The Italian Job: A Journey to the Heart of Two Great Footballing Cultures

by Gianluca Vialli, Gabriele Marcotti

Soccer lies at the heart of popular culture around the world. It is played, watched, written about, and talked to death by millions virtually every day of the year. But how do the characteristics of England and Italy—two of the most passionate soccer playing countries—affect the game in these two nations? Do the national stereotypes of Italians as fervent, stylish lotharios and the English as cold-hearted eccentrics still hold true when they kick a ball around? For the first time, a player of the first rank—Gianluca Vialli—in conjunction with sportswriter and broadcaster Gabriele Marcotti, tackles this debate head on, and they have invited some of the biggest names to join them. Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Sven Goran Eriksson, Fabio Capello, and Marcello Lippi, among others, add their not inconsiderable weight to the highest-profile symposium on soccer ever convened. Every aspect of the game is explored, be it tactical and technical or cultural and sociological. Stuffed full of controversial opinions and gripping revelations, this study on the sport takes you on a journey to the very heart of two of the world's great soccer cultures.

Genres: Football, Sports, Soccer, Nonfiction, Biography, Italy

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[GloriaGloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'ultima volta che ho visto per intero una partita di calcio non avevo ancora fatto sesso o preso un aereo. A malapena distinguo Totti da Del Piero, figuriamoci sapere di chi sia il faccione sulla copertina, anche se ora lo so e so anche, e per fortuna, che questo libro non è la sua autobiografia ma uno sfiziosissimo , pare assurdo ma è così, trattato intorno al darwinismo applicato al calcio per illustrare le differenze tra due blasonate tradizioni calcistiche: l'inglese e l'italiana. Perché dal punto di vista più basso della piramide l'intelligenza calcistica che si sviluppa, almeno a dar credito ai due autori, è questione geofisica, culturale, politica. E' questione di quale rispetto si abbia come cittadini dei due paesi verso l'autorità, questione di classe sociale, di tasso alcolico, del giocare da bambini in cortili metropolitani o in pianure battute dal vento. Il tomo è suddiviso in tre parti: il giocatore, l'allenatore e tutto il resto (soldi, media, tifo ecc...). Io ho letto solo la prima, perchè voglio tenermi stretti i miei ignoranti pregiudizi verso il ruolo dell'allenatore, nei suoi riguardi sono come quelli che ascoltando un'orchestra si chiedono a cosa serva il direttore, alla fin fine è una lettura estiva e le letture estive, si sa, son come gli amori mordi e fuggi, si ricordano ma senza rimpianti. E poi, ad andar dietro al loro gioco, dei due autori, ho scoperto alcune cose su di me.
Sono appartenuto, probabilmente, all'ultima generazione che ha avuto la possibilità di giocar per strada e quindi, data la mia poca passione per il calcio ufficiale, l'unico calcio da me mai praticato/conosciuto è quello sull'asfalto. Ho passato l'infanzia in una città fatta di colline, di discese e salite violente, d'inverno sferzata da un venticello che sale su dal mare (praticamente la San Francisco dell'Adriatico :) ) che neppure Archimede avrebbe saputo calcolare le traiettorie controvento del glorioso Supertele, abitavo sul colle più alto e le partitelle quotidiane si svolgevano su un fascio d'asfalto sanpietrinato con una pendenza vorticosa, le interruzioni per il passaggio delle macchine erano frequenti e le azioni di gioco dovevano essere di conseguenza velocissime e frenetiche. Io ero un giocatore ambito, uno dei primi a essere scelto nella classica conta dei piccoli capitani honoris causa. Di me erano apprezzate la velocità bruciante, la tenuta di di fiato in salita e soprattutto la mia proverbiale ma elegante scorrettezza, la capacità di saper individuare il punto debole della catena avversaria, di solito il ragazzino d'animo nobile, il Nemecsek della situazione, a cui assestare una canagliesca gomitata nello sterno in mezzo all'area (quando per errore beccavo il Franti allora erano botte) per poter poi agilmente infilare il portiere (l'assestare gomitate nell'area avversaria è una delle cose che ricordo con più piacere della mia infanzia, un momento di rude mascolinità, di rito formativo: sarà per questo che l'unico sport che seguo è il basket, dove la gomitata infame è ancora una delle regole non scritte del gioco). Insomma, se le teorie football evoluzionistiche del duo di autori fossero vere, io, date le condizioni topografiche della mia città natale, quelle climatiche e la mia tendenza al gioco veloce e rude dovrei essere un suddito di sua Maestà, un bevitore di birra senza neuroni funzionati scientificamente progettato per un gioco maschio e senza schemi. Son soddisfazioni.

[David Mumford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for those that are into the beautiful game. An insightful account into the differences that make the English game and Italian calcio different from each other.

[George Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fascinating, insightful and informative study of a side of a football rarely seen. Vialli is intelligent and clearly very passionate, which makes the book a thoughtful and engaging take on the sport, from someone who has the success and respect within the game to back it up.

