Sorry guys but I beg to differ with the statement that players are not invovled in match-fixing. Maybe none we implicated this time but in previous scandals they were. If you are looking for a good book on the Italian league, check out Joe Mcginniss's The Miracle of Castel di Sangro: A Tale of Passion and Folly in the Heart of Italy. He followed a small Italian team around for a season and had access to the owner manager and players. It closes with the players throwing a game to guarantee that a certain gets promoted.
posted by outsidemid4 at 05:46 PM on July 26, 2006
Every 5-10 of years an Italian game-fixing scandal comes out. There are threats of punishment but the tradition continues. It is a part of Italian football (and diving).
posted by outsidemid4 at 07:17 PM on July 25, 2006
The refs have been woefully inconsistent and the physical play just keeps escalating.
posted by outsidemid4 at 09:16 PM on June 25, 2006
So that's what we needed! Why waste our time learning to have a good first touch? Just have our guys get freaky haircuts and maybe we'd have advaced to the second round.
posted by outsidemid4 at 09:20 PM on June 23, 2006
No first touch for a majority of the game. Czech players just waited on our weak passes or poor touches to counter. McBride was parked up top waiting for someone, anyone to cross a good ball in the air. That cannot be our entire offense!
posted by outsidemid4 at 11:38 PM on June 12, 2006
Paradiso to Inferno
Sadly the Tim Parks book is echoed by The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro by Joe McGinniss where the author follows a lower division team through the season that includes match fixing, racism, etc.
posted by outsidemid4 at 08:15 PM on July 30, 2006