Cervia are running away with the title in their regional group of the Eccellenza, Italy's sixth division.
I'll give you 30 seconds to absorb that piece of news.
Breathe deeply. Do not let this get to your head or upset your composure.
Now, let's get back to business. Who are exactly Cervia, and why is everyone talking about them? Well, not everyone, but we'll get there later.
First of all, Cervia are the local team of the namesake town located on the Adriatic Riviera, a few miles south of Ravenna and north of Rimini, one hour's drive east of Bologna.
It's often mentioned in the same breath as its twin Milano Marittima - I myself can't remember which one is further north and which one's further down along the coast - and the area is one of the preferred destinations of many tourists in the summer, for its beaches, pine woods, restaurants and discos.
One of the latter, 'Pineta', is a good spot for celebrity watching, if you're into this - in that case, get a life - and especially into learning what many Serie A stars are up to in their ample spare time, Christian Vieri in particular being a frequent visitor in the offseason.
Cervia - the football club - used to be watched at the local stadium - in Milano Marittima, as if to add to the confusion - by the proverbial man and his dog, if dogs could actually be bothered to leave the breezy beach and the grassy comforts of the pine trees, with their obvious attractions to canines.
Everything changed last year, when Mediaset, the TV empire owned by a certain Mr Berlusconi, decided in their infinite wisdom that the Italian viewers needed ANOTHER reality show, an oxymoron which nevertheless seems to have caught on almost everywhere.
The almighty planners at Mediaset and the relevant production company knew Italians - a good chunk of them anyway, not that the picture would be better abroad - love silly TV shows and are fanatical about football, put two and two together and the idea was hatched to hijack...sorry, to approach a lower division football club and turn it into a lab, or workshop, or nursery or Big Brother house... choose your own word, once the concept will be clear.
Cervia were chosen among a plethora of candidates, and the plan was as follows: the squad would be selected among the thousands of candidates who'd filled in their applications, the team would be coached by 1982 World Cup great Francesco Graziani and viewers would be able to vote for their favourite player and 'help' Graziani determine each week's starting XI. Players would be followed by cameras at all times and the Big Brother metaphor would be complete.
Of course, a big difference to the above show is that Cervia players must actually have some kind of ability in order to succeed, not just utter nonsense or expose themselves or act like lunatics like their house-bound counterparts usually do, but the principle is the same: do what you'd do anyway, but remember there's a camera trained on you (almost) all the time so behave. Or, on second thoughts, don't, which makes for better TV.
Graziani and former Cervia coach, now sporting director, Giancarlo Magrini went through the selection process in the summer, although it is reasonable to believe a tie-breaker when two footballers were equal in skills had little to do with football, and you can bet your iPod the more photogenic one was chosen.
The whole show goes under the name of 'Campioni', which brings up an interesting side story. In normal speak, 'campione' does not mean 'someone who wins a championship' but usually defines an oustanding player. 'E' un campione' you might say of someone who stands out from the crowd.
This is perhaps why Claudio Ranieri, while at Chelsea, often and slightly mistakenly used the word 'champions' when mentioning some of his players, who were anything but as far as winning a championship with the Blues were concerned. But let's not digress.
Cervia players were to be housed in a huge, refurbished building in town, which had of course been fitted with cameras, and I cringed when during the first live show of the year - how low can I stoop in order to get information? - the presenter, Ilaria D'Amico, an attractive brunette who obviously does not know the meaning of 'overexposure' but as opposed to other women you see on football shows HAS a clue about the game, introduced a few, good-looking female 'assistants' who would look after the players' well-being during the season.
The system had a few quirks, for the sake of 'better' television: three players in the starting XI would be selected each week by viewers, and some of those discarded by Graziani and Magrini could be 'saved' in the same way. Which all caters to the majority of Italians' belief that they always know better than the coach, hence the cliche of 'nation of 56 million national team managers' which is often mentioned here.
