UK readers of a certain vintage that were introduced to, or drawn in by Italian football courtesy of James Richardson and the Channel Four coverage of Calcio, might just recall the name Foggia. The club had nibbled at the top table on three previous occasions starting in 1963/64, and in all of these previous visits to Serie A they had managed to hang around for two or three seasons on every visit. However, just before Channel Four got involved in terrestrial TV coverage, in 1989 the club would make a managerial appointment that was going to revolutionise its status, and allow the name Foggia (pronounced Fodge-A) to enter the pantheon of mythical clubs. All these facts meant that my recent trip to the city became almost reverential to that era.
Of course a new boss is only ever called upon when things aren’t going well. Quite often, Serie A relegated clubs struggle with the rigours of the second tier, and they would also suffer a double relegation fate. That was the script for Foggia ahead of 1989, where i Satanelli (The little Satins- nickname from the club badge) had been struggling to climb out from Serie C, while having to watch many a Puglian rival progress higher. Even Barletta, their nearest rival, were enjoying rare days in Serie B, but bigger regional rivals Bari, Lecce, and Taranto were higher, too.
Enter the fray Zdenek Zeman, but bizarrely for a second time around appointment! He had tried unsuccessfully to get the club out of the third tier in ‘86/87. Zdenek came to the attention of Foggia, having overseen the miracle of Licata, a small Sicilian side who he guided in Serie B. That was sufficient to earn him the necessary credentials for the Foggia job, then in between his stints at the club, he took Messina, another Sicilian team to a fine 8th place in Serie B, aided by the goals of Toto Schillaci. That was enough for the Foggia president to eat humble pie and call Zdenek back to northern Puglia.
Bringing a coach back to a club quite often is viewed as a dangerous thing, but given Zeman had been anything but a success the first time around, expectations were perhaps low upon his return. In hindsight it would be an act of genius, and the start of a cult era that led to Zemanlandia becoming a name given in homage to his style of play. It brought instant riches as Foggia entertainingly swept all and sundry aside in a style full of such elan, with the ethos that if the opposition score three, we’ll score four. At Inverness we had a manager with that exact philosophy too, Steve Paterson, and even when we were five down at Airdrie at the break, I refused to believe it wasn’t retrievable! That wasn’t our day. It wasn’t always possible, and we lost 6-0! However, you excuse such blips on a rollercoaster of exciting football tactics when you trust your coach, and I am sure that is the case at Foggia as well. No one would have batted an eye or unduly stressed when they lost 2-8 at home to the great AC Milan in those early 90’s days. It was just how Foggia played, and they won many plaudits and new fans from it.
What a team he constructed too, with household names amongst them, including Beppe Signori the epitome of the energetic pressing style. Zeman and Foggia were almost pioneers in this trend of play, something more commonplace these days, including Frosinone in Serie A this term, a club of similar stature. Russian Internationalist Igor Shalimov was a regular too in this great Foggia team of the mid ’90’s, along with Francesco Baiano, and Roberto Rimbaudi. All would enjoy stellar careers, including International recognition, while playing for the rossoneri.
This amazing group of players truly bought into the Zeman ways, and even to this day, people will smile, recalling this great team. They very nearly brought European football to the city, too, having scored and conceded 58 goals in one season. Keeping the back door shut a little more would have made all the difference, but in a way, that is compromising the aesthetic. You have to put Foggia under Zeman into context, borne from a country and league where, prior to the nineties, the legacy of catenaccio was still prevalent. They were a revelation. We are talking about revolution here!
The success just brought the scouts of bigger clubs to the Pino Zaccheria stadium, and the inevitable talent drain ate away at the ability to stay in Serie A. Signori left for Lazio, and in 1994, having kept the club in the top flight for four seasons, Zeman was lured to the same club. Without their motivator and talisman, the first season without him would be Foggia’s last in Serie A, and they haven’t ever looked like recovering that lofty position since.
Back in 1992/93, having guaranteed safety, Foggia pitched up at Fiorentina on the last evening of fixtures. I recall it well, because my mate Martin and I were at Roma v Udinese at the same time. Viola (Fiorentina) needed to win and hope Roma would beat Udinese to stay in Serie A. The match in the Tuscan capital was a typical madcap Foggia affair, they were getting thrashed 6-2, a game shown live in the UK. However, I suspect the atmosphere must have been mute, even potentially full of taunting from the Rossoneri (red and blacks) Foggia fans, when they learnt that Andrea Carnevale of Roma had rounded the Udinese keeper, but instead of tucking the ball away, he took it a little wide and gave the goalkeeper time to claim the ball. The entire stadium, home and away fans erupted into a united song, this was a stitch up! Roma had chosen, and Udinese would survive. Fiorentina would implode and end up as Florentia the next season in the fourth tier.
Wind the clock on just over a decade and I first came across Foggia in the flesh. They were back in Serie C, when they rumbled into the Stadio Conero to play my charges Ancona. Both teams had been in Serie A in ‘92/93, the only time they are ever likely to share a top flight stage, but when Foggia won this 2006 fixture, it was my first experience of a home loss. All my admiration for that Zeman side went out the window, they broke my unblemished Ancona home record.
Zeman did the unthinkable, shifting from Lazio to Roma, and he seems to leave a spellbinding nature wherever he goes, just google his CV, it is astonishing. Twice the Roma coach, twice at Lecce and Cagliari too; three spells at Pescara (the third only recently ended), and that has only been topped by a further two spells at Foggia, making it four in total. None of his career has ever come close to his 1989 to 1994 spell at Foggia, but even in his mid seventies now, Italian clubs believe in his abilities.
Last season Foggia trawled all the way through the Serie C promotion play offs in a “seat of the pants” dramatic fashion at times, scoring late goals along the way to edge out the opposition. It only came to an end against a determined Lecco in the final denying them a welcome return to Serie B. Clubs often suffer a hangover having come so close in play-offs, and this season Foggia are displaying all those hallmarks, and that was the scenario when I wheeled into the city ahead of an all Puglian clash with fellow unlikely strugglers Monopoli.
Puglia is a region full of incredible beauty, and while Bari is sprawling and the second biggest city in southern Italy, its old centre is an area of beauty and delight. I had read that Foggia (population 150,000) wasn’t in the same league as an attractive city, and to an extent that is true, but that is only because of the lofty offerings in the other big cities of the region, including Lecce, Taranto and Brindisi. However in Piazza Cavour, Foggia has an area that rivals anything in those cities. The pedestrianised centre is very relaxed too, and while restaurants might prove tricky, some only opening at 8 (no use for an 8,45 ko), you’ll find somewhere to eat, there are more than sufficient alternatives.
The centre is just a 15/20 minute walk from the stadium, as straight a walk as any trek to a ground could be. As the walk concludes and you see the Zaccheria on your right, just a little left at this junction you will have the option a pizzeria, which is very close to the ground. It also opens earlier than places in the centre, but it will most likely get packed out on match day. It will cater for takeaway clients, and I am sure the pre-match beer drinkers will spill out onto the pavement, especially as the temperature rises.
The tight two tiered stands of the Pino Zaccheria (capacity 25,085) rarely entices more than a few thousand in these days, but the potential is still there. I recall watching in awe when this stadium was full back in its Serie A days. Sadly, with almost any league now available for streaming, from anywhere in the world it has dulled the senses, maybe saturated them, and taken away that spellbinding sensation of yesteryear that a ground like Foggia provided. Unfortunately the structure hasn’t been buffed up or modernised since those heydays, and while I am sure it is still structurally sound, it has a tired, sad feeling, but maybe that is partly borne from the psychology of Serie A full houses having long departed.
Also the Ultras, who maybe have always had a fearsome reputation, seem to occasionally wreak havoc, certainly this season it spilled over at Taranto, resulting in stadium closure to all fans. The Puglian FA are now coming down on indiscretion more severely than other regions it seems, with away fans being banned for matches becoming much more commonplace. Monopoli fans would be banned from the action here, and when I caught up with Foggia again days later at Brindisi, the away fans were absent too. This tactic is endemic in Argentina now, a necessary law there to stop the violence, but it detracts from the incredible atmosphere, and nowhere else in Europe comes close to an Argentine vibe, aside from here in Italy, especially in the south of the country. In more ways than one, the two lands are blood brothers, inexorably linked. I sincerely hope that they can get on top of the violence and let both sets of fans add pageantry to a footballing occasion, while letting families enjoy the match safely too. Right now, that seems a long way off and a pipe dream, the Ultras still rule the roost too often.
Having drifted to the cusp of the Serie C play out relegation zone, Foggia’s form had seen them start this game nervously. Monopoli, themselves were on a shocking run, but they looked more relaxed and more likely to score. Sure enough some enterprising play led to a stunning opener. It didn’t act as the catalyst to any fan outrage, the Ultras kept the faith and even those in the Gradinata beside me might have seen a few shaken heads, the support remained unwavering. Two towering headers eased the tension as Foggia went in at the break 2-1 up. It was an invigorating game, and quite how either side was so lowly seemed a mystery.
In the second half, a rather innocuous foul brought a yellow card, but unluckily for the Foggia player, he had been the only previous card, and he was gone. The stress levels increased around the stadium as Monopoli knuckled down and started to totally dominate. When they equalised it seemed there could only be one winner, and the clock was very much on the visitors side. However, having got level, it was almost as if Monopoli had granted themselves a wee breather. It was a fateful stepping off the gas, which may have allowed a ghost of the spirit of Zeman to infiltrate proceedings, as Foggia bombed forward. Using every morsel of energy left in his legs after an extraordinary run, the ball was swung high into the Monopoli box. It was a pinpoint accurate cross, and it was met by a powerful header high into the goal. It didn’t finish the game, but it was the last attacking effort by Foggia ahead of hunkering down and playing the survival game which they just got away with, largely courtesy of some extraordinarily wasteful finishing. The final whistle when it came was greeted with relief and delight. The bad run had been arrested, and playing shorthand for nearly a half, the spirit of the squad had found a way.
Four nights on at Brindisi, they would pick up a second successive win, scoring two simple goals against the league’s real weak boys. I wrote about a match from Brindisi from November 2023, published in January, and they haven’t improved since then. Gallows humour exists amongst the Brindisi fan base, saddened that the joy of previous season’s promotion has evaporated so quickly. Put it this way, have you ever seen a lack of concentration to the extent that a quick throw-in was caught rather than controlled by his colleague?! Foggia will rarely have an easier away win, but more will be needed if they are to guide themselves across the narrow divide from avoiding a play out to entering the promotion play offs, where anything can happen, and a poor season can still be saved. The idea that only 4 clubs (if Catania win the Coppa Italia C) will down tools from 18 come the end of the regular season highlights the extraordinarily congested and tiny gap between success and failure in the Italian third tier.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 