Naples. Frosinone, Catanzaro and Catania: the secrets of the dominating South

Welcome to the South. Passion, warmth, enthusiasm, postcard places. And now lots and lots of football. Which can serve as a driving force for a long-awaited rebirth. The triumphal ride of Naples is the spring of everything. Luciano Spalletti’s team, 12 days from the end, has an 18-point lead on the standings and sees the scudetto that has been missing since 1990 when the king was Diego Armando Maradona who today, as a legend, gives his name to the stadium where Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia command. We dare not imagine what will happen on the day of triumph. Naples thrives on football. Dream big.

Today he plays on a par with the big names in Europe and the feat of Spalletti’s men can give new impetus to an entire city. “We are discussing with the prefect and the commissioner to have a beautiful and safe Scudetto party. It is an event that makes us rejoice, but also worries us a little”, Mayor Gaetano Manfredi said yesterday. But, in parallel, the South experiences similar enterprises in other squares. Because in Serie B Frosinone dominates led by the 2006 world champion Fabio Grosso who has a 13-point lead over the third, which is Bari, another southern pole attempting the high jump (moreover with the same ownership as Napoli), in the group C of Serie C no one can question the climb of Catanzaro which seven days from the end has a wide margin over Crotone. While in Serie D in group I Catania could even be promoted on Sunday.

IN CIOCIARIA

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In short, the south raises its voice. “After a losing cycle there is a moment of great vivacity. It is an important signal, a rebirth and I must admit that it is enormously pleasing”, says Maurizio Stirpe, president of Frosinone. enlightened entrepreneur and vice president of Confindustria. “There was a strong imbalance, now we see a trend reversal. This redemption is also welcome from squares, in addition to Naples, such as Catania, Catanzaro, the same Palermo, Bari and Lecce which have splendid fans”. Frosinone has an impressive pace. Unfortunately, Serie A experienced it for the first time in 2015. Then again, still badly, in the 2018-19 tournament. Now we want to change pace. From Catanzaro the president of the club Floriano Noto, an excellence in the world of large-scale distribution, with the Coop group, reaffirms Stirpe’s concepts: “Napoli’s success can relaunch the south”. And the mayor of the capital city of Calabria, Nicola Fiorita, linked to the left, a huge fan, adds: “If the South is strong in football it can feel stronger. He can win back positions. These promotions can benefit the cities that conquer them. And, perhaps, even this new government that with differentiated autonomy certainly penalizes us and takes away the rights of citizens may even notice the south “.

HAPPY CALABRIA

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In the Calabrian capital they are ready for a leap that they have been waiting for a few years: “In the last tournament the B was badly stolen from us by Padova. Now here we are. Our models are called Atalanta, Udinese, Sassuolo”, explains Noto, at the helm since 2017, who is ready for a good territorial marketing operation: “We already play with the Tropea onion consortium brand on the shirts. It would be nice to also involve Caffo di Amaro del Capo and Callipo del tonno in a partnership that other clubs are now following. We have to produce young people and for this we are thinking of a sports centre. This is a hot square, the footballers who come down from the North tell me they get more excited. We have regenerated used safe Iemmello (22 networks, ed). We have some above-average engagements (over 100,000 euros, ed), but we want this leap. And coach Vivarini is not only good, but he is also a great person ”. The Municipality will take care of the stadium, which has 9 million from the Region: “They haven’t paid it yet, but they will be used for some basic works” says the fan mayor: “Defender Brighenti, superman and midfielder Ghion are my symbols”.

ISLAND IN PARTY

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In Catania the party could already be consumed on Sunday if Giovanni Ferrara’s team beats Canicattì. Ciccio Lodi at 38 is the soul of a group that has only lost once and won 23. he He played with Empoli, Udine, Genoa, Parma, but Catania is in his heart: “And I’ll stay there to live. I opened a football school. What you breathe here is something unique. It’s a huge thing and I dare not imagine what will happen for the promotion. It is the sign of a real rebirth”. Who, in this case, speaks Australian. Rosario Pelligra, 43, owner of a strong holding in building redevelopment, loves sport. After Catania, he also got his hands on Pallacanestro Varese. In Sicily he sent the Australian from Italy, Vincenzo Grella, a good ex midfielder, now managing director and he is also about to send another ex, Mark Bresciano, ready to leave Australia. The project is clear: to return to Serie A. For now we start with the C and the idea of ​​a new sports centre. Since July Pelligra has taken the rossazzurri who make a full load of crazy fans even in D (average 15,000 people). The only gripe is the center of Torre del Grifo, entrusted to the bankruptcy trustee for a year. Impossible to set foot again in what was a jewel. While in Frosinone for the facility in which to review Serie A I’m fine. Stirpe was one of the first to understand that the recovery of Italian football passes right from there. The stadium is beautiful. And Noto da Catanzaro warns: “The road is the one traced by the Percassis in Bergamo. Football is a world of madmen, in a good way. We presidents are fools. It is a carousel that needs to be reviewed entirely. Reflecting. To avoid more trouble.”