Vis Pesaro – Rimini is a match that has always been characterized by a good crowd, a classic of the 90s and 2000s when the two teams played in the old C2 series and competed for the coveted goal of promotion to C1. Although many years have passed since then, the playoff final played on a neutral field in Arezzo with a Pesaro victory arrived in the final minutes remains one of the central moments in the memories of those who lived through those periods, so much so that for several years that match was a reason for teasing towards the Riminesi. In football then, as often happens, things change quickly and within a few years Rimini managed to reach even more important goals such as Serie B, the crossings between the two teams thinned out but somehow the spirit of those years. Maybe more naive years and without too much attention to the ultras protocol like today, but if we want also more genuine and light-hearted years than the current ones.
Today’s match comes at a less than exciting moment of the season for the two teams, the home one close to the playout area, while the Romagnoli, despite being in a more peaceful position in the standings, have collected too many draws and defeats in this second round. especially within friendly walls, with the arrival of some grumbling within the fans towards the coach and players, who are much more performing at the start of the season. The victory of this Marchigiano-Romagnolo derby therefore has a certain importance, above all in order to bring back some of that dormant enthusiasm in both fans.
The Riminesi still manage to finish all the tickets available to them, 588, which are certainly not in line with the numbers seen in the away match in Cesena a few weeks ago, but remain a sign of good health for this fan base, however in the process of being redefined in its forms and in its structures after the dissolution of RWS in the recent past and the establishment of East Curve Rimini this year.
Partially similar speech for Pesaro, where in recent years the public has dropped dramatically, by virtue of not exciting sporting results and which certainly do not invite you to approach the team; not even the stadium helps, despite the fact that a new iron grandstand has been built close to the pitch, physically placed before the historic steps and which at least has allowed Pesaro fans to gain visibility (as it has no gates or networks of any kind) and to consequently in the possibility of being heard and affecting during the race. Nothing new or at least partially comforting for the guest sector, which has remained the same as in the past or perhaps even worsened, considering that part of it has been dismantled, thus reducing its capacity, perhaps to reduce general management costs or perhaps for mere structural needs.
The household sector guided by the consolidated axis between the Old guard eh 1898, organizes a choreography to color the sector thanks to the use of a good number of red and white flags and a banner of loyalty to one’s cause. Very simple compared to the many choreographies of that already cherished past in Serie C2, when in any case the whole bleacher was involved, but in the context of the current era, also made up of exasperating repression or absurd demands by the security services, any spontaneous attempt to breaking through this bureaucratic dullness is always to be appreciated.
No choreography on the other hand in the away sector, but to mention in the first minutes of the game a successful scarf and participated by most of those present, seasoned by the waving of the flags on the notes of “Rimini Vai”, the official anthem of Rimini football over time then modified and adopted by many other fans.
However, I have to admit that this derby didn’t leave me with particular emotions, on the pitch the game ended in a draw, a point each that doesn’t satisfy anyone but still moves the standings. Better in the stands where Pesaresi and Rimini did their duty to the end, alternating cheering for their team with some healthy and goliardic teasing, which are the salt of these matches. In the wake of the Pesarese piece that reads “To those who look at us from up there”, both fans remember their brothers from the curve who disappeared prematurely through their faces imprinted on the flags, Cesco in the home curve and Gavino in the away sector, in addition to the patch for Busca, Kapo and Dani, all boys proudly in love with their city and with all its representations. It was nice to see them in every way in their place and they too are still a living testimony of the memory of the past that goes beyond time and becomes tradition. Practically the exact opposite of the empty product they are trying to promote today and which, if not reversed in its sterile trend, sooner or later will only gather around itself sterile empty products. In short, praise to those who do not forget the past, but who most of all continue to live in the present to stem these depersonalizations.
Gilberto Poggi