It all began with Inter against Birmingham City in 1955 and ended, for the time being at least, in a battle at Stamford Bridge last week. In between, there have been more than 200 clashes which have formed one of the major storylines of European football. When Italian and English clubs go head to head, you can usually turn the controversy meter up full blast. When you stack the stats up of their encounters in major competition, as analysts at [...]

Health scares, multi-million pound on-off deals and the toppling of a prime minister. It has the makings of a political thriller that any dramatist would be proud off. Instead, it has been the script of Massimiliano Allegri’s awkward second season in charge of Milan. It is easy to forget just how rocky the waters have been in the background to his attempts to build on the foundations of a debut year Scudetto. The champagne had hardly dried on the carpets [...]

The last time they finished first and second in Serie A has been cancelled from the record books by the Calciopoli scandal. Prior to that, you have to go back 16 years to find a time when they filled the champions and runners-up spot in the league table. So we should really give a warm welcome to a Juventus versus Milan Scudetto fight - it has certainly been a while. Of course, Udinese might have something to say this season [...]

While the economy in Italy lurches from one crisis to another, there is an export market which shows no signs of a slump. Across Europe, it seems, there is a prized product of the peninsula which never sees demand dry up. An unerring rule of the football market appears to have been established: if you seek success and tactical acumen - go out and hire a Italian coach. The founding fathers of this global trade were the likes of Fabio [...]

They are two of the games great executioners. Their preferred methods of delivering the coup de grace could hardly be more different, but they share the same efficient outcome. Back in 1998 it was Fabio Capello’s Milan who were on the receiving end of a cold-blooded calcio killing. If you want a masterclass in the respective abilities of Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi you need look no further. His Juve shirt billowing in the breeze, a fresh-faced Pinturicchio delivered [...]

It just might be Serie A’s answer to a cold night at the Britannia Stadium. An icy December day at the Stadio Friuli is the kind of test that a pundit might think would be a step too far for a star foreign player, particularly a boy from Brazil. But, back in the 1980s, there was one golden player ready to prove them wrong. This was a time when the frontiers had not long reopened to Stranieri and Italy was [...]

When Vinnie Montella bit the hand that would feed him These are sombre times for Sampdoria but it has not always been that way. The Blucerchiati have been star turns in some memorable episodes of Italian football both domestically and in Europe. One of their more epic performances was delivered by Vincenzo Montella about 15 years ago – when he helped to destroy a club he would later serve both as player and manager. It was just the third round [...]

The San Paolo goal feast that took everyone by surprise Even in a city as superstitious as Naples, the omens can sometimes be wrong. The fans turning out for the visit of league leaders Inter in February 1980 had every reason to expect a tense, low-scoring affair. Instead, they were treated to a glorious riot of goals. These were two old-school Italian sides built on a solid bedrock of rugged defence. The Nerazzurri were a little more expansive but had [...]

Back once more with a wonderful game to look back on, Serie A Weekly is proud to once again bring you this series from Giancarlo Rinaldi. With Roma-Milan and the Genova derby he had plenty of scope, yet with time running out on another season he stayed decidedly closer to home.    Trap’s Parting Gift   As he inspected the San Siro playing surface, Giovanni Trapattoni could have been permitted a sentimental smile. Even in his own illustrious almanac of football achievements that most famous [...]

Once again the brilliant Giancarlo Rinaldi returns to cast a nostalgic eye over one of the weekends key fixtures. Serie A Weekly is proud to present the latest in this wonderful series. Witnessing The Birth Of A Serie A Superstar There was a time, it seemed, when he could never miss. Give the boy an opening from a particular angle on the left hand edge of the penalty area and every shot would trace an inexorable arc to the top [...]

Once again the brilliant Giancarlo Rinaldi returns to cast a nostalgic eye over one of the weekends key fixtures. Serie A Weekly is proud to present the latest in this wonderful series. Brilliance and bruises down at the Meazza It was supposed to be the “trampoline to the top”. League-leading Fiorentina had suffered their first defeat of the season away to Roma, leaving the door open to Gigi Simoni’s Inter to move ahead of the pack. The only obstacle on [...]

Il Gran Rifiuto Roberto Baggio’s ‘Great Refusal’ Everyone, it seemed, had an opinion. The barista in the town centre cafe, the teacher at the Liceo Scientifico and the carabiniere at the corner distractedly directing the traffic – they all had something to say on the subject. But none of them seemed able to agree on the final outcome. Would Roberto Baggio really end up at Juventus? It was the spring of 1990 and Italy was gearing up to host a [...]