{"product_id":"ultra","title":"Ultra","description":"Winner of the Daily Telegraph Football Book of the Year \u003cbr\u003eUltras are often compared to punks, Hell's Angels, hooligans or the South American Barras Bravas. But in truth, they are a thoroughly Italian phenomenon... \u003cbr\u003eFrom the author of The Dark Heart of Italy, Blood on the Altar and A Place of Refuge. Italy's ultras are the most organised and violent fans in European football. Many groups have evolved into criminal gangs, involved in ticket-touting, drug-dealing and murder. A cross between the Hell's Angels and hooligans, they're often the foot-soldiers of the Mafia and have been instrumental in the rise of the far-right. But the purist ultras say that they are are insurgents fighting against a police state and modern football. Only amongst the ultras, they say, can you find belonging, community and a sacred concept of sport. They champion not just their teams, they say, but their forgotten suburbs and the dispossessed. Through the prism of the ultras, Jones crafts a compelling investigation into Italian society and its favourite sport. He writes about not just the ultras of some of Italy's biggest clubs - Juventus, Torino, Lazio, Roma and Genoa - but also about its lesser-known ones from Cosenza and Catania. He examines the sinister side of football fandom, with its violence and political extremism, but also admires the passion, wit, solidarity and style of a fascinating and contradictory subculture.","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57814841393478,"sku":"9781786697370","price":16.19,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0852\/3081\/3510\/files\/c9add22fa00b10bd1032464a35c71ede4132d02a3370da8310850f06745ac81e.jpg?v=1794018574","url":"https:\/\/www.averdo.com\/en\/products\/ultra","provider":"Averdo","version":"1.0","type":"link"}