COPA90’s Once In A Lifetime takes an anthropological dive into football teams and their fanbases as they face the prospect of finally winning something.
From the south of Spain to the north of Turkey to the south west of Germany, Once in a lifetime is a new series telling the story of three very different clubs made up of three very different people, in three very different places, that all share one thing in common. A very long wait to win something. We headed to Trabzon, home to Trabzonspor, the only non Istanbul team who had the audacity to consistently compete with the big Turkish clubs on and off the pitch. With the club on the verge of winning their first 'official' title in 38 years, we headed to the city on the week of the deciding game. What we came across was a story, a fanbase, and a match day atmosphere that was as memorable as anything we have ever come across.
Real Betis, arguably Spain’s most eccentric fanbase whose incredible passion in the stands isn’t reflected on the pitch. So when they made the Copa De Rey final, which just happened to be hosted in their own city of Seville, we just had to be there to document what happens when such a fascinating fan base has a chance to win their first trophy in 17 years.
When we decided Scotland’s first men’s tournament in 23 years was the story of this summers Euro’s everyone told us to expect the unexpected. But even we couldn’t have foreseen the absurdity, the madness and the highs and the heartbreak. Scotland is arguably the football nation when you look into their history and relationship with the game. If you look at the very fabric of their society, for good or for bad, football is interwoven into it. This is a story as fascinating as any we have ever told.
In a city that has experienced the highs and lows of humanity from centuries of war and conflict to decades of cabaret and culture, the only thing it hasn’t seen, is a top flight derby. Well, at least not for forty years. Until now.
We head to Lombardy, Italy, for the first derby in more than a decade between Brescia Calcio and Atalanta B.C. Two clubs who share a rivalry that goes way beyond football and into every facet of local culture from the dialect to the food to the culture of war and violence in the region. Despite being provincial neighbours, different time spent in different divisions meant the two had been suffering their longest derby drought, until this season, where they would both finally meet in Serie A.
Eli Mengem is an Australian football journalist and documentary filmmaker.