Quelli che... il Calcio

The broadcast debuted on Rai 3 on 26 September 1993 conducted by Fabio Fazio and Marino Bartoletti with the participation of sports journalists such as Carlo Sassi. Its name derives from the title of the song (which initially was also the theme song for the program) Quelli che ..., composed and sung by Enzo Jannacci, with the addition of the word football, a sport that was the focus of discussion with satire and irony. The song by Jannacci for the broadcast, however, had a completely different text (it spoke of football) compared to the first original version. From his debut to the present day, he has also collaborated with the radio broadcast Tutto il calcio minute by minute on Rai Radio 1: until 1997, in fact, the faces of the radio commentators appeared on a large video wall behind the conductor. In 1996 the video wall with the radio commentators was moved and placed behind the audience, and then underwent numerous changes over the years.

The format was born, according to the host himself, as a television translation of the Rai Radio 1 radio program, and consists in transmitting the results of Serie A and Serie B matches (until 2005, when they were moved to Saturday; from 2010 are replaced by Series C), which appear in succession at the bottom of the screen. In the upper part appears the match commented live by the VIP reporters or the reporter in the event. When a Serie A team scores a goal, it is communicated live (until 2005 by the radio broadcast Tutto il calcio minute by minute, then by journalists in the studio); in the background the scream of the fans and epic music is broadcast, followed (when possible) by the hymn of the team that scored; since 1997 the new result of the match appears in the upper part of the screen and on both edges of the screen a flag with the social colors of the team that scored, radio commentators commenting on the action on the spot (during the period of connection with Tutto football minute by minute) and the minutes and names of the players who have scored their respective goals; finally, in the center of the screen, the cheers of the players (when possible) and the fans are broadcast live. This graphic will change over the years. Furthermore, until 2009, the Totocalcio ticket was shown at the interval and at the end of the matches.

During the first eight years of the program, comedians of the caliber of Teo Teocoli, Anna Marchesini and lesser known but still appreciated characters alternated alongside the conductor, among which the Dutch astrologer Peter Van Wood, the Juventus fan from Africa, stood out. Idris, the Japanese designer Takahide Sano, often the journalist and TV presenter Luciano Rispoli, the pediatric primary and rowdy Sampdoria fan Renato Panconi, the Lazio nun Sister Paola, the journalist Paolo Brosio and the impassive-looking statistics expert Massimo Alfredo Giuseppe Maria Buscemi.

During the first 4 years of broadcast there were also fixed connections from the stadiums, and in particular Everardo Dalla Noce - a former radio commentator and face of TG2 who for many years followed the economic page - who commented from the various stadiums in Italy all the games together with his assistant, as well as the director Giacomo Forte, in addition for some episodes of the first 3 years, another former face of Tg2, Onofrio Pirrotta, was held in a newspaper kiosk in an Italian newsstand. From 1996 to 1999 the engineer Professor Roberto Vacca joined the guests of Quelli che il calcio.

In the same edition, the comedian Maurizio Battista joined the show from 1997 to 1999, then leaving the space to Maurizio Crozza.

2001-2011: run by Simona Ventura

Simona Ventura With the ninth edition, aired from 26 August 2001 to 5 May 2002, the conduction passes to Simona Ventura, she will conduct the program for 10 years, making it the longest-running presenter of the broadcast. Despite the change in conduction, which involves the change of the format in a more youthful version, the broadcast continues to obtain high results from auditel, also thanks to the updates given by sports journalists and / or former footballers, who analyze the crucial moments of the matches and other sporting events in the afternoon (among others in the various editions Massimo Caputi, Bruno Pizzul, Ivan Zazzaroni, Marco Fiocchetti, Enrico Varriale, Luigi Maifredi, Bruno Gentili, Giampiero Galeazzi and the ex-husband of the host Stefano Bettarini). Between 2001 and 2005 the program has an extraordinary four-year period. Among the comedians, to the already present Tullio Solenghi and Dario Vergassola, the comedians Maurizio Crozza and Gene Gnocchi are added to the cast. The former became known for his imitations, while the latter for his political satire. Both comedians achieved extraordinary success: on May 5, 2002, the program reached a record 43% share and over 7 million viewers. In addition, Ventura has also managed to present several international pop stars, such as the English singer Amy Winehouse who performed on November 4, 2007 with her single Back to Black, or Lady Gaga, which debuted in 2009 with Paparazzi.

The reasons for the success are to be found above all in the imitations of Maurizio Crozza first and of Max Giusti and Lucia Ocone then, in addition to the fixed presence of the sketches of Gene Gnocchi (present until 2007); other appreciated elements are: the VIP guests in the studio, who watch the games ironically discussing them with the host; the coupons, ie the valleys of the program to which the mouflons (ie the valets) were also added; the correspondents for live matches from the stadiums (already present in the Fazio era), mainly fans from the entertainment world; the special correspondents, first of all Digei Angelo and Nicola Savino of Radio Deejay (who later became presenter of the program from the 2013-2014 edition) who participate in events of particular interest.