A previously written article about the main Pro teams has been shortened into this story solely about Aurora Pro Patria now for Football Weekends as Pro Sesto appeared in another tale this month in the magazine. The other Pro sides still featured but in a reduced way.
A number of clubs especially in Serie C carry the prefix “Pro”. This essentially means “for”, and has nothing to do with the notion that they are professional, perhaps not surprising given all teams in the Italian third tier are of such status.
One of the “Pro” brigade even has seven Scudetto titles on their CV, Pro Vercelli, whose halcyon days were post World War I until the start of the thirties. Our featured Pro side has a name that is literally taken from a very famous old quote by Horace, a Roman poet; “Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori”. Wilfred Owen lifted the opening part of the line into his more modern work, and courtesy of that, you might be familiar with it, but possibly less so with Aurora Pro Patria. They are, however, in Italian football circles another famous old club from the commuter city Busto Arsizio, just north of Milan. At the inception of the club’s founding, they took inspiration from the latter portion of the earlier quote, “to die for the fatherland”. Thankfully they left off “mori” (to die), sublimating it with “et libertate” (and freedom) but Pro Patria et Libertate were founded in 1919.
My first ever encounter with any Pro team was in a very rare Piacenza derby in the autumn of 2018, where the more famous team, who carry the name of the city were hosting their wee brother Pro Piacenza in Serie C. This encounter was an eye opener, in that it wasn’t much of an occasion at all, as this particular Pro team were giving the “for” sides a bad name. They had absolutely no fans, and were thrashed 4-0. For a few seasons they held their own in the third division, obviously being heavily subsidised by a sugar daddy to compete.
However later that season the wheels were coming off the enterprise. The money dried up and the players weren’t being paid by February 2019. In Italy, failure to complete three matches results in a row sees a club being expunged from any given league. Having had two matches cancelled, things reached a head for Pro Piacenza at Cuneo. They took the field with just the minimum number of “players” required to fulfil a fixture, seven! None of them were recognised players, with U19 players and a ball-boy roped into a desperate attempt to hoodwink the authorities. They lost 20-0, and were never seen again! Curiously, Cuneo, a relatively solid, reliable team, were thrown to the wolves for their part in this farce. Heavily fined, it proved to be a burden too far, and having limped to the end of 2018/19, they failed to register for the following campaign. Cuneo 1905 Olmo are now in Piemonte Region Eccellenza (fifth tier) as they try to recover their lofty Serie C days.
Busto Arsizio might not be a household name, but its location just 15 minutes south of Milan Malpensa airport does potentially afford a day trip to Italy to watch a game and return home. The Malpensa Express stops at Busto Arsizio Nord station shortly after leaving the two terminals. Pro Patria’s blue and white hooped kit is unique in Italy, and its kit might already have attracted or alerted fans of QPR, Reading, Morton or even Duisburg! Curiously, Morton has a friendship with Reggiana, but I am unaware whether any of the other famous blue and white hoops fans embrace their smaller Italian brothers.
In the first half of the last century Pro Patria were regulars in Serie A, with 14 top flight campaigns, with the last one in 1955/56. Like so many clubs, having had a proud history, financial issues caught up with them, seeing bankruptcy in 1995, and more depressingly in 2009 when the club were knocking on a rare return to Serie B. They had doubtlessly pushed the boat too far in their quest to gain promotion.
While things have stabilised under the guidance of the Tesoro family, a business based in Apulia, the club hasn’t ever reached the ambition of returning to the second tier as yet. They have qualified a few times for the protracted end of season promotion play offs but never progressed anywhere close to merely being unlucky in that competition.
This season getting out of the bottom five slots and avoiding relegation play-out action is the first hope, but the evening I pitched up at the quaint Carlo Speroni stadium, Padova were in town, and their sole focus is on getting back into Serie B, locked in a three way battle with old stalwarts of yesteryear, Mantova and Triestina.
With a capacity of 4,627 the Stadio Carlo Speroni is more than sufficient for Serie C, but it would require buffing up should Serie B ever come along again. The stadium has one open end with room for another stand, so the minimum capacity could easily be reached. The stands that run the length of both sides of the pitch are roofed and very well maintained. You will get a good view no matter where you sit, albeit with a running track between you and the action.
i Tigrotti were the first to show their teeth in this clash, and with a little more composure, they might have roared into the lead. As it was, Padova were just bedding in, and once they hit their stride, the inside of the post was whacked, but it incredibly stayed out. Then they thumped the bar, but both efforts might have included miracle work by the goalkeeper. Maybe it could be Pro Patria’s night after all, but then one of those unfortunate shot hit hand affairs entered the fray, and even without VAR, the referee seemed convinced. It was duly dispatched, and Padova led at the turn.
The second half was end to end, but Padova just had a greater nuance to possession and guile in defending. These qualities regularly thwarted Pro Patria and also rendered the Veneto side a second goal, a fine shot from outside the box that kept low. It never quite put the game to bed, but they did enough to win. A rare defeat recently for the Busto boys in recent weeks, but their play would suggest the next win is just around the corner.
Pro Patria would end the season in a rare “space” position in Serie C when they could down tools by the end of April having avoided the relegation and promotion play-offs. By contrast, Padova finished second and watched the 28 team competition for a sole place in Serie B whittle down to 8 sides before getting involved, when they limped out without as much as a goal in the two legged defeat to local rivals Lanerossi.
Other Pro clubs include nearby Pro Sesto from Sesto San Giovanni, an even closer suburb of Milan, easily reached on the Metro system. Sesto have no pedigree per se, and stabilising in Serie C is their level. However, they were relegated at the end of last season, and are now back in Serie D. The most famous Pro side reside in Vercelli across the state line in Piemonte, who during their heyday in the early part of last century, the club amassed an impressive seven Scudetto. In Tuscany, Pro Livorno have on occasion been temporarily at a higher level than the more famous US Livorno club. Even before these angst filled Serie D days for the most left wing club in Italy, Pro Livorno graced Serie A twice in 1921/22 and just after WWII in 1946/47, with the city’s bigger club at a lower level. They are now a step lower than US Livorno in the Tuscan regional Eccellenza league, step 5 on the pyramid, and known as ASD Pro Livorno 1919 Sorgenti. There is a fifth tier Pro Novara in the top Piemonte regional league, as well as last year, I added Pro Massafra to my Pro CV, when they popped up in Brindisi down in the Puglian ninth tier, the lowest Italian level.
Getting There
While Busto Arsizio is minutes from Malpensa, (45 minutes from Milan Centrale, if coming the other way), the stadium is a good solid 40 minute walk from the Malpensa Express (Busto Arsizio Nord) station. It is a relatively straight forward walk through the town, a very nicely appointed place it is too, with just one incline on the way out of Busto, with the stadium right on the outer edge of the town.
Catering
A very small kiosk is behind both stands on either side of the stadium, selling a very limited selection. The ground is nowhere near an alternative venue for food or libation. Such pavilions can be found in abundance in the central area.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 