The miracle of Südtirol: a miniature Bayern

Bolzano, capital of the Alto Adige region (northeastern Italy), is a cultural and political anomaly in the country.

Pretzels and Austrian beer mugs coexist in a rare gastronomic balance with Neapolitan pizzerias.

The population of the region - annexed in 1919 in the London pacts after the First World War - speaks mostly German and only a third continue to adhere to the language of their passport (in the capital it is just the opposite).

Many of its inhabitants do not feel Italian or Austrian and their national fit is based on a system of great autonomy that has triggered the growth of the area and has maintained stability in the fragile border balance.

In Bolzano, a place that always preferred to practice sports than to see him sitting down, ice hockey and trampoline jumping triumphed.

But in the midst of that complex identity, a soccer club has united everyone around its success.

Südtirol, a society of just 26 years, will play next year in Serie B for the first time in its history.

The news could be irrelevant.

But the particularity of the region, a border island boxed in under the imposing Dolomites, and that of the club itself, make it very unique.

Alto Adige is the richest area in Italy: today it has an average income of about 42,000 euros, higher than the German and triple that of Calabria.

And in it live three linguistic and cultural groups that often shape the social customs of the area (German, Italian and Ladino).

Mussolini tried to Italianize them by force of migration.

But real integration did not come until September 5, 1946, when Prime Minister Alcide de Gasperi and his Austrian counterpart Karl Gruber agreed on autonomy for the region, which evolved to its current high level.

Austrian culture remained (the flag has an imperial eagle),

students were segregated in schools by language and civil servant positions were distributed equally by ethnic blocs.

Beyond turbulence (there were some episodes of independence terrorism), the invention worked.

And the club today allows us to explain some features of that identity.

Südtirol, which took over in 1995 from an amateur team from a town called Bressanone, purposely ignores that difference and underlines it in its statutes, as journalist Adrián Soria recalled in a wonderful thread on Twitter.

"The stadium is a meeting point for native Italian, German and Ladino speakers and the goal is one: cheer on your team!"

And the fans, who still shout “Alto, Alto, Alto” ​​[for the Italian name of the region], are completely mixed up among the 3,000 seats that the Druso has (after the Roman Empire soldier Nerone Claudio Druso ).

The team, structured around a kind of joint venture co-owned by partners and private companies, is a kind of Bayern Munich in miniature.

Perfect, austere management (there is a salary ceiling of 100,000 euros for players) and fabulous training facilities in the middle of the forest.

The sports city is so well thought out that the German team did its preseason here before the 2018 World Cup. Südtirol had to train those days in another place while the promotion to Serie B was played, without success, as the journalist and RAI sports narrator Stefano Bizzotto.

One of Südtirol's strengths has been its commitment to the academy and local players (four of them have been part of the promotion feat: Fischnaller, Hannes Fink, Simone Davì and Fabian Tait).

This year, the first in which Südtirol will have to travel through Italy (Series C still adheres to geographical criteria, dividing the country into three areas from north to south), it may be time to open up the focus somewhat.

Change some elements.

But the northernmost club in the country, a century after Mussolini sent thousands of Italians from other regions here to explain what Italy was, will also serve to show the rest of the country what they are like.

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