Most of you following us here at Pondering Calcio probably have some kind of love for a club. For a lot of you it’s Juventus while it for others, myself included, is something else. My love for Napoli however doesn’t mean that I’m unable to see the charm in other clubs. My passion for Italian football is rather broad and few clubs really nourish my hate. I even support both Milan and Inter in Europe even if I hate the former’s president and lament the latter’s dominance.
I think it’s rather common among football fans to have fond feelings for other clubs than your true love. Clubs that spark memories and imagination. I’m going to entertain you with mine. That’s the upside of having a blog.
As a fan of a southern club I tend to support the other southern clubs as well. In recent years the south have fared a bit better with clubs like my beloved Napoli and Palermo growing to be real contenders, but also clubs like Bari, Lecce, Messina, Catania, and Reggina have had stints in Serie A. I like that and nine times out of ten I will support the south against the north.
Palermo is a southern rival to Napoli but I regard them more as southern brothers (or sisters – completing the boy/girl theme of pink and sky blue…). Watching football from Renzo Babera is always a pleasure. Cool stadium, great crowd, and a superb connection between fans and players.
Another Serie A team I really like is Roma. I know I’m supposed to hate them and that one of the highlights of the season should be to beat them in the Derby del Sole. While the latter is true I simply cannot hate Roma. I love Francesco Totti, the passion of the players and fans and their hysterical tendencies – and their shirts are cool as well. I really hope for them that they can get their economy sorted out so they can fly the banner of Roman civilization all across Europe. The eternal city deserves it.
While Roma and Palermo are the two top tier clubs I sympathize the most with apart from Napoli, there are also a couple of smaller clubs I would love to see back in Serie A. One of them is Venezia. A club which was ironically owned by Maurizio Zamparini before he took his money and some players to Palermo where the potential was and is bigger.
I have been in Venice several times as a tourist and not only one the classic one day trips. The weeks I’ve spend in the fantastic city have made me fall in love it and as a side effect also view their orange/black/green football team with fondness. The club is now in Serie D after a series of the all too common financial problems, but football at the Pierluigi Penzo stadium is still something special as it’s placed on one of the many islands of the lagoon and that you cannot go there without having a boat.
Between a marina and the park where the world famous bi-annual art exhibition Biennale di Venezia is held you’ll find a run down stadium. A scene bridging 1000 years of history of glory and crisis, romance and reality. I need to go there in the football season soon. Forza Venezia!
So – do you have any pet teams from the lower leagues? Or do you find it hard to hate the city rivals you’re supposed to loathe? Speak you mind and heart in the comment box. 
Photo by April C.
14 comments
1 ping
MB says:
February 4, 2011 at 11:46 am (UTC 1)
As a Milan fan, I dislike our traditional rivals. Although for the good of Italian football, I can tend to put that to one side when they’re playing in Europe (except Inter).
I have a soft spot for Piacenza as that was the first Serie B ground I ever visited when they played Pisa a few years back. I like to see AlbinoLeffe do well too.
ginkers says:
February 4, 2011 at 3:51 pm (UTC 1)
I have a soft spot for Venezia too, my cousin is a big fan – although they did cause my first love Fiorentina some grief when they were in Serie A.
I always follow the Tuscan teams in the lower divisions but I must admit I don’t like it when they get big ideas and try to come challenging the Viola…
TT says:
February 4, 2011 at 5:03 pm (UTC 1)
Thanks for the replies guys. I must admit that I find the Venezia story sad. A city like that should have at least a decent Serie B team. That said I’m also rather critical about the merge with Mestre in the first place, even if the islands themselves probably don’t sport that many talents.
Somnath_Sengupta says:
February 5, 2011 at 1:58 pm (UTC 1)
I dont exactly have a soft spot for lower division teams in Italy but I do like Reading FC a lot and follow them.
Among lower division teams in Italy I used to like Messina – they played some nice football when they came up in early 2000s.
TT says:
February 7, 2011 at 7:36 pm (UTC 1)
Messina had a cruel fate with bankruptcy and all like all too many Italian teams before them. It was quite awesome when Sicily had THREE teams in Serie A. That said it was probably also more than the long term potential for that part of Italy.
David says:
February 6, 2011 at 11:25 pm (UTC 1)
I’m a juve fan, i like watching napoli play and most of the time like it when they win, i support any italian team in europe… even more now that we need to regain the european spot…
But still, even hating inter when in serie A i will always prefer them to any non-italian club
bulle says:
February 7, 2011 at 7:00 pm (UTC 1)
Love Juve
Like Napoli
Hate Inter
ursus arctos says:
February 7, 2011 at 9:50 pm (UTC 1)
Wait a second.
