Lucio Dalla, sports cantor

Between the stage and the recording rooms Lucio Della has managed to build a sports universe, the result of a passion that circles the planets of the ball in segments, the ball and the world of engines. An imaginary that put the spotlight on the singer-songwriter from Bologna privately as a fan and practitioner, then as a witness to the exploits of the heroes of modern mythology. Baggio and Maradona, Nuvolari and Senna and Valentino Rossiare the champions who appear in the sport pantheon, celebrated by the notes and his distinctive voice.

Starting from the role of enthusiast and player, the first thought turns to feeling binds Lucio to the colors of his city, or rather the rossoblù shirt he wore seven days a week, following a line from his friend and colleague Luca Carboni. Since his death in March 2012, his grandstand season ticket has been renewed every season, while the iconic tones of “The year to come” heighten the joy or soothe the bitterness of the fans who leave Renato Dall’Ara after the triple whistle.

In collaboration with the Carboni-Mingardi-Morandi Quartet from Bologna, Dalla sings “Le tue ali Bologna”, the anthem that accompanies the players who enter the field under the sea of ​​scarves Andrea Costa curveentitled today James Bulgarelli. The coat of arms of the flag bearer of the Bolognese character connected him with the rossoblù flag in addition to a loving mutual respect. The two could hardly have followed one of the famous ball derbies side by side. While the No. 8 supported Fortitudo, the multi-talented singer-songwriter’s heart burned for Vu Nere, so much so that it almost urged him to master the gift of omnipresence just to attend the games.

I’m the best point guard ever, but I don’t care about the height.

Under the arcades we remember the obsessive attention with which he organized the tours so that the concerts did not overlap with Virtus’ meetings, but above all, the legend tells that for a time he paid a house painter, his double, to participate in public events, So he could follow the blacks and whites. The favor would then be shown by holding the broom instead of the saxophone for a day. For beloved basketball, who knew every twenty seconds how to make him feelcomposed the theme song of the show “Il Basket live” on Rai 2, a song capable of expressing some of the typical flashes and accents of its author’s voice.

If irony allowed him to comment on his career as a basketball player, the ears of music lovers could delight in one of the greatest interpreters of Italian songs thanks to his lack of centimeters. So much so that you can simply switch to the version of From the aedo of sporting heroes, Protagonists of 19th century mythology, some highlights of his art can be explored. In 2001, “Baggio Baggio” is the passionate dedication to the number 10, which in 97/98 had lived a fleeting but intense relationship with Bologna. Without a doubt, the Divin Codino is part of the Diego lineage, a lineage of champions extolled in the singer-songwriter’s eponymous text for the volume “Il Calcio”.

This was the Fuoriclasse, that is, what was left of the god, the descendant of Diego, in short, the being for whom there was no limit, who was regularly babbled on about the impossible and the rule didn’t count. He could make tens upon thousands of people who loved him feel like they were in one of his shoes when it came time to hit the net, and when their idol was hurt, it was like the whole stadium felt the same pain as he did… his own pain. (1)

In this Homeric inquiry into the origins of the ball the authorship of the game is attributed to Pluto that he would use the ball to fight against the oppressive isolation to which he was relegated in Averno. Once Apollo, his ideal nemesis, then all remaining deities were involved, Olympus would harbor endless challenges until a Mercury bolide, unrestrained by the demigod Hercules, would bring the sphere to the wretched mortal lands. Here Diego, nine years old, lean body and mestizo hunger, would have tamed the unexpected and accidental divine gift, then he would have shared it with his fellow men, equal to Prometheus.

At this point it is necessary to definitively abandon the balloons in segments or hexagons to mount the Porsche 363 Carrera, a faithful steed whose roars accompanied Dalla throughout his third participation in the famous Mille Miglia. Pistons and cylinders, deeply admired by the souls of Emilia-Romagna, are the protagonists of the 1976 album “Automobili”, the last fruit of the collaboration with Roberto Roversi.

The six lanes praise four wheels as a representation ofunstoppable progress, while farming lags behind. Only the rural population crowds along the sides of the unpaved roads on which it speeds Tazio Nuvolari, whose insatiable hunger for speed and adrenaline is heightened by a relentless ode on the record. A similar privilege was also boasted by his friend Valentino Rossi, who inspired the words of “Due dita sotto il cielo”.

Finally, we move on from the Alfa Romeo of the Flying Mantuan to the fateful Williams FW16 of Ayrton Senna, one of the personalities the sporting gods snuffed out to deliver to the pantheon of immortals. Dallas voice interprets “Ayrton”the imaginary de profundis with which the driver from San Paolo greets the misery of his earthly state after having taken the curve of the Tamburello towards the ether.

My name is Ayrton and I’m a pilot
And I’m running fast on my way
Even if it’s not the same street anymore
Even if it’s not the same anymore

_note

_{(1) The quote is taken from the text “The Descendancy of Diego” by Lucio Dalla, contained in the volume “Il Calcio” (by Marco Rings, Federico Motta Editore, 2002)}

_{Cover image from the website danielemingardi.it}