“Maurizio Sarri, with his unassuming, coffee-sipping, zealous sideline watching demeanour, is scarcely a figure guilty of flattering his players. The Italian had been forced to quash talk of a first domestic title in Naples since the heady days of Diego Maradona when his side dispatched four past Diego Lopez at the San Siro and, after smashing five past FC Midtjylland at the San Paolo in Europa League action, he was again obliged to subdue talk of an assault on Europe’s second-tier prize.” backpagefootball

“So far this season in the Serie A, there has been several highly impressive team performances coming from the highly renowned Italian footballing giants, alongside a few surprise starts to the campaign from teams such as Sassuolo who find themselves in fifth place, and Fiorentina who have been very good so far this season, currently in third place place behind Napoli and league leaders Roma. However, if there is one team that has been showing just how good they are this season; it’s Napoli. Maurizio Sarri’s men have been in fine form, both in their domestic campaign and in the Europa League, winning every single European game they have been faced with.” backpagefootball

“Florence has long reigned as one of Italy’s greatest cities. A city of culture, art and wonder. A city with one of the most historic and eldest Italian universities. Florence is a real treasure of Italy. Fiorentina is a real treasure of the city itself. One of Italy’s most famous clubs has been the place for many great players to showcase their ability, Gabriel Batistuta and Robert Baggio to name two.” backpagefootball

“We are six games into the Serie A season and the major Italian clubs seem unwilling to win the league. Juventus, winners of four successive league titles, have completely given up on winning or playing well. They were terrible on Saturday night against Napoli. This was mostly because of Napoli’s performance, as the Partenopei did a wonderful job in pressing and harassing Juventus whenever they had the ball. Juventus’ misery was also self-inflicted, as they misplacing pass after pass when in possession, and even their famed defence looked shaky at best.” backpagefootball

“It seems that foggy, snowy afternoon in Moscow was yesterday, when a 19-year-old Gianluigi Buffon made his national team debut, substituting an injured Pagliuca and valiantly protecting the Italian goal; a responsibility he would assume at the highest level in the subsequent two decades. Keeping a clean sheet for Italy again in last week’s Euro 2016 qualifier match in which the Azzurri beat Bulgaria, the 37-year-old veteran has completed his 150th international appearance, an endeavor spanning over 18 years.” backpagefootball

“It is only the second game of the season and we already have the spectre of a ‘season defining’ game as Roma and Juventus go head to head at the Stadio Olimpico. In previous years, this fixture may have been known as an early ‘title decider’, as Roma have been Juve’s closest challengers in the last two seasons (close in the sense of being seventeen points behind).” backpagefootball

“Italian football has been the sick man of Europe. The phrase was once used to describe the Ottoman Empire, with which Italian football has similarities. Like the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century, Serie A is living off past glories. Its Constantinople was the San Siro, where great Milan sides once battled it out, but now plays host to two pale imitations. The Ottoman Empire was behind the great powers of England, Germany and France, whereas now Italy is also behind England, Germany Spain and France.” backpagefootball

“What’s next for Serie A? Last year — with Juventus’s run to the Champions League final and five Italian teams in the Europa League’s Round of 16 — seemed like a big step forward for a league that has struggled to keep up both financially and competitively with other major European brethren. Yet something was missing: The red-and-black stripes of AC Milan. And now this year, for the first time in 60 years, neither AC Milan nor Inter Milan has qualified for European competition.” Grantland

“By anybody’s standards Juventus enjoyed a highly successful 2014/15 season. Not only did they capture the domestic league and cup double, winning the Serie A title for the fourth year in a row, but they also shone in Europe. There was a reminder of past glories as they eliminated Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund on the way to reaching the Champions League final, where they only succumbed to mighty Barcelona after a closely fought encounter. These achievements represented something of a triumph for the Juventus board and especially Andrea Agnelli, who had been appointed President in May 2010 after a disappointing season when the club only finished seventh, thus failing to qualify for the lucrative Champions League.” The Swiss Ramble

