Il diavolo e l'acquasanta (1983)

Bruno Marangoni, a former Roma center forward, has fallen on hard times after leaving football because of a series of injuries, and now gets by through odd jobs and petty scams. He often even stages suicide attempts by threatening to throw himself off the Colosseum, and on the latest occasion he is “saved” by Don Gaetano, a former mountaineer who is now a priest and parish priest in a small town in Lazio. Marangoni then decides to move with his provocative girlfriend into the poor priest’s sacristy. In Marangoni’s view, Don Gaetano is responsible for saving him and therefore owes him a place to stay. Don Gaetano, a great football enthusiast who cares deeply about the fortunes of the struggling Castelfranco team, tries to get some benefit from his troublesome guest by inviting him to become the team’s player-coach. Marangoni, however, intends only to sow chaos in the community with a series of scams while waiting for the big score that will set him up for good. In reality, beyond this devious aim, what holds him back is his reluctance to return to the world of football, which had taken him from the heights to the depths. But little by little, partly for convenience and partly because his passion is rekindled, Marangoni accepts Don Gaetano’s offer and, as coach alone, turns the team’s fortunes around, bringing it into the “promotion zone,” all while continuing his shady activities. Once he has amassed a worthwhile haul but his biggest scams have been uncovered, Marangoni abandons the team on the eve of the decisive match and heads for pastures new. However, while fleeing, he cannot resist tuning in on the car radio to follow the promotion match: when he hears that his team is losing three to nil, he turns around and heads back to the sports ground. As it happens, the other amateur team’s captain is Baronti, a former professional who had once committed the crude foul that effectively ruined Marangoni’s career. Marangoni arrives at the start of the second half and takes the field himself. He taunts his hated opponent and scores four spectacular goals, the last after time has expired, earning Don Gaetano promotion and giving Marangoni, in tears, his true revenge on life.