Monday 21 May 2012, 13:17
Napoli brought the curtain down on the Italian season with a stirring Italian Cup final victory, ending what had up until that point been an unbeaten campaign for Juventus. The 2-0 scoreline denied the...
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Monday 14 May 2012, 11:44
RESULTS Sun 13 May Catania 0-2 Udinese, Cesena 2-3 Roma, Chievo 1-0 Lecce, Fiorentina 0-0 Cagliari, Genoa 2-0 Palermo, Juventus 3-1 Atalanta, Lazio 3-1 Inter, Milan 2-1 Novara, Napoli 2-1 Siena, Parma...
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Tuesday 08 May 2012, 11:57
It has taken six years and many a heartbreak, but Juventus are finally back top of the pile in Italian football. The club has come a long way in rebuilding its tattered reputation, from that 1-1 draw at...
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Thursday 03 May 2012, 12:40
There seems to be no depth to which Italian football will not plunge in order to maintain its position as Europe’s, if not the world’s, wackiest league. We have had Genoa players forced to hand over their...
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Monday 30 April 2012, 12:01
RESULTS Sat 28 Apr Palermo 1-1 Catania, Cagliari 0-0 Chievo, AS Roma 2-2 Napoli Sun 29 Apr Bologna 3-2 Genoa, Siena 1-4 AC Milan, Novara 0-4 Juventus, Lecce 1-2 Parma, Atalanta 2-0 Fiorentina, Inter 2...
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Friday 27 April 2012, 15:54
As Turin's two clubs - Torino and Juventus - sit atop Serie B and Serie A respectively, Adam Digby looks at what the clubs' rivalry means to the city... The Mole Antonelliana is a major landmark...
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Thursday 26 April 2012, 11:31
Luis Enrique arrived at AS Roma in the summer with dark hair on his 41-year-old head and a reputation for being a no-nonsense coach. Nearly nine months on he has grayed considerably and for many in the...
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Monday 23 April 2012, 12:08
The run-in to the end of any season calls for cool heads, but there were few in evidence at Genoa on Sunday. As if trailing Siena 4-0 with only 50 minutes played of what was a vital relegation encounter...
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Monday 16 April 2012, 09:15
The death of Piermario Morosini has naturally left the world of Italian football and sport in general reeling. The official announcement that the Livorno midfielder had lost his life during the Serie B...
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Thursday 12 April 2012, 12:33
RESULTS Tue 10 Apr Chievo 0-1 AC Milan Wed 11 Apr AS Roma 3-1 Udinese, Catania 1-2 Lecce, Napoli 1-3 Atalanta, Parma 2-0 Novara, Fiorentina 0-0 Palermo, Inter 2-1 Siena, Genoa 1-1 Cesena, Juventus 2-1...
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Tuesday 10 April 2012, 09:15
RESULTS Sat Apr 7 Atalanta 1-2 Siena, Cagliari 2-2 Inter, Cesena 0-0 Bologna, Chievo 3-2 Catania, Lecce 4-2 AS Roma, AC Milan 1-2 Fiorentina, Novara 1-1 Genoa, Udinese 3-1 Parma, Palermo 0-2 Juventus,...
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Monday 02 April 2012, 12:06
This time last year Vincenzo Montella was in the middle of his spell as caretaker period at AS Roma, attempting to keep the team on course for a European place in the dog-end days of the Sensi family ownership...
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Thursday 29 March 2012, 10:52
AC Milan will head to the Camp Nou next week knowing that they will once again have to exert every sinew and fibre of their bodies to deny Barcelona progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League...
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Monday 26 March 2012, 10:40
As a general rule in the final third of the Serie A season, league titles aren't won by playing pretty football but ground out game after game. AC Milan certainly proved that point against AS Roma...
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Monday 19 March 2012, 10:55
After a week's media blackout from a club convinced there is a plot to stop them returning to the summit of the Italian game, Juventus locked away their conspiracy theories to turn in a dominant performance...
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Thursday 15 March 2012, 12:10
It had all the makings of Napoli’s greatest evening in European football. They hoped the party would go on forever, but it all went flat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The final 4-1 scoreline was...
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Monday 12 March 2012, 12:25
RESULTS Fri 9 March Napoli 6-3 Cagliari, Chievo 0-2 Inter Sat 10 March Palermo 0-1 Roma Sun 11 March Cesena 0-2 Siena, Atalanta 1-1 Parma, AC Milan 2-0 Lecce, Genoa 0-0 Juventus, Catania 1-0 Fiorentina...
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Wednesday 07 March 2012, 09:44
Winning a European tie by a goal over two legs has long been the stable of Italian clubs. But when it's achieved after holding a 4-0 advantage from the first, then it's certainly not living up...
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Monday 05 March 2012, 12:33
Attempting to win a derby with eleven men is difficult enough, but when your team is reduced to ten after a mere seven minutes, the feat becomes nigh on impossible. Not only did AS Roma find themselves...
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Monday 27 February 2012, 10:54
Nothing gets the football fraternity’s blood boiling more than bad refereeing. So if Paolo Tagliavento’s performance during the top-of-the-table clash between AC Milan and Juventus is anything to go by...
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Friday 24 February 2012, 13:12
From the moment David Trezeguet departed for Alicante, fans and journalists bemoaned the lack of a true goal scorer in the Juventus attack. When Fabio Quagliarella arrived, the club's fans were understandably...
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Monday 20 February 2012, 11:15
RESULTS Fri 17 Feb Internazionale 0-3 Bologna; Fiorentina 0-3 Napoli Sat 18 Feb Juventus 3-1 Catania Sun 19 Feb Lecce 4-1 Siena; Novara 0-0 Atalanta; Genoa 0-1 Chievo; Cesena 1-3 Milan; Roma 1-0 Parma;...
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Thursday 16 February 2012, 11:38
Wednesday turned into a double evening of delight for AC Milan – a demolition of Arsenal in the Champions League on the back of Juventus failing to regain top spot in the league following their goalless...
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Monday 13 February 2012, 13:00
AC Milan were standing at the crossroads of their season on Saturday evening: one route led down a frozen path as Juventus disappeared into the distance, the other a charge to the top of the table. Being...
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Monday 06 February 2012, 16:54
The big freeze sweeping through the north of Italy has had those of a certain age pining for a much simpler time. A time when all Serie A matches kicked off at 3pm on a Sunday and venerable, gravel-voiced...
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Wednesday 01 February 2012, 15:00
It feels good to see Emiliano Mondonico back in Serie A. It really does. Hearing on Monday afternoon that he is to replace Attilio Tesser at Novara brought a smile to many faces. Not because there was...
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Monday 30 January 2012, 12:01
RESULTS Sat 28 Jan Catania 1-1 Parma; Juventus 2-1 Udinese Sun 29 Jan Fiorentina 2-1 Siena; Cesena 0-1 Atalanta; Roma 1-1 Bologna; Lecce 1-0 Internazionale; Chievo 0-3 Lazio; Genoa 3-2 Napoli; Palermo...
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Monday 23 January 2012, 17:11
Some games stick in the mind more than most. One of the greatest I recall watching while growing up happened on a sunny spring day in Turin in April 1997. It was between Juventus and Udinese and caught...
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Monday 23 January 2012, 11:06
The title of ‘winter champions’ may be merely a symbolic one, but Juventus will take heart from claiming the lead at the halfway stage of the season. In the last seven seasons, the team that have been...
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Tuesday 17 January 2012, 16:16
Delio Rossi held up his hands. “I am not Padre Pio, but a football coach,” he said. Miracle work, it seemed, was not his calling. Yet after taking the Fiorentina job in November, some supporters were indeed...
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Monday 16 January 2012, 11:51
From the Special One to the Specialist – the derby specialist that is. Claudio Ranieri, the wily old Roman, has added the Milanese bragging rights to those he garnered in the capital during his spell at...
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Monday 09 January 2012, 13:31
Written off more times than Italy's debt, Diego Milito has found a few stray goals in his back pocket to suddenly more Golden Boot than Bidone d’Oro [Golden Bin] – Italian football’s least sought-after...
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Thursday 05 January 2012, 14:56
AC Milan and Juventus return from the winter break joint top of the table and sporting matching winter tans after a week of warm-weather training in Dubai. The ever-fashionable clubs have mirrored each...
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Friday 16 December 2011, 13:46
They couldn't could they? After everything Carlos Tevez has done - his every outburst publicised and chronicled in many languages and televised for all to see - Italian giants AC Milan have elbowed...
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Friday 16 December 2011, 12:40
In an age where loyalty can be bought at the opening of a transfer window, Francesco Totti has always resisted the call of the sirens. As with Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Del Piero and Javier Zanetti the...
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Wednesday 30 November 2011, 15:11
After having eight entries in last year's 100 Best Players, this year Internazionale are down to four – with most in the lower reaches. Our man in Milan Richard Whittle examines the Nerazzurri nosedive...
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Monday 28 November 2011, 12:05
With Juventus finding themselves top of the table, the inevitable title talk is in the air - but their superstitious coach Antonio Conte is having none of it. Having defeated both Inter and AC Milan, the...
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Wednesday 23 November 2011, 10:06
One blustery spring morning a few years ago I was strolling through Milan's art district Brera. It happened to be the third Sunday of the month, and the market stalls were out on the streets selling...
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Tuesday 22 November 2011, 11:58
It must be the stripes. You look at one and more often than not think of the other. Yet besides a vaguely similar home shirt, Newcastle United and Juventus are different in almost every other way. One...
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Tuesday 22 November 2011, 11:18
Anyone who thinks watching Napoli is a massive bucket of fun obviously hasn’t been following the Azzurri recently. Going into the international break they lost at Catania, having frozen in the headlights...
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Monday 07 November 2011, 12:14
The great north-south divide in Italy is beginning to disappear, and as the devastating images of the flash flooding in Genoa testify, the country is currently battling against more than the crippling...
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Friday 04 November 2011, 11:23
As dawn broke on a wintry Tuesday morning in Florence, the streetlights outside the Stadio Artemio Franchi cast a murky orange light on a banner hanging loosely from its green gates. “As a coach we discuss...
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Tuesday 01 November 2011, 16:51
These are difficult times in Italy. The government’s debt is front-page news across the world. It is now the second highest in the Eurozone, and borrowing is naturally becoming more expensive. By one study...
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Wednesday 26 October 2011, 12:51
Don't expect to see Adriano Galliani on the phone too often this evening when AC Milan host Parma. Certainly not compared to on Sunday down in Lecce , when he took full advantage of his free weekend...
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Thursday 20 October 2011, 17:01
It was one announcement nobody had expected to hear at a Juventus shareholders meeting: Alex del Piero is being shown the door at the end of the season. Those weren’t the exact words uttered by club president...
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Wednesday 19 October 2011, 11:02
Annibale Frossi was short sighted. As a member of Italy’s gold medal-winning team at the 1936 Olympics, the whippet-like winger - once clocked running the 100m with the ball at his feet in 11.4 seconds...
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Monday 17 October 2011, 12:07
When you're part of the two-man team commentating on Serie A's international TV feed, it's important to give viewers from Adelaide to Anchorage a feel of the build-up to the big game of the...
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Thursday 13 October 2011, 10:55
After the international break it's back to the domestic Serie A action this weekend, and James Horncastle highlights five special new talents to watch Maxi Moralez, Atalanta Standing at 5’2” Maxi Moralez...
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Friday 07 October 2011, 14:21
Eight points clear at the top of Group C having only conceded one goal in eight games, Italy's place at Euro 2012 is already booked. Coach Cesare Prandelli could have been forgiven for thinking that...
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Wednesday 05 October 2011, 16:50
Having suffered two abject years, Juventus have fast become one of the major talking points of the early part of this Serie A season - and most of the talk centres around everything new. The new signings...
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Friday 23 September 2011, 10:36
There is never a dull moment in Italian football, and after just three rounds of the season, Serie A is turning into one of the most unpredictable for years. Early pacesetters Juventus and Napoli both...
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Tuesday 20 September 2011, 13:10
Massimo Moratti had the builders in again over the summer, after Leonardo, the man he thought would be the prime architect in rebuilding the crumbling house of Inter, decamped to Paris. By the time the...
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Thursday 15 September 2011, 10:48
With an average age of 29.2, AC Milan have the oldest squad in the Champions League – and on Tuesday evening at the Camp Nou it showed in the way the team played as a mature unit. Barcelona were limited...
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Friday 09 September 2011, 16:07
Marco Savioni was a member of the last Novara side to play in Serie A. Now in his eighties, he still remembers the 1955/56 season like it was yesterday. “That was the strongest team we had in those years...
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Friday 09 September 2011, 13:32
As Serie A finally kicks off, our man in Italy picks the runners and riders for the Scudetto, Europe and relegation. Juventus gave the rest of Italian football a glimpse of what the future could hold when...
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Monday 05 September 2011, 10:00
In the summer of 1987, Ian Rush left Liverpool for Juventus after a seven year spell on Merseyside littered with trophies, accolades and, most importantly, goals. With an astonishing 207 in 331 games,...
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Friday 26 August 2011, 10:52
At first glance it looks as if Italian footballers are living up to their image of pampered, overpaid egomaniacs. But in fact that would seem an apt representation of quite a few of the club’s presidents...
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Friday 19 August 2011, 12:44
With the start of the Serie A season still just over a week away, there was an opportunity to gauge the fitness and form of AC Milan, Inter and Juventus when Italy’s three major clubs met in Thursday’s...
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Thursday 11 August 2011, 11:08
Italy’s 2-1 win over Spain in wind-swept Bari was something of a welcome relief for those itching for the return of competitive football and the opportunity to take pride in the Italian game. NEWS Wed...
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Thursday 04 August 2011, 13:36
As Inter trained in the sweaty environs of the Workers’ Stadium on a balmy Tuesday afternoon in Beijing, a thousand or so of their supporters congregated in the stands and began to sing: “Mi-lan, Mi-lan...
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Friday 29 July 2011, 16:02
A primitive-looking sign made out of cardboard hangs in the window of the Barettino, a bar just a few streets down from Atalanta’s ground, the Atleti Azzurri d’Italia. It bears a message scribbled in the...
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Wednesday 27 July 2011, 13:46
It has come to that point of pre-season when the main players in the upcoming title race look to send out a strong signal that they are to be taken seriously. Inter, Juventus and AS Roma are all getting...
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Monday 18 July 2011, 14:42
If Inter are indeed ready to let Wesley Sneijder leave for Manchester United then Gian Piero Gasperini is either unaware of the transfer or he is wasting valuable time trying to fit the Dutchman into a...
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Friday 15 July 2011, 13:57
Thomas DiBenedetto introduced a new word to Rome in his first official press conference as AS Roma owner on Thursday: patience. Anyone who has spent any time in the Eternal City will know that a capacity...
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Monday 11 July 2011, 12:10
Massimo Moratti’s morning reading will be a spot shorter from now on after the Inter owner decided to boycott La Gazzetta dello Sport for joining in the chorus of calls for the Nerazzurri to be stripped...
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Tuesday 14 June 2011, 17:06
Luis Enrique turned up at AS Roma’s training ground on Friday looking more like a new signing than the club's new coach. Looking trim and dressed casually in jeans and polo shirt, the 41-year-old arrived...
