For me, my love of
Italy and Italian football started with Italia 1990. I was 13 in 1990
and didn’t know much about football outside of what I saw on
Grandstand every week. The
English leagues were all I knew.
I remember settling
down at home to watch Argentina v Cameroon in the opening game. Almost 80,000 people, supporters of local and national football teams worldwide, had come together to witness this 'David and Goliath' battle. Naturally, the colour and vibrancy stood out straight away. I had never seen anything like the San
Siro before. The stadium resembled something from a science fiction movie. Other grounds stood out as the tournament progressed, like Stadio Olimpico and Luigi Ferraris with its ‘towers’ in
each corner.
My love for football
had arrived. I was hooked. I set up camp in my room for every England
game, cheering them on in the early stages. Gazza mania hadn’t
taken off and Gazza was just a talented footballer with the
world stage at his feet. Republic of Ireland were still classed as the nation's 'second team' at that point too, no doubt due to the fact that their team consisted mainly of English born players.
The tournament
progressed and little side stories unfolded it seemed with each game. At the wrong side of 35, Roger
Milla was scoring for fun for Cameroon. Salvatore Schillaci was the star of the Azzuri, his six goals earning him the Golden Boot. Schillaci was plucked from pre tournament obscurity and became a national hero. Even England, finishing top in their group, had qualified for the knock out
stages!
Belgium were next. A
dour game was won by a wonderstrike in extra time from David Platt. The
nation expected. Cameroon stood between England and a semi final
spot. Easy...or so everyone thought! That 'little fella’ Milla nearly
spoiled the party but Lineker held his nerve from the spot.
Amazingly, and against
the odds, England had booked One night in Turin against West
Germany. This was turning into a memorable World Cup for me. What a
tournament.
We all know how the semi final turned out but I had discovered something else which is still with me to this day….Calcio. Italian football was all the rage. They had the best players in the world at that time. Gullit, Van Basten, Maradona. In 1992 Gazza signed for Lazio and Serie A was on my TV every week.
We all know how the semi final turned out but I had discovered something else which is still with me to this day….Calcio. Italian football was all the rage. They had the best players in the world at that time. Gullit, Van Basten, Maradona. In 1992 Gazza signed for Lazio and Serie A was on my TV every week.
Fiorentina are my Italian team, thanks to a weekly subscription to a 'fantasy football league' in the early 90s. Before the days of Baddiel and Skinner and The Daily Telegraph, the only way to play fantasy football was the old fashioned way. These leagues were advertised in the back of football magazines and subscription involved posting a cheque every week in return for a print out of
your results. My team was Il Viola.
I spent two amazing weeks in Tuscany on my honeymoon and I managed to visit the grounds of Siena and
Fiorentina whilst we were there (don't worry, I had permission!). For years I had seen these fantastic grounds on television, mostly via Channel 4 in the early days and more recently on ESPN. I am still waiting for the day that I experience calcio first hand. The Rome Derby maybe, or the Derby d'Italia (Inter v Juventus). The ultimate would be to watch a Wigan Athletic team play in Italy in European
competition. Having reached the group stages of the Europa League in the 2013/2014 season, the draw wasn't as romantic as I had hoped and the dream remains on hold for another year.
#Credere (#Believe)
#Credere (#Believe)
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