In a first Blog “exclusive”, and in the run up to my next sojourn to capture more Italian tales next weekend, where Pistoiese will feature amid a trio of Piedmonte Est clubs, it seems like an opportune time to expand on one of my favourite Tuscan towns, Pistoia.
It is a slightly odd thing, but Tuscany is envied in many areas of Italy, and it’s people are considered aloof, and at times arrogant! Perhaps in an area where they have everything in bountiful plenty they can be excused having a slight swagger! It is a very prosperous region. When it comes to Calcio however they are distinctly less successful, with only Fiorentina from the capital striking any form of silverware for the region. It does have a plethora of smaller clubs, some who have made small indentations in Serie A. Empoli are the modern day second club of Tuscany, but that honour has been taken from more the historically successful Pisa, just along the road, as well as their arch rivals Livorno. Siena made a relatively recent trek to the top table before going down in tandem with the fortunes of the world’s oldest bank, The Monte Paschi di Siena, who had strong links to the club.
In 1980/81, Pistoiese had their season in the sun and proudly took their place in Serie A amidst an extraordinary array of clubs that have long forgotten what top flight football feels like; Como (Serie C), Catanzaro (Serie C), Avellino (Serie C) and Ascoli (Serie B) would all visit Pistoia that season. Remarkably, the roster would not include AC Milan, Lazio or Sampdoria, all of whom were in the second tier! Pre-commercial excesses and business model football, the beautiful game was so much more unpredictable and brilliant back in the day! That essence of footballing innocence refuses to leave me, and I am always drawn to tales of the little club that roared, and that season was the delightful town of Pistoia’s moment in the footballing sun.
For a brief period that season it must have been amazing for Pistoiese fans, a win at Fiorentina nearing the midway point of the season saw them rise to 6th place, but thereafter, perhaps with the ability to dine out as the Kings of Tuscany it went to the players heads and they plummeted down the league and back to B after an all too brief visit. Star man of the Olandesina as they are known (I will explain shortly!) was an ageing Marcello Lippi. The relegation saw him depart Pistoia, and the town has never seen the likes again, not even close. Two brief one season visits to the second tier is about all they have on the CV of note subsequently. The club have sadly had to reform four times, but the first two were way before such a malaise was a regular feature of the Italian game, in 1937 and 1945. The third such escapade came in 1988 a few years after the historic Serie A season, and most recently in 2009, but that was ten years ago now, and as madness breaks out around them with clubs being mis-managed and manipulated left, right and centre, the stoically solid Serie C performances of Pistoiese are to be commended! The 2009 bankruptcy did result in them going down three tiers to the Toscana Eccellenza league, where they won the title at the first time of asking, but it took until 2014 to get back to “home” turf, the lovely green, green grass of Serie C!!
Marcello Lippi went on to have a great managerial career, with Juve, Napoli and Inter Milan, having cut his managerial teeth back at Pistoiese just ahead of that third bankruptcy! Two other ex Pistoiese players also had and presently have similar, if not more prominent places in Calcio allenatore (manager) history! Francesco Guidolin has managed Parma, Bologna, Udinese to name three, and had a brief spell at Swansea, but oddly he has never taken the reigns anywhere since! Massimiliano Allegri is a Tuscan born (Livorno) who after spells at SPAL, Sassuolo and Cagliari, was given AC Milan to manage, and his efforts in trying to restart a spluttering giant were rewarded by landing the big one, boss of Juventus, where he was highly successful between 2014 and 2019, winning Lo Scudetto in each season. He hasn’t as yet taken up any new offers, and given the covid situation maybe he isn’t unduly unhappy about that situation.
Indeed, when Pistoiese trotted out at Alessandria on the first Saturday of March last year, the stage was set for two of the third tiers most ardant performers to go toe to toe once more. Yes, the hosts have had the odd recent brush with a possible promotion, even a Coppa Italia semi-final versus AC Milan, but it usually all fizzles out. It was also an occasion that brought together two of the most unusual football kits in Italy. I was mighty annoyed to see Pistoiese playing in a second shirt, a white kit with a solitary nod to the club’s orange colour in a stripe down one side. This game was never going to be a colour clash, why did the feel the need to change?! Alessandria’s famous grey shirts, complimented by their black shorts and socks would have been perfectly lit up by the bright orange of Pistoiese. It is from this choice of colour, the nickname “Olandesina”, the little Dutch girl comes! Cremonese might dabble with grey on their shirt, but no other team in Italy wears orange!
I had seen Pistoiese once before, and given the number of times I have been in Pistoia in the last few years it is amazing I have only seen them play once at home. The Stadio Marcello Melani (capacity 13,195) is one of my favourite stadiums in Italy, from the main stand the proximity of the high Tuscan mountains is quite spellbinding, something you get a whiff off at Prato and Arezzo too, but here they are distinctly higher, if slightly further away. The home curva is unusually for Italy a covered stand, but facing away from the mountain splendour and the sun, with an open back, similar to the main stand, making both susceptible to pesky cool winds that can blow right through the seated areas. Away fans are housed in a couple of “classic” Italian temporary scaffolded, uncovered stands that are quasi permanent at the opposite end of the ground, with an unused open terracing running the length of the field opposite the main stand. It will be ready and waiting to be used, should the capacity ever need to be pushed to the limit once more if the local side ever make it close to Serie A again, but chance would be a fine thing, getting up to B would be an achievement!
Olbia from across the water on Sardegna were in town the day I watched Arancioni (orange- another nickname) back in April 2017, and both were near the lower half of the table, but in no immediate danger of relegation, however the urgency of the Sardinians prevailed in a poor match, and the 0-1 scoreline left the locals deflated once more as a cold wind on a sunny day ruined that late April day. Given Alessandria triumphed by a similar score two years later when I saw Pistoiese play again, maybe it will be third time lucky in seeing them score, let alone win or draw!
Pistoia sits 30 miles north west of Firenze, making it a much cheaper and fabulous option to find accommodation and eat, while enjoying the busier tourist hubs within easy travel. Lucca and Pisa are also within easy travel distance as well as Florence and all its renaissance beauty. Pistoia is not without its own charm, and in Piazza Duomo you will find a lesser known jewel of Italy teeming with ancient buildings and a wonderful high church tower. Tucked in behind the magnificent octagonal baptistery in one corner of the Piazza is a fabulous area of restaurants serving an array of sumptuous Tuscan cuisine, with Wild Boar featuring as a tasty local delicacy. It is here that I would recommend for any pre/post match munching and quaffing, as the stadium is a good distance from the centre away from anywhere that will serve you grub or a pint. The route to the stadium is quite complicated, just by virtue of the twisty nature of the streets, but if you are walking, you want to exit Piazza Duomo to the left of the church as you look at it, and hang a left when you hit the first road, but if fire up google maps it’ll help you negotiate the pleasant 20/25 minute walk from there. Add on another 15 minutes if you are at the railway station and heading directly to lo stadio.
The town gets a small number of more adventurous tourists, but of an evening, having been in throngs of visitors elsewhere, it is good to come back to Pistoia, where the pace of life is distinctly more relaxed and Italian, perhaps it is a way of describing the fortunes of Pistoiese Calcio too, who may rarely trouble the big boys, but they are just happy to be in the mix and a wonderful club to boot! Don’t just go to a game in this cracking town, make a day of it, or a night or two, you won’t be disappointed.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 