Guidonia, or Guidonia Montecelio to give it its full title, is a rather ugly dormitory town of some 85,000 people, 25km north-east of Rome. It was renamed in honour of an air-force general by the fascist regime, and wears its fascist credentials pretty heavily: a military airport, lots of Ventennio-era monuments enitrely unchanged, ugly square buildings in Travertine. It also has a football team, A. C. D. Guidonia Montecelio, which plays in a rather nice little 3000-seater stadium, and which was relegated at the end of the 2010-11 season from Serie D into the mystifyingly named Eccellenza category below.
Like most regional leagues (at least in Lazio), Eccellenza games tend to be played at 11am on a Sunday. Today Guidonia were at home to Albalonga, the team based in the town of Albano Laziale in the Castelli Romani, otherwise known as the Alban hills. Alba Longa was the name of the ancient Roman town supposedly founded by Iulus son of Aeneas and hence the birthplace of the Julian dynasty. Though destroyed early in the history of Rome, the legend lives on in a few archaeological remains – and a football team which moves between Serie D and Eccellenza.
So arriving in Guidonia at about 10.15 this morning, and driving a few times around its one-way system, we eventually found our way to the Stadio Comunale which even boasts a ‘Visitors’ Entrance’. There small groups of Albalonga fans were gathering, mostly friends and family of players as is inevitable at this level, and muttering about the necessity to pay €5 at the world’s least welcoming ticket office: a letter-box cut into the side of an entirely unmarked wall of concrete slabs.
Ok, I know you’re thinking: but WHY? why would you get up and leave the house at 9am on a Sunday morning to go to a depressing town in the Lazio countryside to watch two crap teams you don’t give a flying fuck about? Right? Or maybe I give you too much credit. Maybe you’re thinking: hell yeah! If only I was in a position to check out local amateur football at unsociable hours in the Rome hinterland. Or perhaps I overestimate your opinion of me, and you’re thinking: that’s exactly the kind of dumb thing she does with her time (and frankly, I have no defence here).
The real reason, beyond mild pathological issues, is that Albalonga have an ultras group: the Warriors Albalonga. And the Warriors Albalonga, who celebrate ten years of activity (or at least of existence) this month, are long-term friends of the Ultrà Lodigiani. And it’s good form for members of an ultras group to go and support their official friends from time to time. As it happened there were nearly as many of the Ultrà Lodigiani as there were of the Warriers Albalonga, but that tends to happen at this level – and there were no home groups at all, despite a solitary ancient banner proclaiming a local ‘Armata’.
The first half was pretty quiet on the pitch: the home team, adjusting to life in Eccellenza without most of the players they had last season, looked a little uncertain, while Albalonga were attack-minded but rarely dangerous in the opening. But shortly before half-time the Guidonia keeper managed to get himself sent off, and though the visitors missed the ensuing penalty (in a hilarious fashion) this turned the game around somewhat. In the second half Albalonga ran riot, managing to score 6 without even appearing to put that much effort into it (it was about 32°C, so fair enough). A couple of great goals, and lots of home fans leaving disconsolately with 20 minutes to go.
Meanwhile in the wobbly metal ‘tribuna ospiti’, an overly large number of overly large banners were displayed, flags were waved, Peroni was drunk, mildly offensive songs about dead light entertainment star Mike Bongiorno were sung, torches brandished, present and absent friends insulted and the friendship between two groups celebrated. The football’s not all that so you need to entertain yourselves. When they scored the 6th, a chant of ‘basta! enough!’ went up, and the ‘score a goal’ chants were replaced with ‘concede a goal’, to the amusement of the other spectators. ‘Alta sportività!’ we were then able to point out: highly sporting conduct. Ironic applause all round.
A nice start to the new season. Serie A? what’s that then?