The ultimate prize for the best - or best liked - players would be a trial with Juventus, Milan or Inter next summer, a pipe dream for most Italian footballers now, but along the way there have been some humps, as a series of modifications were added when Mediaset found out the show was not getting the viewership they'd hoped for: their formula might have been right in theory, but real football enthusiast seemed to have little time for a bunch of glorified amateurs, and there were appareently not enough tabloid-like stories to feed those who would follow proceedings as those of a regular reality show.
Diego Maradona's son was added to the squad midway through the season in an obvious attempt to stir things up, but the team barely needed him, as they have been at or near the top all season.
As long as the whole thing was about football, though, there could be no objections. They trained hard, went through some cruel pastings by Graziani, whose celebrity status has increased owing in part to his colourful, heavily accented language and his habit of wearing red-rimmed spectacles framed by his shiny pate, felt the envy of opposing players who obviously resented their popularity.
There was also the sneaking suspicion - how could there not be any? - that the power of Mediaset and the huge sponsors they'd signed up would make referees lean towards them, but so far accusations have proved pointless and no one can say the balance of the regional Eccellenza group has been altered.
Cervia can play, at least at this level, and some respect must be given to the players who, again, are actually doing something for a living instead of just striking poses in front of the camera or smoking their time away.
What has been grating, about the whole affair, is - you've guessed it - the constant hype which has surrounded the team, and has managed to put off more than one viewer.
One is free to believe that some Milan, Juve and Inter stars who where wheeled out in front of the cameras to state their interest in Cervia's results or, in the case of Inter coach Roberto Mancini say that their live matches at 11am each Sunday are a favourite way of killing time before the Nerazzurri games, are genuine. But sometimes the sight of other luminaries seriously analysing the prospects of the teams while keeping a straight face is surreal, as it is still - once you remove the bright lights and the hype - a lower division club with no individuals who could aspire to a big-time career under normal circumstances.
Another development which has been taking away from the basic footballing side of matters is that, week by week, legions of teenagers with no better way of spending their time have attached themselves to the events surrounding Cervia and especially to the best-looking players, and - surely to the glee of those who started the whole thing - have been causing a sensation around Italy.
Cervia lined up midweek friendlies with Milan, Bologna, Sampdoria and Palermo, and got an attendance of 36.000 in the Sicilian town. More, it was pointed out, than had paid to watch Juventus against the local side two months ago, which is mind-boggling, and of course that the whole event was for charity reasons matters little if we look at things from a football perspective.
In Bologna, the teenagers' - for a lack of a harsher word - emotions ran so free that at the final whistle hundreds of them overwhelmed the few stewards, invaded the pitch, stole the corner flags, ripped up the pitch then managed to get into the dressing rooms, where they ignored the Bologna players - one of the most respectable sides in the Serie A - and tried to steal everything that had a Cervia logo or colours on it.
If this were people who would then remain attracted to football once the TV show is over, it wouldn't be too bad, but one has to wonder how many of them only care about the celebrity thing, and anyway it's not like football is a neglected sport which youngster have to be educated about, is it?
That kind of fanatical, mindless following is what has turned some against Cervia: the outrageous statement by presenter D'Amico during a recent show that 'Cervia have now become everyone's second favourite team' seems to fly in the face of the perception of many, who have now become tired of the relentless promoting, the swelling of some players' ego - striker Giuffrida won 85% to 15% a poll conducted by a newspaper who'd asked readers who they preferred, Giuffrida or Christian Vieri, although it was not clear for what - and the force-feeding of Cervia stories in every news show on Mediaset.
We will see if the experiment is repeated, if the Cervia/Milano Marittima stadium is full next season whether the TV cameras are there or not (easy answer on that), if the players who 'win' a trial with the top brass of the Serie A can actually make justice to themselves, but one final thing must be said about the whole situation: Mediaset must have made their calculations well.
