The stalls filled with blue scarves and the banners already posted on almost all the balconies suggest that even Neapolitan superstition has given way to a success that now appears imminent and inexorable. Maybe it’s the first time I visually feel the prelude to a football party in the Campania capital and I can’t help but understand every sign of it walking towards the Porta Nolana station, with the intention of catching the first useful train for the city of Lilies .
I know very well that I could take it directly from Piazza Garibaldi, but when I have time I like to walk the few hundred meters that separate the main Neapolitan railway interchange from the actual terminus of the Cirumvesuviana. A ten-minute walk to taste a Parisian, scrutinize some picturesque writing on the walls, touch the local market and then gain entry on one of the very battered trains with final destination Baiano. Being used to taking the line to Sorrento, I observe this route with more interest, which instead of winding towards the sea curves to the left passing between the Centro Direzionale and Poggioreale, then pulling straight towards Irpinia.
Nola station is built practically next to the old field of Piazza d’Armi. A fort that all the fans miss in Nola and for which they occasionally try to trace a road in order to recover it and bring football back to the heart of the city. Without taking anything away from the current Sporting – facility where the bianconeri have been playing for over fifteen years now -, terrain which has certainly allowed the club to continue to play its matches in the municipal area, but which is light years away from the one which until 2007 (although already at the beginning of the two thousand some seasons have been played in the current facility) was the home of football in Nola and which, to make room for the construction of an imaginary papier-mâché citadel (financed, started and never finished) ended up becoming a landfill in the center , perfectly telling a lot about how these things go in our country. However, in recent months there seems to be more than one opening for the reclamation and reconstruction of the Piazza d’Armiand this would be a great success for all Nola sportsmen, as well as for local football.
Located between Naples and Avellino, Nola has about 33,000 inhabitants, being the most important center in the area for historical and economic reasons. Despite failures, restarts and sporting disappointments, his team boasts an excellent tradition, with several Serie C championships held between the eighties and nineties. A period of splendor for football and for Italian supporters, which allowed Bruno’s supporters to compete with some of the most important squares of Italian provincial football, among which the fiery derbies with Caserta and Avellino remain unforgettable.
Today’s derby won’t be a “top” derby, it won’t be a challenge marked by a bitter rivalry (indeed) and it won’t be a Serie C match to be played at the Piazza d’Armi. But it is still a fundamental stage for a championship that sees the Bianconeri last, never victorious at home and with the specter of relegation that has been hanging over everyone’s heads for some months now. Opposite is a Palmese who has returned to the Serie D fields and is playing a respectable tournament, undermining the first in the class and confirming the excellent work of a club that presented itself with many credentials. In short, the ingredients for an important and enjoyable confrontation in the stands are all there and the expectations, in fact, will not be betrayed.
At the box office it will be recorded sold out (lo Sporting is approved for 1,296 seats), with about four hundred fans from Palma Campania. Although the relationship between the two fans is characterized by a full-blown esteem, at the entrances the local officials put on the usual show made up of cameras aimed at the spectators, intimidating attitudes and an almost surgically slowed down influx. One could really comment in any way, writing a special article and once again emphasizing how on certain occasions, gentlemen seem almost intent on heating up events that do not present any apparent bitterness. But since there is a highly respectable ultras challenge to tell, let’s avoid speculation and concentrate on the spectacle offered by the bleachers. I’m just saying that the pieces exposed to the contrary by the ultras from Nola say a lot about the relationship between them and whoever is in charge of protecting public order in the stadium.
Compared to the last time they were in Nola, the novelty is represented by the dissolution of the Essepienne. Group that in its years of militancy has made the square grow and has forged its identity and way of living the curve. And although this lack is obviously heavy in the amateur scene, it is undeniable to note that the path traced has also been followed by those who have shouldered the burden of organized support following the Bianconeri. First of all, the Ultras banner deserves a special mention, which fully embodies the spirit of these guys. In its features – lived in, handmade, fascinating – it probably aims to unite all the components of this square behind the word that more than any other represents the mind and soul of the bleachers.
Ultras is the right word to define who, not giving a damn about results and difficulties, this year has planted the flag in every Sardinian away game with excellent numbers and never lacking their support. What for granted? I wouldn’t say so if you think about how tiring it can be from an economic and organizational point of view to reach the island repeatedly in the same season. We are still talking about Serie D and fans who cannot count on the numbers of the metropolis and who, consequently, must prepare a capillary internal organization to support everything. Here, when it is said that in Italy “the ultras movement is dead” one also thinks for a moment of all this undergrowth which then, in fact, supports everything that is seen in the mainstream aspect of this curving universe.
While behind me some Portuguese lean on the hill to follow the match for free, giving life to an old football scene, the steps of the house greet the entrance to the field with a nice black smoke and some torches lit stealthily. The pyrotechnic effect is always one that deserves attention and is the prelude to a great singing performance by the Nolans. Armed with banners, drums and a lot of voice, the Bruno ultras put an extra gear to their team, already back from a good trend of results and took the field with the aim of abandoning the last position. It’s nice, for once, to hear choirs that come out of the standard repertoire now adopted in a large part of the peninsula. Above all, the one on the notes of is always appreciable and engaging slow tempo by Tullio De Piscopo. After all, the piece brought by the Neapolitan percussionist to Sanremo 1988 has remained immortal thanks to its captivating rhythm, which lends itself well to stadium adaptation.
On the guest side, the Palmesi, as mentioned, are present in good numbers. The hard core positioned in front of the banners – for the occasion hung high up – and capable of providing an excellent performance, will always cheer. I’ll be honest: I found the Rossoneri to be considerably better than in the past. I have a distant memory of it, from the years of the C2 Series (early 2000s), not exactly optimal. They have certainly known how to unite and work in terms of support. The scarf shown at the beginning of the second half was very beautiful, also colored by a couple of torches.
In the end it was Palmieri who gave the first internal success to Nola. A goal that blows him up Sporting and returns the maximum satisfaction to the fans after their excellent cheering performance. Three very heavy points in terms of salvation, celebrated in a big way in the sector, when the Juventus team clings to their audience dancing and singing. I’m not a fan of team/fan rituals, which I often find forced and out of place, but this time it must be said that the spontaneity of the players is tangible.
The day ends with some footballers intent on eating the chatter kindly offered by the host club, who thus wanted to celebrate the coincidence of the match with the Carnival period (the same was also brought forward to Saturday to allow for the carnival celebrations in Palma Campania) . And speaking of small talk – not sweet though -, I hear a lot of it when the fans leave the stadium. Enthusiastic and launched for a perhaps unexpected success. On the walls of the Sporting some writing resists against the rivals of all time, while the crowd thins out on my way towards the Circumvesuviana. Before setting off, I make a small detour to photograph the statue of Giordano Bruno, a philosopher who was born in Nola and for whom I have always had a certain fascination. Another statue in his honor is present in Rome, in Piazza Campo de’ Fiori, where he was burned alive following the condemnation of heresy issued by the Church.
A sentence to which Bruno proudly replied: “Maiori forsan cum teme sententiam in me fertis quam ego accipiam” (“Perhaps you tremble more when pronouncing this sentence against me than I when listening to it”). A concept dear to the ultras, wanting to make a parallelism without being out of place. A concept that organized supporters, however, marries and supports almost continuously in the face of those who, sentence after sentence, restriction after restriction, would like to take the trouble to eliminate, muzzle them and reset their aggregative capacities.
Leaving Nola behind me, even the sun is putting an end to its presence today. All that remains is to dance for a couple of hours on the railway to reach home. Reworking all the key points of this warm winter day!
Simone Meloni