It is not a morning like any other, in Acireale, when the presentation of a nostalgic and prosperous docufilm for the city is held, that is “A miracle called Serie B”. An uncommon press conference, because the scene is stolen by a docufilm which celebrates a historic season of Acireale football, for a duration of one hour and 10 minutes, then re-screened in the evening in the historic Margherita cinema.
Football / The documentary film was born from an idea by Graziano Fontana
The documentary was edited by the young man Graziano Fontana, for years now passionate and disseminator of archive images of the golden years of Acireale Calcio, through the Youtube platform, with the “Jacitani” channel. The docufilm was born by chance, because Graziano, through his videos that went viral on YouTube, came up with the idea of making a feature film of the “prelude” of theAcireale Footballin the aftermath of the B series. Initially it was only supposed to be intended for the platform, but thanks to the advice of some of his friends, the idea materialized in a cinema exhibition at the Margherita cinema, in Acireale.
Football / The passion for Acireale
The “Jacitani” channel was born randomly, with Graziano’s desire to publish images and highlights of the matches he went to see. Subsequently, his memory of playing for Acireale in Serie C in the 2000s went viral. Graziano presented himself as nostalgic, passionate about exciting stories that only football can give him. His devotion to Acireale began when his parents gave him some Granata fan gadgets, on the occasion of Acireale’s finish in Serie B.
A historic episode for Piazza Acese, achieved following the 92-93 season in Serie C1. Despite having a great football season, Acireale also went up due to the exclusion of Perugia for sporting offences. The 1993 Serie B was almost assimilated to Serie A, because several teams had players of great caliber, such as Chiesa with Modena, Vieri with Ravenna, Pippo Inzaghi with Verona, Batistuta with Fiorentina.
Football / When Acireale won in Serie B
The first time at the stadium for Graziano was in 2002, in the Antonino Pulvirenti era, during the Acireale – Igea Virtus match won by the Acireale players. During the press conference, Graziano spoke about the famous episode that occurred during the survival clash for Acireale against Bari. During that day, Cesena was also playing against Cosenza, which won 1-0 allowing Acireale to mathematically remain in Serie B. But the crucial episode of that day was that the Acireale match started late, due to the disappearance of the corner flags. It was an act of cunning to be able to allow the fans and Acinese footballers to follow the Cesena match via a radio.
Football / The documentary film is a nostalgic homage to the golden years of Acireale
It is no coincidence that the screening is dated for June 13th, which celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of the historic Serie B playoff between Acireale and Pisa, at the “Arechi” stadium in Salerno. This documentary film is an opportunity to remember the Acireale roots, but also to make people understand that anything can happen in football and that the golden years, perhaps, can return to Acireale. It will also pay homage to all those protagonists of this sporting rise, which remains unforgettable. For the organizers it was a surprising source of pride to know that at the screening, in addition to there being young Granata fans, there were also elderly fans who had not been going to the stadium for years. For an opportunity to remember and share those historic and happy moments spent together.
Football / Guests in the room during the screening
Among the guests of an exceptional ceremony were several protagonists of this “sporting miracle”. Among these the Mister Papadopuloand former players such as Di Dio, Lo Giudice, Sorbello, Nuccio, Favi, Amato, Cancelli and Infantino, who we interviewed in broad terms regarding certain memories on the sidelines of the evening in video to follow:
Alessio Piro