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Thursday 02 June 2011, 15:33
Andrea Pirlo has had to suffer through it all before. Ahead of the 2006 World Cup finals, the then AC Milan midfielder had to face the media to answer accusations that Italian football was rotten to the...
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Tuesday 31 May 2011, 15:51
When Inter needed to win a trophy to add a little gloss to a disappointing season, they resorted to a tried and tested approach: playing the Mourinho way. The Special One’s long shadow was cast over Leonardo...
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Wednesday 25 May 2011, 11:52
Serie A’s managerial 'merry-go-round' is in fact more like a dilapidated rollercoaster at a disreputable theme park - nobody knows when or how the ride will end... Take Walter Mazzarri – and it...
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Monday 23 May 2011, 11:25
Next season will be the last in which Serie A's fourth placed side will get a crack at the Champions League, and on Sunday Udinese confirmed themselves as the team who will take the spot. But if Sampdoria...
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Monday 16 May 2011, 12:39
When AC Milan won their first post-war title in 1951, the players shook hands on the pitch and their Hungarian coach Lajos Czeizer – known as “Zio” [Uncle] even by his players – took the team for a well...
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Thursday 12 May 2011, 16:06
As all ancient would-be conquerors would no doubt testify, you can't march on Rome without a large army. Thankfully for Palermo, they're expecting more than 30,000 fans backing them at the Italian...
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Wednesday 11 May 2011, 12:57
Independiente unwittingly made a milkman out of a young Javier Zanetti. “That was the year in which I did everything,” he said. “They let me go just when I’d closed my books at school and there was no...
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Monday 09 May 2011, 11:48
There is no doubting the fact AC Milan more than deserved to be crowned Italian champions on an evening of high emotion at Rome’s Olympic Stadium. It has been seven long years since the Scudetto was last...
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Thursday 05 May 2011, 12:35
All they had was 20 minutes. It was February 10, 1999 and Italy were sparring in a friendly against Norway under the leaning tower of Pisa when Dino Zoff threw on a 22-year-old Francesco Totti to play...
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Tuesday 03 May 2011, 11:26
RESULTS Sat 30 Apr Cesena 1-2 Internazionale; Napoli 1-0 Genoa; Sun 1 May Fiorentina 5-2 Udinese; Milan 1-0 Bologna; Catania 2-0 Cagliari; Chievo 1-0 Lecce; Sampdoria 3-3 Brescia; Bari 2-3 Roma; Parma...
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Tuesday 26 April 2011, 12:41
RESULTS Sat 23 Apr Roma 1-0 Chievo; Bologna 0-2 Cesena; Cagliari 1-2 Fiorentina; Internazionale 2-1 Lazio; Genoa 4-2 Lecce; Palermo 2-1 Napoli; Udinese 0-2 Parma; Bari 0-1 Sampdoria; Brescia 0-1 Milan;...
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Tuesday 19 April 2011, 12:08
The Americans are coming, the Americans are coming... 67 years after Allied forces marched unopposed into the Italian capital, on Friday 15 April AS Roma became the first major Italian club to end up in...
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Thursday 14 April 2011, 10:42
It was always going to be an exercise in futility for Inter as they desperately attempted to defend their Champions League title in the second leg of a quarterfinal in which they already trailed 5-2, but...
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Wednesday 06 April 2011, 12:32
Leonardo’s voice had gone long before the end of last night’s humiliation, which was just as well because there was little he could have said in defence of Inter’s performance in the Champions League quarterfinal...
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Monday 04 April 2011, 13:43
As Silvio Berlusconi might note, you can say one thing in public and do exactly the opposite in private. Certainly Berlusconi's employee Massimiliano Allegri did so in the build-up to Saturday’s Milan...
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Monday 28 March 2011, 10:02
The Italians love nothing more than their passeggiata (a traditional early evening stroll), so there is plenty of satisfaction with the way the national team’s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign is progressing...
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Friday 25 March 2011, 10:55
Italy’s build-up to their Euro 2012 qualifier in Slovenia has been more about the notable absentees than those actually making the trip. Both Mario Balotelli and Daniele De Rossi have been left in the...
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Tuesday 22 March 2011, 11:20
The international break could not have come at a more opportune moment for AC Milan, who have seen their lead over Inter whittled down from 13 points to just two since the turn of the year. There are still...
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Friday 18 March 2011, 10:30
The Tricolore was flying proudly around Italy yesterday as the country celebrated 105 years of unity. The green, white and red colours of the national flag also happen to adorn the Scudetto badge awarded...
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Wednesday 16 March 2011, 11:11
Three weeks ago Julio Cesar walked home from the San Siro after his fumble in the Champions League Last-16 first leg against Bayern Munich enabled Mario Gomez to score the only goal of the game in the...
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Monday 14 March 2011, 11:57
It was a another topsy-turvy weekend in Serie A. One where nothing seemed to go to plan unless you happened to be Francesco Totti, and which left the race for the league title wide open once again. Inter...
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Thursday 10 March 2011, 12:15
Out go the Serie A leaders to the English Premier League’s fifth-placed side along with the mesmerising passing movements in the best traditions of AC Milan. You can pass a team off the pitch – Milan produced...
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Wednesday 09 March 2011, 11:45
The lights have gone out on AS Roma’s Champions League campaign and the way things are going back on the home front the off-switch will be flicked for some time to come. The statistics and the frigid weather...
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Monday 07 March 2011, 11:23
RESULTS Fri 4 Mar Lecce 1-2 Roma Sat 5 Mar Juventus 0-1 Milan Sun 6 Mar Sampdoria 2-3 Cesena, Udinese 1-0 Bari, Napoli 0-0 Brescia, Bologna 2-2 Cagliari, Fiorentina 3-0 Catania, Internazionale 5-2 Genoa...
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Friday 04 March 2011, 12:42
Support Italy! It’s the 150th year of unification, although you would hardly know it, evident by the apathy sweeping the country even with the prospect of a national holiday and an extra day off work on...
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Tuesday 01 March 2011, 11:37
Who’s the daddy now? Well, AC Milan in the title race and most definitely Alexandre Pato in the never ending struggle for dominance amongst the Rossoneri alpha-males. Up until recently all Zlatan Ibrahimovic...
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Monday 28 February 2011, 12:40
It has been one of the great mysteries of the season how Delio Rossi has survived so long in charge at Palermo. The coach has given Maurizio Zamparini plenty of opportunity to wield the axe, not that the...
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Friday 25 February 2011, 10:03
Andrea Agnelli does not seem the type who has ever had to raise his voice to get what he wanted. More at home amongst the suits in the sedate surroundings of the boardroom, he has always seemed a reluctant...
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Thursday 24 February 2011, 12:02
Four ties, three defeats, a draw, two goals for and five against make yet more dismal reading for Italians clubs in Europe. It’s no wonder Thursday’s headlines were peppered with terms such as ‘flops’...
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Tuesday 22 February 2011, 13:20
Silvio Berlusconi had something to take his mind off all his other play things on Sunday, when he celebrated the 25th anniversary of his marriage to his one true love - AC Milan. It was back on February...
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Monday 21 February 2011, 09:54
Roma as we know it does not exist anymore - either on or off the pitch. This was plain to see on Wednesday evening in a vacuous performance in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk – a team that...
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Wednesday 16 February 2011, 12:17
One must wonder if Rino Gattuso is aware that AC Milan fans of a certain age hold Joe Jordan in high regard and with great affection, and therefore feel he should be shown respect and certainly not grabbed...
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Monday 14 February 2011, 13:15
It was certainly a blockbuster weekend in Serie A, what with a historical epic, a coming of age tale, a feel-good flick, and a heist caper all hitting the screens. Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis...
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Friday 11 February 2011, 13:13
Inter’s last match was everything any football fan would want from ninety minutes - so savour it in the pleasure centre of your brain, because this weekend’s encounter with Juventus is set to be rather...
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Wednesday 09 February 2011, 11:26
With the week’s international friendlies taking a large number of Serie A stars off on their travels, the coaches gathered at Coverciano on Monday for a technical meeting and to award the Panchina d'Oro...
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Monday 07 February 2011, 13:33
If Carlsberg broadcast Serie A matches they would show Inter - Roma every week. Sunday evening’s goal-fest at the San Siro was a perfect advert for the Italian game, and will be remembered as a bona-fide...
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Thursday 03 February 2011, 16:21
The last round of midweek games of this season was all about bruised egos and bloodied noses. AC Milan were the first team to run into a brick wall on Tuesday - or more precisely a very robust Lazio side...
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Tuesday 01 February 2011, 16:43
The transfer window closed with a late rush on the market as clubs throughout Serie A jostled to find the missing ingredient that will make the second half of the season that little more tasty. Juventus...
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Monday 31 January 2011, 15:47
As debuts go you cannot get much better than scoring two goals and winning a penalty to fire your new club to a comeback victory - so take a bow Giampaolo Pazzini. Inter were trailing two-nil at home to...
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Friday 28 January 2011, 11:02
It has been a busy week, what with the Italian Cup attempting to sneak under the radar once again, AC Milan going Dutch on the transfer front and Adrian Mutu promising for the umpteenth time that he will...
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Wednesday 26 January 2011, 11:59
Juventus continue to paper over the cracks of their rebuilding programme – and we are not talking about the new stadium, which by all accounts will look amazing and put those who are meant to be performing...
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Monday 24 January 2011, 13:03
Small, fast, skilful, elusive: Udinese forwards Antonio Di Natale and Alexis Sanchez are the odd couple of Serie A, as no other side in the top flight play with a diminutive front-two who possess such...
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Thursday 20 January 2011, 11:39
AC Milan surely couldn’t be losing that loving feeling for the Boys from Brazil, could they? In the summer, Leonardo gave up having to bow to Silvio Berlusconi and the writing was then on the wall for...
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Monday 17 January 2011, 09:41
For once Antonio Cassano has been speaking sense - although in his usual straight to the point manner he painted a stark picture as to where his future may lie, claiming that if he failed to take his chance...
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Friday 14 January 2011, 17:21
Second-placed Napoli can at least claim to be top of the league when it comes to getting their house in order financially – that should please UEFA and Michel Platini. Club owner Aurelio de Laurentiis...
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Wednesday 12 January 2011, 11:39
We all get the blues now and again, but Francesco Totti is in a right old January funk. Four minutes was all it took for the moody Roman to fall out of love with 2011. Four minutes was all Claudio Ranieri...
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Monday 10 January 2011, 13:07
The great thing about Italy - especially if you reside in the north of the country - is that if you tire of the long, inclement winter then all you need do is hop on a plane and an hour later you are basking...
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Friday 07 January 2011, 15:40
Italian folklore has it that La Befana delivers gifts or coal on the eve of Epiphany to children, depending whether they have been good or bad. This Santa Claus-character is depicted as an old witch-like...
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Thursday 06 January 2011, 13:43
The dangers of a mid-winter break have been laid bare in Italy: it allows players to swan off to warmer climes and there is a good chance they won’t come back. This has been particularly relevant when...
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Wednesday 05 January 2011, 15:50
This season has finally seen a shift away from one team’s dominance in the league and this is reflected by the Serie Aaaaargh! team of the campaign so far. The goalkeeping positions were always up for...
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Tags: Jeremy Menez, Samuel Eto'o, Kevin Prince Boateng, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marco Borriello, Hernanes, Cristian Ladesma, Milos Krasic, Mathieu Flamini, Giorgio Chiellini, Marco Storari, Kevin Constant, Stefano Sorrentino, Gokhan Inler, Fabio Quagliarella, THiago Silva, Alessandro Nesta, Hernan Crespo, Cristian Zaccardo, Javier Pastore, Josep Ilicic, Salvatore Sirigu, Stephen Lichtsteiner, Andre Dias, Mattia Cassani, Marco Di Vaio, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Giuseppe Biava, Stefano Mauri, Edinson Cavani, Walter Gargano, Stefano Pioli, Alexis Sanchez, Emiliano Viviano, Fernando Muslera, Antonio Di Natale, Marek Hamsik
Thursday 30 December 2010, 11:19
Most of us would have been content with an iPad for Christmas, but not Massimo Moratti. The Inter president would only be really happy with a new coach - and one who would cause Silvio Berlusconi the greatest...
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Monday 20 December 2010, 12:33
RESULTS Serie A: Sat 18 Dec Cesena 1-0 Cagliari, Milan 0-1 Roma Sun 19 Dec Lazio 3-2 Udinese, Bari 1-1 Palermo, Chievo 1-1 Juventus, Catania 1-0 Brescia, Parma 0-0 Bologna, Napoli 1-0 Lecce, Sampdoria...
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Friday 17 December 2010, 14:41
With Inter kicking back in the warmth of Adu Dhabi ahead of their glorified friendly, sorry, the moment they will be crowned world champions of club football, the rest of non-Nerazzurri supporting Italy...
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Tuesday 14 December 2010, 15:59
Rafa Benitez has had to steel himself for many pivotal moments in his career, and he will have to draw on every ounce of his experience this week. The Spaniard can only save his job at Inter if he returns...
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Monday 13 December 2010, 11:31
It has been many a fine year since a meeting between Juventus and Lazio meant anything as far as the title race was concerned. Last season’s encounter was played out in the shadow of Ciro Ferrara’s sacking...
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Thursday 09 December 2010, 15:24
“Right lads – down tools, we're all out.” You know the world has gone crazy when footballers are threatening strike action. This Saturday and Sunday, full-backs will join fantasistas around the flaming...
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Tags: AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Napoli, Palermo, AS Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Cagliari, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cesena, Lecce, Chievo, Brescia, Geno, Bari
Monday 06 December 2010, 12:01
There once was a team called Inter – they were quite good, in fact, they used to dominate Italian football for about five years or so and even won the Champions League so they must have been pretty hot...
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Friday 03 December 2010, 13:19
Italy’s collective Europa League campaign has been one of flops, failures and in the end a freezing out of Europe’s B-list competition. Napoli are the sole survivors with one round remaining of the group...
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Monday 29 November 2010, 12:14
RESULTS Sat 27 Nov Sampdoria 1-1 Milan, Juventus 1-1 Fiorentina Sun 28 Nov Internazionale 5-2 Parma, Bari 1-1 Cesena, Bologna P-P Chievo, Brescia 0-0 Genoa, Cagliari 3-2 Lecce, Lazio 1-1 Catania, Udinese...
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Tags: AC Milan, Ronaldinho, Manchester City, Goran Pandev, Juventus, Napoli, Wesley Sneijder, Lazio, Alexandre Pato, Javier Zanetti, Rafa Benitez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Real Madrid, Robinho, Massimiliano Allegri, Dejan Stankovic, Samuel Eto’o, Jonathan Biabiany, FC Twente, Parma
Wednesday 24 November 2010, 15:50
Italian football has been in desperate need of a little pick-me-up in Europe for a good few months, and Tuesday evening provided it in the best possible manner – AS Roma’s fight-back from two-nil down...
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Monday 22 November 2010, 12:23
RESULTS Sat 20 Nov Roma 2-0 Udinese, AC Milan 1-0 Fiorentina Sun 21 Nov Genoa 0-2 Juventus, Brescia 1-2 Cagliari, Catania 1-0 Bari, Cesena 1-2 Palermo, Chievo 2-1 Internazionale, Lecce 2-3 Sampdoria, Parma...
