Chronicles of a 2007/09 Season Ticket Holder

Discussion in 'Napoli' started by RandyNA74, Aug 27, 2007.

  1. RandyNA74

    RandyNA74 Member

    Jun 9, 2004
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    August 2007. March 1983. Not much would seem to suggest a link between these two months. And yet, a very significant link exists, at least in my insignificant little world. August 2007 marked the first time I would see Napoli at San Paolo in a Serie A match since...March 1983. And today, like then, the opponent was Cagliari.

    That Napoli battled to survive relegation. This Napoli is (probably) gonna battle to survive relegation. Cagliari? Pretty much the same deal. Which of the two clubs is going to have an easier time of it remains to be seen, but judging by yesterday's game, Napoli has a long way to go.

    It's true that overall, Napoli's play wasn't all that bad. The 0-2 scoreline is worse than what the team deserved, especially since Cagliari managed to score the two goals with one shot on goal (well, slight exagerration...Foggia did have a shot that was easily saved...maybe there was another shot too...hell, it just sounds cool to say that they scored 2 goals with one shot, there you have it). Cagliari had one solid offensive play and they put the ball in. The penalty was a true gift...Napoli's defense, the only part of the team that left a little to be desired, decided to make things even more challenging since a 1-0 deficit wasn't enough to have to overcome and gave Cagliari a bad penalty. Cannavaro's and Domizzi's absences were felt.

    On a positive note, all the new players looked pretty good:

    Hamsik - this dude is a rockstar. Very gifted player. Very unlucky not to walk off the pitch with at least 2 goals. Only real complaint is that he is too altruistic. A couple of times he should have shot instead of going for the fancy pass, but otherwise the best player for Napoli yesterday.

    Gargano - kid is solid. He needs to play every minute of every game.

    Cupi - managed to do well in a department (defense) that struggled with what little Cagliari through at it.

    Lavezzi - here is the controversial subject. Did he play well or was he worthless? My personal opinion is that although he had trouble synching up with the squad, he definitely threw some skill out there not to mention considerable effort. For one thing, he always sought the ball and never shied away from it (the sign of a true champion) and on a couple of occasions pursued opponents off the ball well back into our end. A waste of energy perhaps but hey, one thing you can't accuse him of is holding back. The key will be for Reja to figure out how to employ him tactically (not holding my breath). His position seemed odd, and almost seemed to be a "go where you please when you please" tactic. Was he supporting the forwards? Was he a forward? Was he a winger? Was he falling back to defend? Who knows. He was all over. I think that if he and/or Reja can figure out where he should fit in the grand scheme of things, we will have ourselves a little champion on our hands.

    Blasi - not sure what shape he was in coming into this match, but the gap in Serie A experience between him and everyone else in midfield was pretty obvious.

    Zalayeta - jury still out. Don't think he is an ideal target man (Lavezzi plays off the centerforward without being one himself). Can provide whatever additional support, but if Calaio' proves not up to the task (he was dreadful yesterday), Zalayeta wouldn't be the answer.

    In a nutshell, the game made it painfully obvious that Serie A ain't Serie B. You give your opponents one chance to make a decent run, and they will put it away. Screw up in defense and give up a bad penalty, and you are down 2-0. Bad luck certainly didn't help, as Napoli deserved at least 1-2 goals...

    This week's Quote of the Week goes to Annalisa, a member of our contingent: "this year we are going to suffer."

    A couple of pics coming soon (nothing crazy, don't get too excited...).
     
  2. indestructible

    indestructible Member+

    SSC Napoli
    Jan 14, 2007
    Mercato Professor
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    Good post Randy. Now i expect one for every home game!
     
  3. NickyViola

    NickyViola Member+

    May 10, 2004
    Boston
    Club:
    ACF Fiorentina
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    Awesome job Randy. Thanks for sharing that.
     
  4. NapoliNewJersey

    NapoliNewJersey New Member

    Aug 13, 2006
    New Jersey
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    Nice post. Maybe a sticky with all the home games that you go to, locked so it's just game after game with no comment. And of corse one not stickyed so we can comment.
     
  5. RandyNA74

    RandyNA74 Member

    Jun 9, 2004
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    As promised, here are a couple of pics from the Cagliari game.

