There are almost twenty thousand, 19,720 to be precise, in attendance at the “Massimino” in Catania for the derby between the home team and Messina. This data is enough to summarize everything that could be said about the Etna fans who are simply and literally out of scale for the category. The recent promotion from D and the even more recent victory of the Italian Cup in the category only partially explain these numbers, also due to a performance in the championship that is anything but exciting. Almost paradoxical one could say, if one considers that winning the Cup gives the right to access the playoffs but the Serie C group C standings see them one step away from the risk of playout.
Beyond the mere numerical evaluations, the quality and power of the support is also impressive, both in the Curva Nord and in the Sud where the contribution is only slightly lower, by virtue of the lower numbers compared to the opposite sector. When they leave, however, they are scary, practically everyone participates, both with their voices and with their hands raised, both in the first and second tiers, for an overall very positive cheer which confirms the excellent state of health of the Catania fans, at this moment objectively among the best in Italy.
It should be noted that for the first fifteen minutes, the fans chose the path of silence to try to convey to the team their discomfort, their regret for the fluctuating championship, without however diminishing the incitement that exploded from the fifteenth minute onwards. like a roar. Proof of great generosity repaid by the team who, with a bit of luck, found the victory on a penalty and won three really important points with a view to survival.
The only aspect that has diminished the beauty of this derby is the empty guest sector, due to yet another in a long series of bans that are regularly imposed on visiting fans. For years now, repression has been preferred to the exercise of public order but it is a shame that this happens in a derby, which ceases to be a derby without the counterpart to give rise to a cheering match. Applause from the Giallorossi team in the empty sector but that void is the biggest defeat for football, the biggest defeat in a truly beautiful derby full of content like this.
Paolo Furrer
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2024-04-17 10:53:06
#CataniaMessina #high #attendances #heavy #absences
