I have been to Roma many times, but aside from a day in Ostia, the rest of the Lazio region has largely been viewed through transient train windows. My goodness, as I headed south east out of Roma Termini, it was a completely new area of Italy for me. Gradually, the tracks were winding up, and just over an hour later, nearing my destination, a stunning mountainous area of Lazio showed its beauty in fantastic winter sunlight.
As Frosinone appeared high above the plain, with snow already in shot on the mountains beyond, it was a vision of great inspiration. This is Valle Latina. Those more familiar with Lord of the Rings venues might site it looking like The Shire, full of colour and photogenicity. Alas on a moving train, through a grubby window, capturing this idyllic sight was impossible. It was one to pencil into the mind, as being quite awe-inspiring.
Sadly, once off the train at Frosinone station, the sum of its parts was a tad disappointing. This was not Lazio’s answer to a Tuscan San Gimingnano, for example, with the town evoking a scenario more akin to a hilly Rotherham! Having read that traces of civilisation were found here 250,000 years ago, I was expecting a lavish ancient city. Alas, such detail is tempered by its proximity to Cassino, a famous old name in the anals of WWII. Frosinone (pronounced Froz-e-known-E) to quote a well-known Norwegian football commentator, “took a hell of a beating” in that time. History shows 80% was raised to the ground during an extraordinary period of bombardment that lasted 9 months. The Canadian soldiers who entered the city for the first time on 31st May 1944 reported it as “empty and in ruins.”
Given this tragic period, we can forgive the town planners and modern construction. Let’s face it, those of us reading these pages might never have known the name Frosinone if it wasn’t for calcio, and the local team have certainly been doing their bit to put the place on the football map, complete with the newest stadium, certainly in the Italian professional leagues.
When you consider, Frosinone has a population of just over 44,000, sustaining and driving forward a football team is no mean feat. The recent achievements are off the scale compared to their near on 100 years of sleepy hollow Serie C and D existence. They celebrated the clubs centenary with an historic promotion to Serie B in 2005/06, where they remained without unduly setting the heather on fire until sliding back to C in 2011.
In June 2014, having beaten Lecce in a Play Off final, i Canarini (the Canaries) were back in Serie B, but this time they very quickly became embroiled with more seasoned clubs at the summit of the league, clinching not only the promotion, but also the league title. It had been an incredible double promotion. It pushed Frosinone above many also rans in the Lazio region to become the third club of the region, eclipsing anything rivals Latina might ever have achieved.
Double promotions can be hard to maintain, especially when the second one takes you to the top table. After four opening rounds, the club were pointless, but that historical marker, that first Serie A point came on match day five at the unlikely surroundings of the Juve Stadium, heading south after with a 1-1 draw tucked away. A few home wins followed, with Empoli providing the opposition for that the first ever top flight win, but Sampdoria and Carpi soon followed, but it wouldn’t be enough and they ended up 19th and back in B.
They weren’t done with Serie A though, and despite losing a promotion play-off semi-final the next season, they just dusted themselves down and went again. This time, the play-offs were successfully negotiated, and a come from behind success in a thrilling second leg of the final was enough to see off Palermo. Lessons hadn’t been learned though, and the second top flight campaign was perhaps more of a disaster than the first.
The club did make another fine run at promotion the following season 2019/20, despite the covid interruption, but they would lose the play-off final narrowly to Spezia, who were headed to Serie A for the first time since winning the Scudetto in the war years. This failure saw Frosinone take a slight back seat for a season or two, but they made it up for a third time in pretty convincing fashion during 2022/23.
It even seemed like they had licked the notion of immediate relegation, with a first half of the season that saw them in the top half of the table and winning many plaudits for the way they were playing the game. Perhaps teams worked them out, I am unsure, but they began to get sucked into the relegation fight. That culminated in a final day home match with Udinese who needed to win to stay up, but Frosinone still had the comfort of knowing that they would be safe if Empoli didn’t beat Roma at home.
Having played an expansive style all season that night, De Francesco sent his team out with one idea to keep Udinese out. They nearly got away with it, but Udinese scored late, and Empoli scored even later, meaning Frosinone were down once more. If they had shown the courage of earlier in the season I am sure they might have survived, but confidence was waning, and rightly, or wrongly, they played the percentage game and lost. This third straight relegation would hurt more than any other thus far.
