Guest Article: A Day At The Stadium - Italy vs Argentina

As I approach the Monigo stadium I can hear ‘I love Rock and Roll’ by Joan Jett being blasted out at full volume. Before even entering, I can see, behind the wall of the ticket office, the balls kicked in the air by the players who are warming up in the pre-match. The atmosphere is peaceful as friends and families quietly wait to pass the entrance controls. 

Once inside I am greeted by the typical scent of stadium sandwiches. But I'm on a diet so I settle for a couple of beers and find my seat. The temperature is cool and the public are heard cheering loudly even before kick-off. There are a few away fans but most of the jerseys I see carry the badges of the local teams. I see some shirts from Valsugana, Mogliano and Portogruaro. Seeing Italy play at Monigo, Treviso is a rare event and many wanted to be here. Most of the tickets were sold in a matter of minutes. I am fortunate enough to have been one of the lucky ones. Argentina is a traditionally loved team in our country due to the many who emigrated from these very lands. This can be clearly understood from the Italian surnames of many Argentine players. But after this quick digression the teams take the field accompanied by the warm welcome of the Italian fans. 

The South American players sing the anthem with passion and in the complete silence and respect of the stadium. Only a solitary voice, a few rows below, proudly intones the Himno Nacional Argentino. The Italian anthem resounds, as always, with great passion in the small stadium followed by an applause of encouragement. 
And finally it begins.

The game immediately appears very difficult for the Italian boys. The physicality of the Argentines makes it very difficult to advance the attack but also our solid defence forces the Argentines to look for alternative solutions. They kick very often to make us back off and test our back triangle. From my position I can see very well how the Azzurri seem contracted and at times fearful and this often leads us to making forced and avoidable mistakes. The Argentines score the first two tries very easily, using tactical kicks in both cases.

The public never stops supporting the home players and rejoice at every good tackle. These are matched only by the rumbles when they disagree with the referee’s decisions. Despite being a very competent audience, I must confess that I did not see many refereeing errors during the match. I hear someone above me explaining the rules to his friends with the patience required of those who want to explain the rules of the scrum to a neophyte. I also admire him because I am deeply convinced that referees have no idea what to whistle on these occasions and are often more influenced by the phases of the moon than by their knowledge of the rules. But that's another story. The Argentines did not win easy but they calmly led the score with skilful kicks and by taking advantage of our mistakes. Our points are marked by the kicks of Garbisi and the try of Varney, which I will only get to see tomorrow as it was scored in the farthest corner of the field from my seat. 

I also have the opportunity to see one of my favourite players, Sanchez, up close. And after praising his kicking skills with my friends it seems almost a personal offence to see him miss it. The final score is 16-37 but it was still a good and enjoyable match. The players gave their best but there are several aspects to be polished before we can be competitive at these levels. The team is young, the players are good and it's a pleasure to see Padovani back on the pitch after a long absence. 

The audience applauds the players at the end of the game and I finally see where the lonely voice that was singing the Argentinian anthem came from. The stadium organisation was really good. Safety was never an issue, people were extremely educated, the beer was good and the staff very helpful and nice. A very good experience overall!

I will reflect on the match in the coming days and I will re-watch it more technically but for now I only want to enjoy, between a glass of prosecco and a typical Italian cicchetto, the beautiful city of Treviso.

Written by Elios