The Cult of Calcio
Nowadays, it is hard to believe that the Roma and Napoli supporters once used to be friends. In the last 40 years, the relationship between the two clubs’ fan bases has been tense, to say the least.
Indeed, the Derby del Sole is now considered a match at risk of clashes between the two supporter groups, whose encounters have at times had a tragic outcome.
That was not the case in the 1970s and early 1980s, though. Back in those days, the Giallorossi and the Partenopei fan bases were linked by an official gemellaggio, a “twinning” between their main ultra groups — one so strong that it was re-cemented every time the two sides met via a solemn flag-exchange ritual.
Before each…
