How rowdy are soccer matches?

It's no more dangerous than attending an NFL game. For every "rowdy" match the media reports, there are literally thousands of others with no incident spread out over many months/years. In fact you'll find a lot less alcohol consumption inside European stadiums.

I really wanted to catch a soccer match for my upcoming trip, but it looks like they don't play much in June. The only advice I read anywhere was just to root for the home team and you'll be fine.

The game I'm looking at is near end of season & both teams would have to go on a NY Giants type run to make the playoffs.

In general they are not bad however your chances of encountering incidents increase exponentially when Napoli are involved. Their fans are the worst in all of Italy. I once asked a friend of mine who Vicenza's biggest rival with and was quite surprised when he said Napoli because the two cities are so far apart. He replied that Napoli are the biggest rival for a majority of teams in Italy simply because their fans are so bad. I witnessed it first hand at a Vicenza-Napoli match; their fans had a police escort from the train station to the stadium and had to sit in a corner of the stadium that was surrounded on both sides by a large metal gate. Of course, that didn't stop them from throwing flares on the field and all types of food, drink and whatever else they could find at people on the other side of the gate. I also saw a couple bad fights outside the stadium. That being said, if you are a true fan of the game then that would be a good match to go to. Napoli are one of the better teams in Serie A the past couple years and feature the impressive strike team of Hamsik, Lavezzi and of course "El Matador", Cavani. Bologna have some good players themselves, most notably the ageless Marco DiVaio and young guns Diamante and Gaston Ramirez.

"The game I'm looking at is near end of season & both teams would have to go on a NY Giants type run to make the playoffs." Keep in mind that at the end of the season, Napoli could very well be fighting for a Champions League spot and Bologna could very be fighting to avoid relegation so there's a chance that it could be an important match for both teams.

For info on fan rivalries google "italian ultras". You will see that it is a complicated area and why certain team fans have problems with certain other teams. The rivalry can go beyond football and into politics eg North/South divide. However, apparently, Napoli fans are "best friends" with Genoa fans! YouTube has recordings of the in-stadium activities/songs employed by the different sets of fans, it can be quite awe inspiring.

Having done the Google search on Italian Ultras I am now more conflicted. It appears that the Italian government has really cracked down on some of the Ultra activities. On one hand some of the YouTube spectacles look like the fun type of traveling experiences I like to encounter. The possibility of the violence that seem to happen turns me off. Any suggestions on what seats one should try & buy so that I stay way from these groups if possible?

I'll repeat what I said in my first reply: attending an Italian Soccer match is no more dangerous than attending an NFL game. There are "Ultra" type supporters in every soccer league, everywhere in the world...even in the US and Canada. The LA Galaxy has a "ultra" section. Have you ever been to the Home Depot Center did it make you uncomfortable? Just because some fans choose to light a few flares doesn't make them mass murderers:) It's perfectly safe for you to attend a match in Italy and there will be lots of families in attendance. If you choose to stay away because of a few isolated incidents uploaded to YouTube over a period of seven years...it's your loss.

I'm tagging onto this blog hoping that you will all have advice on getting the game tickets. I am going to be in Siena on April 29th and am hoping to catch the AC Milan game. I have heard I may not be able to get tix because they are only open to people who are members of the clubs...is this true? Any advice on purchasing the tix? I don't want to wait until the day of because I don't want to miss out! THANKS!

Members do get first crack in purchasing tickets, if there are any leftover then they are made available to the general public. Unfortunately Sienna plays in a very small stadium(capacity is only 15,000) since AC Milan is a high-profile club, tickets will be very hard to secure. In your shoes I would try my luck with a ticket resale site like this: http://tinyurl.com/88fujhr

Thomas - spoke to my OH re where to sit, he travels to matches on mainland Europe. His advice (for any match, including UK, where you do not want to sit amongst/near the most ardent fans) is to buy the most expensive ticket you can afford! Edit - he also said, unless you hear anything to the contrary when you are there, to go for it.

Thomas -
I saw Napoli play Roma in October 2010 in the San Paolo, and though the crowd was enthusiastic, there were no issues. Both sets of fans were very vocal; more so then at matches I've been to in Germany and England, yet there was no violence. I consider going to such matches one of the best ways to get in touch with the country's culture, and I would hope you get to see a match.

Ok next question what is the best website to buy tickets. Also what section to sit in?

http://tinyurl.com/6m3oexn