International | balotellisbarber

My heritage comes into question this weekend when England face Italy and the question everyone has always loved to ask when I was growing up was “If the two played, who would you support?”

I love football thanks to my Dad, it was by his side that I sat when I was young watching the games and listening to what he said as if it were gospel. He is Italian yet didn’t ever push me, like many parents do, to support his club which was Inter. What he did do, however, was to try and make sure I supported Italy, especially if they ever faced England.

Italy first played England in my lifetime at Italia 90′ but I was just over three months old so I couldn’t exactly decide what football shirt I would put on that morning in anticipation for the game. The next time the two nations crossed paths was in 1997 in a qualifying match for France 98′ and by this time I was already captivated by the beautiful game and still listening to every word that my Father said when it came down to football because, to me, he knew much more than those guys on the TV. Italy won the match 1-0 and I went into school the next morning gloating because I supported Italy and they beat England. If anyone dared question why I supported Italy I simply answered “Because my Dad does” and that was the end of that… Italy faced England two more times that year, once in a minor tournament where Italy lost but due to it’s insignificance (so I was told) I shrugged it off and the second time was the return in the group qualifier. The match ended 0-0 and neither party at the time had much to say about it… Not that I could have weighed in with much of an opinion having just started my fifth year of primary school.

Since then Italy have only played England two more times, both friendly matches (2000 & 2002) with the Azzurri won both. By the time the final friendly was played in 2002 I was in secondary school; an all boys school which was renowned for it’s excellent football teams every year and football mad head teacher. The boys and teachers would discuss football at all times appropriate and even sometimes not. There was no escaping football and I loved it. My homework diary in school looked like what I imagined Arrigo Sacchi’s notepads looked like: formations and tactical analysis on every single page but mine was slightly different, in between matching up my favourite formation at the time which was a 3-4-3 against the (at the time) fashionable fluid 4-4-2 you’d just be able to make out: Monday 23rd – Maths – pg. 145-6 qs.1-6.

During the World Cup in 2002 my school set up projector screens so students could come in hours before school started just to watch the football and some teachers even let us watch the games during the afternoon instead of normal lessons – it was great. My school was made up of a group of kids with so many different nationalities and backgrounds, within that a you and us culture was formed regarding football. Throughout the year it was always predominantly geared toward Arsenal fans vs. Spurs fans as you would expect in a North London school but also the odd Manchester United, Chelsea and other fans would be always involved or sometimes perfectly neutral in most discussions ie. A lone Fulham fan. When the summer approached tournament football took the lead and then it was divisions of English, Irish and Italians mainly with pockets of Nigerians and Ghanaians during World Cup years.

The question was thrown at me once again “Who do you support?”

I would reply with “Both” which was the truth at the time. I still felt connected to the Italian team because of my Dad and being brought up supporting them but my footballing heart was English. If the two had played in 2004 I would have been genuinely torn as that was a transitional year, looking at it retrospectively it was that year that I had decided who I supported.

Italy, as we all know, went on and won the World Cup in 2006. I watched the final, next to my Dad as I had done for every Italy match during the entire tournament. Even though my team was out I still had another team in it and I could I say I supported them without raising much suspicion among doubters and questioners. I felt had earned the right to support Italy as I watched all their games with my Dad and cheered as every goal went in. The defining factor and dawning moment for me was Italy concede… I felt little to nothing – it was certain. I was caught up in London’s euphoria when Italy won but was just celebrating because everyone else was not because my team had won anything.

The years of me blindly supporting Italy were blissful and I will always have those memories but I can now simply answer the question that had hung over me for so many years. I support England and will be doing so on Sunday.