Sunday Afternoon at Bagni Lido

Gabbionata Spectators at Bagni Lido19th July 2010

La Gabbionata

Bagni Lido, Sunday, 3.30pm, 30°C (at least), and not a postage stamp of space for a beach towel on the lido concrete sundeck. Scores of scantily clad bodies crowd around the 'gabbione' to watch the much-awaited final of a week-long football tournament hotly contested between 5 teams of boys aged 11-13.

A gabbione is an enclosed football pitch made for 4-a-side games of frantic soccer. The ball never goes out, scoring is tricky with a tiny frontdoor-sized goal, and tension rises high in the afternoon heat.

The RefereeThe final of the Mondialido contest was fought between 'Uruguay' and 'Argentina', which called for an 'official' referee dressed in boxers and flipflops to ensure the game's rules were adhered to.

Mondialido Gabbionata Final, 18 July 2010Despite sultry conditions, the many spectators crowded around the pitch, closely following the fast-moving 40 minute game which ended with a win by Argentina, by 5 goals to 4!

Spectators at Bagni Lido