Founded in 1912 in Turin, it is published every month.[3][1]
The title and the logo, depicting a medieval knight throwing a javelin, are inspired by the lead character in Andrea di Barberino's chivalric romance Il Guerrin Meschino ("The Wretched Guerrin"), written in 1410.[1]
Originally, it was printed on green paper, whence the popular nickname verdolino,[1] and also housed satirical panels.[4][5] Characters used in his panels by artist Carlin (a zebra for Juventus, a female wolf for Roma, a devil for Milan and others) inspired most of the symbols of Italian sides used today.[4][5]
In the mid-1970s, Guerin Sportivo moved from newspaper to magazine format, starting to include a greater number of photos. Since its origins, most of the content was devoted to football, other sports being given less detail. Since the 1990s, virtually all pages are dedicated to football.[1]
From 1975 to 2015, the Bravo Award was awarded to the most outstanding young European footballer.
Player of the Year (1979–1986)
The winner was chosen by reporters, readers and writers of the magazine from many countries. It was first awarded in 1979 and was discontinued in 1986.[11][12][13][14] In 1987, Guerin Sportivo held a vote between Diego Maradona and Ruud Gullit to decide the best player of the year. Diego Maradona won by a small margin.[15]
The Player of the Year was chosen from 1980 to 1983 based on appearances in All-Star team votes. In 1984 and 1986, a separate vote for an All-Star team was conducted.[11][12][13][14]
