The first history of Italian football to be written in English, -Calcio- is a mix of serious analysis and comic storytelling, with vivid descriptions of games, goals, dives, missed penalties, riots and scandals in the richest and toughest league in the world.-Calcio- tells the story of Italian football from its origins in the 1890-s to the present day. It takes us through a history of great players and teams, of style, passion and success, but also of violence, cynicism, catenaccio tactics and corruption.We meet the personalities that have shaped this history - from the Italian heroes to the foreigners that failed, the model professionals to the mavericks. -Calcio- evokes the triumphs (the 1982 World Cup victory) and the tragedies (Meroni, the ''Italian George Best'', killed by his number one fan), set against a backdrop of paranoia and intrigue, in a country where the referee is seen as corrupt until proven otherwise.Calcio is no longer a game. It is sometimes difficult to define it a
