Note: It’s hard to write a piece retrospectively, especially as these events took place eight months ago. Little did I know that when I left China for England and Italy that I would be unable to return for three quarters of a year. I find myself now in a hotel room in Guangzhou, China serving my two-week quarantine reminiscing about a time when Coronavirus hadn’t gripped Italy (and the rest of the world) and caused major destruction to lives and economies globally.
Sunday 19th January 2020
Brescia Calcio 2-2 Cagliari Calcio
The game in Lombardi took place on Sunday. With Italy being a religious country all cafes, restaurants, shops were closed. I’d spent the past 2 years in China where everything is open 24/7. Granted it’s much more convenient, but the workers have no rights there, so swings and roundabouts.
Brescia is another one of those teams with a cult following. They haven’t had won much with their greatest honours a series of Serie B titles. They have notoriety because of their former players, which boast Andrea Pirlo, Luca Toni, Gheorghe Hagi, Roberto Baggio. Their current star is the controversial Mario Balotelli. Balotelli almost needs no introduction, a player that some would argue has wasted his talent, a lazy trainer, but whenever he’s around there’s always drama. For today’s game he’s on the bench, but at least I get to watch Alfredo Donnaruma (Gianluigi Donnaruma’s brother).
Quiz Question 1: What shirt number does Mario Balotelli wear? (An extra point if you know the reason.)
Today’s opposition is Cagliari, a team with a bunch of racist supporters, so I’ll be supporting Brescia today. The stadium is a bit make-shift. The entire thing looks like a temporary structure made of scaffolding poles which have been erected hours before the game. I mingle amongst the Brescia faithful and my nose fills with the smell of weed and my eyes are blinded by the sun. There are a few throwbacks to stadiums of the past that I’ve only ever seen on TV at World Cups in South America or at Italia 90. The players emerge from an underground tunnel and the coaching staff take their positions on the sunken bench.
The game begins and the atmosphere starts to build. The Italians always seem a little more classy than their British counterparts. The chants begin and they seem to be sung to a sombre classical piece as they all sway and sing gently. In England, they sing songs to the tune of Emmerdale or Heartbeat.
The game is a bit of a rollercoaster as racist Cagliari take the lead before Brescia come back with two goals from Torregrossa and finally Cagliari snatch an equaliser. In the 74th minute, Mario Balotelli is introduced as a substitute. After many years of trotting around Europe, he has finally returned to play for his hometown club. However, it isn’t long before he is shown a red card in the 81st minute. He managed just 7 minutes before his dismissal. Like I said, there’s always drama when Mario’s around. The game concludes 2-2.
Quiz Question 2: Which player holds the Premier League record for the fastest red card?
I’m absolutely famished after the match and I meander around town looking for something to eat. Sunday is not the day for this. I thought Italy would have caught up with the rest of the world in rising consumerism. I thought Sunday would be a prime day for restaurants to get customers in and that they’d be lassoing me in with spaghetti to eat at their establishments. In the end, I had to settle for a McDonald’s. Given the delights in cuisine, the Italians have to offer I was wasting one of my limited meals in the country on American fast food. All around Italy I have sampled some incredibly delicious food. In fact, I could move here for the wine alone, add the food and the Sambuca and I’m sold!
Quiz Question 3: Which American did Juventus sign on loan from Schalke in the summer of 2020?
Monday 20th January, 2020
Atalanta 1-2 SPAL
This was possibly the game I was most excited for out of the six games. Atalanta have become a revelation in the past two seasons. Last year they managed to defy the odds and qualify for the Champions League above giants of Italian football like AC Milan, Roma, and Lazio. This season, they have again surprised everyone by finishing 3rd again and also making it to the quarter-final of the Champions League playing an exciting, attacking brand of football. They score goals for fun and know they have the ability to outscore the opposition.
The game was scheduled for the evening, which gave me an entire day in Bergamo. What a lucky boy I was because it’s fucking beautiful. After a while, some of the other towns became a bit samey, but the beauty of Bergamo outweighs all the others on my trip.
As I meandered around town treating myself to coffee and tiramisu every 20 minutes, I saw a camera crew filming in the main square. I noticed it was the Copa90 lads filming their latest edition of Derby Days for their Youtube channel. They were filming the promo for the upcoming Derby di Bergamo between Atalanta and Brescia. (Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the game was delayed, no fans were allowed in the stadium, and the game finished 6-2 to Atalanta.) I managed to speak to the lads and get a selfie like a true fanboy.
Fast forward a few hours and it was game time. Again, I was there early to get my ticket and asked the ticket booth seller for the Curva Nord. I’m not sure if they had sold out, but the guy just gave me a look that suggested I’d get eaten alive. I had to settle for the opposite stand.
The stadium is currently under renovation as Atalanta plan to remodel each stand over a 4-year period. In its current state, the stadium looks like a mismatch of different designs. The north stand was the first to be redeveloped and was new and modern, the east and west stands had a kind of art deco design to them, while the south stand was a shallow bowl without seats, just concrete steps.
I found a spot in the south stand on the concrete steps and sat to rest my leg as I’d been walking all day. All the other games had been in the afternoon and I’d enjoyed the warm sun, but the evening was cold and sitting on the concrete steps sucked all the warmth out of my body through my anus.
The game kicked off, the crowd began to make noise and I managed to forget about the cold for the next 90 minutes. The game is slow and Atalanta aren’t producing the football I was expecting. Atalanta managed to score 98 league goals in 2019/20 (22 more than the eventual champions) and only lost 6 games. I managed to see one of these defeats. SPAL, the bottom team in the division (who managed only 5 wins all season and had a goal difference of -50) managed to triumph on the day and defeat Atalanta 2-1. Just my luck.
Quiz Question 4: Who were Atalanta's top Serie A goal scorers for the 2019/20 season?
The defeat in the most anticipated game was a bit disappointing, but overall it was the perfect week. The people I met along the way were pleasant (I’ve been telling everyone that the Italians are the rudest I’ve encountered for the past ten years since my trip to Bologna, which I now feel bad about.) But what more could I ask for? Good food, good wine, football every day. If I won the lottery, this is exactly what I’d be doing.
On a final note, I’m proud of the progress I made with my leg. When I was leaving England I was debating whether I should bring the crutches with me. I wasn’t totally confident that I had healed enough, but it was the push I needed. I managed to hobble around for a few weeks without them and I could feel the difference each day, it was the rehab I needed. It was a fantastic way to begin 2020, especially after 2019 had been such a car crash of events (little did I know how the rest of the year was to turn out.) I managed to tick something off my bucket list and up next is a trip to the Philippines for a friend’s wedding. I’m a luckily individual when my legs aren’t breaking.
Quiz Question 5: Which Premier League players have suffered broken legs? (Bit of a morbid question, but I couldn't be bothered to think of another.)
Quiz Question Answers:
- 45 - At Inter Milan, he scored 4 goals in his first 4 games wearing 45 and he thought it brought him luck. Not much luck at Liverpool though.
- Kieth Gillespie - after being brought on as a substitute, he was shown a red card after 12 seconds.
- Weston McKennie
- Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel - both with 18
- Aaron Ramsey, Eduardo, Abou Diaby, Djibril Cisse, David Busst, Luc Nilis, Hatem Ben Arfa... (there are probably more)
