Football is as much a part of Italian life as pasta, pizza and Silvio Berlusconi. More probably gets written about football in Italy than Berlusconi though, although at times, the opposite could be true! And Berlusconi, the owner of the Milan football team is a soccer fanatic too.

Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of books in English about the football phenomenon in Italy, and seeing as match fixing scandals are not uncommon, even more books on Italian football are likely to be written.

Italians refer to football as the ‘beautiful game’ and love the sport more than their wives, but slightly less than their cars, maybe.

Italy does tend suffer from a huge problem with national unity, but bring on the World Cup and Italians become as one – yes, the Italians love of football is the only thing which truly unites Italy – but for a month or so every few years ;)

If you find Italian football fascinating, then here are ten best popular books about Italian football on Amazon.com. Essential reading for Italian football fans the world over, I’m sure.

Here’s the list:

The Top Ten Best Selling books about Italian Football

1. The Miracle of Castel di Sangro: A Tale of Passion and Folly in the Heart of Italy

2. Soccer Modern Tactics: Italy’s Top Coaches Analyze Game Formations Through 180 Situations

3. Winning at All Costs: A Scandalous History of Italian Soccer

4. The Italian Job: A Journey to the Heart of Two Great Footballing Cultures

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5. Forza Italia: The Fall and Rise of Italian Football

6. Calcio: A History of Italian Football

7. Football and Fascism: The National Game under Mussolini

8. Football, Fascism and Fandom: The UltraS of Italian Football

9. Arrivederci Swansea

10. Umberto Eco and Football (Postmodern Encounters)

Italy Chronicles Reader Recommendations

From photographer friend Di Mackey:
A Season with Verona: Travels Around Italy in Search of Illusion, National Character, and…Goals!

From Ed Phillips via Twitter:

Parma: A Year in Serie A

Remember that if you have a Kindle or the Kindle eBook reader program on your iPad, iPod, iphone or whatever else, you can save a few trees by buying the electronic editions of these books about Italian football- if they are available.

Happy reading Italian football fans!