Football Italia
Format	Football
Starring	James Richardson (1992-07) Mark Chapman (2007-present) Laura Esposto (2007-present)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
Broadcast
Original channel	Channel 4
Original run	6 September 1992[1] – present
External links
IMDb profile

Football Italia is an Italian football programme in the United Kingdom, which as of August 2007 is currently known as Football Italiano. The first broadcasting of the show was in 1992 on Channel 4, the show is centered around live coverage of Serie A football, the top flight in the Italian league system. James Richardson presented the show for a large part of its existence. A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ... This article is about the British television presenter associated with Italian Football, for other people with the same name, see James Richardson James Richardson is the presenter for Setanta Sports The Friday Football Show alongside Des Lynam. ... Mark Chapman can refer to: Mark David Chapman, murderer of John Lennon Mark Lindsay Chapman, actor Mark Chapman, Vice-Principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford, UK Mark Chapman, BBC Radio 1 DJ and newsreader Mark Chapman Guitarist of UK rock band A. Category: ... Laura Esposto (born c. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... This article is about the British television station. ... is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Italy is one of the worlds leading football nations. ... August 2007 is the eighth month of that year. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the British television station. ... This article is about the Italian football league. ... This article is about the British television presenter associated with Italian Football, for other people with the same name, see James Richardson James Richardson is the presenter for Setanta Sports The Friday Football Show alongside Des Lynam. ...

The first live match shown was between Sampdoria and Lazio, it ended in a 3-3 draw and drew 3 million viewers. In August 2005 the programme moved to Bravo, where it only showed one season and a half with the rest featuring on Setanta Sports. Unione Calcio Sampdoria (commonly nicknamed Blucerchiati, blue-ringed) is a football club based in Genoa, Italy. ... S.S. Lazio (Italian: Società Sportiva Lazio) is a sports club based in Rome, Italy and is the biggest sports association in Europe with 37 disciplines ranging from cricket to basketball to parachute jumping[1]. Its mens football team however is by far its most important and prestigious. ... 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in August August 31: Michael Sheard August 26: Lord Fitt August 24: Jack Slipper August 24: Maurice Cowling August 24: Dr. Tom Pashby August 23: Brock Peters August 22: Lord Lane August 21: Robert Moog August... Bravo is a British television channel, owned by Flextech. ... Setanta Sports (pronunciation: ) is an international sports broadcaster, operating 12 channels in 24 countries. ...

Currently Five own the rights to showing the programme, meaning Italian football has returned to terrestrial in the United Kingdom for the first time in five years. This is also currently the only of the top three European Leagues to be shown live on terrestrial TV in a major European market.^[2] 26 August 2007 was the exact return date of the show, and the show will be broadcast weekly from 1:30pm Sunday afternoon GMT.^[3] Five, launched in 1997, is the fifth and final national terrestrial analogue television channel to launch in the United Kingdom. ... Terrestrial television (also known as over-the-air, OTA or broadcast television) was the traditional method of television broadcast signal delivery prior to the advent of cable and satellite television. ... is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... For alternate meanings of GMT, see GMT (disambiguation). ...

History

Football Italia started as a result of three factors: Sky bringing English first-division football off terrestrial television, the transfer of England's best player, Paul "Gazza" Gascoigne, to Lazio and the success of C4's Welsh brother's, S4C, European football programme, Sgorio, an idea C4 had passed on a few years earlier. There was a significant difference in quality between Italian and English football that had appeared after England's ban from European competition for unruly behaviour of its fans. Italian clubs paid much higher transfer fees than their English counterparts, and many of the world's best players played in Serie A. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Paul John Gascoigne (born 27 May 1967 in Gateshead, England), often referred to as Gazza, is a retired English football player who is widely regarded as one of the most gifted footballers of his generation. ... S4C (Sianel Pedwar Cymru, which is Welsh for Channel Four Wales) is a television channel in Wales. ... Sgorio presenter Morgan Jones Sgorio is a Welsh soccer television programme broadcast in Wales on S4C presented by Morgan Jones. ...

