By arriving in Padua well in advance of kick-off I can afford a nice tour of its magnificent historic centre. The Venetian capital is one of those places that can hardly tire you out and, in fact, every time I plan a trip to the Euganeo I carve out time for a walk among its beauties. It’s not even too cold and between Piazza dei Signori, the Basilica of Sant’Antonio and the Prato della Valle I insistently ask myself one thing: how can such a beautiful place have such an ugly, uncomfortable, cold and anti-typhus stadium? Mysteries of Italian speculative construction. A true contradiction that qualifies us for what we are: a people with infinite good taste in its roots, but with incredible contemporary sloppiness!
The number 11 bus takes me in a few minutes to the Via Montà stop, from where in about a quarter of an hour you can reach the large covered car parks of the stadium (another truly unwatchable thing) and shortly thereafter to the Favelas, a meeting space created by the ultras from Padua as well as the only refreshment point where you can pre-match. Incredible but true: the only decent thing around a badly designed and worse built stadium was done by the much reviled organized fans. Which may also seem repetitive or exaggerated, but really: explain to me how the system of a provincial capital does it – whose team has played in Serie B for years, has played in Serie C for many seasons and in the not so distant past has also played the top division – to not even have a pitch or a bar where people can even just quench their thirst on hot days and have a beer throughout the championship? But then you look again and again at what should be the new Curva Sud – which has been awaiting the end of the work, which is currently interrupted, for months – and you get most of the answers. Anyone who doesn’t know the slightest bit about football and cheering could easily think that Padua is the furthest thing from the leather ball and the passion that exists around it. We who have seen and understood “something” can limit ourselves to saying that there almost seems to be an attempt underway – lasting more than ten years – to make it become!
On the other hand, every time I come to these parts I am impressed by the work of the Tribuna Fattori, which despite everything really brings people together. You can see it from the variety of people present, from those who are interested in purchasing the material and from how they try at all costs to convey warmth and stadium attitude to a fan base literally devastated by the city’s facilities. Think about it: these people went from seeing the silhouettes of the Basilica of Sant’Antonio at Appiani, to having to move to an uncomfortable and cold stand even though the South Euganeo stadium was shamefully far from the pitch. I believe that not even the worst of enemies would have reserved such a long punishment for the Paduans. Patavini who, however, as a people who were anything but soft and compliant, over the years have at least managed to transform the impervious grandstand of their stadium into hardness of spirit and a perpetual desire for confrontation. I think I’m not saying anything exaggerated by saying that maybe the Fattori won’t be one of those curves that makes you tear your eyes out with cheering, but over the course of history it has shown that it can fully stand up to street competition even with noble and tough realities. A source of pride for the biancoscudati, who also proudly underline this in their choirs. A modus vivendi that has often represented the true opposite of those who have recently found themselves wearing the Padova shirt on the pitch, playing disappointing and anonymous championships.
Today’s match is clearly an important crossroads for the championship, with the surprising Mantova firmly in command and the Venetians trying to catch up, although the Virgilians’ progress is truly impeccable. But this is also a match characterized by an old rivalry, one of those challenges in which the northern soul of the Italian fan and ultra stands out at the centre. Because if we often underline how much some southern realities are able to offer in terms of passion, attachment and following, we often forget the tradition and roots that in many Northern cities have allowed the development of an important Curvaiolo movement. And then this is a really nice comparison between people from the hinterland, who in the collective imagination we always think of as grumpy and ready for a fight. But let’s go in order.
I haven’t seen the Mantuans at work since the 2004/2005 season. “Right” nineteen years, in which I somewhat lost sight of the Curva Te and its vicissitudes. We are talking about another geological era and I am aware that the memory of that large, colorful and truly remarkable fan base from a singing point of view risks remaining so. And in any case according to the old axiom according to which everything transforms, I will certainly see them in a different light in 2024. Although Mantua basically has great potential, also due to the several years of Serie B and that Serie A which is now half a century away, but it is also important in forming a historical memory on the banks of the Mincio. After all, there is no point in denying it: football is also and above all a question of tradition and as much as the concept is abused, the motto “from father to son” often tells the truth. Although obviously I’m not referring so much to a curve speech, but to passing on history, anecdotes and attachment to what the city team represents.
