Following our footballing trip to Hamburg at the beginning of February,
the second holiday-football trip combo saw my wife Victoria and I attend
the recent Rome derby.
Although on an 'escape the British cold weather' visit, we spent nine fantastic days in Italy which culminated in four nights in the eternal city. Tourist tales and verbal slides aside, we managed to score tickets for the 'neutral' zone (more on that later) at the Olympic Stadium and despite the Gazza connection between Spurs and Lazio which have probably been erased after the troubles which marred our Europa league game, we decided to back Roma.
As I said, we were in the neutral zone which contained some Lazio fans, but was mainly filled with cursing Roma fans. Also it is a little safer to back the home team in such a game, and I recall laughing at the double-entendre of Totti, probably while Loaded magazine (which I read at the time) did the same in the mid-1990s.
The match day experience is everything you expect from one of the world's most bitter and controversial cross-city derbies: flares; giant banners; passionate fans; and a blatant disregard for no standing or smoking inside the ground.
Encountering one of Rome's many obelisks, the one in front of Stadio Olimpico bore the name of Il Duce Mussolini, which was so surprising that it was not torn down after his disposal and public flogging in death, or removed for the 1990 World Cup or recent Champions League final.
The stadium itself is a marvel, two 'curva' ends, with the rival fans in either, although a shortage of toilet facilities is a problem. A major consideration for the fans is the quality of the finishing and passing, although Lazio had the better play in the first half and Roma in the second.
The game itself was not without incident either - a penalty for both sides; Totti scored Roma's while Hernanes missed just after half time for Lazio. There was a whistle-happy referee, a red card for Biava and it finished 1-1.
Delightfully I can report that I saw no trouble either inside or outside the game, although this may be down to to the vast numbers of police in riot gear that we saw throughout Rome and on the approach to the stadium. Inside there was flare-lighting and throwing on to the section between the curva and goal (which is adequately protected by firefighters) but despite the predictable banter, the mood was not nasty but remained loud.
The whole event was slightly tainted by the challenge of getting home when the trams had mysteriously stopped running and no buses ran to the city centre's main points, meaning we were among the other fans stranded in a distant corner of Rome. However the discovery of a bus ahead of the rain and a can ride meant our memories were generally very positive.
Overall, as someone who saw Serie A as the place of the superstars and was generally disappointed by the standard and quality of the games when they were broadcast by channel 4 and presented by the excellent James Richardson (I once fell asleep during an AC Milan v Juventus league game), not much has improved. This was my and our first Serie A game, and atmosphere and some individual performances aside, the game was not a great spectacle.
Despite the drama, the referee blew for what seemed to be every infringement, the pace was medium and passing pretty woeful. Italy has a great reputation for football and while the World Cup win in 2006 boosted its coverage and confidence, it seems that it is struggling to match its history and competitors in England and Spain for quality.
I realise it is sweeping to criticise an entire league on the basis of one game, but where former Portsmouth players and Manchester City rebels are seen as stars, you do wonder what the arrival of Neymar would do for Serie A.
Although on an 'escape the British cold weather' visit, we spent nine fantastic days in Italy which culminated in four nights in the eternal city. Tourist tales and verbal slides aside, we managed to score tickets for the 'neutral' zone (more on that later) at the Olympic Stadium and despite the Gazza connection between Spurs and Lazio which have probably been erased after the troubles which marred our Europa league game, we decided to back Roma.
As I said, we were in the neutral zone which contained some Lazio fans, but was mainly filled with cursing Roma fans. Also it is a little safer to back the home team in such a game, and I recall laughing at the double-entendre of Totti, probably while Loaded magazine (which I read at the time) did the same in the mid-1990s.
The match day experience is everything you expect from one of the world's most bitter and controversial cross-city derbies: flares; giant banners; passionate fans; and a blatant disregard for no standing or smoking inside the ground.
Encountering one of Rome's many obelisks, the one in front of Stadio Olimpico bore the name of Il Duce Mussolini, which was so surprising that it was not torn down after his disposal and public flogging in death, or removed for the 1990 World Cup or recent Champions League final.
The stadium itself is a marvel, two 'curva' ends, with the rival fans in either, although a shortage of toilet facilities is a problem. A major consideration for the fans is the quality of the finishing and passing, although Lazio had the better play in the first half and Roma in the second.
The game itself was not without incident either - a penalty for both sides; Totti scored Roma's while Hernanes missed just after half time for Lazio. There was a whistle-happy referee, a red card for Biava and it finished 1-1.
Delightfully I can report that I saw no trouble either inside or outside the game, although this may be down to to the vast numbers of police in riot gear that we saw throughout Rome and on the approach to the stadium. Inside there was flare-lighting and throwing on to the section between the curva and goal (which is adequately protected by firefighters) but despite the predictable banter, the mood was not nasty but remained loud.
The whole event was slightly tainted by the challenge of getting home when the trams had mysteriously stopped running and no buses ran to the city centre's main points, meaning we were among the other fans stranded in a distant corner of Rome. However the discovery of a bus ahead of the rain and a can ride meant our memories were generally very positive.
Overall, as someone who saw Serie A as the place of the superstars and was generally disappointed by the standard and quality of the games when they were broadcast by channel 4 and presented by the excellent James Richardson (I once fell asleep during an AC Milan v Juventus league game), not much has improved. This was my and our first Serie A game, and atmosphere and some individual performances aside, the game was not a great spectacle.
Despite the drama, the referee blew for what seemed to be every infringement, the pace was medium and passing pretty woeful. Italy has a great reputation for football and while the World Cup win in 2006 boosted its coverage and confidence, it seems that it is struggling to match its history and competitors in England and Spain for quality.
I realise it is sweeping to criticise an entire league on the basis of one game, but where former Portsmouth players and Manchester City rebels are seen as stars, you do wonder what the arrival of Neymar would do for Serie A.
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