Centenarian

It might have taken a while, 1987 to 2026, but the Coppa Eccelenza Finale in Teramo on 9th May will be my 100th Stadio in Italia. Given I have only visited 412 anywhere in the world (mostly Scotland), nearly 25% is a remarkable stat perhaps. Blame it on Football Weekends and my craving to discover new places to bring to the monthly magazine. Prior to really getting invested in contributing to its content, Taranto, my 50th was in October 2022. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to fathom the rapid increase since, with the next half century of stadiums arriving in 3 ½ years! 

Since the pandemic, a vast number of visited venues have been in the south. A rich new bounty of grounds, with some, like my favourites in the north, now doing the “calling me back gig”. Prior to the pandemic, only one match in Lecce stood out as the lone dash south. Now Bisceglie (5); Benevento (4); Brindisi (4); Monopoli (4); Catanzaro (3) and Salernitana (3) are all considered amongst the favourite go to venues down that way, as well as my amusing Casertana “away” gig in 6 different regions.

I know it is a different thing living somewhere as opposed to just visiting, but the South of Italy has rapidly become more enjoyable, and I have a list of places that I still wish to visit and bring to the readers of FW. Campobasso, Matera, Reggina, Siracusa and Akragas sit high on the must do list, maybe Juve Stabia too. The Castellammare di Stabia are presently in Serie B, potentially the only league I might one day complete, as Serie C and its three 18 team leagues might get near completion, but so long as U23 sides exist in them, you’ll never catch me at any of those venues. I will never go to Juventus, and for some reason even the word Torino almost sends me off to sleep, which makes visiting that ground seem unlikely unless they are hosting a club that entertains my eccentric picks.

This is how my rationale works, but now Padova’s “newer” stadium has finally opened a stand that potentially makes the place more atmospheric, I will make an effort next term to go, hopefully doubling up with a long overdue trek to Treviso, who will be in the third tier next season after a long journey back from bankruptcy. I hear the city is very nice too, always a bonus. One of the first stadiums I ever visited was the fantastic old Padova ground right smack bang in the city centre, Stadio Silvio Appiani. It was my second ground in 1988, after Cesena 12 months earlier, and by match 12 in Italy; Genova, Ancona and Padova had all had two visits. The latter two have subsequently moved to new grounds, but Dorico (Ancona- visited 5 times) and the twice at the Appiani remain two of the best in the 100. Another favourite, first visited in 1990, the Romeo Menti, Vicenza, saw a full house with tickets merely 1 Lira, as the home side avoided the drop to the fourth tier. They subsequently re-vamped the Menti making it a one tier venue, but with no running tack and a proper British feel to it, I have always enjoyed my 5 visits here.

Triestina’s incredible stadium, the Nereo Rocco deserves a higher level to be regularly hosting football. Maybe one day, but it almost seems like a curse is hanging over this club. It’s been too long since they even graced Serie B, losing out to Pisa in the C Play-off Final of 2019 was as close as they have managed.  Now relegated back to Serie D, it’s going to be a while before we see them back where I believe they belong. It is however a classic example of having a stadium doesn’t guarantee success.

The most obscure and lowest level match ever watched was at the back of the Fanuzzi, essentially the training pitch (pre-campo) in Brindisi, all the way down in the 9th tier with ASD Casale losing 2-3 to Pro Massafra. It was my lowest crowd too, with just over 70 watching. I was at a 6th tier play out in Campania, with the home side Sant’Egidio losing 1-0 to Faiano at their non grass, dirt pitch known as Spirito in the town. It remains the only match I have watched on such a surface, and with a near full house, largely of disappointed fans, who witnessed a significant fight after the final whistle with the Sant’Egidio players unable to accept their fate gracefully. In order to reach the ground I had walked a short distance out of Angri, and even in its suburbs, it is fair to say they were rather angry still!

I guess recollecting the matches and stats etc is easier with the Futbology app. Without it I wouldn’t have a clue that Teramo will be my 100th venue. Ancona, with its 15 visits to the “new” Del Conero, recently joined the Centenario in Montevideo on that number, after the bianorossi sadly failed to overcome a 2-0 deficit to Pistoiese in the Coppa Italia D final, going down to an injury-time winner on the night for the Tuscan side. The Del Conero hosted the most fabulous opening two matches of any stadium in the one hundred, with a Serie A 5-3 win over Pescara, followed by a 0-0 draw, but it was the first leg of the actual Coppa Italia versus Sampdoria. These games were in May 1993 and April 1994, with the cup tie being the last time a Serie B side reached the final, 32 years ago now, incredible. 

