‘StradiVardy’ joins Houdini and Mussolini at the Stadio Zini: What awaits Jamie Vardy at Cremonese ahead of his Serie A debut?
When Jamie Vardy touched down at Linate airport on the eastern outskirts of Milan late on the eve of transfer deadline day, he was quickly greeted by a frenzy of media reporters as well as around 50 Cremonese fans who had made the 85-kilometre journey from their hometown to welcome their new superstar forward. Some may have been surprised, perhaps including the Vardys themselves, to witness such a virile reception for a 38-year-old free-agent signing for a small, relatively unglamourous provincial club; but this deal was big news in Italy.
The arrival of one of the Premier League’s most iconic strikers of the last decade has sparked a lot of excitement across the bel paese, especially given the memory of Leicester’s miraculous triumph almost a decade ago – led by one of Calcio’s few universally liked characters in Claudio Ranieri. Even in Italy, the Leicester story is still fondly regarded as a beacon of hope and a reminder of some remaining magic within the modern game, hence why the introduction of one of the heroes of the fairy tale has been met with such enthusiasm on the peninsula, but most significantly of course, in Cremona.
Part of the fascination surrounding this transfer from a Premier League-oriented perspective lies in the fact that Cremona is a town many Anglocentric minds may never have heard of, or at least know exceedingly little about, while the team, US Cremonese, are hardly the most well-known of smaller Italian clubs even amongst those in the second tier and beyond. In fact, it would not be much of a surprise at all if it was revealed that Vardy himself was unaware of their existence as little as four months ago, whilst the Grigiorossi were still battling for their promotion to the worldwide stage of Serie A.
So, what can the Vardy clan expect from their new home in Cremona and who exactly are US Cremonese? Also, for those of us keen to catch a glimpse of a very familiar figure in an unfamiliar setting, what sort of team is he joining? Here, we look at Cremona the town, Cremonese the club and the team with its early season giant killings, string of new signings and relegation escape artist manager.
The Place:
Nestled beside the winding Po River that splits the region of Lombardy from Emilia Romagna, Cremona sits just within the confines of the former, roughly equidistant between Italy’s respective capitals of fashion and cuisine – Milan and Parma. To put it kindly, the town of 71,000 people is one of the less spectacular in this part of the country, compared to those of a relatively similar size within the radius of an hour’s journey, be it Mantova, Bergamo, Pavia, Reggio Emilia or Parma to name a few.
In more crude terms, Cremona has been declared Italy’s most polluted città (the interchangeable term for both ‘city’ and ‘town’ in Italian) in 2023 and 2024 with regards to air quality. This owes to its central location in the Pianura Padana (Po Valley), Italy’s industrial heartland, at the confluence of pollutive mechanical and agricultural activity in each surrounding direction. Coupled with the dense fog that the region is often enveloped by in the Winter months, it hardly offers the perceived sun-kissed image of La Dolce Vita that the Vardys may have envisaged of their Italian sojourn.
That said, it remains to be seen how much of the town will actually be seen by its new star beyond the road in and out of the stadium, and nearby training centre, given that La Gazzetta dello Sport report that he and his family will live in Milan so that their children can attend an international school. Vardy did, however, gain a taste of one key part of the town’s culture and identity in the midst of his unveiling. As part of his presentation as a Cremonese player, he was recorded observing the local Stradivarius violin museum, the production of which the town is most famous for. This, naturally, resulted in the creation of the ‘Stradivardy’ moniker, which will adorn newspaper headlines across the country’s kiosks whenever the goals start rolling in for the latest addition to Serie A’s cast of aging yet endlessly clinical forwards.
The Club:
Jamie Vardy joins a club enjoying their time back in the top tier so far this season. The Grigiorossi kicked off the campaign in style with their first ever victory against AC Milan at San Siro where they ruined Maximiliano Allegri’s return by running out 2-1 winners, primarily thanks to a dramatic Federico Bonazzoli overhead kick that will live long in the memory of La Cremo and beyond.
This was also their first ever opening day triumph in Serie A, having failed to secure three points on any of their previous nine attempts. Under the guidance of survival specialist Davide Nicola, Cremonese will also be hoping to buck the trend of immediate returns to the second division that has befallen them on all but two of their previous forays into ‘La A’ (they spent three successive seasons in Serie A between 1993 and 1996).
In 2022/23, their previous experience of top tier football, it took them 24 matches to find a win (coming against Jose Mourinho’s Roma) and 29 to find their second. They already matched that tally in the space of seven days at the start of this campaign, having followed up their Milanese giant-felling with an eventful 3-2 home success against fellow new boys Sassuolo. Plenty of encouragement will have been provided by beating the team who won Serie B at a relative canter last year, whereas La Cremo had to battle through the play-offs, ultimately overcoming Spezia in the two-legged final following a fourth-place league finish.
