The return leg of the national Eccellenza play-offs between Pompei and Modica was played on Sunday 23 June 2024. The timing of this match was unusual, given that Italian football championships usually end in the middle of the month, precisely on the occasion of the last round of the play-off for D. At this time of year, in theory, you should cross the threshold of your home not with a backpack containing a notebook and a camera, but with flip-flops or mountain boots, to seek refreshment on golden beaches, rocks beaten by the sea or green meadows at high altitude. Nonetheless, when the time came to leave for Campania, I was still enthusiastic at the idea of being able to listen to the last choirs of the season before the long summer break, even with the prospect of facing inevitable physical suffering due to the high temperatures.
I arrived in Pompeii around 2pm, after a pleasant journey lasting about two hours.which I shared with a friend who is passionate about the amateur world. In the city centre I had the opportunity to join the rest of the brigade of Sport Peoplepresent at the event with a large colony. Walking along the street, which flows into the square of the famous Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin, I noticed some red and blue ribbons; then, approaching the stadium, my attention was captured by the stickers and writings of the local fans. I was particularly struck by the numerous references to an episode that occurred in these parts in 59 AD. Tacitus, a famous Latin writer who lived between the first and second centuries after the birth of Christ, tells us about it, and who can be considered the greatest historian of the Roman world. He was the author, among other things, of a work entitled Annaleswhich examines the events from the death of Octavian Augustus (14 AD) to 66 AD, when Nero sat on the imperial throne. Books XIII to XVI narrate the reign of this infamous ruler. In the fourteenth, in particular, Tacitus focuses on the riots that, in 59 AD, involved the Roman amphitheatre Pompeiithe Pompeians and the Nocerians, who had come to watch the gladiatorial games organized by a character named Livineius Regulus. The writer states that the massacre was caused by mutual insults between the two factions (incessant reproaches in turn), which was followed by stone-throwing and even the use of weapons (then the stones, and finally the iron). There were injuries and deaths, the object of the weeping of the relatives present there. The punitive measures were particularly harsh: the Pompeians were forbidden to hold public meetings for ten years (publicly prohibited for ten years by a group of Pompeians of this kind) and the associations formed outside the law were dissolved (the colleges which had insisted against the laws were dissolved). Those who had provoked the riot, including Livineius Regulus, were condemned to exile (they were punished with exile).
Imma Borrelli Gallery
But let’s get back to my chronicle, certainly modest compared to the gripping story of the great Tacitus.. I arrived at the stadium an hour after the opening whistle, to carry out the usual exploration of the surroundings and to photograph every detail, in particular the colourful murals of the surrounding wall. Already in those moments, the home spectators began to gather around the entrance reserved for locals, while outside a bar the boys from Modica, who had arrived well in advance in Campania, began to sing the first chants.
The “Vittorio Bellucci” is located in the heart of the city, with a crown of buildings all aroundbut this location did not prevent the event from running smoothly. After having tasted, for several minutes, the atmosphere of expectation outside, I then set foot on the field about half an hour after the start of the match, taking the first photos, as always, of the stands. The Pompeian public began to fill the three uncovered stands, located on the long side, immediately after the opening of the gates. The organized cheering block entered compactly, in a sort of procession. In the meantime, the 150 Modicans also gradually took their places in the away sector. It also has no roof and reminded me, in some ways, of the nearby “Pasquale Novi” in Angri.
In the pre-match, few chants were sung: the two sets of fans were busy preparing their respective choreographies.which took shape at 4:00 pm, when the two teams entered the field. The boys from Pompei raised a banner with the famous comic book character Andy Cappdepicted in the act of throwing a dart at a target (to be understood as the D, obviously), then lit red and blue smoke bombs. At the same time, the Modicans proudly displayed their jersey at the bottom, while the banner “Honour her”, open at the top, was presumably to be interpreted as an invitation to their team to give their all for it, after the 1-2 suffered on Sicilian soil seven days earlier. The guests also finished off the show with a few torches. The start of the match, in short, was certainly worthy of the return leg of a final.
Melons Gallery
The support of the two factions was influenced by both pathos linked to football events, both by the great heat. The performance of the boys from Pompei was “two-faced”: a first half in which there were various pauses in the voice, was followed by a second half in which they improved significantly, cheering with continuity and with good power. The Campanians made extensive use of clapping and chants to respond, often waving two large flags and some small flags. Among them I noticed many young and very young faces: a good base, which will surely be given the opportunity to grow and improve further by participation in the next D, obtained by Pompei thanks to a clear victory with a four-goal margin. Regarding the geography of the cheering, on the fence I saw the patches ““Straight Dogs” e “Old guard”. Until the end of the 2022-23 season, there was a group called “First Daspo 59 AD”born in August 2022 and self-suspended due to the warnings received.
Moving on to the guests, in Pompei I had the opportunity to see the boys from Modica at work again a few weeks later, having been in their presence in Venafro, on the occasion of the first leg of the semi-final against Alto Casertano. Modica is a club historic and renowned: founded in 1932, the island club boasts two appearances in C2 (1981-82 and 2005-2006) and participation in some D/Interregional championships. Having judged their performance in Molise very positively, I had no doubts, on the eve of the match of Pompei, around the possibility of a beautiful Modica presence also at the “Bellucci”. Despite the unfavorable premises, linked to the defeat suffered in the first leg, which forced Settineri’s team to score two goals, the Sicilians still used up all the tickets made available to them, deciding to face the almost 1400 km of travel to demonstrate all their love. After the beautiful choreography at the beginning of the match, already described, during the first half the boys from Modica cheered consistently, choosing mainly long chants and always coloring the sector with their flags. On the field their team held up until the 47th minute of the first half, when Pompei took the lead with Simonetti. The blow did not knock them down, but they continued to sing even during the interval.
In the second half, Pompei finally took off, scoring three more goals that sent the Campania crowd into ecstasy, excited by the prospect of seeing, for the first time, the name of their city on the starting grid of a D championship. The Modica team deserves credit for never giving up, not even in the second forty-five minutes of play, when it would have been almost physiological to get depressed and stop singing.
The final whistle was a historic moment for the local communityso much so that the words of the speaker they followed those with which Riccardo Chucchi, at the dawn of the century, announced Lazio’s second championship (“It’s 18:04 on May 14, 2000”). After the match, a choral celebration involved all the people of Pompeii, who entered the field to celebrate the important milestone achieved together with the players. With the celebrations still underway, I reached the exit and soon got back in the car, ready to face yet another journey home. For me too, a very long season of photos and articles was coming to an end, having begun on a sunny August afternoon for a Frosinone – Pisa match in the Italian Cup. The hope is that the next one, like the one just passed, will also allow me to discover many new realities and allow me to live other memorable experiences.
Text by Andrea Calabrese
Photo by Andrea Calabrese, Imma Borrelli and Simone Meloni
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2024-07-04 15:32:52
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