After the reopening of bars and restaurants and the arrival of the first tourists to the Duomo and to the Uffizi, it was in Florence that the return of football to the recovery is ” total “. On Monday evening, the capital of Tuscany, was finally able to celebrate the return of the Serie A, the Italian championship, after three long months of waiting.
And as a symbol, to the recovery of the calcio in the land of tuscany, the Fiorentina Franck Ribery hosted in Brescia (red lantern of the championship), the city lombard which was severely hit by the coronavirus. “To see players from Brescia to come here to Florence, it is the symbol that Italy win,” says a devotee, prior to the start of the match. The day before, Atalanta Bergamo, another “martyr city” transalpine, made a comeback on the lawns with its success 4-1 defeat to Sassuolo. A victory also psychological for the club and its supporters, left traumatized by the encounter of the champions League against Valencia last February, today suspected of having favoured the spread of the virus in the city of Lombardy.
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reunion behind closed doors
on Monday night, making the tour of the stadium Artemio-Franchi of Florence, padlocked by the police, hard to imagine, however, that the calcio was well and truly back in the city of the Medicis. Not a noise, not a whistle only seemed to be able to get out of this temple of football in tuscan. As at the time of the recovery in Germany, in England or in Spain, all the matches of the championship transalpine (as in the final stages of the Cup of Italy this month) will play for the time being closed to the public. A reunion that leave a bitter taste to the tifosi adores Italian. “It hurts me to know that the players are there, very close, and I’m locked outside “, fulminates Alessandro, supporter, fanatic of Fiorentina. “This is the first time in 25 years that I have to watch on tv a match playing at home,” he says, pointing at the TV screen a small bar, a few meters from the stadium, where some fans of the Viola have made an appointment.
the regular (” there are “crowds”, swear Marco, in front of the streets remained deserted. “But health is the main issue for the moment and the calcio is not at the top of the rest “, says the Florentine. “In France, you were right to put an end to the championship for this season. Without an audience, it is worth nothing, ” says one of his comrades of the turn Fiesole. On the side of the Italian federation, we recognise, in stages, “there are still a great coldness,” says its president, Gabriele Gravina. “We hope that the fans will soon be able to travel to support their teams in the tribune, but there is a clear need patience and trust in the scientific community,” it warns.
tens of millions of euros of losses for clubs
On the other hand, for clubs, time is of the essence. According to the Gazzetta dello sport, the financial losses caused by the discontinuation of the matches would already be 60 million euros for the Italian teams. One hundred million, if meetings were to be held behind closed doors for the ten days remaining, calculates the daily Italian.
For the ambiance and for the finances of the clubs, the football authorities transalpine reflect, therefore, a quick feedback from the audience in the grandstands. Maybe for the month of July, posited recently by the president Gabriele Gravina. But be careful, not in full capacity, can already. Among the some 30 000 supporters of the Fiorentina (3rd club of Italy by number of subscribers), one question arises : “They will do how to choose who comes to the stadium and who does not ? “
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