Bergamo turns green and white: 1,300 Scots in the city

Already on Monday evening 21st October, mugs of beer were being raised in the Upper Town, in a pub with British flavours. From Tuesday and again on race day, Wednesday 23 October, the green and white colors can also be seen around the city. It’s a decidedly large trip for <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/04/nba-brooklyn-star-kyrie-irving-shows-celtic-fans-the-middle-finger-us-sport/" title="NBA: Brooklyn star Kyrie Irving shows Celtic fans the middle finger – US sport”>Celtic fans to Bergamo: 1,300 will fill the guest sector of the Gewiss Stadiumbut many (some hundreds) are in the city even without tickets and will follow the match in the bars. As usual, football mixes with tourism. But always with a sense of belonging: strictly dressed in green and white, several small groups of Celtic fans can be seen between the Piacenza center and the Upper Town. Note of colour, many go around in t-shirts and shorts; accustomed to the more pungent climate of Glasgow, the shy October of Bergamo has for them the heat of early summer.

The usual anti-alcohol ordinance came into effect from 9am on Wednesday (ban on serving drinks above 5 degrees and on taking away drinks in glass bottles or cans; at the limit of 5 degrees, restaurants for table service are an exception), the perimeter of which has also been extended to peripheral areas of the city; it will last until 6 am on Thursday, when the Scots will begin to leave for home. From early afternoon the Celtic fans will be concentrated in Piazzale Alpini, from there the shuttles will then leave for the transfer to the stadium. Given the large number of Scottish supporters, it is easy for some groups to try to set off on foot. Also for this reason, security measures are strengthened.

It will be an evening divided between mind and heart at the stadium for those who support Celtic and Atalanta at the same time. «It’s a bit of a divisive match, because in addition to supporting Celtic, you also support Atalanta. But yes, our heart is more in Celtic: it’s not easy, but it only happens once…”. Who knows, maybe it will happen again, because the Atalanta revolution has opened up inimitable horizons. It also applies to this intersection that fate reserves for the Bergamo Celts, a group of Celtic fans from Bergamo, and with decidedly international projections. «Yes, we dreamed of a match like this», smiles Fabrizio Mangili, referee of the team Bergamo Built: «But it’s one thing to dream, it’s another thing to realize certain dreams».

Quite active on social media, and also involved in social issues, the group has a history of over a decade behind it: «We were born as a group of people united by the love for Celtic or by curiosity for the history of this club, for the colors of the shirt, for its particularity – says Mangili -. We started following Celtic between 2012 and 2013, then we structured ourselves in September 2013, “debuting” in a Milan-Celtic Champions League match (18 September 2013, Rossoneri victory 2-0, ed.). From there we never stopped.” In short, they have come a long way: «We are a small group, it is not the classic international team that many follow, but Celtic is a club with great charm – continues Mangili -. Every year we go to Scotland at least twice to watch Celtic matches, even the derby against Rangers when we can find tickets, and we also try to make the European away games.”

There is a reference to Bergamo in the name, but the scope is decidedly global: «At the moment there are actually only a couple of us from Bergamo: our group has always had links outside Italy, with a strong development in Barcelona, ​​with Italian guys who have lived there for a long time, and then in Glasgow, with some Scottish guys who we met on our first trips and who became fond of us, deciding to join our club.” Also for the strong social commitment: «It is one of the fundamental rules of the group – explains Mangili -. In the past we raised funds for “Pope John’s” Paediatrics, now we are involved with a solidarity project for Palestine and in the future we would like to do something against violence against women, an emergency both in Italy and in Scotland”.

Meanwhile, the match atmosphere has already begun. «We have been in contact for a month and we are preparing this appointment – ​​continues Mangili -. Many haven’t found tickets: so we’ll meet up to watch the match at Tucan’s (a pub in the upper city), it will be a nice party.” It’s the green-and-white Bergamo.

At 4.30pm the ATB buses began to arrive and took the fans to the stadium from Piazzale Alpini. A celebration of cheering and colour, ready for the match.