A new article, a perhaps long overdue piece on Brescia. It will act as my 51st Football Weekends tale for publication just ahead of Christmas. Don’t forget more photographic storytelling on my IG page, Can_chas, feel free to drop in.
A hundred kilometres East of Milan, and 70 West of Verona you will find the beautiful, and sophisticated city of Brescia. Sitting on a flat plain at the foot of the Alps, La Leonessa d’Italia (Lioness of Italy) as it is known is on first inspection comparatively small with a population of just under 200,000. I say that because what city of this size do you know with an underground train system? I found myself asking that very question as I was glorying in a beautiful winter’s day last November when I was last in the city. Subsequent investigation has shown that while the population of the city is not huge, the urban area nudges the population to 672,000 and the entire metropolitan area takes it to 1.5 million, one of the largest in Italy.
It’s a sizable catchment area for the local football team Brescia Calcio, a club who don’t need much introduction to many readers I am sure, a perennial yo-yo side between Serie A and B. They will be looking on with envy at how Atalanta, their great rivals from Bergamo have pushed through that ceiling of mediocrity and are now jousting with not only the best in Italy, but also in Europe, even if their cavalier style has on occasion come back to bite them, although it is always in an entertaining fashion.
Both these cities were at the forefront of the first serious outbreak of Covid in March and sadly it made the headlines around the world at the time. It was a dreadful situation, one that will continue to blight the psyche of its citizens long after any vaccine breaks us out of this cycle. Interestingly, now in Italy’s second wave, the caution instilled in Brescia and Bergamo, a legacy of the first wave, has seen the major spikes in infections shift further west in Lombardy, with Milan, Monza, Como and Varese all showing considerably higher numbers.
When Italian football regrouped and played out the remainder of the 2019/20 season behind closed doors, Brescia were already in trouble. I had witnessed that first hand in November against Torino, but a 6-2 mauling in Bergamo to rivals Atalanta with no fans present in late July signalled the raising of the white flag. Together with SPAL they were gone, relegated back to their safe place in Serie B. Only fellow yo-yo boys Lecce took the fight to the last day, but they too are now back in the familiar surroundings of the second tier.
Founded in 1911 Brescia Calcio are the epitome of stability! Unusually for Italy’s “smaller” clubs, they have never been bankrupted, hence they have never changed the club name. Like many though, they have modernised the club badge with a depiction of a lion roaring acting as the newish club emblem, embracing the city’s nickname, the Lioness of Italy. It took until 1929 for the club to reach the top table, but they bedded down and stuck around for the next 7 season’s, albeit with little to show for the effort other than another top flight campaign. Remarkably Brescia have only been outside the top two tiers for 4 years in the clubs entire history, in one spell from 1981 to 1985, a record very few of their peers can rival. They were saved from a more recent Serie C blemish on their CV when a second last placing in the second division in 2014/15 ultimately didn’t result in a demotion! Parma’s liquidation following the protracted collapse of sponsors Parmalat, resulted in Brescia, perhaps controversially at the time being “chosen” to stay in Serie B. It was a decision that doubtlessly led to much wailing and gnashing of teeth elsewhere, but you know, they might well have been chosen for their exemplary stability. Perhaps, a bit like now, where they are looking enviously at Atalanta’s recent success, Brescia could only look on at how Parma’s demise didn’t last very long. They fairly whizzed through the fourth tier, took advantage of the then new promotion play off system in Serie C to claim a place in B, and before you could blink, they’d waved bye bye to solid Brescia en route back to Serie A. Upon return Parma haven’t made a big impact at the sharp end yet, but without Parmalat’s millions, perhaps this is the new normal for this prosperous club. Brescia did learn from that lucky escape, stabilizing and pushing upwards, culminating in joining Parma in last season’s top flight campaign, even if just for one season.
The trophy cabinet in the boardroom at the Mario Rigamonti stadium isn’t exactly burgeoning, but like Cremonese down the road a little, they do have an Anglo Italian Cup triumph, a 1-0 success over Notts County in the 1993/94 final played at Wembley. My own Italian side Ancona got involved in this competition for the first time that season with an opening bat 5,0 thrashing at Bolton’s old Burnden Park. I did the programme notes on Ancona for this occasion, and the five subsequent trips to England, (none of which ever rendered a win, but a 3.3 draw at Bramall Lane with the Blades was a highlight, especially as I was given a tour of the stadium, including a visit to the tv gantry and meeting club legend Tony Currie!). I merely digressed at this point because Bolton’s second home game in the competition was versus Brescia, and having been at the Rigamonti three times by then, I was asked if I would also do the programme notes for this game too. If I had gone, I would have witnessed another thrilling 3,3 draw, whoever said the Anglo Italian Cup was dull? In the case of Ancona v Birmingham City, it was fruity for all the wrong reasons, I don’t think the Blues like us to this day, but that’s another story in itself!
