Purple permeates the Tuscan city of Florence in tribute to the football team that represents it – ACF Fiorentina, aka La Viola. It is said that the club’s colour...
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Giuseppe Meazza and Luigi Ferraris: In celebration of original stadia
The 1986 FIFA World Cup was supposed to be held in Colombia. In late 1982, the prospective host withdrew from its commitment, citing ‘economic difficulties’ (read as asymmetric internal...
Read MoreFernando Redondo in Milan: A time of frustration, grace and standing ovations
Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri cuts an angry figure as he reads from a prepared script. At what should be an exciting time for the player, he delivers carefully chosen...
Read MoreGianluca Signorini: The tragedy of Genoa’s hero and Italy’s most underrated Libero
In the contemporary age of calcio, the libero is an obsolete position. This outdated defensive role, also known as the sweeper, was cleverly orchestrated by the following Italian legends:...
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Tales from the Peninsula: Tickets, touts & transport strikes in Naples
It is 15.00pm on Sunday afternoon and tipping 34 degrees as I step out of the railway station, but more than the heat it’s the visual impact that overwhelms...
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Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication: Tracing the miraculous revival of SPAL
“Nobody thought we could get to this point,” were the words of SPAL coach Leonardo Semplici after his side had confirmed their promotion to Serie A last season. “We...
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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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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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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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Andreas Möller: The maverick’s two years in Turin
“It takes a special player to bring about a positional change for the great Roberto Baggio – but that’s exactly what happened at Juventus with the arrival of the...
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