The Wunderteam had wrecked Italian optimism. The man who oversaw esteem-crushing home losses to the Austrians ahead of the 1934 FIFA World Cup™ should stick to writing about calcio for La Stampa, declared the consensus.

Vittorio Pozzo was not, however, a quitter. He persuaded an ageing goalkeeper to postpone his retirement. He persuaded an unemployed heavy drinker to swap whisky and poker for the most rigorous of fitness regimes. And he told two men who despised one another that they would be sharing a room for a couple of months. Here is the enchanting statistical story of Italy’s 1934 and ’38 World Cup campaigns.