The Last Crusade: Italy v England, Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, UEFA Euro Champs Qualifier, Italy, 23 Mar 23

Italy v England

UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifier,

Group C

Diego Armando Maradona Stadium

Naples, Italy

23 Mar 23

The official programme was available as a PDF on the Italian FA website and featured their double header with England and Malta. In the notes they proudly displayed the Azzurri's record against the Three Lions which does not make good reading if you're an England fan. Although the stats read only slightly in Italy's favour, when it comes to the big games the Italians have beaten us in all 5, including the Euro 20 Final, played in Jul 21

The Record

Away: Played 13, Won 2, Lost 6, Drew 5

Home: Played: 11, Won 3, Lost 3, Drew 5

Neutral: Played 6, Won 3, Lost 2, Drew 1

Total: Played: 30, Won 8, Lost 11, Drew 11

The Big Games

Euro 80 (Turin). Group 2: Italy 1 England 0

WC Italia 90 (Bari). Third Place Play Off: Italy 2 England 1

Euro 2012 (Kiev). QF: Italy 0 England 0 (Italy win on pens)

WC Brazil 2014 (Manaus). Group D: Italy 2 England 1

Euro 20 Final (Wembley). Italy 1 England 1(Italy win on pens)

5048 members registered their interest and as predicted the game was well over-subscribed. The capacity for this fixture had been reduced to 48467, with only 2532 tickets allocated to England Fans so a ballot had to be conducted. The magic number of caps to secure a ticket in the first 70% was 20 and with 26 caps in the bag we were on our way, despite the extortionate 41 Euros per ticket; a sharp contrast to the 9.50 we paid the last time we visited Italy only 6 months ago. Though to be fair they did lay on free buses, more later

Phil Foden makes an appearance on the front cover of the 180th edition of the Free Lions. He did after all manage to grab his first England goal against Wales in the Qatar WC and this is the first away trip since them, so more of the same please Phil

The Diego Armando Maradona Stadium is the home of SSC Napoli and has a capacity of 54,726. It is the fourth largest in Italy, behind the San Siro, Stadio Olimpico and Bari's San Nicola. The stadium was recently renovated in 2019 reducing the capacity from 60240 to 54726 but still retains its amazing atmosphere. The stadium was renamed from Stadio San Paulo in 2020 to mark the death of former Napoli hero, Diego Maradona. It's not the first time that England have played in Naples; in fact we have played here twice before: 18 Jun 1980, defeating Spain 2:1 at Euro Italia and 1 Jun 1990 beating Cameroon 3:2 in the WC QF at Italia 90. The Cameroon game was a thrilling encounter which saw three penalties awarded, two for England, both converted by Lineker

Italy 1 England 2

Attendance: 44,536

Harry Kane became England's all-time record goal scorer as England won in Italy for the first time against the Azzuri since 1961. Declan Rice smashed in the opener after 13 minutes before Kane doubled the lead from the spot as Di Lorenzo was penalised for a hand ball after the Serbian Ref consulted with the VAR and was sent to the screen. Harry Kane's strike on 44 mins saw him leapfrog Wayne Rooney to lead the all time scorer board on 54. Throughout the first half England were in complete control but things began to change in the 2nd half as Italy came out with a much higher tempo and began to press with much success. On 57 mins Retegui slotted home after a brilliant reverse pass had split the English defence. The remainder of the game saw England grind out a hard fought victory after Shaw was dismissed on 80 mins for two quick bookings, the first was a ridiculous decision for time wasting and the second was for illegally stopping an Italian counter attack whilst Harry Maguire was on the floor, out of position and needing treatment.

Our 0740 Wizz Air flight from London Gatwick arrives in Naples on time and without any drama

After sharing a minicab to Garibaldi Station we jump into a cab with a local guy from the Spanish Quarter

No 12 Salita Cariati - Spanish Quarter, Naples

The apartment block is on the corner of Salita Cariati and Via Laura Mancini Oliva

After a quick introduction to the appartment, Lina is beginning to fall for my English charm💫

Typical scene in the Spanish Quarter

The mural of a veiled women opposite the maradona mural is in commemoration of the famous sculpture of the 'veiled christ' held in the chapel of Sansevero

The original Maradona mural is located at the top of Emanuele de Deo just a 5 minute walk from our AirBnB. It was painted in 1990 to commemorate his brilliance in helping Napoli win two Serie A titles in 1986-87 and 1989-90.

His face is painted on two window shutters and we are in luck because they are shut!

