Resident Italian football writer has delightfully written about his weekend watching football in lovely Calcio…enjoy!
“I will pick you up on my scooter around 10am” explained my friend in Rome, Nando. Nando is the owner of the Ultra Bar and was to be my tour guide prior to the Roma v Milan game on Saturday night.
I have been to the Eternal City to watch football on numerous occasions but this weekend was to be a celebration of my visit to one of the world’s most beautiful locations. Nando arrived dead on 10 and a few minutes later we were zipping around the tourists outside of the Coliseum on route to meet another one of my good friends Roberto, who also runs a bar in via Tuscolana, a district outside of the tourist trap where the true inhabitants of the city live.
Roberto grew up standing on the Curva Sud at the Stadio Olimpico and within half an hour of my arrival, some of his old acquaintances joined us for beer and pizza on a beautiful sunny day. We were then invited to lunch at a restaurant nearby where one of the guys was the head chef and after demolishing around six courses of traditional Roman cooking, I hopped back on Nando’s scooter to spend the afternoon at the Ultra Bar.
As the match approached, the effects of my long lunch were easing and after Roberto and friends arrived we headed to the Olimpico for the evening’s main event. The Curva Sud was full and with Milan bringing over 10 thousand fans to the capital the atmosphere was incredible. The game will not live long in the memory, a 0-0 draw enough to give the visitors their 18
th
scudetto but I had to prepare myself for another festival of culinary delights at a renowned pizzeria, in the San Lorenzo district of the city.
More friends arrived and as the clock hit 12.30am, we embarked on another mammoth eating session. Franco, one of the “Vecchia Guardia” or (old guard) a name given to the Roma ultras that are now too old to cause mayhem, presented me with a sweatshirt from the group and a fabulous book containing pictures of the days when the CUCS (Commando Ultra Curva Sud) were the most feared supporter group in Italy. After we said our goodbye’s with a couple of shots of Grappa, I finally returned to my hotel around 3 in anticipation of part two of my calcio weekend.
Sunday morning saw me heading out to Latina, around 60 kilometres outside of Rome to see a promotion party after the club were crowned champions of Lega Pro C2 section C the previous week. Latina fans have a reputation in the peninsula for being predominantly right wing in their outlook, this is no surprise seeing as the city was founded by Benito Mussolini in 1932. More surprising is that it is twinned with Birkenhead here in the UK. As I arrived in the city on a blisteringly hot day, the early signs were not good as I waited an hour at the train station for a bus to take me to the stadium.
Finally a bus arrived and as I explained to the driver where I wanted to go he gave me a look as if to say “this guy is crazy, all the way from the UK to see this lot!” As we hit the city centre, he very kindly pointed out were I should leave his bus and after around a five minute walk I could see the match-day traders setting up their stalls amongst a sea of blue and black, the clubs colours. Immediately my arrival caused a stir and two supporters carrying a huge flag asked me why I was there. After I explained to them they were ecstatic and demanded I take a photograph of them for my article of which I obliged.
My Italian was being severely tested by now and my next mission was to acquire a ticket for the game. Luckily the biglietteria or ticket office was right outside the main entrance and after handing over my passport I was presented with a ticket for the Curva Nord for the grand sum of 5 euros by a young girl who was severely impressed by my visit. Unfortunately I was not as impressed by her spelling as my name on the ticket looked like something you had to unravel on the Countdown Conundrum.
With kick-off still 90 minutes away, I clocked a bar over the street from the ground and proceeded to sink a couple of beers at lightening pace to get in the mood for what was to be a huge celebration. As bombs and firecrackers were let off in the street the carnival atmosphere continued all the way to the stadium and once I took my place amongst the hardcore supporters on the Curva, I was invited to join in the party by waving a flag and bouncing up and down at regular intervals.
In unforgiving heat, the hosts were two up in quarter of an hour to keep the atmosphere at fever pitch. Latina’s main rivals are Frosinone, and next season it may just be that the two will go head to head in the third tier of Italian football as the Gialloblu (Yellow Blues) look set to be relegated from Serie B. During the second-half, a micro light hovered over the stadium and then incredibly unleashed a plume of yellow and blue smoke as it circled the arena. The home fans were livid but nothing could spoil this day.
The game ended in a 3-0 win for the champions and the Latina players did what all Italian players do after the last game of the season, throw all their kit into the crowd and bounce around in just their underpants. A fire hose was then taken by one member of the playing staff and the Curva was sprayed with water but nobody really cared as the cool water was most welcome. As I headed back to the bar for post match refreshments, I still had one thing to do and that was to swap my Oxford United pennant that I had in my bag for a souvenir of my visit. Within 10 minutes the exchange had been made and I am now a proud owner of a Latina Calcio scarf.
It was a weary Englishman who returned to the capital on Sunday evening but the memories of the weekend will remain for a long time. The contrast between the two games could not have been greater but as ever when you visit this wonderful country, the welcome and hospitality are the same wherever you go.