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Tags: AC Milan, Inter Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio, Andriy Shevchenko, Rafa Benitez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Massimiliano Allegri, Oguchi Onyewu, Marco Materazzi, Giorgio Chiellini, Per Kroldrup, Chievo, Samuel Eto’o, Bostjan Cesar
Friday 19 November 2010, 12:05
So, after storming away from the San Siro on Sunday, spending Monday in tetchy mood with reporters before falling into sulky silence, Massimo Moratti broke cover to hand Rafa Benitez his full backing....
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Wednesday 17 November 2010, 11:04
Marcello Lippi may have been a man to give the nod to household names, but his successor Cesare Prandelli has preferred to trawl the lesser-known path to unearth Italy internationals. For starters, the...
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Monday 15 November 2010, 11:52
RESULTS Sat 13 Nov Fiorentina 1-0 Cesena, Juventus 1-1 Roma Sun 14 Nov Lazio 2-0 Napoli, Bari 0-1 Parma, Bologna 1-0 Brescia, Cagliari 0-1 Genoa, Palermo 3-1 Catania, Sampdoria 0-0 Chievo, Udinese 4-0...
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Tags: Jeremy Menez, Claudio Ranieri, Roma, Mirko Vucinic, Diego Milito, AC Milan, Francesco Totti, Goran Pandev, Inter Milan, Juventus, Napoli, Lazio, Esteban Cambiasso, Rafa Benitez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mauro Zarate, Edy Reja, Christian Abbiati, Joel Obi, Fabio Grosso, Simone Pepe, Leandro Greco, Felipe Melo, Philippe Coutinho, Dejan Stankovic, Daniel de Rossi, Gennaro Gattuso, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Philippe Mexes, Marco Materazzi, Giorgio Chiellini, Ignazio Abate, Marco Storari, Alberto Aquilani
Friday 12 November 2010, 10:00
FIXTURES Sat 13 Nov Fiorentina v Cesena, Juventus v AS Roma Sun 14 Nov Lazio v Napoli, Bari v Parma, Bologna v Brescia, Cagliari v Genoa, Palermo v Catania, Sampdoria v Chievo Verona, Udinese v Lecce,...
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Tags: Jose Mourinho, AC Milan, Leonardo, Inter Milan, Napoli, Palermo, Wesley Sneijder, Alexandre Pato, Paolo Maldini, Douglas Maicon, Esteban Cambiasso, Lucio, Ivan Cordoba, Rafa Benitez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Adriano Galliani, Rino Gattuso, Massimiliano Allegri, Filippo Inzaghi, Lecce, Carlo Ancelotti, Mathieu Flamini
Tuesday 09 November 2010, 12:56
Rafa Benitez and Massimo Moratti must have had a long look at each other after Inter’s draw with Brescia on Saturday and pondered where it was all going wrong for the defending champions. The following...
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Monday 08 November 2010, 11:48
There was something in the air ahead of the Rome derby, and it wasn’t Olympia the eagle, which had been grounded due to fears for the poor feathered soul’s wellbeing. The last time the Lazio mascot was...
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Thursday 04 November 2010, 11:28
It was fitting that Filippo Inzaghi’s record-setting goal would come from his favourite position – offside – even if SuperPippo was pipped at the post in his moment of glory by the Special One. AC Milan...
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Tags: Jose Mourinho, AC Milan, Ronaldinho, Francesco Totti, Silvio Berlusconi, AS Roma, Lazio, Real Madrid, Raul, Gerd Muller, Pedro Leon, Robinho, Massimiliano Allegri, Sergio Floccari, Filippo Inzaghi, Basel
Wednesday 03 November 2010, 10:54
Jose Mourinho swept back into Milan yesterday, strolling triumphantly through the arrivals hall at Malpensa airport. The return of the Special One was always going to be big news and the Inter fans had...
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Monday 01 November 2010, 11:09
Alessandro Del Piero trotted off the San Siro pitch on Saturday evening a very happy and contented man. There were five minutes remaining when he was substituted; having given Juventus a 2-0 lead at AC...
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Friday 29 October 2010, 16:05
Diving has always been part and parcel of the Italian game, but in recent seasons there have been signs of upright behaviour, with fewer incidents in the top flight. Milos Krasic had obviously not read...
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Wednesday 27 October 2010, 11:25
The national team’s limp showing in South Africa coupled with Inter not having a home-grown regular in their Treble-winning side meant it was somewhat unsurprising to hear there were no Italians on the...
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Monday 25 October 2010, 12:19
Italians by and large are traditionalists and one sacred cow is of course Sunday lunch. Even football fans making long trips around the country will ensure they are in a restaurant near the host stadium...
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Friday 22 October 2010, 14:47
It was another hellish week for Italian clubs on the continent - one which makes you wonder if there's any point battling all season to qualify for Europe only to then embarrass yourself at nearly...
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Wednesday 20 October 2010, 13:23
If Wayne Rooney is contemplating a future in Italian football, then of course there is only one club capable of matching not only his wage demands, but also his ambitions on the pitch. Inter president...
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Monday 18 October 2010, 12:42
Sinisa Mihajlovic isn't one to go down without a fight, but even he must feel that fluffy Fiorentina need a cuddle rather than a slap round the back of the head. Cesare Prandelli's humanistic approach...
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Tags: Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Cesare Prandelli, Alberto Gilardino, Stevan Jovetic, Juan Vargas, Cristiano Zanetti and Mario Bolatti, Gaetano D'Agostino, Alberto Santana, Adem Ljajic, Dunga, Sinisa Mihajlovic, Adrian Mutu
Friday 15 October 2010, 16:00
One positive to come out of Tuesday evening’s shenanigans in Genoa was that Giorgio Chiellini didn’t get a chance to kick Milos Krasic. The Juventus defender had warned his team-mate that he might have...
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Wednesday 13 October 2010, 13:05
Genoa doesn’t have a great record for public disorder. There was the stabbing of a Genoa fan by an AC Milan ultra in 1995, the infamous G8 clashes in 2001 – and now nothing short of co-ordinated mob rule...
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Monday 11 October 2010, 12:59
As the city that produced George Best, Belfast is familiar with dribbling wizardry. And the locals may have been expecting more of the same from Italy’s Antonio Cassano on Friday evening. Instead, Italy...
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Thursday 07 October 2010, 11:31
The sight of Gianluca Zambrotta sitting in front of the media at the first Italy press conference ahead of the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers against Northern Ireland and Serbia had a slightly depressing...
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Tuesday 05 October 2010, 11:34
Sunday evening television is a time to sit back, vegetate and take stock of the weekend ahead – unless, of course, you are a football pundit. Then it is a time to let all your gripes and grumbles come...
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Friday 01 October 2010, 12:49
Heading into the last round of fixtures before yet another international break, just five points separate nineteen of the twenty in Serie A, with only Udinese off the pace on one point so far. Inter lead...
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Thursday 30 September 2010, 11:55
It may be different in other countries, but in Italy players only get up close and personal on the pitch and very rarely is there any ‘team bonding’ off it. They may socialise now and then, but in general...
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Monday 27 September 2010, 11:30
Now we know what has been ailing AS Roma: Francesco Totti. When his substitute Mirko Vucinic danced into the dressing room after scoring the Inter-defeating goal that may well have turned the Roman club's...
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Thursday 23 September 2010, 11:01
Buckets of tears, sang a great man and that could well become the AS Roma official song. There were floods of the wet stuff at Brescia last night, as howls of anguish and frustration pierced the night...
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Wednesday 22 September 2010, 12:21
The first midweek round of the Serie A season and already Inter are top of the table, but the defending champions have an unlikely pace-setter matching them stride for stride. Cesena are enjoying the late...
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Monday 20 September 2010, 10:01
It was one of those weeks in Italian football where deep-rooted feelings of anger and frustration came boiling to the surface and it seemed that just about everyone was out to settle a few personal scores...
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Thursday 16 September 2010, 10:32
Ballyhoo follows bathos follows hyperbole at regular intervals throughout the world of Italian football, so it was no surprise that Zlatan Ibrahimovic would shine on a stage where he usually falls flat...
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Monday 13 September 2010, 12:51
"Right lads, down tools we are all out." You know the world has gone crazy when footballers are threatening strike action. September 25th and 26th have been earmarked as the dates when Italian...
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Tags: Internazionale, AC Milan, Juventus, AS Roma, Sampdoria, Javier Zanetti, Cagliari, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Massimo Oddo, Cesena, Rino Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf
Thursday 09 September 2010, 11:40
La Gazzetta dello Sport has just printed a handy guide for anyone wishing to browse through the salaries of each and every current Serie A player gathered from Italy’s biggest-selling sports paper’s own...
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Monday 06 September 2010, 11:51
It was a painful nine-month gestation in which Italy went seven games without a win, but finally in Estonia the Azzurri came through and delivered the goods. The frigid temperatures in Tallinn were not...
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Friday 03 September 2010, 09:00
Deep in their heart of hearts Italians accept that football is a brutal game where only the result matters – players put themselves at the disposal of the coach and follow the mister’s orders to the letter...
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Thursday 02 September 2010, 11:36
Rafael Benitez must have felt that he had waved farewell to financial constraints and was about to say hello to earth-shattering amounts of transfer funds when he arrived at Inter. However, the Spaniard...
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Tuesday 31 August 2010, 15:24
Silvio Berlusconi has been written off on numerous occasions lately, but just when it seemed as if his demise was imminent the laughing cavalier has, well, had the last laugh. He was certainly chortling...
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Monday 30 August 2010, 15:26
The new issue of FourFourTwo is a 'Playmakers Special'. This week on FFT.com our writers will be celebrating their favourite fantasistas – Riccardo Rossi continues the series with a look at the...
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Friday 27 August 2010, 15:46
We might have known that it wouldn’t take long for Jose Mourinho to return to haunt one half of Milan. The Special One will back at the San Siro when Real Madrid face AC Milan in the Champions League....
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Thursday 26 August 2010, 12:15
The bigwigs of AC Milan met up with Barcelona’s decision makers yesterday at a restaurant that Woody Allen frequented during his stay in the city filming Vicky Cristina Barcelona. No doubt the one-liners...
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Monday 23 August 2010, 10:55
It looks like a case of as you were – Jose may have gone but Rafa seamlessly steps in and Inter are raising four fingers to the rest of Italian football. The Italian Super Cup became the club’s fourth...
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Thursday 19 August 2010, 11:40
Today’s La Gazzetta dello Sport has a front-page photo of the grandly-named Kevin Prince Boateng looking mean and moody, sitting on a pile of rubble on what seems to be a mock-up of a building site. In...
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Monday 16 August 2010, 11:52
Let’s face it – these lazy days of late summer are just downright boring if you're stuck in one of the big Italian cities. Most of the locals have hung out the ‘See you in September’ signs and headed...
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Tuesday 10 August 2010, 10:40
Here is a depressing fact: Italy have not won a game in 2010. There have been World Cup qualifiers, the World Cup finals and a few friendlies in between, but not one measly victory to mention. The saying...
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Friday 06 August 2010, 11:42
The story of Luis Jimenez bears some resemblance to the 1993 Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day . The midfielder is no run-of-the-mill footballer, having worn the shirts of Fiorentina, Lazio, Inter and West...
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Wednesday 04 August 2010, 10:05
It has been just over a month since Italy’s world fell apart and the nation could no longer bask in the title of world champions. La Gazzetta dello Sport’s apocalyptic headline “The Darkest Hour” summed...
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Monday 02 August 2010, 11:42
After a week or so of pre-season friendlies, which were anything but the usual summer kick-around, it was good to see some positive performances from Italian clubs over the weekend. The general rule at...
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Monday 26 July 2010, 12:10
Inter flew out to the States on Sunday for their pre-season tour and as the fans at Malpensa airport waved farewell, there were few tears being shed that Mario Balotelli will more than likely be a Manchester...
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Tuesday 20 July 2010, 16:44
Juventus were sporting their new away kit at the weekend: all white with the Italian tricolour sweeping down the centre of the shirt. Wearing the green, white and red will bring back memories for Bianconeri...
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Wednesday 14 July 2010, 11:56
Juventus have been back in pre-season training for nearly a week; Inter and AS Roma have been going through their paces for a few days, which just leaves AC Milan to lure the television cameras to their...
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Tuesday 13 July 2010, 11:19
There was a stark contrast between the unveiling of Rafael Benitez as Inter coach and that of his predecessor Jose Mourinho. While the Portuguese’s arrival had been the event of the summer, Benitez had...
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Friday 09 July 2010, 11:25
Would anyone out there like to buy AS Roma? The Eternal City’s flagship team has a massive fan-base and in the right hands could be potential title winners. It could be snapped up for a knockdown price...
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Monday 05 July 2010, 11:22
As knee-jerk reactions go after Italy’s dismal failure in South Africa this one is going to hurt Italian football. With the transfer market about to swing into full-on negotiating mode, sporting directors...
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Friday 02 July 2010, 14:18
It is not as if a collective state of amnesia has swept the country since Italy’s early exit from the World Cup but at least it's a clean slate that awaits Cesare Prandelli as he begins his tenure...
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Monday 31 May 2010, 11:57
Not only did he skip the celebrations back in Milan, he failed to even board the team coach outside the Bernabeu stadium - preferring to jump into his new sugar daddy’s car to whizz off into the Spanish...
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Thursday 27 May 2010, 11:18
Italy have set off on the sort of World Cup build up that on the face of it does not bode well for the finals themselves: the squad booed and jeered on its first official outing. This was a result of Marcello...
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Monday 24 May 2010, 08:52
A Saturday night hasn’t had this much fever since John Travolta donned a white suit and swaggered into the mindset of a generation. In footballing terms, Diego Milito is the latter day Tony Manero for...
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Friday 21 May 2010, 10:55
Jose Mourinho may have booked a one-way ticket out of Italy along with all of his possessions - and if Inter lose to Bayern Munich on Saturday evening we will not see him back on these shores until Real...
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Wednesday 19 May 2010, 11:31
So another Serie A season comes kicking and screaming to an end – and once again Inter lord it over one and all although all credit to AS Roma for at least making it an exciting run-in. And keeping with...
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Monday 17 May 2010, 11:34
The day of destiny for Serie A could have ended in tears - and in fact it did but not from the expected source. As AS Roma accepted their fate with a rare show of stoicism, it was a strange sight indeed...
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Friday 14 May 2010, 13:38
Roma’s mantra over the last month or so ìIt’ll never happen but if it does Öî will finally be laid to rest one way or another this weekend. The phrase has appeared on banners and has been printed up on...
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Wednesday 12 May 2010, 11:21
Marcello Lippi has revealed that he already knows which 23 players will be making the trip to South Africa to defend Italy’s world crown. Seven players will head to the pre-tournament training camp near...
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Monday 10 May 2010, 12:10
If any player was feeling a little uncomfortably about walking out on to a football pitch on Sunday, then it must have been Francesco Totti. The AS Roma captain had been vilified for his unruly behaviour...
