I return to Prato again after several years, the last time was in April 2015 for a Prato-Teramo, with the guests first in the standings launched for a historic promotion to Serie B (later revoked). This time it will not be the historic local team that takes to the field but rather Zenith Prato who will face Castelfidardo from the Marche in the first leg final of the Eccellenza national playoffs. The two teams arrive at this final in a completely different way, with the hosts having easily overcome the Granamica obstacle, a 1-3 victory on the Bolognese pitch and a conservative 2-2 at home; Castelfidardo, on the other hand, had to sweat their proverbial sweats to overcome UniPomezia, losing 2-3 at home but then winning 0-2 in the second leg with a goal in the last minute of injury time which made the green and white ultras, present, rejoice outside the facility as the game was played behind closed doors.
This time the game is played behind open doors but, also fueled by the media, the management of public order is no less anxious, which leads to preferring the historic “Lungobisenzio” home of Prato 1908 to the “Bruno Chiavacci” where Zenith usually plays. Despite the fact that the field factor was nullified, the Pratesi team cannot even count on any form of organized support despite the team having a very long history. The youth sector has always been central for this team while from a formal point of view, they also had to go through a merger between the then Zenith Superga Ambrosiana and Audax 1972 in 2010 until Zenith Audax borrowed its name in the current one Zenith Prato 1948. Having landed in the top regional category in 2015-16, the Tuscan team has the chance to write a new page in history by attempting to climb to D after having already played in the national phase of the Eccellenza playoffs in 2017.
In addition to these footballing motivations, what is decisive is the desire to see the Castelfidardo ultras back at work, already seen several times over the years, both at home and away, but since several years have passed since the last time it is perhaps time to update yourself on the evolution and growth of the ultras movement in this city of around 18 thousand inhabitants.
With the match scheduled for 4pm I can sleep a few more hours and leave at 9am, returning to travel by bus and arriving in the Tuscan city at 12.40pm, even though the stop is almost 3km away from the stadium, but after all the walking of this Today’s season certainly doesn’t scare me, despite the day being particularly hot.
I arrive early near the “Lungobisenzio” lift, after a long 3km hike from my bus stop, yet another of this long season. The facility, which obviously owes its name to the nearby city river, reminds me of other stadiums with the same location visited in the past, such as the “Briamasco” in Trento cradled by the waters of the Adige river or the “Druso” in Bolzano near of the Isarco.
Greeted by some murals of the Prato ultras, at 3.15pm I cross the green rectangle not before having a pleasant chat with the field commissioner, an unusual digression given the edgy category of belonging to which we end up more often questioning than talking amiably. Many changes have been made to this structure, with the athletics track no longer available, the playing field moved and the sectors brought closer to the pitch; despite the theoretically appreciable choices, in reality we have gone through long and troubled works, judicial seizures and above all the capacity which in recent years has gone from a maximum of 15 thousand spectators to not even three thousand currently.
Twenty minutes after kick-off the ultras from the Marche arrive, all reaching their sector in procession. Once the various patches have been attached, four flags and a banner wave, making the players feel all their warmth right from the warm-up. For the home team, a full grandstand but no trace of cheering other than a white card with the words “FORZA ZENITH” on it rising among the crowd. During the match, however, the emotional participation in the match is very heartfelt with, on more than one occasion, the classic chant “Zenith, Zenith” taking shape, in addition to the vehement celebration for the two goals of the blue-amaranth team.
The support found in the visiting sector is much more in keeping with the ultras idea. Waving of flags to greet Castelfidardo’s entry onto the pitch and continuous and more than positive support. After the first twenty minutes, the heat takes its toll and some pauses are noticed, but it’s really a small thing because then the fans start singing again in a decisive and sustained manner, spurred on several times by the choir thrower with the megaphone who manages to give the right reasons.
Lots of clapping accompanied the chants while in the half hour it was Zenith Prato who put them to the test again by taking the lead with a lucky own goal from Imbriola. However, the Fidardans seem unstoppable and close the first part of the match by continuing to cheer as if nothing had happened. In the second half they open the contest with a banner divided into three parts which is intended as a tribute to those banned from the match who were unable to attend in Tuscany. Immediately afterwards they start cheering again in an even more determined manner with impressive clapping and flags always flying.
In the sixty-third minute the episode that could close not only the match but also the qualification discussion: penalty for Zenith and expulsion of Imbriola on a clearly bad day; from the spot Chiaramonti brings his team to 2-0 and if on the pitch the team from the Marche seriously risks going bankrupt, in the stands Castelfidardo doesn’t give up an inch. Always powerful and linear support, decisive clapping, chants against Osimo’s rivals and finally a new banner, once again for the friends affected by the hateful Daspo (the latest this year, for the clashes in Civitanova Marche).
When everything seems irremediable, nine minutes from the end the substitute Evangelisti closes the gap and postpones the discussion of qualification to the return match. The green and white ultras rejoice for this very important goal and sing until the final whistle, immediately afterwards they applaud the team for the determination put into play and for the goal scored when all seemed lost. Theirs was truly a capital performance, which confirms all their continuous improvements from a group point of view, despite the various warnings received.
The curtain could fall on this beautiful day, but my stubbornness forces me to make a quick visit to the “Bruno Chiavacci” to see the real stadium of the home team. Another three abundant kilometers adjacent to appreciate a beautiful, but unfortunately unique, raised grandstand whose capacity is not even 600 seats according to what the plaque posted on the wall of the grandstand itself says. Despite being an avid supporter of the motto “all teams should play in their own stadium”, this time I have to admit that the choice was forced, given that in addition to the few seats, a sector dedicated to guests is completely missing.
On the other hand, the disappointment of not having been able to see the match in its ideal scenario had already been largely mitigated by the majestic performance of the Castellana fans who chanted several times their desire to return to D! In seven days we will have the mathematical certainty of who will truly have crossed the coveted and long-awaited finish line.
Marco Gasparri
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