The old Dorico (5 games) in Ancona played host to a match that I am still so proud to have been at, in May 1991 when we beat Ascoli 2-0. It’s a rarely played derby these days, and doubtlessly without away fans ever game alas, but that day will stay with me forever. Indeed, following Ancona, and to a lesser extent Cesena took up many of the early years, then South America came along. It wasn’t really until 2012 more or less that I started to expand my Italian horizons, and then a few years later, as I got involved with FW magazine, things really started to take off on the variety front. 

My favourites have all had three or more visits, with the exception of the Sinigaglia in Como (2 visits), just the most amazing site for a stadium anywhere in the world let alone Italy. The Riviera Delle Palme in San Benedetto Del Tronto, home of Sambenedettese is a real gem (3 visits). I like Pescara too (also 3), and sandwiched between them, off the coast comes Teramo 100. They are a club I saw win, and thus relegated Ancona in 2017. The two have been jousting with Ostia Mare for the sole promotion slot in D this term. The scheduling of such an important match in Ancona on a school day at 3pm meant it was tight, bordering impossible to elicit a lift with Stefano, who did end up going, but the 2017  0-1 result was even worse this season,  losing 0-2. However, Teramo have struggled since and won’t be heading to Serie C, leaving Ancona to try to chase down Ostia with games running out. 

Amongst the 100 I have danced with the devil and stepped on loyal friends comfort zones by visiting Pisa and Ascoli just once (enough), whilst Bisceglie fans look away now, I have been 4 times to the Poli stadium in nearby Molfetta (twice to see Borgorosso), although a 2-7 loss for real rivals Molfetta to Lucera, will always be one of the funniest and best thrashings ever. 

The match at the 100th venue is quite a story in itself and will have its own feature for the magazine, but in a nutshell, the Coppa Italia Eccellenza Final, between Montecchio Gallo from Marche (near Pesaro-same shirt), and my Puglian boys Bisceglie. The White Stars have been super competitive all season, but they have played a heap more matches than league Champions, unbeaten Brindisi. That put pressure on two subsequent routes for promotion. Remarkably, a team can be promoted to Serie D for winning, or playing in the final against a side who have already won their Eccellenza. That happened when the Marchese clinching the title just days after the two clubs were confirmed as this years finalists. Quietly I had been hoping for Alessandria versus Bisceglie, two “bigger” sides from the 5th tier, but in reality it didn’t matter who Bisceglie met in the final, as long as before the match kicked off, we were both celebrating promotion. It will be quite a party, and I am sure both will put on a fine display as they try to win a third trophy of the season (in case of Montecchio) and two for Bisceglie. I am sure a good number will travel north for the occasion.

Bisceglie, by their very nature, don’t do things easily. Racing Club de Avellaneda have a saying “to support Racing is to suffer”. The same applies to Bisceglie, whose woes were dealt with largely in my last article in FW about them. However, since then the two legs versus Roma’s Boreale typifies the angst they bring to the table when things get significant. In the first leg, Bisceglie were far superior, and yet ended up having to settle on a 0-0 draw, thanks in part to the visiting keeper. In Roma, they dominated the play once more, and yet fell behind in the second half to Boreale’s only shot on target. Was this where the story would end? Our best player had gone off injured and the play had become more and more fractured. 

Thankfully, Maffei, on as a sub levelled and despite giving it a real go, we had the lottery of penalty kicks. These were just spot kicks to reach a final, both knew that the winner would go up. Bisceglie’s first penalty was saved by the hero of the first leg, and it started to feel as if this keeper was going to be the difference. He even took Boreale’s first spot kick, certainly an unusual situation. The agony and the distress continued through 16 more penalty kicks. Boreale biffed one over the bar to make it 4-4 after the regulation 10 kicks, and always going first, Bisceglie continued to score. Our keeper never got near any really until that fateful 16th kick, and we had won. The joy, the relief, saw emotion spill out. The club had invested heavily and gambled on reaching D, it had paid off. The pull of the final, I had to be there, and the fact it’s my 100th ground is mere fluff.

I stayed away from a match at Dens Park in 2015, a game that clinched an historic third place league finish for ICT in the top flight, just so that the cup final could be my 500th Inverness game! This time reaching 100, no such shenanigans have entered the thought process, but if Taranto was No.50, and Teramo brings up the century. Perhaps I need to go to sleep apnea classes to get me ready to wade through a Torino match after all for 150, and keeping the “T” theme going, although Trastevere, or Tolentino maybe!