Joe McGinniss follows at the team from Castel Di Sango for a season as the play in Serie B one league below the the top Serie A. The fact that Castel di Sangro was an unlikely candidate to move up they did. This one year is interesting look at what goes on in a lower level of the Italian soccer league. ( )

Joe McGinniss, as he explains to a mobster a few chapters into this non-fiction book that reads like fiction, turned down a million-dollar advance to write a book about the O. J. Simpson trial so he could fly to Italy and live for a year with a football team that even some in that country might not have heard of. The resulting book is one that anyone can enjoy even if they don't know much about soccer--although having experience with some sort of fandom would surely help.

McGinniss himself is a superfan, embedding himself with the team so thoroughly that he becomes mascot, cheerleader, and court fool. The tyrant of this court is coach Oswaldo Jaconi, whose brusque style, seemingly arbitrary decisions, and abuse of disfavored players are typical of a monarch. The powers behind the throne are Signor Rezza, who holds the money, and his grand vizier, Gabriele Gravina, the president of the local football association. McGinniss portrays their influence as one exclusively of cynicism and corruption, as opposed to the players' purity of heart and the leadership of Jaconi, which is honest, if misguided (in McGinniss's view).

The year that McGinniss spends with the club is as full of twists as in any thriller, as the team battles opponents external and internal and the Italian press, following the ups and downs of a little team playing in a league seemingly too big for it, simply makes up half of what it reports. Games are played ankle-deep in water, or in snow. Deadly, interminable losing streaks are snapped in the most unlikely ways. Gifts are rejected, dreams are shattered, and yet miracles still occur. A team from a town of a few thousand residents battles city teams and wins just often enough to keep going. If you've got any competitive spirit at all, it's impossible not to be moved. But more than a mere sports thriller, this is also a vivid portrait of a place, a time, and its people that's the next best thing to being there. ( )

“La potenza della speranza”

“I was an American obsessed with il calcio, and I had come to spend the season in Castel di Sangro to see what life was like in the aftermath of a miracle.”

Italy in the fall of 1996. Lots of characters! Signor Rezza and his cigar. The volatile allenatore (coach) Jacobi. The super shady Gravina. The story of the lynching of an arbitro (referee)! And the “pagano per i punti “, the clubs that pay for points in the standings. But most importantly, the soccer team of Castel Di Sangro and their amazing run! And the cast of characters that made up the team!

The negative of the book is the author himself. Not a fan of the author’s know-it-all attitude. He acts like he knows more about calcio than the coach, general manager, owner.. heck, all of Italy! Verrrrry full of himself. Rather than report on the miracle, he inserts himself in almost every aspect of the story, often casting himself over the team, the players, and the miracle itself. I wish his "character" wasn't in this!

But, he can write, and when it's not about him, it is a very good story! And I'm not even a soccer fan! I'm glad I read it and I salute the team of Castel di Sangro - warts and all!

“In bocca al lupo!” ( )

It all started one day when Joe McGinniss -- yes, the Fatal Vision author -- woke up and decided he liked soccer.

Well, no, it wasn't quite like that. It really started a few years before, when an out-of-nowhere soccer team suddenly started rising in the Italian leagues. For those who aren't familiar with the tiered system used in most European and Asian countries, every year a few good teams get promoted one level higher -- with corresponding access to more money and better players -- while poor teams are sent down to a lower tier (a process known as relegation, which is literally "re-league-ing"). Just imagine if the Yankees had a few bad seasons and wound up playing in the Appalachian League. This can (and sometimes does) happen in other countries, which is why sports sometimes seems more important than life or death!

And so this middle-of-nowhere team in the mountains of Italy, playing in a town of some 5000 people, surprised itself and everyone else by being promoted to Italy's Serie B, the second-highest soccer league in that country. (Hence, the titular "miracle.") It's at about this time when McGinniss has his epiphany about soccer, and since one quasi-religious experience is as good as another, he embeds himself with the little team of Castel di Sangro, appearing at all games (home and away, all over Italy), practices, and even meals.

His time spent there was an emotional roller coaster, with the joys of wins (and a few ties) against "better" teams, combined with the lows of intrasquad fighting and disappointment of losing to weaker teams. The book is generally humorous, sometimes unintentionally so. The team, for better or worse, becomes McGinniss' extended family. It's a grueling season, and the author doesn't spare us the worst parts of it.

