STADIO CITTA DEL TRICOLORE (Atalanta v Everton)

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP STAGE, ATALANTA 3-0 EVERTON,
ATTENDANCE: 15,000

After overcoming MFK Ružomberok and Hajduk Split in the qualifying rounds, the Europa League draw grouped Everton with Olimpique Lyonnais, Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio and Apollon Limassol. After the fixtures were sorted, the first matchday meant a visit to Italy.

I was very excited at the prospect of a trip to Atalanta BC's grand old Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia in Bergamo but unfortunately UEFA deem the ground unfit for international competitions. Apparently bad sight lines, inadequate facilities and no roof are things to be frowned upon in modern football!

So from a Groundhopper perspective, it was bad news as the game was moved 100km down the road to the Stadio Citta del Tricolore, the home of AC Reggiana and Sassuolo, in the city of Reggio Emilia. The ‘Tricolore’ in the name is a reference to the fact that the Italian flag had its origins in Reggio Emilia in the year 1797.

Looking around the ground you can see that the name MAPEI (a firm who produce adhesives, thinsets and sealants for buildings) is quite prominent. This is the company that sponsor the ground and this arrangement has not been without its controversy. 

The ground was/is the home of AC Reggiana and it was Reggiana's promotion to Serie A in 1993 and the need for a new ground which led to the building of Stadio Citta del Tricolore. The ground was opened in 1995 with a match against Juventus but the debts of the club began to build up and, after relegation to the the third tier of Italian football, the club was dissolved in 2005 but reformed soon afterwards.

Sassuolo had spent most of their history in regional football but investment from MAPEI  ensured a meteoric rise through the leagues. In 2006 the club were in C2 (the lowest level of Italian football) but by 2013 they were in Serie A.

After Reggiana were dissolved in 2005 the ownership of the ground reverted to the Tribunal of Reggio Emilia and in 2013 they held a public auction for the naming rights of the ground and it was MAPEI who won and renamed the ground MAPEI Stadium - Città del Tricolore and also relocated Sassuoulo to the ground. This has upset some Reggiana fans and led to demonstrations s and a fans protest group "Via il Sassuolo da Reggio Emilia".

Anyhow I digress, for tonight though it is Atalanta who are the 'home' team. They are a typical yo-yo team having spent many seasons flitting between Serie A and Serie B. The club are in a period of relative stability having been in Serie A since 2011. The club have returned to European football this season for the first time since 1991 after finishing 6th in table in 2016/17.

 It was a previous foray into European football that Atalanta came to this particular football fans' attention. In 1987 the club qualified for the European Cup Winners Cup but in the first round first leg Welsh side Merthyr Tydfil beat Atalanta 2-1 at Penderryn Park, a result which sent shock waves around Europe. Ultimately though the Italians did win through 3-2 on aggregate after winning the second leg 2-0. 

This was the season after Atalanta had suffered relegation from Serie A and when they went all the way to the semi-final, where they lost to eventual winners Mechelen, they became only the second team from outside a nations top flight to go that far in European competition. The other? Well that was Cardiff City in 1968.

After the excitement of visiting the capital city, and it's array of tourist attractions, and armed with just a few bottles of Peroni, my mate and myself made our way north by train, the journey from Rome to Reggio Emilia taking about 2.5 hours.

After hearing that there will be no alcohol sales near the ground we decided to jump off the train at Bologna, check into our hostel and, after spotting them in the fridge whilst checking in, take advantage of the selection of the bottles on offer (Vecchia Orsa brewery based in Crevalcore if you are interested).

It was a 40 minute trip from Bologna to Reggio Emilia and then a 10 minute walk to Piazza Martiri del 7 luglio where food and beer stalls had been set up. It would have been rude not to. There were plenty of Evertonians in the city after the club managed to secure a hefty allocation of 4,000 tickets but I would estimate only about half that number made the journey over to Italy. There were free buses laid on to take us from the Piazza to the ground, which took about 15 minutes. 

Naturally en-route songs were being sung and the travelling Blues were in a relaxed confident mood, no doubt helped by the beer that had been sunk. That was a good as it got as far as the evening went as once again Everton produced an absolute stinker of a performance.

Atalanta dominated the game from start to finish as Everton barely registered a shot on goal worthy of the name. The 'home side' took the lead after 27 minutes when the Blues failed to deal with a corner and the ball rebounded off Phil Jagielka into the path of Andrea Masiello who prodded home.

Alejandro Gomez (41) doubled the lead with a superb curling strike before Bryan Cristante (44) ran through the Toffees' static defence and placed the ball into the corner to put the hosts 3-0 at the interval. There was a chorus of boos from the travelling contingent of Blues and some tried to leave ground but were told they had to stay to the end and suffer with the rest of us!

It was more of the same in the second half but at least Everton managed to keep Atalanta out, but this was more by luck than judgement with Atalanta hitting the woodwork. There was plenty of fume at the end of the game as Everton's woeful record in Italy continued (Played 4 Lost 4).

I am not one of these supporters who believe their team has a divine right to win all the games they play but, taking away absolutely nothing from Atalanta, there are ways to lose and the way Everton capitulated with barely a whimper was rather worrying. Once again the 90 minutes of football had spoilt an otherwise fantastic trip. The cherry on the cake was losing my hat en-route back to Bologna after the game. Che palle!

Up the Toffees!