I had been waiting for today's partita (soccer match) for weeks. I'd look at the tickets every few days and count the days until the big day. I heard on the radio this morning that the partita was sold out and that there would be 40,000 tifosi (soccer fans) attending Fiorentina's first home partita against Barcelona. It was a partita amichevole (friendly match), but I couldn't wait to see all the new giocatori (players) like Gilardino, Jovetic, and Melo, and some of the old ones like Frey, Pazzini, Mutu, and Donadel.
We met up with Alessandro's friend Filippo in Piazza Beccaria to walk to the stadio (stadium). We knew that taking a car or a bicicletta (bike) would be crazy, but it wasn't until we walked over the passerella (footbridge) of the Campo di Marte stazione (train station) that I realized how many 40,000 people were.
People, many of which had something viola (purple) on, walked in the street and sidewalks toward the stadio. No cars, motorini (scooters), or biciclette were moving near the stadio as everyone was on foot and it would've been impossible to get around them all.
We waited in a long line of people anxious to get into the stadio and put our ticket in the bar code reader to get to the tribuna (stands). I was happy when I saw our seats in the third fila (row) and next to the scale (stairs). The steep scale without railing always frightens me when we have seats up higher because I always have to hang on to someone to walk up and not look back.
We sat down in our seats and watched some of the giocatori warm up on the campo (field). It was exciting to see the new squadra (team). I admit that it was also cool to see Barcelona's most important giocatore, Messi.
I particularly enjoyed listening to and watching the two ragazzini (little boys) with Pazzini magliette (jerseys) on discuss the match. They cheered loudly when the Fiorentina played well and then yelled at the arbitro (referee) anytime a call wasn't positive for our team. When the tifosi in the Curva Fiesole (the curve of the stadium toward Fiesole where some of the biggest tifosi are) began chanting and jumping up and down, the two ragazzini joined in. When Pazzini scored the only gol (goal), they shrieked with joy.
I was disappointed that the Fiorentina lost, but it's only the beginning of the season for the new squadra. They seemed more energized than last year even though it wasn't the same without Ujfalusi out on the campo.
Now I'm looking forward to the first partita of the season that takes place at the end of August against Juventus, which is the Fiorentina's main rival. It'll be one of the most exciting partite of year for the Fiorentina.
Share your comments for this blog post on the Living in Florence's Facebook page. Grazie!