I due maghi del pallone

my favourite franco&ciccio movie, together with *il lungo, il corto e il gatto* by lucio fulci. franco is simply out of hand, playing the part of *K.K. the wizard*, a parody of helenio herrera, the famous football trainer that became well known in italy with the nickname of *H.H. the wizard*. ciccio engaged him to train his awful football team, but there's a problem: franco doesn't know anything about football, because he's a real wizard, one of those who look in the crystal sphere. so ciccio seems to have made a terrible mistake, but....well, with a wizard like franco, you can do everything! very funny and good direction by mariano laurenti. look out, there's karin schubert, too!

"I due maghi del pallone" is one of the funniest movies of the great couple of Sicilian actors, with an accomplished narrative structure, well-defined protagonists and characters. It belongs to the second part of Franco and Ciccio's filmography, when by now established actors, they acted in movies in which their comic talent could express itself in a more qualitative way. In the final part of the movie, the sequence of the football match represents one of the most surprising demonstrations of Franco Franchi's uniqueness.

Among the Italian comedies focused on Football (Soccer), "I due maghi del pallone" can be rated among the most successful along with "L'allenatore nel pallone" (1984), which has lead actor Lino Banfi, and "Il presidente del Borgorosso Football Club", with Alberto Sordi, which arrived in Italian cinemas the same year (1970) as the film with Franco and Ciccio.

"I due maghi del pallone" can be considered the first movie of a trilogy by Franco and Ciccio set in the world of Sport, together with "I due assi del guantone" (1971), in which the two Actors play a boxer (Franco) and his coach (Ciccio) and "I due della F.1 alla corsa più pazza, pazza del mondo" (1971), in which Franco plays the part of a car driver and Ciccio is in the part of a technician. Among the actors in "I due maghi del pallone", Umberto D'Orsi, Enzo Andronico and Luca Sportelli are also present in other movies with Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia.

Ciccio is asked to hire a 'magician' to coach the local football team (make that 'soccer' for the American readers). He takes that literally, because he doesn't know anything about football, and comes home with a 'real wizard' (played by Franco), or better: a cheap fraud who looks into a crystal ball and tells the paying customers anything that will make them happy. Now the problem is that the cheap fraud became an expensive one, since Franco signed Ciccio's contract for millions of Lire (whatever that was worth in 1971). So 'the two wizards of football' (original title) have to stand together, hide their complete ignorance and have success with the team, no matter how.

It's a classical concept for a comedy: bring somebody into a situation he's ill equipped for, and his attempts to improvise will cause chaos without end. On this simple premise, everything works well, even though the movie is quickly produced 'third division' by cinema standards.