The memory is an unfaithful servant. It serves up crisp and clear images of events from decades ago while keeping what happened a few moments ago irritatingly out of reach. Why can I remember the day my Dad got a British Satellite Broadcasting flat dish – a squarial – stuck on the side of the house as if it took place earlier today?

The reason, I think, is football and, more specifically, Serie A. I fell in love with Calcio watching Fiorentina do pre-season near the land of my grandfather in Tuscany but was unable to view it very regularly as I lived in southern Scotland. That odd-shaped receiver on our sandstone wall allowed images of the Italian game to come straight into our living room for the first time.

That was, it pains me to say, more than 30 years ago when I was writing a fanzine called Rigore! and started an addiction that has continued through the decades. UK broadcasters have had a love-hate relationship with Italy’s top division but we loyal followers have stayed faithful. Terrestrial, satellite or online, we want our weekly dose of Juventus, Inter, Milan and the rest.

From what became BSkyB (and later Sky) our lightbulb moment was the switch to Channel 4. If Serie A was the stuff of a handful of supporters, it suddenly gained a new and significantly bigger audience. With so little football on television at the time, this was the best league in the world straight into your front room for free. A generation still glows warmly with memories of that time.

This was, by any standard, a golden age for watching Calcio in the UK. The wit of James Richardson, the voice of Peter Brackley, the writing of Giancarlo Rinaldi (I sneaked that one in there) can all produce a glint in the eye of tifosi of a certain age. A new group of fans of Parma, Fiorentina, Lazio and many more was born. Little could they suspect the trials and tribulations ahead in terms of keeping an eye on their new found teams.

From those halcyon days, the start of the demise was probably the move from the traditional Sunday afternoon kick-off in Italy. The pick of the weekend’s games was usually on in the evenings and that left C4 with less to select from. It was still good, but not perhaps the quality it once was. At the same time, the Premier League was starting to rise and coverage increasing which meant Football Italia no longer had such a clear playing field to pick up followers.

Still, it was great while it lasted but it slowly trickled out and our wandering years began. Eurosport, Bravo, Setanta Sports, Five, Eleven Sports, Premier Sports – hands up how many you remember. Some loved Serie A, I think, others treated it with very little affection. We fans rocked up to watch until BT Sport – now TNT – gave us wall-to-wall coverage once more.

Just about every game could be watched over a weekend and there was even a bit of studio chat for Sunday night. It was like a kind of Channel 4 feelgood revival but, presumably, the numbers didn’t quite add up in terms of viewers, sponsors or whatever. The studio stuff disappeared, the coverage often ended quite abruptly and then they pulled the rug out from underneath us with just two games per match day instead of the previous complete coverage.

Only a late, late deal has landed the clashes they do not want with OneFootball and I can’t have been the only person scrabbling around to sign up and see what their offering might be. For the first weekend we get eight games for free which is magic but the future – who knows? – a subscription service or pay per view perhaps? We shall wait and see.

What is not in doubt is the passion of a small group of fans to watch their Calcio in the UK. As the Everly Brothers might have asked – we’ve been cheated, been mistreated, when will we be loved? The haste with which the latest deal was cobbled together suggests it may not be the most long-lasting but only time will tell. All we ask, really, is a regular home and a bit of informed commentary and punditry from people with a genuine passion for Serie A. TNT delivered the latter part of the package on an intermittent basis.

We step into a new era, as always, hoping for the best. I might not have the same youthful optimism I had when that BSB dish was stuck on my parents’ house but I still look forward to seeing what is on offer. We are a long-suffering and stoic bunch we Calcio fans across the UK but we are hard to shake off. Through an aerial, via satellite or by broadband we will find a way to follow our favourites, no matter how difficult you make it. So roll on another season and another service provider, our love of Italian football is strong enough to withstand whatever you might throw at us.

Giancarlo Rinaldi is the author of a number of books on Italian football. You can follow him on X @ginkers and listen to him on the podcast Rigore!.