A long-time soccer club manager (played by the late, great Ugo Tognazzi) is retrenched, then recatled to rescue a poorly performing team. With his demeanour of a man in a hurry, fast-talking, headstrong, an all-round operator who loves power, Tognazzi reinforces the feeling of "speed" that the film suggests. The terse editing style matches the pace of a real 90-minute soccer match. Avati, brother Antonio and sportswriter Italo Cucci have captured the footy milieu sharply and accurately, with all its tensions and intrigues.