The Coppa Italia Primavera final will be played at a rather surprising venue, with the Arena Civica in Milan having been chosen.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, the Arena is the stadium where the Italian national team played the first match in its history, against France in 1910. It is the oldest active sports facility in the world, it was designed in 1805 and inaugurated in 1807, sensationally with a naval battle.
What connection does all this have with 2025? How is it possible that they still play there? It’s possible because the Lega Council on Monday decided that the Arena Civica will be the venue for the Coppa Italia Primavera final on April 9. All that’s missing is the official announcement.
On the field it will be Cagliari (who beat Juventus 2-0 with goals from Vinciguerra and Bolzan) and Milan (who eliminated Lecce earlier that day, winning 1-0 thanks to Scotti). Immediately after those games the idea of having the final there was mentioned.
Ambrosiana Inter played at the Arena Civica until the late 1940s, but the stadium’s modern era is marked by the arrival by helicopter of Silvio Berlusconi in 1986, for the great inauguration event of his presidency.
From the loudspeakers, at full volume, Ride of the Valkyries. Great football had been at San Siro for decades and the Arena, shy but always elegant, has carved out a niche role for itself over these decades.
It hosted Brera matches – even when Walter Zenga was their coach – and was named after Gianni Brera. This season it is the home ground of the Inter women’s team. That day, April 9, Inter will be in Munich for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, so the centre of Milanese sport will be at Viale Giorgio Byron.
In all of this, a story within a story. Vittorio Magni, took to the field at the end of two unique days. On Tuesday he took Invalsi (National Institute for the Educational Evaluation of Instruction and Training)
tests, took a train to get to Pineto – 550km away – to be on the bench with Milan Futuro.
He came back and yesterday he played with the Primavera, helping them to qualify for the final. One exam, two games and a thousand kilometres in 30 hours.
