Class on Italian Soccer, Culture and History

abstract: The paper outlines the importance of the class and a general selection of the information that will be gone over in the class. I decided to go with Italian soccer in general as opposed to just the league. The league is of utmost importance, but no Italian soccer discussion is complete without mention of Gli Azzurri (the Italian national team). Throughout the paper I talk about soccer’s origin, its history, how it came to Italy, and much more. We focus a lot on Italy’s transition of soccer from the traditional name of football to calcio, because that plays a major role in the sport. Italy essentially had formed its own version of the sport with some even claiming that Italians were the ones who created football and not the English. This is actually quite tough for an Italian to admit, I would know first-hand. Nonetheless, the paper goes on to talk about other important topics, such as the structure of the league, the players, accomplishments, scandals, politics and more. The students will be able to get a much better grasp on the importance of soccer in Italy as they are able to better understand the league, the teams, the fans, and the roles the individuals play. In summation, this class is meant not only to inform the students on the informational part of the league, its teams, etc. it is to help students understand how crucial and central soccer is to the Italian culture. Through the lectures and teachings, the students will learn bit by bit how important soccer is on a day to day basis for Italians. Soccer is an escape for those who never got to live their dreams, for those who are in a tough situation, or for those who want to have something to look up to or hope for. For Italians, soccer is another dimension and I plan on explaining that through this paper and my lectures