One of the many shrines to Maradona, who was nicknamed 'D10S', where DIOS means God in Spanish but the I and O are replaced by the number 10 (his shirt number)

3 on a scooter is the only way to travel the

streets of Naples' Spanish Quarter

Heading down Spaccanapoli in the Historical centre even the late Queen has a mural

Streets of Naples

Entering Forcella, a district still controlled by the Camorrah

'San Gennaro' in Forcella is a well known piece of street art depicting the patron saint of Naples by the famous Neapolitan street artist 'Jorit'

Queuing for pizza outside the most famous pizza house in Italy and the world, L'Antica Da Michelle. Although not the oldest, it was founded in 1870 by Salvatore Condurro and is still owned and managed by the same family. It was made internationally famous when it was featured in the Romantic Comedy 'Eat, Pray, Love' starring Julia Roberts

A very basic but traditional menu gives the option of margherita, marinara (margherita without cheese) and cosacca (margherita with sheep's cheese)

The traditional Margherita at 5.50 Euros

Walking back through Forcella we pass another Mural to a hallowed Maradona, with the sun shining over Mt Vesuvius

We take a detour down Via San Gregorio Armeno which is also known as Christmas Alley to see the artisan workshops and nativity scenes. There are also scenes and figurines relating to the 'commedia dell'arte' (comedy of Arts) with the main character being 'Pulcinella', examples of him are seen here sitting on a barrel and playing an instrument

The most famous souvenir is the 'corno' which is short for cornicello and is a twisted horn shaped charm which is believed to ward of evil spirits. It looks a bit like a chilli pepper

Via San Gregorio Armeno

Back on our terrace with a bottle of local plonk

Day 2 'Good Morning Napoli'

The view of Vesuvius is so compelling we decided to climb it, let's go💪

After a torturous misadventure around Garibaldi Train Station we eventually found the correct platform to Pompeii

But is it going to Pompeii or Pompeii Scavi?

After finally hooking up with Charlie Mellor on the correct bus at Pompeii Scava we eventually made our way to Mt Vesuvius to scale the 1280m of volcanic rock

The steep climb was proving a struggle for some💀

But the youngsters carried on to the summit

Vesuvius is still a very active stratovolcano and is well studied as the city of Naples and its 3 million residents are only 12 km away. Let history not repeat itself as in 79 AD it famously destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum. It has erupted 30 times since 79 AD with the most recent being in 1944 which saw 12000 residents of the town of San Sebastiano displaced, the evacuation effort was aided by US troops stationed there at the end of the war.

Charlie finally catches up to enjoy

a well deserved cup of plonk

Two Derby lads at the summit of Mt Vesuvius

After being coerced into joining Mr M for dinner and drinks at his hostel in Pompeii our plans to walk the Napoli seafront have changed slightly, but tiddles is all for it😀

After getting a later train back to Garibaldi we discover this gem of a micro brewery in the Spanish Quarter on Via Sergente Maggiore. There is a reason for everything🍺

Walking the streets to get back home

Victor Osimhen is the new hero of Napoli and the Nigerian striker's masked face is everywhere

But no one comes close to D10S

Day 3 is matchday and although there is no ticket collection it is still the law that the Free Lions must be collected from the Fans Embassy who have a pitch at Piazza Municipio

Opposite is the Castel Nuovo, built in 1279 which was the royal seat of the King's of Naples, Aragon and Spain until 1815

On our walk to the Market Place (Piazza Mercato) we pass an interesting mural. Tommaso Anielo (nicknamed 'Masaniello') was an illiterate fishmonger that led the revolution against the Spanish rulers of Naples in 1647 for their continuous increasing taxation. Charles V gave into Masaniello's few demands but this was just a trick to stop the riots,

Masaniello was later poisoned and then beheaded by assassins in the Church of the Carmine (above) on the Piazza Mercato. He remains a symbol of the people

A little reminder that there is a game tonight

We stumble across a thriving fish market

on Via Cesare Carmignano

Everywhere you go Osimhen is watching you👀

Passing the Shrine to Juventus

and er, Italian bingo

Finally we arrive at the famous Bar Nilo for pre-match drinks of expresso, sambuca and peroni 😉

Sue is upstream

Steve is downstream

The famous Maradona alter which contains a

locket of his hair in a glass cube

Next up is a spot of culture as we visit one of the top tourist sites in Naples, the 'Veiled Christ' at the Capella Sansevero (Sansevero Chapel)

The security in the chapel had a very strict no photo policy which prompted me to buy a postcard from the museum just to show you what it is all about. The masterpiece is a life size marble statue representing Christ dead, and covered in a transparent shroud carved from the same block of marble as the statue. It is considered one of the greatest sculptures of all time and was created by the relatively unknown Neapolitan sculpturer Giuseppe Sanmartino after the original sculpturer commissioned to do the statue died in 1752, a year before Sanmartino created the masterpiece

All that culture makes one hungry, time for

'o'cuoppo di pesce fritt' (bag of fried fish)

On the way to the busses we discover Cafe Del Professore just opposite Castle Nuovo

Me and the professor

These pastries filled with Ricotta (Sfogliatella) are to die for

After hearing bad reports about the buses taking a long 2 hour diversion to the stadium and some manhandling of England fans we decided to make our own way to the stadium. This proved fortuitous because we ended up having the best pizza ever at Alberto's in Fuorigrotta, just a 5 minute walk from Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Entering the stadium from Fuorigrotta we arrive at the entrance to the Distinti stand which is the main stand. Lots of Italian families are out and about and not a hint of trouble

