Of course, the last sentence says, "And don't we all wish it had ended differently." I don't want to expand on that, for obvious reasons, but let me just say if I'd left Castel di Sangro only one week earlier than I did, the book would have had a much simpler ending, and my ongoing friendships with the players would have far fewer obstacles in their paths.

McGinniss: Sad to say I am even more of a fanatic now than I was then. This is not something I got out of my system as a number of people close to me had hoped. You know, it's no fun for a kid to have a father who most people consider deranged. And we can't even invite people over for dinner unless I make sure first that it won't conflict with a televised match. And at 56 I don't think this is something I'll just outgrow.

I've kept in touch with teams, players, managers. It's not so hard because in Italy, everyone, certainly every calciatore, has a cell phone. I've been back to watch matches in every division from Serie A to C1. I even went to a C1 match outside Rome this February just because the goal keeper I did not want playing for Castel di Sangro was playing in that match, and I wanted to see him. Oh, we had a great time. Hugs all around and dozens of photographs. Honestly, he greeted me like a brother, even calling the hotel three times the night before the match to make sure I'd know how to find the stadium. Of course, his team lost, 3–2. What can you do? He's a great guy but at best a very mediocre goalkeeper.

And in America, through satellite, we get to watch a Serie B match every Saturday, then two Serie A matches on Sunday, plus an evening sports show which has players and managers as guests – all in Italian, of course – but I can understand enough, as can my wife, to pick up the gist of the conversation.

The greatest thing is that my son James, now 15, will sit there and watch it, not understanding a word, just to see some of his new heroes wearing suits and ties instead of uniforms. He cares far more about Inter Milan than about the Red Sox, and almost as much about Hellas Verona in Serie B. And then of course there are the matches from Germany, Spain, England, Mexico, Argentina and Chile every week. I've become a passionate fan of Boca Juniors, from Buenos Aires. Still, Italy is the core, the essence, the mother lode.