Mr. Visca and Richard Whittle, another Fox Soccer commentator, co-host a popular weekly podcast on World Football Daily called  "Calcio and Coffee."  You can follow Mr. Visca on his Twitter page for updates before and after Serie A matches.

- Click here for the complete Italian Serie A 2010 - 2011 Schedule, Italian Football League tickets, 2010 - 2011 Coppa Italia Schedule/ Italian Super Cup 2010 / 2010 - 2011 Italy Serie A Calendar Buy your Italy Serie A tickets online. Inter Milan Tickes / FC Internazionale tickets AS Roma Tickets AC Milan Tickets FC Juventus Tickets AS Bari tickets Bologna tickets Brescia tickets Cagliari tickets Catania tickets Cesena tickets Chievo Verona tickets  Fiorentina tickets    Genoa tickets Lazio tickets Lecce tickets  Napoli tickets Palermo tickets  Parma tickets   Sampdoria tickets Udinese tickets Click here to buy all your Football tickets online 2010 - 2011 Italy Serie A tickets, Italian Football League tickets, Italian Serie A tickets 2010 - 2011, Italia Serie A tickets,      Click here for Italian Gift Ideas with Italy Theme Related Shirts, Italy Baby Clothing, Italy Mugs, T-Shirts Italy, over 5,000 Italy related gift ideas Italian I Love Italia Organic Cotton Tee, I Love Italia T Shirt

Where did you grow up in Scotland?

In the south west near the English border in a town called Dumfries, not far from Hadrian’s Wall.

Did you play organized football in your youth, and which professional club team did you support?

I played for a local team in Dumfries to Under16 level. The Under18 league folded, so at 17 I turned out for a couple of matches for Annan Athletic who were then in South of Scotland league, where the game is played by big burly men and resembles more a mix between rugby and Gaelic football. I also trained with local semi-professional Scottish League team Queen of the South. However, my playing days finished there.

When did you decide to make a career in football journalism?

I can’t say I woke up one day and decided to become a football journalist: Life could never be so predictable. Living in Milan, where a large part of Italian television sport production is based, I found myself with the chance to enter the world of journalism via live commentary. After impressing enough to pass the various trials, I was taken on to provide Serie A match commentaries in the 2004/05 season. The rest has been a steady progression from there.

With regards to your work for Infront Sports and Media in Milan, do you specialize in Italian football journalism or also cover other sports?

Italian football is the main sport I cover, assisting in the official Lega Serie A magazines Infront produces for the Italian football league, then there is the live match commentary. I also voice over a weekly magazine show for Euroleague basketball.

In the past, I have covered winter sports such as Ski Jumping and Cross Country skiing for the official FIS sites as well as commentating on Alpine skiing, Cross Country and Freestyle.

Off piste, I have provided match commentary for the European Handball Championships and Ice Hockey World Championships. My latest adventure away from the football pitch is to commentate on the World Series of Boxing for the Dolce and Gabbana Milano Thunder home matches.

How did you prepare for your work in television broadcasting, and which match commentators were or have been instrumental in your own development as an announcer?

Having been a teacher/lecturer in the past, I became used to speaking to a public and entering the world of sports broadcasting was an extension of the same skill of imparting information.

As for commentators, when I was growing up there were only a couple of channels that showed live sport in Britain – and only at the weekend; I didn’t have the chance to flick through the various offerings from sports broadcasters around the world on satellite.

Commentators that inspired me because of their enthusiasm were Archie Macpherson and John Motson, both of whom covered football for the BBC (although Barry Davies did introduce the exotica of foreign pronunciation), but also the late Bill McLaren’s colourful expressions and knowledge of his sport, Rugby Union, left a lasting impression on me. Lastly, another legend, Harry Carpenter, proved it is possible to be informative and entertaining on a number of sports without lowering standards.

Now let’s please turn to Italian calcio.

When did you develop an affinity and passion for Italian football?

Ever since I can remember being able to read (I don’t have a sharp memory of my childhood though) I would rake through the newspapers my father brought home looking for snippets on football outside the UK. A Monday round-up on European football was my highlight.

This drive to go beyond British football at such a young age could be down to my family’s French and Italian roots.

As a child my hero was Michel Platini. I remember I had just come back from visiting my grandparents in France with my St. Etienne kit taking pride of place in my bedroom only to discover he had signed for Juventus. That left me no option but to start following the progress of the Bianconeri, which introduced me to the world of Serie A.

Years later, while at university Sunday afternoon was ritually taken up watching the live match from Italy on UK’s Channel 4 ‘Football Italia’, and from there the seed was sown. Having Italian friends, I had the chance to compare and contrast the pronunciation efforts from match commentator and pundits.

How do you prepare prior to a Serie A broadcast? For example, do you watch taped matches, have access to scouting reports, read various media sources, interview players and coaches or employ other methods?

I have been covering matches since 2004 and as a consequence I have built up an internal database, which I can fall back upon. I don’t manage to watch any other matches other than the ones I am commentating on, but I do study the highlights of the remaining games and all the post-match interviews with players and coaches, and pundits’ opinions.

The major teams have their own channels which provide another excellent source of useful updates on injuries, coincidences and statistics.

