Bari’s charismatic President, Vincenzo Matarrese, had grandiose visions for his club. I Galletti had historically flitted between Italy’s first and second … More
Category: Classic Calcio
Home From Home: The Tales Of Italian Clubs Sacrificing Home Advantage In Europe
Inter’s visionary coach Helenio Herrera was a man ahead of his time. In the 1960s, he had been an early adopter … More
The Extraordinary Busman’s Holiday: Riding With Sampdoria At The Peak Of Their Powers
Did you ever hear the one about the English bus driver who inadvertently became part of Sampdoria’s backroom staff at … More
Misshapes, Mistakes, Misfits: The introduction of squad numbers in Italian football
It’s been almost thirty years since squad numbers became an established feature of the football landscape. Naturally, traditionalists mourned the loss of the … More
Shirt Tales: Fabio Quagliarella
Telling the story of Fabio Quagliarella’s career through the medium of polyester… Sampdoria 2006/07 After coming through the ranks with … More
A Tribute to Gianluca Vialli ~ 1964-2023
Gianluca Vialli was one of the finest centre forwards of his generation, he won almost every trophy on offer during … More
Chaos, Corruption and an Over-Sized Golden Boot: The Tale of Serie A’s Worst Ever Team
Hedonistic transfer policy was the recurrent hallmark of my teenage escapades on the Championship Manager computer game. A veritable revolving … More
American Dream or Cruel Reality? Unravelling the Mystery of Roy Lassiter’s Snowbound Wonder Goal For Genoa
Some say it was the embodiment of technical perfection. A goal that would have changed the course of a stricken … More
The White Elephants of Italia ’90
For three glorious weeks in the summer of 1990, Italy was resplendent under the gaze of the watching world. The … More
Ronaldo, Pavarotti and Beating Zeman At His Own Game: Roy Hodgson’s Second Coming At Inter Milan
The 1990s had been a bleak decade for the blue and black half of Milano. Three victories in the UEFA … More
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