I guess not many from outside Italy, maybe even Roma have seen five teams from the Italian capital, but without even trying that forms part of my Calcio legacy. Those who merely have a passing interest in Italian football are probably thinking, there are more than two teams in Roma! Every city, even one team towns, has a lower league representation. The three lesser lights of Roma I have seen were at the time of watching all in the third tier, Serie C, but they are all transient franchises that float in and around the capital hoping to get a few more punters through the gates. Lodigiani used to play at the Stadio Flaminio, a fine 30,000 capacity stadium quite near the more famous Olimpico. The other two Roma clubs I have seen were on the road, Lupa and Racing. Lupa are now in the fifth tier playing out of nearby Frascati, as Lupa Frascati, surprise, surprise, but this is what these clubs do. A team called Roma City has now entered the fray, but for how long? There is however one Roma club that is not only consistently on the fringes of breaking into the third tier, they would never hawk their wares elsewhere, carrying the name of one the most fabulous, trendy areas of the capital, Trastevere.
On my most recent trek to Italy, Trastevere would remain elusive to me again, on the road for the weekend when I filed through Roma. However, one of the football friends Instagram has brought me, Nick from Roma, is a great, and loyal Trastevere fan. He very kindly pointed me in the direction of venues near the capital for a double header, as I already had a ticket for Roma v Lecce that evening. One or two options were discounted purely on the basis of just how far the relevant stadium was from the nearest railway station. Thankfully Lupa Frascati was ruled out on that basis, as I wouldn’t unnecessarily wish to darken my viewing CV with a second time around franchise club, although the wine would have been guaranteed to be top drawer out there!
The name Monterotondo entered the conversation, and joyfully the stadium was just minutes from the railway station. The only unknown potential banana skin was how the local constabulary would deal with the potentially sizeable away support from Caserta. I decided to write to the club to enquire about ticket potential, and they very kindly offered me a press pass but that was the end of the communication. My gratitude and enquiry about potential issues at the railway station remained unanswered. A couple of weeks down the road this is where my Trastevere buddy stepped in, and via a local contact in the football authorities, he liaised with Valerio at Monterotondo, and the first of an extraordinarily sprawling 13 game, 9 region trek over 15 days was, go! I will forever be grateful to them both.
Monterotondo translates as “round mount”, and maybe the gentle hills behind the town close in around it in an arched fashion, but then again, this might be my colourful imagination looking for a rationale. From the top of the Gradinata at the stadium, the hills were certainly in full view. It is fair to say, you wouldn’t be heading half an hour out of Roma on this regional rail line from Tiburtina unless you are either visiting a friend, or headed to Stadio Ottavio Pierangeli to watch a game. This is a commuter town with nothing that would ordinarily pull a visitor anywhere close.
Real Monterotondo Scalo, to give the club its full name, are only in their second season in Serie D, the fourth tier. Remarkably this small town team has truly hit a rich vein of form over the last few seasons. The clubhouse, which doubles up as entrance, cafe and conversation hub has a few pennants etc on the walls, but one huge team photo takes pride of place from when they were the 2020 Lazio region cup winners. This was doubtlessly a brilliant high point for the club, but due to the pandemic, did any of the local fans get to enjoy it? Italy had a bad one, and by virtue it has been slower to release restrictions than elsewhere. The following season they kicked on again, gaining promotion from the 5th tier, the Lazio Eccellenza.
The fine form had continued into the ‘22/23 campaign, and the Sunday before I pitched up, an away win had sent the club to the top of their respective Girone (league) for the first ever time. This is one of the 9 leagues that make up Serie D, with the Lazio clubs rather scattered amongst two Girone. Instead of having derby games with the likes of Trastevere, the capital sides find themselves in a different league requiring lengthy treks across the country to Marche, and the likes of Fano and San Benedetto del Tronto. Monterotondo being just that tweak outside the capital sees them in a group with predominantly Campania outfits, although even they find themselves divided into two Girone as the different leagues edge into the realms of Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia. Italy is an enormous country.
US Casertana were the visitors, a big old club with a fine tradition. A well supported club too, one that I have always kept an eye on, partly due to the club colours, whose red and blue stripes will always tick boxes in the world of an ICT fan. Goodness it was just five years ago I watched Casertana beat Rende in the opening play off match for promotion to Serie B. They then took the caravan south to Cosenza, where they only came unstuck following a 1-1 draw courtesy of the hosts having the slightly higher up the league, a jolly fair rule. Cosenza would go on to win those playoffs and have stayed in Serie B ever since, whereas the Casertana story started to hit the slippery slope the season after. They are now resident in what a friend of mine terms Serie D as “Dante’s inferno”, so tricky is it to get out this level.
Casertana might be lower down the pecking order than the club would hope, but nothing is a given in football any more, and well run, smaller clubs can easily eclipse their more traditional opponents. This was the scenario that greeted me, as Monterotondo readied itself for potentially its biggest game ever!
The locals were out in force with the open to the elements Gradinata, which runs nearly three quarters along one side of the 1500 capacity Stadio Pierangeli pretty full. It really is a basic facility, with the potential of a swollen capacity courtesy of innumerable balconies on the opposite side of the pitch. The fenced-in, tiny away sector was right under two balconies in the corner of the ground, and such was the volume of Casertana fans, and the low proximity of the balconies, there was going to be no afternoon siesta in these homes! However, rather than get annoyed, there seemed to be some entertaining exchanges between the fans in the bleachers and the people living just above them.
While the capacity wasn’t reached, it was disappointing how few of the balconies were in use to add to the viewing audience. Monterotondo, whose badge is like a plagiarised Padova badge, started off looking like the league leaders they were, taking an early lead. Whether it was due to that surprise, or it merely poked the bear I am unsure, but Casertana merely rolled up their sleeves and scored twice ahead of the break to lead 2-1 at the turn. The away fans were always the colourful aspect of this match, and they were constantly in a chipper mood, and it continued into the second half. An unfortunate own goal on the hour mark put Casertana on easy street, but nothing is ever straightforward at this level and a red card handed Monterotondo the merest of glimpse back into the game, but as they pressed for a goal, Casertana picked them off and sealed the win with a late 4th goal.
Real Monterotondo were merely on top for a week, and that might be as good as this season gets, but being at this level for the club they are already living the dream. For Casertana, the expectation of finally getting back to Serie C grows louder with each passing failure. I for one will be delighted to see them back on my live online game options next season, but Sorrento looks as though they will be that awkward coastal neighbour who will run them close.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 