With the book reaching twenty years old, a lot seems outdated but interesting to see how much of Vialli’s predictions came true.

So much has changed within the game, not least including England’s approach to the game. I would love to have read that sequel, to see his thoughts on how things have developed since the publishing of this book, very sad we now won’t get the opportunity.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable and insightful read into two colossal footballing cultures, their similarities and impact on the beautiful game.

[Monthly Book Group · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vialli comes from an affluent and educated Italian background. As Vialli noted, such a background was almost unheard of amongst English footballers. That footballers came exclusively from the working classes in England had important implications – such as the reluctance amongst English teams to consider tactics seriously, and their approach to training.

His whole approach was refreshing, for example in his empirical approach to issues. Rather than simply discuss the impact of climate on English versus Italian football, he examined the statistics, showing that the key difference is not in temperature or in rainfall, but in the wind.

Vialli was particularly interesting in similar vein as he wrestled to define the national/cultural/attitudinal differences between England and Italy in relation to football.

He identified that English managers were less intellectual because of their working class background. He put his finger on the English habit of selecting “celebrity” managers whose fame lay in their playing skill, not in their managerial qualifications and experience. Vialli recognised that he himself fell into this category when appointed at Chelsea – an appointment which had astonished Italians, but not English.

In a manner totally unprecedented for the Monthly Book Group, the team pursued the proferred ball relentlessly, without pause for diversion or amusement, and not even playing the man instead of the ball. (Is there any subject other than football which would generate such sustained concentration and serious debate amongst Scots? Certainly not money, last month….)

The opening phase saw some pretty play around the book as a whole. “Tremendous, really interesting”. “One of these books that will forever change the way I see certain things”. Even for a non-football-fanatic (yes, there was one) the book had proved quite interesting, although frustrating in having an index but no contents section. However, kicking the ball back to the centre, it was a pity that his early empirical method deteriorated into assertion backed up by selective quotation. The second half of the book was weaker than the first, as he rushed to squeeze in extra topics.

Was the book aimed at England or Italy? We assumed England, as there was no evidence it had been published in Italy. And the subtext – disguised by Vialli’s tact and charm – was the question of why the English (particularly the English national team and English managers) were less successful than they expected to be. At the time of the meeting, the top eight clubs in the English Premiership were managed by managers who were not English....

This is an extract from a review at http://monthlybookgroup.wordpress.com/. Our reviews are also to be found at http://monthlybookgroup.blogspot.com/

[Aravind Nagarajan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A US-moving gift, this book took me more time to finish than necessary. I started watching football during Vialli's last couple of seasons at Chelsea and I was watching football regularly when he was a Manager.
He seems to have put in a lot of effort, but the role that he plays in this book rapidly alternates between a neutral, dispassionate researcher and a passionate insider. That's one of the main reasons why this book was harder to read.
It did give a lot of information about English and Italian football cultures and was much richer than the multitude of blog posts and articles that you normally encounter.

[Louis Porter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly ahead of its time, The Italian Job manages to touch on a lot of issues that are still relevant today. It's foreseen problems surrounding the introduction of VAR feels funny now, considering that all of them have come true. The cultural differences between Italy and England are intriguing, and it's cool to see how much the English game has evolved since this book was written.

I feel it did drag a bit, though, and ended up struggling to finish the last third of the book.

[Gino Fortunato · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle, a journey to the heart of two great football and cultures, is really a great description of this book. It gives an excellent understanding of the two cultures, how they're different, why they're different and how that affects things today The book is slightly dated but still it's relevant.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting analysis of the game in Italy and England as seen by the late Gianluca Vialli. Originally published in 2006, it is interesting to note that some of his suggestions to improve the game have since been adopted but many of the issues still remain. Thoughtful and well written but I may have preferred to see it as a TV documentary.

[Anup Guruvugari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paints a picture that you may be aware of if you ve followed football closely in England and Italy. As a neutral it took me down the memory lane with a lot of 'oh yeah' moments in it. Would definitely recommend it if you watch EPL and even faintly follow Serie A

[Michele Ruggiero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessante, nonostante gli anni passati.
Ma non è un testo con aneddoti personali, se non in minima parte.
E' una disamina sul calcio, di circa 20 anni fa, e soprattutto su quello inglese e italiano.

[John Brugge · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read and some interesting insights but the kind of book that gets dated quickly. Lots has changed in the elite soccer world in 20 years and the player references are all people I had never heard of.

[Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting but there are better soccer books out there

[Jonny Brick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little long, and not enough about his time managing Watford, but a fine glimpse into the mind of a great footballer.

[Daniel J. Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very thoughtful and interesting insight into the England and Italy worlds of football. It would be interesting to see a sequel to this book.

Rest in peace Gianluca.

[Uttiyo Sarkar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought-provoking. Informative. Easy going. 3.5.

[TinHouseBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heather Hartley (Paris Editor, Tin House Magazine): For inimitable prose style, Proust and Nabokov (among lots of others) come to mind, and as far as soccer style goes, Gianluca Vialli and Gabriele Marcotti’s The Italian Job: A Journey to the Heart of Two Great Footballing Cultures is pretty terrific. Vialli, former striker for superstar teams Juventus and Chelsea and previous manager-player for the latter, writes about Italian and English soccer with wit, depth and a sharp eye as to how these two pitch mega-powers play, strategize and manage—both literally and metaphorically—their teams. From calcio cameos by José Mourinho to Marcello Lippi to Sir Alex Ferguson to excerpts from Sun Tzu’streatise The Art of War that Vialli and Marcotti (a journalist for Corriere dello Sport) include in their discussion about how ancient warfare tactics (circa 544–496 BC) can successfully be applied to modern soccer strategies, this is a book that has something for most any footballer fan, professional or amateur. Despite a title that seems to be rooting for the tricolor flag of green, white and red, The Italian Job takes both countries into serious soccer consideration with insight and brio. Bonus prize: Come here for all you need to know about “The Tactical Dogma: Stuck on 4-4-2.”

[Rain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here we have a a very informative look at the differences and similarities of English and Italian football. Covers a range of topics from grass roots football, players, managers, fans etc. Very in depth and interesting and anyone interested in football should give this a read.

It resonates a lot with me about my own culture and it's faults, whilst recognising those on the continent. Vialli gives his personal view along side each topic, which you may or may not like, but it's interesting to hear his thoughts. The book is obviously 7 years old now, and the game has progressed past this is a multitude of ways, but not in the underlying traditions, so it's still very informative.

Filled with Cultural and historical references, and interviews with big managers and figures in the game such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Marcello Lippi, Sven Goran Eriksson and Jose Mourinho.

If you follow football the chances are you will read this regardless, but nonetheless it gets a big nod from me.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors are referencing the 2006 "Calciopoli," the match fixing scandal, in Serie A but nonetheless this is something: "Do you know the story of the frog and the pot of water? If you took a live frog and put it in a pot of boiling water it would immediately try to jump out and get away. . . . But if you took the same live frog and put it in a pot of cold water it would just sit quietly, contented and happy. And it would continue sitting there, even as you turned on the gas and gradually turned up the heat . . . It simply wouldn't realize it was being cooked alive. . . . Once we begin to accept the breaking of rules, or even just the lack of sportsmanship and fair play, we lose a sense of what is happening to us, just like the frog. It doesn't matter if we're not directly involved, the mere fact that we tolerate certain things makes us complicit. For every little episode we let slide, our sense of what is 'normal' and 'acceptable' gets distorted."

[... · Rating 5 out of 5]

قرأت هذا الكتاب قبل سنة وببساطة كان افضل كتاب كروي مر علي

كل فصل وكل نقطة نقاش طرحها كانت مثيرة وجديدة,الرغبة دائما عند شراء كتاب عن الكرة ان تكسب معلومات غير مبتذلة وتحاول فهم هذه اللعبة المجنونة بشكل أعمق,نظرة من خلف الستار الحديدي المحيط بالأندية,محاولة لفهم مسيرة وتطور أطراف اللعبة من الجذور إلى قمم المجد والتألق,تشعر عند قراءة هذا الكتاب بالمجهود الكبير المبذول من المؤلفين ( فيالي لاعب ايطالي شهير وماركوتي صحفي رياضي له مؤلفات ومقالات في مواقع مختلفة )

للحديث عن محتوى الكتاب,الكتاب يناقش بشكل أساسي الاختلاف في الارث الكروي بين الكرة الإيطالية والإنجليزية,فـ أحيانا تجده يتكلم عن طريقة التنشئة الكروية للاعب في الأكاديمية منذ الصغر,وفي فصل يتحدث عن الأختلافات بين المدربين من نواحي مختلفة مثل التكتيك والتحفيز والثقة وغيرها.

اختصاراً للمراجعة,أنصح أي شخص له رغبة في قراءة كتاب كروي بأن يبدأ بهذا الكتاب.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vialli covers a lot of bases, but I have a problem with his soapbox rants. As a reader, I fully understand that the Beautiful Game has lost a bit of lustre, and is now quite imperfect, but what does that have to do with the differences in Italian football and English football? That's stuff for another book.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not necessarily earth-shaking stuff, but an interesting, frank exploration of Italian and English football, from someone who knows both intimately. Often fascinating, and likely to interest exactly zero of my goodreads friends. (You people! You don't know what you're missing!)

[Manda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was even more enjoyable than I expected; Vialli's position as an insider of the game in both Italy and England provided a unique and interesting perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of football in both countries.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was all about soccer and was written by an ex player and it shows. The material was good, but it missed on the presentation.

[Anton Dutev · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for everybody who loves the game.

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really enjoyable read comparing and contrasting the football of two countries I have always followed. Very insightful and easy to pick up whenever.