Calcio Italia And Me

Date: 9th October 2011 at 9:00am
Written by:

One month ago, publishers Faragher Jones announced that they were folding, and that no more editions of Calcio Italia magazine will be published by them. While this was very sad news, this article is not one lamenting the magazine’s absence, but rather a celebration of all the things it has given to me, people in the UK and around the world.

For an insider’s look back on the 19 years of Calcio Italia’s existence (which, I stress, could continue if another publisher picks up the name and resumes where Faragher Jones left off), co-founder Giancarlo Rinaldi has written an excellent piece on his blog, giancarlorinaldi.tumblr.com. This article comes from a reader’s perspective.

If it were not for Calcio Italia, I would not be watching, reading, talking and writing about Italian football. The first time I ever read a copy of the magazine was in March 2003, when I was 7 years old. Though I had seen previous editions on the shelves, this particular edition had a particularly eye-catching front cover, with a passionate Javier Zanetti celebrating a goal, the blue and black stripes of his Inter shirt beckoning me closer. My grandparents, who were taking me out for the day, kindly bought it for me.

In truth I knew I was hooked before even reading a word. Page 2 of the issue was an advert for Serie A Corinthian Prostars, the little figures with big heads that I loved to collect. I was convinced that this inclusion of one of my passions meant that I would find great happiness when reading the monthly publication.  The Prostars were to resurface again when I was one of 10 lucky winners of a pack of 12 Juventus legends featured in a Calcio Italia competition. I can still remember the delight of seeing the perfectly chiselled, noble sculpts of Paolo Rossi, Giampiero Boniperti and Gaetano Scirea staring up at me.

The articles in that first issue taught me names of ‘new’ clubs like Udinese and Chievo (Chee-voh? Cai-voh? It took me a while to understand Italian pronunciation), and while I had heard of many of the players, I was reading about managers like Ancelotti, Lippi and Capello for the first time. Most intriguing were the cluster of teams in the lower-mid table. For some reason, Empoli, Modena and Perugia gave off an aura of mystique, an effect that still influences me when I read about them.

Around this period Calcio Italia, which was first published in 1992 as part of Channel 4’s Serie A coverage but outlived its sister programme, contained 100 pages, containing so much information that the font size was almost ridiculously small, and each page was filled to the brim, particularly the results section. The details of each game of the month were divided into the different weeks but were scattered across the page, around the photos, in a slightly bizarre fashion. I adored these pages; just seeing all those names of players, once again in tiny text, and all the other pieces of information was a thrill.

There was the comprehensive news section, La Gazzetta, where no piece of news went under the radar. Offside, the quirky two-page section, featured a range of thought-provoking and nostalgic profiles such as ‘One Cap Wonder’, a look at the footballers who played only once for the Italian national team, with one player in the spotlight each month. And I always liked to read John Pitonzo’s column, Postcard from Florence. Where even was Florence? Fiorentina were not promoted until 2004, and at 7 years old, my knowledge of Italy almost entirely came from reading Calcio Italia.

The lesser-known talents in the peninsula were given attention in Calcio Close-Up, which was alarmingly accurate in its predictions on who would make it big. In the March 2003 issue alone, the potential stars mentioned included David Pizarro, Paolo Cannavaro and a 20-year-old Alberto Gilardino, who was waiting behind Adriano and Adrian Mutu for a place in Parma’s attack.

But best of all, of course, were the main features. All Serie A clubs, big and small, and even the occasional Serie B side were covered. Every player making waves, for reasons right or wrong, came under the spotlight. Sometimes the layout and design of the articles were so creative that I couldn’t help but delve in. One such article was Issue 172’s six-page feature on the revolutions at Roma and Napoli – Roma’s change in fortune was examined in the top halves of the pages, while Napoli was explored in the bottom halves. A simple but refreshing technique.

