Italy's World Cup party goes on

By John Hand
BBC News, Sicily

It is 14 inches high, made of gold and silver and it means that, for one night at least, Capo d'Orlando has the World Cup in its hands.

Where, you might ask? Since winning football's greatest prize last July - confounding many expectations - Italy has sent the famous trophy on a leisurely tour of some of the country's footballing hotspots, giving the fans the chance to see it at close quarters.

But Capo d'Orlando was hardly an expected stop on that itinerary.

It was look but don't touch for fans like Angelo Curro

The town could fairly be described as a tiny outpost on the north coast of Sicily.

With a resident population of 12,000, it's as if England won the World Cup and then decided to loan it to the Devon town of Westward Ho! for its annual fete.

But, this being Italy, the arrival of the World Cup transformed Capo d'Orlando for the night.

As well as the chance to queue to spend a few precious minutes with the trophy itself, there was an open-air concert in the main piazza featuring some of Italian music's biggest names, carnival rides on every street corner and a fireworks display every hour. And all this for a footballing triumph 10 months ago.

And for those resistant to the charms of the beautiful game - a much smaller minority than in most other countries - the event prompted businesses to mark the special occasion with every shop offering discounts of up to 75% and throwing open their doors to frenzied shoppers all night long.

The story of how the World Cup ended up in Capo d'Orlando is one of more cheek and impudence than a curled free-kick from Francesco Totti.

All of us will remember this moment for the rest of our lives Enzo Sindoni Town mayor

Amid all the excitement in the main piazza, the town's mayor Enzo Sindoni was the best man to explain. Dressed far more stylishly casual than you would expect from any politician, he recalled that the town was initially asked to host an Italian youth football tournament.

But, unlike almost everywhere else in Italy, football is not a semi-religion in this town. With a basketball team riding high in Italy's top division and volleyball running a close second among local obsessions, the interest in a football tournament was not as fervent as the Italian FA might have hoped.

But Signor Sindoni had an idea. "I told the Federation that if they gave us the World Cup for one night, we could give them the people. It took a bit of talking and persuasion but they agreed.

The sought-after prize - for players and fans alike

"When we heard we decided to make it a festival - La Notte Del Mondiale (the night of the world).

"It is an historic night for our small town. We have a big opportunity to see the Cup and it is a good chance for a small town to show itself."

He waved at a passing boy and added: "This child is only seven or eight. But when he is 70 or 80, he will say 'one day I was with the World Cup'. All of us will remember this moment for the rest of our lives."

Over in the queue outside the town's main municipal building, there were people of all ages waiting to see the trophy that Fabio Cannavaro lifted in July in Berlin

Once at the front of the queue they were ushered past the trophy which is mounted in a glass case and guarded by three security officers.

In the queue, there was noisy chatter but as the fans walked past the trophy there was the kind of reverence you might expect at a lying-in-state of a major world figure.

I don't like football much but I was not going to miss a chance to see the World Cup Renata Giambo Local resident

When you are afforded a brief glimpse at the World Cup - glistening in gold and green - you remember a famous fact about it. The names of the winners are engraved on the bottom so cannot be seen when the trophy is standing upright.

The fact that none of the winning Azzurri stars were here did not diminish the excitement - the trophy is a glamorous enough attraction.

Angelo Curro, 14, nominated by his friends as the biggest football fan among them, said: "It was very emotional for me. Even to look at it through the glass was very special. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Renata Giambo, 16, added: "It is a very big night for this town. I don't like football much but I was not going to miss a chance to see the World Cup."

Italy's World Cup win last summer came against a backdrop of problems in Italy's domestic league which saw five major clubs implicated in a match-rigging scandal and given punitive punishments.

The most severe penalty saw Juventus - who supplied several players to Italy's World Cup squad - stripped of their two previous league titles and relegated to Italy's Serie B.

Italy is a country which has many problems but we have a really big heart - you can see that in the people who have come here tonight Ettore Natale Juventus fan

And, even since the World Cup win, Italian football has had to cope with the cancellation of all matches for a week and subsequent matches played in empty stadiums following violence among fans which led to the death of a policeman in February.

So Italy's fervent football fans are happy to cling to their golden memories of the World Cup Final win on penalties over France.

Although fortunes have lifted with the majestic progress of AC Milan to the Champions League final and the manner in which they made Manchester United look ordinary.

Ettore Natale, a 34-year-old marketing expert who has remained a loyal Juventus fan during the recent problems, was among those in the queue at Capo d'Orlando who was savouring that World Cup memory.

He said: "The World Cup is a really important symbol for the Italian people after the problems we have had.

"Italy is a country which has many problems but we have a really big heart - you can see that in the people who have come here tonight.

"I feel great pride that we are the first in the world. When you see it [the trophy] on TV, it is not so real. It is only in this moment, I can really believe that we won and beat the world last summer."