    The teams enter the field

    [​IMG]

    The teams salute the crowd

    [​IMG]
     
  6. NapoliNewJersey

    NapoliNewJersey New Member

    Aug 13, 2006
    New Jersey
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    Hey Randy .. nice pics.

    i'm pretty sure I'm coming to Napoli in March for a couple of home games. Now that I know where you are we can get together and really watch a game this time.

    I figure if I get on the train by me and get off by you I can meet you at your stop and we'll just head over to Mostra. You'll still be there in March right?

    I'm trying to come for the Rome and Inter games at San Paolo. Two home games in a row ... I can't pass that up. And March is my birthday so it will be a gift to myself.
     
  7. RandyNA74

    RandyNA74 Member

    Jun 9, 2004
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    Cool man, sounds like a plan. ;)
     
  8. RandyNA74

    RandyNA74 Member

    Jun 9, 2004
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    Grande, grande, grande, grande Napoli. Four "grandes" to reflect the goal margin by which Napoli could have won this game.

    An amazing, inspired performance. Napoli hasn't played this spectacular a game at San Paolo since the 1990's for certain. There really only was one team on the field, particularly in the second half. Sampdoria was missing several key players, but the impression is that this game was only ever going to go one way as there was no way a Napoli this determined was going to be stopped.

    An incredible enthusiasm surrounded this game. 55,000 fans were projected to attend, with tickets very difficult to come by. But unfortunately, this enthusiasm also brings out a negative aspect of attending Napoli games. Sometimes, you will find someone in your seat who will refuse to leave. You tell the police, and they tell you to tell the stewards. You tell the stewards, and they tell you to tell the police since they can't be bothered to argue with anyone on your behalf. The end result is you either confront the person with enough vigor to scare them off, or you find another place to sit....

    We left Armando's house (the pre-game meeting point) late and were concerned about people being in our seats. Sure enough, we had to "fight" off a guy who had taken one of the seats in our sector...and witnessed another similar confrontation right next to us shortly thereafter. "And this is still only Napoli-Sampdoria..." Annalisa commented. Guess when we play Juve we need to be at the stadium 4 hours before kickoff...

    In response to the wave of enthusiasm that engulfed the city following the 5-0 win in Udine, the Curva A displayed a banner chastising the sudden change of heart of many (or more accurately their initial lack of faith in the team): "For the media and the casual fan, in August this team needed to be rebuilt. An eternity hasn't passed, yet today you are all here." A banner which earned a respectful round of applause from many of us...

    [​IMG]

    I won't get into technical descriptions of the game as it has already been discussed elsewhere and it isn't the objective of this thread. I'm here to give you a humble description of my experiences, and what we all experienced yesterday was something out of this world. Napoli's performance was simply nothing less than everything we could have asked for. A game of this level and spectacle hadn't been seen at the San Paolo for quite some time, and you could see it in everyone's faces. We are back where we belong, and this time it's for real.

    Over 24 hours later, Hamsik's goal still makes me jump out of my seat now as it did then. But for some reason, even more so than Hamsik's individual effort what really sold the play for me was Lavezzi's shoulder assist off a 50 meter cross. The calmness and simplicity with which he shouldered that ball was emblematic of the spirit with which Napoli approached that game - confident, secure in its means, and with a great desire to go all out, even conceding itself the luxury of pulling a few tricks from its sleeve.

    But Hamsik deserves mention. I speak for many when I say that I had been waiting for his first league goal since the heartbreaker against Cagliari. The kid has too much heart not to be rewarded, and seeing him embrace the Napoli cause so fully makes you want to see him score that much more. The scene of him running under the Curva B after the goal, half tearing his jersey off, with assorted photographers, ballboys, etc. running to him was almost better than the goal itself.

    OK, I feel like talking about Lavezzi again. The more I think about it, the more it's obvious that the last time we had a player with this much skill and flair may not necessarily have been Maradona, but certainly Zola. The more I see him play, the less I believe his label as a "non-centerforward striker." Forget that. He is much more. He playmakes. He directs. He invents. He even shoulders (literally). If I didn't know any better, perhaps labeling him a 10 would be more accurate...but maybe I don't in fact know better...

    But it wasn't just Hamsik and Lavezzi. ALL the new additions stood out. Gargano, while messing up a few passes, had a solid game and usually managed to win the ball back after losing it. Blasi played a national team calibre game. Cupi was a guarantee at the back. Zalayeta may be slow, but he makes his presence felt. And such a successful transfer market is also something that hasn't been seen at San Paolo in a long time...