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Thursday 06 May 2010, 14:52
The Italian Cup final was shown in 3D in selected cinemas in Milan and Rome and the viewers must have felt as battered and bruised as the players at the full-time whistle. There were Avatar moments aplenty...
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Wednesday 05 May 2010, 12:10
While Rafa Benitez agonises over whether he should leave Liverpool, the new Old Lady in his life is getting a little anxious. As it stands, Juventus - like any hopeful new flame - will wait a little longer...
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Tuesday 04 May 2010, 15:22
The sight of AS Roma players encouraging their Lazio counterparts to show a little city solidarity against Inter was akin to the banking fraternity joining the Proles in the May Day parades. The way the...
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Thursday 29 April 2010, 11:44
“It is not me; it is us,” claimed the very Special One – and how right Jose Mourinho was in lauding his men at the end of a pulsating, drama-filled evening in the Nou Camp. However, he couldn’t resist...
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Tags: Jose Mourinho, Diego Milito, Samuel Eto'o, Goran Pandev, Inter Milan, Lionel Messi, Barcelona, Wesley Sneijder, Maicon, Esteban Cambiasso, Javier Zanetti, Sergio Busquets, Lucio, Christian Chivu, Ivan Cordoba, Julio Cesar, Gerard Pique, Walter Samuel, Thiago Motta, Andriy Shevchenko
Wednesday 28 April 2010, 11:16
Jose Mourinho could never be described as impulsive, planning as he does every move well ahead of its final execution. He probably mulls over how to dress for each occasion, to shave or not to ahead of...
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Monday 26 April 2010, 11:46
Wearing a hoodie and jeans, Mario Balotelli looked little different from the group of huddled youths gathered outside Inter’s Appiano Gentile training ground. The only difference, apart from the lean and...
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Friday 23 April 2010, 16:06
It may be difficult to believe but AC Milan recently asked Paolo Maldini if he would like to don his boots again. After 25 years in the top-flight and countless trophies, the legendary defender of course...
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Wednesday 21 April 2010, 11:24
Having experienced those final twenty minutes or so of intense Barcelona pressure should come in handy for Inter at the Nou Camp next week, as it is exactly the kind of bombardment they are likely to endure...
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Monday 19 April 2010, 11:11
There is always someone out there who is courageous enough to do or say what everyone else is thinking – and Claudio Ranieri was that person on Sunday evening. It came during the interval of a Rome Derby...
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Friday 16 April 2010, 11:45
It is time to get ready for the rivalries that gave birth to match-fixing allegations, anti-Semitic banners and the odd moment brilliance on the pitch. Yes, it is the Derby of Italy – a grandiose title...
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Tuesday 13 April 2010, 15:00
There are only two teams in Europe who can still claim the treble this season – and Bayern Munich happens to be the other one. Inter could still finish the campaign with the domestic title and Italian...
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Wednesday 07 April 2010, 11:30
Inter could have played with a plastic ball on that plastic pitch and would have still strolled to victory in Moscow. It fact, the way Wesley Sneijder’s free-kick swerved in the opposite direction to the...
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Tuesday 06 April 2010, 16:09
The Easter weekend fixtures only reinforced the realisation that the title race will go down to the wire this season. It was as you were for Inter, AS Roma and AC Milan, with all three picking up maximum...
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Tags: AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Napoli, Palermo, AS Roma, Genoa, Antonio Cassano, Fiorentina, Fabrizio Miccoli, Sampdoria
Thursday 01 April 2010, 16:52
It was the one, two or maybe even three goals that got away at the San Siro on Wednesday evening. Inter should be heading to Moscow with progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League all but ensured...
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Wednesday 31 March 2010, 16:39
Pride comes before the fall and Inter are in danger of tumbling over the precipice thanks to an ever-deepening rift between Jose Mourinho and Mario Balotelli. It seems more than likely that one or the...
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Monday 29 March 2010, 11:00
When in Rome... there was little option but to sit back and accept the traffic jam snaking away from the Olympic Stadium, breathing in the sweet smell of success mingled with the exhaust fumes. It had...
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Tags: Jose Mourinho, Inter, Claudio Ranieri, Roma, Diego Milito, AC Milan, Leonardo, Ronaldinho, Andrea Pirlo, Mario Balotelli, Mario Yepes, Francesco Totti, Silvio Berlusconi
Friday 26 March 2010, 09:49
For once Roman hyperbole is not overstepping the mark and Saturday’s encounter with Inter is indeed “the game of the year.” The phrase has been on the lips of the ever-talkative Roma fans since witnessing...
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Tags: Marco Cassetti, Jose Mourinho, Jeremy Menez, Juan, Inter, Fabio Capello, Claudio Ranieri, Rodrigo Taddei, Roma, Mirko Vucinic, Simone Perrotta, Internazionale, John Arne Riise, David Pizarro
Wednesday 24 March 2010, 14:15
Well, that's torn it: Alexandre Pato's out of action for another three weeks or so. The young Brazilian was meant to be the catalyst to AC Milan’s assault on the Champions League and domestic title...
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Monday 22 March 2010, 13:02
A familiar name still resides at the top of the table and even though the AC Milan fans unfurled “We have a dream” banners on Sunday, the reality is that Inter are still a point ahead of their city rivals...
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Friday 19 March 2010, 08:56
There was quite a little Italy reunion in the stands at Craven Cottage last night. Carlo Ancelotti was there, laughing away with Gianluca Vialli; it's something cuddly Carlo would never dream of doing...
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Wednesday 17 March 2010, 11:36
Inter’s impressive Champions League performance at Chelsea was signed, sealed and ready for delivery on Sunday morning on the club’s training pitch. It was there that Jose Mourinho outlined his tactics...
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Monday 15 March 2010, 11:14
We all know that Jose Mourinho loves to play the role of the great communicator, so you can imagine how he felt being imprisoned inside a windowed broom cupboard this weekend. With the Inter Milan coach...
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Thursday 11 March 2010, 09:46
AC Milan were obviously getting their excuses in early, knowing that Alessandro Nesta was travelling to Manchester with little or no chance of playing and Alexandre Pato was along as a mere smokescreen...
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Wednesday 10 March 2010, 13:47
"Ladri, ladri, ladri" ["Thieves, thieves, thieves"], the Fiorentina fans forlornly chanted as the Bayern Munich players took their bow in front of their travelling support. Of course...
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Monday 08 March 2010, 11:30
RESULTS Sat Mar 6 Fiorentina 1-2 Juventus, Roma 0-0 Milan Sun Mar 7 Atalanta 0-0 Udinese, Bari 1-0 Chievo, Bologna 2-1 Napoli, Cagliari 2-2 Catania, Palermo 1-0 Livorno, Sampdoria 2-1 Lazio, Siena 1-1...
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Wednesday 03 March 2010, 11:30
Marcello Lippi’s final squad before having to decide on the 23 players who will carry the hopes of a nation to South Africa has garlanded more coverage of those missing from the party to face Cameroon...
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Monday 01 March 2010, 13:00
RESULTS Sat Feb 27 Catania 4-0 Bari, Lazio 1-1 Fiorentina Sun Feb 28 Chievo 2-1 Cagliari, Genoa 3-4 Bologna, Juventus 0-2 Palermo, Livorno 1-2 Siena, Milan 3-1 Atalanta, Napoli 2-2 Roma, Parma 1-0 Sampdoria...
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Thursday 25 February 2010, 10:45
Lucio is the only central defender available to Jose Mourinho this weekend – but by the way the Brazilian took on the Chelsea front line and anyone else who ventured near Inter’s penalty area, he can perform...
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Wednesday 24 February 2010, 11:30
Jose Mourinho's charm offensive yesterday may have impressed the foreign press but cut little ice with the locals. He was hardly recognisable from the snarling figure of the weekend, now working the...
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Monday 22 February 2010, 12:00
RESULTS Sat Feb 20 Genoa 3-0 Udinese, Internazionale 0-0 Sampdoria Sun Feb 21 Atalanta 0-1 Chievo, Bari 0-2 Milan, Bologna 1-2 Juventus, Cagliari 2-0 Parma, Fiorentina 2-1 Livorno, Palermo 3-1 Lazio, Roma...
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Thursday 18 February 2010, 11:30
On any other day Fiorentina would have headed home satisfied with a 2-1 defeat at the Alliance Arena. However, Miroslav Klose’s winner for Bayern Munich was so blatantly offside that the Viola’s confidence...
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Wednesday 17 February 2010, 10:00
AC Milan have been offered a glimpse into the future. The way things are going, the Rossoneri will not be playing much of a role in it. A 19-year-old almost completely marked a near 30-year-old out of...
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Monday 15 February 2010, 11:30
Sir Alex Ferguson was up off his seat and halfway down into the depths of the San Siro car park before the majority of the players had left the pitch after AC Milan’s win over Udinese on Friday evening...
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Friday 12 February 2010, 09:00
Round here, they would call Lazio owner Claudio Lotito testa dura : hard-headed. At times he has been applauded, especially for standing up to imitation from elements within the club’s Ultras. But in other...
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Wednesday 10 February 2010, 11:00
Jose Mourinho will be looking to lock up the title race as securely as his home this evening. Police have arrested four Macedonians who were in possession of details of the Inter coach’s abodes in Milan...
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Monday 08 February 2010, 15:00
RESULTS Sat Feb 6 Livorno 1-1 Juventus, Palermo 2-1 Parma Sun Feb 7 Atalanta 1-0 Bari, Bologna 0-0 Milan, Fiorentina 0-1 Roma, Genoa 1-0 Chievo, Internazionale 3-0 Cagliari, Lazio 0-1 Catania, Siena 1...
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Friday 05 February 2010, 11:30
The Romans know a thing or two about the fall of an empire – and they also recognise that it does not collapse overnight. Regal rule is chipped away over time and that is why AS Roma have not been making...
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Wednesday 03 February 2010, 11:30
Transfer deadline day has come and gone and probably the biggest story was the non-transfer of Antonio Cassano. They say that one person’s misfortune is another person’s gain, and that looked to be the...
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Monday 01 February 2010, 11:30
RESULTS Sat Jan 30 Bari 4-2 Palermo, Napoli 0-0 Genoa Sun Jan 31 Cagliari 2-2 Fiorentina, Catania 1-1 Udinese, Chievo 1-1 Bologna, Juventus 1-1 Lazio, Milan 1-1 Livorno, Roma 2-1 Siena, Sampdoria 2-0 Atalanta...
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Friday 29 January 2010, 12:30
It doesn’t take much to get Neapolitans excited, but even those exuberant types can be justifiably thrilled with Napoli’s current 14-game unbeaten run in the league. Such is the buzz around the city that...
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Wednesday 27 January 2010, 12:30
Let’s play a game. It’s not too taxing – just think of the first coach’s name that comes into your head and let’s see if he has been linked with the Juventus job. Guus Hiddink springs to mind and if reports...
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Monday 25 January 2010, 11:00
The Milan derby is like opening night at La Scala: the performers can enter to a rapturous welcome but by evening’s end they may be showered in flowers or boos. The San Siro is the Milanese fan’s equivalent...
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Friday 22 January 2010, 10:00
The Milan derby is in danger of losing its good-will status, and about time too. The fact that Inter are feeling a bit rattled and punchy in the build-up suggests they are once again worried about losing...
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Wednesday 20 January 2010, 11:30
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and even if he is much too polite to say so in public, on Saturday evening Claudio Ranieri will want to ram the full à la carte menu down Juventus throats. He was unceremoniously...
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Monday 18 January 2010, 13:00
He may have the most annoying goal celebrations in football, a ungainly frame and an unruly hairstyle, but it’s good to see him all smiles again. No, not Ronaldinho – Luca Toni. The Brazilian may have...
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Friday 15 January 2010, 09:00
Ciro Ferrara has been comparing himself to Rocky of late and he certainly looks more like a plucky contender than an undisputed champion. NEWS , Tue Jan 12: Ferrara: I'm a fighter, like Rocky He may...
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Wednesday 13 January 2010, 11:30
Ronaldinho having scored twice in Turin on Sunday, you'd expect him to have a night out to celebrate. Of course, that is what the Brazilian party boy did and few should have been surprised – and if...
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Monday 11 January 2010, 12:00
The first fires caught light after the second goal and by the time AC Milan’s third had gone in the bonfires of the Juventus vanities were in full blaze. It's not as if many saw Ronaldinho round off...
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Friday 08 January 2010, 16:00
It's hard for Juventus and AC Milan to accept having been second best to Inter for such a long period of time. So acute is the risk of an inferiority complex, it would come as no surprise if the Bianconeri...
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Wednesday 06 January 2010, 13:30
It's so good to have David Beckham back to sweep away the January blues. There he is, smiling away in a manner only the recession-proofed or the simple-minded can get away with – bringing cheer to...
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Monday 04 January 2010, 10:30
The last decade was dominated by Calciopoli and as a new decade starts, a central figure of the match-fixing scandal is back in the game. Along with “Lucky” Luciano Moggi and Antonio Giraudo, Roberto Bettega...
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Thursday 31 December 2009, 11:30
Serie Aaaaargh! casts a rose-tinted look back over a decade for the ultimate team that would do Serie A proud: The Noughties XI. Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon has maintained his high standards throughout...
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Monday 21 December 2009, 09:30
As exiles go it was beginning to take on Napoleonic proportions, but after 18 months sailing around the Mediterranean and healing the scars inflicted at Inter, Roberto Mancini is back. Unfortunately, we...
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Friday 18 December 2009, 16:00
Now we know what Silvio Berlusconi felt like when he was walloped with a model of Milan cathedral. No doubt Jose Mourinho and Leonardo had a similar look of utter shock and disbelief when the names of...
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Wednesday 16 December 2009, 11:30
Christmas came early for Jose Mourinho on Tuesday when he finally got what he always wanted: a press conference without the press. Well, almost. There was a sparse gathering for what was the pre-game media...
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Monday 14 December 2009, 11:00
We all know the ancient proverb, my enemy’s enemy is my friend – and of course the old sporting favourite: stranger things have happened in football. So, uniting such words of wisdom we come up with the...
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Thursday 10 December 2009, 11:00
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS involving Italian teams: Juventus 1-4 Bayern Munich, Inter Milan 2-0 Rubin Kazan, Liverpool 1-2 Fiorentina, FC Zurich 1-1 AC Milan Italy has finally found its place in Europe:...
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Monday 07 December 2009, 15:00
RESULTS: Sun Dec 6 Bologna 2 v 1 Udinese Fiorentina 2 v 0 Atalanta Genoa 2 v 2 Parma Livorno 0 v 2 Chievo Napoli 3 v 2 Bari Palermo 2 v 1 Cagliari Roma 1 v 0 Lazio Siena 3 v 2 Catania Sat Dec 5 Juventus...
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Friday 04 December 2009, 14:00
Juventus are loved and loathed in equal measure throughout Italy. But the fear is that if they do not take something from Inter at the weekend then the fat, rather than the old, Signora can start tuning...
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Wednesday 02 December 2009, 11:00
No man is received as a prophet in his own land, so the homily goes. The way events are supposedly unfolding, Mario Balotelli is set to be dismissed in Italy as someone frittering away their talent only...
