The Drughi of Juve have been flying under my radar so far. Sure, Arancia Meccanica, which became the Drughi later, Fighters, Vikings, are known names, but never got much attention. The focus was on the veterans of the movement in Milano or Genoa and lower league groups.
Then a new publication appears on Ebay, on the occasion of their 25th anniversary, the Drughi Sezione Magenta publish a book. Magenta? That's where Google Maps needs to help out: metropolitan area of Milano, to the east of the city, 1,5 hours ride to Torino.
The story of the section is told by its banner. Nice idea, I see that for the first time. And so „Lo Striscione“ tells stories from its life.
About the beginnings in the late 80s/early 90s and the match in Paris where the cornerstone of the section is laid, rides without ticket on the train to Torino, being carried well-protected in the middle of a Corteo, being used as a mattress to sleep at the train station on the return from Roma and hanging upside-down on the occasion of unjustified stadium bans.
About the dry period for the section after refusing to become „Fighters Magenta“ which is offered by the new leaders of the Curva Sud in 1996. Instead, the section goes into sleeping mode.
About the return in 2005, when the section is at a true low point. The banner mothballed, no more bar as a meeting point, only one car load to attend the home match against Udine, realizing that the banner of the main group is visible again: the Drughi are back!
About the Calciopoli scandal which leads to the descent of Juve to 2nd division and increases the Juventini's „us against them“ mentality, the death of Filippo Raciti and Gabriele Sandri and finally the ugly face of Modern Football which comes into focus from about 2012 onwards.
But also about details, like the decision of the Drughi's Direttivo in 2013 that banners have to be put one under the other, because of the increasing number of sections. A fact which Lo Striscione diplomatically comments: „This solution esthetically is not the maximum“. And of course about the celebratory choreography, where the section is working two years for a planned show in 2014, but which can only be carried out in March 2015 after endless annoyances with the authorities.
All of this is presented in a well-done mix of anecdotes about the group and sometimes the ultra scene, developments in the club and the sport (the scorers for Juve are indicated for each match that is being mentioned). Also the players are held in high esteem, as can be seen from the written banners whoen by the section over the years. Riot stories are far and few between, a pleasant change from books of other Italian ultra groups.
The reader learns a lot about the Drughi Magenta, the story of the Curva Sud is running in the background and only sometimes hinted at. The internal matters of the Curva Sud are left out. The background of the change of leadership in 1995/96 is not given, neither the developments which led to the return of the Drughi. Also no details are given about the nature of the tensions in the Curva Sud in the following years.
Instead, the book provides impressions from the many, many international matches. Again and again the trips to Germany (in Hamburg 1990 Lo Striscione apprears internationally for the first time, then Dortmund in the 90s, later Bayern Munich), England and Spain. Worth mentioning are the stories from Glasgow, with an impressive friendly athmosphere, and St. Petersburg, where the the section is approached by a group of young local ultras that want to know about the Drughi's way of living ultra. The national matches against Inter (the black&blue seem to be the sworn enemies of the section and are always mentioned with the adjective „odiato“), Firenze and of course the derbies against the Granata are regularly mentioned.
The style is very pleasant, supported by many telling pictures from within the stadium as well as of the group's merchandising. So the book leaves a very good impression in the end. The passion which went into producing this affectionate piece of work is obvious. The book tells a lot about the section while covering many aspects of Juve and its Curva Sud without being lengthy.
25 Euros are a fair price for 336 colored pages in a hard cover. Unfortunately you have to count on about the same amount for the postage abroad. But this nuisance about the prices and service of Poste Italiane is recurrent with every order from Italy.
I'd recommend the book to anyone who understands a bit of Italian. Those who get along by the pictures only, the book should be a good investment as well and a little extra effort with Google Translator for the captions will probably increase the return significantly.

al.ul