What the most bloodthirsty kind of football looks like - Calcio Florentino

Calcio florentino (or simply calcio) is one of the earliest forms of football (if it can be called football at all), the rules of which were finally formed by 1580. At first, local rich people, aristocrats and clergymen played it - however, now it is difficult to imagine such a state of affairs. And here's the thing: the game is more of a huge bloody mess than a ball game as such. The match lasts 55 minutes, most of the time the sacred sports equipment remains in place, and the players beat each other until they knock out all the crap or until they just get exhausted.

(Total 39 photos)

Among other things, calcio is also a very local event, which involves only four teams from the nearest settlements (each has its own color: white, blue, red and green), and their meeting always takes place in the same place - on Plaza Santa Croce. As an illustration, let's take a well-known quote from an experienced calcio player: “It's a cruel game, the fight is really going on there. In 1994, I spent 15 hours in the surgical department after Calcio. I arrived there with an eye in my hand and virtually no teeth. This year my son will take part in his first game. He's only 18."

In 2006, the Calcio was canceled for two whole years due to fierce fights between the white and blue teams, but later resumed again - photographer David Ramos dedicated his next project to this kind of resurrection, trying to see how such a cruel sport is played in the 21st century .

1 Calcio players in Piazza Santa Croce on June 30, 2013. The final battle for the first place between the players of the white and blue teams.

2. White team players are training in the gym.

3. Boxing training among the players of the white team.

4. A former calcio player hugs his friend and current member of the white team in the cafeteria after practice.

5. Relatives of the white team players are watching training at the white residence.

6. Blue team players training.

7. Blue team players wrestle in the middle of the field during practice.

8. The blue team had a barbecue after the end of a late practice session.

9. 43-year-old Antonio and his brother - 40-year-old Leonardo - arranged a boxing training in their gym, in the blue residence.

10. Leonardo with his daughter at dinner.

11. White team players pray the day before the start of the next match.

12. The white team in the locker room before the start of the semifinals.

13. Giani, player of the blue team, makes bandages on his hands before the final match.

14. Blue rest before the final.

15. The reaction of the blue to the speech of the coach.

16. "Victory or death" - the inscription on the armband of the player of the blue team.

17. Another player of the blue team bandages the hand of a teammate before the start of the match.

18. Blue team on the bus.

19. A player named Verona walks down the street in the crowd before the start of the semi-finals.

20. The tattooed player of the blue team goes to Santa Croce Square before the start of the game.

21. A 38-year-old white team player named Marzio hugs his son.

22. The blue team on the street before the start of the match.

23. Players of the blue team go to Santa Croce Square.

24. Fans of the white team greet their players.

25. The player of the blue team and the representation of the fans in the background.

26. Underage fans shout slogans in support of the white team.

27. Beginning.

28. The start of a fight between the players of the white and blue teams.

29. Fight one on one in the center of the square.

30. Mass collision on the field.

31. Continuation of the fight at the sides of the field.

32. White team player dribbles.

33. Interception of the ball by the players of the blue team.

34. Player named Verona during the match.

35. Players of the blue team begin to celebrate their victory.

36. Another blue team player.

37. Continuation of the celebration.

38. Blue carry flags.

39. Group formation of blue team players.