A step up from Anglo-Italian success, a few years later, spurred on by the Divine Ponytail, Roberto Baggio no less, Brescia finished 7th on Serie A in 2000/01 with a little help from another famous son, Pep Guardiola. The lofty finish brought qualification to European football for the first and only time in the clubs history, via that backdoor curiosity of a competition, the Intertoto Cup, which was an ironic name as there never was a trophy and it had a few finals, rather than one. Brescia entered the competition in the Third Round, just getting by Tatabanya from Hungary, 3-2 on aggregate. Bear in mind that this was mid July, a time when Italian football is usually in summer shutdown, but Brescia were giving their European bow a real go. Despite there being six ties in the next round, these were classed as the Semi-finals, and if Tatabanya were quite low key opposition, Chmel Blsany from the Czech Republic had me reaching for more information to answer the question on everyone’s lips, who?! They were a village team who played 8 season’s in the Czech top flight from 1998 to 2006, but were dissolved ten years later in 2016 sadly. They put up rare resistance to Brescia, and despite losing 2-1 at home, they led twice in Italy before the game ended 2-2 with the hosts edging into a final 4,3 on aggregate. One of the finals saw Brescia paired with Paris St Germain! These were pre significant Middle Eastern money days, when PSG were probably the least successful “big” team from a major European capital. Brescia came away from the Parc de Prince with a scoreless draw, a result that today would see people sit up and take notice. Needless to say, there wasn’t a free seat at the Rigamonti for the return with 23,000 packed in for a tense second leg. That old achilles heel, the away goal is how Brescia’s sojourn into Europe came unstuck, but Roberto Baggio scored a penalty to level things up with just over ten minutes to go, making for an exciting end to the game. Alas a winner couldn’t be found, and progression into the UEFA Cup had fallen at the last hurdle, but they do have a nice little claim to fame, Brescia have never been beaten in Europe!
I alluded to the capacity of the Mario Rigamonti stadium at 23,000, these days with the Curva being brought closer to the action, and losing the ellipse feel of previously, the ground now only holds 16,743, but even that number is rarely threatened, even if Brescia are a well supported team. The stadium name is a tipping of the hat to a Brescian born player with il grande Torino side who lost his life with many others on Superga when the plane returning the squad from Portugal crashed into the mountain in 1949. It has been Brescia’s home since 1959, and is beyond the city limit itself in the leafy municipality of Mompiano, with fabulous views of the Alps available if you are not in the Curva Nord with the Brescia hardcore.
The stadium is 6 kilometres from the railway station, not an unpleasant walk if you have time, you certainly won’t encounter any challenging terrain on the route, as it’s as flat as a pancake. Back in 1988 when my friend Grant and I journeyed from Lido di Jesolo to Brescia to watch them play Triestina, we had no idea how far it was from station to stadio! In those days with no Internet, the best you could do was buy a map at a kiosk and negotiate your way through the streets. Our issue that day was the return train we needed to catch to get back to Mestre in time for the last bus to Jesolo was just 30 minutes after the game. The whole escapade became known between us as the Brescia Run, arriving at the train in time, somewhat hot and sweaty! Neither of us could do that now for sure, but hey we would never need to as the Brescia underground train will whisk you from the city centre or station to the stadium in just ten minutes or so.
That inaugural game at the Rigamonti for me was largely an end of season affair, but seeing Franco Causio play in his penultimate ever game was a real highlight, even if his Triestina side went down 2,0. Four years later I was back in Brescia where the lure was to see Ancona who were on the cusp of an historic promotion to Serie A, but alas they also went down 2,0, delaying the celebrations until the very last game. A further two years on, having been at the first leg of the Coppa Italia Final of ‘94 in Ancona, where we held a star studded Sampdoria to a goalless draw, a few days later I was back in the Rigamonti for a Saturday night game versus Bari, acting as the perfect stop gap en route to Como v Spezia on the Sunday. (TV scheduling hadn’t really taken off yet, and the majority of games were in the traditional Sunday afternoon slot). This time the enticement back to Brescia, aside from liking the place, was to see ex-Ancona striker Sandro Tovalieri playing for the visitors. He scored a great equaliser that night in a 1,1 draw. The final game of my quartet in Brescia was just over a year ago now, my first game back at the Rigamonti in a quarter of a century but it was good to be back. The improvements in the stadium were immediately noticeable, with the Curvas now much closer to the action, albeit the main stand and the gradinata opposite remain unusually distant because of the previous pear shape design.
