When Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club won the first of its national championships in 1898 it retained many features of its origins as an English institution. The club jerseys for example, were white, and the manager was an Englishman- Dr James Richardson Spensley. Dr Spensley's association with the club began in 1897, effectively heralding its beginnings as a serious football club (from the foundation in 1893 the football had been casual, secondary to cricket and athletics). Initially membership of the club had been open only to Englishmen (I'm assuming this covered all Britons), but by 1898 there was a more cosmopolitain air- the championship winning side being made up as follows:
William Baird | England |
Ernesto De Galleani | Italy |
Fausto Ghigliotti | Italy |
Edoardo Pasteur | Italy |
James R. Spensley | England |
Ettore Wallys Ghiglione | Italy |
Robert Al Leaver | England |
Giovanni Bocciardo | Italy |
Henri Arthur Dapples | Switzerland |
Silvio Pietro Bertollo | Italy |
John Quertier Le Pelley | Guernsey |
