The definitive history of the iconic football club- the glory, the scandal, the stars and its enduring influence on Italian life.
Herbie Sykes was born in England in 1967. He attended a secondary modern school in rural Lincolnshire, but what he studied was principally Manchester City and the Nicaraguan Solidarity Campaign. In 1991 he took the train from Lincoln to Turin, and there he watched his first derby. He subsequently wrote about it for the mythical City fanzine, Blueprint, and became a regular visitor to Turin long before Ryanair. He met his wife there whilst writing a book about the Giro d'Italia, and has reported extensively on the city and its football teams. His 2014 book, The Race Against the Stasi, won the cycling category of the British Sports Book Awards, and was shortlisted in the Outstanding Sports Writing category.
Superbly entertaining and incisive * Times Literary Supplement
*
A potted history of modern Italy disguised as a football book, told
in his distinctive voice: fond, chatty, distanced, and sometimes
hilarious... [Skyes] tells this important story wonderfully well *
Financial Times *
A witty and well-informed guide * Financial Times, *Books of the
Year* *
A compelling case for a football club encapsulating the entire
psyche of Italy * Observer *
![]() |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
![]() |