The German team’s game against Spain is on the screen, the shop is full, Birra Messina and Grappa are ordered at the bar. What else is there to do on a rainy Sunday evening in a small Sicilian mountain village? A special passion for what is happening in Qatar can hardly be felt and the 800 inhabitants are no different than the almost 60 million Italians in the rest of the country.
The games are followed rather dutifully on the side – after all, it is a World Cup and Italy is a football-loving country. Actually. Because “the World Cup without Italy is like Rome without the Colosseum,” says Francesco Totti, world champion in 2006 and the greatest footballer the Eternal City has ever produced.
Despite this, state television, with more than 100 employees on site, made a big showing for the tournament after the World Cup in Russia was still being broadcast by Berlusconi’s private broadcaster Mediaset. The Rai didn’t have much choice either, having reportedly paid around €160m for the broadcasting rights – in the firm belief that Italy, as reigning European champions, would of course play along. A year ago, at the thrilling EM triumph, the final watched 20.6 million people.
7.6
millions People watched Germany vs Spain game.
But even compared to the World Cup four years ago, when Italy also didn’t qualify, the ratings for the preliminary round games so far have fallen by 20 percent. At least 7.6 million people watched the German team play against Spain. The DFB team is not particularly popular with the Tifosi.
In a survey by “Gazzetta dello Sport”, 35 percent of the participants wanted Argentina and superstar Lionel Messi to win the title, followed at a great distance by record world champions Brazil (6 percent). This also has to do with the fact that numerous players from Serie A are playing for the South American title contenders.
If you can’t root for the Squadra Azzurra, you can at least cheer for your favorite players
It’s a strategy used by the Italians to somehow still find an emotional connection to this controversial tournament. If you can’t root for the Squadra Azzurra, you can at least cheer for your favorite players. Eleven World Cup participants are under contract with record champions Juventus Turin alone, and a total of 65 professionals from Serie A are in action in Qatar.
But all these numbers do not adequately reflect the strange mood in the country. A World Cup without Italy, nobody wants to get used to that, despite the second qualifying accident in a row. “At the World Cup, the world is desperate to find common ground, and occasionally it succeeds. Not being there is a small pain,” said Beppe Severgnini, one of the country’s best-known journalists, describing the Italian dilemma in the “Corriere della Sera”.
Added to this is the fact that the event is held in autumn. In summer, life in Italy takes place almost exclusively outside, bars and restaurants set up their televisions, people discuss, cheer and talk shop. This connecting element is now largely missing, after all, November and December are not exactly the most pleasant months, even in southern Europe.
And the World Cup in Qatar wouldn’t be possible without Italians: Mario Ferri, also known as “the falcon”, comes from Pescara on the Adriatic Sea. He had attracted attention several times in the past with speedster actions and made his big appearance on Monday evening at the Portugal-Uruguay game when he ran across the lawn in a “Superman” T-shirt with messages and a rainbow flag (see commentary on page 34).
He probably made his first known appearance in 2009. In an international match between Italy and the Netherlands, he campaigned for the then Italian striker Antonio Cassano to be included in the squad for the 2010 World Cup – without success. Cassano himself escorted the “hawk” off the pitch and told the official, “He’s a good boy, I vouch for him.”
But of course that’s just a sideshow, with no sporting value for the football-mad people in the country of the European champions. But there is reassuring news from Italy. Well-informed sources assure that the Colosseum still stands in its ancestral place. What are (at least) twelve years without a World Cup for an almost 2000-year-old landmark.
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Source: Tagesspiegel
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
