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Home > Books > Non-fiction > Sport Books > T Sport Books > The Miracle of Castel di Sangro - Joe McGinniss

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for The Miracle of Castel di Sangro - Joe McGinniss

Rating Summary based on 5 reviews

  • 5 Stars
    		3
  • 4 Stars
    		2
  • 3 Stars
    		0
  • 2 Stars
    		0
  • 1 Star
    		0

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  		• 4.2
  		• 4.6
  		• 4.8
  		• 3.4
  		• 4.6
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  • 38 of 38 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Mauri

    Level 7 Mauri

    Member since 24/07/2000

    Reviews written: 364

    5 Stars IN SEARCH OF THE BEAUTIFUL GAME 23/05/2006
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Interesting story, well written

    Disadvantages Disadvantages A litle too much detail of football rules

    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 ... more
  • 30 of 30 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Puggers

    Level 5 Puggers

    Member since 29/03/2005

    Reviews written: 226

    4 Stars Believing In The Miracle ... 08/09/2005
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Fascinating look at the culture wrapped around Italian football, refreshing perspective

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Author can be incredibly arrogant, ignorant and irritating at times

    Books about football (soccer, whatever ...) are hardly a rarity. The Miracle of Castel di Sangro, however, 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 created. Secondly, it revolves around an unlikely marriage between the aforementioned and a team few outside of Italy would have heard of before the publication of this book. Castel di Sangro lies in the Abruzzo region, due east of Rome in one of the least-visited parts of Italy. Little more than a village team ... more
  • 17 of 17 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Chris_Padden

    Chris_Padden

    5 Stars The Football Miracle 29/08/2001
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Great writing style and never a dull moment with new action all the way

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Sad ending, pity it had to end in the way it did

    ‘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 ... more
  • 4 of 4 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of JVL

    Level 5 JVL

    Member since 28/07/2000

    Reviews written: 156

    5 Stars Everything you ever suspected about Italian football... 18/09/2000
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages A good idea turned into a great story, this is a gripping read, all the more so because it is real

    Disadvantages Disadvantages McGinnis' style can be grating early on, and the ending is actuall quite depressing

    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 ... more
  • 5 of 6 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of alexjtear

    alexjtear

    4 Stars The Religion That Is Football 04/08/2007
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Excellent insight into football in italy

    Disadvantages Disadvantages American Writer

    This book is not just for football lovers. The writer Joe McGinniss spends the entire 1996/97 season in the small hamlet of Castel Di Sangro. 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. The characters in the football team are well protrayed by the writer and you become part of the Castel Di Sangro fight for survival The book is not just about football, it is an excellent insight into Italian rural life and their attitues towards football. Because the ... more
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