Over a thousand tickets were sold in the Lombardy capital, while in total there will be 8,157 spectators. Important numbers, which could certainly have grown with a one hundred percent approved stadium. It is no coincidence that, also thanks to Fattori’s push, the club eventually opened the East Stand, encouraging the influx of other fans. But anyway, on this issue in Italy we are at the forefront: practically the entire national sport is not homologated. And the great thing is that the leagues, the federations, the Observatories, the Police Headquarters and the Prefectures do everything they can to put in place more and more bureaucratic and restrictive loopholes so that in order to fully open a facility it is necessary to provide the blood tests of all season ticket holders plus the certificate of loads hanging immaculately (which isn’t that far from reality if you think about it!).
When I set foot on the tartan of the athletics track (one day someone will explain to us what it is for) Fattori is warming up the engines, encouraging the team to return to the changing rooms, while the ultras have yet to make their entrance in the guest sector. The moment the teams enter the field, the Paduans show off with a beautiful and thick scarf to the tune of “Ma Quando Torno a Padova”, a popular song written and performed (partially in dialect) by Umberto Mercato in 1960. Music pairing /soccer more than apt I would say, returning to the link between this sport and its popular roots. Then the hosts showed off several powerful claps, opening the cheering dance. As I already had the opportunity to see last year with Vicenza, the novelty among the biancoscudati is the presence of the drum. A tool that seems to give rhythm and really help the guys at Fattori, without however distorting their way of being (of the series: you can do everything, but sparingly). Just as I’m busy taking the first photos, the Curva Te contingent emerges from the small door of the guest section. With the cry of “I hate the Veneto” the people from Mantua make their entrance, definitively igniting the dispute but above all lighting up (in the true sense of the word) the stands with an excellent quantity of torches and some paper bombs. The League inspector scores meticulously, the coffers need to be replenished, evidently there is a need to plan some other bizarre reform of championships which have often become pathetic.
My question marks about the Virgilian support were soon dispelled, also thanks to the sumptuous performance of Possanzini’s team, who ultimately asphalted their opponent with a sensational 0-5. The guest sector is seething with joy and passion, offering a truly excellent performance, in which two notable scarves stand out and the color of the flags is always present. It’s a shame that the Te guys bring few and small pieces (so much so that the Prato twins with their Wild Kaos will take up a good part of the central window), due to the “caciarona” nature of this fan base, a return to the old style. But apart from these observations, we can see that basically there is a good level of involvement (obviously, in dark times the numbers were very different) and the possible leap into the ranks would definitively rekindle interest in a city that has just under fifty thousand inhabitants, therefore certainly not being the largest center in its region, but having always maintained a great identity, also thanks to its particular positioning: between Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia.
Coming to the Padua area, what can we say? On evenings like these, where the game ends after a handful of minutes, you either show your pride and sing for yourself, or you let everything go. They opt for the first choice, with the hard core singing throughout the game. Obviously at a certain point it becomes almost impossible to bring along the fans who are generally outside the curve’s logic, but I must say that after having seen the red and whites in various years, this generation has the merit of having at least given more importance to the appearance singing and colourful, so much so that during the match two more beautiful scarves will be carried out, a couple of flags will always remain in the wind and the cheering will still be good. Maybe not excellent and devastating, but you try to make an already glacial stadium sing while the team on the pitch is slapped by the league leaders and implicitly says goodbye, for the umpteenth time, to the moment of direct promotion. We are Italian and we are also affected by the mood of the surrounding public, as well as the outcome of the camp. Otherwise we would be Polish-like robots and we would be talking about something else. However, it is worth highlighting the many offensive chants received from the Virgilians to which the Venetians respond in kind, practically not letting anything escape. If I have to admit one thing, what I generally like most about them is that sense of hostility and “threat” that their curvy attitudes seem to convey.
At the final whistle there was a flood of joy for Mantova, who ran under their fans to celebrate the achievement and seal a record which now boasts seven points over today’s neighbors. Applause also for Padova from a public that probably no longer knows which saints to turn to (despite the presence of the effigy of Sant’Antonio in Fattori) to get out of the en passe of the third divisions and above all, in the ultras context, to a group that offers very little joy in terms of comparison and “interesting” away games. Personally, I can only put the equipment away after taking the last shots and walk towards the inevitable Itabus stop. At least the return will not be marred by the green Flixbus bus, an evil that afflicts contemporary travelers and that we should all learn to fight a little!
Simone Meloni
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