Although I absolutely loved the book, I did have two major complaints. The most apparent was the arrogance that McGinniss showed throughout most of the book. One of the main storylines has him constantly confronting the team manager over lineups, formations, and tactics. Remember, McGinniss' soccer knowledge can probably still be measured in hours, while the manager had decades of experience. (Admittedly, the author's ideas are often worth at least some discussion, which the coach never allows.) My second complaint is the abrupt ending. The last few chapters hold a few surprises (it would spoil too much to say more). But essentially, there's the final game, and then McGinniss zips to the airport -- the end. There was no discussion or comparison of the two nations (US/Italy), of soccer in the countries, of politics, of anything. There's really not even an explicit statement as to whether the whole trip was even worth it. (The final chapters do, in fact, provide an ending that explains the abruptness, but I do wish there had been a tiny bit more wrapping up.)

Overall, it was a very enjoyable read, even when some of the very distinct characters started merging together (to this American, Albieri and Alberti start looking the same when reading before bed). Any soccer (or any other sport, really) fan would easily recognize the highs and lows of a tough season. Even non-sports fans will get caught up in the passion that McGinniss provides in this fascinating part-travelogue, part-memoir. Strongly recommended.

--------------------------------------------
LT Haiku:

The agony of
Defeat may lead to an end
Of Italian team. ( )

The Miracle of Castel di Sangro Part I http://bettercompetitor.com/book-review-the-miracle-of-castel-di-sangro-the-begi...
Part II http://bettercompetitor.com/book-review-the-miracle-of-castel-di-sangro-continue...
Part III http://bettercompetitor.com/book-review-the-miracle-of-castel-di-sangro-half-way...
Part IV http://bettercompetitor.com/book-review-the-miracle-castel-sangro-second-half/

Very interesting read that provides the reader with insight into Italian culture and professional soccer. I was so engrossed in the book that I read it in one day. ( )

I read this while I was in Italy and I remember loving it! ( )

As an American (and a young woman) who has followed "the world's beautiful game" for nearly five years, I was somewhat curious about reading this book written by an American whose love of soccer followed him to a quaint, if not relatively quiet mountain town situated in the heart of Italy, the location being Castel di Sangro. Granted, he was passionate about il calcio even before he set foot in the village (thanks to the World Cup being played in the U.S....1994, for those probably asking about the year...and watching Alexi Lalas play for Padua that same year), but it was the story about the soccer team of Castel di Sangro Calcio and their "miracle" (being that they were recently promoted to the second best league in Italy, Serie B) that motivated him to start writing this book.

The story had me hooked from the beginning and even made me understand why he grew to love this team, some of the people, and the town itself, despite its faults. The last couple of pages (where there is a discussion about throwing the team's final match for money and the fallout from it, thereby inexplicably showing McGinniss the ugly nature that is corruption in soccer) left me somewhat floored as I originally thought the book would end with the team winning that match fairly without any money changing hands or such and that the team would overcome whatever sort of problems that have plagued them for most of the season and show Italy (and McGinniss) why they are considered a "miracle".

But that wouldn't sound like an interesting ending, would it? Of course not. ( )

What starts off as your typical sports book / feel-good story quickly spirals into something much more, where truth is stranger than fiction (assuming McGinnis is telling the truth). McGinnis is an American writer -- who as a result of World Cup USA ’94 becomes obsessed with soccer – who decides to spend a season in a small Italian town whose club have received an unlikely promotion to Italy’s second highest division. McGinnis’ obsession manifests itself almost immediately as he inserts himself into the everyday workings of the team, and brazenly offers his own commentary on how they should play the game. Worse, the corrupt workings of the team ownership and shadiness in the Italian soccer world in general confront McGinnis’ sense of fair play. Yet he does really become one of the town, caught in the emotional ups and downs of the season. Then he throws it all away, turning irrevocably against the players and townspeople when the team takes a bribe to throw their last game. Reading like a novel, The Miracle of Castel di Sangro is both fascinating and heartbreaking. It reads really well as an introduction to soccer culture from American point of view that likes to think he knows better. ( )