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Monday 30 November 2009, 14:00
The city of Genoa hasn't witnessed such carnage since the G8 summit back in 2001. On a night of high emotion at the Marassi stadium, Genoa slapped Sampdoria into submission in one of the most one-sided...
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Friday 27 November 2009, 14:00
The first of the winter winds are sweeping down from the mountains and a chilly blast can be felt in the centre of Milan, in the halls of Inter’s headquarters. Reporters from the local media outlets have...
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Wednesday 25 November 2009, 10:00
While one team rose to the occasion, the other fell well short of great expectations. That just about sums up Fiorentina and Inter’s Champions League performances. The Nerazzurri will point out that defeat...
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Monday 23 November 2009, 14:00
RESULTS: Sun Nov 22 Juventus 1-0 Udinese, Livorno 2-1 Genoa, Sampdoria 2-1 Chievo, Napoli 0-0 Lazio, Siena 0-2 Atalanta, AS Roma 3-1 Bari, Palermo 1-1 Catania, AC Milan 4-3 Cagliari. Sat Nov 21 Fiorentina...
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Friday 20 November 2009, 11:00
It doesn’t take much for Italians to get into a pickle over the French. And so it was no surprise to find the old rivals demonised at every turn following Thierry Henry’s helping hand. You would have thought...
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Wednesday 18 November 2009, 09:00
Whether it be in the biggest city or the tiniest hamlet, Italy is the home to the football school. It is there that the tradition of ensuring children have the correct grounding in the national sport,...
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Monday 16 November 2009, 15:00
Gigi Buffon could not have wished for a more relaxing way to celebrate his 100th international appearance for Italy in what was the most benign of friendlies with Holland. The country’s attention had turned...
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Thursday 12 November 2009, 11:30
Rich, famous and in some cases good-looking, no one would ever think that a professional footballer would suffer from depression. However, even the profession that just about every school-boy dreams about...
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Wednesday 11 November 2009, 15:36
Another international call-up and once again no Antonio Cassano amongst Marcello Lippi’s hopefuls for South Africa. Speculation has been rife throughout the peninsula on why the Italy coach continues to...
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Monday 09 November 2009, 11:00
RESULTS Sun Nov 8: Bari 1 - 0 Livorno Bologna 3 - 1 Palermo Cagliari 2 - 0 Sampdoria Genoa 4 - 2 Siena Internazionale 1 - 1 Roma Lazio 1 - 2 Milan Parma 2 - 0 Chievo Udinese 0 - 1 Fiorentina Sat Nov 7...
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Friday 06 November 2009, 12:26
It has been a season of woe in Rome and there seems no end in sight. It has got so bad that AS Roma and Lazio ultras can't even bring themselves to laugh at the plight of the other. As Fabio Capello...
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Thursday 05 November 2009, 12:00
If a week is a long time in politics, 90 minutes can be a lifetime in football. Jose Mourinho must have lived through a few of them against Dynamo Kyiv but in the end Inter Milan are alive and kicking...
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Wednesday 04 November 2009, 12:00
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS, Tue Nov 3: AC Milan 1-1 Real Madrid, Apoel Nicosia 0-1 FC Porto, Atletico Madrid 2-2 Chelsea, Bayern Munich 0-2 Bordeaux, Besiktas 0-3 Wolfsburg, Maccabi Haifa 0-1 Juventus, Manchester...
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Monday 02 November 2009, 11:00
WEEKEND RESULTS Saturday Oct 31: Juventus 2-3 Napoli, AC Milan 2-0 Parma. Sunday Nov 1: Cagliari 3-0 Atalanta, Chievo 1-1 Udinese, Fiorentina 3-1 Catania, Livorno 0-2 Inter Milan, Roma 2-1 Bologna, Sampdoria...
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Tuesday 27 October 2009, 15:00
Italy is slowly waking up to the fact that the concept of the midweek league game is not going away. Unless it’s a European fixture or Italy are in action, football-goers have never seen the point of giving...
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Monday 26 October 2009, 12:30
When a struggling side come visiting you want to put them to the sword before half-time and then inflict the coup de grace early on in the second half before deciding to sit back and relax. However, when...
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Friday 23 October 2009, 13:30
Massimo Moratti used to believe that Inter had to win the Serie A title at all costs. Maybe lifting the Champions League trophy would be a nice diversion, but really that was secondary to domestic dominance...
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Wednesday 21 October 2009, 11:00
AC Milan are acting like the spurned lover who is about to head off to the ex's house for a party. They are putting on a brave face, insisting that they are doing fine and aren’t at all concerned that...
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Monday 19 October 2009, 11:00
A much-cherished tradition will soon pass into the annals of folklore. The time when anyone in Italy could turn up at a ground, buy a ticket, stroll in and take your seat – unless someone else had nabbed...
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Friday 16 October 2009, 10:00
We all know what it feels like: you do all the hard work and then someone else comes along and steals all the credit. A number of those trotting around the pitch at Tardini stadium on Wednesday night at...
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Monday 12 October 2009, 11:00
There have been enough stings around the Italy camp over the last week, so the last thing Marcello Lippi wanted was another in Dublin. Thankfully, Alberto Gilardino soothed away any pain of having to search...
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Thursday 08 October 2009, 09:00
Roberto Donadoni must feel like one of those characters who populate the Italian equivalent of the Carry On movie where Aurelio De Laurentiis made his name. They are usually the fool wandering into all...
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Monday 05 October 2009, 12:00
It will be interesting to see if Wesley Sneijder’s late winner against Udinese on Saturday will finally kick-start Inter’s shilly-shallying start to the season – and in doing so draw the rest of the league...
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Thursday 01 October 2009, 10:00
AC Milan’s fall from grace is now complete. The former masters of Europe suffered the worst humiliation imaginable: a giant defender in the daftest of John McEnroe headbands scored the deftest of Gianfranco...
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Wednesday 30 September 2009, 13:30
He may possess a set of dentures that would put Ronaldinho to shame and a curly mop that would shame Kevin Keegan in his heyday, but there is nothing unattractive with the way Stevan Jovetic plays football...
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Monday 28 September 2009, 16:00
Jose Mourinho isn’t a man you’d usually associate with getting as far as possible from media attention. But this hasn’t been a usual week. Tatarstan, home of Inter’s Champions league opponents Rubin Kazan...
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Friday 25 September 2009, 11:19
Have Italian clubs developed patience? Five rounds of the campaign have gone and so far only one coach has taken a ten-count. Standards are certainly dropping amongst the rottweiler Serie A presidents...
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Wednesday 23 September 2009, 12:34
Italian football has missed out on another opportunity to face up to racist behaviour inside one of its grounds. No surprise really, as the authorities continue to bury their heads in the sand and ignore...
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Monday 21 September 2009, 11:04
The sheer folly of AC Milan’s infatuation with Ronaldinho has finally come home to roost. Silvio Berlusconi was so attracted to the dazzling Brazilian that he ignored the stories of late nights spent on...
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Thursday 17 September 2009, 12:00
Of course they couldn't ignore him. Serie Aaaaargh: How do you solve a problem like Ibra? Zlatan Ibrahimovic received the predicted chorus of whistles and jeers from the San Siro faithful, but at the...
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Wednesday 16 September 2009, 14:00
NEW: Champions League news , results and fixtures RESULTS: Juventus 1-1 Bordeaux; Marseille 1-2 Milan He has been written off more times than a bad debt but his goals keep piling up like the interest on...
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Tuesday 15 September 2009, 14:00
Inter fans are caught in quite a quandary over the most appropriate way to react to Zlatan Ibrahimovic when the big fella makes his return to the San Siro on Wednesday night. There are those who feel that...
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Monday 14 September 2009, 11:00
Genoa has a glorious past as a centre of trade, and now it seems the port city is set for a glorious future on the football pitch. It’s been 18 years since the league title found its way to Liguria. But...
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Friday 11 September 2009, 14:00
Airport arrival lounges throughout Italy have been chock-a-block with weary footballers returning from all points around the world. Stretching hamstrings and regaling each other about World Cup exploits...
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Thursday 10 September 2009, 15:00
Shine on you crazy diamond all the way to South Africa – spiritual home of the sparkling rock. Just when we thought Marcello Lippi was going all cheap on us, the Azzurri coach polished up his act and the...
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Monday 07 September 2009, 14:30
Marcello Lippi has been complaining that no one is interested in Italy’s World Cup qualifying campaign. It's easy to see why after the turgid performance in Georgia . From FFT.com's World Cup News...
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Friday 04 September 2009, 10:00
The stadiums may be crumbling faster than the Coliseum, the pitches may look more like the sandy beaches of Sardinia and to top it all, as if we didn’t already know it, it’s not a level playing field when...
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Wednesday 02 September 2009, 12:00
The transfer window closed with no great shakes around the Serie A clubs – the big moves had been done and dusted earlier in the summer. There was no surprise that Fabio Grosso joined his Italy international...
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Tuesday 01 September 2009, 11:30
AC Milan fans are going to need a good sense of humour this season. The 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Inter certainly had plenty of comic value at every turn. After making a game of it for about 20 minutes...
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Friday 28 August 2009, 11:00
The motorways back into Milan will be jam-packed this weekend as weary holidaymakers drag themselves away from their summer vacations – and a good number will be hopping in their cars that bit earlier...
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Wednesday 26 August 2009, 12:00
It looked like one-way traffic out of Italy this summer. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ricky Kaka headed off to Spain, followed by thousands of Italian holidaymakers discovering that the Iberian coast is a lot...
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Monday 24 August 2009, 12:00
If there were any lingering doubts over why Jose Mourinho feels he needs to get under everyone’s skin, then the press conference ahead of this weekend’s season opener nailed his modus operandi. “I have...
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Friday 21 August 2009, 10:00
The start to the new season is warming up nicely, with Jose Mourinho jumping on Marcello Lippi’s belief that Juventus will win the title like an Italian tourist sighting a free sun lounger. Generally,...
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Tuesday 18 August 2009, 12:00
Pescara is pretty bleak at the best of times, but Friday evening on the eve of Ferragosto – Italy’s most public of holidays when only the lonely, infirmed or dirt poor are left at home - is particularly...
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Monday 17 August 2009, 09:00
What better way for Fabio Cannavaro to celebrate becoming Italy’s all-time leading appearance holder than with a goalless draw. The perfect result to top a perfect evening in Switzerland for the Azzurri...
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Wednesday 12 August 2009, 10:00
It is hard to imagine that Parma were once the cream of Serie A - hamming it up as part of the 'seven sisters' of top-flight Italian football and serving-up a veritable feast of exciting action...
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Tuesday 11 August 2009, 09:00
Jose Mourinho had plenty of time during the long-haul trip back from China to mull over his current predicament going into the new season: where to find that spark of inspiration. Inter may have dominated...
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Friday 07 August 2009, 10:00
Alberto Aquilani has done something neither Francesco Totti or Daniele De Rossi would ever do... up sticks and bid a fond farewell to his home town. All three may be Roman born-and-bred and have red and...
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Thursday 06 August 2009, 10:00
Few of us would ever feel unfulfilled at the thought of sailing around the Mediterranean, safe in the knowledge that we would be picking up a guaranteed 500,000 euro a month for the next three years. A...
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Tuesday 04 August 2009, 10:00
Summer in Italy has been akin to the opening scene in Sexy Beast – the one in which Ray Winstone is lying in the pool, turning as red as a lobster, only for his idyllic life to be interrupted by a falling...
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Tuesday 21 July 2009, 08:00
The Italian Super Cup has always been a must-see for the Italian public. The perfect curtain-raiser to the new season, played on a warm August evening just as the dinner course is being served and the...
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Friday 17 July 2009, 08:00
The Persian emperor Cyrus the Great ( Ciro il Grande in Italian) is considered to have paved the way for modern leadership. And his teachings have had a profound impact on statesmen down through the ages...
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Tuesday 14 July 2009, 08:00
There was never any doubt that Jose Mourinho would be any less controversial in his second season in Italy than he was in his first – and for that we must be thankful. Arriving back in Milan having given...
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Wednesday 08 July 2009, 10:00
Silvio Berlusconi believes that AC Milan are as strong as champions Inter, although the Rossoneri faithful seem less inclined to agree. A few hundred of the usual suspects 'welcomed' the squad...
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Thursday 02 July 2009, 08:30
Do you ever get the feeling that the good times have gone and that they aren't coming back anytime soon? Well, watching Ricky Kaka’s unveiling at the Santiago Bernabeu reinforced the thought that while...
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Tuesday 30 June 2009, 09:00
The first day of pre-season training is always the same. Plenty of the handshakes and introductions along with the requisite slaps on the back and hugs for the old guard. It is a ritual that will be played...
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Thursday 25 June 2009, 10:00
The training grounds may be quiet while the players and coaches laze on the beaches for a few more weeks at least. However, there is one group of club employees still hard at work through the summer months...
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Monday 22 June 2009, 10:00
Anyone expecting Marcello Lippi to drop the old guard in the near future is in for a big disappointment. It just isn’t the Italian way to give youth and inexperience a chance – look at the government and...
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Friday 19 June 2009, 12:00
The telling thing to take from Italy’s defeat to Egypt is that Marcello Lippi’s current squad lack the required personality to be considered genuine candidates to retain their World Cup crown this time...
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Wednesday 17 June 2009, 12:00
The Old Lady has always stood by her man. When the nation is in need, Juventus will answer the call. Thirty years ago, the Azzuri was basically Juve: eight of their players started against France at Argentina...
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Monday 15 June 2009, 11:00
Italy may field up to eight players who played some part in the last encounter with USA back at World Cup 2006 when the two teams meet again in the Confederations Cup. Several of them will be back again...
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Friday 12 June 2009, 10:30
Real Madrid are devouring football, claim the Italian press. The “ Real Cannibale ” headlines appearing in two of the three sports dailies and quite a number of their news cousins need no translation....
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Wednesday 10 June 2009, 10:00
Have we all missed something here? Why does Alexandre Pato want to speak to Carlo Ancelotti before he discusses his future with AC Milan? And why is he speaking to the Chelsea coach when he is under contract...
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Monday 08 June 2009, 12:30
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an Inter player in as so much that up until last week he wore the club shirt and is the holder of a 12 million Euro a year contract bestowed on him by a grateful Massimo Moratti....
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Friday 05 June 2009, 10:00
Money doesn’t talk in Milan. It screams and shouts and pushes its way to the front of any massed gathering. The ultras who congregated in front of AC Milan’s plush city centre headquarters on Thursday...
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Wednesday 03 June 2009, 12:00
By painting The Last Supper for the dining room at the city's Santa Maria delle Grazie church, Leonardo da Vinci put Milan on the map. Now another Leonardo has been asked to make something beautiful...
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Monday 01 June 2009, 09:30
Parting can be such sweet sorrow and there are many ways to say farewell. The full-on emotional tears and hugs. The pat on the back. The quick handshake. The wave goodbye. And the total denial that anything...
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Friday 29 May 2009, 09:00
Josep Guardiola is certainly a classy fellow. Not only does he show the world how to play football, the Barcelona coach then dedicates the Champions League victory to Paolo Maldini. Doing things with style...
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Tuesday 26 May 2009, 14:00
To Italians, the fixed image of the typical English football fan is beer-swilling, shaven-headed aggression. “Hooligan” is virtually synonymous with “Englishman” – apart from poets, 19th-century writers...
