When Paul Ince swapped Manchester for Milan in the summer of 1995, it was a move that left supporters of the club he departed bemused. Ince had been a...
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Italia Wasteels: The story of the UK’s longest surviving Italian football club
When a player breaks his leg in a top-flight game, it is never immediately obvious. In the stadiums, you will always get two conflicting views from two decidedly biased...
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Trevor Francis: Remembering Sampdoria’s elegant Englishman
“He was the best Englishman to have played in Italy.” Fabio Capello on Trevor Francis. “I was very pleased to hear this,” Francis admitted, later responding to Capello’s praise....
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Three colours of Zlatan, Part III: AC Milan
“You bought a Ferrari, but you drive it like a Fiat.” (Zlatan on Pep Guardiola’s treatment of him during his time at Barcelona). Zlatan’s Catalan journey was anything but...
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Celebrating the Italian art of goalkeeping, from Zenga to Buffon
Regular visitors to Italy will have observed that every day jobs and tasks can be treated as an art form. Be it the barman, a waiter, a coffee vendor...
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A tactical analysis of Massimo Carrera’s Spartak Moscow
”He changed our tactics and gave us character.” Spartak Moscow captain Denis Glushakov on Massimo Carrera. Spartak Moscow haven’t won the Russian Premier League title since 2001, but they...
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Three colours of Zlatan, Part II: Inter
Arrivato: Milano After his adventure with Juventus, Zlatan Ibrahimovic set foot in Milan; hallowed ground for two of European football’s most storied factions, divided by contrasting colours – rosso...
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Following Herbert Kilpin: From Nottingham to Milano with the relatives of AC Milan’s founder
James Kilpin returns to the table with a pint of beer in each hand. He slides one across the table to me. It catches a sticky patch, causing a...
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Three colours of Zlatan, Part I: Juventus
“I want out of here!” barked a young, egoistic Swede to his agent. “In that case, you can move to Turin.” After a heated volley of curse words and slurs,...
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Marco Di Vaio: The making of Bologna’s bandiera
These days, it is rare for fans to hold a player in such high regard; to see an individual player as an embodiment of their club. It is even...
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