“I will never forget my first time in Curva B with my father,” explains street photographer, Gaetano Bastone. “I was 11, my legs were shaking, my voice was struggling to come out, and my heart was beating fast. Napoli were in Serie C and with a last-minute goal, won 1-0. These days, I’m now taking my father to the stadium and, even if many things have changed over the years, the emotions continue to remain the same as the first time.“
It is Friday 29th December and SSC Napoli is playing their last game of 2023 against AC Monza. it will close the curtain on what has been a magical and memorable year, that saw the club lift their third Scudetto and first in 33 years. It feels like only yesterday the streets were painted in blue and cries of ‘Campione’ echoed across the city, but just 7 months on from that historic evening, Napoli find themselves languishing in the table. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is struggling to find the form that lit up Serie A last season, rumours persist about Victor Osimhen and Walter Mazzarri was brought in to replace Rudi Garcia after his nightmare tenure.
Despite this, the Diego Armando Maradona stadium is packed to the rafters as fans look to pay homage to their heroes. Gaetano Bastone takes his usual seat in the Curva B, alongside his father and friends, a broad smile comes across his face, “It has been a great year for Napoli fans. It was important to honour this year in the right way.”
For Gaetano, matchday usually starts 24 hours before when he discusses with his friends what time to meet outside the stadium the next day. “The appointment is approximately 2 hours before the match. Then there is the usual routine: we eat and drink together, some stadium chants to warm up the atmosphere and stadium torches to make everything more colourful. Then everyone lines up following the usual superstitious rituals: entrance to the season ticket holders’ section, entrance door on the left (never on the right) and everyone sitting on the usual seats.”
The stadium is full as the teams enter the arena. Curva A and Curva B are alive. Of course, they are. They bleed blue. The atmosphere is warm despite the cloudy day as Napoli looks to say goodbye to 2023 with victory.
“Unfortunately the new season did not start in the best way,” says Gaetano. “Garcia failed to integrate with the team and failed to enter the hearts of the fans. After his dismissal, there was the great return of Mazzarri, coach of the historic first qualification to the Champions League round of 16 and winner of a League Cup. But it doesn’t seem to have helped much. The team has lost its determination.”
With the chance of retaining the Scudetto looking impossible, fans are looking to Chairman, Aurelio De Laurentiis to invest in the squad and breathe new life into a team that seems hungover on success. The hope for Gaetano is that whoever comes in during the transfer window can resuscitate the group and give them the kiss of life they so desperately need.
The final whistle blows. It ends scoreless and as the teams walk off the pitch, Gaetano and the rest of Curva B stand together saluting their idols one last time in 2023. “I feel sad. Last season everyone feared Napoli, Spalletti’s football was among the most envied in Europe. This year we are struggling both at home and away. The thing that makes me saddest is seeing the team not performing like the fans in the stands. But football is like that, not all seasons can be fantastic. Fortunately, 2023 gave us unforgettable moments of joy that we will carry with us for a long time.”
Thousands begin to exit the Diego Armando Maradona stadium, as the nighttime sky unfolds over Naples. It may not have been the result they craved to get their season back on track, but by God what a year it has been. We sit down with Gaetano to talk about his recollections of 2023, what it means to be a Napoli fan and part of Curva B and what makes the city of Naples so special.
Being born and RAISED in Naples is a privilege.
I was born and raised in the historic centre of the city, I lived and studied here for 24 years, then a small 2-year experience in Milan. It has been about 2 years since I returned home.
Being born and raised in Naples is a privilege. I feel lucky every day to have been born in a city full of ancient history, distinguished people and amazing landscapes. Renato Caccioppoli, Eduardo De Filippo, Luca Giordano, Sophia Loren, Matilde Serao, Antonio De Curtis, Luigi Vanvitelli, Pino Daniele, Massimo Troisi are just some of the names that have made Naples a protagonist in the world.
However, the thing that most distinguishes Neapolitan people from the rest of Italy is the sense of belonging to our land and origins. “Difendo la città” (I defend the city) is the motto we carry with us throughout our lives.
So, the passion of Napoli fans for the city and the jersey is a consequence of this motto. As it was for my grandfather first and my father later, it was automatic for me to become a Napoli fan. And the team reflects the city exactly: it’s easy to become a Napoli fan having been born in this city, with such a passion for football and Maradona. It is overwhelming.
I too could have chosen to support one of these great teams, yet my heart said, Naples.
I still remember my first time with my father at San Paolo stadium, as it was previously known, and it was magic. 16/01/2005, Napoli vs Fermana. After this, I went to the stadium with my father to all the home matches when we were in Serie C and Serie B before finally making it back to Serie A.
