If one were to view the rosters for each of Italy’s four World Cup triumphs, one would notice a pattern; the core of the team was comprised of Juventus players. Not only that, but Juventus players made key contributions in each of these championship winning sides, names such as Orsi, Monti, Rossi, Gentile, Buffon, and Del Piero spring to mind. Juventus also has the distinction of being the club that has produced the most Italian internationals as well as being […]
A young star who had the world at his feet; Alberto Aquilani was viewed as one of the best players to come through the AS Roma academy. He went on to feature for the Giallorossi before injuries curtailed his involvement. English side, Liverpool FC, gambled upon Aquilani’s fitness when they signed him in August 2009. A disappointing season entailed and the Italian was loaned to Juventus. Whilst playing for the Bianconeri, he displayed an ability to dictate a match’s tempo […]
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 […]
Fabio Borini was born in Bentivoglio, Italy, on 29th March 1991. His father had brought him up to be an avid Bologna supporter. He joined his boyhood side, aged 9 years old, in 2001 and played for their youth sides. Premier League side Chelsea came hunting for the young Borini’s signature in the summer of 2007; managing to convince the Italian to enhance his development in London. 2008-2009 saw Borini promoted to a starting role in the reserves, leading the […]
Following Italy’s shock 1-0 loss in Genoa to the USA on Wednesday night, Gigi Buffon told reporters, “there’s no need to get worried” and that “we absolutely did not deserve defeat tonight”. The Juventus ‘keeper was absolutely correct. The Azzurri dominated proceedings at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris from start to finish and as Giorgio Chiellini opined, “we deserved at least a draw from this performance.” Still, with any loss, no matter the significance, questions will always be raised. But, Italy’s […]
In the modern game of football, 600,000 Euros is an extremely insignificant price to pay for a player. It is a low risk, high reward situation for the club. If the player ends up as a failure then the loss was very minimal. However if the player goes on to be a success, than it looks like a genius move. Andrea Barzagli came in during last season’s slump and has made the most of his opportunity at Juventus, becoming the […]
On October 11 last year in the provincial city of Pescara, Italy ended their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 win over Northern Ireland. It was the perfect ending as Italy finished top of their group. It was also just reward for coach Cesare Prandelli who managed to rebuild a strong Azzurri from the wreckage of the 2010 World Cup disaster. The undoubted star man for Prandelli’s new look Azzurri was Milan’s Antonio Cassano. A player who came to prominence at […]
If you are ever planning a party, don’t invite Uruguay. They famously scuppered Brazil’s World Cup festivities back in 1950. And, on a much more minor scale, they burst the balloons blown up for the match to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italian unification in Rome. It brought the Azzurri back down to earth after a victory over one of the hosts of next year’s European Nations a few days earlier. In truth, nobody was getting too carried away about […]
Italy and Uruguay face off in just a few hours, and, providing the two sides don’t resort to the type of defense necessary in a match termed a “friendly”, this one promises a bit of excitement. Think about it: Mario Balotelli and Luis Suarez on the same pitch, facing off against each other. The possibilities for an epic showdown involving biting, kicking, tantrums and possibly a choreographed dance routine featuring ribbons, darts and balloon is immense. Now, if you’ve come […]
Guest writer/Matthew Coccoluto With international break again upon us, a few European countries will be squaring off in the Euro 2012 playoff rounds. The rest will be using these upcoming friendlies to further prepare for the tournament in June. Cesar Prandelli will be without some key players as they face Poland on Friday and host Uruguay on Tuesday. The big news leading up to the international break was the loss of Giuseppe Rossi and Antonio Cassano for six months. Rossi […]
Gazzetta dello Sport Ranieri in Gazzetta
On Friday, Italy will travel to Belgrade to play Serbia in their penultimate Euro 2012 qualification match. The game comes just under a year since the events in Genoa on 12 October 2010 which saw Serbian hooligans forcing the game to be called off, and leading to harsh punishments being meted out against the Serbian National team. The Italians have come a long way since then and under Cesare Prandelli have secured qualification swiftly - Italy’s best ever performance in […]
