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A question of survival (daily newspaper Junge Welt)

Stone cutter / Machines / LaPresse via ZUMA Press / dpa

Where the regatta was invented: In Venice. Venezia FC players at the promotion ceremony on the gondola (May 29, 2021)

Shortly before Christmas, the news agencies reported the possible end of the Sicilian club Catania Calcio. After the court found that a purchase offer from an investor from Rome was inadequate, the traditional association was declared bankrupt. How it should go on is meanwhile open.

A new start in a lower league under a new name is possible. Nobody knows whether the beautiful club emblem with the old leather football and the elephant over the red and blue club colors will continue to exist. It is unclear whether the fans would remain loyal to such a group from the retort.

Founded in 1946, the club is an institution in Italian football. From 2006 to 2014 Catania Calcio played in Serie A. Of course, inglorious events from this time are remembered. In 2007, in the vicinity of the Sicilian derby against arch rivals US Palermo, riots broke out in which a police officer was killed. Just as inglorious was what was revealed in 2015. The then President Antonino Pulvirenti had to admit to having manipulated five games. The club was sanctioned with a forced relegation to the third division and at the beginning of the 2015/16 season with nine points deduction. The series C has not been left since then. But monetary abundance continued to rule. In the meantime, however, there is a deficit of a good 56 million euros in the Catanesi’s coffers.

A story that should give those responsible in Catania a little encouragement occurs at the other end of the country in Venice. In 2005, AC Venezia filed for bankruptcy, whereupon attempts were made to turn things around for over ten years. Two more bankruptcies followed, before a group of American investors took on the association in September 2015. With fresh money and the Italian icon Filippo Inzaghi in the dugout, the march from the fourth to the second division succeeded. The Venetians established themselves with solid bookkeeping and equally solid football.

But the story went on. With Paolo Zanetti, a 38-year-old, success-hungry coach was hired in 2020. Although Venezia FC was not counted among the promotion aspirants, the green-black-gold reached the playoffs for Serie A. There, with AS Cittadella, an opponent was waiting who almost screwed up the happy ending for the Venetians. After a 1-0 win in the first leg, Venezia fell behind in the decisive second leg, playing outnumbered from the 70th minute. When Riccardo Bocalon equalized 1: 1 in stoppage time, the proverbial dams broke in Venice. Extended victory celebrations followed in a sea of ​​flags and the more stylish variant of the car parade: a boat tour. After more than 19 years of hardship, the Venezia fans were in seventh heaven in the first division.

»The world’s most fashionable soccer club« taufte das Lifestyleherrenmagazin GQ Venezia FC. He is currently fighting relegation in Serie A, but the reinvention as a modern football club has definitely attracted a lot of new fans. The association is also making progress in the social media area, working with a design agency from New York. Only the stadium hasn’t grown with it. A 185 million euro expensive new building is to be built for this. “Our idea is that the day in the stadium is not just a trip to Venice, but must be an experience that offers the fans maximum entertainment,” says Andrea Cardinaletti, who is responsible for the infrastructure at Venezia FC.

A determined investor should find a path that could also lead Catania into a solid future. However, the Catanesi must not forget the surroundings of their club. The “Venice” brand, which is advertised on Venezia FC’s shirts, undoubtedly represents a high value internationally, which can hardly be said of Catania.

Whatever: In modern football, only those who constantly reinvent themselves will survive. Whether the balancing act between football tradition and hype will actually succeed in the end is another matter.

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