L'allenatore nel pallone

A comedy built on Italian football. Oronzo Canà is a coach working in the second division. When a small club called Longobarda is promoted to the first, they call him in. The expectation is one thing: do not go down. But the club's own owner wants them relegated; the first division is expensive and the club cannot afford it. The transfer window ends in disaster, and the Brazilian player they are left with cannot play for homesickness. Canà's solution is to go to Brazil. The middleman tries to defraud him; the scheme goes wrong and Canà comes home with an unexpected player: Aristoteles. What follows is a training camp, preparation and a rise. Longobarda start beating well-known clubs. The satire is aimed not at football but at what surrounds it: whom you know, how much money you have and how you work a deal count for more than talent. Lino Banfi plays Canà, in one of his best-known roles, and the character's lines entered common speech in Italy. Sergio Martino directed. It was a great success in Italy and sequels followed. One of the period's best-loved examples for anyone who likes Italian comedy and football humour. For a viewer from outside, most of the jokes depend on Italian football culture.