The Sora is in Naples of Excellence

The central-southern Italian football is transforming its nerve-wracking expectations into long triumphal chases. Naples, Frosinone, Catanzaro, Catania: in each category a team took off immediately, never looked back and is now just waiting to cross the finish line, like a fast-paced Olympic marathon runner waiting at the entrance to the stadium for the medal golden.

However, someone has already arrived at their destination and is not stopping running. Sora won the championship of Eccellenza Lazio, obtaining promotion to Serie D. He hit the target with 9 games to go on 5 March in the away game in Gaeta, scoring 85 goals and conceding 16, leading group B 30 points ahead of the latter and with a string of 24 consecutive victories, which became 25 in one week later, when Tor Sapienza was also beaten 2-1 and 26 last Sunday by beating Monte San Biagio 0-3. No team in Eccellenza had ever gone so far: the record of 24 successes in a row belonged to the Calabrian della Villese from 2004/2005.

Sora created a vacuum behind him, they won a championship already in the winter by accepting the risk of making it appear simple. However, ease is not the enemy of the epic, above all if there is nothing casual behind it, but a long-held goal and a tradition to be revived: “I took over the company in 2019, abandoning the position of vice-president and owner of a third of the shares of Juve Stabia. I wanted my own project”, says the lawyer John Palma, owner and president, “I chose Sora because it is an important square with a hunger for football”. In this city of Frusinate with over 25,000 inhabitants, they discovered professionalism for 14 years in Serie C1 and C2 between 1991/1992 and 2004/2005. The subsequent bankruptcies did not affect the feelings of those who fell in love with the “Toro” team Pasquale Luiso and Giuliano Giannichedda. In Gaeta there were over 700 fans present, plus those who waited for the party to return to the city. “In Eccellenza certain scenes are unusual. For us, Covid was a great handicap between closed doors and modified championship formulas. This year, with the return of a direct promotion, we didn’t want to fail”, commented Palma, back from burning eliminations in the playoffs.

The squad was balanced between the need to have both competitive young players (the regulation provides for the presence on the field of three under 21s, one born in 2003 and one from 2004 onwards), and champions of the category such as winger Claudio Corsetti , 19 seasonal goals including the brace from Gaeta, and illustrious masters in the curriculum: “In C I was coached by both Sarri and Sottil. The first was manic, I’m not surprised by his career. This year I chose Sora because at 37, to still feel alive as a footballer, you need warmth and great ambitions”. However, category jumps, however deserved, always presuppose efforts to reflect on, especially among amateurs: “Serie D becomes more demanding, requires greater commitments, for those like me who have a family and travel 200 kilometers a day between home and work , it’s not easy”.

Programming in amateurism is not taken for granted due to the impossibility of stipulating contracts with the players, but having clear ideas helps not to be caught unprepared: “With the president we are already laying the foundations”, explains coach Alessio Ciardi: “We have some needs such as the strengthening of the youth sector. The goal is a year of adjustment to then aim for the leap into professionalism in 3 or 4 years”. A vision supported by Palma: “With the growing interest of fans, local businesses and institutions, we can do it. We have an obligation not to dissipate the enthusiasm that exists”. While waiting for the future, there is still a race to finish. In the viewfinder there are other records, such as the 90 points of Lupa Frascati in the Excellence 2013/2014 (Sora is at 75). There is no shortage of further incentives: “I promised the players that I would take them to the restaurant every 5 consecutive victories, they are ruining me”, comments Ciardi amused. Luckily for the coach’s pockets that at least the Alassio record is further away. The Ligurians won 35 matches between 2015 and 2017 in the Second and First Category. Sora’s roadmap this season can aspire to a maximum of “32”. A great start in D will be needed, not like this year’s, with the defeat on debut in Itri. From there, however, Sora never stopped: amateurs yes, but never in danger.