THE MATCH YOU NEVER WANTED TO PLAY

Messina–Messana: From the Lowest Point, the Climb Back Can Begin

There are matches you wait months for, and others you hoped you would never have to play. Messina–Messana belongs to the latter category. On Sunday, August 30, at 4:30 p.m., Messina will officially begin its 2026–27 season at the “Franco Scoglio” against Messana Riviera Nord, in the first leg of the opening round of the Coppa Italia Eccellenza.

It is all true: Messina is starting again from Eccellenza, and it is doing so with a city derby, as already happened in the recent past and during the first 46 years of football in our city.

What is entirely new, however, is seeing such a derby played at such a low level of Italian football. There is nothing offensive in this toward Messana, which deserves respect for the work it has carried out over the years in regional football and for being the oldest FIGC registration still active in the city, dating back to 1966.

The point is another one. It would have been exciting for everyone if Messana had risen to face Messina at least in Lega Pro. It becomes depressing, instead, when one considers that it is Messina that has descended far enough to meet Messana. And that is perhaps the clearest possible image of the fall.

A club that has known Serie A, Serie B and professional football, that has brought tens of thousands of people into the stadium to face the most prestigious clubs in the country, today starts again from the Coppa Italia Eccellenza. Statistically, this is the lowest point in its football history.

But it must also become the bottom from which, finally, after twenty years of anonymity and mediocrity, the climb back begins.

THE PARADOX OF AUGUST 30

Messina–Messana represents, at the same time, the image of the fall and the first possible image of rebirth. When the referee blows the opening whistle, the transfer market, preseason training, statements and promises will all move into the background. Finally, the football itself will begin. J

ustin Davis’ ownership group, sporting director Maurizio Pellegrino and Alfio Torrisi have built a team with one obvious objective: to make Eccellenza a temporary stop. Sarao, Kragl, Giunta, Bollino, Bonanno, Sbuttoni, Varela, Tănasă and Alessandro Pellegrino make up a squad that inevitably carries enormous expectations. And this is where the first real risk of the season appears. Because Messina will have very little to gain in terms of perception and a great deal to lose. If it wins, it will be considered normal. If it dominates, it will be taken for granted. If it slows down, the trials and criticism will begin immediately. That is the destiny of teams built to win.

MESSANA RIVIERA WILL HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE

Messana Riviera will arrive at the “Franco Scoglio” under a completely different kind of pressure. For many of its players, facing Messina in the city’s largest stadium will be a special match, an opportunity to make life difficult for the team widely regarded as the powerhouse of the 2026–27 Eccellenza championship. Messina, on the other hand, will have to avoid the most dangerous mistake of all, one that will remain a constant threat throughout the season: believing that prestige and history can take the field instead of the players.

In Eccellenza, Messina will need tackles, second-ball recoveries, patience, concentration and the ability to accept ugly, difficult matches. Nobody is going to roll out a red carpet simply because there is more than a century of history on the shirt.

Quite the opposite. Against Messina, almost everyone will be playing the match of the year. But there is also another side to pressure. The positive one. This group does not simply represent a team assembled to win a regional competition. It is the first group being asked to take Messina back toward national football. That is the responsibility. And it should also be the privilege.

EVEN PLAYING AT THE SCOGLIO HAS BEEN A BATTLE

For weeks, it was not even certain where Messina would play its first official match. The Celeste was not yet available, while the “Franco Scoglio” was affected by problems involving the red parking area, which had been used to store material from the collapse of the building in Pistunina.

The possibility of playing at night disappeared, institutional discussions became necessary, and in the end the match will be played at 4:30 p.m., with access to the green and yellow parking areas and the red area remaining closed. This, too, tells the story of Messina’s summer very well. Before even facing its opponents, the club first had to understand where it could train and where it could play. Unfortunately, that is nothing new. But it cannot become an excuse.

THE CUP IS NOT A DISTRACTION

The opening round will be played over two legs, on August 30 and September 6. But the Coppa Italia Eccellenza cannot be treated as a secondary competition. The winner of the Sicilian phase moves on to the national Coppa Italia Dilettanti, and the eventual national winner earns the sporting right to apply for admission to Serie D for the 2027–28 season.

For a club that needs to leave Eccellenza as quickly as possible, that means having a second route in addition to the league. The main road remains winning the championship. But Messina must try to win the Cup as well.

AGAINST THE PAST

And this brings us to the true meaning of the match. On Sunday, Messina will not simply be playing against Messana. It will be playing against the mistakes of recent years, against relegations, penalties, bankruptcies, promises and unfinished rebuilds. Against that now unbearable feeling that every time it seemed to have reached rock bottom, it somehow managed to dig even deeper.

This time, the bottom should have been reached. In fact, it must have been reached. It will take months to understand whether that is really the case.

On Sunday, we will only receive the first clue. Messina–Messana is the match that no supporter would ever have wanted to see on the calendar.

But now that it has to be played, there is only one thing left to do: Win it.

And begin the climb back. https://www.mayo.edu/research/labs/early-onset-parkinsons-disease-synucleinopathies/overview