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Monday 25 May 2009, 14:00
It may not have been the perfect farewell to a perfect career, but the sun shone brightly and all in all a packed San Siro rose as one to bid a final home salute to the legend that is Paolo Maldini. And...
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Friday 22 May 2009, 12:00
Jose Mourinho certainly doesn’t give off the air of a man on a fleeting visit. The latest rumours sweeping the majority of the sporting and regular dailies is that our man is off to Real Madrid and taking...
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Tuesday 19 May 2009, 09:30
Claudio Ranieri has been a dead man walking for some time now, but you would have thought Juventus might have allowed him to walk away a proud man. The club likes to convey that aristocratic image even...
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Monday 18 May 2009, 09:30
Congratulations Inter, you deserve the title. You were the best of a pretty rotten bunch. It will not go down as a vintage year for Serie A, and at times there was more excitement witnessing Jose Mourinho...
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Thursday 14 May 2009, 11:00
Silvio Berlusconi has always been big on loyalty, and as long as someone is willing to show their commitment to the AC Milan cause then there will always be a place at the table for them. Carlo Ancelotti...
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Wednesday 13 May 2009, 09:30
It's Lazio against Sampdoria in the Italian Cup final – which makes a pleasant change from the last four seasons, when it was Inter against AS Roma again, again and again. In fact, Lazio were the last...
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Monday 11 May 2009, 12:00
The flags and the banners can finally be dusted off and hung from apartment windows and balconies. Come next Sunday, Inter should be celebrating their 17th Serie A title – and the party could even start...
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Friday 08 May 2009, 10:00
It’s showdown time at the San Siro this weekend and the stage is set for fond farewells all round when AC Milan take on Juventus. With all due respect to AS Roma, whom the Rossoneri meet in the penultimate...
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Wednesday 06 May 2009, 08:00
There can be no other club that has such a fractious relationship with its fans than Inter. At times, the Nerazzurri may not be much to look at on the pitch, but at least there is plenty of entertainment...
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Tuesday 05 May 2009, 08:00
Most things in life move at a more relaxed pace in Italy. So, unsurprisingly, it has taken a few decades for Serie A to finally break away from the rest of the Italian football league. Thursday’s decision...
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Wednesday 29 April 2009, 15:00
Class is ageless as they say, and at seventy-something Silvio Berlusconi still doesn’t possess it. When he is not picking a former Miss Italy and a Big Brother contestant as candidates for the upcoming...
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Monday 27 April 2009, 10:00
Much like the dear old Eternal City, AS Roma have seen better days. Both are in need of a major makeover. The 4-1 thumping at Fiorentina on Saturday all but ended any hopes of grabbing fourth place and...
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Friday 24 April 2009, 12:00
If Claudio Ranieri is a man at risk of losing one of the biggest jobs in football, then he is certainly hiding any concern very well. The coach appeared pretty sanguine after seeing Juventus booted out...
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Wednesday 22 April 2009, 12:00
Italian football is finally facing up to its demons. Although the league’s decision to not turn a deaf ear to the racial abuse rained down on Mario Balotelli still falls short of total exorcism of the...
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Monday 20 April 2009, 10:00
Second best is an apt description of Serie A at the moment. And suddenly the chase for the runners-up spot has taken on more significance that it would normally have done. Inter did little to honour the...
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Friday 17 April 2009, 10:00
Italians hate to be left out of any gathering where the spotlight will be shining brightly on those in attendance. So it must have been with a heavy heart and a sad sigh when La Gazzetta Dello Sport got...
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Wednesday 15 April 2009, 12:00
There is a danger that AC Milan will finish second in the league this season and continue to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that everything is fine. Sunday’s fortuitous win at Chievo leaves the...
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Monday 13 April 2009, 12:30
If you are looking for a candidate for player of the year, then look no further than Thiago Motta. The Genoa midfielder just gets better week after week, and down in Rome - where Serie Aaaaargh! decamped...
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Friday 10 April 2009, 14:00
Bells have been ringing out throughout holy week in Italy. But they have taken on extra poignancy since the earthquake in Abruzzo during the early hours of Monday morning. The country has been doing its...
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Tuesday 07 April 2009, 14:00
Around 50 young Italian footballers have moved to the United Kingdom in the last 12 years, thanks in part to different regulations and, of course, a salary that the average youngster back home can only...
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Monday 06 April 2009, 15:00
The only way to entice Adriano out of the favelas and back across the Atlantic would be to tell the Slumdog Millionaire that Inter’s Serie A title-party celebrations are starting early. The fun-loving...
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Friday 03 April 2009, 16:00
It’s getting to that stage of the season where a footballer’s thoughts turn to a big-money move - or an improved contract at least. Many of Serie A’s finest are trooping back from international duty no...
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Thursday 02 April 2009, 14:00
Italy... a country united by its love of ham and hammy TV shows. There was an important World Cup qualifier taking place on Wednesday. But in the local watering holes of Milan all the talk was about how...
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Wednesday 01 April 2009, 09:00
Italy is looking forward to Giovanni Trapattoni’s return... so the old grouch can finally be put in his place. He may be a popular figure to the misty-eyed who remember him lording over the domestic game...
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Monday 30 March 2009, 12:00
Andrea Pirlo’s neatly spooned penalty against Montenegro was just the lift the country needed after such an extended period of navel-gazing that there was a danger of everyone ending up with a sore neck...
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Friday 27 March 2009, 15:00
Italy is divided once more on the eve of two vital World Cup qualifiers. In the blue corner those supporting national team coach Marcello Lippi, and seeing red in the other are those up in arms at Antonio...
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Wednesday 25 March 2009, 09:00
These are touchy times in Italian football. Jose Mourinho cannot open his mouth without bringing down a tirade of abuse from his peers, although deep down you just know that everyone hangs on every utterance...
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Monday 23 March 2009, 10:00
It was one of the most brutal sackings of Rome since the Gauls came to town, but this time there was no Gallic influence. David Trezeguet was left pouting on the bench as Sam the Eagle took flight. Vincenzo...
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Friday 20 March 2009, 09:00
Friday’s Champions League draw will be painful viewing in Italy. While the sleek, expensive machines from the Premier League glide onwards to Rome, Serie A stands forlornly at the side of the road beside...
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Wednesday 18 March 2009, 09:30
Mario Balotelli has the potential to become Italian football’s next superstar, but he’s going to have to fight all the way to bag that tag. He’s only 18 but already he has had to cope with the pressures...
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Monday 16 March 2009, 12:00
NEWS: Weekend round-up Jose Mourinho will do just about anything to skip the post-match television interviews. Getting sent off was a guarantee that the Portuguese was halfway home before his sidekick...
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Thursday 12 March 2009, 10:30
The sun is still shining and people are going about their daily business, but the world of Italian football has come to a grinding halt. Not one team through to the last eight of the Champions League is...
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Wednesday 11 March 2009, 10:00
One down, two to go... Although with Roma and Inter facing the daunting task of having to overcome two more English sides on Wednesday, maybe “two to go out” would be a more appropriate description. Juventus...
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Tuesday 10 March 2009, 09:00
“Yes, we can.” It has a certain ring to it. It worked for Obama, so why not for Serie A’s finest in their quest to vanquish the English from Europe. Inter, Juventus and AS Roma head into their Champions...
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Friday 06 March 2009, 11:00
There's little point in Juventus, AS Roma and AC Milan taking to the pitch this weekend if we are to believe a word Jose Mourinho has to say. During his seven-minute party-piece on Tuesday, the Portuguese...
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Wednesday 04 March 2009, 14:30
Jose Mourinho has been itching for a fight ever since the national media dismissed his Inter side as second-best to Manchester United last week. His excuse came after two days of wall-to-wall coverage...
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Monday 02 March 2009, 11:00
Everyone loves a tasty tiramisu. And the Italian dessert, which figuratively translated means 'pick-me-up' is the perfect complement to any heavy meal. And Serie A had its own tasty afters on Sunday...
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Friday 27 February 2009, 13:00
How much blame should be apportioned to a) the club and b) Carlo Ancelotti in the spectacular decline of AC Milan from kings to paupers of European football is open to debate? But in the wake of the lame...
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Wednesday 25 February 2009, 11:00
So Jose Mourinho was proved wrong after all. Manchester United didn't sit back and Ivan Cordoba should not be left out of the starting line-up for the big games, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic still isn...
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Tuesday 24 February 2009, 09:00
The countdown to the biggest ties of the season started in earnest on Saturday evening as Inter, Juventus and AS Roma retreated into the night to prepare for round one of the colossal challenge with il...
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Friday 20 February 2009, 13:00
It’s been a rough old week for Silvio Berlusconi. First his side lose the derby, then he falls out with Argentina after a “witty” remark about dictators and prisoners falling out of aeroplanes. The centre...
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Wednesday 18 February 2009, 10:00
Where is Antonio Cassano going to end up? Serie Aaaaargh! will tell you. If he doesn't leave Sampdoria this summer, Cassano will find himself: 1. Filed away in a great big box marked ‘wasted talent...
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Monday 16 February 2009, 11:00
Inter have one hand on the title, so to speak. Adriano may not have known much about Maicon’s bullet-like cross, which nearly took his head off, but the ball was not travelling anywhere near the goal until...
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Friday 13 February 2009, 11:00
“I don’t want to go to Chelsea,” the great man once sang. However, Carlo Ancelotti may have little choice come the summer. Cuddly Carlo is feeling a little hot under the collar ahead of the derby, as defeat...
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Wednesday 11 February 2009, 11:00
What can be gleaned from the ‘Derby of the World’ is that, at present, Brazil are in better shape than Italy. The South Americans played as one would expect them to. And so, to be fair, did Italy who were...
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Monday 09 February 2009, 11:00
AS Roma-supporting friends of Serie Aaaaargh! deny they will be in front of their plasma screens next Sunday. But even if they will never openly admit it, they will be just as engrossed in the outcome...
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Friday 06 February 2009, 12:00
A common myth that needs to be laid to rest is that the trains always ran on time when Benito was in charge. They never did and, generally, they still don’t. But when they do it’s like having your birthday...
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Wednesday 04 February 2009, 09:00
Ricardo Quaresma slipped in to Milan under the radar at the tail-end of the August transfer window and slipped out again in January with barely anyone noticing. While the only footage covering his move...
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Monday 02 February 2009, 11:00
The floodlights were switched off at the Olympic Stadium in Turin soon after the final whistle on Saturday evening, and the lights have gone out on Juventus' title bid as well. Serie Aaaaargh! had...
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Thursday 29 January 2009, 12:00
The new Bruce Springsteen album has just been released to great fanfare in Italy, where he is something of an iconic figure. Adriano Galliani must have been singing along in the car to the title track...
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Tuesday 27 January 2009, 11:00
Just when we thought he would go gently into the night of his twilight years, Christian Panucci just couldn't resist one last rage and rant. Having refused Luciano Spalletti’s request to sit on the...
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Monday 26 January 2009, 11:00
It didn’t take Ricky Kaka long to get over not moving to Manchester City and even David Beckham is no longer California dreamin. AC Milan are now very much in the hunt for the title, along with Inter and...
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Friday 23 January 2009, 11:00
Maybe it’s seeing those stunning blue Italian skies once again after weeks of unrelenting rain. Maybe it’s the perfect cappuccino to start the day or the sight of a drop-dead gorgeous woman passing in...
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Thursday 22 January 2009, 11:00
Despite the best efforts of Emerson to keep the Ricky Kaka transfer saga on the front pages of the Italian sporting press, it's back to business as usual – and that means dodgy refereeing decisions...
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Tuesday 20 January 2009, 11:00
It was a wonderfully choreographed piece of theatre that would have done Barack Obama proud. On a wet and windy Monday night in Milan, Silvio Berlusconi strolled out of his two-up, two-down to announce...
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Monday 19 January 2009, 11:00
AC Milan have been acting all innocent in the Ricky Kaka saga but according to a Serie Aaaaargh! source close to the club, they in fact officially informed the player on Friday that they were ready to...
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Friday 16 January 2009, 15:00
To quote Bob Dylan, “money doesn’t talk, it swears.” No doubt the air has been turned blue around the AC Milan headquarters in the last few days as the runaway train that is Kaka to Manchester City gathers...
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Wednesday 14 January 2009, 11:00
It’s no surprise that Manchester City are likely to make a world-record transfer bid for Ricky Kaka. After all, the Brazilian is the best player in the world, isn’t he? As pointed out in previous blogs...
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Friday 09 January 2009, 10:00
David Beckham is in for a bit of a shock this weekend. While AC Milan and the Becks circus have been living it up in the balmy climes of Dubai, Italy has been gripped by the icy fingers of mid-winter....
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Tuesday 06 January 2009, 13:00
There is something worth pointing out with the credit crunch kicking in as the January sales get into full swing. With the euro now almost on parity with the pound, Italians have been flooding the streets...
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Monday 05 January 2009, 10:00
So 2009 is upon us and it's out with the old and in with the new in Serie A. Ricky Kaka, for one, will be glad to see the back of 2008. The big question now is what will the New Year hold for the Brazilian...
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Tuesday 30 December 2008, 11:00
So another year comes tumbling to a end quicker than you can say "Filippo Inzaghi's offside" and Serie Aaaaargh! would like to bring 2008 to a close with its very own take on the Serie A...
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Monday 29 December 2008, 10:00
Too many players have flattered to deceive so far this season. Injuries have played a major part, with the likes of Francesco Totti, Ricky Kaka, Gianluigi Buffon and Adrian Mutu a few of the big names...
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Monday 22 December 2008, 13:00
Milan is synonymous with luxury and wealth – where else would the poor and homeless feast on beluga caviar* for Christmas? So when the world’s most fashionable city welcomed the world’s most fashionable...
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Friday 19 December 2008, 15:30
Apparently, Italy has leapt ahead of the UK in terms of GNP and Serie A’s three Champions League representatives feel they will be in the money when they face the Premier League's rich list. The Italy...
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Thursday 18 December 2008, 10:00
Never let it be said that Serie Aaaaargh! isn't generous. In a show of festive cheer, it purchased six tickets for AC Milan’s final UEFA Cup group game against Wolfsburg on Wednesday. Delving into...
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Wednesday 17 December 2008, 09:30
As Adriano staggers back to Brazil - future uncertain - another South American arrives in Milan. Thiago Silva completed his move to AC Milan on Monday and as the defender is ineligible to actually play...
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Monday 15 December 2008, 12:00
Things are now getting so desperate at AC Milan that the fallen giants of Serie A cannot wait until David Beckham parks up at the San Siro. Anything will do to lift the mood, which is currently as depressing...
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Friday 12 December 2008, 14:00
Carlo Ancelotti in Father Christmas guise would certainly be an arresting sight in the lead up to the Christmas break. With his ever-expanding girth and drooping jowls, the AC Milan boss would play the...
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Wednesday 10 December 2008, 12:00
Jose Mourinho has been sporting an ugly scar on his forehead over the last couple of days. Those imagining that a disgruntled Inter reserve - take your pick - had finally cracked and smacked his boss over...