    It's important to keep everything in perspective and not get our hopes up too much. But dreaming doesn't cost anything and today, we're gonna dream out loud.

    But it wasn't just the new additions that carried us. The Serie B veterans were instrumental as well. Particularly Cannavaro and Domizzi at the back. If they get a national team call up, it wouldn't be too much.

    Today's Quote of the Week comes from a random fan who walked past us on the way back to the car: "this isn't soccer, this is poetry!"
     
  9. RandyNA74

    RandyNA74 Member

    Jun 9, 2004
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    The Curva B applauding the team after the game:

    [​IMG]

    The game is over:

    [​IMG]
     
  10. FNU

    FNU BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Mar 6, 2007
    Monte Vesuvio
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    Awesome pics Randy. Are you going to the Torino game on the 23rd of December? That will probably be the only game I'll be able to attend this year.
     
  11. indestructible

    indestructible Member+

    SSC Napoli
    Jan 14, 2007
    Mercato Professor
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    F'n awesome!!! Nice post Randy, keep them coming!!!!
     
  12. FNU

    FNU BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Mar 6, 2007
    Monte Vesuvio
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    Is anyone planning on going to the Milan vs Napoli game on January 13th, in Milan? That's another one I might be able to attend.
     
  13. joeginto

    joeginto Member

    Jul 16, 2006
    Chicago
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    Randy, I can't tell you how much I enjoy this thread. The contributions are amazing.

    Unfortunately, I'll be unable to go to Napoli anytime soon. I wish I could be there. It sounds like a typical Napoletano experience: frenetic, loud and dangerous.
     
  14. panicfc

    panicfc Member+

    Dec 22, 2000
    In my chair, typing
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    These pics are like fantasy. Works of art.
     
  15. RandyNA74

    RandyNA74 Member

    Jun 9, 2004
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    I should be at that game. The only game I will probably miss in the near future is the one vs. Genoa on the 30th. Otherwise I don't expect to miss many. Let me know when you are in town.
     
  16. FNU

    FNU BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Mar 6, 2007
    Monte Vesuvio
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    Def. I'll probably be with my cousins. Would be great to meet up with another BS member. So, will you also be going to the Milan game in Milan?
     
  17. DonDiNapoli

    DonDiNapoli Member

    Jun 10, 2007
    Leeds, UK
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder


    Gonna be in town for the Reggina game, 1st week in November. Would be good to meet up!!
     
  18. RandyNA74

    RandyNA74 Member

    Jun 9, 2004
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    A rare opportunity to post immediately after the game!

    When thinking about how to summarize this game, the phrase "Napoli without starters, ideas, or luck" came to mind. Then, Sosa changed all that. So now I can say "Napoli without starters, ideas, but at least with a little luck!"

    A full moon shined down on San Paolo for the first night game of the season. Not sure about the exact attendance figured, but it looked to be the same sized crowd as vs. Sampdoria. Not bad for a mid-week match in the rain, against Livorno...

    [​IMG]

    This is one of those games where confusion reigned (and this post will probably reflect that), both on and off the stands, and although luck came through for us in the end, it really was a deserved win. Napoli simply created too much - albeit it with much less skill and ferver with Lavezzi out - and Livorno was just to harmless not to be beaten. I thought Sampdoria was bad at San Paolo. Livorno made them look like Real Madrid.

    The performances of the new insertions weren't particularly impressive. In addition, the regulars - i.e. the various Hamsik, Zalayeta etc. - appeared tired and not particularly inspired. All that being said, Napoli did manage to create chances. De Zerbi, displaying whatever flash of creativity, failed to accomplish anything solid. And of course, the minute he was substituted under a shower of jeers, his absence was felt: "De Zerbi is the only one who can reason out there, Reja shouldn't have taken him out" someone next to me repeated incessantly. So did he suck or should he have stayed, being the only creative force out there in Lavezzi's absence? Hmmm.

    Garics is another player whose performance was confusing. He screwed up every time he touched the ball. Every cross, everything. But somehow he put forth a lot of effort and came close to scoring himself. "Garics has taken more shots than the rest of the team combined!" someone behind me commented early in the second half. "Shows how much we're screwed" was the unaminous response from my row...

    Even Bogliacino didn't appear his usual brilliant self. Blasi was sorely missed. At least Contini had a good game at the back and the defense as a whole was solid as usual. Oh, now would be a good time to mention that Napoli has the best defensive record in Serie A after five matches: 2 goals conceded in 5 games!! And four games in a row without getting scored on. This team has quality...

