Ciao! This was the second game of a four game, four day trip to Italy. Today I headed across country to the city of Ferrara, famous for it's renaissance architecture, as SPAL welcomed Arezzo to the Stadio Paolo Mazza.
Unfortunately the game was an insipid goalless draw in which neither side looked capable of breaking the deadlock. Even when Arezzo were reduced to 10 men on 56 minutes, Lorenzo Masetti recieving a second yellow card, I Biancazzurri could not make their man advantage count.
Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor (which is Latin for Sports Club Society of Art and Work) were originally founded in 1907 and have spent the majority of their history in the lower divisions. The most successful period in the clubs history was between 1951 and 1968 when the club played in the top flight for all bar one of these seasons. They achieved their highest ever finish (5th in 1960) and reached the Coppa Italia final in 1962 (losing to Napoli in the final, this after thrashing Juventus 4-1 in the semi-final). Fabio Cappello began his career at SPAL, playing 49 games between 1964 and 1967 before moving to Roma.
The club went bankrupt and reformed twice in modern times, in both 2005 and 2012. The second time it occurred the club were demoted to Serie D and they were eventually saved in 2013 when the Colombarini family, who had been funding AC Giacomense, became main shareholders. They changed the name Giacomense to SPAL and moved the club to Ferrara. Lifelong SPAL supporter Walter Mattioli was installed as club president and the club rose from Serie D back to Serie A. The club lasted four seasons in the top flight before suffering relegation to Serie B in 2020 and then to Serie C in 2023.
The home ground of SPAL is the Stadio Paolo Mazza, which was opened in September 1928 as Stadio Comunale and has undergone numerous redevelopments over the years. In February 1982 it was renamed in honour of former club president Paolo Mazza, who had died two months previously. A neat and tidy ground, it put me in mind of a mini- Hillsborough.
The stadium is a straightforward 10 minute walk from the train station and about a 15 minute from the city centre so, as like last night in Torino, there was plenty of time for a wee nightcap, and yet more pizza, before retiring for the night.
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