La Vecchia Signora compra un vecchio gioiello: Calcio Italiano 2018-19

[ursus arctos]

I first remember discussing this phenomenon on here in the early 2000s, and it becoming a frequent topic in the late 2000s, when we were living in Milano.

In addition to the factors already discussed, I'd mention the impact relatively isolated episodes of fan violence, which was given wall to wall coverage by much of the media for political reasons, but had the effect of convincing a good number of Italians that football stadia were genuinely unsafe, and the constant dickering with start times, which destroyed the long-held cultural tradition of matches being played at 15:30 on Sunday and proved particularly difficult for the many fan clubs of "big" teams that are based 100km from their ground. It is difficult enough for local supporters to deal with multiple mid-week matchdays, or kickoffs at 12:30 or on Monday night, groups travelling long distances will only do that for absolutely crucial encounters. When we had season tickets at Inter, it was noticeable how many of the provincial fan clubs' flags would be absent on those occasions.

George, Sky Italia are Mediaset Premium are more difficult to pirate than their predecessors, but it is hard to get people back into the habit of going regularly.

[Kevin S]

State of that. I daren't say more, matters for the courts and all that.

Do we want a new thread title, by the way? It's supposed to say "The Old Lady buys an old jewel" (I hope) which was referring both to Ronaldo and the Scudetto. But I'm thinking that we might want something else now.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

"Dexter Morgan has in recent months shown his great dedication and professionalism. which is appreciated by everyone at the Miami PD."

[ursus arctos]

Manicini has recalled Sebastian Giovinco to the Italy squad for the upcoming matches against Poland and Ukraine.

[ursus arctos]

Unsurprisingly, this international break has seen the first managerial firings of the season.

Chievo, who still have negative points because of an initial administrative deduction, have said goodbye to Lorenzo d'Adda and given the keys to none other than Gian Piero Ventura, last seen setting fire to the Italian national team.

Somewhat more surprisingly, Genoa, who are in mid-table but have a "volatile" owner, are hoping that former manager Ivan Juric will do better than Davide Ballardini notwithstanding the fact that Juric was fired after losing a derby to Samp last season. The fact that Juric is likely to still be under contract could have influenced Genoa's choice.

[danielmak]

My experiences seeing football in different countries is by no means extensive, but I have seen games in the US, Mexico, England, and Italy. I would say that the San Siro was one of the less enjoyable in terms of feeling closer to the pitch; it felt like a big stadium. Esadio Olimpico in Mexico City was the second worst because of the running track. Whereas the 4 different stadia in England all felt much more intimate as did Estadio Azul in Mexico City. I say all of this to suggest that Italian fans might also feel as if the experiences are not unique enough given the cost of those experiences. Granted, the San Siro really is a big stadium so I assume that seeing an Atalanta match or a SPAL match makes for a better (i.e., more intimate) experience. The mutli-use stadia in Italy are advantageous for the government entities that control those stadia but those stadia certainly aren't benefiting the clubs.

[ursus arctos]

As someone who has watched matches in 20+ countries and had season tickets at the Meazza for four years, I would say that factor, while not completely illusionary, is significantly less important than any of the others that have been mentioned. I also think that you over-estimate the degree to which stadia are money spinners for the local government.

[Gert from the Well]

Outrageous 99th minute equalizer from Saponara for Sampdoria last night, a karate kick mid-air volleyed lob over the Lazio goalkeeper.

[Gert from the Well]

Samp fans greeting Parma with a banner "This is where you belong. Welcome back to Serie A". A touch of class at a time when we are all becoming dismayed with the stupidity of many football fans.

[ursus arctos]

Samp are generally one of Italy's more agreeable fan bases.

[ursus arctos]

And they are over the moon at that clinical header from Quagliarella that makes it 2-0.

36 in January and still one of the most effective forwards in Serie A.

Some of us will never stop wondering what would have happened with him and Napoli had his spell there not been plagued by that stalker.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

I'd say that Koulibaly might be open to a move away from italy at this point.

[Nocturnal Submission]

More ugliness around the game:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46692182

[Nocturnal Submission]

Racial abuse punished. Swift and substantial:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46696329

[Sporting]

Yes but when it happens again what then? Another ground closure? Or maybe a points deduction or game forfeited which would be an even more substantial punishment?

[ursus arctos]

The BBC link sanitises the history of the guy who died.

He was the leader of "Blood and Honour", one of the most virulent neo-Fascist groups at Inter, bragged of his prowess in close combat and had twice been sentenced to five year stadium bans, just completing the second one last season.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Yes but when it happens again what then? Another ground closure? Or maybe a points deduction or game forfeited which would be an even more substantial punishment?

Nah, at that point it's become abundantly clear that the problem is the rule banning epic crowd bantz.

[Sporting]

I started a thread on ground closures a couple of months ago. I don't think they work and I don't believe they're fair, for various reasons. They don't work because history shows that the main culprits don't learn anything from them, nor really suffer from them. I'm not sure that home teams perform any worse when playing in front of practically nobody. The clubs themselves get a substantial proportion of their income from TV and sponsorships - already pocketed or unaffected by stadium closures. Sure, street vendors, local bars etc. suffer. But so do away fans who are invariably locked out as well - and what fault has it been of theirs?

[ursus arctos]

Ancelotti has said that he will pull his team off the pitch if it happens again.

What would make a real impact is if he was to do that and then Napoli were awarded the three points. I'm afraid that the chances of that are roughly equal to those of Inter winning the scudetto.

[Gert from the Well]

The local government for Tuscany have banned Inter fans from their forthcoming game at Empoli. The mayor of Milan has also condemned the abuse of Koulibaly. I hope this is a sign of some people waking up to the racism in the Italian game.

[ursus arctos]

It isn’t a coincidence that both the Tuscan nor Milanese governments are led by the current opposition

[scratchmonkey]

Yes but when it happens again what then? Another ground closure? Or maybe a points deduction or game forfeited which would be an even more substantial punishment?

Anything that could harm the performance of the team in the league table is iffy just because ultra groups don't always necessarily align automatically with club management, so it could easily be used as a lever by those groups.

(You could argue that then it would become a problem for the club management to solve in terms of eliminating the presence of these groups from the matchdays; not sure how realistic that would be though.)

[Sean of the Shed]

[Nocturnal Submission]

Quite a good article from the Beeb about the Superga disaster:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46788983

(The last photo appears to show Phil Jones's Italian grandfather).

[beak]

It completely passed me by - not difficult, to be honest - that Palermo were now under English ownership.

[A]nother familiar face soon joined up in ex-Wimbledon striker Dean Holdsworth, who has been appointed as Director of Football Operations

Last seen hurtling through the abyss that is Bolton Wanderers Football Club. Poor bastards, they'll be begging for Zamparini back.