I return to Perugia after a long time, perhaps even too long, and in fact I find profound changes awaiting me, starting from the bus stop which from Piazzale Umbria Jazz, in the Pian di Massiano district, a stone’s throw from the “Renato Curi” stadium, has been moved in Piazza dei Partigiani, practically attached to the old “Santa Giuliana” plant, three kilometers from the stadium, a distance filled with the mini-meter which from Cupa in about ten leads directly to Pian di Massiano.
The other novelty is that the box offices near the museum, where the accreditations were collected, have been closed and now they can be obtained directly from a steward near the grandstand car park, along the furthest street, which does not make me desist from making a I jump to the museum, as well as under the curve, where many boys and girls already entertain and get together.
Speaking of field issues, Brescia, after a good start, has dropped further and further in the standings, where they now find themselves just one point from the play outs. On the contrary, Perugia, after a bad start in which they occupied the last position for a good part of the season, laboriously climbed up to third from bottom place, so today this match takes on an important value even in purely sporting terms.
A beautiful sunny day, although it is still February, makes you want to go to the stadium, as can also be seen from the almost six thousand spectators present, of which over two hundred and fifty from Lazio, who arrived with three buses and various private cars. Seen from the inside, the old “Renato Curi” exudes all its charm while some substantial changes are evident when cornering. The Grifo ultras don’t hold me against it, but I find the decision to bring back the banners of the groups better than “OBTINATAMENTE AC PERUGIA” whose good intentions of regrouping all the supporters under a single acronym were perhaps too penalizing for the baggage of stories and identities of the individual realities.
To the tune of the Perugia anthem, the teams enter the field and both sectors are colored with two beautiful scarves, giving a positive glance which is counterbalanced by the open grandstand closed to the public by the Supervisory Commission, therefore season ticket holders this sector were rerouted to the opposite covered grandstand at no extra cost. Immediately after the scarf, the red and white North displays a banner against the president Santopadre, invited to leave, then the cheering continues really well, compacting in the underlying part which, to tell the truth, however has more than a few voids on the sides, of which we cannot blame those present for it.
On the pitch, the match changed when, after just a quarter of an hour, Karacic from Brescia was sent off for a second yellow card. The Perugian ultras try to push their players even further in this authentic salvation playoff. There are many claps to accompany the choirs, the waving continues with the flags of the four groups perfectly aligned, in addition to the big banner “Cup Wednesday”. There are no breaks and the discrete intensity clearly increases with Santoro’s goal in the fortieth minute, who punches the Brescia net with a precise and angled right foot.
In the second half the home corner, thanks to their advantage, pushes hard by relying on lots of clapping and with the flags always blowing in the wind. The players on the field seem to be positively affected, so much so that in four minutes they close the game with the goal signed by Casasola from a penalty in the forty-eighth minute and with Koua in the fifty-second header. The people of Perugia release all their joy but even Angella’s goal arrives, ten minutes from the ninetieth minute, to fix the result on the final 4 to 0. A second beautiful scarf comes to seal, unfortunately limited to groups only.
Speaking of the Brescians, already seen in Terni where they had positive results both numerically and collectively, two hundred and sixty-seven present themselves, as many as the tickets sold, beautifully compact behind the banner of the BRESCIA NORTHERN CURVE. After the thick initial scarf and the various banners raised, they are the authors of a good cheer in the first half, with discreet clapping to accompany the choirs and two big flags waved below.
In the second half, shortly after the 3-0 goal, the chants began against the president Cellino, who was invited to change the scene, but they stoically tried to continue cheering, despite the strong passive. In a moment of euphoria they even throw themselves another scarf as if to symbolize their presence and their pride in spite of a team that pulls the oars in the boat and which soon concedes a goal again. Obviously there is some pause, given the strong passive and the disappointment of a ranking that is starting to get worrying.
At the final whistle, good omen applause from the Curva Nord, who therefore hopes the team has got the hang of it and has left the worst behind. From the sector of the visiting supporters however, decided boos rained down against the team and still other chants against Cellino. With the teams now in the locker rooms and with the cheering fans leaving the stadium, there is still time, as already happened before and during the match, for an exchange of mutual insults involving the respective historical enemies of Terni and Bergamo, compared and attributed to the other party in the sense of mockery. Thus ends a match that sanctions and confirms the crisis of some and the rebirth of the others, even if the greatest confirmation, whatever happens on the green rectangle, is that which concerns these two great fan groups, these two pillars of the local ultras tradition.
Marco Gasparri
