The great absentee at last month’s Serie A fixture unveiling did not go unnoticed. In a packed football association headquarters in Milan, no representatives of Sicilian football teams were to be...
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The making of Alexis Sanchez: How Udinese helped polish a jewel of European football
At Udine, the video tapes were beginning to pour in. A talented teenager, wiry but tenacious, had caught the eye in Chile’s arid north, deep in the dusty copper...
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From hero to traitor: Following the career of Massimo Maccarone
In a usual sight, the striker wheels away from goal after steering the ball home. He rushes towards the dugout to celebrate with his teammates. But on this occasion, the...
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The 10 most controversial transfers in Serie A history
In a transfer window brimming with narratives, Leonardo Bonucci’s move to AC Milan is undoubtedly Serie A’s biggest story. His decision to swap Turin for Milan has rocked Italian...
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The bank of Napoli: Hasse Jeppson
Italian clubs have broken the world record for transfer fees 18 times in the modern era, more than those of any other country. During Serie A’s golden years between...
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Oriundi and national identity in a multicultural Italy
The last Englishman to win the football World Cup, certain wags will try to tell you, wasn’t born until 1977. You see, Simone Perrotta, the Roma and Italy midfielder...
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The ‘Italian Football Bible’: talking Football Italia with Giancarlo Rinaldi
It is hard to believe that a quarter of a century has passed since a young English footballer called Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne joined Italian Serie A side Lazio from Tottenham Hotspur....
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Following in the footsteps of Roby Baggio: Bernadeschi, Juve and the search for a No 10
After a stunning performance in Serie A’s most entertaining game between Fiorentina and Napoli last season, the next morning’s papers hailed Federico Bernardeschi as a worthy heir to Roberto...
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Andrea Talignani: The Maradona of the poor
Every so often, when scouring the internet looking for inspiration on a new piece to write about, you come across a story or player that just screams WRITE ABOUT...
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The nightmare of Korea: Italy’s biggest World Cup humiliation, half-a-century later
“They have won! Good heavens, they have won. What is going on here? This is fantastic,” bellowed Frank Bough, with the tone of a man struggling to come to...
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