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Tuesday 09 December 2008, 08:00
They say you should never go back, but in Italy coaches have little choice but to return to the scene of their crimes. It’s very unlikely that a Serie A coach would ever send their president a text message...
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Monday 08 December 2008, 10:00
Jeremy has finally spoken. It looked odds on that Jeremy Menez would land the title of 'flop of the season so far' as we head towards the winter break, but the plucky French lad finally answered...
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Friday 05 December 2008, 12:00
Ricky Kakà caught offside as the lone striker, grumpy Ronaldinho elbowing an opponent in the face, Kakha Kaladze stood stock still in the centre of midfield… This was a snapshot of the once mighty Milan...
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Wednesday 03 December 2008, 15:30
It’s taken the Italian media five long months, but they have finally, grudgingly accepted that Jose Mourinho is actually good for Serie A. “SuperMou,” headlined La Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday before...
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Monday 01 December 2008, 14:00
These days it seems that to best prepare for facing world class opposition, you might as well dispense of all the old coaching manuals and buy a PlayStation. It certainly worked for Marco Amelia, who has...
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Friday 28 November 2008, 11:00
It’s a similar flight time from Milan to Portsmouth or Palermo, but a world away in terms of football culture. Carlo Ancelotti’s boys 2-0 down in Sicily with six-minutes remaining would more than likely...
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Thursday 27 November 2008, 11:00
Jose Mourinho cannot bring himself to say a bad word about Ricardo Quaresma... well not in public anyway. While he continually lambasts the likes of Adriano, Julio Cruz and the moody teen Mario Balotelli...
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Wednesday 26 November 2008, 10:00
Paolo Maldini’s glittering career will remain incomplete... he will never play at Fratton Park. The legendary defender failed to board the flight for Southampton this morning with the rest of the squad...
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Monday 24 November 2008, 14:00
Serie Aaaaargh! took the opportunity to watch the Inter-Juventus dust-up in the company of two couples from opposing camps. The city of Milan was the venue, where everyone supports Inter, Milan or Juventus...
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Friday 21 November 2008, 13:00
You can still catch The Odd Couple on cable TV in Italy, but Serie A’s very own Felix and Oscar will have a prime-time slot on Saturday. Jose Mourinho and Claudio Ranieri will take their cantankerous,...
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Thursday 20 November 2008, 11:00
Can Italy go another 20 games or so unbeaten? That’s the number of internationals, give or take the Confederation’s Cup and a friendly here or there, that would see the Azzurri crowned world champions...
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Tuesday 18 November 2008, 11:00
It’s only Tuesday but it’s already turning into one of the wackiest weeks in Italian football for a long time. An unemployed coach is named top manager of the year, players are caught with their shorts...
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Monday 17 November 2008, 12:30
Just when we were about to start contemplating the closest title race in years, the pretenders to the throne collectively implode. Napoli, Lazio, Udinese and Fiorentina all lost over the weekend , leaving...
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Friday 14 November 2008, 10:30
It's derby weekend in the capital and anyone hoping for all manner of dastardly goings-on is set to be left disappointed. While the players will be expected to get stuck into each other, on the terraces...
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Thursday 13 November 2008, 11:00
Antonio Cassano is known as a fantasista in Italian football parlance. The player whose skill and all round game are so valued that he is allowed to roam free wherever he feels. The term also means someone...
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Wednesday 12 November 2008, 11:00
The Sulky One, as he must be known as from now on, didn’t taken long to turn a country against him. Yes, surprise surprise, Jose Mourinho and Italy don’t mix. First, he made disparaging remarks about Claudio...
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Monday 10 November 2008, 12:00
Cicinho must have been taking some advice on defending from his AS Roma team-mate John Arne Riise if his last-gasp own goal on Saturday evening is anything to go by. A flying header in the 93rd minute...
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Friday 07 November 2008, 12:00
Notwithstanding his dodgy knee, Saturday should see Francesco Totti makes his 400th Serie A appearance as AS Roma look to keep the feel-good factor going at Bologna. Ah, Bologna. On any other weekend we...
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Thursday 06 November 2008, 11:00
It’s a long way from Rimini to the Bernabeu but for Juventus the trip, in the end, has been worth it. 17-months ago and the Old Lady started out kicking her heels in Serie B at the Italian resort town...
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Wednesday 05 November 2008, 12:01
No team has ever won the Champions League and been relegated. But there's always a first time, and the way things are going for AS Roma at the moment, anything could happen. The side that turned up...
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Monday 03 November 2008, 09:44
“I don’t know what else to do.” So lamented the forlorn figure of Luciano Spalletti after witnessing AS Roma capitulate at Juventus on Saturday. His voice was as dull as the inclement weather currently...
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Friday 31 October 2008, 14:00
100 days into his reign and, with just one defeat, Jose Mourinho has made his point. He’s the boss, he’s the man – the shaven-headed tough guy in a dressing-room full of tough guys. However, has he the...
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Thursday 30 October 2008, 12:00
It never rains but it pours. AS Roma’s damp squib of a season continued to float down the swanny on Wednesday evening. A monsoon hit the Eternal City just before kick-off against Sampdoria and after a...
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Wednesday 29 October 2008, 13:00
Fiorentina have lost a lot of the good will they have built up over the last year or so. The Tuscans have been the little angels of Italian football ever since they applauded Inter off the pitch at the...
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Monday 27 October 2008, 09:53
Weekend Serie A reports Results: Atalanta Bergamo 0-1 AC Milan; Cagliari 2-0 Chievo Verona; Inter Milan 0-0 Genoa; Juventus 1-0 Torino; Lazio 0-1 Napoli; Palermo 1-3 Fiorentina; Reggina 2-0 Lecce; Sampdoria...
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Friday 24 October 2008, 14:00
Football fatigue could be the undoing of some of Serie A’s Euro-trippers this weekend. Juventus, Inter, Roma, Fiorentina, AC Milan, not to mention Udinese and Sampdoria are feeling the strain to varying...
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Thursday 23 October 2008, 13:00
Market research carried out by Serie Aaaaargh! has revealed that 70% of Milan fans surveyed feel that “yes” David Beckham’s arrival at the club is no more than a marketing tool. The data was gathered not...
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Wednesday 22 October 2008, 11:30
We came to bury Caesar not to praise him but Claudio Ranieri lives to fight another day. Just when you thought the bottom was falling out of the Old Lady’s world, she digs out the gladrags and dolls herself...
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Monday 20 October 2008, 13:00
“Indefensible” was how Tuttosport summed up Juve's performance in the 2-1 defeat at Napoli, and the very same could easily describe AS Roma’s abject display in a 4-0 home reverse against Inter. The...
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Friday 17 October 2008, 08:00
Italians worship women. Well, that’s like saying the Pope is a catholic and bears do whatever they do in the woods. The female form is adored at every turn in il bel paese so it’s no one wonder in football...
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Wednesday 15 October 2008, 14:00
The fans want him out, the press want him out and the players apparently want him out, but Claudio Ranieri is nothing but a battler. The Juventus coach faces three games that will make or break his tenure...
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Monday 13 October 2008, 15:00
The revolution starts now – and not before time. The Italian press may not have been that impressed with the goalless draw in Bulgaria but Marcello Lippi certainly can be, as he stretched his unbeaten...
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Thursday 09 October 2008, 10:00
It is not only English clubs that could be feeling the pinch as the worldwide credit crunch starts to bite. AS Roma are reportedly heading for financial ruin unless they can start paying back some of the...
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Wednesday 08 October 2008, 10:00
So it’s a dream come true for Portsmouth and probably Braga, Wolfsburg and Heerenveen as well. If AC Milan have their way it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for their UEFA Cup opponents because...
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Monday 06 October 2008, 09:00
Jose Mourinho has saved his job for another couple of weeks. Well, it isn’t that dire of course, but the pressure has been on the Portuguese. The honeymoon period is long gone and the reality of daily...
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Friday 03 October 2008, 13:00
Whisper it but whisper it anyway, Andriy Shevchenko can score. He did it on Thursday when the Ukrainian finally found the net again for the only goal of the game in AC Milan’s UEFA Cup win at FC Zurich...
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Thursday 02 October 2008, 12:00
Italian football has always had a strong relationship with Argentines. Some have delighted, some disappointed and then, of course, there was Diego Maradona. But most have got on with their jobs in a professional...
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Wednesday 01 October 2008, 11:30
There was once a thing you could always rely on with Juventus, and that was a mean old defence. Never one to give the opposition as much as a sniff at goal in the past, the Old Lady is now looking decidedly...
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Monday 29 September 2008, 11:00
Plenty of indigestion this morning. What with all that humble-pie to be eaten last night. Ronaldinho answered all his critics with a man-of-the-match performance in the Milan derby although it has to be...
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Friday 26 September 2008, 12:30
October 18 1908: baggy shorts, square goal-posts, handlebar ‘taches, ball like a piece of cement, pitch full of English and Swiss gents. September 28 2008: baggy shorts, plenty of facial hair, ball like...
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Wednesday 24 September 2008, 13:00
It’s derby week and fashion week all rolled into one in Milan so there has been plenty of preening around the city. Willowy models and braying fashion designers have all been giving their views on La Derby...
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Monday 22 September 2008, 11:00
Crisis? What crisis? While Italy’s state-run airline Alitalia plummets towards a financial crash-landing, at least the country’s prime minister Silvio Berlusconi can stop worrying about AC Milan. The perma...
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Friday 19 September 2008, 10:28
The cappuccini are tasting a lot sweeter this morning after all four Italian clubs produced fine wins in the UEFA Cup on Thursday evening. In fact, apart from AS Roma leaving a bitter taste in the mouth...
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Wednesday 17 September 2008, 10:00
Clued in to the clueless. That seems a neat summing up of Inter and AS Roma’s first foray into the Champions League or “the Champions” as the Italians call it. Well, certainly the two sides were a league...
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Monday 15 September 2008, 11:00
Well, we didn’t expect to see this after the first two games of the season: Lazio and Atalanta on top of the table on maximum points, with Torino in third. Only the sight of Inter and Juventus, level on...
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Friday 12 September 2008, 11:00
What better way than to spend a Wednesday evening than with a relaxing visit to Lugano? Nestling on the shores of Lake Lugano, just across the border from Italy and known as the ‘Monte Carlo of Switzerland...
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Wednesday 10 September 2008, 11:00
Out with brawn, in with flair. Italy may not be able to defend any more but who cares, let’s get all Brazilian and go on all-out attack. “A swashbuckling Azzurri,” trumpeted La Gazzetta dello Sport ahead...
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Monday 08 September 2008, 13:00
Cracking stuff for Italy at the weekend. Well, cracking in the sense of a broken rib, broken wrist and dislocated shoulder. Such have been the ills and misfortunes suffered by Azzurri players Fabio Grossi...
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Friday 05 September 2008, 11:00
The traditional late August start to Serie A means that it’s back to the beach as the league closes down for the international break. Well, summer is winding down and with Italy off to Cyprus for what...
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Wednesday 03 September 2008, 15:00
We have only had one game of the new season but it would seem as if it’s business as usual in Serie A: ultras on the rampage and coaches set for the chop. Let’s start with the incidents that marred Napoli...
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Tuesday 02 September 2008, 12:00
As the transfer window slammed shut promptly at 7pm on Monday evening, a grand total of €500million had made its way out of the coffers of the 20 Serie A sides. Needless to say, leading the way were money...
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Monday 01 September 2008, 17:00
He came, he saw, he perspired a lot. An unfortunate choice of Alice-blue shirt exposed Jose Mourinho’s inexperience at the highest level of fashion sense on the opening day of any Serie A season. With...
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Friday 29 August 2008, 11:00
Don’t believe the hype about the English Premier League. Real, grown-up football is back again. While the Premier League has been slogging away, humping long balls into the overcast skies of a late English...
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Wednesday 27 August 2008, 12:00
Tiago Mendes just cannot take a hint. He’s like the unwanted guest at the end of the night who hangs around when all the host wants to do is hit the sack. However, Juventus can’t exactly sling him out...
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Tuesday 26 August 2008, 11:55
East-west relations may not currently be cordial at governmental level, but they’re far from frosty in the high-powered world of football business. After enjoying a pleasant afternoon bobbing about off...
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Friday 22 August 2008, 12:00
On Wednesday it was 'Sheva back to Milan!' and by Friday it’s 'Sheva back playing golf!' That’s the way the Italian press summed up the sorry summer saga of Andriy Shevchenko ’s on-off...
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Wednesday 20 August 2008, 13:00
It’s an end of an era in Rome following the passing of AS Roma president Franco Sensi. The 82-year-old had been seriously ill for some time so it was a matter of not if but when. The fact that his death...
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Monday 18 August 2008, 15:00
As second comings go it should be a pretty low-key affair. Marcello Lippi is back in charge of Italy and everyone’s favourite 60-year-old Paul Newman lookalike has named his squad for Wednesday’s friendly...
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Thursday 14 August 2008, 14:55
Juventus last played in the Champions League on April 6 2006 when they were eliminated from the competition in an insipid display against Arsenal at the Stadio delle Alpi. The Old Lady‘s black and while...
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Wednesday 13 August 2008, 13:00
Where better to begin a renaissance than Florence and where better to *** a snoop at your old employers than scoring in the Champions League. Welcome back Alberto Gilardino, previously second fiddle at...
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Monday 11 August 2008, 15:00
They won't let it go will they. The old Ricky Kaka-to-Chelsea story is out in the UK press again. Milan must be sick of Chelsea, and England for that matter. Thumped 5-0 by the Blues last week, losing...
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Friday 08 August 2008, 14:40
It was too good to last: a summer of silence from Jose Mourinho. Just when we thought that the moody one had gone all soft under the warm Italian skies, there he is putting the verbal boot into Claudio...
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Wednesday 06 August 2008, 11:00
Time for Italy to restore some pride at international level after the fiasco of Euro 2008 – and where better than at the Olympic Games. After all, it’s basically a mini-version of the World Cup, minus...
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Monday 04 August 2008, 18:30
A recent survey has claimed that Italy is becoming an ageing population and the current generation are not doing their bit to produce upstanding citizens for the future. The upshot is that everyone is...
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Friday 01 August 2008, 15:45
It’s not much fun being Dejan Stankovic at the moment; well it can’t have been fun for some time in fact. A Roberto Mancini loyalist, a hoax call sacking him, facing the wreath of Juventus fans and a firm...
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Wednesday 30 July 2008, 12:45
What is it with Inter and central defenders? They can’t seem to keep them on the pitch. Last season, Walter Samuel snapped knee ligaments in the Milan derby in December and then Ivan Cordoba’s season was...
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Tuesday 29 July 2008, 11:55
Italy may be gearing up for its annual August shutdown when the whole country takes off on a collective holiday but at least it’s business as usual in the football world with the release of the new Serie...
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Wednesday 23 July 2008, 16:00
If Sopranos creator David Chase is on the look out for a new take on the Mafia story then he could do no worse than ponder a series around the colourful life of Giorgio Chinaglia. Tony Soprano actor, James...
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Tuesday 22 July 2008, 12:21
Well, that’s it, the paparazzi can abandon the beaches now. Christian Vieri is finally back in pre-season training so no more pics of the cankerous frontman cavorting in the sea with his svelte, young...
