nationbooksprojectofnation
large_book

Buy It Online
    Amazon >
    Barnes & Noble >
    IndieBound.org >
    Powells.com >

Winning at All Costs

A Scandalous History of Italian Soccer



John Foot
September 2007     ISBN: 1568583680


In 2006, three billion people—including 20 million in the United States—watched Italy's extraordinary victory over France in the World Cup final. It was a down and dirty game, marred by French superstar Zidane's headbutting of Italian defender Materazzi. But millions of Americans were also exposed to the poetry, force and excellence of the Italian game. As operatic as Verdi and as cunning as Machiavelli, the Italian game seemed to open a window into the Italian soul.

John Foot's epic history of Italian soccer shows what makes Italian soccer and Italy itself so unique. Mixing serious analysis and comic storytelling, Foot tells the story of Italian soccer from its humble origins in northern Italy in the 1890s to its present day incarnation, where, in a country riven by regional rivalries, soccer is the national civic religion. As Foot writes, "It is impossible to comprehend Italy without understanding soccer, and vice-versa."

In a story that is reminiscent of Gangs of New York and A Clockwork Orange, Foot shows how the Italian game, like its political culture, has been overshadowed by big business, violence, conspiracy, and tragedy; how demagogues like Benito Mussolini and Silvio Berlusconi have used the game to further their own political ambitions. But the book also celebrates the sweet moments: the four World Cup victories, the success of Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, the role soccer played in the resistance to Nazism, the great managers and players who still manage to show that Italian soccer is as irresistible as Italy itself.

Foot's book got a mention on the New York Times Soccer Blog.

What readers are saying

"Read this book."
—Simon Kuper, author of Soccer Against the Enemy

"Shows how [soccer] and Italian society are inextricably intertwined and is full of fascinating vignettes"
—Sunday Times

About the Authors

John Foot teaches modern Italian history at University College London. He writes for the Guardian, the London Review of Books, and the Times Literary Supplement and is the author of books on Milan and modern Italian history.



Watch the video from our past conversations, interviews and events. Includes items from The Nation Institute and TomDispatch. Click here.



Follow us on twitter at @nationbooks or @nationinstitute



Become a fan of Nation Books on Facebook

signup

for our FREE e-mail newsletter, a monthly dispatch of events, excerpts, commentary by Nation Books and Nation Institute writers.



Eugene Richards Exhibition at Fahey/Klein Gallery

June 18 - July 18 | Los Angeles, CA
Check out the work of Institute Fellow and acclaimed photographer Eugene Richards at the Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles which will be showing art from Richards' book, The Blue Room, beginning on June 18. The art opening is on June 18 from 7 to 9 p.m.

July 28 - 29
Serge Michel and Paolo Woods on The Leonard Lopate Show
(WNYC, NPR)
Listen to Nation Books authors Serge Michel and Paolo Woods (China Safari: On the Trail of Beijing's Expansion in Africa) talk to Leonard Lopate about their book. MORE

August 13 - 16
Muckraking for Bloggers: From the Investigative Fund
(Netroots Nation, Pittsburgh, PA)
The Investigative Fund will conduct a workshop, Muckraking for Bloggers, at the annual Netroots Nation conference this August in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Esther Kaplan, Investigative Editor at the IFUND, will be leading the workshop. Speakers include Lindsay Beyerstein, Brant Houston and Bill Bastone. MORE