Can you imagine Cervia even being mentioned on this website if it wasn't for TV and their hype?Soccernet
I'll give you 30 seconds to absorb that piece of news.
Breathe deeply. Do not let this get to your head or upset your composure.
Now, let's get back to business. Who are exactly Cervia, and why is everyone talking about them? Well, not everyone, but we'll get there later.
First of all, Cervia are the local team of the namesake town located on the Adriatic Riviera, a few miles south of Ravenna and north of Rimini, one hour's drive east of Bologna.
It's often mentioned in the same breath as its twin Milano Marittima - I myself can't remember which one is further north and which one's further down along the coast - and the area is one of the preferred destinations of many tourists in the summer, for its beaches, pine woods, restaurants and discos.
One of the latter, 'Pineta', is a good spot for celebrity watching, if you're into this - in that case, get a life - and especially into learning what many Serie A stars are up to in their ample spare time, Christian Vieri in particular being a frequent visitor in the offseason.
Cervia - the football club - used to be watched at the local stadium - in Milano Marittima, as if to add to the confusion - by the proverbial man and his dog, if dogs could actually be bothered to leave the breezy beach and the grassy comforts of the pine trees, with their obvious attractions to canines.
Everything changed last year, when Mediaset, the TV empire owned by a certain Mr Berlusconi, decided in their infinite wisdom that the Italian viewers needed ANOTHER reality show, an oxymoron which nevertheless seems to have caught on almost everywhere.
The almighty planners at Mediaset and the relevant production company knew Italians - a good chunk of them anyway, not that the picture would be better abroad - love silly TV shows and are fanatical about football, put two and two together and the idea was hatched to hijack...sorry, to approach a lower division football club and turn it into a lab, or workshop, or nursery or Big Brother house... choose your own word, once the concept will be clear.
Cervia were chosen among a plethora of candidates, and the plan was as follows: the squad would be selected among the thousands of candidates who'd filled in their applications, the team would be coached by 1982 World Cup great Francesco Graziani and viewers would be able to vote for their favourite player and 'help' Graziani determine each week's starting XI. Players would be followed by cameras at all times and the Big Brother metaphor would be complete.
Of course, a big difference to the above show is that Cervia players must actually have some kind of ability in order to succeed, not just utter nonsense or expose themselves or act like lunatics like their house-bound counterparts usually do, but the principle is the same: do what you'd do anyway, but remember there's a camera trained on you (almost) all the time so behave. Or, on second thoughts, don't, which makes for better TV.
Graziani and former Cervia coach, now sporting director, Giancarlo Magrini went through the selection process in the summer, although it is reasonable to believe a tie-breaker when two footballers were equal in skills had little to do with football, and you can bet your iPod the more photogenic one was chosen.
The whole show goes under the name of 'Campioni', which brings up an interesting side story. In normal speak, 'campione' does not mean 'someone who wins a championship' but usually defines an oustanding player. 'E' un campione' you might say of someone who stands out from the crowd.
This is perhaps why Claudio Ranieri, while at Chelsea, often and slightly mistakenly used the word 'champions' when mentioning some of his players, who were anything but as far as winning a championship with the Blues were concerned. But let's not digress.
Cervia players were to be housed in a huge, refurbished building in town, which had of course been fitted with cameras, and I cringed when during the first live show of the year - how low can I stoop in order to get information? - the presenter, Ilaria D'Amico, an attractive brunette who obviously does not know the meaning of 'overexposure' but as opposed to other women you see on football shows HAS a clue about the game, introduced a few, good-looking female 'assistants' who would look after the players' well-being during the season.
The system had a few quirks, for the sake of 'better' television: three players in the starting XI would be selected each week by viewers, and some of those discarded by Graziani and Magrini could be 'saved' in the same way. Which all caters to the majority of Italians' belief that they always know better than the coach, hence the cliche of 'nation of 56 million national team managers' which is often mentioned here.
