An Englishman Among Italian Ultras: Stadium Culture, Passion, and the Vibe of Calcio, with Richard Hall

A first, but certainly not the last, journey to Italy, the homeland of Ultras: with Richard Hall, founder of the Guardian Sports Network blog The Gentleman Ultra - a treasure trove of Italian soccer stories - and host of Inter Milan’s English-speaking club podcast, we travel first to the 1990s, when Ultra fanculture first became visible across Europe as an alternative to Hooligan and other supporters cultures, and then try to explain the fascination of Calcio from Italy for all soccer fans, the stadium experience in Italy today, and the life of an English-speaking fan at the heart of one of Italy’s great clubs. 

There is a lot more ground to cover on Ultras and Italy, of course - politics, power dynamics, and violence that now takes place almost exclusively outside of stadiums. Richard’s experience is that of a fan himself. Some books and articles linked below deepen or reframe his impression - but they do not take away from the fascination he felt, and is feeling, when coming in touch with the culture in Italy’s curvas, the terraces behind the goals in Italian stadiums. 

HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

The Gentleman Ultra

Richard on twitter

Inter choreo against Benfica Lisbon, April 2023

Pazza Inter Amala - Inter’s club song

Inter Ultras - best moments (video)

Tobias Jones on changes within Inter’s ultra scene

Perhaps the 3 best English books on Italian soccer:

John Foot, Calcio: A History of Italian Football

Tim Parks, A Season with Verona: Travels Around Italy in Search of Illusion, National Character . . . and Goals!

Joe McGinniss, The Miracle of Castel di Sangro: A Tale of Passion and Folly in the Heart of Italy

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Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind

Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/