Sporting failure of Spal: the pain of Ferrara and its fans

Spal is not a team like the others. The players who have passed through Ferrara and then continued their careers elsewhere know this well, and those who wore the white and blue jersey last season have noticed it. The news of Spal's sporting failure leaves an indelible mark especially on those who love it from the bottom of their hearts like Mirco Antenucci, who published a heartbreaking post on Instagram: "Ferrara is a wonderful city that I immediately felt was mine and that has become home. Almost 10 years have passed since my arrival and in my first three years something extraordinary had been built not only from a sporting point of view and in terms of results but above all emotionally, in terms of belonging, people, planning and values. Those values ​​that in the last two days have been swept away without shame. The last few years have been hard, with things done without a logical sense, without a real plan.

And I'll stop here. Our city doesn't deserve this sporting tragedy and not only that, because so many people who worked for us every day (I think of Eleonora and Cinzia from the boarding school, the warehouse workers Marco and Tommy, the guys who work at the office, the gardener Alessandro, the drivers Claudio and Giorgione, the physios Daniele, Piero and Marcello, all our wonderful youth sector and their technicians and managers and I could name many others) what will they do now? Left like this in the most total abyss, without answers. I think of our fans and the sacrifices they make to follow their favorite team just for passion, of the whole city that loses a heritage too important like professionalism.

All this leaves me with a great pain, really too great. I don't know what will happen now, but I can tell you that I will always be here. In any category, for this shirt, because Spal is us! We will have to get back up, but we will do it. As we have always done, I am convinced of it". He does not give discounts to the ownership Juan Molina, the hero of the playouts who dreamed of being redeemed in the coming weeks and becoming a full-fledged Spal player: "Today football is crying, an entire city is crying - his post reads -. The reason? Always the same: people who besmirch this beautiful sport, people without feelings, without passion, without love. I am so sorry, Spal fans. May the love for Spal never die".

Francesco Baldini had another year of contact and hoped for a confirmation on the bench that will never come: "They ask me if in failure there is still room for respect. My answer is yes. Always. For a city. For a fan base. For those who work behind the scenes, every day, away from the spotlight. Ferrara deserves it. I don't feel anger. I feel bitterness. For how it ended. For the silence. For the words never said. For those who, despite knowing, continued to reassure. Until the end. I don't judge. But I can't remain silent. I thank those who showed integrity until the end. And above all I thank you, fans. Spal will return, because Ferrara has heart. And those who have memory, sooner or later, recognize the value of people".

But many former players also reserved a thought for Spal in the saddest moment, starting with playmakers Federico Viviani and Salvatore Esposito. "What a blow to the heart, an inexplicable pain - Viviani assures -. A piece of news that I never ever expected to receive. My thoughts and my warmest hug go to all the fans and especially to the people who, working in the shadows, have always made Spal great, because without you nothing would have been possible in all these years at the highest levels of Italian football. You deserve much more, you will all rejoice together again and I with you". Esposito instead remembers his Spal like this, sending a message to the fans: "There are no words: you deserve the highest stages, instead I find myself reading about this unworthy and shameful epilogue for your history. Unfortunately, a character has decided to play with an entire city, bringing it to the abyss: you will return to where you deserve, 'pig' Spal".

Stefano Manfredini