Mario Balotelli, the most recent high profile signing was in a furious mood that afternoon versus Toro as was the majority of the crowd, united in indignation at the removal of Eugenio Corini as boss. Eugenio had led them to Serie A, and the start hadn’t been disastrous. Mario was hooked at half-time with Torino already two up, and following two additional strikes by the visitors, the anger became poisonous, but not against the team. A few weeks later, player and/or fan power saw Corini back at the helm, but merely for a few weeks and he was gone again. There in a nutshell was the underlying issue as to why Brescia returned from whence they came so quickly, too many managerial changes and a lack of consistency.
Uruguayan Diego Lopez has taken over the reins this term, and after a slow start Brescia are starting to edge closer to another tilt at promotion to Serie A. If they can retain the continuity it will go a long way to helping the cause. The squad has lost Super Mario, but he could be both brilliant and divisive. The 2020/21 roster is certainly still cosmopolitan with 13 non Italians in the squad from 8 countries, including two Icelanders and two Finns.
The famous white V on the front of the Brescia kit doesn’t extend around the back, thereby denying them the chance to be the Diamonds of Italy, unlike Airdrieonians here in Scotland. The V has on occasions drifted off the kit, but it seems to be much more part of the fabric of the club identity now. It started from a desire to use the stadium of a local rival Virtus back in 1927. I can only assume adding the V was a free advert for Virtus at the time, but the exact rationale remains unclear. It is however a unique V in Italian football kits, and quirky is good in a world where everything seems to be more and more standardised. Quirky and passionate would certainly be words to describe the Brescia Ultras, who like the rest of us are itching to get back to watching games provided it’s safe and no one is breaking the rules.
Brescia, the City
It’s true of many cities, but don’t judge Brescia by the 200 metres just outside the railway station, especially at night. If you are here merely to catch a game you won’t even have to step that far into the Brescian air before descending to take the underground to go directly to the stadium.
UNESCO sites seem to be ten to the penny these days, and while Bergamo up the road has that status over its entire majestic Citta Alta, Brescia’s only bits of such world acknowledgement comes at the archaeological site of the Roman Forum and the monastic complex of San Salvatore. It’s a bit harsh, as within the streets of central old town Brescia are a number of buildings that are the best preserved examples of Roman architecture anyway in the country. There are three piazza that teem with life and drip with history, especially Piazza della Loggia, the old market place heartland of the city. In Piazza della Vittoria, a stop on the underground, you’ll also find some more recent buildings of yesteryear, giving the square a real art-decor feel.
While I previously alluded to the very flat nature of the city’s terrain, it’s castle sits atop of a hillock within the city, and any venturing here will afford you many a fine view out towards the Alps and the terracotta roofs of the old city. On one of my visits to the city it just so happened to be the start of a very famous vintage car race, the Mille Miglia, which is part of the fabric of Brescia. The aforementioned piazza’s were awash with fabulous classic cars, and the city was heaving with admirers.
Stadio Mario Rigamonti
The relatively new underground Metro is the quickest way to get down to the ground. The FS Stazione stop on the route is just outside the railway station. There is only one line, so it’s not too tricky to negotiate, and you want to head in the direction of the final stop Prealpino. From the station it is either 5 or 6 stops to Europa, just before the ground, or Mompiano, just after it. Vittoria, mentioned above about the city, is just one stop from the station, but to be honest, if you are headed for some culture, walk in that direction and maybe jump on the Metro at this stop when heading to the game.
The stadium is in a very residential area, not a zone festooned with any of the city centre delights for catering and quaffing. The very occasional catering van can be found behind the home Curva Nord, but aside from that, you’d have to rely on the kiosks in the stadium, but they are well stocked, and beer is available. If you are after something more cultural and in keeping with the culinary delights of the city/region, I’d grab yourself a table, outside on a nice day if possible, in one of the piazza’s ahead of the trip to the Rigamonti. You’ll never be disappointed by a trip to Brescia.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 