Their 20,000 capacity Stadio Giovanni Zini is admittedly one of the less remarkable of Italian stadiums, yet it is still capable of stirring up a hostile atmosphere for opposing teams and impressive choreographic or pyrotechnic displays to inspire its own. Its accessible location from Milan too will no doubt see it added to the itinerary of Italophile footballing weekenders, especially now thanks to its star addition up front.
Jamie Vardy is not the only player in a grey and red shirt worthy of note this season, it must be said. A busy summer of activity in the market has seen Cremonese bring in a rich mix of Serie A experience and youthful potential. The acquisitions of burly defender Federico Baschirotto from Lecce and winger Antonio Sanabria from Torino are examples of the former, while the latter includes the arrivals of Warren Bondo and Filippo Terracciano on loan from Milan and former Barcelona prospect Mikayil Faye coming in from Stade Rennais to bolster the defence.
Their right wing has also been reinforced by a familiar name in that arena – Mussolini. Romano Floriani Mussolini, the great grandson of Il Duce, has pitched up in Cremona on a season long loan from (naturally) Lazio. Preferring to be known as ‘Romano’, the descendant of the former fascist dictator has professed his disinterest in politics and wishes to let his football speak for itself. Having spent the past two campaigns on loan at Pescara and Juve Stabia respectively, the 22-year-old wing back has impressed on his Serie A bow, playing a key role in his team’s victory over Sassuolo especially.
The Manager:
The most fascinating figure at Cremonese, certainly before Vardy’s arrival if not still, is their coach – Davide Nicola. Over the past decade, Nicola has morphed into an almost mythic figure, the Harry Houdini of Italian football and Serie A’s resident relegation escape artist, such is his knack for pulling off remarkable acts of salvation for seemingly doomed teams.
It began in 2016/17 when, having taken the reigns at newly promoted Crotone, the club were marooned at the bottom of the table after managing only nine points across the first half of the campaign. A miraculous revival saw them scramble to safety on the final day, which meant that Nicola had to fulfil his promise of cycling circa 1300km from Crotone on the soul of Italy’s boot all the way to his native Turin in the north-west of the country.
He has since guided Genoa, Torino, Salernitana and Empoli to 17th place finishes, on each occasion arriving in mid-season to what appeared a sinking ship and, in the case of the latter two names, ships that already appeared as good as sunken. Nicola, however, is the expert ‘traghettatore’ – the ferryman who sails the boat through troubled waters, navigating the perilous seas of Serie A season, docking safely on the other side. Then, when the clouds part in May, he invariably sails off into the sunset and waits for the inevitable call for his next voyage of recovery.
Last year, the 52-year-old ‘mister’ (‘gaffer’) embarked on a slightly different challenge in that, although the end goal was the same – having been appointed as Claudio Ranieri’s successor at Cagliari – this time he would have to work his magic from the start of the season, rather than from midway through as was his trademark. It was less an act of escapism and more of evasion, although the search for salvation (‘salvezza’ is the Italian term for avoiding relegation) remained the guiding light. Despite a relatively weak squad and low expectations, Nicola managed to keep the Sardinians head above water, reaching the heady heights of 15th, clearing the drop zone by five points.
Now, the task is to repeat the trick in Cremona, a “very big challenge” as he described it himself, that when he took the job may have seemed a stretch even for a man with the survival skills of Bear Grylls. A significant summer window, though, topped off by the introduction of a seasoned Premier League goalsman and a strong start to their top flight return means that the Serie A straight-jacket that has stifled so many clubs and coaches in the past may once more be no obstacle for the inexplicable Italian lovechild of Harry Houdini and Sam Allardyce.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport last week, Nicola referred to himself as “a dreamer with lead in my shoes”, meaning that although his head may be in the clouds, looking towards the stars; his feet remain firmly on the floor. This pretty much encapsulates the philosophy of his teams who consistently achieve improbable miracles, spurred on by the inherent belief of “dreamers”, whilst never failing to bring the work-ethic, focus and ‘grinta‘ of a group firmly aware of its necessity given their limitations. That could also describe one particular team from a decade ago with which Jamie Vardy would be very familiar with, no?
The first game of the ‘StradiVardy’ era takes place on Monday night as Cremonese travel to Verona hoping to make it three wins from three in what would be an unimaginably strong start to the season. Over 1,200 Grigiorossi fans have already purchased tickets for the away end at the Stadio Marc Antonio Bentegodi, as a 100% record and the arrival of a shiny new star has turned them all into dreamers in the vein of their manager, albeit perhaps with less lead in their shoes.
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