The three Italian sports dailies (Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport) provide a constant source of information, which is enriched by websites that revel in gossip (must feed the fans’ need to believe). On top of this there are the inside stories which circulate but that never make it off the chief editor’s desk: words off the record, gestures and words not said communicate a lot more than the official interviews, which are all guided by the clubs involved (see Giorgio Chiellini’s new contract).

For example, having the chance to see Antonio Cassano brush past the press after Sampdoria’s match against Inter was priceless and this is what Richard and I set up as our aim for the Calcio & Coffee podcast, which has struck a chord with its followers. Unfortunately, due to studio costs, we have put any further episodes on hold. We are ‘Two Serie A Pundits in search of a Sponsor’ to add a twist to Pirandello’s play.

Can you please describe the day of a match from a commentator’s perspective from the time that you arrive at the stadium to the kick-off?

The match starts the day before, from when the respective coaches give their take on the upcoming fixture, hinting at possible Starting XI’s. On the day of the match the commentators arrive around two hours before kick-off and after picking up the accreditation make their way to the commentating position in the press box, where the technicians have been unpacking, plugging in, testing and retesting for hours. After a sound check, it is possible to study the press pack supplied by the home club for any extra tidbits. Once the players are out warming up, any pre-match questions marks can be analyzed by studying the players on the pitch and if they are wearing bibs or not, although nowadays the rule that the starting players don’t wear bibs is not always respected. One final espresso hit in the press bar then it’s time to head back to the position for kick off.

During a game, can you ask the camera operator for a specific angle or replay, or is that the producer’s responsibility? How many people does it take to produce a live game, and how much interaction goes on between the Fox broadcast team during a game?

Infront send a pitch side journalist with cameraman to one of the games of the week to gather footage for the Serie A Round-up show; however, the match pictures come from one central source and no commentator has the opportunity to ask for replays, different camera angles, etc. As for the purely technical aspects I am the wrong person to ask, but from the number of outdoor production broadcasting trucks parked at the stadium and all the technicians inside then it is quite a lot.

What qualities are essential for a live broadcast commentator, and what do you like the most about the job?

One essential quality is not to be scared of your own voice, wit, clarity and ability to analyze the match in progress without detracting from the spectacle, that is without reducing the enthusiasm.

Apart from the obvious observation that I make a living talking over men playing football – a dream job for many -, the aspect I like most about the job is living the game up close. TV can reduce the game to the angles on the screen, which can suck the viewer into believing that is all there is; but the position of the players over the entire pitch and behavior of the coaches are important at all times. This must be kept in mind also when the match is commented from a studio and not from the stadium.

You have called games from all over Italy. Are some venues better than others in terms of the visual perspective from the broadcast booth, and do you have a favorite stadium to call a game?

The stadia with the classic running track around the perimeter of the pitch do reduce the sensation of participation. Palermo’s Barbera stadium, seemingly built into a rock face from the TV camera angle, is an amazing venue, but the best without doubt is the Meazza or as everybody calls it the San Siro. In Italy they call a stadium like the Meazza an ‘English’ stadium because you sit right over the pitch, just as football should be watched.

I imagine that you meet, interview and attend press conferences with many Serie A players and coaches. Can you tell us some of your most interesting encounters?

See previous Cassano, who left the San Siro with his entourage and you could touch his ego it was so solid. The mixed zone after the match can be a bit of a scuffle zone unless you have your own space booked, and given the official nature of the Serie A projects that Infront produce for the Lega Calcio this is often the case. Each team sends out minimum of two players post match. The importance of the players is chosen on how well the team performed. Also, the coaches always have a chance to explain their decisions.

In your opinion, what makes the Serie A unique compared to other major European leagues?

The tactical side of the game in Italy is unique. No other league in the world puts so much emphasis on countering the opponents, pre-empting the other coach’s maneouvres, even if all of the coaches talk about commitment, hard work, etc.

In his book with Gabriele Marcotti, “The Italian Job,” Gianluca Vialli said, “The English play with their hearts, and the Italians with their heads.” Given your very informed perspective about Italian football, could you please expand on that statement?

This comes from the (over) emphasis on tactics. Massimo Oddo at Bayern Munich, Cristian Zaccardo at Wolfsburg both said that in Germany there was less importance given to tactics. Diamanti at West Ham United, Donati at Celtic, Balotelli at Manchester City have all explained that running is the essential part of pre-season training, while it is of little concern how the opponents might tackle the match. Commitment is fundamental to succeed in Britain. British fans demand a striker to chase down a ball at their opponents’ byeline and if he concedes the goal kick they are happy he has got ‘stuck in’. In Italy that same player would be regarded as tactically brainless.

Lastly, Paul, what advice would you give to an aspiring journalist or broadcast commentator?

Put the same enthusiasm that lights up your eyes when talking about football with your friends into the match, when you are speaking to an abstract listener, who nonetheless defines you, opening up all kinds of Sarterian doubts.

Paul, thank you very much for your kind contribution to Italian Soccer Serie A . All the best wishes, and we will look forward to your future broadcasts.

About the Interviewer

Steve Amoia is a freelance writer, editor and translator from Washington, D.C. He is the founder of World Football Commentaries. He has written for AC Cugini Scuola Calcio (Italian soccer school), Football Media, Italian Soccer Serie A, Keeper Skool and Soccerlens.

ShareThis