Piombino is a town in the province of Livorno, thirty thousand souls which almost double in the summer period, known for one of the most important industrial centers in the area, after all, if you look into the town you immediately notice an industrial development and that very spirit working class. Piombino is one of those towns that is still alive, lived in, very active, not a simple dormitory where people leave to go to work and return by dinner time. Piombino, it may seem obvious but it is not in times of forced uprooting for economic reasons, is inhabited by the people of Piombino, therefore the local people are strongly attached to the traditions, to the town, to the place where they were born and currently live. You can find this spirit in sport, in football, where the team plays in promotion and this season has achieved salvation. At his side the public is one of the numerous for the category with an ultras following that makes itself felt and seen.
Even in basketball the arena is well attended, the team sails in the playoff area and the follow-up is important. Within the friendly walls the spectators are numerous and quite lively but also on the road, or at least in some of these that I have seen, the handful of fans is present. This afternoon Piombino gathers around the team that faces the top of the class, a difficult match but, as they say in these cases, not impossible.
Almost three hundred people arrive from Livorno, the tickets are sold out and the sold out it is evident in a building whose dimensions are certainly not gigantic, but commensurate with the catchment area which is that of a town of thirty thousand people. Therefore, the glance of the stands is beautiful, on one side fans and ultras from Livorno who color the segment with several amaranth flags, on the other there are the yellow and blue colors of Piombino.
Just to underline the country’s attachment to the team, it should be noted at the beginning of the game the use of two sector flags but also during the match there are moments where the whole building encourages the home team to keep up with a rival which on paper seemed more popular. If the hosts certainly don’t disfigure, in terms of numbers and attachment, even the guests largely do their duty, as happens in these cases. The quieter fans take their seats in the upper part of the sector while the ultras are positioned at the bottom who, favored by the conformation of the arena, stage a good continuous and boisterous cheer.
Given the good relations between the two factions, the only choruses of ridicule are aimed at the common piellini rivals, for the rest everyone cheers for their own team, trying to drag it to victory. The match is hard fought and inflames the audience. The guests in the first phase seem to take off but the hosts do not give up and close the regulation time in perfect equality. Even the over time was ending in the same way if right on the siren, a bomb of three hadn’t shattered the dreams of the hosts by literally exploding the joy of the Livorno public, who poured onto the parquet for the classic hug with their players . Great party and last ritual chants, Libertas also overcomes the Piombino obstacle and confirms its leadership in the standings.
Valerio Poli
