The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro

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Bellisimo - Rated
This is a book for anyone who has lost faith in the ability of football to amaze you. It is a wonderful account of joy, pain, scorn, fear, humiliation, anger, corruption and all the other things we love about football. Just read it and enjoy. Se molto buono!

Gripping and shocking - Rated
This unique bit of sports journalism follows the fortunes of a tiny Italian town whose heroic football team pull-off a remarkable promotion into Serie B. McGinniss--an American with little prior knowledge of football and even less understanding of Italian--chose to live in Castel di Sangro for more than a year while the team played out its story, which he writes-up in beautiful warm, honest prose as he becomes incredibly close to the club, the players and their families - which serves to make the final chapter a true gut-wrenching shock...

Bella! - Rated
This is a fantastic read and literally has you sat on the edge of your seat trying to guess what will happen next. The first season of lowly Castel Di Sangro in Serie B of the Italian football league is a roller coaster ride and ends with a fantastic twist. The reviews of each league game are brilliantly written and really do have you screaming for the final whistle and a win for Castel.

The book goes into slightly too much detail about the basics of football at times but this obviously increases its target audience to those who don't know too much about the game. It really is a great read and a fascinating true story. The only blemish is the author who clearly knows little about European football and the passion which surrounds it. It is almost embarrassing at times to listen to his opinions and points of view as he is very often misguided and uninformed. Saying that, it adds a bit extra to the story as you get sucked into the politics and passion of Italian football.

The beautiful game? - Rated
The first season spent in the dizzy heights of Serie B, in their entire history, by Castel Di Sangro is shared by American writer Joe McGinniss in this fascinating book.

McGinniss spends the entire 1996/97 season in the small hamlet of Castel Di Sangro. It's calcio (football to you and me, maybe soccer to the author) club is at the very heart of this remarkable tale of survival. The author gets so close to the team though that the book is about far more than football. Lies, deception, scandal and tragedy all come to the fore whilst the footballing miracle unfolds.

In fact, so much unfolds between September 1996 and May 1997, that you will not want to do anything else but read on. The book, by and large, seems to be written with the American audience in mind, which in actual fact helps the tale have small respites for avid football followers. The season is described chronologically, which again makes the story very readable.

The only negative is that the author, despite by his own admission being new to the sport, seems to consider himself an expert in the game. Frequently he describes how he told the manager to do this or that, and seems genuinely surprised when the experienced Italian coach rebuffs his ideas.

Overall, a fascinating tale of an almost surreal season for Castel Di Sangro. Joe McGinniss is welcomed so much into the heart of the community and club, that we find out a great deal about the activities of a small Italian football club, in this intelligently written story.

Not just a football book - Rated
I really enjoyed this book, couldn't put it down. Whilst I agree with some of the criticisms, this does not detract from what is a funny, heartwarming and very interesting book. If you enjoy books about football (or even soccer!) do not hesitate, this is awesome. Similarly, if you love Italy, this is a great insight into rural Italian life.