Europeans, Calcio Storico Fiorentino: “‘It’s coming home?’ If Italy wins, the cup goes home “

The chorus “It’s coming home”, sung by the English fans during the matches of the European Championships, should be sung by the Italians tonight because “if Italy wins, the cup ‘will go home’ since the headquarters of the Italian national team is in Coverciano, Florence where football was born in 1490 with the first match played on the frozen Arno “. Michele Pierguidi, president of Calcio Storico Fiorentino and managing director of Popular Traditions, said this to Adnkronos, recalling: “Football was not born in England as a propagandist” and hopes: “We return to origins: The next final will be played in Florence “. Florentine football was born in the second half of the fifteenth century. Widespread among young people, with the passage of time due to problems of public order it began to be practiced especially in the most important squares of the city. It was played by the so-called footballers, mostly noble, “dressed in sumptuous liveries with forwards, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers – says Pierguidi – The goals, called hunts, were as long as the two shorter sides of the field. feet “and to get to score the fateful goal” almost everything was allowed. There were few rules. So few fouls because it was a preparation for the battle that punished only treachery and simulation “. Leave the field? “It was the biggest dishonor: there were no substitutions. The vein was very different. We fought and played for passion, to honor the shirt and our city. A much sportier spirit than in modern times”. Emblematic is the game played on February 17, 1530, which inspired the modern re-enactment of historical football, when the Florentines besieged by the imperial troops of Charles V showed off carelessness by playing ball in Piazza Santa Croce. A day that on 11 September, one year after the suspension of the tournament due to covid, will still be recalled in Florence with Florentine pride when the blues from Santa Croce take to the field in the final against the greens of San Giovanni. (by Roberta Lanzara)