Like many of the things that were said ironically in the past, this one has aged badly. Yes, Italians could be very passionate about the results of football mat

Like many of the things that were said ironically in the past, this one has aged badly. Yes, Italians could be very passionate about the results of football matches. However, Churchill did not have to see how the English interpreted soccer matches in the 1970s and 1980s. Hooligans, for those too young, interpreted football games as wars. But not in the sense of passion for the sport, as they were killing fans of other teams in ways similar to wars. Fortunately, things change over time. It is also interesting how some ethnic groups or nations can be the object of ridicule without anyone protesting (all of Southern Europe, for example), while for other ethnic groups or nations there would be protests all over the world at the slightest hint of an attempt to ridicule them.