Serie A Calcio: Fiorentina vs. Cagliari

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Today I joined Rolando and two of his friends, Lusciano and Giannino, for the final Serie A soccer match between the home team Fiorentina and the Sardinian team Cagliari. Not only was it an ugly, windy and rainy day, but the match turned out to be less than exciting, ending in a 0:0 score, and with the Fiorentina not playing all that well. Oh well, this was my first European soccer match, so all was not lost in a poor performance!

The Italians, at least in Florence, mean serious business with regards to security at the ball park. Every ticket purchased is assigned to a specific person using Italian I.D.s and passports for foreigners like me. There didn't appear to be much if any alcohol inside the stadium, but del cafe, as with everyplace in Italy, was in constant production. Instead of seeing a row of beer taps and hot dog rollers, there was a row of espresso presses, as the picture below depicts. There was even the section of fanatics at the left end of the stadium, where explosions and smoke, banners, and chanting could be seen and heard from throughout the game. The politzia were outfitted in riot gear, I suppose, just in case it actually was a good game...LOL.

After staying up so late last night, at least I had a lot of time sleeping on the hour-long ride to and from the game. I made sure to pick up a jersey for home too.

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Photos

Stadio Artemia Franchi
Fiorentina v. Cagliari