Forza Gialloblu!

I am enjoying a rare Monday off, reading Tim Parks' engaging tale of an Italian soccer campaign: "A Season With Verona." The Verona resident attended every match, home and away, during the 2001 Serie A season.
The "gialloblu" -- "yellow and blue" -- barely muddled through the season, eventually beating Reggina in a playoff on away goals to ensure their top-flight survival.
Parks' book is a fascinating look at Italy and its obsession with calcio (soccer). I am fairly obsessed myself with the sport these days, thanks to the ongoing World Cup.
Verona claimed only one Scudetto -- title -- in 1984-85 (the side is pictured above). Hans-Peter Briegel, Preben Larsen Elkjaer and Giuseppe Galderisi powered the northern club to its unlikely championship.
Now, sadly, Hellas Verona have been eclipsed not only by Italy's other clubs, but by crosstown rivals Chievo Verona. Hellas Verona spent last season in Serie B, eighth from bottom with little hope of advancing.