An Italian in London, Ivan Ambrosio: 'I will visit 300 UK stadiums to write a book'

For years London is been one of the favourite destinations for young Italians who want to emigrate to seek his fortune abroad. Among these there is Ivan Ambrosio, 22 years old, born in the province of Naples. Football fan and English football fan, he lives, as we said, in the British capital. So far nothing strange. Except that Ivan has made up his mind to travel to the discovery of the English football and to visit as many possible stadiums across the United Kingdom: "The project was born a few months ago. It was talking about how beautiful could be to enclose all these journeys in a Facebook page and maybe, in the future, inside a book. I dreamed for years to visit the whole United Kingdom and its wonderful stadiums".

But, in this exclusive interview with Il Solito Calcio, the 22 years old reveals he is still far from his first goal before proceeding to the next step: "I visited approximately 100 stadiums in the United Kingdom. I want to reach the minimum amount of 300 stadiums to enclose in a book the most important ones, but also the most unknown and peculiar ones". In the drawer there is the dream of sitting on a bench as a coach and, for this reason, he often visits also the training centers. Returning to the English stadiums, however, his favourite stadium is only one: "I love the Craven Cottage, it's marvelous. In Fulham it seems to go back in time!", he tells.

It is natural to ask an Italian who deeply knows the world of British stadiums whether Italy has something to learn about stadiums from the architectural point of view: "For what concerns the architecture, nothing. After having visited stadiums in England, Italy, Spain and Germany, i can say that each country has its own architectural style", Ivan explains. Instead, the answer is completely opposite when the question is about the management and the services: "The stadium topic is extremely different, in Italy the idea of 'stadium property' doesn't exist at all. Only the Juventus has understood that it's right to align with the rest of Europe, because abroad, with stadiums property, the club are able to make incredible earnings every year: stadium tours are organized, with the trophy room that attract tourists from all over the world, the restaurant area, the bar, the store for the club merchandising. In some stadiums there are even gyms, wellness centers and schools!".

Moving the magnifying glass from Great Britain to Italy, according to Ambrosio there is only one stadium that can compete with the much-vaunted English ones: "The Juventus Stadium is doubtless the stadium that comes closest to perfection. A wonderful structure, always in excellent condition, perfect view, any sectors covered and, above all, close to the field, in perfect English style! Then, near the Stadium, there is the Area 12: it's a shopping mall where the young people and the families can go and spend their free time, not only in the match days. Inside this shopping center there is obviously the Juventus Store and supermarkets and clothing shops too". Finally we have only to indicate the Facebook page whereby you can stay updated on the movements and the new adventures of Ivan Ambrosio. To the next stadium!

Luca Iannone