In questionable taste, metaphors of war are frequently wheeled out to describe football matches. Spells of territorial dominance are termed as ‘sieges’ complete with ‘aerial bombardments’; midfield ‘generals’ command...
Read MoreClassic Azzurri Match: Brazil 2-3 Italy (1982)
A total of 44,000 people were crammed into the Sarria Stadium in Barcelona on the 5th July 1982. They didn’t know yet but they were to witness a true...
Read MoreClassic Azzurri Match: When Balo Finally Killed Off the Fighting Irish
After Italy started their Euro 2012 campaign with an impressive 1-1 draw with World Champions Spain in Gdansk, Cesare Prandelli took his Italian side to Poznan to face Croatia....
Read MoreClassic Calcio Kits: Italy Euro 2000
Made by: Kappa Worn by: Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero, Fabio Cannavaro, Antonio Conte, Marco Delvecchio Year: 2000 As Italy entered the new millennium, they would do so with...
Read MoreArturo Lupoli: The forgotten prodigy
In the early years of the new millennium, two prodigious young attacking talents were blazing a trail through the Parma and Italian youth system. One would go on to...
Read MoreEnrico Chiesa: The complete forward
Enrico Chiesa was a Serie A icon throughout the ‘glory days’ of Calcio. In a career that spanned over 20-years, he played for 10 different clubs and most importantly, Chiesa...
Read MoreVittorio Pozzo and the Italian Assertion of Power (Part II)
In the second and final instalment of Neil’s two-part article, he looks at how Vittorio Pozzo’s Italy – regarded as an expression of Benito Mussolini’s Fascist Italy – managed...
Read MoreVittorio Pozzo and the Italian assertion of power (Part I)
In the first instalment of this two part article, Neil maps out the political backdrop to which the first World Cups were played and recounts Italy’s first World Cup...
Read MorePride, passion and tears: Italy’s 1990 World Cup campaign
Nostalgia is a term that describes sentimentality. It comes from the Greek words ‘nostos and algos’ which in turn means ‘home coming’ and ‘pain or ache’. It is easy...
Read MorePierluigi Collina: Celebrating the world’s greatest referee
As the saying goes ‘Italians Do It Better’. The cuisine, the cars, the fashion and some of the world’s most innovative architecture; it’s all in Italy. As for the...
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