May 12, 1985. It’s a date indelibly marked in the minds of all Hellas Verona fans. The tactical nous of coach Osvaldo Bagnoli coupled with the stewardship of president...
Read MoreTorino, Mondonico and the 1992 UEFA Cup
The remarkable story of Torino and their journey to the UEFA cup final of 1991/92 surprisingly begins in Serie B. Il Toro started the 1989/90 season in Italy’s second...
Read MoreThe Derby del Veneto: Verona vs. Vicenza, one of Italy’s forgotten rivalries
On a Friday night back in April, Davide Di Gennaro calmly dispatched a 92nd minute penalty to earn Vicenza a 1-0 victory away to Cittadella. The travelling Vicentini erupted....
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 MoreRemembering Fiorentina’s last European semi-final
Stadio Artemio Franchi, 1st May 2008. Almost 40,000 fans collectively held their breath as Rangers’ striker Nacho Novo stepped up to take his penalty in the semi-final of the...
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 MoreThe story of Leandro Arpinati and his chequered history in Italian football
Italian football has had its fair share of scandals over the years, from the Totonero betting scandal that rocked the game in the early 1980s to the infamous Calciopoli...
Read MoreAlessandro: The other Lucarelli
“I have always been framed as the brother of Lucarelli (Cristiano). But I have always been Alessandro Lucarelli another player” Alessandro Lucarelli has always had to cede the limelight...
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