In this episode of TGU podcast host Frank Risorto sits down for a chat with author of the new book 'The Defiant' Chris Lee. Frank and Chris talk about...
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The birth of political extremism in Italian Football
The following story explores neo-radicalism during Italy’s Years of Lead and the era’s impact on contemporary football. The Phoenix of Fascism On 2 August 1980, young Angela Fresu shifted...
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Red and blue rivals: Bologna, Genoa and the great theft of 1925
In 1925, Italy was in the grip of fascism. Following a campaign of scare tactics and violence that began with the 1922 March on Rome, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini,...
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A culture of violence: How political and social turmoil gave rise to Rome’s radical ultras
No matter how pithy the quote, football should never become a matter of life and death. Nor should it be considered ‘war minus the shooting’, though we are often...
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Masters Versus champions: British Perceptions of Calcio in the Fascist Era
On 2 April 2013, Paolo Di Canio entered the pressroom at the Stadium of Light to begin his first press conference as Manager of Sunderland AFC. The line of...
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Calcio Storico Fiorentino
Calcio – the Italian word for football – is markedly different to the words used in other languages to describe the sport. Most of these derive from the word...
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Vittorio Pozzo and the Italian Assertion of Power (Part II)
In the second and final instalment of Neil’s two-part article, he looks at how Vittorio Pozzo’s Italy – regarded as an expression of Benito Mussolini’s Fascist Italy – managed...
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Vittorio Pozzo and the Italian assertion of power (Part I)
In the first instalment of this two part article, Neil maps out the political backdrop to which the first World Cups were played and recounts Italy’s first World Cup...
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The story of Leandro Arpinati and his chequered history in Italian football
Italian football has had its fair share of scandals over the years, from the Totonero betting scandal that rocked the game in the early 1980s to the infamous Calciopoli...
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