“The last two seasons have not been kind to AC Milan. In 2013/2014, Massimiliano Allegri’s ability to get the best out of his average side ended, as he was sacked after a 4-3 defeat to Sassuolo in January 2014. Clarence Seedorf came, saw and did nothing and was replaced in the summer of 2014 by Filippo Inzaghi. Perhaps Milan were hoping for a similar effect that Antonio Conte had at Juventus, a legendary ex-player to galvanise a stagnant club. Whilst Conte had spent a number of years coaching in Serie A and B, Inzaghi’s managerial experience consisted of one year as coach of the Milan primavera side. His inexperience quickly showed, Milan’s season was simply atrocious on every level. The Rossoneri, with their eighteen league titles and seven European Cups, came a miserable tenth place, winning just 13 of 38 games.” backpagefootball

“Inundated with questions regarding his future, Rudi Garcia finally shed light on his position. ‘The day I realise I can no longer help the club to win trophies, I will make way for someone else.’ His comments came after a peculiar 1-1 draw with Fiorentina in the Europa League, a rare positive display wedged between sterile domestic form. Roma entered the tie having tasted victory just twice since the turn of the year.” backpagefootball

“Football has undergone a period of transformation over the last thirty years. Despite these global processes, different national leagues have adapted in different ways. After an initial period of success directly after Italia ’90, Italian football has gone through a period of sustained crisis. It has been blighted by financial mismanagement, corruption scandals and fan violence. This has impacted Italy’s ability to compete on a global stage. Football Italia accounts for the development of Italian football in relation to the wider global transformations impacting football and addresses the reasons for Serie A’s initial success and current malaise.” Bloomsbury

“One of the key narratives sorry for using that word around this year’s Champions League final was the return of some of Italy’s World Cup winning squad to the stadium where, back in 2006, they had claimed Jules Rimet in a penalty shoot-out win against France. Alas, while the return to Berlin was not a happy one for Buffon, Pirlo, Chiellini and Barzagli, another member of that squad from 2006 had much reason to cheer as this season ended. Turning 38-years-old as the season came to an end, Luca Toni, playing for lowly Hellas Verona, finished as joint top scorer in Serie A. In doing so he became the oldest player to win the Capocannoniere (Serie A Golden Boot). It completed a remarkable resurgence in fortunes for a player who, two years ago, seemed destined for retirement after a season in the United Arab Emirates with Al Nasr, scoring three times in eight appearances.” backpagefootball

“My battered old 1991 paperback edition of this is subtitled ‘The full story of Italia ‘90’ with the blurb on the back headlined ‘The Story of England In The 1990 World Cup’. The cover features the iconic blurred picture of Gascoigne lifting his shirt to his face. Later editions have seen the title changed to One Night In Turin with a now unblurred picture of Gascoigne and the lengthier subtitle of ‘The Inside Story Of A World Cup That Changed Our Footballing Nation Forever’. That in itself is a sign of how things changed in the intervening 20 plus years.” Football Pink

“FOR SO MANY, the untimely passing of the late, great Bill O’Herlihy struck a chord. The legendary broadcaster’s death was greeted by an universal outpouring of sorrow as his unmistakable humility and generosity made him one of, if not, the most popular figure to appear on our screens. As the nation remembered his storied career, it was a trip down memory lane for most of us as we recounted the iconic days of our sporting childhood. The World Cups, European Championships and Olympic games. The highs and lows, the tears and laughs.” BBC (Video)

“When Antonio Conte resigned as Juventus manager last July, the rest of Serie A breathed a sigh of relief. After all, Conte had just finished guiding what seemed to be an invincible Old Lady to a third straight title. When Massimiliano Allegri was announced as his successor the next day, those sighs turned to giggles. Mad Max may have lead Milan to the 2010-11 scudetto after one year in charge and, with Cagliari and Sassuolo before that, shown his ability to instill attractive play, but by the time he got to Juventus, Allegri had become a mere punchline. He was the man who’d left the rossoneri unable to qualify Europe, much less challenge for titles.” Fusion

“Thirty years ago, Hellas Verona concluded Italian football’s greatest fairy-tale. On May 12th 1985, the club travelled to Atlanta looking for a point that would secure them their first, and to date only, Scudetto. A one-all draw saw the team return home with the trophy, their place won in the hearts of generations of Veronese and a special page for them in the history of the sport.” backpagefootball