The ultimate prize for the best - or best liked - players would be a trial with Juventus, Milan or Inter next summer, a pipe dream for most Italian footballers now, but along the way there have been some humps, as a series of modifications were added when Mediaset found out the show was not getting the viewership they'd hoped for: their formula might have been right in theory, but real football enthusiast seemed to have little time for a bunch of glorified amateurs, and there were appareently not enough tabloid-like stories to feed those who would follow proceedings as those of a regular reality show.
Diego Maradona's son was added to the squad midway through the season in an obvious attempt to stir things up, but the team barely needed him, as they have been at or near the top all season.
As long as the whole thing was about football, though, there could be no objections. They trained hard, went through some cruel pastings by Graziani, whose celebrity status has increased owing in part to his colourful, heavily accented language and his habit of wearing red-rimmed spectacles framed by his shiny pate, felt the envy of opposing players who obviously resented their popularity.
There was also the sneaking suspicion - how could there not be any? - that the power of Mediaset and the huge sponsors they'd signed up would make referees lean towards them, but so far accusations have proved pointless and no one can say the balance of the regional Eccellenza group has been altered.
Cervia can play, at least at this level, and some respect must be given to the players who, again, are actually doing something for a living instead of just striking poses in front of the camera or smoking their time away.
What has been grating, about the whole affair, is - you've guessed it - the constant hype which has surrounded the team, and has managed to put off more than one viewer.
One is free to believe that some Milan, Juve and Inter stars who where wheeled out in front of the cameras to state their interest in Cervia's results or, in the case of Inter coach Roberto Mancini say that their live matches at 11am each Sunday are a favourite way of killing time before the Nerazzurri games, are genuine. But sometimes the sight of other luminaries seriously analysing the prospects of the teams while keeping a straight face is surreal, as it is still - once you remove the bright lights and the hype - a lower division club with no individuals who could aspire to a big-time career under normal circumstances.
Another development which has been taking away from the basic footballing side of matters is that, week by week, legions of teenagers with no better way of spending their time have attached themselves to the events surrounding Cervia and especially to the best-looking players, and - surely to the glee of those who started the whole thing - have been causing a sensation around Italy.
Cervia lined up midweek friendlies with Milan, Bologna, Sampdoria and Palermo, and got an attendance of 36.000 in the Sicilian town. More, it was pointed out, than had paid to watch Juventus against the local side two months ago, which is mind-boggling, and of course that the whole event was for charity reasons matters little if we look at things from a football perspective.
In Bologna, the teenagers' - for a lack of a harsher word - emotions ran so free that at the final whistle hundreds of them overwhelmed the few stewards, invaded the pitch, stole the corner flags, ripped up the pitch then managed to get into the dressing rooms, where they ignored the Bologna players - one of the most respectable sides in the Serie A - and tried to steal everything that had a Cervia logo or colours on it.
If this were people who would then remain attracted to football once the TV show is over, it wouldn't be too bad, but one has to wonder how many of them only care about the celebrity thing, and anyway it's not like football is a neglected sport which youngster have to be educated about, is it?
That kind of fanatical, mindless following is what has turned some against Cervia: the outrageous statement by presenter D'Amico during a recent show that 'Cervia have now become everyone's second favourite team' seems to fly in the face of the perception of many, who have now become tired of the relentless promoting, the swelling of some players' ego - striker Giuffrida won 85% to 15% a poll conducted by a newspaper who'd asked readers who they preferred, Giuffrida or Christian Vieri, although it was not clear for what - and the force-feeding of Cervia stories in every news show on Mediaset.
We will see if the experiment is repeated, if the Cervia/Milano Marittima stadium is full next season whether the TV cameras are there or not (easy answer on that), if the players who 'win' a trial with the top brass of the Serie A can actually make justice to themselves, but one final thing must be said about the whole situation: Mediaset must have made their calculations well.
Can you imagine Cervia even being mentioned on this website if it wasn't for TV and their hype?Soccernet
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