Over the years, I tried a bit of everything to enjoy the beautiful game during this day: faking fever to stay in bed, getting everyone drunk, hiding the phone in the bread bucket. I really racked my brain, but for how hard I tried over the years, somehow my mom always managed to defy all the attempts. Until last December. Oh yes, last December was different. This time I had a plan.

Boxing Day

Boxing day is not a day for Football. This is exactly what my mom has been telling (or yelling) me since I started chasing a ball (on this and every other festive day).

And fair enough one could say, because Boxing Day in Italy means family gatherings, never-ending lunches, falling asleep on the couch at 4pm while your uncle is drinking the 34th glass of wine.

And don’t you dare turning on the tv on the football channel. Oh boy, getting grounded has never been easier.

Monday, December 26th, 9 o’clock. The fog covers almost completely the desolated Veneto countryside. It’s cold, like don’t-feel-my-feet kind of cold, but I’m happy. I’m waiting my four friends to pick me up outside my house. We’re headed to Venice. Why?

Venezia is facing Parma at home, and we got the tickets for the game. We’ll take the train, cross the lagoon and get to the magical floating city. We have a precise schedule because we’re going for a Bacaro Tour first.

A Bacaro is a typical Venetian bar, usually small, where people can eat what’s known as ‘cicchetti’ –small bites, similar to finger food, of the traditional Venetian cuisine – accompanied by wine or spritz.

Walking around

Just imagine yourself sitting around an old barrel next to the canals, a ‘cicchetto’ of slowly cooked cod and creamy mozzarella in one hand, and glass of a prestigious sparkling wine in the other.

Not bad ah? Now take this image and multiply it for 5, 10, 15. That’s a Bacaro Tour.

Since there are many of these bars in Venice, hundreds probably, doing a tour of them has soon become a thing. It’s a way to visit the city while enjoying the perks it has to offer. Now back to us.

Along the Bacaro Tour, which has the Stadium as its final destination, we’ll do a quick stop at the Venezia store for some merch, and then we’re finally ready to enjoy the beautiful game.

Am I forgetting something? Oh right.

Where’s my mom in all of this? She’s happily enjoying a two-day holidays in the mountains, nicely gifted by myself.

A Bit of Info

Everyone knows Venice. Destination of millions of tourists every year, the city is a maze of narrow streets and canals, stunning views, art and good food. It looks like an enchanted place.

But what most of the people don’t know, is that it also has a historical football club. A club that has gained the spotlight in the recent years, especially thanks to their marketing initiatives, with beautifully crafted jerseys which always sold out in a matter of days.

Founded in 1907 as ‘Venezia Foot Ball Club’, the club’s first matches were played against ordinary teams of the region like Padova, Verona, and Vicenza, but also against crews of the ships arriving at the port of Venice.

Yeah, you read it right: talented sailors with 5-star skills were coming down the ships to face the back-then arancioneroverdi (orange-black-green) Lions.

It is only after merging with Venetian mainland club AC Mestre in 1987, that Venice FC colorus changed the present-day arancioneroverde (orange-black-green). And it’s also in these colours that the club has seen some great players and managers proudly represent Venice: Álvaro Recoba, Luciano Spalletti, Cesare Prandelli and Pippo Inzaghi.

Not the average names, right?

Surrounded by all this heritage and beauty, you can see for yourself that the club has something magic and can not be an anonymous one.

And coherent with this sensation of magic, Venice FC has the second-oldest football stadium in Italy, and it’s one-of-a-kind of course:

Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo. Our destination.

Loaded with cicchetti and spritz in our bellies, and wearing 30€ Venezia scarves, me and my friends headed over the island of Sant’Elena, where the stadium is located.

Soon we found ourselves surrounded by the club’s supporters, waving flags and singing out-loud songs that are better not to repeat. The atmosphere was getting more and more unreal as we approached the stadium, since it seems like you’re accessing a floatable platform.

This thing is literally on the water. Magic.

But what was expecting us beyond the gates was even more magical: a perfectly curated pitch, the smell of wet grass filling in the stands, the home supporters chanting, and the ships’ masts right behind them.

Just the time to get ourselves a big beer and find the seats among the, the game began.

Venezia was wearing their home kit: an elegant total black combo, with fine details like orange-green lines along the sides and sleeves, a golden lion on the heart, and the gold inscription ‘Città di Venezia’ on the chest as the cherry on top.

The home team was off to a good start, creating different chances without capitalising them.

The Match

On the other hand, Parma had a really good season until that moment, fighting for the first place and a promotion to Serie A, and counting on players like the legendary Gigi Buffon and El Mudo Vázquez.

And it is exactly him who puts Parma in the lead right before the end of the first half.

Penalty. Smart shot in the middle. 0-1 Parma right in front of the home stand. They were furious, but they knew they had to keep supporting their lions.

The second half didn’t start differently. After some good actions from both sides, we attended another lecture from professor Vázquez: gets past one, past another, waits for the keeper to go down, and gently lobs the ball into the net.

0-2 Parma. Game, set and match?

Oh no, no, no, no. We told you, there’s something magic going on here. And we witnessed it ourselves.

The Arancioneroverde players, pushed by the continuous support of their fans, didn’t give up. And they started playing again, building from the back, running on every ball, and creating chances.

Between minute 70’ and 82’ they scored two goals, equalising the result. And they didn’t want to stop there.

They kept pushing, with supporters backing each of their actions with screams and chants. Not a single inch of the pitch was being left untouched. They were giving it all.

And there you have it: Cuisance receives the ball on the right-end side, aims at the opponent, gets past him and boom!

The stadium lighted up. “Penalty”, “referee", "it’s a clear penalty!”, “wear some glasses ref or go home!”.

But nothing, the referee decided the tackle was fair. No penalty. 2-2 and final whistle.

Wow. What a game we witnessed, in what a place.

Simply put, magic.

This was our Day Out in Venezia.

Venice: we’ll be back soon.

And mom: sorry for missing the traditional Boxing Day, but I love this beautiful game!

Day Out: Venice

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