The usual stadium tat

More of the same

England's top boy at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona

Outside the entrance to the Curva A, home to some of Napoli's more active ultra groups (Mastiffs, Vecchi Lions, Teste matte and Brigata Carolina) but thankfully not tonight

After swigging down our last bottle of Peroni it was time to enter the calamity of security checks to get into tonight's game

After successfully negotiating 3 checks (Ticket, ID check and body search) I make it to the ticket scanner but I am temporarily foiled by the machine as my iPhone is not on a high enough brightness setting. Thank God we arrived early as this thing is going to turn to rat shit

15 minutes to KO and we are in our seats

A special mention to England Fan Harry Owen on his away day debut. Harry travelled by a bus organised by an England fan (Paul Dennis) leaving Bari at 1100. The bus did not get to Naples until 1530 after multiple police searches and were then detained at the port and prevented from entering the city, eventually arriving at 1800 for a 2045 KO. A debut away game he is never going to forget

The pre-match light show fizzes around the stadium displaying the names of former Italian legends, including the recently passed away Gianluca Vialli

As light shows go it was quite good

But some of the England fans were less than impressed😁

National Anthems

Early pressure by Italy as we defend the goal closest to us

After weathering some early press England start to put some moves together and on 13 minutes Declan Rice reacts first in a goal mouth scramble to smash in the opener

Curva A to our right

Hello what's this?

With Half Time approaching the Serbian referee has no option but to award the penalty for handball by Di Lorenzo

Up steps Harry Kane for No 54

Harry Kane writes himself into the history books

as England's all time highest goal scorer

In the 2nd Half Italy come out flying and England are put to the test. Italy breakthrough on 56 minutes when their Argentine born striker Retegui scores passed Pickford after receiving a brilliant reverse pass which splits the defence. Despite some terrible refereeing resulting in Luke Shaw's red card England manage to hold on to register a rare win on Italian soil

The first Italian defeat in the European Qualifiers for 41

games and the first home defeat by England since 1961

The players applauding the England faithful. My MoM was Jude Bellingham, thought he was class throughout

A score line I will never tire of seeing

Steve H reporting live from Stadio Diego Armando Maradona

After the game we were held back for over an hour and then the buses took us on the scenic route for an additional one and half hours. The joys of following England away!

On Day 4 we take a taxi to Scampia and Secondigliano, the former crime ridden Northern provinces of Naples made famous in the TV series 'Gomorra', based on the reality of life in the two provinces when it was in the grip of the Camorra

The TV series is centred around an infamous failed

housing project called Scampia di Vele (the sails)

The Vele originally consisted of 7 gigantic buildings, four of which have now been demolished. In the next few years two more are planned to be pulled down, with the last one to be left standing as a reminder to what they once stood for

The clan leader in Scampia was Paulo Di Lauro who had risen through the ranks of the Camorra after murdering Aniello La Monica (clan leader) in 1982. Under Di Lauro the clan moved away from the traditional business (counterfeit goods, fraud, extorsion) and entred the drug industry, importing heroin and cocaine from South and Central America. The net effect was that Scampia became the only wholesale outlet for the sale of Class A drugs across Italy and the vele gradually became degraded. During the mid 2000's there was virtually a murder a day as war broke out between those loyal to Paulo Di Lauro and a break away faction, the Seccessionists

The buildings were designed by Franz Di Salvo and built between 1962-75. There was a housing crisis in Naples and the surrounding area and the architect was commissioned to design housing which would accommodate thousands of people made homeless by the war and the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius in 44. He would create small apartments with communal areas shared between tenants on the same levels. Sadly it never worked out because the clan moved in and the mass housing project gradually gave way to their drug operation. Community areas were converted to gated safe houses incorporating drug factories and selling points. They sold drugs to the tenants, creating a concrete estate full of addicts. The authorities turned their backs on the plight of ordinary people and crime levels in the Sails literally soared.

After our 'Battlefield tour' we head to Luigi's favourite

cafe in Scampia for an expresso

On returning from Scampia it is time for a mellow stroll along the seafront to get us into the mood for ballet. Staring at Piazza del Plebiscito in front of the mighty Chiesa di San Francesco di Paola

Castel dell'Ovo is on the seafront and is the oldest castle in Naples. Originally a Roman fortified villa built in the 1st century BC and by the 5th century AD it had become a monastery. The Normans built the first caste on this site in the 12th century.

Local fishermen supply the many Neapolitan restaurants

Il Balletto Romantico les Sylphides/Napoli (The Romantic Ballet of the Sylphs)/Napoli). The show has two separate ballets. Niether has any real plot just simply about mood and dance. In Les Sylphides the white clad Sylphs (Spirits) dance with the poet, all to the piano music of Chopin. The second ballet is set in Naples with Vesuvuis as a background with a more folk dancing theme at a party, could be a wedding party