It was not easy for a young fan to become a Napoli supporter during those days. Napoli went bankrupt and were sent to Serie C. My schoolmates supported Juventus, Milan, Inter or Roma. Their idols were Alessandro Del Piero, Javier Zanetti, Paolo Maldini and Francesco Totti, all great champions who played in Serie A and their respective national teams.
I too could have chosen to support one of these great teams, yet my heart said, Naples. The passion my father passed on to me led me to have Roberto “El Pampa” Sosa and Emanuele Calaiò as idols. I hold many emotions and sufferings from those years and I think it is thanks to those difficult years that my passion and love for Napoli is so strong. Without them, I would not have fully appreciated our historic 3rd Scudetto victory.
We’re just waiting for that damn chorus to “explode like a bomb.”
The greatest memory I have of sitting in the Curva B for the first time was seeing up close the organisation of cheering and choirs throughout the section. Furthermore, a banner was also displayed to protest against the Italian’s federation actions of those years and I had the honour of being able to hold it with my own hands together with the other fans sitting next to me. It was love at first sight
The legendary “Curva B”, is the most iconic place for a Napoli fan, who anxiously waits to sing and dance with his brothers for Napoli’s jersey. The Curva B is a feeling of belonging to the team and the city, it is present in the words of Nino D’Angelo’s historic Napoli anthem “Quei Ragazzi della Curva B.” It feels like home.
For everyone the week begins on Monday, for Napoli fans, it begins on Sunday with this chorus: “Quando saremo nella curva B, come una bomba noi esploderemo” (When we will be in Curva B, we will explode as a bomb). From these words, I would start to describe the passion and love that every Napoli fan transmits from the seats to the team on the pitch.
We always meet at the same bar, two hours before the match. We joke and we drink together, the guys are excited, the week is about to begin. We talk about the stressful week at work, we make proposals for organising the trip for the next away match. Suddenly, we realise that there are 30 minutes left until the match starts, so we get in line and ready to enter the stadium—the usual seats. The atmosphere is hot. Our week is finally about to begin. We’re just waiting for that damn chorus to “explode like a bomb”.
When you’re in Curva B only one thing matters: making your voice heard from the first to the ninetieth minute, in good times and in bad. Thank God, I’m a Napoli fan. Welcome to Curva B!
I was convinced that it would only remain a story told to me by my father.
Imagine being born in a city that, despite its history, characters and beauties envied by the whole world, is still seen in Italy with a sense of contempt. Then imagine that the football team of this city which you support is a team that saw the light only with Maradona, the best player ever. Now imagine being a fan ready to do anything to see your team triumph in the championship.
Put all these elements together and imagine living in a football season where your team plays the best football in Europe and in the middle of the championship has such an advantage over the second-place team that fans decorate the city in blue for 3 months before the final victory. Then imagine having an annual season ticket, enjoying every match at home without any problems, next to your old friends. It is a unique emotion that I will never forget for the rest of my life.
A 33-year long wait. Honestly, I had given up on the idea of being able to see Napoli win the Scudetto. I was convinced that it would only remain a story told to me by my father. One that I would pass down from generation to generation. But no, when I least expected it, suddenly a historic year arrives. The wait before each match was more and more exciting, each match was a triumph, and each opponent almost seemed to surrender before the power of our football.
I only saw my father cry twice: the first when he emerged unscathed from a serious road accident and the second on 4 May 2023, 33 years after Maradona.
Mr Spalletti was an incredible leader, Osimhen was capable of scoring goals from any position, Kvara and Kim were two unknown phenomena who arrived to change our history forever.
Away games, in Italy and Europe, had a different flavour, every opposing stadium feared us on and off the pitch. And the atmosphere, the likes of which we hadn’t seen for years.
Finding tickets for matches was impossible, so many people wrote to me for help trying to buy a ticket or even buy mine (impossible request). The city experienced a “Renaissance”.
Tourists from all over the world were in the city just to be able to experience a minute of what was one of the most awaited festivals in southern Italy in recent years. And contrary to what many hoped, it was a beautiful, colourful and orderly party.
I only saw my father cry twice: the first when he emerged unscathed from a serious road accident and the second on 4 May 2023, 33 years after Maradona.
The best revenge was seeing all my classmates on the street during the celebrations who, when they were young, preferred to support Juventus, Milan, Inter and Roma were now with their girlfriends in blue shirts.
It was everyone’s victory: the city’s victory for all the beauty it showed to the whole world; the victory of the team that over the years we were seen as the “eternal runner-up” demonstrated that even without a Maradona it is possible to win. It was a victory for the fans, who never stopped believing in it.
With all of our thanks to the gentleman that is Gaetano Bastone.
Follow Gaetano on social media here