"A terrified mob ran over me, and my spine was sliced by the stairs"

In the somber shadows of the Heysel Stadium tragedy of 1985, Alessio Degrandi, a relentless Juventus enthusiast, stands as a symbol of resilience. His passion for the game endured the night's darkness, fear, and pain, a testament to the indomitable spirit of football fandom.

During the European Cup final against Liverpool, Degrandi found himself amidst chaos that transcended sportsmanship. As a 13-year-old, he went to Brussels with his cousin and his cousin's older brother. They were filled with hope, dreaming of a victory that could erase the pain of the Athens final loss.

However, signs of impending danger were apparent before the celebration turned into a living nightmare. The Z curve, initially intended for Liverpool fans, was opened to Juventus supporters and divided by a chicken wire fence. The tension escalated as stones were thrown indiscriminately, and the police, instead of intervening, remained astonishingly idle.

The hooliganism proved deadly when a violent hail of stones started, triggering a stampede that crashed against the wall, causing the death of 39 people. Among them, Andrea Casula, a ten-year-old Sassari boy who was taken to Brussels as a prize for being good at school.

Degrandi remembers those moments vividly. Bodies piled up, suffocation, and terrified screams. He was hit by a stone on the head and ended up lying diagonally across the steps, feeling them cut into his back as people walked over him. He clung to someone's arm, then lost consciousness.

He woke up in a hospital with a memory gap. The hospital staff had to break the news to him about Platini's goal, the last five minutes of the match he saw on a small black and white TV in the emergency room. His companions, searching hospitals across Brussels, were relieved when they found him, only to realize they had been given the wrong information about his whereabouts.

In the ensuing years, Degrandi has grappled with his experiences, unable to accept the loss of 39 lives due to a football match. The disaster's scandalous organization is hard to forgive. He carries the name and surname of Andrea Casula in his heart, a child who was just a few years younger than him and did not return home from that fateful night.

Despite the lasting emotional scars, Degrandi has resumed his life. He returned to the stadium, now a Juventus season ticket holder. His experiences have triggered both a fear of crowds and a need to confront his trauma, as he experienced a claustrophobic attack after the Heysel disaster. Nonetheless, he feels at ease in Turin, a city he knows intimately.

Looking back forty years later, Degrandi believes it is essential to remember the victims and renew the warning so that such a tragedy never happens again. The Heysel Stadium disaster, broadcast live to the world, left an indelible mark on football history, reminding us of the high cost of neglecting stadium safety and crowd control.

[1] BBC Sport. (2015, May 29). Heysel disaster: The nightmare that changed football. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/32936183[2] The Guardian. (2015, May 28). How the Heysel disaster changed football. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/may/28/heysel-disaster-changed-football-mcanally[3] UEFA. (2020). Heysel disaster. Retrieved from https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/history/uefa-history/uefa-events/news/id=1386819.html

Alessio Degrandi, a Juventus fan who lived through the horrors of the Heysel Stadium tragedy, still carries the memory of Andrea Casula, a young boy who also perished during the general-news event in 1985.
The chaotic European Cup final between Juventus and Liverpool in 1985, better known as the Heysel Stadium disaster, left an average of 39 livesnumbers taken, including Andrea Casula, a ten-year-old who was there as a reward for good grades.
Despite the emotional scars from the Heysel Stadium disaster, Alessio Degrandi, a resilient Juventus supporter, has returned to the stadium, now a season ticket holder, facing his fears and remembering the victims to ensure such a crime-and-justice tragedy never happens again.
Forty years after the Heysel Stadium disaster, Alessio Degrandi reflects on the event, which left an indelible mark on European leagues and football history, reminding us of the importance of stadium safety and crowd control.