Luca Alberto Montanari
«My first thought a year after the flood? If I close my eyes and go back 12 months, I think that no obstacle will ever stop us from playing baseball. Not even a meter of water.” Carlo Naldoni says it with pride, pronouncing the words and remembering that in the Godo area, baseball is not only a sport, but also a religion. One year after the dramatic flood that covered and damaged the entire Casadio diamond, where the 60 years of activity of the historic Ravenna association will be celebrated in these days, the president has forgotten nothing: «Beyond the understandable desperation of the first hours, when it was thought to close and not participate in the 2023 championship, the memory of an extraordinary test of strength remains. After the flood, we quickly rolled up our sleeves and, together with the work of the volunteers and the Municipality, which worked very hard with us, we managed to clear the water in record time. We called the companies to restore everything, starting from the lighting system, from the generator to the light towers, and then we had to remove the water to estimate the damage. What have we lost? We had to throw away everything that was in the meter and a half of water, it couldn’t be kept. But this didn’t stop us from moving forward and, after deciding to participate in the last championship, we cleaned everything up in a month. We reached an agreement with the Federation to play the entire first round away and in the return the situation returned to normal.” A diamond polished in a month, the 2023 championship passes by quickly and today, at the beginning of the new 2024 season, many memories come back to mind: «We achieved a truly extraordinary result, if I think back to those days, thanks to a wonderful team work. The managers and players have been fantastic, as well as the volunteers from our club, who always respond. The credit goes to them and thanks also go to the Municipality and Mayor Palli.” The President of the Region, Stefano Bonaccini, officially celebrated the resumption of Baseball Godo, who made the first pitch in the first championship match against Bologna: «We invited him and he kept his word, he too was surprised by the excellent work done”. For Naldoni, president since 2012, the current year is special: «We are celebrating the 60th anniversary of our club on May 18th, a date that practically coincides with the flood a year ago. Mayor Palli will be there, who will throw the first pitch of the match against Fiorentina. Representing this company is a pride. This has always been called the “Godo miracle” and indeed it is. In a small town of 1,500 inhabitants, we have been playing in Serie A continuously for 33 years, we have never been relegated on the pitch and I think this is the most important, beautiful and incredible aspect. The players come from our youth teams, today 80 percent are home-grown. I don’t know if it’s a sporting miracle, but we don’t work randomly and improvisationally. It’s getting harder and harder, God forbid, but we’ve never thought about giving up, even if costs increase and resources decrease. We don’t have millionaire sponsors, but we are well organized and above all rooted in the territory. The seasonal goal? Qualify for the second phase. That is, finishing first in Group D, where we face Bologna, Padule, Fiorentina, Lions Nettuno and Nettuno 45. Finishing in front and moving on to the second phase, which will include a reduced group with the four winners, would be the best, then we’ll see. Should we not do so, the objective will be salvation.”
2024-05-11 22:04:23
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