I had been planning to visit Campania with two friends from Athens since the beginning of the season, mostly because I wanted to pay a visit to my friends from Avellino and watch one of their team’s games. We never managed to coordinate though, as our plans didn’t align, and as the season was slowly coming to an end, I decided to pull the trigger and just set off on my own.

I flew to Naples on Friday by myself with just a backpack, ready for a long weekend. Although Avellino was the reason for my trip, I didn’t want to miss out on any extra football action, and ironically enough, it was their hated neighbours who were the only team playing on Friday (I’m sorry Biancoverde friends).

It was only last season that Salernitana were relegated from Serie A to Serie B, but now they’re struggling once more in the relegation play-out zone. Their opponent today was Cosenza, who are sitting at the bottom of the table but are still not down mathematically. A win would be precious for both teams.

I got a train to Salerno from Naples and didn’t waste much time before heading to the game, as kick-off was at 15:00 and Salernitana’s ground is quite far out from the city centre. I took a bus from the central station which soon filled with teenagers dressed in garnet shirts, as we crossed almost the whole of the Lungomare (seafront) before finally reaching the stadium. Stadio Arechi is a ground that’s unapologetically ugly in a way that makes it charming. It has a very raw, old-school feel, even though it’s not as old as you would think.

I took a seat in the upper stand while watching more and more people enter under the hot sun. I’m aware that ticket prices were pretty affordable, but I still felt that the turnout was quite good, considering the team’s not-so-great form. From the morning I arrived, it quickly felt like Salerno was a city where everyone supported Salernitana, despite the proximity to Naples. It felt like the whole city was mobilised on matchday (although today was also a national holiday, to be fair).

I was hoping that Cosenza would bring big numbers and that there would be some competition between the two curves. But then I remembered that, on top of their team doing very poorly this year, their ultras are also in conflict with Guarascio, the club owner, leading to some groups possibly boycotting — I’m not sure. In any case, the main banner of the Curva Sud that reads “Ultra’ Cosenza” was there, turned upside down, in typical fashion, to signify protest. But the Cosentini could barely be heard throughout the game.

Before the start of the match, a minute of silence was held in memory of Pope Francis — and despite the fans’ hostility toward the football federation, it was respected by everyone. The chants against the Italian Football League started right after. A handful of “Salerno Vaffanculo” chants were thrown from Cosenza’s end, which were quickly drowned out by boos and counter-chants of “Cosenza Vaffanculo” from the home curve.

It didn’t take long for the hostile atmosphere to momentarily shift, though. Around the 15th minute, the Cosenza ultras held a banner (image 14) reading “Ricordiamo Siberiano” (Remembering Siberiano), in memory of the highly influential Salernitana ultra who passed away in 2010. This beautiful gesture was applauded by the whole stadium.

On the pitch, Salernitana were better than their Calabrian rivals, but every one of their finishes was just awful. By the end of the first half, their fans had started to become a bit upset, but that didn’t last for long. The home side significantly improved their performance in the second half, scoring two goals by the 65th minute. Their victory was sealed with one more beautiful goal just before the 80th minute and, by that time, the south stand of Arechi was partying in full force. Cosenza managed to put one in too toward the end of the game, but that wasn’t enough to cheer up any of the travelling fans, whose team’s chances of staying in Serie B were now even narrower.