“The next young player who says he does not want to play for England should be ordered to ring the parents of a soldier who has died serving his...
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Retiring squad numbers and the winning mentality
Recently, I spoke to some London-based Napoli fans who were understandably in buoyant mood with their club flying high in Serie A and playing some of the best football...
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Ultra-turned-footballer: The paradoxical nature of Paolo Di Canio
Tell me your favourite incarnation of Paolo Di Canio and I’ll show you what kind of football fan you are. If it’s first-time-scissored-volley-vs-Wimbledon-Di-Canio, you are probably a purist. If...
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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 art of the biscotto: Delving into the Italian mindset
It’s June 22, 2004 at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimarães, Portugal. Having gone behind shortly before half-time, Italy are drawing 1-1 with Bulgaria in their final group...
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Appreciating Simone Inzaghi: The younger brother ready to take centre stage
Sibling rivalry is as ubiquitous as siblings themselves and its intensity can remain ferocious deep into adulthood. Nowhere is this truer than in Italy where, with a cultural history...
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Zdeněk Zeman & Pescara: The enduring legacy of the 2011/12 promotion season
The side that won the Serie B 2011-2012 season scored 90 goals in the league, 30 more than the next most prolific team in the division and only five...
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The strange world of Il Trofeo Birra Moretti
In January 2017, Marco van Basten, the former AC Milan, Ajax and Netherlands striker and current FIFA technical director, proposed a series of sweeping changes to the game including...
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When Calcio Ruled the World: Il Soldatino, Angelo Di Livio
Angelo Di Livio is a joke. That is harsh on a man who won three Scudetti, two Coppe Italia and the Champions League, but the former Juventus and Fiorentina...
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