If you have made it through the four levels of calcio to this point, and made it to La Spezia, well done, thanks for staying with me! The journey has been nudging north, significantly at first, but between Carrara and La Spezia, Parma is a bit of a diversion, although a direct train heads across the mountains from the flatlands of Parma to our final destination here on the Ligurian coast. Five different regions have been covered as well as five different levels of the Italian game. The closest two sides of the cinque (five) are the North West Tuscan land of Carrara, and La Spezia, which is not far over the regional border into Liguria.
We have finally arrived in Serie A, and also stumbled into my first ever repeat city in nearly 90 Football Weekend articles now. Four and a half years ago, more or less, I headed to La Spezia from Bologna for the day to write about a very special friendly between the home team and Sampdoria, where all proceeds were being donated to the families who had lost loved ones from the Genova bridge collapse earlier that year. Spezia were merely a solid Serie B side back then, but things buffed up pretty soon thereafter, and il Aquilotti (the little eagles) are gradually becoming the big eagles as the club is now in its third top flight season.
I had been to La Spezia a few times, mostly in the early nineties, but until 2018, a solitary away match at Como was the only occasion I had seen the local team play. I do have a love of port cities, and La Spezia has always left a lasting legacy of enjoying the city every time I set foot in it. The lengthy gap between visits allowed the city time to attempt to lure some of the glitterati yachting world into its modern big boat moorings. It has undoubtedly been a success, giving this hard working city a new rich vein, a counterpoint to the enormous container depot and cruise ship refurbishing yard on the opposite side of the bay. The fishing vessels still get the nearest harbouring area to the city, not too far away from the huge open market where the locals head for all the fresh trimmings of the sea as well as other local delicacies. The maritime industry doesn’t stop here either, as this vast lagoon is also a safe harbour for quite a number of the Italian Naval fleet, whose base is behind a large walled off area right across from the Picco stadium. Ferries also set off from La Spezia for Sardinian making it a very busy port city.
The magnificent little towns and villages just a little north of La Spezia known as the Cinque Terre are a sight to behold, and boat trips will take tourists out from here to these five iconic places, as well as bus trips and local trains. I hadn’t realised until this particular visit just how big a deal the Cinque Terre had become for La Spezia. The hotel options continue to grow and this market probably accounts for 90% of those basing themselves here. Spezia is big enough for the tourists to get lost amongst the locals, and it has its own unique charms, complete with that special atmosphere you only truly get with port cities. If you have ever indulged in a few such locations previously and enjoyed it, you’ll know what I mean and that alone might be encouragement enough to check out La Spezia one day yourself.
With Spezia now playing in Serie A, their matches are easily accessible for watching in the UK, and probably elsewhere too. The keen observer might have noticed i bianchi (the whites) shirt has two badges, the club badge and a Scudetto alternative on the opposite side with the colours of the Italian flag. This was belatedly awarded to the club only in 2002 following their 1944 Scudetto success. I guess somehow WWII got in the way of accolades being handed out, but the clubs march to the title (a knock out competition of various regional winners) was aided by Bologna refusing to play in the seriously bombed out city that La Spezia was at the time. Pro Vercelli, who have 7 Scudetti, and Casale with one, both sport the winners shield, but they have both chosen to have it less obviously in view tucked away on the back of their club shirt near the top. Spezia’s continued celebration of their Scudetto on the front of the shirt makes them unique, but it is a different shape from the one authorised to be worn by last Serie A winners
I have a good number of Italian friends, all fans of other clubs, but I have never come across one, certainly on the Western seaboard, who has a nice word to say about Spezia Calcio. It has always been a source of amusement to me, but that stark situation became more obvious in the opening weeks of the 20/21 campaign, when Spezia were debuting in the top flight. The Alberto Picco stadium needed work to be carried out to bring it up to Serie A standard, so groundsharing for a period was needed. Highly suitable alternatives were available at Pisa, or Livorno, or even Parma, but they ended up travelling a significant distance to Cesena for a few home games largely because none of the aforementioned sides wanted to do business with them! The only reasonable rationale any of my friends have given me is that Spezia people are really arrogant. I haven’t been there long enough to get a whiff of such an attitude, and to be honest that isn’t usually the sort of description you expect of port city people. I am not entirely sure what people from La Spezia have to be arrogant about, unless being a naval base gives off a special vibe!
This anomaly of alienation just added curiosity to Spezia for me, and being far enough divorced from Italian politics in football, I always like to see them do well. It was partly on that basis that I decided to head north for a revisit to the Picco, and after nearly ten days of landlocked travel, I was twitching to be by the sea. I know the city well enough that I didn’t need a map or any delaying, I was going to head straight down to the waterfront after arriving.
Spezia Calcio are now one of the growing band of “foreign” owned clubs, American in this case like a few others, but like all these situations, an element of being wary is worthy. It seems widely acknowledged that American owners can be especially fickle, who if they get bored with their toy, or the badge of honour in the bars of Manhattan or wherever don’t get extra privileges from owning a “ball club”, they’ll drop their investment like a stone. If this paragraph is starting to read like a wounded soldier, it does come from disgruntlement at the treatment of another club, Campobasso by its American owner. They were left high and dry in the summer, unable to raise the necessary money for the required guarantee bond for third tier football. They now find themselves two levels down this term in the Molise Excellenza, albeit after a high flying start (9 straight wins at time of writing), they should be back in D next season. However, it is a huge step backwards from the alleged ambition to return Campobasso to Serie B where it only very briefly had been in the ‘80’s. Molise is the smallest region of Italy, his grandfather was a Molise man, it all seemed to make sense, but then he just walked away.
