.

Shaun ii poarta o mare recunostinta tatalui sau, care l-a crescut singur si l-a impresariat cit de bine a putut. Unele ziare au insinuat ( o fi fost niscaiva ziariste amorezate de Matt ?!... ) ca obsedat find de snooker, Shaun si-a cunoscut logodnica printr-un chat-room. "How ridiculous," ride el din toata inima. A fost o idila rapida, iar el s-a mutat in suburbia unde Clare locuieste cu mama ei. Nu vor sta impreuna decit dupa casatorie. Demodat, nu ?

Ba unele gazete au insinuat si ca tinarul campion mondial ar fi ... virgin ! "But they are missing the point. I've been in a relationship before. I haven't always been a Christian and I haven't always been as devout as I am now. I don't believe in sex before marriage now and not living together is one of the commitments Clare and I have made to the church. But it means the honeymoon will be more fun and, when we do live together, it will just make that moment of waking up together more special."

Intilnirea cu credinta s-a petrecut in urma cu 6 ani. Niste cunoscuti l-au luat cu ei la o slujba penticostala : "Everyone clapping away with their hands in the air. I thought, 'This is a bit over the top. These people are nuts.' But over time I started to like how vibrant it was and how genuine everybody seemed. Anyway, when I came home I missed it desperately. I got in touch with a family who ran the youth section of the local Pentecostal church and I became a Christian with them five, six years ago.

It gave me somewhere I could vent everything. Gave me the opportunity to get it out. They taught me about forgiveness. It took me a long time but eventually I managed to forgive, not just my mum, but everyone who'd hurt me on the way."

Asa incit, priveste spre viitor. Si va incepe prin a slabi ( si pe el il cred, nu ca pe JIMMISHOR, care tot zice ca da jos ceva kilisoare si nimic, nimic !!! ). "I want to lose four stone and I am absolutely determined. The trouble is when you are working in a snooker club all day and the only food available is a Mars bar. Those days are over." Si-a angajat deja un antrenor personal, iar gazetarul cu interviul se amuza : though we were meeting over lunch at a Rotherham hotel, not one morsel passed his lips. De fapt, Shaun nici nu bea alcool, nici nu fumeaza. Ii lipsesc viciile care sa-l faca interesant, n'est-ce pas ?!...

"Snooker players are funny people. They keep themselves to themselves. Sport, in general, is so competitive - life is. There are a couple of players coming to my wedding - Nigel Bond, Rory McLeod - and I'd go so far as to call them good friends but if we played one another, we'd be trying to rip each other's throat out. Not all the players like one another, but we all feel respect for one another. It's such a hard thing to do, mentally. But, it's funny. Immediately after winning the title, people were slightly different with me. Steve Davis, who's always been difficult to pin down to any conversation, all of a sudden became quite chatty. That's good news. That's a compliment."

Mai ales din partea lui STEVE : "It was so weird to play him in the quarter-finals at the Crucible. When I was nine I went to watch the World Championship for the first time with my dad, to watch Davis play Peter Ebdon, who was making his debut that year. In the break after the first session, Davis was on his way back to the hotel and I chased him up the road for an autograph, shouting, 'Mr Davis, will you sign my programme?' He did. He wasn't getting away."

Iar 13 ani mai tirziu, iata-l pe el semnind programe. "All I wanted to do was win a match really. I'd never won a ranking event and I'd never won a match at the Crucible before. In 2002 I'd lost to Stephen Hendry and to Ken Doherty the year after that. But suddenly I was in the quarter-finals and we thought I was playing the best snooker of the tournament. I felt confident. Ronnie O'Sullivan went out, Hendry went out. It was like the parting of the Red Sea. Surreal."

Emisiunea Question of Sport l-a invitat imediat. Si a fost intrebat : Now what? "I'm trying to be the best possible role model that I can be." Si a vorbit despre "echipa" sa : "We have a policy, as a team, that we try to be the best spoken, the best dressed, the most professional of them all. We don't always get it right but we try. As I kid I wanted to be the best snooker player in the world. Not just the best potter, but the best in every department."

Si, vorba gazetarului de la "The Telley" : Perhaps a former boxer from Northamptonshire is laying a bet at this very moment that Murphy achieves his dream.

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Laureată a Premiului Oscue - German Masters 2018, German Masters 2019, Masters 2022
Moral principles do not depend on a majority vote. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong. Right is right, even if nobody is right. ++ Fulton Sheen