Salernitana: Spaces — Terrace Edition

Words: Hugo Greenhalgh

Images: Hugo Greenhalgh

Shot on film.

Campanian sunsets are like no other. A burning red to orange that fades into a soft blue. It evokes the eruption of the region’s infamous landmark Mount Vesuvius, which subsumed the ancient city of Pompeii in 79 AD, as well as the enchanting seas that surround the Amalfi Coast.

The Stadio Arechi is a good place to watch a sunset. Lately, it’s not been such a good place to watch football. Prior to an August season opener in the Coppa Italia against Spezia, Salernitana had not won in 23 games. The club were relegated from Serie A last season and have already had five different managers this year.

Salerno is Campania’s second city, after Napoli, and its Stadio Arechi sits on the edge of town. Unlike its larger counterpart, football isn’t written into the urban fabric of every street corner here.

Approaching from the centre though, the signs of the club slowly start to emerge: a mural for the different incarnations of the seahorse badge over the years, a train underpass of graffiti, the roadside Pizzeria Salernitana where fans pull up on their Vespas for a pre-match snack and a catch-up.

©Hugo Greenhalgh/ Terrace Edition. Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 vs Spezia Calcio

While Napoli had nearly sold out the San Paolo for their weekend cup tie against Modena, a Monday night at Salernitana proved a more modest affair. Just under 7,000 people were dotted between the main stand, and the more tightly-packed Curva Sud, home to the local ultras.

The Arechi is an attractive and suitably Italian concrete stadium. Despite its immediate surroundings of vast car parks, the landscape beyond is beautiful. Once into the stadium, you can clamber up numerous stairs to the upper tier to watch the sunset over the nearby hills, as the two sides came out to warm up.

Spezia, dressed in an all-white kit, clearly smelt a wounded animal and took a quickfire 2-0 lead just before half-time. Salernitana hit one back after the break, but the away side are then awarded another by VAR to make it 1-3.

Even though it’s a night match, the conditions are so balmy that the sides stop for a drinks break. Salernitana’s ultras take particular issue with Senegalese striker Boulaye Dia. Dia was part of the club’s relegation side and grabbed headlines for the wrong reasons when he refused to come off the bench during the final 10 minutes of a league match against Udinese.

Hugo Greenhalgh. Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 vs Spezia Calcio

The club filed a complaint against him, which Dia disputed, while other clubs began courting his services. All this has created a tense atmosphere between the fans and their player.

When Dia steps up to take a penalty in the second half, it’s too much to bear. Gesticulations and boos ring out from the Curva Sud. This is not soothed when Dia buries the penalty and points to the back of his shirt.

The home side manage to grab a late equaliser, taking the game straight to penalties. The thought of Dia taking another is too much for many of the ultras, who turn their back on him, refusing to acknowledge his penalty.

A week later, he’d signed for Lazio. Salernitana win it 5-4 on penalties, and whether this finally counts as a win on the stats column is one for the purists to debate.