Theme for Paganese

Preamble ahead of completion post match on Sunday in Pagani.

Sergio Rachmaninoff, pianist and great composer might seem a curious way of starting a tale about Serie D football, but his famous piece “Theme from Paganini” has been whirring in my mind as I start to write this article, a romantic ditty at its core. The correlation of Paganini and the team from Pagani, Paganese is largely where the addled thought process starts!

I had previously ventured to the stadium in Pagani a couple years ago, just to take some keepsakes for a FW article that addressed the Napoli Campi Flegri to Salerno rail line that is festooned with Calcio clubs in Campania region overview. Two of the teams featured then, Paganese and Savoia plus another Scafatese, are now all knocking on the door of Serie C and a return to the professional ranks, remarkably from three separate Girone (leagues) of the nine fourth tier leagues that exist in Italy. 

Campania’s clubs are spread throughout Girone’s G, H and I, partly a way of keeping simmering rivalries apart. Three seasons ago in Pagani, a prime example of the problem played out when trouble erupted in the streets with Casertana fans. A 50-seater bus with visiting fans onboard was set on fire, requiring a quick evacuation. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but in a nutshell, the Campania fiefdom of disliking your neighbours erupted spectacularly, but not in a good way. Add into the mix, Nocera Inferiore, which is just south of Pagani, home to the once legendary and ferocious Nocerina Ultras, whose actions and threats to their own team regarding a match at Salernitana still sees the once loftier club struggling to get back to where they once were, all thanks to that fateful day, when pressurised player as coaching staff did something ridiculous, inducing an abandonment match. That was more than 12 years ago now. Nocerina will still be in D next term.

The scattering of the clubs in the various leagues seems to be in no apparent order either. Pompei (just north of Pagani), now struggling this term in Girone H, were given Girone I to contend with last term, which is largely Calabria and Sicily’s division. Savoia from Torre Annunciata, who bought over San Marzano (a club I curiously saw play their last match at Cavese before that transaction), are now playing in this most southern division. Savoia are having a much more successful campaign than Pompei managed even with the many treks across the Straits of Messina. It’s a three-way fight for one post, with Igea Virtus from Sicily and the rapidly improving big boys of the league, Reggina from Reggio Calabria, both in the mix with Savoia.

Torre Annunziata is 16 kilometres northwest of Pagani, while half that distance in the same direction is Scafati. They didn’t even feature in my 2024 tale as they were further down the pecking order. Perhaps inspired by Savoia, they went hunting for a vulnerable club, and in Puteolana from Pozzuoli west of Napoli, they found what they were looking for. Mildly hilariously, I also saw Puteolana last term at home to Trastevere (but not the last game) ahead of getting bought out, too. Scafatese, as the club are known, has truly hit the ground running, and they look nailed on to be heading to Serie C. Whether Stadio Comunale Giovanni Vitiello is C ready needed further investigation, and on the morning of my game at Pagani, I had time to burn and decided to go and have a peek, hoping for an open door. Scafatese were also at home that day by curious coincidence, but I was drawn more to Paganese, the club of the three mentioned here that most recently enjoyed life in Serie C.

Scafatese, like Modena (or indeed Norwich) have a bright yellow kit, and like the other two, are also known as the Canaries.

Going to a game in Pagani is almost like having a rite of passage attached for me. It was here in May 2021 that I watched live online as my charges Bisceglie sadly lost their third tier status after a dramatic 4-4 aggregate, where a tie favours the higher placed side, Paganese in this case. Bisceglie were leading 2-1 from the first leg in Puglia, and were looking good, until a 83rd minute penalty for the home side in the return made it 2-1. Then, in the 91st minute Bisceglie equalised on the day, a grown man was running around his living room in celebration, a miracle was on. Alas, a bit like the motto of Racing Club in Argentina, to follow Bisceglie is to suffer, and as late as the 97th minute, penalty taker Diop scored again. It proved to be the winner for “i azzurrostellati” (the light-blue starred) of Paganese. It was a dagger to the heart, a moment in time that the club took a long time to recover from. In researching this article, I revisited the Youtube footage of the game. It ends with the winning goal, but somewhere in the fog of my memory, I am pretty sure Bisceglie created one more attack that hit the post! How very Bisceglie to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. What a game it was though, and watching back, I had forgotten that the Paganese support wasn’t huge that day, with only the main stand housing supporters, and of course no away fans, sadly.

Times they are changing in Pagani, as crowds are flocking back to the Marcello Torre stadium this term, and like Scafatese, at the time of writing they lead Girone H, holding off an array of Puglia’s finest by a tight margin, with Barletta and Fasano (both of whom I wrote about recently) are in hot pursuit along with Martina Franca and Nardo. Paganese v Scafatese will be unavoidable in the third tier should both step up, but in Italy these days, the way to avoid potential violence is to ban the away fans, taking a leaf out of the Argentine playbook. The aptly named town of Angri acts as a buffer between the two.

