Last round of the Serie B regular season full of emotions at the “Tardini” in Parma for the match between the ducals and Venice. Turnout well beyond expectations especially considering the unfortunate decision, yet another, of the political leaders of football who have chosen to play the match on Friday. By now it shouldn’t even amaze or indignate us anymore but perhaps it is also true that when we stop doing it, it will mean that resignation has won and with it their crazy way of seeing what for us remains an ancient social and identity ritual, for them instead mere commercial and lucrative event.
Almost twelve thousand defendants of which about a thousand arrived in Emilia from the Lagoon. There is a lot at stake, also from a football point of view, with Parma playing for fourth place and the consequent improvement in the standings which could prove decisive in the playoffs. Those same playoffs that Venice also aspires to but that still see many teams fighting ready to take advantage of a misstep by the orange-greens and oust them from the carousel that leads to the top flight.
At the start of the game, the North Curve Matteo Bagnaresi he performs in the most classic of scarfs, thick but not very thick as on other occasions but worthily reinforced by a good dose of pyrotechnics which, for some time now, has become a pleasant constant every time Parma plays in the evening. Speaking of pyrotechnics, the Venetians also show off, arriving slightly long at kick-off and letting themselves be announced by devices that are not only bright but also explosive.
In terms of support proper, a beautiful performance on both sides. Parma confirms its strong and constant growth in the last period, also favored by the competitive tension fueled by the playoff objective in which the team and supporters believe and tend in symbiosis, influencing each other. If the home fans are present, they sing and do it very well, the Venetians are just as beautiful who literally support the team throughout the game. The positioning in the “curvino” is strategically excellent, which enhances the host fans much more than the straight where the supporters in Parma are most often located and which often ends up negatively influencing even the best fans in quantitative and qualitative terms.
In the second half, the Parma players pulled out the banner “Hands off Sampdoria” to support their twins in this period in which the fate of their partnership is in fact hanging by a thread. Even the guests entrust their thoughts to paper, both to show solidarity with the areas of Emilia Romagna recently and heavily affected by the floods, and with the people of Modena who have received various warnings after the trip to Como.
On the pitch, the hosts prevailed 2-1 and at the triple whistle they could widely celebrate the achievement of fourth place in an ideal embrace with their fans. Instead, they have to wait for the Venetians with their ears glued to the radio, but the finale of the “Barbera” in Palermo, where the rosanero are forced 2 to 2 by Brescia, then makes their joy explode for admission to the playoffs, a a path fraught with pitfalls but at the bottom of which lies that great dream called Serie A. And no one likes to dream more than the fans.
Giovanni Padovani