The modern orchestra of football’s ultras

MATHS IS SEEN AS THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, something that everyone can recognise no matter where they are located on the globe. Yet to many, maths is that thing you had to endure during…

From hero to villain: the Gejus van der Meulen story

FROM HERO TO VILLAIN: it is a line written by countless sports journalists hundreds of times throughout a season. It is a heading so common that it has in many ways lost all…

The unlikely marriage between football and Vatican City

FROM THE BANKS OF THE RIVER TIBER rose the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Even today, to gaze upon the wonderments of the age bring about a certain awe inspiring emotion.…

The mafia and calcio

NICOLA “COCO” CAMPOLONGO WAS EXECUTED, shot through the head along with his grandfather and an acquaintance. Their bodies were later found in a burnt out Fiat Punto on the outskirts of the southern…

Lucarelli and Di Canio: the communist and the fascist

LIKE IT OR LOATHE IT, football and politics are intrinsically linked. If you look to every corner of the globe where football is played, politics always has a role. Be it right at…

Parma and the Parmalat scandal

It started in a family-run shop and ended with a lonely 17 years in prison. Between those two fateful events, time would see the rise and fall of Italy’s largest dairy company along…

Calcio’s failed Pozzo Project

The Italy of 1921 is far removed from the Italy of the present day. The political system was in turmoil – many argue it still is – as extremes of both kinds battled…