The English Disease

I used to work and live in Italy, and whilst I was there in the early eighties I watched the Sunday football coverage on TV.
Twenty Five years on and I'm reading a great book about Italian football called 'Calcio' (Italian for football). It's by a chap called Foot. Can't remember his Christian name although I'm fairly sure it's not the donkey-jacketed Michael.
I've read about those exotic names I remember when I was a child watching the World Cup in Mexico 1970 - Facchetti, Mazzola and Boninsegna. Even a Capello crops up from time to time. I am reminded of the dour defensive catenaccio methods the Milan teams used with such success in the sixties, the influx of foreigners (especially the Dutch triumvirate of Gullit, Rijkjaard and van Basten at Milan in the eighties), and sadly the continued violence and scandals afflicting the game even today.
It took the Heysel tragedy (Italians tagged all English football fans as hooligans after that -'The English Disease') and Hillsborough to force British football to clean up its act. Not only is the Premier League the most attractive to watch, it is also one of the safest to watch. All-seater stadia, better policing, CCTV cameras and alcohol bans have greatly improved the safety at games.
Back in Italy, outside football grounds and at motorway service stations the violence is far worse than in England. Let's be thankful for what has improved over here, and hope that our national team's support does us proud in South Africa next Summer.
Roger