Il Grande Gioco

We follow the life of Corso Manni.Until a decade or so before our story began, he was a star in theworld of soccer prosecutors. Corso is a passionate man; soccer hasbeen his world since he was a child. Stadiums and locker rooms havebeen the places of his childhood and education. As the dressingrooms and backstage are for the children of actors. This is whoCorso Manni is. A predestinate. Married to the beautiful Elena DiGregorio, daughter of Dino, the tycoon of the most powerful footballagency in Italy, Corso had seen, all of a sudden, his life collapsing.An injustice, lies, an indelible stain. He had lost everything: hiscareer was over, his relationship with his father Francesco, who hadbetrayed him for a few pennies and his marriage to Elena wereover. In those dark, only Federico, his brother-in-law and brotherlyfriend, had remained by his side.He had been the only one who had never believed the chargesagainst Corso and he was planning with Corso a school dedicatedto young soccer players. The day came when old Di Gregorio hadto leave the “scepter” of his company, his reign. Elena would be thebest candidate to the succession but her father prefers her brother.Federico, however, is a man too fragile to bear the weight of thatresponsibility and so, after the first failures, especially in managingCarlos Quintana, a champion born in the Argentine barrios, he sinksinto the depths of depression and takes his own life.The loss of his friend, the ambiguity of the De Gregorios, the truthabout his father’s betrayal, the conflict with the Russian ruthlesstycoon Kirillov who wants to control the soccer market, will forceCorso to fight to regain his life back.He will be helped by young Assari, who dreams a career as aprosecutor and the beautiful Valeria, the former lover of FedericoDi Gregorio, whom everyone would like to relegate to the role ofposter girl but who has, in reality a lively intelligence and a vocationfor journalism and communication. But all second chances come ata price. Even the hope, for Corso, of bringing to the Olympus ofsoccer greats, Antonio Lagioia a young soccer promise who hasnever left the suburbs of Milan.But Corso will pay the higher price in trying to regain Elena: awoman who hides more than one secret and who has forgotten theability to love. But it will be Corso who will write the final lines of thisstory with his talent, his destiny, his passion.