“Passarelli talked so much that in the end I was present!” We could paraphrase Socrates’ famous phrase to explain my presence at the “Filippo Di Tella” in Vastogirardi. Jokes aside, it is precisely thanks to the motivational push of my friend Francesco that I discovered a new stadium in our beloved Peninsula, but beyond this the credit must also be ascribed to the Sorani’s first away match in this new Serie D championship, which was missing from the 2014-2015 season. And where the Bianconeri were placed in group F, with teams from the Marche, Abruzzo and Molise but also Riccione, stimulating the fans with truly interesting matches and away games.
Vastogirardi is a small town in the province of Isernia, right in Molise, and here unfortunately, especially on Sundays, public transport is scarce but it doesn’t matter, just leave early, even by car and try to pack in as many things as possible in this heat mid-September day. After about two and a half hours of travel I arrive in the small Molise town of not even a thousand inhabitants, at 1,200 meters above sea level, so once I realized the altitude, I thank the good Francesco again because it would have been difficult to reach him in the middle of winter when cold and snow rage.
Better not to think about it, it’s not that type of day, in fact I’m greeted by 26 degrees and a warm sun that allow me to enjoy my classic stroll in the center of the town, made up of steps and alleys that reach the extreme tip where the castle, historic fortification dating back to Angevin domination. It is incredible how in Italy even a small village can contribute to the historical and architectural richness, while thinking about the smallest stories of our relevance, from a terrace overlooking the surrounding mountains you can also see the famous “Di Tella” stadium and its grandstand with yellow and blue seats, colors of the local team that calls me back to duty.
With about an hour until kick-off I decide to go down and discover the last curiosity of this beautiful day: the stadium and everything that revolves around it. You arrive at the facility via a single road, parking in the adjacent fields in front of which there are the box offices: on one side that of the hosts and on the other that of the guests, the same contrast which is then repeated for the entrances to the sectors . Once I set foot on the pitch, I can appreciate the grandstand of the small stadium more closely: a single covered structure in whose final part there is a small guest sector, divided from the rest by a sturdy gate.
There are 250 tickets made available at a cost of ten euros each: 50 seats and two hundred standing places. The Sora ultras decide to move by car and arrive all together, in fact I see them forming a group outside the plant and waiting for the others before taking the road that leads to the sector, carrying out a mini-procession that is always nice to see. It will take them very little to settle down in the stands and hang all the pieces on the gate, ready to support the players on the pitch.
The day would be perfect but unfortunately the icing on the cake is missing, that is the confrontation in the stands: although the local grandstand is fairly full, as is well known in Vastogirardi there is no organized support but only simple fans who are very attached to the team. The fourth consecutive championship in Serie D for a small town of 812 inhabitants is truly a particular pride, even more so this year by virtue of the comparison with places of depth and tradition.
Returning to the Juventus fans, just before the start of the match they try to convey the right energy to their players who went to greet them under the “sector”, then during the match it will obviously be a guest monologue. The Sora ultras are experiencing an extraordinary period from all points of view, personally I think they are one of the fittest fans of the moment: evidently the boys have teamed up and worked well in the minor leagues and are now rightly reaping the fruits of what they have sown.
The cheering is continuous and pauses are rarely perceptible, furthermore the chants are decidedly prolonged, not only those responding but also all the others, while the drum is an excellent instrument for giving time and performing lots of hand clapping. The color is given by the different flags and pennants, if you want to seek perfection and be fussy, perhaps some banner is missing, but really you want to find a flaw at all costs.
On the pitch the team was down to ten men after just ten minutes due to Mastrantoni’s last-man foul, but the careless Sorano ultras continued to support the team and at the end of the first half they also made a nice strike. In the second half Vastogirardi attacks, in search of victory, while Sora moves their center of gravity back to make up for their numerical inferiority. The favorable opportunity for the locals arrives in the fifty-seventh minute thanks to a penalty kick, but Crispino blocks the goal to Ruggieri, so the Juventus ultras can celebrate and at the same time breathe a sigh of relief for the danger averted.
Even in this second half the support is notable, Sora practically seems to be playing at home: chants sung to perfection by a curve masterfully managed by the choir thrower who knows how to charge the environment very well. The choral intensity increases and there will be even more clapping to accompany the choirs and the flags always flying in the wind.
When the two teams seem ready to divide the stakes, in full injury time, in the second of the four minutes allowed, the new substitute Iacovetta finds the right move to beat Crispino and give his team the three points. The disappointment is great but once again the ultras are not discouraged, completing their personal challenge in the stands, then at the final whistle they warm up with the local goalkeeper guilty of a celebration, in fact, too heated in their comparisons, but they are things of little importance.
The final confrontation with the team is more important, but it must be reiterated that there is no dispute but only an incentive to greater commitment: on the other hand the results speak for themselves, draw and defeat on penalties in the Italian Cup round in Avezzano, defeat at home against Sambenedettese and now a new defeat away. The spokesperson was concise and concise: “you care about the shirt like we care about it!”
Then more chants and clapping to which the players on the pitch also join, hoping that from the next home match they will start to score points. After leaving the stands and reaching the cars we return home again: even if today there was no ultras confrontation, it will certainly be a very intense season in which there will be no shortage of face to face meetings with other fans, even if the Sorani it must be acknowledged that they managed to produce an equally and decidedly excellent performance.
Marco Gasparri
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2023-09-22 14:08:30
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