If you can still experience a minimum of tension and some thrills in Serie A, it is probably thanks to challenges like these. There is someone who, immediately after the match, spoke contemptuously of the derby, comparing its undeniable lack of football to the sparkling 4-4 draw between Chelsea and Manchester City. Underlining how similar shows are a negative advert and almost to be hidden for Italian football. Points of view. Definitely different from mine. Certainly far from the crux of the popular question of a sport that is now often plasticized and alienated from its soul, certainly more faithful to that section of the public that craves the show, the glossy stage. Simple question: on the pitch Premier League does it give a better show than our championship? Surely! Would I ever trade for an Italian derby? Absolutely not! So I invite all those who – almost always from their sofa and with the remote control in hand – drool over His Majesty’s football, to concentrate on it and not infect those who want to inebriate their nostrils with the harsh smell of torches and smoke bombs that already in the morning you can breathe in the area surrounding theOlympic.
Let’s be clear: as I will have the opportunity to write later, I don’t see the derbies of my home with my eyes blindfolded and I know well that many things, here too, have become part if not gregarious of the show. But at least in Rome (and perhaps also in Genoa) this match still gives off a rough flavour, of that minimum of genuineness typical of those who, fundamentally, wait for it for weeks and when the fateful day arrives isolate themselves from everything else. Including all the rest of the football played. It doesn’t matter what happens in the other stadiums. We are aware that the show is here. Even if it were a derby between teams in the relegation zone, no one can take away the charm that made it attractive and intriguing in the eyes of foreigners and supporters.
It is played at Lazio’s home ground, which means a majority of the Biancocelesti’s fans. Now, for a few years now, we have been able to enjoy a full stadium again on the occasion of the derbies, after the sad scenarios that have long characterized the post-Raciti period/introduction of the fan card and that of the placing of barriers in the corners (when it arrived to record even less than 35,000 attendance). The rivalry has also returned to take on all its characteristic hatred, both on the ultras front and on that of teasing between “normal” fans. Of course, times have changed here too and the furious scenes of scuffles and violence that characterized this match between the nineties and the first half of the 2000s are now long gone. Although a certain effervescence is back in vogue, as will be seen today with the repeated exchange of pyrotechnics in the area that divides the Distinto Sud from the Tribuna Tevere.
It is a particular derby also due to its proximity to a date which, especially in Rome, is never observed with indifference. Namely that of November 11th. It seems like yesterday but sixteen years have passed since that sad morning in which the agent Luigi Spaccaratella arbitrarily chose to take the life of Gabriele Sandri, at the Badia al Pino motorway service station. Among the many considerations made, I will never tire of thinking that that gesture was also corroborated by the great climate of tension and alert established in that period by the State towards the Ultras. A historical moment in which, precisely, we emerged from the incidents of the Catania-Palermo derby, where Inspector Raciti died and, in a completely uncritical and non-contextualized way, the bass drum of repression and the popular bogeyman represented by organized cheering. This must certainly have had a great influence on the mindset of those who are called upon to carry out public order, who are often completely unprepared both from a cultural and working point of view. The rest is history that we all know better or worse, with Gabriele who for over fifteen years has represented a bulwark defended and respected by the entire movement, a figure who has always tried to be held up as an example of what should never happen again but which , however, given how things are going in terms of maintaining public order, training of those responsible for working there and media narration, I don’t feel like excluding it outright. As a country we are millennia behind on these issues and often the “law of the jungle” still applies rather than that of a normal developed and civilized place.
Returning to today’s match: that effervescence mentioned above can therefore be felt both thanks to the pyrotechnic exchange between Roma and Lazio players, and thanks to the return of a discreet number of banners before and during the match. Of course, to be honest: the times when you had to enter the stadium at least an hour in advance armed with a pen and notebook to jot down all the ironic, out-of-your-face and often just the right amount of nasty messages coming from the North and the South remain unattainable. But some reminiscences remain and it’s always nice. Certainly what we really don’t regret is the folklore represented by chants, flags and banners: many right from the start, to encourage the two teams intent on warming up and teasing their opponent. For the sake of all lovers of the “colourful” Chelsea-Arsenal derby or the “very popular” Manchester City-Manchester United!
The only “sore” note before the match (as well as at half-time), as is now usual for almost all Serie A matches, is the actual DJ set that takes shape. Music at full volume which, in addition to not allowing you to listen to the only sound that should be allowed, the ambient sound of the stadium, does not even allow you to have a chat with your neighbour. The only appreciable moment, without a doubt, is the memory of Gabriele. A moment in which the whole stadium gathers together in a single block, applauding the notes of Wonderful creature and applauding unanimously for several minutes.
At this point I have to delve into a complex discussion and, I’ll start by saying, perhaps not shared by many. The one about choreography. In recent years – and not only on the occasion of the derby – I have always underlined how he is not a fan of this practice. The motivation is easy to say: maybe not in Rome, but many times I seem to detect in the creation of a scenography more the desire to conform to the times of compulsive images and sharing that we live in, than to excel simply as a curve or to offer a show in capable of charging the team. Furthermore, I admit that sometimes I don’t agree with the choice to make certain choreographies “hermetic”, so much so that I require posthumous consultation of books and captions to understand their full meaning. Let’s say that in this way the popular flavor of the event is lost a little. Personal opinion, let’s be clear, therefore debatable. I continue to believe that the best choreography is to cheer for ninety minutes and push your neighbor or teammate to do the same. This with all due respect to the guys who – on both fronts – spent time, money and health to create their respective shows and arrange them so that the gang of Curvaioli (and not only) present could stage them well. The Lazio one is classic, with the eagle standing out between the North and the Tribuna Tevere and the phrase In harmony, small things grow (literally in harmony even small things grow) arising from The Jugurthine War of Sallustio, to recall the unity of purpose among all the components of the Biancoceleste support. A little “outside the norm”, however, is the one created by Sud, which depicts the God of war Mars on a cloth, surrounded by yellow-red cards that make up the arrows between the curve and the lines. His somewhat late descent, as expected for every derby, arouses sarcasm from the neighbors and the following teasing.
Typhus chapter: the roar of theOlympic during a derby it is always something unique. Even just by looking at the normal audience in the stands, you can get an idea of how the Roman experiences this day. Insults, shouting, participation in the choruses of the curves and invectives of all kinds. In addition to suffering and nervousness. I frankly doubt that there is someone who loves the derby in the true sense of the term, also because they are ninety minutes that systematically take away a few months of your life due to the stress and anxiety they entail. From a vocal support point of view, the two contingents show off the great color they showed and, if I really have to give an opinion, on points it is probably the South that offers the best performance, thanks to a really good second half. for cheering and participation.
On the pitch, as implied, the show is not at all comparable to that of the stands. The two teams face each other without too many jolts, resulting in what seems like a more than natural 0-0. However, there are no whistles at the end, only further teasing and chants of support for the two teams. The evening has now definitively fallen on Rome. The match at 6pm is only beneficial for television, while for the fans it represents a middle ground that is probably more annoying than anything else. Thus ends the 181st Derby della Capitale, leaving as always a trail of controversies, skirmishes and ironies that have distinguished it for years. For anyone who has known it for the first time, for those who have always experienced it and for those who simply watch it from afar, it remains a one-of-a-kind event, which fortunately has not yet been translated into a “social event”. It is said that footballing Rome is poor, provincial. Often closed in its smallness. Likely. Fortunately I add. It’s not a given to experience emotions related to football, everything else is cloying and mere chatter aimed at nothing!
Text by Simone Meloni
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2023-11-17 14:05:38
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