For a few years now, after having seen hundreds of games, I have been trying to carefully select the ones worthy of being told. First of all, I’m looking for something new, new stadiums, fans I’ve never seen before, new matches and if there’s a rivalry, even better. Today in Maiori, the heart of the Amalfi coast, there is one of those classic matches that excite me so much, full of unusual and curious elements. Starting from the stadium, seen only in photos from which I had already understood that I would like it. Another novelty is the home fans, those of the Amalfi Coast. Before arriving, I thought it was only the fans of the city of Maiori, but I discovered that it brings together souls from the entire coast, as can be understood from the banner placed on the rocky wall at the edge of the pitch, which calls for the unity of all the neighboring municipalities, from the best known Amalfi to the other smaller ones.
For these play-offs in group B of Eccellenza Campana, the opponents are a guarantee for me, those savvy ones that I have already seen on other occasions and who don’t need many introductions. It’s the perfect match from my point of view: I arrive at the stadium half an hour early and I can already appreciate it in all its particularity, given that it is located right under a mountain and the benches are literally dug into the rock. The group of hills that surround it is very suggestive and to add an even more rustic touch to this place, below the stands there is also a farm. From a local manager, I learned that the structure was really born from the mountain, where (in 1979 as a commemorative plaque recalls) with a series of explosions a quarry was created within which the stadium was created.
In the meantime the teams enter the field, the locals group together under the banner “AVANTI CDA” (Amalfi Coast), while in the away sector there are only simple fans. To greet and motivate their eleven, the locals make extensive use of pyrotechnics, with torches, bombs, fireworks and colored smoke bombs being shot into the air. The first twenty minutes of their cheering are very intense, their voice never drops and they don’t stop for a single second.
Towards the middle of the first half, chants can be heard in the distance announcing the arrival of the visiting ultras. They arrive on foot, in a procession, all compact and very loaded, they enter the sector and just enough time to gather together, they too begin to cheer very vehemently. At the end of the first half, while greeting some friends in the sector, I learned of a very repressive security service, which filmed them one by one not after having searched all the cars in a painstaking manner and having made them park very far away, forcing them to long stretch of road on foot which also explains their delay.
The second half is characterized by a goal from the Amalfi Coast which breaks the legs of the guests, who are forced to win in order to access the regional final against Castel San Giorgio. The tension leads to a drop in the intensity of the away fans, but after a few minutes the hosts take care of warming up the atmosphere, starting chants against the savvy players who logically respond in kind without even thinking about it. The match ends without any further shocks, with the locals celebrating the narrow victory and the savvy players being sent out first, embittered by a defeat that forces them to start all over again.
Emilio Celotto
I like:
I like Loading…