Miracle of Castel di Sangro - Joe McGinniss

Books about football are not a rarity. Good ones tend to be - there exist a lot of lazy efforts that seek to capitalise on the inherent drama and saga-like nature of the game and the politics that surround it without adding an awful lot of originality or perceptiveness in return. Amongst the wide range of writing on the subject, however, The Miracle of Castel di Sangro stands out for two reasons; firstly, it is written by an American, a nationality not traditionally known for their love of the game - and even less so back in 1996, when this was composed. Secondly, it revolves around an unlikely marriage between the aforementioned and a team few outside of Italy would ...  Read the complete review

The first thing to say is that ‘The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro’ is not a book about football. It is a book about how the people of a small town rediscover their sense of community when they become united behind the success of their football team. The football is merely a backdrop for the events that unfold and it is merely a device to contrast the differences that exist between the have and have not in real life just as much as it does in football. The ‘miracle’ of the story is more than just the rise of the small town football team through the ranks of the Italian league but more of the survival and resurgence of the inhabitants of Castel Di Sangro. ...  Read the complete review

This is a football book but its also a sociological study of football and the Italian psyche, it is written by an American giving it a different stance to many other football books and digs beneath the surface of tactics and games to cover an extraordinary season in the life of the small football club Castel di Sangro. Whats it about: In 1996 Castel di Sangro, a small Italian town with little money and a population of only 5000 managed to gain promotion to the Italian Serie B Football league (The equivalent of the English Championship), this is the second highest league in the nation and one below possibly the most glamorous league on the ...  Read the complete review

‘The Miracle of Castle di Sangro’ is basically a diary of a football mad America, who becomes obsessed with ‘soccer’ during the world cup that was held in the US in 1994. After being enthralled by the Italian team, in particular Roberto Baggio, he goes off to Italy to watch ‘a miracle’ as a small local town side have gotten through to the Serie B, the equivalent of Tiverton getting into the English division one. He goes off to sample the thrills and spill of a season with a football team with a difference and a certain charm that this really is a miracle and it is a really good read, but first a few lessons: Geography ...  Read the complete review

Having read a review of this book in the football magazine 'When Saturday Comes', I thought I knew what I was in for: American author, famous for political comment, gets bitten by the football bug during World Cup 94 in the USA and then decides to travel out to a small town in southern Italy to sample the atmosphere and the magic of a small-town club unexpectedly making it to the big time of Serie B. Up to that point, everything was as expected - McGinnis' difficulties in settling in to life in a very foreign land as he attempts to learn the language and gain the confidence of the team and the locals are interesting to observe, but I have to admit ...  Read the complete review