Football Balls: Sampdoria Fans Surrounded By Police Protection Away At Roma And Saluting Arrigo Brovedani
THE age-old reply to the Sampa fan’s question “What time does the Roma-Sampdoria game start?” is “What time can you get here?”
A few made it to the Coppa Italia match at the Stadio Olimpico.
That’s not them surrounding the Roma fans in a Ultras siege. That’s them in the middle, shielded from the cheap seats by a wall of yellow bibs.
Sampdoria have made us smile before. In December 2012, a lone solitary Udinese fan was there to see his side’s 0-2 victory over Sampdoria.
That fan in the ‘I was there” T-shirt is Arrigo Brovedani. He told Sky Sports Italia of his night out at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris:
“I was in Genoa for a work meeting and usually take a trip round the area around this time of year, but it was pure coincidence Udinese were playing there at the same time. So I took advantage and organised a ticket. If I am in a city where Udinese happen to be playing, clients tend to send me free tickets, as they know my passion for the team. This time it wasn’t possible and I had to sort it out myself. It wasn’t easy, as I had to buy a ‘Fan Passport’ to buy a ticket for an away game and it takes 18 days to go through, so I wrote to Sampdoria in order to make sure it would be alright and they were very helpful.
“I made the journey to Genoa, arrived at the stadium and only then did I realise I was the only Udinese fan there! At that point the stewards asked if I wanted to sit in the main stand, but I insisted on going into the away end, seeing as I had paid for that ticket.
“I had the Udinese flag with me, as I carry it everywhere in my car. The Samp fans applauded me after we scored and they were really very kind.”
Udinese captain Antonio Di Natale heard the cry of “Forza Udinese” from the stands and invited Arrigo to join the lads on the pitch for a pre-match warm-up and kick-about. He declined. Never meet our heroes. It’s the golden rule.
Spotter: Pies
Posted: 10th, January 2014 | In: Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
