“It will be one agrarian matchtough, fought “, he assured Marco Giampaolopresenting the derby in Genoa, almost apologizing, putting his hands forward a little. “It will certainly not be Manchester City-Real Madrid,” he said. He was wrong. It was even better. Sampdoria-Genoa it will remain as one of the great matches of this championship. Okay, the show may have left something to be desired: repetitive fouls, few shots on goal, no concession to technical refinement. But what intensity, what emotions. One above all. The one of Domenico CriscitoGenoa player of Genoa, protagonist in spite of himself in this heartbreak derby.
In January it was practically sold to Torontothe Canadian team that shopped in Italy and beyond Insigne the rossoblù defender had also grabbed. He practically signed, then he thought better of it: he didn’t feel like running away from the sinking ship. He remained, to try to save his Genoa from relegation. After weeks on the sidelines for injury is back available especially for the derby, and fate has also given him the opportunity he dreamed of: a rigor, at the last second, against the rivals of Sampdoria in the safety play-off, which could have changed the season. Only he got it wrong.
Even without a happy ending, even more so, Criscito’s tears, the kiss of Audero, the opposing goalkeeper who saved him the decisive penalty and consoled him immediately after feeling his pain, are an extraordinary football story. A football history that the Superalloy (and probably the Champions League as well) can never give us. On the eve of the match, Mr. Giampaolo let himself go to an imaginative confrontation with what was the match of the year. It was meant to be a joke, yet the comparison couldn’t be more relevant.
Samp-Genoa e City-Real are the two opposite models to which the modern football can watch. It is evident that the system is moving towards the latter. We have witnessed the abominable coup attempt of the SuperLeague, a league of the rich, where the richest clubs play only among themselves, by birthright. We still don’t know how it will end, the Uefa is fighting to keep up appearances and the Champions Leaguewhere at least in theory everyone can participate and win (it is not a small difference), but the principle is not too different.
In identity crisis and above all of resources, the ball wonders about its future. The answer was the Superlega, which is above all a project to replace the catchment area: given that the market is now saturated and does not allow to generate the increasing resources that the companies would like, the final goal is to sacrifice thousands of fans clubs, such as Genoa and Sampdoria who attended the derby, to fetch millions of American viewersChinese or Arab.
This is what we mean when we talk about football of the people. The blind supporters of the Super League foolishly use this motto against Uefa’s Ceferin, to blame her for the hypocrisies and contradictions of an ever richer football. But this is not the point. The “football of the people” (if you really have to use this inflated expression), is the one in which the last users are still the supporters of the teams, and the competitions revolve around them, not vice versa. As it would be with the Superalloy, as it is already for example in basketwhere the much celebrated Euroleague killed the entire national movement. It is really a leap in category: no longer fans, but spectators. No more games, but entertainment. Except that football is not a show, it is a sport. And for those who really love football, there is nothing more beautiful than Samp-Genoa. For everyone else, there is City-Real.
Twitter: @lVendemiale