In its original incarnation, Football Italia consisted of two programmes: Gazetta, a Saturday-morning programme (voiced by Kenneth Wolstenholme), and a live match on Sunday afternoon. Gazetta contained all the highlights of the previous week's matches and an installment on Italian culture. The former would also consist of interviews with players, especially Gazza, often as they walked around a chosen city. These were often very funny, such as when Richardson performed the Lambada with Attilio Lombardo. One of the most famous aspects of the programme was Richardson's going through the Italian newspapers in the sunshine, outside a café, explaining all the transfer rumours to the British audience. During the last series, which was broadcast in the early hours of the morning, Richardson sat at a café outside Pantheon and a proportion of each course would vanish between each set of match highlights. Kenneth Wolstenholme, DFC (born Worsley, Lancashire,. July 17, 1920; died March 25, 2002) was the original football commentator for BBC television in the 1950s and 1960s, responsible for the games most famous commentary phrase. ... Lambada ( ) is a dance which became internationally popular in the 1980s. ... Attilio Lombardo (born 6 January 1966 in Santa Maria la Fossa, in the Province of Caserta), is a retired football player, who is as of June 2006 the new coach of Swiss side FC Chiasso. ... Facade of the Pantheon The Pantheon (Latin Pantheon[1], from Greek Πάνθεον Pantheon, meaning Temple of all the gods) is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to the seven deities of the seven planets in the state religion of Ancient Rome. ...

British Eurosport bought the Serie A rights from the middle of the 2002-2003 season after Channel 4 dropped it. C4 were the first broadcaster to bring Italian football to British TV way back in the early 1990s. They held onto the rights for a decade. Eurosport is the largest European sports satellite and cable network available in 54 countries and broadcasting in 18 different languages. ...

Bravo and Setanta Sports signed a joint deal, taking them through to the end of the 2006-7 season. [1] Poor viewing figures on Bravo saw them announce they would not be showing any matches after 23 December 2006. Some speculate that this was because of the absence of the leagues most decorated team; Juventus. Setanta Sports (pronunciation: ) is an international sports broadcaster, operating 12 channels in 24 countries. ... is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Juventus Football Club (Latin for Youth, pronounced yoo-VEHN-toos) is one of Italys oldest and most successful football clubs, based in Turin. ...

Return in 2007

Five gained the rights to broadcast Serie A from the 2007-08 season, giving them the rights to air highlights and live games.[2] It meant a return for the show to terrestrial television, where the live games are aired at the old 01:30 Sunday afternoon spot like it was originally. Five, launched in 1997, is the fifth and final national terrestrial analogue television channel to launch in the United Kingdom. ... Serie A 2007-08 team distribution The 2007-08 Serie A season will be the seventy-sixth since its establishment, and started on August 26, 2007. ...

Under the new name of Football Italiano the show is presented by Mark Chapman and Laura Esposto. The first game shown was a 1-1 draw between Inter and Udinese on Sunday 26 August, 2007 with John Barnes and Tony Jones as the current commentators. Mark Chapman can refer to: Mark David Chapman, murderer of John Lennon Mark Lindsay Chapman, actor Mark Chapman, Vice-Principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford, UK Mark Chapman, BBC Radio 1 DJ and newsreader Mark Chapman Guitarist of UK rock band A. Category: ... Laura Esposto (born c. ... John Barnes is the name of several people: John Barnes, science fiction author John Barnes, Jamaican-born England footballer John Barnes, Australian Rules football player John Barnes, programming language designer Johnny Barnes, Bermudan This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same... Anthony Jones or Tony Jones may refer to: Anthony Jones Computer Tech in Honiton, Devon Anthony Jones (photographer), British photographer (b. ...

Golaccio!

The show became well known in popular culture for a word it features at the start and at the end of each show. Commonly fans in the United Kingdom misinterpreted the word as "Goal Lazio"; the term is actually golaccio! which translated roughly as goaltastic!.^[4] Popular culture, sometimes abbreviated to pop culture, consists of widespread cultural elements in any given society. ... S.S. Lazio (Italian: Società Sportiva Lazio) is a sports club based in Rome, Italy and is the biggest sports association in Europe with 37 disciplines ranging from cricket to basketball to parachute jumping[1]. Its mens football team however is by far its most important and prestigious. ...

Although the word itself is not Italian, it does come from footballer José Altafini, a Brazilian who played in Serie A for AC Milan, Napoli and Juventus. Since retiring from the game, Altafini became a commentator in Italy and would use the word to describe a particularly beautiful goal. It is said to be his actual voice in the soundclip.^[5] José João Altafini (born July 24, 1938 in Piracicaba, Brazil) was a Brazilian-born Italian footballer. ... This article is about the Italian football league. ... Associazione Calcio Milan is an Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy. ... SSC Napoli was an Italian football club based in Naples. ... Juventus Football Club (Latin for Youth, pronounced yoo-VEHN-toos) is one of Italys oldest and most successful football clubs, based in Turin. ...

Channels featured on

Football Italia has been shown on the following channels throughout its history:

Channel 4: 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02.

British Eurosport: Midway through 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05.

Bravo/Setanta Sports: 2005-06, 2006-07.

Five: 2007-08

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Sport - Football Italia at Channel4.com
• Bravo's Website
• Guardian Unlimited feature on end of Gazetta Football Italia
• Football Italiano Site