I enjoy calcio (soccer) a lot, and am always excited about going to a partita (game). Yesterday evening it started to rain and all I could think of was being in an open stadio (stadium) where we would get fradici (soaked). When I woke up this morning, the sky was grey, but by lunchtime the sun appeared and I couldn't wait to go to the stadio.
Alessandro's father picked me up at Ponte alle Grazie so that I wouldn't have to ride my bici (bike) in the iffy weather we were having. We had our Sunday lunch together and when Alessandro got home, we walked to the stadio with his friend and his friend's girlfriend.
We arrived at the stadio about ten minutes before the game began, and walked up to the top where our seats were located. They weren't the best seats; however, with my new camera, I was able to take a lot of pictures of the partita.
The wife of the allenatore (coach) for the Fiorentina passed away not long ago and this was the first home game since then. At the entrance to the stadio, there were signs posted that said that we were to keep applauding when the teams arrived on the campo (field) and that we would have a minute of silence before the game was to begin.
Before the minute of silence, the tifosi (fans) in the Curva Fiesole held up three banners that together read, "Il tempo che passa smorzerą il dolore, ma se avrai bisogno di lei alza gli occhi al cielo... la sua stella ti guiderą per sempre e ci porterą lontano. (The time that passes will weaken the pain, but if you need her look up to the sky... her star will always guide you and will lead us far. )" It was so touching that I wanted to cry.
As all the giocatori (players) stood on the campo for the minute of silence, tears came immediately to my eyes. The silence was so powerful that I'm sure I wasn't the only one who felt so sad. I did manage to take a photo, which I included here of the giocatori because it was a powerful moment. I didn't want to rustle in my jacket to get any fazzoletti (tissues), so I had to let the tears fall on my giubbotto (jacket).
Unfortunately, the Fiorentina lost 2-0 against Inter, but it was an exciting game. At the end of the partita, the Fiorentina organized a terzo tempo like what they have in rugby matches. The giocatori of the Fiorentina stood on a purple (the team color) carpet and shook hands with all the giocatori from the other team before they left the campo. I heard afterwards that the Fiorentina team wasn't allowed to do anything different like this and could have been fined by the soccer officials. It was a kind gesture that I hope will be repeated by the other teams in Italy after each partita.
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