FOOTBALL: VERONA AVOIDS THE DROP, THE SOUTH HITS AN ALL-TIME LOW

So one of the worst hypotheses came true in the end; division A football will extend as far as Lecce in the 2001/2002 season. The footballing geography which matters has shifted decidedly upwards, in terms of latitude. In the last of the league action, Verona came through the double deciding game with Reggina thanks to an away goal. Southern Italy has been dealt another hard sporting blow.
The relegation of the Calabrians of Reggina is in fact added to that already suffered by Bari and Napoli. It was a close thing: almost another club from the south was relegated to division B instead of Vicenza, the fourth doomed team. In the Russian roulette of the final 90 minutes, in fact Lecce was, for almost all that seemingly endless time, the other victim, until a spurt brought Cavasin’s eleven back from the brink. Frankly, it would have been a bit harsh, also due to the merits shown on the pitch.
Up until halfway through the season, Lecce could have been one of the season’s many revelations shared with Perugia and Brescia. Instead it slackened off and risked more than was due, and perhaps the big fright will serve as a lesson for improved emotional and physical management next season. That which is certain is the fact, as pointed out, that four “northern” clubs i.e. Turin, Piacenza, Venice and Chievo come up from division B. The inertia of next season thus shifts upwards, with no less than 14 teams concentrated from Udine to Florence, and with the quartet of Perugia, Lecce and the two Roman teams to serve as an extremely short footballing toe to Italy’s boot. A real pity, a great sorrow for a series of reasons that make the sporting South one of the most beautiful digressions at competitive level. Extraordinary warmth, devotion, at times unhealthy, exceptional choreography. It is difficult to sum up in a few words what emotional participation means for the south at the sporting events that count.
A discipline to be defined as representative at national level should, in theory, lead at least one of its own exponents to compete with the others. In Italy’s national game, it was already not so. Important cities like Palermo, Cagliari and Genoa already do not belong to the current geography of division A football. If we add the latest relegation victims to this, i.e Bari, Napoli and Reggio Calabria, it completes the picture of those hit. The footballing South finds itself without that passion which on Sundays draws together hundreds of fans and others; but above all, without that pride to “export” and show off, to be weighed up in thought when difficulties attract attention. However it should not all be dismissed in the form of self-pity and moaning.
There are inevitably wrongdoings at club level if the situation is very bad. Napoli, especially, has completely failed in its management this season, in relation to its available economic potential. If a small club like Chievo, representative of a Verona district, “Ceo”, with only 3000 inhabitants, is able to create an organization capable of making it to the top of the footballing elite, there must be a secret somewhere. And inevitably, having seen the relative investment and expenditure made by the chairman Campedelli, we are not talking about billions of Lire poured into the pockets of big name players who, in the end, show team commitment which is barely more than trotting around more than is necessary. Therefore if an alleged champion like Edmundo, arriving at Naples as the saviour of the land, recognizes himself in this criticism, he should not be too offended; since his contribution to Napoli’s cause this year, in relation to the investment made, has been nothing short of scandalous.