Santa Maria la Carità and Sant’Antonio Abate, for those who are not from the area, are two municipalities in the metropolitan city of Naples of eleven thousand and nineteen thousand inhabitants respectively which are so close that they actually seem like a single municipality: they all know each other in their respective centres, they are friends with each other, schoolmates, work colleagues and playing against each other in a football match makes it a real derby. However atypical or alienating it may be for those who find themselves sharing everything in the rest of their everyday lives.
The two teams had already faced each other in the Italian Cup, an occasion in which a relaxed atmosphere was noted between the two fans, something which is confirmed today too. The match begins under a light rain which is very annoying, but still allows both groups to put on a show. The first minutes are a pleasure, endless pyrotechnics, choirs that drown out each other and in the end the desire to make a good impression from the front wins (metaphorically speaking, because physically they are next to each other) to their “cousins”.
The Abatesi are not new to the ultras world, on the contrary, in the past Sant’Antonio played several seasons in the Serie D championship and in those years the fans reached excellent levels. Then, after various corporate problems which were followed by the absence of organized groups for a short period, the support started again and the citizen movement currently enjoys excellent health, despite the various warnings that arrived after the clashes against Ercolanese.
The Sammaritans are a younger group by tradition but with a desire to have fun and a passion that truly gives pleasure when you see them cheering. It’s not the first time I’ve come to see them and I can notice that the more time passes, the more they grow both in terms of numbers (even if today the bad weather discouraged most) and intensity of cheering.
For the rest, the two sets of fans ignored each other, everyone cheered for themselves, except for a shared chant for a missing Abatese ultras. I leave the pitch slightly before the final whistle because the incessant rain was starting to put not only my health but also my photographic equipment at risk and as I take my leave, the ultras continue to cheer as if nothing had happened: truly heroic. Of note is a beautiful Abatese scarf and their banner for the Casoria ultras, given the corporate problems that have affected their team. Finally, the result on the pitch which saw the Sammaritans prevail by two goals to one, with moods which for obvious reasons were diametrically opposed at the end of the match.
Emilio Celotto
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2023-11-14 17:42:06
#Santa #Maria #CaritàSantAntonio #Abate #derbies #beautiful #derbies
