Sorry about the delay - here is the derby as I saw it...
Firstly, I am Del. My brother Adrian (hence the "Lazio_Ade" unsername!) set up this login, but all the posts have been by myself apart from the first one or two. I really need to stop being so lazy and set up my own account!
We flew out to Rome on Good Friday, looking forward to our second opportunity to watch Lazio live - our first was a 3-0 home defeat by Milan earlier this year. Someone here referred to Lazio as a bi-polar team - the results of the first two Lazio games we have been to definitely support that theory!
The opposition this time was to be some insignificant minnows called AS Roma.
The day began with an unsuccessful attempt to have a bet on the game in an internet cafe - all non-Italian gambling sites appeared to be blocked when I tried to access them. I was a little surprised that the Italian internet would be censored in any way.
We had an amusing journey to the ground thanks to our Merda -supporting taxi driver. He was baffled by the idea of two Irishmen heading to the Olimpico to cheer on Lazio in the derby. Like all Merda fans, he was uneducated, so his English was very poor. This didn't stop him from chatting away to us excitedly in Italian though - it was an amusing conversation, as nobody involved had any real idea what was being said!
On entering the ground, we saw a lot of people selling what I thought were flares or smoke bombs, and naturally we bought a few. They turned out to be little plastic bottles of "Borghetti" - this stuff was the perfect derby fuel, a liquor combination of espresso and alcohol (
http://www.mortens-miniatyrflasker.com/bilder/Figurflasker/Borghetti_Caffe_Espresso_3cl_20_Milano_Italy.jpg). It was becoming clear why Italian football fans always seemed more passionate at games than fans elsewhere!
There was a real sense of urgency about our players from the start. When coming out for the warm-up, they ran straight to the home fans, fists clenched, and looked more fired up than any team I've ever seen entering the pitch. The atmosphere was really heating up at this stage, still about half an hour before kick-off. I remarked to Adrian that there was no way the players could fail to deliver having come to the fans in the way they did when taking the pitch - and did they deliver!
As most of you have seen the game, and plenty of good reports have already been written, I will keep the details to a minimum, except to say two things: The players wore the jersey with pride, and were heroes one and all! Secondly, Zarate's was the goal of the game. From where we sat, it looked like it was going wide all the way, until it curled in at the last moment. Cue hysteria in the stand!
Our stand was segregated (about 25% was allocated to Merda fans, who were below us, to the left), and many fans spent the entire game taunting each other, throwing bangers and smoke bombs, and attempting to break through the cordon. They missed out on what was a great game, but on hindsight maybe the Merda fans are lucky they missed the sight of their team being outclassed!
My only regret was that my own grasp on the Italian language was not better. When the Lazio fans in the curva displayed a banner, I could just about understand that the message showed solidarity with the victims of the earthquake in L'Aquila (which as we know occured a week before the derby). This gesture was applauded by all fans, home and away. However there were a lot of chants and songs which I couldn't understand, unfortunately.
After the game we hung around the stadium for a while, enjoying a few celebratory beers and the warm Rome sun. When we did head back into the city, we took a tram and two subway rides. On each of our 3 trips, we shared a carriage with a fellow Laziale, who wore a large grin and a scarf wrapped around his head. He kept making eye contact with various passengers, and waving four fingers at them - one for each glorious goal! One passenger apprared to become annoyed, and she even she got up from her seat and moved down the other end of the carriage - obviously a suitably humiliated Merda fan!
It was a long way to travel, and a lot of money to spend just to see a game, but it was all worth it. I am very grateful to SS Lazio for such superb and triumphant entertainment. Forza Lazio!
09 09
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