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Monday 21 July 2008, 13:46
It’s an old story of underhand dealings enabling bogus Italians from Argentina and other South America countries to gain European Union passports. Suddenly, players were finding untold numbers of ancestors...
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Thursday 17 July 2008, 12:20
There’s nothing like a knockdown sales bargain to put a smile on a shopper’s face. So it’s no wonder AC Milan were whooping with delight as they ran up the street with a toothy Brazilian dressed in Snoop...
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Tuesday 15 July 2008, 12:24
Italian football and theatrics have gone hand-in-hand well before even Filippo Inzaghi threw his first hissy fit and dived out of his pram. And each year ahead of the new season, the referee’s association...
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Friday 11 July 2008, 12:55
Inter fans are in no doubt that Frank Lampard will sign for the club but he isn’t going to have much time to win over such ever-demanding followers. In the die-hard Nerazzurri cafes in Milan they are not...
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Tuesday 08 July 2008, 12:00
It’s almost two years to the day that Juventus started out on their long road to redemption. It was back in July 2006 that Giovanni Cobolli Gigli took on the task of rebuilding the toppled giants from...
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Monday 07 July 2008, 11:23
It’s no wonder Italian bookies give up quoting odds on Serie A games during the end of season run-in. They know that it’s time for favours to be called in; a point dropped here or there when a team is...
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Thursday 03 July 2008, 10:01
AC Milan have done the right thing and refused to offer Ronaldo a new contract. Although the Brazilian has claimed he will be running again in a few weeks, recent photos suggest he would find it hard trotting...
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Monday 30 June 2008, 11:30
Ah, summer. Time for Italian footballers to head to Sardinia for two weeks of sun, sea and whatever else takes their fancy. However, while his peers are clubbing the night away and indulging in the odd...
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Friday 27 June 2008, 11:26
Well, if you have been out of the game for around eight months why hang on and take an extra few days holiday? Thus Jose Mourinho has been marching around Inter’s training ground making sure everything...
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Wednesday 25 June 2008, 12:22
Italy doesn’t like to experiment and when it does it invariably goes wrong so it is no surprise that Marcello Lippi will be back leading the Azzurri in their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign. The Italian...
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Friday 20 June 2008, 12:11
Here’s a new take on an old spin. “The only way I would leave Milan would be if Milan want to sell me.” The words of one Ricardo Kaka just 72 hours ago over speculation that Chelsea will make an offer...
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Monday 16 June 2008, 11:14
Just when Jose Mourinho thought that he had the orchard all to himself to pick the best of European talent, along comes Gene Hackman’s doppelganger Felipe Scolari to knock over the apple cart. The feeling...
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Tuesday 10 June 2008, 11:28
They started the evening blasting out the Brothers of Italy and ended it the country’s orphans. No mamma to dry their tears and no papa to bring order. While Marcello Lippi took on both roles at World...
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Friday 06 June 2008, 00:14
This is more like the build up to a major championship you expect from Italy. A captain crocked by one of his own players in the first training session, before a loose cannon fires off a couple of rounds...
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Wednesday 04 June 2008, 15:00
Jose Mourinho did not disappoint and compelling stuff it was too. As charm offensives go he was pretty irresistible, wooing the massed ranks of press and television crews with an excellent command of Italian...
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Monday 02 June 2008, 12:12
Today is Republic Day in Italy – a chance to commemorate the birth of a new nation and, more importantly, a Monday off for everyone. Everyone expect those Inter minions who have to organise the press conference...
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Thursday 29 May 2008, 14:19
What with the uncollected refugee turning Naples into a no-go zone, national airline Alitalia bracing itself for an almighty crash and the cost of pasta going through the roof, the country certainly needs...
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Wednesday 28 May 2008, 10:53
Well that didn’t take long. In fact, all of 25 minutes for Roberto Mancini to be given the boot. Exit the Moody One and enter the Special One who apparently has a good five months of Italian lessons under...
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Monday 26 May 2008, 22:58
So the curtain has come down on another fun-filled Italian football season. AS Roma exacted some revenge over Inter in the Italian Cup final where once again Roberto Mancini got his tactics all in a tangle...
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Friday 23 May 2008, 22:00
Roberto Mancini popped into Massimo Moratti’s office for a little celebration drink on Thursday or what was more likely a little farewell tipple. The final act of the Inter drama is upon us and although...
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Wednesday 21 May 2008, 11:36
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton could learn aplenty from Alessandro Del Piero when it comes to persuading floating voters that the hopes of a nation rely on them. The Juventus man has been campaigning...
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Monday 19 May 2008, 11:24
So in the end there was no massive bottling and historical choker from Inter. In fact, it turned out to be something of a damp squib as Zlatan Ibrahimovic was unwrapped from cotton wool to provide the...
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Friday 16 May 2008, 11:02
The ghosts of Inter’s past are no doubt rattling the windows of Massimo Moratti’s luxurious Milanese penthouse. The president has banned all talk of May 5, 2002 as his side stare into the abyss of the...
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Wednesday 14 May 2008, 12:07
You get the feeling as the days tick down to the Sunday showdown that the league title will not be won on the pitch but by delving deepest into the world of the dark arts. We have already had Luis Figo...
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Monday 12 May 2008, 15:00
It’s all Luis Figo’s fault: not content with undermining confidence within the squad by spreading rumours that Jose Mourinho will dump the lot of them, he then goes and runs over a black cat on the eve...
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Friday 09 May 2008, 09:50
Marco Materazzi just cannot seem to stay out of trouble. Bother follows him around like a bad smell. He has been called – with some justification – the dirtiest player in Italian football since the days...
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Wednesday 07 May 2008, 11:07
Roberto Mancini has been walking around with a look of the condemned man for a number of weeks. Now his fate has finally been sealed when he threw himself to the hounds during the press conference ahead...
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Monday 05 May 2008, 16:02
AC Milan did what Inter should have done in the Milan derby: played like champions. That’s the general opinion of the Italian media after the Rossoneri spoilt their city rival’s title party on Sunday....
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Friday 02 May 2008, 11:00
While Ronaldo has been off amusing himself with his cross-dressing friends - something that has finally endeared him to most of the Italian male public - Serie A is gearing up for the Milan derby on Sunday...
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Wednesday 30 April 2008, 11:00
ACF Fiorentina are on the verge of finally putting six years of pain and hurt behind them. By defeating Rangers on Thursday in the UEFA Cup they will reach their first European final since 1990 and by...
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Monday 28 April 2008, 10:13
He’s built more like a marathon runner than a footballer. He runs like a girl and pouts like one. He hasn’t the power in his legs to score from outside the penalty area. And when he isn’t diving around...
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Friday 25 April 2008, 09:45
Now that he’s back running the country, Silvio Berlusconi feels it is his duty to tell football how to get its house in order. The media mogul, who has stepped down as AC Milan president so he can get...
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Wednesday 23 April 2008, 11:13
It promises to be a heated summer of transfer activity between Inter, Juventus and AC Milan according to the Italian sports press. The big three are all in the hunt for the same players by the looks of...
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Tuesday 22 April 2008, 09:10
On Monday afternoon, Sky Sports Italia made a pilgrimage to the bedside of the stricken deity Francesco Totti. The television broadcaster was allowed into the shrine at the Villa Stuart Clinic to calm...
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Friday 18 April 2008, 11:58
Christian Vieri used to be the grumpiest man in football but even though he can still outstare anyone during his ever-more rare appearances on a football pitch, overall Bobo seems to have mellowed into...
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Wednesday 16 April 2008, 11:10
He has been quiet for a number of weeks but Roberto Mancini is not a man to be silenced for long. In truth it doesn’t take much to get him started and so when he was asked to comment on Francesco Totti...
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Monday 14 April 2008, 15:21
As Italians wearily make their way to the polling booths for a second general election in two years the consensus is that Silvio Berlusconi will be back in charge by the end of the week. It’s a wonder...
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Thursday 10 April 2008, 10:25
And so Italy bids farewell to this season’s Champions League, with more of a whimper than a roar it has to be said. The Italian press have been quick to jump on AS Roma’s shortcomings over the two legs...
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Monday 07 April 2008, 15:56
Maybe the time has arrived to lay-off Alessandro Del Piero. The Juventus captain has been a much-maligned figure in recent times due to his pig-headed attitude of not agreeing with the general consensus...
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Friday 04 April 2008, 09:46
AC Milan are slowly waking up to the fact that they may have to concentrate on domestic football next season. It’s increasingly looking as if Italy’s most celebrated club in the Champions League will have...
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Wednesday 02 April 2008, 10:13
The Italian newspapers are as baffled as the AS Roma players. How on earth did Manchester United leave the Stadio Olimpico with what appears to be an unassailable 2-0 lead from the first leg of the Champions...
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Monday 31 March 2008, 10:04
Ever wondered what happened to Roberto Baggio? After playing his final professional game for Brescia against AC Milan at the San Siro on the last day of the 2003-04 season, the Divine Ponytail was gone...
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Friday 28 March 2008, 12:32
Roberto Donadoni has claimed he isn’t concerned about the rumours that Marcello Lippi will be back in charge of Italy after Euro 2008 . Well he shouldn’t be, because according to someone closely linked...
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Thursday 27 March 2008, 14:38
It was a downbeat reaction from the dailies to Italy’s defeat in Spain on Wednesday. La Gazzetta dello Sport claimed it was a step backwards in Roberto Donadoni’s preparations for Euro 2008 and felt that...
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Tuesday 25 March 2008, 09:58
Just as well that Italy closed down for two days giving Roberto Mancini a bit of time to lick his festering wounds. Where did it all go wrong Roberto? The answer may lie in his demeanour after the weekend...
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Saturday 22 March 2008, 18:42
Well, the Rome derby was all love and kisses. The Ultras got their way and struck a pact with AS Roma and Lazio that they would lay-off the stabbings, racist chants and general low-life behaviour as a...
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Wednesday 19 March 2008, 14:00
Corriere dello Sport have scooped Tuttosport on Juventus and the never-ending saga of whether Frank Lampard will be joining the Turin club in the summer. According to the northern editions of the Rome...
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Monday 17 March 2008, 10:00
Romans generally like their food piping hot but there is one dish best they like served cold: revenge. Humiliation and elimination at the hands of Manchester United in last season’s Champions League has...
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Friday 14 March 2008, 09:53
In the end it was a cry for help rather than a full-blown attempt at professional suicide. That’s the way Roberto Mancini came across as he spoke for the first time about his public meltdown on Tuesday...
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Wednesday 12 March 2008, 09:14
Italy is a country that has little time to pick over the bones of the dead. So, no sooner than Roberto Mancini had announced that he would be stepping down as Inter coach at the end of the season than...
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Tuesday 11 March 2008, 09:57
Inter held an intimate birthday party for 600 on Sunday to celebrate the club’s centenary. The great and good from the Nerazzurri past and present were all there – but lurking like an unwelcome guest in...
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Friday 07 March 2008, 10:06
So Jose Mourinho has got his sights set on a stint in Italy. We can rest assured that the Special One isn’t interested in turning Catania into a Serie A powerhouse, so that leaves Juventus and the two...
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Thursday 06 March 2008, 09:48
That’s more like it. Just when it looked as if Italian football was about to be written off again in Europe along came AS Roma to the rescue. Twenty-four hours after Milan had relinquished their Champions...
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Wednesday 05 March 2008, 10:53
There was little lost in translation in the Italian press the morning after Milan’s exit from the Champions League. ‘Milan The End’, was the banner headline on the front page of La Gazzetta dello Sport...
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Monday 03 March 2008, 07:48
It was a case of the Good, the Mad and the downright Ugly over the Serie A weekend. And Antonio Cassano provided all three in equal measure. It was Fabio Capello who coined the term cassanata – Cassanoism...
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Friday 29 February 2008, 14:17
It has been a bad week for the Italian male following a high-court ruling that it is now a criminal offence to touch one’s genitals in public. A quick grab of the privates is thought to ward off bad luck...
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Wednesday 27 February 2008, 10:42
Finding an opponent’s weakness is all part and parcel of the game. So when it came to light that Ricky Kaka was playing through the pain barrier of a knee problem it was odds-on the Brazilian would soon...
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Monday 25 February 2008, 10:13
Despite seeing themselves as the crazy kids of Europe, Italians are in fact very traditionalist and conformist in the way life should be conducted. At times they are more stuck in their ways than a Roman...
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Friday 22 February 2008, 11:56
Adrian Mutu has always been a class act. At times it has been class A but that’s another story as they say. The Romanian may have cleaned up his recreational activities but he still can’t help getting...
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Wednesday 20 February 2008, 11:13
‘A dream and a nightmare’, all in one in night. A condition usually brought on by consuming too much mozzarella before bedtime but in this case, the screaming headline Italy woke up to in La Gazzetta dello...
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Monday 18 February 2008, 16:24
Inter fans couldn’t get enough of Liverpool a few years ago. They started turning up at matches in the famous red shirts and unfurled banners thanking the English side for beating AC Milan in the 2005...
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Friday 15 February 2008, 14:29
It is apt that the new Paul Thomas Anderson film There Will Be Blood opens today in Italy. Daniel Day Lewis stares down moodily from posters warning us that this a man who bears grudges, that there is...
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Friday 15 February 2008, 11:02
Aurelio De Laurentiis may not have produced as many turkeys as uncle Dino but the movie mogul is certainly overseeing a pig’s ear of his latest project - Napoli Failing. The flamboyant owner is a natural...
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Thursday 14 February 2008, 08:44
It wasn’t meant to end like this, not on a cold, damp evening in Milan, not in a routine Serie A league game against humble opposition. Surely the greatest forward of his generation was destined for a...
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Monday 11 February 2008, 16:00
Suddenly AC Milan are in danger of losing their tag of Serie A’s elder statesmen. Hardly had we got over the shock of seeing 18-year-old Alexandre Pato skip on to the scene to shake some life into the...
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Thursday 07 February 2008, 12:02
The truism about Romans is that they are not shy at expressing an opinion and usually in the most colourful and passionate of ways. Any topic will do but two subjects will get them more animated than usual...
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Monday 04 February 2008, 16:59
Good on Roberto Donadoni for sticking to his guns and refusing to recall either Alessandro Del Piero or Antonio Cassano to his Italy squad for the midweek friendly with Portugal. Del Piero’s desperate...
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Friday 01 February 2008, 10:59
The January sales are never what they are cracked up to be: too many things that don’t fit and you certainly don’t need. Inter, of course, grabbed the best bargain in Portuguese tough-guy, Maniche while...
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Tuesday 29 January 2008, 14:52
There was little doubt that Antonio Cassano would duck out of his return to the Olympic stadium. There were hints of it on Saturday evening at home to Siena as he put on his wobbly Charlie Chaplin walk...
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Monday 28 January 2008, 09:44
Inter it seems are finally paying the price for being a tad too successful. Two games and two red cards surely isn’t the sort of treatment that a league leader would expect to receive from the men in fluorescent...
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Friday 25 January 2008, 09:24
The New Year in Italy came around with the certainty of two things: the Italian government would not see out the end of the month and Inter would continue their record-breaking romp to retain lo scudetto...
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