Nonno Ciccio has been watching Foggia since 1937 (give or take those years he lost to the second world war) and he’s still travelling across Italy to see them play

There is something magical about following your team and one Foggia fan is so addicted to the atmosphere that he continues to follow the club at the tender age of 90, no matter where they play. Nonno Ciccio is something of a cult hero in Italy. He attended his first match in 1937 when a friend convinced him to steal his uncle’s bicycle and pedal 54 kilometres into town to watch the club. Since that day he has been transfixed. Ciccio remains a point of reference in the industrial city, where he shows what loving the club means to several generations of supporters.

During the second world war, he was conscripted to the Italian Blackshirts and sent to fight in North Africa. After a month of heavy fighting, he was captured by the British military, saving himself by waving a British flag as he knew they would “inevitably be over run” by the Allies. He was sent to Scotland as a prisoner of war. “They treated me better there than the Italian government does with my pension checks today,” he says.



His first match back after the conflict was a cup tie against Pescara, but the war had left a mark on him. “It taught me what it means to have and respect life,” he says. His adventures have taken him everywhere, and to him, they define his identity as an ultra. “I am willing to do anything for my team,” he says. “Whatever it takes, I never give up and always find a way to cheer them on.” He has been to nearly every major stadium in Italy, stopping in historic cities and towns along the way. “Football is the way I see my country. If it wasn’t for this passion, I would never have experienced so many incredible places.”

Wherever he goes he carries a banner that reads: “Peace between ultras.” For Ciccio, loving the club is about respecting opponents. “I don’t celebrate when I am away, I admire the other fans and support my Foggia by waving my flag, and let the boys know I am there for them. That is my philosophy.”



This is Grimsby: Thomas Turgoose on his love of the Mariners Read more

In a country where violence is often synonymous with fan culture, Ciccio is a beacon of hope. His perspective and insight, drawn largely from traumatic wartime experiences, remains pertinent today. As Ciccio puts it: “War is a terrible thing! With football, if you can learn to respect your adversary in the stadium, you can learn to do the same in life.”

So long live Nonno Ciccio! He reminds us all that the modern game has much to learn from the past and that supporting your club is not a crime but rather an opportunity to learn important lessons of life.

Follow Copa90 on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter