Book Review: Veni, Vidi, Vici By Dominic Hougham
The Latin phrase for I came; I saw; I conquered by Dominic Hougham is a somewhat apt title for the story of Italian football and its European adventures.
A brief history of the European Cup starts the book marking the dominating teams and countries. Milan included of course. The book quickly moves through the decades reaching Serie A’s 1980s European revival with the likes of Juventus with Michel Platini, Zbigniew Boniek and Liam Brady under Trapattoni. All leading up to the Heysel disaster.
The Heysel disaster is of course well documented and the tragedy provided something of an opening for other countries to make their European mark as English teams were banned and excluded from UEFA competitions.
As its profile grew the author provides longer chapters on the events more specific to Serie A and Italy. Maradona’s Napoli is such an example. His ill-fated Barca transfer and Argentina adventures are recounted in greater detail. The team’s success and its meaning to Naples as a sort of neglected city is told well. Italia 90 is treated the same, with a more in depth look at the tournament that failed in terms of goals and entertainment, and for the Azzurri as well. All throughout Maradona remained one of the main stories as Serie A was the place to be.
The book’s focus shifts to Milan with Sacchi and Berlusconi. The latter’s rise and the very Italian way of he taking ownership of a troubled Milan. The team had not escaped the Totonero scandal – the same scandal that most famously banished Paolo Rossi. Milan had suffered relegations and were to be bankrupt. A quick rise was on the cards with Berlusconi not shy to spend. Almost immediately Parma’s Sacchi had caught Berlusconi’s attention and the rest is history. A history headlined by a three Dutchmen and a back four of legends. This is told in some detail highlighting firsts, misses, controversies and key moments across competitions and continents.
Sampdoria’s not too dissimilar story is also told, as a team sharing Serie A’s golden era. The names – Roberto Mancini et al – and games that were part of this story are recalled well culminating in Serie A and European triumphs. This is followed by a chapter on one of the most important Italian players of that era, Roberto Baggio. Once again important moments are recalled and draw the reader into the story of the player and his teams, Fiorentina and others. A chapter is devoted to Trapattoni’s time at Inter and a second stint at Juventus. Another on Torino with the Superga disaster as a kind of starting point. This is followed up by a brief history of Roma.
A fascinating, perhaps eye opening, chapter on transfer fees and the number of times Italian clubs were able to break it gives even more context. From Omar Sivori (River Plate to Juventus) all the way to Papin (Marseille to Milan), Vialli to Juventus and Lentini to Milan. The latter three seeing Serie A clubs spending and breaking the aforementioned record in summer of 1992. Further chapters chart Gascoigne and his career that had a stop at Lazio. Next up is the Gli Invincibili tale, highlighting some of the events and matches in the 58 game undefeated run.
Gli Invincibili is a story of Berlusconi deciding to sack Sacchi and bringing up Capello. Capello, unlike his predecessor a former player, was of course very much part of the Milan set up before succeeding Sacchi. His tinkering with the likes of Massaro and familiarity with Milan set him up to continue the success with the help of a sometimes healthy van Basten. The first season saw the progress and had the team manage an undefeated season. The form continued into the 1992-93 season with European matches adding more pressure and the eventual loss of van Basten, again. The unbeaten run ended. The following season featured, arguably, Capello and Milan’s finest. The 4-0 Champions League final win vs Barca, all while the three Dutchman era was ending. The high was difficult to keep replicating and the following two seasons were less successful.
Further chapters on Juventus, Parma, Sampdoria and Lazio add emphasis to Serie A’s importance and rise as do the story of the Brazilian Ronaldo at Inter. The 1994 World Cup heartache relives a difficult time for Azzurri fans. The inevitable fall is given some pages with familiar tales of debt and corruption that are worth reading and revisiting. Each chapter starts with a famous quote introducing the text that follows and the author provides enough context to keep the reader interested. The book is published by and available at Pitch Publishing.
