As he sat outside of Caffe Dolce on Main Street yesterday afternoon, he wore a blue outfit, almost identical to the Italian team uniforms, and seemed confident in his team.
"We will go all the way. The Italians will win 2-0," he said. "Mark my words."
Poggi has watched the World Cup games since he was a little boy, and said an Italian win will mean a lot.
"I wanted them to play Portugal," he said. "But it doesn't matter anymore. They (the Italians) are too good."
While others might not be as confident as Poggi, they are celebrating the Azzurri - as the Italian team is known - being back in the championship game nonetheless. James Ferrara, 53, and his family gathered with other fans along Stacy Boulevard to celebrate Italy's 2-0 win in the semifinals against host Germany on Tuesday night.
"That was the best game of the playoffs so far," said Ferrara, who has watched soccer since he was a baby living in Sicily. "I think they have a very good chance to win it all."
Stephanie Noto, Ferrara's sister-in-law, said the games have been very emotional for her family. On Tuesday, Noto and her husband, Sebastian, had a house full of fans, as 50 people enjoyed the game at their Reservoir Road home.
"All the kids had their Italian shirts on," she said. "And we have an inground pool that everybody jumped into with all their clothes on afterwards."
Sefatia Romeo, whose mother moved to Gloucester from Italy at age 17, said she has watched the games throughout the World Cup from different houses. After Tuesday's victory, she blew the horn on her Mercedes Benz so much, it no longer works.
"It was worth blowing out," the city councilor said. "If we win the World Cup, it will definitely be worth it."
Romeo said she is visiting friends in Providence this weekend but plans to make it back to Gloucester for the game's 2 p.m. start on Sunday.
"As long as I'm watching the game with other fans it won't matter," she said. "But there is no place like home."
Romeo plans to be at 44 Reynard St., where Maria and John Cracchiolo will set up a big screen projector in a tent with room for 100 fans who are expected to drop by. Others, like the Notos will watch the game at the St. Peter's Club, but all will gather at St. Peter's Square for a parade after the game if their team wins.
Carlo Cusenza, 64, works at La Trattoria on Main Street but will be able to see the game because he doesn't work on Sundays. His son Sammy, one of the owners of the restaurant, said it wouldn't matter even if his father was scheduled for work.
"He would leave anyway," said Sammy Cusenza, 33, standing at his restaurant in a blue "Italia" shirt beneath a white button down shirt. "But I will be here, with a little TV in the kitchen, cooking and watching."
Poggi plans to be at the North End of Boston on Sunday, where he celebrated on Tuesday, wearing the same blue outfit, including a bandana and an Italian flag.
"It's both superstition and cheering them on," he said of his wardrobe.
Tony Colella of Looking Good Salon didn't even want to talk about the game until it's over. He said it would be bad luck. But Romeo said the only kind of bad luck in soccer is when the game comes down to penalty kicks, something she said Italy is not good at.
"In the last game people were begging on their hands and knees for it not to go into overtime (kicks)," she said. "The last time we lost the World Cup, it was on penalty kicks. They should play until they are exhausted. If you can't play anymore, then too bad."
It is clear that Poggi is not worried about penalty kicks. He even went as far as predicting the goal scorers in the 2-0 win on Sunday, and they didn't include Italy's top goal-scorer, Alessandro Del Piero.
"(Toni) Luca and (Alberto) Gilardino will score the goals," he said, with no hesitation.
