In Italy there are seats in the ends (the places behind the goals, that we call curves), because they have to be by the law, but everybody stands.
Joe Hart recently said that the big differences he noticed between english and italian stadiums are that italian stadiums are quite never sold out (on the contrary the english ones are alway full), but the atmosphere here is, as he said, "incredible".
The point - in my opinion- is not if areas are seated or not seated, but if people must respect their assigned places. Here, in the ends (the curves) is tolerated people don't respect the assigned places, you can stay wherever you want. The consequence is that people who want to sing more will stay in the central part of the end and the singing will be more powerful also because directed by the ultras firms. People who want to sit will stay in the side places. The other point is the price. Here the season tickets in the ends cost 200 euros, it means that a game will cost an average of 10,52 euros. A season ticket for a young person 16 years old and under costs 130 euros, an average of 6,84 euros per game. If you have prices that young people can afford, you will have a better atmosphere, because they will sing a lot.
When I watch PL on tv the sensation is that it's more a theatre than a stadium and I can feel a bit of frustration in the audience, as if people are forced to rules that they don't like. Anyway introducing standing areas would be a first step to have the epic english audience that we all remember back.
What was standing at Maine Road like? Sadly before my time.
Oh yes. Singing, humour, vitriol, invective, pathos, dramatic irony, sarcasm. We had the lot.Lots of singing? Lots of humour?
Excellent post. I was on the Curva Nord at Atalanta a few weeks ago and it was rocking for the 90 minutes.
I also went to Bologna vs Fiorentina. The atmosphere wasn't as good there but Bologna were a goal and a man down by halftime that affected the noise levels.
Atalanta Curva Nord is one of the best in Italy. There is a very strong rivalry between them and us, there have been many riots in the past, especially in the 70s and in the 80s, but also a strong mutual respect for both being genuine and passionate. I hope you will also have the opportunity to visit our Curva Maratona someday.
Exactly. Same for me and some of the away games were worse. That's why it will always be a NO from me.Standing at Maine Road was a mixed bag. It was as much about the crowd as the football
You got to be with your mates and could choose which part of the ground you watched. A lot more banter but the atmosphere did vary same as today. When good it seemed more exciting being closely packed and part of the dynamic of a crowd.
The big problem with Maine Road was the shallow terracing that made it hard to see in big crowds, especially on the Kippax. This caused big movements down the terracing when something exciting was happening as people pushed to try and see. Barriers were to limit movement and used by kids to sit on but there was always the risk of being crushed against a barrier.
Anyone used to seating will find it hard to appreciate how dense crowds could be with very little space to move. It could get scary and be dodgy if someone couldnt make the toilet. The dynamic changed as more seating was introduced and capacity reduced. When I started the ground held 65,000 but only full for big matches. Other times the terraces were only packed in pockets with 30,000 attendance so relatively dispersed in other areas. Now, the average gates are higher and everyone has an allocated seat with a good view and space around them rather than the pot luck of pay at the turnstyle days at Maine Road.