My own personal love affair with Italy began in Jan 2007 when I moved there for work aged 22 and worked as an EFL teacher. My first stop on that journey and HQ of my employer - was Genoa - but it was a flying stop - 16 years later I finally went back to fulfill a dream - see the city properly but also visit the Super Samp stadium - the place where dreams come true.

Beddows arrived in Milan - left my daughter with her Grandad and continued on the Genoa - the home of Super Samp - my main aim was to visit and hopefully get inside the Stadio Luigi Ferrairs - would I succeed?

Day One - I arrived in Genoa and ironically stayed in a suburb called Sampierdarena - complete with some Samp graffitti near my hotel to make me feel at home. Drank some beers and planned what I'd do the next day.

Day two - we started with a 5km run to reach my May challenging of running 100km in a month - #runwanker - then an impromptu Internet search I discovered Samp train at a place called Boglisaco which is by the sea - so naturally a short 25 minute train journey and a morning at the sea followed by a photo shot outside the Super Samp training HQ - the place that has produced players like Thuram, Cambiaso and now is developing Jackson.

and that afternoon the Sir Stephen Beddows mantra in life of "never give up, keep trying - no does not exist..." came up trumps again... - once back in the City I walked to the stadium but it was all closed up! 😞 I walked all the way round and no one was to be seen but clearly people were working. I rang a buzzer at the back of the stadium and explained I come all the way from England to see the ground and they said I couldn't...

so naturally I ended up at a bar drinking with two Inter Milan fans from Albania who when I said I hated Man City offered me a beer - naturally I said Yes and thought your luck is in - go try again.

So back round the stadium I walk and got all the way around and saw a groundsman called Raimundo and I said... please can you let me in and he said I couldn't and I said come on I've come all the way from England - he said give me 5 mins - he then returns with the keys and let's me in (rightfully so) to my Top100 home!

Nice to have ticked off something I've wanted to do for a long time - hopefully I'll try and get to a serie B game next season!

The next day time for more running, sea, sun, beer, pizza/pasta and ice cream!