“I think all of us can become ruthless in certain circumstances”: The cast and creatives of The Great Game on the new football drama

The Great Game chronicles the brutal, unforgiving world of the Italian football transfer market, a seedy world devoid of trust, loyalty and reverence for the game that remains great in spite of the best efforts of the bureaucrats vying for their 20%. The transfer market is, despite being a profit-driven, off-field attraction, one of the most dramatic events in the football calendar, however, and the Sky Atlantic series seeks to divulge the reality of its relentlessly churning machinery.

The Upcoming were given the opportunity to attend a roundtable interview with three of the show’s stars: Francesco Montanari, whose fading football agent, Corso Manni, finds himself battling match-fixing charges; Giancarlo Giannini, of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace note, whose character, Dino De Gregorio, is an elder statesman of the footballing agent universe, whose terminal illness forces him to confront the future of his empire; and Elena Radonicich, who plays Dino’s daughter, Elena.

Although the world (or more precisely, business) of football is squarely in the spotlight of the show’s focus, Giannini’s knowledge of the sport, according to his own account, is slight at best: “When I read the screenplay, I didn’t understand a single word because I’m not an expert in soccer. I didn’t even know what it meant to be a soccer agent, and when I met one, I was asking what I should do. He gave me two or three hints. One of which was to make him very ambiguous, so I built my character on that.” When the translator concludes his answer to the journalists in virtual attendance, Giannini asks in English, with a smile, “You like my answer?” It’s a wry mischief which characterises his brief presence at the junket. “My character suffers from a degenerative disease,” he chimes in again, “therefore, when I didn’t know what to do I had my hand shiver and that was okay!”

Montanari provides a slightly straighter-edged answer to the origins of his performance: “My source of inspiration was not one single person, but multiple people that I happened to know about or meet…I think all of us can become ruthless in certain circumstances.” Radonicich, trying to orient herself in the midst of Giannini’s mischief, says of her character that, “she is always in dire straits. She’s having a hard time living up to the expectations of everybody and puts on many different masks. She’s also always looking to be loved by her father, a love which she is not receiving.”

Radonicich continues, in response to a question about the wider world of the football transfer market, “I was very impressed by the frantic pace that the transfer market has and how cards can change in a second. It’s like gambling, you have to act quickly considering the vast economic interests that are behind the negotiations.” Giannini contributes: “I didn’t know about all the dynamics, but I’ve heard the stories about corruption. It was fun learning how to become evil and get the best over others!”

Joining the roundtable separately was head writer, Giacomo Durzi, and series directors Fabio Resinaro and Nico Marzano. “The idea was to build a narrative solution for a show about soccer, not from the point of view of experts or professionals, but to attract people based on the feelings and passions that were going to be performed,” explains Durzi. “So we built the story of this family and all the dynamics of the summer transfer market.”

On pre-production preparation, Marzano explains: “We were able to consult people involved in the world of soccer, players, agents, journalists, and also experts in the transfer market like Gianluca Di Marzio. This was very helpful in being able to take on a different perspective on the story. There was also the experience of two actors in the series who were semi-professional. Their first-hand experience of training and the sports press provided another important angle.”

On the dramatic intrigue of the transfer market, Resinaro explains how he came to these dynamics as an outsider to their intricacies, much like Giannini: “We know the players but not the motives of the agents. These are very dramatic and very important considering that they hold in their hands the destinies of thousands of supporters, the teams and their societies.”

“The transfer market can be considered a conflict,” adds Durzi, “a dramatic and tragic war in a way. It’s a real duel with alliances and moves and strategies that are set in place so as to have a winner.”

Matthew McMillan

The Great Game is released on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW on 18^th November 2022.

Watch the interview with Montanari, Giannini and Radonicich here:

Watch the trailer for The Great Game here: