The Cesena of Castori, the Heron of the Vigne and the t-shirt dealer

Devil by a Fabrizio Castori. Who, in the 2003-2004 season, presented himself to the people of Romagna managing to bring two trophies to the banks of the Savio. The most famous and epic of this encore of applause, obviously, remains the one harpooned among the Lumezzane steelworks on that legendary 20 June 2004 with the flavor of (saloon) brawls, passion, tension and Serie B. But then, let’s not forget, there is also the other success. The less noble one. The less crunchy one. But equally significant. The victory of the Serie C Italian Cup. The first (and so far only) official trophy to end up on the Cavalluccio showcase. That castorized Cesena – after eliminating San Marino, Reggiana, Sora and Cittadella in rapid succession – secured the Cup victory already in the first leg final played against Pro Patria at the Manuzzi on 15 April 2004, going on to prevail peremptorily 4-1 (encore Bernacci, Piccoli, Tramezzani, Ranalli). Romagna also achieved success in the return match which took place two weeks later in Busto Arsizio (0-1, match winner the ‘usual’ Airone delle Vigne). Curious detail linked precisely to this last challenge. Henning Tatje, the nice and folkloristic German fan who at the time (just like today) supported Cesena, showed up at Speroni with some handcrafted celebratory t-shirts designed directly by him. So, at the end of the match, he entered the field and… he made all the jubilant Juventus players wear them. Nothing strange, you might say. Nothing sensational. If it weren’t for the fact that, the following day, all the newspapers and television stations in the country ‘came out’ with images where these illegal (and not authorized by the club) t-shirts covered, to the great – er er – joy of the Juventus sponsor, the official jackets. One thing that, in the year of the Lord two thousand and twenty-four, it would be unthinkable to say the least. All very beautiful. Beautiful. Castorized.