The unexpected beauty of Serie A comes from Venice and Cagliari

Back in the days when photographers could take a maximum of 24 photographs and had to pay for non-instant development, they would wait impatiently for the result of a shot considered particularly successful – perhaps because of a particularly important subject or the light emanating from the landscape. The resulting disappointment, upon collecting the prints and discovering that some were blurred, overexposed, or marred by a stray finger between camera and scene, often led photographers to rely instead on shots that were, in theory, secondary yet turned out far better than expected and ended up enhancing that particular photo session.

This is how the eleventh matchday of Serie A unfolded, peppered with own goals, a few technical errors and a certain predictability in the headline fixtures, making the purchase of a professional postcard the preferable option (whilst we’re still on the subject). Inter putting Como under pressure in the opening minutes, Milan securing a win in Genoa despite the scourge of wingers playing on the wrong foot, Juve and Fiorentina facing the same difficulties, and the Rome-based sides still unbeaten – this was exactly what one might have expected on the eve of the round, almost predicting in advance who the key players would be, as well as those who managed to fade into the background and postpone their impact.

All the more so, between Friday and Saturday, two superb pieces of skill in the second-tier fixtures not only determined the respective results – with significant implications for the rest of the season – but also brought ‘Beauty’ back into vogue, understood as a further and extraordinary reason to continue watching (perhaps live, in person) football matches, in times of internal feuds, never-ending candidacies, hesitant sackings and national teams on demand. But it is also for the first reason that these memorable moments come from Venice and Cagliari. A

decisive goal, a last-gasp save that counts just as much. The ‘Serenissimi’ are back in the race for survival by trapping Udinese in trouble, whilst the Sardinians are shining once more and halting the advance of a Frosinone side missing Antonio Raimondo. All this is encapsulated in the no-less-than-remarkable feats of Kike Pérez and Raphael Kofler – the ‘Don Quixote of the Lagoon’ from La Mancha, and the South Tyrolean defender from the island: two players who rarely make the headlines, heroes for just one week because it is from them that the unexpected emerges, the wonder to be recounted in the future. With these images to hand, precisely. 

The air is crisp at the Penzo Stadium in Sant’Elena in the evening, especially when it is drizzling and the loudspeakers play Pino Donaggio’s universally renowned masterpiece, ‘Io che non vivo più di un’ora senza te’. On the pitch, it is a rough-and-tumble battle between the bottom two: a first half lacking in inspiration and action is followed by a second half that breaks the deadlock only to quickly revert to the expected atmosphere of fear. In the 64th minute, during an attacking move, the prodigal son Pasquale Mazzocchi, instead of pushing forward, hesitates and drifts towards the centre, where he is met by the all-round midfielder and technical leader Davide Nicola, twenty-five metres from goal. 

With his right foot, Kike Pérez steps off the bus alone; with his left, he has racked up a string of saves in Serie B. He is the one who sat atop the crossbar on promotion day, the one who rallies the crowd whilst shouldering his responsibilities. He has space, just a couple of strides at most, and the much-discussed Maduka Okoye, the Friulian goalkeeper, isn’t actually that far off his line: Kike from La Mancha unleashes a left-footed rocket – precise and powerful enough – which curves on its way until it dies in the far corner, bulging the net. Ecstasy for number 71 – he couldn’t wear that number at Napoli.

Those responsible for the company’s social media channels then edit and re-edit the content in every conceivable way, slowing the pace to match the rhythm of the Burano maestro’s evergreen hit (eighty million copies sold worldwide). Even 750 km away as the crow flies, the Cagliari v Frosinone match was dominated by Michel Adopo’s thunderbolt – another player unaccustomed to the limelight – but the visitors, buoyed by their league position, pressed hard to earn a draw. In the 78th minute, from a set-piece, a low cross from Luis Hasa was flicked on by Alessandro Sugamele – so many unfamiliar faces on the pitch – to the edge of the six-yard box, where Daniel Bîrligea was waiting.

Massimiliano Alvini’s reserve centre-forward found himself with the ball at his left foot, with just a few metres in front of him and the imposing figure of Elia Caprile: or at least, that’s what he thought as he fired towards a certain goal. Instead, the silhouette of Kofler loomed into view – making his first start after impressive seasons in South Tyrol: the centre-back suddenly shifted from the centre and decisively blocked the Romanian’s shot, which was heading for the back of the net, with his body, thereby securing victory for the Rossoblu and dealing a crushing blow to the Ciociari. They, too, had not seen him coming.