Italy, the country of calcio, contrast and sometime chaos. Its football had a justifiable image of physicality, of functionality, not least the defensive bolt, the Catenaccio. But it also has a reputation for artistry and in its early days at least there was perhaps another side. More than anywhere else there are hints of homosexuality; chaps, British chaps away from the long gaze of Victoria, doing chappy, clubby stuff. 

Yet in contrast from soon after its introduction calcio became very business-like. Italy was the first country in Continental Europe to have imported talent, as much on- as off-field. Swiss and then British players were early on hired by its ostensibly amateur clubs. A Scot played for its national team. Its game was forced to professionalise by another and much later tried, largely unsuccessfully, to tap into British talent.