“An investment fund, a super agent, and a Singapore businessman: What will it all mean on the field for Los Che this season? While the summer’s silly-season headlines have mostly focused on big names like Luis Suarez, James Fernandez, and Diego Costa, La Liga’s most interesting transfer business has been taking place at Valencia. Los Che have brought in promising attacker Rodrigo and young midfielder Andre Gomes from Benfica, and were widely reported to be tracking even more high-profile targets like Argentina’s World Cup midfielder Enzo Perez and Colombia’s $53 million-rated striker Jackson Martinez.” Fusion

“After a fantastic season which saw them crowned as La Liga Champions, Atletico Madrid is now starting over from scratch. Diego Simeone’s squad lost many talented players as Striker Diego Costa and Left Back Filipe Luis departed to Chelsea as Los Colchoneros received €58M  for the two players combined (Diego Costa 38M, Filipe Luis 20M).” Outside of the Boot

“There was no warning. Like a stone thrown into a pond, the news shattered the serene peace of Turin’s grand Old Lady. Even in an age of twenty-four hour news coverage, Antonio Conte’s resignation as Juventus manager arrived like a lightning strike, the first whispers leaking less than fifteen minutes before the club confirmed the 44-year-old had quit. Later, a recorded interview from Conte, a former Juventus captain, confirmed his own departure, and an open letter from Juventus President Andrea Agnelli attempted to console ailing supporters, thanking Conte for the ‘three years in which we rewrote this club’s history’ and noting that the news had ‘saddened him greatly.’ Supporters felt exactly the same way, deeply shocked that the man responsible for transforming La Madama back into a serial winner was gone.” 8by8

“Needing to use up some holiday time and in desperate need of some sun, beaches, countryside and football I elected to visit Malta. What little knowledge I possessed of the lonely island came from several chapters of Thomas Pynchon’s haunting novel V and I was uncertain of what to expect. Happily, I got on extremely well with Malta and while the tourist sites, ranging from ancient wonders to Second World War bunkers, were remarkable it was the miles of picturesque countryside and sun-drenched, arid farmland in between charming towns untouched for countless years that really impressed itself on me.” backpagefootball

“Parma were undone by a ‘Quagliarellata’. A wonder strike that came out of nowhere. Juventus hadn’t scored from open play at the Ennio Tardini in six years. Something special was required. Who else but Fabio Quagliarella duly provided it. Thirty-five yards out with his back to goal he turned his man and pitched a looping shot against the upright. It left Parma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante stunned. By the time he recovered his senses, Paul Pogba had followed Quagliarella’s shot up to score the only goal of the game. Parma had resisted until the 75th minute. It was the last time they lost in Serie A. That was right at the beginning of November.” Who Scored – James Horncastle

“Before really getting into his Tuesday column in La Repubblica back in early December, Gabriele Romagnoli had a confession to make. ‘I love Gervinho,’ he wrote. ‘I will not be impartial. It’s necessary to write it with a heart between the subject and the direct object like in the NY logo… I am not a Romanista and I never succumbed to the ecstatic aesthetics of Garrincha, George Best or Gigi Meroni. Rather, it’s a sort of literary passion: the kind that makes you prefer Yanez to Sandokan [the protagonists of Emilio Salgari’s 19th century pirate novels] or Sancho Panza to Don Quixote. With poetic license, this is Gervinho, he’s a creature of ‘Gervantes’: a dreamer-squire, who drags the indolent hero beyond the limits of his fantasy.’ Reading that, it’s fair to say Gervinho has found an appreciation in Italy that he never did in England.” Who Scored?

“The Basque country is something of a historical relic. The region was never conquered by the Romans and the Basque language, bears no resemblance to any other living language. The Basque people are notorious for doing things their own way and have fought fiercely for decades to protect their local customs from the imposition of Spanish culture. This independent spirit extends to the region’s biggest football club, Athletic Bilbao. The club, nicknamed Los Leones (“The Lions”), are a unique organisation in world football, having achieved considerable success whilst preserving their core traditions and maintaining close ties to their local community.” Back Page Football

“It’s a long journey, Cariati Marina to Modena. Almost the length of Italy. By car, it can take you eight or nine hours. Quite the road trip. But Domenico Berardi was keen to make it. He wanted to visit his brother Francesco who was studying there at university. So off he went up north. This was in 2010. It was a trip he’d never forget. Like many students, Francesco was involved in a five-a-side league. While Domenico was in town, he invited him to play. Only 15 at the time, the lads he came up against were bigger, stronger and older than he was, but not to worry. Berardi dominated.” Who Scored?

“Back in the early eighties Italy was the centre of the world of football and would remain such for the best part of a decade. The richest clubs in the world played in the Serie A and, in turn, these attracted the best players. Juventus had Platini and Boniek, Napoli played to the tune set by Maradona whilst AC Milan had the trio of Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard. Even a small club like Udinese could attract a player like Zico. If the Serie A was the cream of world football, then Avellino was the curd. Promoted to the Serie A for the first time in 1978, they had defied expectation by staying there year after year despite being billed as relegation favourites at the start of each season.” In Bed With Maradona

“Defensive midfielders are often underrated: they are, indeed, underrated to the point where they become overrated and one man, Claude Makelele, even has a role in football named after him. But there is one man, one watercarrier, one mediano, who can perhaps lay claim to being one of the most underrated players of all time. On 14th November 1990 in a the Stadio Olimpico in Serravalle, San Marino, a 31 year old midfielder by the name of Massimo Bonini made his full international debut playing the first half of a 4-0 defeat to Switzerland in a Euro ’92 qualifying game.” Put Niels In Goal

“The rain thuds down on a murky February afternoon in Florence, blurring the tired limbs of the home side in purple, of Milan in their stripes of red and black. Beards drip; glossy Latin haircuts shed water like slate roofs into drainpipes. Going into that fateful afternoon at the Stadio Artemi Franchi, Giovanni Trappatoni’s Fiorentina sit where they have done since the early days of the 1998-99 season – at the top of Serie A. Their lead over second-placed Lazio is three points – a sizeable gap, but no gulf – yet such has been La Viola’s dominance over the first half of the season, the title seems destined to return to Florence after a thirty year wait. A powerful Milan side – Maldini, Albertini, Bierhoff, Weah, Boban – are third. Eighty-five minutes have gone by without either defence giving way. Milan force a corner and a final chance to break the deadlock.” In Bed With Maradona

“History was made on Monday. Or at least, a legal precedent of the kind that could in time have massive ramifications around Europe. And perhaps, eventually, change our match-going experience forever. Sound excessive? Bear with me. The Italian FA charged Milan for the fact that some of their fans engaged in racist abuse during Sunday night’s match against Napoli.” ESPN