It was these articles, more than anyone or anything else, that really helped me hone my writing skills. I learned how to use effective and colourful metaphors and a range of football terms while keeping the reader interested and not digressing. Hopefully this article doesn’t contradict the rest of this paragraph!

My fondest memory had to be the day I got my first letter published in Calcio Italia, aged 12 (October 2007, Issue 146 with Luis Figo on the cover if you want to check!). I felt so elated that my name was in the publication I cherished so much that I ran up and down the house screaming. My dream was for my name to one day be listed under ‘contributors’ on page 3 of the magazine, having written something for the magazine. Unfortunately that, for now, cannot be realised, but I don’t mind too much. Writing for forzaitalianfootball and sharing my memories of the best magazine in the world with you gives me enough pride. For those of you who never read Calcio Italia, I hope I have illustrated how much it meant to me. For those who did, I hope you enjoyed this trip down la Via dei Ricordi!

For all the latest news on your team don’t forget to check out the Clubs section of Forza Italian Football.

For all the latest Serie A club news don’t forget to check out the Clubs section of Forza Italian Football.

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We are always looking for new writers, so if you think you know Calcio, email us: forzaitalianfootball@snack-media.com

 

5 responses to “Calcio Italia And Me”

  1. Dino Riyami says:

    I know how you feel buddy, Im a little older than you and have every single issue since 1995! Im not even joking, There is a picture of all my magazines in the final issue (sept 2011).
    For me the ending of the magazine is a huge loss as when I was younger 12/13 there was no internet to keep up to date with the latest news with serie A and Italian football. Getting the latest issue when it came out was a exciting thing for me esp if it had a Baggio special or articles on my other favourite players.
    Over the years Ive been lucky enough to have been in the magazine and have had 5 letters published so i really am hoping the magazine can find a new publisher. In fact just yesterday I rang up the subscription number printed in the magazine to find out what was going on..and for the meantime there is no publisher for the magazine. Im not too sure what the future holds..but hopefully it can make a comeback!
    Good article, its a shame that you aren’t a little older as the glory years of Italian football were def in the mid to late nineties. the League doesn’t resemble the good days which is a shame as I feel as the interest is no longer there diverting to the premiership and la liga.

    Grazie,

    Dino

  2. Rory Hanna says:

    Grazie Dino, nice to hear from you as I remember seeing your letters in the magazine. I do wish I’d been old enough to experience calcio in the 90s. As it is I became a fan of Italian football about a year after Channel 4 stopped showing Serie A matches and, apart from the 07/08 season which was broadcast on Channel Five, I’ve only just had the chance to enjoy Italian football on TV with ESPN.

  3. Padraig Whelan says:

    Still remember the first ever issue I picked up, just after Roberto Mancini got the Inter job and he is on the cover.
    Managed to get it nearly every single month since that issue and will definitely miss this magazine.
    Was such a big part of Italian football for those outside of Italy.

  4. Simon Smith says:

    Really enjoyed the article Rory,

    I’m older than both Dino and yourself and remember getting into Serie A after Italia 90 when BSkyB use to broadcast Serie A games even before Channel 4. Long term subscriber to Calcio italia and hope that it won’t be long before a new publisher will be found, even if its as a download only, pdf subscription. In the current climate with newspapers and magazines struggling to compete with free Internet content I would imagine its going to be the future for alot of publications, to produce something as a download rather than as a hard copy magazine. In some ways with a choice of many great websites and podcasts (la magicast, Juventiknows, Italian Football Podcast, Beyond The Pitch etc) its never been a better time to be a Serie A fan. Add in knowledgeable journalists like James Horncastle,Paolo Bandini, and Giancarlo Rinaldi and the Serie A league gets in my opinion more inteligent coverage than ever before. Surely somebody out there can pull it together & make it viable to produce a profitable monthly online magazine covering Serie A a la The Blizzard.

  5. Jonrginho says:

    Simon Smith is bloody right. To be honest the mag was bad lately with journos who knew little about Italian footy like Marcotti & Richardson.