In the Naples “sick” of the soccer cheering

Maurizio De Giovanni, Il resto della settimana [The Rest of the Week], Rizzoli, 2015

In the city of Naples this year, when football has increasingly predominated over so many other thoughts as the compelling desire for the Scudetto [championship] has risen, I would like to suggest a reading of Il resto della settimana [The rest of the week] by Maurizio De Giovanni written in 2015.

The volume speaks of the visceral bond between the city of Naples, the Neapolitans (scattered all over Italy and throughout the world) and the Napoli team, and done so in a special way. The title itself, moreover, suggests how the time spent waiting for the match is experienced by the Neapolitan fans. The book’s simple narrative structure speaks of a professor, who is not a football fan, but while in a bar looking for a topic for his book realizes that it is football that can bring so many different people together.  The book recounts masterpieces such as Juve-Napoli 1-3, La presa di Torino [The taking of Turin], Ti racconto il 10 Maggio [I'll tell you about 10 May], Miracolo a Torino [Miracle in Turin] Juve-Napoli 2-3, La storia del gol più bello del mondo [The Story of the Most Beautiful Goal in the World].

Of all the stories in the book, one that stands out for me is a beautiful tale, Il ritorno di Luiz, [Luiz’s Return] which has also been translated into a play.