Daniel Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 He was the only fan to turn up to their away game the other night. Lone man Best part of the article the local fans took him to their hearts in inspiring fashion, cheering him on as he stood in the cold, and even presenting him a shirt signed by Sampdoria skipper Daniele Gastaldello as a souvenir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCforever1991 Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Legend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I imagine that's what the Wigan fan feels like at home games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Bastard! Beaten to the punchline by mere seconds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coda Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Good to see some netting in front of him should he get any ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 yeah we've all been there... not once but twice during the peace cup me and the better half had the upper tier and 3 stewards to ourselves! its a really strange feeling, cant imagine how amazing it would have been for that guy, i bet he doesnt buy his own drinks at the next away game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 He must surely be the only person to say "I was the only fan to see my team win a game live". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troglodyte Posted December 12, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted December 12, 2012 Reminds me of a story I read not too long ago about a Livorno fan. It's a good little write-up: One Livorno fan's lonely journey across Italy The only away fan in the stadium 28 October ~ Going to an away game in Italy is no easy matter these days. Travelling supporters are invariably viewed with suspicion and assumed to be potential troublemakers. But it's not just that; the logistics of travelling up and down the country can be pretty off-putting too. In Serie B earlier this month Livorno, on the Tuscan coast, played Reggina, on the tip of Italy's toe, looking out over the Strait of Messina to Sicily. One Livorno fan made the 1,000-kilometre journey: 66-year-old Corrado Nastasio. "They didn't want me to go in the away supporters' section because there was only me," Nastasio told La Gazzetta dello Sport afterwards. "I have to thank police inspector Di Liberti because they finally let me in." A Livorno native, Nastasio played for his home town for three seasons in the 1960s before moving to Atalanta and then Cagliari, where he made two appearances during the Sardinian club's title-winning season of 1969-70. A pacy striker and decent crosser of the ball, he won a single cap for the Italy Under-23s in 1969. Nastasio stopped playing in 1977 at the age of 31, when his young son became seriously ill. After working in the Italian lower leagues for a couple of years, he took on a job working in Livorno's docks but never stopped going to watch his local side. His co-dockworkers set up a supporters' club and named it after him, currently some 200-strong. As befits a true Livornese – the city is a proud stronghold of left-wing politics – Nastasio is critical about the attitude of the country's authorities, and the clubs themselves, towards football fans. "I could be wrong, but I'm pretty certain I'm the only former Serie A player who goes to every away game. There were only two of us at Crotone [in Puglia, Italy's heel]. For me, a club without away fans doesn't exist. The passion of being a fan is dying, not just at Livorno. This year, we rarely have more than ten supporters travelling away. But then, on the other hand, a fan doesn't count for anything these days with the clubs; the stadiums are a mess and it's like entering a war zone, you hardly ever see any young kids going to games anymore." Livorno, currently third in the table, lived a little dangerously at times but eventually came away from their trip to Calabria with a 3-1 win. Nastasio watched, all on his own in the middle of Stadio Granillo's away end, with a banner draped over a barrier. The players appreciated it, running over to him at the final whistle. "At the end of the game, the club captain [Andrea] Luci presented me with a shirt and the coach [Davide] Nicola gave me a hug. But now there's only one present I'm asking for from the team: to return to Serie A." Matthew Barker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 What a majestic mane that Udinese fan has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcTheObsession Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 What an absolute legend! Why do they get so few travelling fans in Italy though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 wasnt it snow storms that stopped everyone else from going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcTheObsession Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Having read the article, it just pointed to the fact it was a 'five hour journey' and 'on telly'. Big deal. If that was a Prem. team travelling that distance, say Southampton to Newcastle or vice-versa on a Monday night, there'd be hundreds if not thousands travelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 well Reading took all of about 250 up to Sunderland last night. Still more than 1 obviously, but not a huge amount ( not judging, pretty obvious reasons why so few chose to do that trip last night) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThunderPower_14 Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Brilliant! What a legend. Would love to see the camera panning to the "crowd" after each goal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted December 13, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted December 13, 2012 Having read the article, it just pointed to the fact it was a 'five hour journey' and 'on telly'. Big deal. If that was a Prem. team travelling that distance, say Southampton to Newcastle or vice-versa on a Monday night, there'd be hundreds if not thousands travelling. This. You'd think there would be a few hundred - OK a few dozen, even - diehard fans who'd go to every away game. One minibus, even (see A Season With Verona). Or a few "expat" Udinese fans who happen to live near Sampdoria? Quite amazing. You'll never walk alone, indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 What an absolute legend! Why do they get so few travelling fans in Italy though? money, distance, weather and risk of asshole ultras on the way 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Having read the article, it just pointed to the fact it was a 'five hour journey' and 'on telly'. Big deal. If that was a Prem. team travelling that distance, say Southampton to Newcastle or vice-versa on a Monday night, there'd be hundreds if not thousands travelling. was also an early enough kickoff for a Monday game and Udinese arent really that big of a team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 The reported on this story on Football Weekly. It's a little bit disappointing as it turns out the Udinese was in Genoa on business anyway so he thought he would go to the game just because he had nothing else to do that evening as he was a long way from home on his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Going to football games in Italy is a much more miserable experience than it is here. If you read the article Troglodyte posted you will get a feeling for why people don't go to away games. The stadiums are run down and shit and you are assumed to be an ultra looking for a fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seat68 Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Seen some pretty low turnouts from wigan and blackburn when they visited VP, that said its a little more than 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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