There is something inspiring about Italian football’s heyday. During the 1980s and 90s’, Serie A had it all: Maradona’s Napoli, Osvaldo Bagnoli’s Verona, Ronaldo’s Inter, Lippi’s Juve, the Dutch...
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TGU Interview: Rick Hough talks calcio with Matteo Fontana during Italy’s years of lead
On 12 December 1969, an explosion ripped through the foyer of the Banca Nazionale dell’Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana in Milan. Seventeen people were killed and 88 more were injured....
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Un maiale non può allenare: Carlo Ancelotti’s troubled time at Juventus
It was the final day of the 1999/00 Serie A season and as torrential rain and wind battered the Renato Curi stadium, Carlo Ancelotti and his Juventus side were...
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A culture of violence: How political and social turmoil gave rise to Rome’s radical ultras
No matter how pithy the quote, football should never become a matter of life and death. Nor should it be considered ‘war minus the shooting’, though we are often...
Read MoreClassic Match: Lazio vs. Bologna 1999/00
“Whassup?” Thanks to a popular American beer commercial, this is how we tended to greet each other at the turn of the century. At the same time, Westlife topped...
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Marco Delvecchio: The Lazio tormentor
Marco Delvecchio is wheeling away from goal. He’s just done what he would go on to be famed for. He has given Roma the lead in the derby. It...
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TGU Book Review: Il Re Calcio II, by Paul Grech
The image of Lazio club manager Angelo Peruzzi celebrating the side’s 2017 Italian Super Cup triumph over Juventus is what inspired Paul Grech to write the second part of...
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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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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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Celebrating the 10 greatest goals of Hernan Crespo’s Italian career
There aren’t many greater examples of a ‘complete striker’ than Hernan Crespo. Leaving River Plate and his beloved nation of Argentina to sign for Parma in 1996, his adventure...
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