Subbuteo is among the most popular and well-known board games in Italy. Although it was invented in England by Sir Peter Adolph in 1947, it quickly spread and became a cultural phenomenon. The rules are straightforward: on a green field, two teams, each with 11 players, compete with the objective of scoring goals in the opposing team's goal, just as in football. The players are plastic miniatures that are moved with a finger, with the exception of the goalkeeper, who is controlled with a rod. The unique aspect is that the teams are exact replicas of those that compete in the stadiums. This is what made Subbuteo so popular in Italy in the 20th century: you could watch your heroes in action, reenact historical derbies, and even compete in entire tournaments. It wasn't unusual to stumble upon nights where the World Cup was reenacted, with 24 players, each with their own team, lasting until dawn with lots of commentary. Even in the present day, there are collectors seeking the most iconic formations of more or less prestigious clubs or players who continue to meet regularly to compete with their miniatures on a green table. Since 1994, the Subbuteo World Championship has been held annually, and Italy has won it sixteen times. Funny enough, for two iterations of the World Cup (the one with actual players), Italy has sat on the sidelines and watched other countries battle it out for the trophy.