A Napoli supporter who likes Roma?
Have you told anyone south of Rome? People have ended up with concrete overshoes for much less.
Venezia’s story is very sad, but when you go to bed with Zampa you will wake up with more than just fleas.
For me it’s Mantova. And whoever are playing Juve, of course.
Ulrik says:
February 8, 2011 at 1:18 pm (UTC 1)
on the subject of supporting other clubs: did you see Fabrizio Miccolis goal against Lecce this weekend? Great goal but Miccoli being a Lecce native seemed almost upset to have scored against his beloved hometown club. Miccoli did not come out for the second half, reportedly because he was so distraught at the thought of beating the Salentini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv1bR74uNoo
LAP says:
February 8, 2011 at 6:15 pm (UTC 1)
Saw that. He did seem completely gutted. Great to see a display of emotions, but maybe bordering on unprofessionalism? As a Palermo fan I might have been rather pissed had the match ended differently…
TT says:
February 11, 2011 at 1:38 pm (UTC 1)
The reaction was very interesting. It sure isn’t very professional, but it’s just the heart and passion that I like to see in players. I hope for the sake of everyone that Miccoli will end his career in Lecce. I wouldn’t be angry as a Palermo fan, but if I was a Lecce tifoso I would sure wonder “Why aren’t you just playing for us then? We’re not good enough for you?”
Adam Digby says:
February 10, 2011 at 10:54 am (UTC 1)
I admit to a soft spot for the current Palermo side, not the club but the team, coach & style of play. I also enjoy the reversal of fortune in Verona that sees Chievo as the big club and the subsequent increase in the always present ‘us against the world’ attitude of Hellas fans, their stadium is transformed from a soul-less bowl when Chievo are playing to a true football arena when the Gialloblu are the home side.
Also I, unlike many I suspect long for a return of the Turin derby to Serie A. I miss taking six points from the Granata and lauding it over them properly for six months at a time. Ah joyus schadenfreude, it’s been too long!
A
MyOldLady says:
October 4, 2011 at 9:29 am (UTC 1)
Interesting post. I’ve been following Juventus since 1997. Like many fellow supporters, I find it hard to have any ill feelings towards Napoli though their fans don’t exactly have much affection for us, as we’re part of the Northern clubs they like to fight. Everyone has one or more reasons to like Napoli – for me it’s Maradona, Cavani, the San Paolo, the passionate support from the stands and the importance of the club in the history of Serie A. When Napoli beat Juve 3-0 in January, I didn’t feel aggrieved because it was a great performance. The Napoli fans had a banner reading “Naples is such a colourful city but you Juventus decided to turn up in black and white” – fantastic banter, that’s the spirit guys.
As for other clubs in Italy, that’s how I feel
-Inter: unsurprisingly, I despise them. And that was an attitude I had even before Calciopoli. It would take a book to explain why.
-Roma: like their commitment to attacking football and the fact that they always manage to make Juve’s crises look mild because they have even worse crises every season. Otherwise… the snobbish attitude of my Roma-supporting fans made me dislike this club. I fail to understand why they have this snobbish mentality when they’re a club that has been constantly punching below their weight, especially in Europe. To put things into perspective, they have won less honours than Paris Saint Germain, which has only 41 years of existence as a club!
-Lazio: despise them for the fascism in the stands, their fans’ hatred for Juve and the 1999-00 title race. They did give us a helping hand to win Serie A in 2002 though.
-AC Milan: gotta like them. There’s a friendly relationship and mutual respect between Juventus and the Rossoneri (I guess having Inter as a common enemy helps). They represent something we Juve fans admire – the ability to conquer Europe and play attractive football whoever their manager is – and we readily acknowledge their greatness. With players like Baresi, Maldini, Nesta, Pirlo, they do represent a certain ideal of Italian class and elegance, something Inter will never achieve. Their shirt colours are nice too!
I guess this echoes the feelings of many Juventus followers towards other clubs. One thing I’ve noticed on fan forums and fan pages is that Juve fans seem to be in awe of Manchester United, a club I personally don’t like for other reasons. But the Red Devils wins in Turin in 1999 and 2003 have left lingering memories among many Bianconeri.
lickstra says:
April 20, 2012 at 12:32 am (UTC 1)
i hate all italian clubs. you are a bunch of wild animals.
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