Sometimes, when late heartbreak strikes as it did, the following campaign can be more complicated, and so it has proven. They went looking for Vincenzo Vivarini as a coach, a man who basically has the freedom of Catanzaro for his stint, turning around the Calabrian capital side, and bringing great joy back to that city. Unfortunately for him, and Frosinone, he couldn’t shake the hangover left from last seasons tragic demise, and rock bottom of Serie B, Vincenzo was gone after less than a third of the campaign gone.
His replacement, Leandro Greco, seems to have started to find a unity within the squad again, and that was the scenario when I pitched up the magnificent Stadio Benito Stirpe (named after the current owner!). This has been home since 2017, a timely finishing of a project that started out as an auction, opening at one Euro in 2007, ten years prior. A stalemate had caused issues between the owners of the old Matusa ground in the town centre, and those charged with constructing a new facility. The bidding soon rose to well over €8 million, and the platform was put in place for the new ground. A Bond was offered to fans to own a slice of the pie, raising €1.5m. The portents for all the subsequent success was borne based unusually in Italy on part fan ownership.
What a fabulous job they have done, too. The Stirpe sees everyone undercover should it rain, with the mountains high enough to still feature at both ends of the ground. With a capacity of just over 16,000 (the previous held 12,000, but rarely troubled given the clubs plodding narrative prior to the Stirpe). The floodlights are quite unique as well, almost classic Subutteo numbers with a kink in them to lean over the stand roof. I was suitably impressed. No delusion of a multi sports facility here, with the stands tight to the pitch, affording any seat a fine view of proceedings.
In truth, while I was in Frosinone to tell its story, my enthusiasm was more for the visiting side, Cesena. They are back in Serie B for the first time since the infamous ‘Chievo’ transfer debacle that ended up seeing both clubs implode. They were going along very nicely in the top 6 ahead of kick-off, while Frosinone were slightly detached at the bottom. You could sense a nervousness in their play at outset, and Cesena endeavoured to take advantage but were lacking that clinical final pass. As it was very much against the run of play, Frosinone went in front, but it had an immediate impact on the psychology of the home team and the game. I have rarely seen a team switch from nervous to belief in such a short space of time.
VAR however would test their metal, when the referee was called across to consider a handball from two minutes prior that no one had claimed for on the pitch, or amongst the sizeable away following close at hand to the incident. Cesena took the gift, the locals puffed out cheeks, and looked to the heavens. It seemed luck wasn’t on their side. However, just as the break was approaching, a brilliant run from Frosinone saw a shot rifled home, a beauty of a goal. It was all smiles in the home end at the turn.
That second goal was pivotal, I believe. Trotting in back in front made sure the half-time banter was upbeat. VAR aided the cause in the second half with a second dubious handball incident, and it was 3-1. Cesena kept plugging away, and a great save from a free kick came to an on rushing forward who struck the goal of the game to reduce the arrears. Frosinone dug deep, and they held on, with a spectacular sunset hugging the stadium in an orange glow. They just about deserved the win, Cesena do lose away from home! It was my first Cesenate defeat in five away fixtures that included Inter and Sampdoria going alp the way back to the glory Serie A days of 1990. Both these clubs will harbour ambitions to get back there, and while neither are likely to manage that this term, watch them go next season!
This had been a belter of a game, on a balmy winter day, my first ever December fixture in Italy. I was suitably impressed, certainly by the game and the Stadio, if not Frosinone itself. A go watch a game sort of visit only in truth, but if you do head this way, marvel at the surrounding mountains as well as the Stirpe.
GETTING THERE
The stadium is relatively close to the railway station, and less than halfway to the ground, you can see it. The trouble is, access is via one narrow opening in a retail park, with other possible routes impossible due to industrial units.
It’s a 20/25 minute walk, partly fraught if coming from the railway station, as the route takes you briefly onto a major trunk road, but with no pavement for about 500m. Add into the mix that cars park on the grass verge as alternatives for spectators with transport seems limited. You are essentially midway out on the road, dodging oncoming traffic, but you won’t be alone. The scene gets even more chaotic if returning to the station in the dark as I was.
CATERING/SOUVENIRS
A few vans are parked in adjacent streets to cater for the focaccia chomping brigade and better option than the sterile options of beer, juice, water, and crisps inside the venue. One kiosk for an entire side of the stadium seems wholly inadequate, as are the toilet facilities in truth. A lack of care in the planning stage, I fear.
Outside the ground, a sizeable table of scarves, tops, and hats were on sale by one of these dedicated unofficial outlets.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 