Derby della Lanterna history.
The Derby della Lanterna is the derby of the italian city of Genova.The name comes from one of the city’s famous landmarks, the lighthouse in the old harbour of Genoa.
When most people hear the words “italian derby ” , they think about the derbies of Milan, Rome or Turin, or the match between Inter and Juve, but for me ,”Derby della Lanterna” is the qiuntesential ultras derby. The reason is simple:THE PASSION. I don’t think there is any other place in the world where a derby simply splits the city in half but here. This is one game the fanatics of Genoa and Sampdoria don’t want to lose and the players are not allowed to. Evidence of that love and passion can be found everywhere in the city of Genova:
Some facts about the derby:
- Genoa , as the name shows , was founded in 1893 , by englishmen living in the city of Genoa as a mixed sports club. The football section opened in 1897, making them the oldest italian club. They wear the colours red and dark blue and a famous iconic jersey ,half red and half dark blue.
-- Sampdoria was founded in 1946 by merging two already existing genoan football teams, Ginnastica Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria.They also merged the colours of the two clubs, making Sampdoria the only club in the world that has 4 official colours: royal blue, white,red and black.
-- Genoa 1893 won the first ever italian championship ( or scudetto as italians call it) , but Sampdoria won the first ever “Derby della Lanterna” , 3-0 in 1946.
-- The two teams won a combined 10 scudetti , Genoa winning 9 ( last one in 1924) and Sampdoria winning 1 in 1991.
-- The clubs don’t share only the city, but they also share the same stadium, Stadio Luigi Ferraris or Stadio Marassi as it it also known.
-The “Derby della Lanterna” has a lot of ultras history also.The first ultras group in Genoa is Ultras Tito Tito Cucchiaroni formed in 1969, one of the first groups to use the name ULTRAS.They are supporters of Sampdoria , and along with other groups and supporter clubs compose ” La Gradinata Sud”( The South Terrace). In the other side of the stadium , in “Gradinata Nord” historical groups like “Ottavio Barbieri”, Fossa dei Griffoni ans Ragazzi Certosa were or still are active.
-- After some serious clashes in the early and middle part of the 1970′s both sets of supporters agreed on a truce, agreeing to battle only in the stands.
This lasted until 2006-2007 season. That year saw the first meeting between the sides for four years and the first confrontation in Serie A for almost twelve seasons. Before that year’s derby match , around 200 rival armes fans clashed in the streets in a pre-planned encounter.
- Despite some rare acts of violence , the “Derby della Lanterna” is most known for its amazing choreographical displays:
