Dees win first game of season - Genova goes wild!
"after nine rounds of dissapointment, Genovese fans errupt at the news of Melbourne's first win"
Piazza De Ferrari, Centro Genoa (taken 10/06/07)
As I stood watching this spontaneous street party errupt in Piazza Deferrari last night, I couldn't help but think that this may in fact be the closest I'll ever get to seeing the Melbourne colours, red and blue, being marched triumphantly down the main drag of my home town. Of course, the red and blue colours had nothing to do with the Melbourne Football Club, but rather, the triumphant promotion of the Genoa Football (i.e soccer) Club to Serie A in Italy's Lega Calcio.No less than 5,000 people (according to this morning's paper) crowded into Piazza De Ferrari (more or less the city centre) to celebrate the fact that Genoa, after 12 years in "Serie B" (second division), have just been promoted to Serie A after a nill all draw with Napoli. This may not seem like a big deal, but in soccer mad Italia, if your not competing in the top division, your not really competing. Clearly the loyal Genovese fans were pretty happy to hear that next season, they will be competing again.
I must admit, I was quite oblivious to this event at the start of the day, although I did note a little more red and blue being worn around town than usual. It wasn't until the late afternoon, when I heard a sudden burst of beeping horns, and cheering, that I realised there was something going on. In a flash, I grabbed the camera, and went on the hunt. This is what I found:
Aff and I stuck around for almost 2 hours, and the party never really looked like stopping. We decided to leave when someone shot a firework rocket through the window of one of the adjacent buildings. The fire brigade arrived not long after, just as smoke started to pour out of the window. I truly haven't seen anything quite like it, and I can only imagine what it was like when Italy won the world cup.
Interestingly, the similiarity between the Genoa and Melbourne football clubs go further than their choice of colours. The full name of the Genovese soccer club is "The Genoa Cricket and Football Club", which was first established in 1893 by a bunch of poms living in Genoa at the time. Of course, the Melbourne football club also orginated from the MCC (Melbourne Cricket Club), and still holds close ties. It is also interesting to note that the Genoa Football Club uses the English spelling of Genova (i.e without the 'v'), again as a result of it's English roots.
Needless to say, with the red and blue colours, and now a place in the top division of one of the world's best soccer competitions, I have well and truly jumped aboard the good ship Genoa C.F.C. Of course, you can never really call yourself a fan until you buy a team flag, which I did:
Labels: bella_europe, bella_italia, italia, look_at_moi, sport
posted by macca at 6:29 PM
4 Comments:
Be glad that you *can't* get relegated from the AFL... ;)
6/13/2007 10:14:00 AM
Great choice Chris. And much like the Dees they have a glorious history but haven't won anything worthwhile in donkey's years. (1924 in fact... even longer than Melbourne!).
Not only that... financial irregularities, scandals, and at least one new manager every year since 1991 - Melbourne supporters wish.
Just keep your head down when they play Sampdoria (them that look like the bulldogs). Those local derbies can be rough.
6/16/2007 12:02:00 AM
You have discovered a very important part of the heritage of the city of Genoa. Genoa Cricket and Football Club is not only a football team, it's a way real Genoese people have to say "This is my homeland and I am proud of it". The badge of the club shows a Saint George's cross - which was for centuries the flag of the old powerful Republic of Genoa and still the flag of the city (it was concessed to England in the middle ages and later became the English Flag!); the Griffin - symbol of the Club (nicknamed "The Old Griffin") - is the same griffin you can see in every public palace in Genoa for a thousand years and still in the city badge.
So Genoa CFC 1893 is much more than football... I really hope that you have enjoyed the big party in city centre: your choice of buying a red and blue scarf/shirt was absolutely right!
I agree with Russ up to a point. The derby between Genoa CFC and Sampdoria (the second team of the city - her fans are more than Genoa's in the district of Sampierdarena) are always not to be missed and, besides the match itself, the show are fans of opposite clubs and the wonderful Luigi Ferraris Stadium in the district of Marassi sold out weeks in advance.
I do hope you are happy with this so unusual city. As a Genoese, I am happy to say welcome!
Eugenio
6/17/2007 07:54:00 AM
Awesome Chris! Can you ask Aff how she reackons it compares to the time we stumbled bleary-eyed down Lygon street to see the soccer finals on the big screens in the wee hours? bet they don't have anything quite like Brumby's to fill your bellies xcasey
6/19/2007 10:13:00 PM
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