Paganese might have won the battle of the White Stars with Bisceglie, and it is a white star, despite the nickname (almost a proper sheriff’s badge), but their stay of execution was merely 12 months when they landed in D, and they have been here ever since. Sadly, Bisceglie weren’t there to greet them as the roof had well and truly fallen in, crashing another level down, where they have been ever since too, albeit, like Paganese, they are on the rise. However, no regrets, and no ill feeling towards Paganese either, whether a bond of brothers is forged amongst the white star teams (Casale too in Piemonte) is unclear, but from a distance the trio intrigue me.  

That traumatic Bisceglie relegation was even laid even further to bare on FW’s sole Italian weekend trek thus far (we want another!). Of all those present, names on the Milan underground of Bisceglie and Pagano would trigger memories in the vicinity of our hotel for me, and they did.

Pagani is a small place with a population around 35,000, and not really what you’d call a tourist town, but nearby Pompei certainly draws people to the area, along with Salerno, the gateway to the Amalfi coast. Back in the day, the town formed part of Nuceria (modern day Nocera with its Inferiore and Superiore split.) Hannibal, an angry man obviously reduced the population by starvation, and took out Nuceria completely, having it destroyed, charming! In the 9th century, a colony of Saracens were introduced to the town by the Duke of Napoli. As to whether they were a gaggle of brown brogue, corduroy trousers, and tweed jacket wearing rugger fans remains unconfirmed! I am also unsure if they were Gladiators (who are actually a team/town from near Caserta!). What is known was that this integration didn’t work, and the area of modern-day Pagani was merged back with a newly rebuilt Nuceria, under the grandiose name of Nuceria Paganorum. The latter name was taken from the Pagano family who were living in a castle on the site of modern-day Pagani, and the rest, as they say, is history.  

As we enter 2026, Paganese will be celebrating 100 years. The club is a quintessential part of the local community, and getting back to the third tier would be a terrific way to top off a year of festivities for the town and the club. Having last been in C in 2022, they also visited the third tier in 2006/07 with play-off success against much bigger and established outfits in Reggiana and SPAL, who were defeated in the play-offs. That was the second successive promotion going through Serie C2 (a level that no longer exists) from D saw a two year joyful spell. Reaching the third tier then was the first time since 1979 and sparked wild celebrations. They held their own for three seasons before a one season blip in C2 was followed by an immediate return for 2012/13 to C1. The squad of 2025/26 will be hoping to ward off all the challengers from Puglia and step up once more.

While the third tier is as high as Paganese have ever gone, back in 1976/77, they finished in their highest position. Alas, a promotion play-off defeat to Bari, ended the dream of Serie B.

While European football is unlikely to ever come to Pagani, that grand old competition, The Anglo Italian cup, did come to town the following season in 1977/78. A small consolation for not making the second tier. In those days, sandwiched between professional clubs participating, a brief era of Semi-Professional clubs took part from 1976, and gave the likes of Paganese the chance to get involved. They won one match, ironically versus rogue Welsh entrants Bangor City, 1,0 at home. Wealdstone best them 4,2 and Bath City, who would reach the final won 2,0 on Paganese’s visit 4 day visit to England. Nuneaton would get an away win 3,1 in Pagani. Remarkably,  Udinese (they were semi-pro?) saw off the aforementioned Bath to win the trophy. Indeed, between 1976 and 1986 when the semi-pros were involved, Italy won 10 times to England’s one (Sutton United), with the last 4 finals all Italian affairs! However, aside from Udinese, Livorno, Padova, Modena and Cosena all made finals too, largely household professional names, while Bath, Sutton and Poole Town certainly aren’t! 

The Stadio Marcello Torre is a very well looked after facility, with a lovely backdrop of mountains for wistful escape should the game briefly deteriorate in quality. The capacity is just under 6,000, more than sufficient for a potential return to Serie C. Needless to say the home Curva is buoyant and regularly selling out. Fans from the clubs in the south have a much more passionate way of supporting their team. It can work both ways, as issues that arise along the journey can see them equally stay away etc, but here in Pagani, harmony is the word as the Centenary gets underway.

In town for this one were Francavilla from across the border in Basilicata. By curious coincidence it would be my second sighting of the side from tiny Francavilla-in-Sinni (population 7,000) this season, so chapeau to them for getting and largely comfortably retaining fourth tier status for a number of seasons now. Francavilla stifled Barletta in an early game I had enjoyed, and I have no doubt that would be the game plan headed to the leaders Paganese. 

What unfolded ……..