Football by gymnasts

di Marco Impiglia
in Memoria e Ricerca n.s. 27 (2008), p. 15

One of the rails which made travel “the football train” in Italy, at the start of the XX Century, was that of the national gymnastics. Which was the most important for the play formalisation and the codification. Gym teachers translated the English books and supplied the rules, which were spread in Italy, at least up to the First World War. Milan Football Club adhered to the Italian Gym Federation and won four “national titles”, from 1902 to 1907. Then the “black-and-red devils”stopped playing “calcio” with the gymnasts. They went on winning scudettos and national cups in the ranks of Federcalcio. The article talks about the gym ventures of the European Champions in charge.