Donkeys take flight as Chievo fly high

A couple of seasons ago, when Hellas Verona clashed in a second division derby with little Chievo Verona, the club from way beyond the boondocks, the fans of the better known Verona team taunted their upstart rivals with this: "When donkeys can fly, then Chievo and Verona will meet in a Serie A derby".

Right now, football experts all over Italy are ducking low and often to avoid the flying donkeys following a weekend of Serie A action that concluded with "new entry" Chievo on top of the table.

Even if it is highly unlikely that Chievo will be anyway near the top of the table next May, their performance so far has brought a wry smile to many faces, re-enforcing the old adage that, sometimes at least, willpower, enthusiasm and commitment can compensate for technical and financial shortcomings.

Inevitably, the Chievo rise and rise has prompted an overdose of fanciful Italian media analysis, with "fairytale" and "cinderella" being the not too original, but most used epithets. This is not the sort of talk that appeals much to coach Luigi Del Neri, once a tough, battling midfielder with Udinese and now a Serie A debutant as coach.

"Would people stop talking all this saccharine stuff about fairytales. There is no fable here. Chievo is the result of hard work, on a daily basis," he said recently.

Hard work, the enthusiasm and energy of the debutant, lack of pressure and a less demanding calendar than their more famous rivals involved in midweek Champions League and UEFA Cup games - all certainly provide a rational explanation for the Chievo success story.

Such analysis, however, hardly does justice to a club that is nothing if not a David in a world of mega-Goliaths. While Chievo are justifiably proud of having signed up more than 4,700 season ticket holders this year - not bad when you consider that the area of Chievo has less than 4,000 registered residents - the Milans, Romas and Inters can claim more than 10 times that number.

Chievo make the most of a hard running, hard chasing, combative style that has seen them pick up 22 yellow cards in their first five games.

Unlike many Serie A debutants, Chievo did not mark their arrival in the first division with the purchase of big name foreigners. Rather they stuck both to the side that earned promotion last season.

Therefore, this Chievo is mighty similar to last season's team with only two new boys regularly picked - ex-Bari midfielder Simone Perrotta and ex-Roma reserve goalkeeper Cristiano Lupatelli.

Many of the journeyman professionals that make up the team, such as influential captain and former Juventus midfielder Eugenio Corini, have a point to prove after previous Serie A disappointments. Others, such as talented left-sided midfielder Christian Manfredini, have become inebriated with the unfamiliar elixir of week-in, week-out clashes with the Shevchenkos, Del Pieros and Batistutas of Serie A.

Speaking after Sunday's 1-0 home win against Parma, Manfredini asked the question that is on everyone's lips: "At this point, you have to wonder if we're really that good or are things not going well for the other teams."

While waiting for the answer, watch out for flying donkeys.