It’s a local disgrazia!
The World Cup is coming to the New York area in a few weeks but some of the Big Apple’s most famous neighborhoods feel left out of the party because the Italian team failed to qualify for the tournament — again.
The city’s large Italian-American population is fuming and ready to give a pizza of their minds as the national team of their ancestors let them down for the third cup in a row.
Residents and shop owners on world famous culinary destination Arthur Avenue in The Bronx, where soccer is part of everyday life, are trying to fuggeddaboutit.
“It’s been big, especially in this neighborhood,” David Greco, who owns Mike’s Deli in the Italian nabe, told The Post. “Nowadays, when soccer games are on, we put the TV on and we have a beer from Naples.”
Greco’s a loyal fan of Italian soccer, but can’t help but be frustrated by the country’s inability to get a good team off the ground. The fact that games this year are coming to the Meadowlands in nearby north New Jersey only makes this year’s mishap hit extra close to home.
The Italian national team previously missed the 2022 and 2018 World Cup tournaments, although they snuck in a title in the international Euro Cup 2020 tournament, which was played a year late in 2021 because of the COVID-19 shutdown.
“But it’s incredible how Italians haven’t had that team. They really need to,” Greco lamented, saying he still wasn’t sure who to root for in place of Italy.
The World Cup is set to kick off June 11 with 48 teams, but not the Azzuri. Thousands of tourists from all over the world are expected to visit the Big Apple during the tournament, with eight games to be played at Met Life stadium.
Italy fans are left having to adopt another squad to root for or crying in their vino.
“Very bad, very bad,” is how Orazio Carciotto – owner of Casa Della Mozzarella just around the corner – felt when he found out Italy won’t be playing in the World Cup.
“I was looking forward to it. The game, it’s something to talk about. You wake up in the morning, see it’s the Italy game, you enjoy life!” Carciotto said.
Carciotta said he’s not just wounded that Italy won’t be playing out of a sense of national pride – he’s also worried that the lack of attention on Italy may hurt his business.
“Business-wise, it ruins everything,” Carciotto said.
“Because people, when there’s a soccer game, they say ‘Italy’s going to be playing tonight!’ and they get together. They buy a sandwich. They buy mozzarella. They buy cannolis. It’s good.”
But the dual-citizen said it won’t be hard to find a team to root for in Italy’s place.
“A guy like me, I’m an American citizen – and an Italian citizen – so I have something to look forward to. Go USA!”
In Rossville, Staten Island, where nearly 60% of its residents are Italian, locals said they’ll miss the sense of spirit that comes with an Italian crowd that’s rooting for an Italian team.
“The crowds are always better when it’s an Italian team!” Lucille Borgese, owner of Hot Shotz Sports Bar in Rossville, told The Post.
Borgese said that paisanos always bring a new energy when rooting for their team – that dies as soon as Italy is no longer a contender.
“We were all cheering. I had my Italian flags out. And then the bar was empty as soon as they got knocked out. Like you turned the lights off,” Borgese said.
And for some, the lack of an Italian team comes with financial drawbacks too.
“Italian Americans are the best tippers! And when their teams win they set a new standard on tipping. So, I’d rather Italy was still in it,” Trina Scotto, a bartender at Hot Shotz, said.
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