BRERA CALCIO (Arena Civica Gianni Brera)

FENIX TROPHY GROUP STAGE, BRERA CALCIO 1-3 FC UNITED of MANCHESTER, ATTENDANCE: c500

Let the Fenix fly!

Our final match of our short break, and what was the starting point for this whole trip being undertaken, was the Fenix Trophy Group game between Brera Calcio.

The Milan club were the brains behind the competition, established to promote the "experience of cultural exchange" between 8 non-professional clubs chosen for their "exceptional social, historical and cultural distinctiveness". My mate who was us jokingly (I think) remarked "What about Chester FC then?"

Anyway, the 8 clubs contesting the trophy are from 7 countries and split into two groups of four. Group A consists of HFC Falke (from Hamburg in Germany) AS Lodigiani Calcio 1972 (Rome, Italy) Cuenca-Mestallistes 1925 (Valencia, Spain) and Prague Raptors FC (Prague, Czech Republic).

Group B consists of Brera (from Milan in Italy) FC United of Manchester (Manchester, UK) AFC DWS (Amsterdam, Netherlands) and AKS Zly (Warsaw, Poland).

Tonight's game concerned group B leaders FC United against Brera Calcio. A win would ensure the Mancunians would top the group and play in the final in Rimini in June.

Brera Football Club was founded in 2000, with the club's first ever coach being Italian goalkeeping legend Walter Zenga. After relegation from Serie D the club have spent the last couple of decades flitting between the tiers of non-league football. They are currently at level 7 in Italian football. It is where they play their home games though that is the most interesting aspect.

There are not many grounds you can go to where you actually get a historic feel for the place, but the Arena Civica is definitely one of those places. How many grounds still in use have a direct connection to Napoleon? 

In the shadow of Castello Sforzesco, the Arena Civica was built at the request of the aforementioned Napoleon Bonaparte, who declared the city needed a venue to celebrate and showcase its wealth. Originally named Arena del Foro Bonaparte, it was inaugurated in 1807. 

Built by Luigi Canonica, it was used for chariot racing and it's design also allowed it to be flooded with water from nearby canals in order to stage mock sea battles. It became the Arena Civica in 1870 after passing to the Milanese municipality.

Both Milan clubs used the Arena Civica for homes games in their early years, but Inter played here permanently between 1930 and 1947, where they won the Scudetti in 1937/38 and 1939/40. Afterwards both clubs eventually made the San Siro their home, which was built by AC in 1935, after ownership of that stadium also passed to the municipality. 

The combination of war damage and growing attendances forcing the hand of I Nerazzurri into moving to the San Siro. The San Siro is officially named after Giuseppe Meazza, who played for both clubs but is considered an Inter legend as player and coach. He scored 240 goals for Inter, most coming at the Civica. 

Inter continued to play sporadically at the Civica after 1947 and played their last game at the Arena in 1958, beating Lyon 7-0 in the Inter Cities Fairs Cup. In 2002 the Arena was dedicated to the memory of Gianni Brera, journalist, and writer, who died ten years earlier. Brera Calcio have played here since their formation.

Despite the history of the stadium, I have to confess that the view for spectators of the match was quite poor and I, like the other fans in attendance, was well away from the action. Though, as it turned out, there was not a lot of action to see. A largely forgettable match, the second half being especially drab, was won by United to put them within one point of the Fenix Trophy final.

The game was a tale of three penalties. Paola Catalidi (18) gave the homesters the lead from the spot, after a handball, before running the length of the pitch to give it the big one in front of the United fans. They weren't in the lead for long as Charlie Ennis (21) equalised for United, also from penalty spot, after a trip in the box.

United went into the break leading thanks to a strike from Ali Waddecar (34) and wrapped the game up in the in 89th minute with another penalty, tucked home by Regan Linney.

That concluded our brief Italian tour, it was great to be on a football trip once again. Just a shame it couldn't be for a little bit longer. Hopefully next time...

Thanks to Markus, James, Barney and Jim for use of the photographs.