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Legendary South Tyrolean freedom fighter Andreas Hofer from the Passeier Valley should proudly look down from the sky as he follows football prodigy FC South Tyrol these weeks. Ironically, in football, the national sport of the Italians, rebellious highlanders riot.
Already the first transition to Serie B last summer is a miracle. In a region where otherwise only winter sports enthusiasts make a name for themselves. For example, skiing legend Gustavo Töni, figure skater Carolina Kostner or luger Armin Zeggeler, who won a medal at six Olympic Games in a row.
But now football is being talked about in South Tyrol. The small pretty Drusus stadium in Bozen, named after the Roman general Nero Claudius Drusus, with 5500 seats is always sold out when FC Südtirol plays. The club, founded in 1974, has already turned football into an integration project at the northern tip of the country, with a sensational entry into Serie B. Coach Pierpaolo Bisoli’s team is mixing the league right. And now he is knocking quite loudly on the gates of Serie A.
An emotional Bisoli took charge of the team last August, losing the first three games of the season. Since then, amazing things have happened. In 2023, the team is still invincible and annoys teams from Genoa, Cagliari, Parma or Venice. With the smallest budget in the league, with an unnamed team that has become an accommodating unit in recent years.
And with tactics reminiscent of the times of catenaccio. In the 1960s Argentine coach Helenio Herrera won three league titles with Inter Milan using this defensive strategy. But this defensive bastion was invented by the Austrian Karl Rappan, who also had many successes with the Swiss national team and with the Grasshoppers.
“We follow this football dream of South Tyrol week after week and every time we think that we will wake up soon,” says Otto Schöpf. Schöpf heads the sports department of the Dolomitenzeitung. For him, the symbol of this miracle is Captain Fabian Tate. Tate has been a veteran of South Tyrolean football for many years. The market value of a man who plays the horn in the musical orchestra of Salurn is now in the six figures.
If the sensational move to Serie A succeeds, then many questions arise. You are unlikely to be allowed to play in the small Drusus stadium. But in Bolzano they don’t look that far. The odds from last summer are still hanging in the locker room. There, FC Südtirol is listed as candidate for relegation number 1.
There are still people in South Tyrol who would rather be reunited with Austria or become independent. Now they are just playing with their muscles in football.
Source: Blick
I am David Miller, a highly experienced news reporter and author for 24 Instant News. I specialize in opinion pieces and have written extensively on current events, politics, social issues, and more. My writing has been featured in major publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and BBC News. I strive to be fair-minded while also producing thought-provoking content that encourages readers to engage with the topics I discuss.