    The introduction of Sosa was confusing. Why not Calaio'? And why take De Zerbi out instead of Zalayeta, considering that Zalayeta and Sosa are essentially the same type of player? Bah. Annalisa gave me a detailed description of how Napoli should be fielded in the second half and was just as baffled by the choice of Sosa. "Reja's soccer isn't my soccer..." she said, giving up any hope of trying to understand what was going on and resigning herself to holding on for dear life as we suffered throughout.

    Post. Crossbar. Out. Out again. This game started resembling Napoli-Cagliari more and more, with Napoli creating chances but coming up empty handed. And two goals in three home games was just too little...

    Well, then it happened. Call it luck. Call it Reja knowing what he is doing after all. Call it Divine Providence for all I care. Sosa put it in, and in such a surreal fashion!! After numerous dejected looks of incredulity exchanged between Annalisa and I at all the failed chances we created, the sheer relief delivered by the goal was felt in the embrace we shared. She stood up to celebrate, with an arm around me, but I was just too relieved to even bother with standing, so I pushed her back down towards me. "Il sogno continua!" The dream continues, the Sky announcer would proclaim. Now that's a headline...

    We walk in the rain to our cars after the game. Ducked underneath Donatella's umbrella, talk of other scores and of Napoli's defensive record abounded. "If Inter and Roma tie on Sunday and we beat Genoa, we're first!" The dream continues, and doesn't want to know any bounds just yet...

    Tonight's Quote of the Week will be shared by two different exclamations. One a positive one, one perhaps a little more negative (or rather, realistic). Annalisa after the game: "that game made me lose 6-7 years of life (from the suffered nature of the win)." Donatella, also right after the game: "Lavezzi is half of Napoli." Too true. Without him, Napoli looked like a noticeably weaker side. But how great it is to win in such a suffered manner...

    (I got a video from the game which I will try to post somewhere. Perhaps youtube or somewhere like that. Should that fail, I may send it to one of you guys for posting.)
     
  19. RandyNA74

    RandyNA74 Member

    Jun 9, 2004
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    A balloon choreography before the game:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Kept getting startled by countless popping balloons throughout the game...
     
  20. RandyNA74

    RandyNA74 Member

    Jun 9, 2004
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    [youtube]2KdPVd8A37Q[/youtube]

    It worked! :D

    Not bad for a video taken from a cell phone, huh?
     
  21. indestructible

    indestructible Member+

    SSC Napoli
    Jan 14, 2007
    Mercato Professor
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    Mitico! Thank you Randy.

    Joe sticky this thread!!
     
  22. FNU

    FNU BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Mar 6, 2007
    Monte Vesuvio
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    You keep bringing Napoli some luck, ya hear Randy! :)
     
  23. RandyNA74

    RandyNA74 Member

    Jun 9, 2004
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    Well, for reasons that are obvious to everyone I don't have any exciting experience to relate from the San Paolo for yesterday's game. However, I figured I would take this opportunity to talk about how attending matches on a regular basis has affected me thus far.

    So I've been living in Naples - for the first time in over two decades - for about a year now. For years, I always wondered about how, and if, my grand return would be. To be honest, it was quite underwhelming, almost from the beginning. For a number of reasons I don't necessarily want to get into, this city disappointed me. It's people disappointed me. My life here disappointed me. Everything was just so tough. So frustrating. So not like I remembered it. I had sacrificed so much in the past 20 years for this place, and yet it offered nothing in return. Just a lot of loneliness, feelings of regret, anger, and maybe worse.

    Even Napoli - as in SSC Napoli, or Napoli Soccer, whatever - did little to change that. Maybe it was just the Serie B, and having spent the majority of the previous decade in the lower ranks of Italian soccer. Because after a while, it's hard to get excited about a match against Sora, Frosinone, or Gela. And even the occasional "big match" against Brescia or Avellino did little to change that.

    Then it dawned on me that with promotion to Serie A, getting a season ticket felt like the only right thing to do. At a minimum, though my bond and love for the city of Naples were at a historic low, seeing Serie A up close and personal was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. And, more importantly, attending the San Paolo regularly would give me the opportunity to see old friends on a regular basis. Friends I had seen maybe twice in the previous 12 months.

    Well, a lot of things changed for me late this summer. Or then again, maybe they didn't, but my view of the world around me has changed noticeably.

