Historical Florentine Calcio

Many fans criticize modern football because it evolved from the sport of real men in a contest of pampered millionaires who fall down and writhe in pain from any touch of the enemy, and even at all without it. However, there are in the world and more brutal versions of this game, for example, of a historical Florentine Calcio (Calcio Fiorentino).

Every summer in June and July, the people of Florence gather in a Central square of the Old Town to witness one of the most renowned sporting competitions of our times. At this time, four teams representing the four historic quarters of the city, play each other in the Calcio Fiorentino game, which is a distant ancestor of modern soccer and Rugby, but also incorporating elements of Boxing, wrestling and mixed martial arts.









Each team consists of 27 people, 15 of which forwards. Moreover, the word "attack" in this case is not quite equivalent to himself in soccer. After all, the goal of these players is not only to place the ball into the opponent's gate, but in every way to prevent breakdowns of their attacks from the players of other teams.

Bruises, contusions, and blood is the least of what can happen to a player during a match in the Calcio Fiorentino. Often the participants of these competitions can't leave the playing field on their own — with their broken limbs, sometimes unconscious, carried away on a stretcher. Against this background, the historical impact of Zinedine Zidane head in the chest of Marco Materazzi seems to be a childish prank!





Add all this to the fact that instead of the standard football form players in the Florentine Calcio use colorful medieval costumes, including, in particular, and striped trousers. And as a prize the winning team gets not a Cup, and a young calf, whom she immediately seariver and eats, sharing the trophy with the fans.





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