On the occasion of the second edition of “Italian Sport Day Worldwide”
the Italian Cultural Institute in Haifa
is pleased to invite you to the second talk in the series:
The evolution of the Italian football language
GIANNI BRERA AND THE INVENTION OF MODERN FOOTBALL JARGON
Presents Lev Kats, literary translator and interpreter
Tuesday, 02 December 2025, @ 18:00
ONLINE | Webex
Free event, in Italian.
To receive the Webex link, please fill out the REGISTRATION FORM.
During the years of Italy’s post-war economic boom, Gianni Brera established himself as a master of sports journalism and reinvented the language of football, transforming match reports into literature. Drawing on his classical education and Lombard roots, he coined and codified neologisms and metaphors — centrocampista, libero, goleador, rifinitore, forcing — often inspired by military, agricultural or literary imagery, to describe roles and tactics with both precision and flair. His iconic nicknames, from Gianni Rivera’s Abatino to Gigi Riva’s Rombo di Tuono, entered popular folklore, while terms such as regista crossed national borders. The lecture will explore how Brera’s inventive language changed the way Italians talk and think about football, showing how his narrative voice reshaped the representation of the sport and conferred new cultural legitimacy on it, influencing generations of commentators, fans and players. We will also review a number of neologisms which, having stood the test of time, have taken root in everyday language — among them pretattica, melina and incornata — bearing witness to Brera’s role in making football a uniquely linguistic phenomenon in Italy.
- Participation is FREE. Event held in ITALIAN, online only.
- To receive the Webex link, please fill out the the REGISTRATION FORM.
- The event will be recorded and the recording link will be emailed to all registered participants.
The series | The language of football in Italy is not merely insider jargon for professionals and fans: it is a mirror reflecting the country’s history, its social dynamics, the interplay between popular and academic culture, Italy’s image abroad, and its linguistic and cultural exchanges with other nations. This lecture series is therefore aimed not only at supporters, but at anyone wishing to delve into Italian cultural history from the late 1800s to the present.
Free online event, in Italian.
Tuesday, 02 December 2025, @ 18:00
ONLINE | Webex
Cover image: Mazzola and Trapattoni battle for the ball in the 1969–70 Milan–Inter derby, won 1–0 by Inter with a goal from Mario Corso in the 80th minute (8 March 1970 | Public domain).