It required a special set of circumstances to come together for Channel 4's Gazzetta Football Italia to make the impression it eventually did.
With English football coming out of the hooligan-infused doldrums of the nineteen-eighties, what better way was there to start off the new decade than reaching the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
Factor in the compelling performance (and tears) of their young talisman Paul Gascoigne, and the country's best World Cup performance since 1966 took on a mythical status. The host nation played no small part in this.
With a plethora of stars from English football's top flight (Souness, Brady, Francis) making the transition to Italian football throughout the previous decades, it was the decision of Gascoigne to leave Spurs for Lazio in 1992 that truly afforded the show fronted by James Richardson a premise upon which it could flourish.
On March 31st, Richardson and a whole host of Serie A stars will recall their memories of a television show that brought the best league in the world into houses all across Ireland and Britain.
To be aired on BT Sport, a statement released by the broadcaster will offer you cause enough to want to tune in:
The film captures the essence of a unique period for football fans in this country, a period in which Italian football became hugely popular in the UK following England’s run to the semi-finals at the 1990 Fifa World Cup in Italy.
Presented from locations across Italy by the face of Italian football on British TV during the 1990s, James Richardson, Golazzo features iconic moments from archives not seen on TV for twenty years, reconnecting fans with the unmistakable look of Italian football on TV at that time.
The film relives the Richardson-led Saturday morning magazine programme, Gazzetta Football Italia, plus, classic moments from Channel 4’s live Serie A match coverage.
The film’s archive, which brings to life a football scene that was watched by millions every week on terrestrial TV, will reconnect viewers to the classic football kits of Fiorentina and Parma, world-class players such as Gabriel Batistuta and Ronaldo, and, to the packed passion-filled stadia hosting matches.
Featuring additional interviews with Beppe Signori, Paul Ince, Gianfranco Zola, Paul Elliott, Ray Wilkins, Joe Jordan, Luther Blissett, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Paul Heaton, Peter Brackley and Richardson himself, it is not to be missed.
If you need any more convincing, just re-watch the old opening below.
