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Where fear and superstition collide

Napoli and Roma meet on Wednesday night to determine who gets to go to the Coppa Italia final. Here's a list of does and dont's for your Wednesday.

By Kirsten Schlewitz
Paolo Bruno

With less than eight hours to go before Napoli meet AS Roma in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final, I, for one, am getting a bit nervous. It doesn't help that I just learned that Napoli have beaten the giallorossi just once in the Coppa - unless you count 1938, but that required extra time, so I don't.

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Once More, On To The Breach

Conor Dowley

Napoli must outperform Italy's second place side to advance to the Coppa Italia final. Can they do it?

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Once More, On To The Breach

The heady significance of tonight's match is hanging over me like a cloud filled with tiny droplets of dread.  And when sports fans are confronted with fear, often the only way to remedy it is with amulets. Guardians against a poor result. Yes, I am suggesting that you embrace the side of you that sometimes you just want to bury under an avalanche of statistics and analysis. The side of you that sees no problem with wearing the same pair of socks for nine weeks running.

To Do

  • Wear whatever it is you put on when Walter Mazzarri managed to get his Napoli side past Juventus to claim the Coppa in 2012.
  • Eat some anchovies. What could be more Naples?
  • Buy a counterfeit product. Support industry in Naples.
    Yeah...this is a joke. Please don't sue me.
  • Drink coffee made in your Moka Pot. Yep, this came from Naples.
  • Indulge in some mozzarella. Don't listen to anyone who says caprese came from anywhere but the south of Italy.
  • Watch The Bourne Supremacy. Ha, you thought I was going to say The Godfather, didn't you.
  • Wear your San Gennaro amulet.
  • Wear your Fiorentina sweatshirt. Those guys are definitely going to be cheering on Napoli.
  • Take down your "Cats of Rome" calendar. Oh. Just me then?
  • Build another pillow fort.

To Avoid

  • Wearing red.
  • Wearing yellow.
  • Wearing a combination of red and yellow.
  • Allowing people wearing any red and/or yellow through your door.
  • Sitting next to people wearing any red and/or yellow in public.
  • Eating Roman pizza - ie the really thin crust kind. Totally inferior to the Neopolitan version.
  • Eating Parmigiano Reggiano. Stick with Parmesan for today.
  • Eating Roma tomatoes. Self-explanatory.
  • Watching Gladiator
  • Carrying your Fendi purse. Don your Gucci shoes and your Armani shirt, but Fendi is Roman so leave it behind. Also, it's the Cartier watch, not the Bulgari today - Bulgari is also a Roman company.
  • Praying. Come on, the Pope lives in Rome, pretty much. Clearly he's on their side and he's the only one with a direct line to God.

Finally...in honor of the sporting interests of the site managers

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