Cheap Tickets, Iconic Stadiums and No Ultras… Inside an Italy Home Game

Top-level club football may be put on hold when the international breaks kick in but that doesn’t mean football trips to Italy have to be put on the back burner. How does an evening watching the Azzurri in Rome, Bologna or Milan sound?

Roberto Mancini kicks off his second spell in charge when Italy host Belgium in the first match of the Nations League Group A on Friday at the Stadio Olimpico, before welcoming Turkey to the Stadio Dall’Ara the following Monday. Italy also take on France at San Siro in the November break.

Tickets for the September fixtures are on sale through the FIGC website and are affordable, which is good news for groundhoppers and fans of Italian football looking to tick off a couple of grounds.

Prices for the fixture at the Stadio Olimpico start at €22.50 for adults in the Curva Nord and Curva Sud, where tickets are €15.50 for under-18s.

A seat in the Distinti Nord or Distinti Sud costs €28 for adults, €22.50 for under-18s and €11.50 for under-12s, while tickets in the Tribuna Monte Mario are on the pricier side at €67.50 for adults, €56 for over-65s and €11.50 for under-12s.

Prices for the fixture at the Dall’Ara start at €22.50 for adults, €15.50 for under-18s and €11.50 for under-12s in the Curva San Luca and the Curva Giacomo Bulgarelli.

A seat in the Distinti Centrali or Distinti Laterali costs €45 for adults, €39.50 for over-65s and €11.50 for under-12s, while tickets in the Tribuna Coperta are slightly more expensive at €56 for adults, €45 for over-65s and €11.50 for under-12s.

Tickets for the clash with France at San Siro have yet to be released.

To buy a ticket you have to register your details and then download your digital ticket on your smartphone. As with league fixtures, remember to bring ID with you on matchday.

And this is where the similarities between watching club football and international football in Italy begin and end. Watching the Azzurri is a vastly different experience from taking in a league game, be it in Serie A or all the way down to Serie C.

The most striking difference is the absence of the ultras. Forget about flares, tifo and the near-constant banging of drums that accompany league fixtures.

The reason behind it? What Italians know as campanilismo, the parochial aspect of football. Supporting the national team would involve AC Milan fans cheering on the likes of Nicolo Barella and Alessandro Bastoni from Inter, or Fiorentina ultras wanting Moise Kean to do well, just weeks after he forced a move out of Florence.

From a political standpoint, the national team is also collateral damage in the ultras’ ongoing battle with the authorities. The Azzurri represent Italy the nation, but they also represent the FIGC – one of the sworn enemies of organised fan groups across the country.

Of course, that is not to say that support for the Azzurri isn’t widespread across the peninsula, but watching the national team is a far more family-oriented affair.

There is also the geography. Diego Maradona, ahead of the 1990 World Cup semi-final, famously asked why Neapolitans should be expected to cheer on Italy when the rest of the country often looks down on people from Naples?

And unlike at England internationals, there are no pockets of fans with lower-league and non-league flags. Fans in Italy generally don’t tend to travel far to watch the Azzurri. Even for games at San Siro or the Olimpico.

Italy missing out on the past three World Cups has hardly reignited the fire in many fans who consider their clubs the priority, with the national team a distant second.

Azzurri games have struggled to sell out over the past couple of years, a theme that seems to be continuing this season with tickets still available on general sale for the matches against Belgium and Turkey in the days before.

If the FIGC hoped Mancini’s return might revive public enthusiasm, they will have been left disappointed so far. But the former Manchester City manager won Euro 2020 as boss of his country and he has vowed to land another trophy to go with that triumph.

Time will tell if he can pull it off, but either way, Rome, Bologna and Milan are fantastic cities to watch football in.