It isn’t just the English FA Cup that has the potential for giant killings. Italy’s Coppa Italia has seen its fair share of minnows that have somehow triumphed over top-flight opposition. As recently as 2015/16, third division Alessandria reached the semi-final, the first club at that level since 1984 to have done so. There they were soundly beaten by AC Milan at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, the location selected due to their own stadium being too small with a capacity of just 5,827.
The competition brings teams from Serie C and D in at the first round stage when it commences in July, introducing Serie B sides ready for the second round. Then, depending on the previous year’s league position, the lower Serie A teams are brought in for round three, with the top eight ranked sides entering at the last sixteen stage.
On Tuesday evening, third tier Pordenone – after beating Matelica, Venezia, Lecce and Cagliari – faced a thrilling round of 16 tie versus Inter at San Siro. It was the furthest the Friulian side had ever reached in the competition, and the team they faced stood proudly at the summit of Serie A, unbeaten in 16 matches. Around 4,000 fans had made the journey west to cheer on their heroes, 1,000 more than can be accommodated in their 3,000 seater Stadio Ottavio Bottecchia.
Yet their owner Mauro Lovisa showed no fear as he headed into the fixture. “We’re a serious club and we’re not going to San Siro for a night out,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “It’s an evaluation of maturity, and we’re going there to see what the highest level is all about. It’s a test for the team and the club.”
It was a indeed a test on a huge stage, and the XI picked by Coach Leonardo Colucci did themselves proud. The Inter team they faced included only four players that haven’t been regular starters for Luciano Spalletti, and Pordenone kept the likes of Ivan Perisic, Antonio Candreva and deadly striker Mauro Icardi at bay for 90 minutes as the game finished 0-0 in normal time.
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The Argentine striker has scored a goal every 88 minutes in the league this term, but could not find the back of the minnows’ net even with 30 minutes of extra time. The visitors had failed to finish a few chances of their own – including hitting the post – and the match headed to penalties where anything was possible. It wasn’t to be for them, however, and Inter scraped through by winning 5-4 after the shootout had gone to sudden death.
Nerazzurri boss Luciano Spalletti admitted that Pordenone “would have deserved it” if they had gone through versus his “below par” side, and the opposition Coach was pleased to receive the compliment. “Taking Inter to penalties is like winning the Coppa Italia for us. On penalties I even thought we could go through, and I appreciate all those who had the courage to take one,” Colucci said after the match.“Spalletti told me that we deserved to go through, and I thank him for his sincerity.
“From tomorrow we get our feet back on the ground and on Sunday we have Renate waiting for us. Everyone had their heads down in the dressing room, and I understand that, but they have the mentality and they’ll pick themselves back up again. They have to remember that we only lost on penalties to the Serie A leaders, and we created four or five scoring chances.”
Pordenone have the chance to go again at the weekend when they face Renate, their opponent’s stadium in Lombardy, just 42 miles away from Milan. They may have played in an 80,000 capacity stadium in midweek, but they will play in front of a maximum 3,000 crowd on Sunday as the heroes of San Siro go back to the bread and butter of the league.