    All of a sudden, I felt a click inside of me, and while it would be cool to say that the click occurred when first walking into the San Paolo, it isn't the case. Or maybe it is, who knows. But whatever the case may be, it definitely occurred. Almost literally from one day to the next, I got used to the insanity of Naples. I got used to the nonsense, the driving, the inefficiency and all that stuff. Somehow it doesn't bother me anymore, where previously it drove me up the wall.

    But focusing purely on Napoli, my love for the team has come back to me in ways I never could have imagined before. And before anyone accuses me of being a fair-weather fan, these feelings started flowing into my soul on the day of Napoli-Cagliari, with Annalisa's words of "this year we are going to suffer." And immediately thereafter, as that same night a local girl (who shall remain nameless) did a lot to ease my troubled soul with little more than a smile and a few friendly words. Saw her again the next night, and while I had a great time with her friends and especially family, I haven't seen her since for whatever mysterious reason, but that's ok. Somehow, spending time with a group of napoletani and having such a great time did a lot to destroy the false barriers I had erected in self-defense to the misery my life had known for the previous year. "It's ok, he has a season ticket for Napoli so he checks out ok" her brother would repeat throughout the night, when everyone jokingly criticized me for not knowing anything about motorcycles, the group's big collective passion. I'm a season ticket holder, and I wear my love for this team (read: city) on my sleeve.

    Many, many, many people out there wish so much evil on this place. And I'm not even talking about the northerners or whoever else talks about this place as if it were the representation of all that is bad in the world. I'm talking about the enemy that lives with us, among us all. I'm talking about the countless people who through their actions do so much to make daily life so hard for everyone else. People who give this city a grotesque name. People who hold this city's people hostage, generation after generation, leaving a bigger and bigger hole for the rest to dig themselves out of with the passing of time.

    I'm talking about the very people that prevented me and 60,000 good people from attending Napoli-Genoa. I read today that the tossing of the objects that struck the official(s) during Napoli-Livorno have been connected with the flares thrown during Napoli-Frosinone in December 2006, and an orchestrated campaign by the camorra and others to blackmail the club for their own personal gain. We want free tickets, we want a cut of the merchandising, and if not we're gonna strike you where it hurts. We'll make the stadium get a crowd ban, and Randy won't be able to see his Napoli and his friends. No Donatella. No Armando. Nobody. He won't be able to see Annalisa, who unbeknowndst to her has done a lot to help him make his peace with this city. The city who has given me my greatest loves and consequently my greatest heartbreaks. The city who gives you everything after taking everything away. But just being here is such a gift. Just being from here is such a gift. Most people will go through life never understanding that. And saldy, most of those people are indeed from here...

    So Napoli-Genoa didn't give me another opportunity to "live" this city and everything it has to offer. It didn't give me the opportunity to see Annalisa again, she who had expressed so much disappointment when I first told her that I probably wasn't gonna be able to attend the game (my parents were supposed to come into town but didn't). It didn't give me the opportunity to see old friends who I would like to see every day but can't. It didn't give me the opportunity to see the Napoli shirt with my own eyes, something which was so elusive to me for so many years. It didn't give me the opportunity to embrace anyone when Domizzi scored the penalty. In that sense, it reminded me very much of what it meant to support Napoli for the past 20 years. But one thing this past Sunday gave me was the opportunity to reflect on so many things. It gave me the opportunity to be thankful, countless problems aside, for what I have around me. And the thought of ever leaving again is so dreadful. The thought of seeking the easy comfort of the US appears so cowardly to me now...and yet, 24 short months from now, I may well be facing yet another departure from here, and this one may well be the permanent one...

    This post really hasn't turned out the way I had hoped, but that's ok. After all, I will have a whole season worth of experiences to share with you all. And if the dawn is any sign of how the day will turn out, this is gonna be one sunny day for me and for us all...
     
  24. indestructible

    indestructible Member+

    SSC Napoli
    Jan 14, 2007
    Mercato Professor
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    Very nice post, i really enjoyed reading it. I lived in Florence for half a year in 2003 and i know exactly where you're coming from (sort of)

    The Cammora is a disease
     
  25. NickyViola

    NickyViola Member+

    May 10, 2004
    Boston
    Club:
    ACF Fiorentina
    Re: Chronicles of a 2007/08 Season Ticket Holder

    The ultras really do have the clubs by the balls, LCN-related or not. I really hate to see it. Great read Randy. Go get her!
     

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