Book review: Winning At All Costs by John Foot

Italian soccer, or calcio, is perhaps one of the more seductive of Europe's footballing cultures.  With defenders taught to dribble out of their own 16-yard box while moonlighting as fashion models, and a turbulent history marked with corruption, political extremism and tragedy, calcio does not disappoint when it comes to drama.  If you enjoyed John Foot's Calcio: A History of Italian Football, then you'll be familiar with the themes in Foot's Winning At All Costs: A Scandalous History of Italian Soccer, published in 2007. 

That's right, more corruption, moral ambiguity and overall cynicism from perhaps the most cynical of fans.  Italians expect numerous palms to be greased in the hunt for the scudetto, and very few of Italian soccer's greatest come through unscathed in Foot's story of how one of Europe's premier leagues has been and continues to be at the mercy of so many outside influences, mostly bad.  And, as they are perhaps with their politicians, Italian fans seem resigned to injustices and the bending of ethics in the world of calcio.

Foot has structured his book well, devoting chapters to various segments of Italian soccer, from the referrees to fans, as well as crucial moments and political trends in history that marred a sport that quickly became an integral part of Italian culture.  Italy's history in the last century is interesting in itself, and Foot does well to place this all within the context of soccer.

Like Paddy Agnew, who wrote the excellent Forza Italia, Foot is not a native Italian and benefits from his foreign perspective just as he does from his obvious extensive knowledge of Italian culture and politics.  Meticulously footnoted and an overall excellent guide to the often mysterious nature of calcio and Italy in general, Foot relies heavily on journalist Gianni Brera for most of the book.  But how can he not?  Brera was perhaps the most infuential of Italy's sports journalists, and coined the term libero for the sweeper position. 

While there's seemingly a vague expectation that anything in Italian soccer is hardly on a level playing field, one will definitely watch Serie A matches a bit differently after reading this book.