05 July 2014
Boots, shovel in hand and plenty of elbow grease. Marcello had never experienced a night quite like it, but it’s one he’ll remember for the rest of his life. Marcello Garifo, 57, is one of many Bianconeri fans living in Milan. He's always followed his most beloved side, always been there at the matches. But there's one in particular which remains firmly embedded in his heart. The European Super Cup between Juventus and Liverpool at the Stadio Comunale in Turin, played on 16 January 1985.
It was the Bianconeri’s first time in the final of this European competition, having won the Cup Winners' Cup the previous year. And Marcello had to be there. There was just one problem: Italy was being battered by a heavy snowstorm which had virtually brought the entire country to a standstill. You can only imagine what it was like up in the North, and in particular between Turin and Milan.
Marcello, 30 years younger at the time but with the same great Juve passion he holds today, recalls: "I'd already planned to go to Turin. But as the days passed my chances were getting slimmer and slimmer. I was stuck in my house. There was more than three feet of snow outside and my boiler had broken."
As the snowflakes kept tumbling down, Marcello was seeing his chance slip away. Then came a ray of light, or rather a ray of news, since the snowstorm was showing no sign of abating: "From watching the sports news, I found out that president Boniperti was looking for volunteers to shovel the snow off the pitch and the stands at the Stadio Comunale so that the game could take place."
That was the turning point for Marcello, who no longer gave it a moment's thought. Those who volunteered to shovel in the name of Juve would also be able to see the match.
Putting on his boots and parka, Marcello jumped into his car, a "mighty" Citroën 2CV, and got on the Milan-Turin motorway, hoping to make it to the Stadio Comunale in time to lend a hand and watch the game.
He explained: "I'd travelled that route dozens of times, but that night it was really tough. I was doing 70 kilometres an hour, there was snow everywhere and I was just hoping my thin tyres would stick to the road.
After 130 kilometres Marcello managed to turn into Corso Allamano, the main avenue on the outskirts of Turin, and reach the stadium: "I parked the car, met up with the other shovellers, put on a yellow volunteer’s jacket and began shifting kilos and kilos of snow."
Marcello entered the stadium, which in the meantime started filling up: "I could hear the fans chanting and that really helped us as we worked. What a rush!"
After a few hours of hard labour the snow was gone, the show could go on and Marcello had the opportunity to witness a match that would go down in Juventus history. The Bianconeri sealed the win thanks to a brace from Boniek and lifted the European Super Cup trophy for the first time in their history.
"I remember other fans who, like me, had helped out clearing the stadium and areas outside of it. We were all exhausted but happy at having played our part in the victory," said Marcello.
It was 16 January 1985 and Italy was in the depths of a cold spell. But in Turin the fans were basking in an unseasonable warmth. The glow of yet another trophy.