Not quite as sinister so far, but Venezia and their American owners have a serious disconnect now. Long gone are the promises of a new stadium by the airport on the mainland and the true fans of the club are getting restless as the team looks incapable of competing in Serie B. The life of a Venezia fan has never been a straight-line story, whereas Spezia seems built on more solid ground. That said, I truly hope such a fate as these two clubs highlighted doesn’t happen to Spezia or any other team with non-Italian owners.
Unlike Venezia, Spezia aren’t a boom/bust kind of team, they go about their business quietly, and build on small successes of the previous season with another solid campaign. They were once Mr Serie C when I started following Italian football in the ‘80’s, and then it took a little time to get used to the idea of them becoming a staple of the second tier, where the club would regularly just squeeze into the play offs and find a variety of ways to blow it. Then just a little under three years ago it all came together in those pesky play offs and the club that rarely takes a backwards step was into the giddy heights of Serie A after nearly 80 years. While they didn’t exactly burst onto the scene, with some disappointing thrashings, especially at Cesena, once they came home, a solid base was established. Thus far the club hasn’t set the heather on fire, but then again they haven’t been sucked directly into the relegation slots either, even if predominantly hovering just above this zone is largely the default position. Whether season on season they can build a squad that could break that glass ceiling and make it into the top half of Serie A, well that might depend on how deep the owners pockets and ambition runs.
Let me pin my tail to a stadio, I love the Alberto Picco stadium! Yes, the views at Bisceglie and Carrara might be spectacular from those in this series of tales, and the Ennio Tardini in Parma might be bigger and more Serie A ready, but the Picco has charm all of its own. The main stand wouldn’t be out of place in the National League, a real old school gem of a construction. The Curva Ferrovie, the home end, has fabulous views above it, but it is an immaculate and proper curve in design too. The buffed up seating (although the fans don’t sit in the centre of this area) is brilliantly choreographed with the club name and badge in the empty seats, and the black lettering on white seats is highly striking. No seat will give you a bad view, no matter where you are, and the action isn’t far from you either. Unlike so many other venues with that Mussolini constructed stadium ellipse, the Picco is now more British in style, although, given the grand gates as you approach the stadium, I suspect it was elliptic at one time.
With an 11,466 capacity, it is quite compact for Serie A, and tickets are like gold dust for the majority of big games in the top flight. It is certainly a smallish capacity for a city with 94,000 inhabitants. They don’t have much potential to expand the capacity either with the stadium quite close to a main road and surrounded by slopes elsewhere. It would be a travesty if at some stage they moved to a new purpose built venue, but that type of investment is rare in Italy, and it maybe would take Spezia truly pushing the boundaries and become a consistent top 10 Serie side for that to be even contemplated. I know that such a sentence will have some of my friends giggling, but why not? Whisper it quietly, but Spezia are Liguria’s best team right now with the Genova duo down on their luck presently.
My second visit to the Picco still wasn’t involving league action. I could have been at Spezia v Cremonese, but it coincided with Parma v Reggina and I wanted to visit the Tardini finally. The notion of a 3pm Wednesday kick off meant I could stay based in Pistoia and do a proper leisurely day trip. The opposition were Brescia for a Coppa Italia tie. It was only en route I realised that while I have seen a couple of Coppa Italia C ties and have been at Ancona v Sampdoria, which was the Coppa Italia final, this was my first ever joust in the early rounds of this largely tedious competition. The very fact this game was scheduled for 3pm on a school day speaks volumes for the suitable ambivalence towards the cup in Italy. It truly is a horrible tennis ladder of a cup, where everything is done to avoid a big side suffering an embarrassing result. Remarkably, Ancona in 1994 was the last time a second tier side made the final.
It was a glorious mid-October afternoon, the temperature was floating around 25 degrees at kick off, yet no one bothered to stop for a drinks break, this being quite cool by the height of summer standards in Italy. The Brescia fans had either booked holidays or were skipping employment or education as they had a good number down from Lombardia for this one. The team wasn’t about to let them down either, but a lack of cutting edge meant they couldn’t take full advantage of a much changed Spezia line up from the regular Serie A starters. Brescia had more possession and amassed 12 corners to 2, but walked off the field at the end having lost 3-1. Spezia had been more clinical in front of goal and that was the difference on the day. It also highlights just how statistics can be so violently out of line with a scoreline.
I was delighted to be back in La Spezia. The familiarity of the city, knowing where to go made for a fantastically relaxed day. A great walk along the waterfront, then a cracking lunch down by the yachts (it had to be fish), followed by a fine match in the sunshine, what wasn’t to like! It had been a brilliant day, after all La Spezia literally translates as The Spice, and it can easily add to the spice of life when you are there.
How to get there
The Alberto Picco stadio is a 20/30 minute walk from the railway station, which is quite high above the majority of the city. It’s down the steps and then down quite a few blocks straight on, with Via Milano the best option. this road runs out, but a slight right, next left brings you down to a main road, Viale Amendola, turn left here and carry on until a set traffic lights, where you will see the walls of the Naval base across the road. Turn right here into Via Nicolo Fieschi and the stadium will appear on your right hand side opposite the Naval base.
There is nothing in the near or medium distance from the stadium for pre-match nosh or drink. Limited catering inside the ground will get you something, but more substantial requirements would need a city central restaurant or bar before or after the game.
Spezia use vivaticket for selling briefs.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 