UCL in the News: Football - Lucarelli Would Move Livorno To England

Lucarelli, a totem for both his home town and their football team as well as a passionate socialist, was speaking at the seminar "Money, Politics and Violence: Is there any more space for passion in Italian football?", which was organised for the students of Dr John Foot [UCL Italian], author of 'Calcio: A History of Italian Football'. …

Foot admitted his "obituary" for the game in Italy earlier this year, where he spoke of "a stinking corpse riddled with maggots", was perhaps a little too apocalyptic, but he was still dismayed that many of those who seemed to be prime movers in the officiating and influence scandals of Calciopoli, whom he termed "immortal dinosaurs", were still apparently in positions of footballing authority. …

Lucarelli stands out as a passionate and dynamic figure in the game who, Foot revealed, had suffered along with his team from the corruption infecting Serie A. Relaxed and affable as he spoke through an interpreter, Lucarelli believed Italy had to learn from the English to tackle the root of the problem. …

He would not be drawn on any preferences for particular English clubs, but there are aspects of the English football experience he'd like to export to his homeland: "I like above all that the stadiums in England do not have fences and that children and families can come without any problems." …

The Londonist