Tag: inter

The redemption of Mauro Icardi

FOOTBALLERS OFTEN LET THEIR PERFORMANCES on the pitch do the talking for them; silence the critics, earn the big payday and dream move, and ultimately justify their status in the beautiful game.…

How good was Serie A in the 2000s?

Calcio in the 1990s was the golden age of modern football. From Franco Baresi and George Weah to Marco van Basten and Gabriel Batistuta, there were a good seven teams that could…

A journey through time: the career of Esteban Cambiasso

ON THE HILLY COUNTRYSIDE of Serra Riccò, deep inside the bowels of a parish church, Don Stefano Vassallo cracked a wry smile. After days of painstaking research, scrolling through copious archived documents,…

Samuel Eto’o: footballer, goalscorer, winner and humanitarian

Illustration by Federico Manasse To be celebrated as the greatest and most successful footballer your home continent has ever produced would induce great pride in any individual. When that same individual places…

Héctor Cúper: football’s most persistent nearly man

IMAGINE ONE OF THOSE BLOCKBUSTER SPY MOVIES. The opening scene features some cityscape and a superimposed date and place. After a bit of action, another cityscape appears, alongside another date and place,…

The puzzling genius of Álvaro Recoba

As enigmas go, Álvaro Recoba ranks as high as anyone, possessing a devastating left foot and an attitude that often saw it wasted at Inter

After Gabriel Batistuta came Hernán Crespo

PRIOR TO THE 2002 WORLD CUP, Marcelo Bielsa found himself deciding who to play in the most advanced position of the field for Argentina. On one hand, an ageing Gabriel Batistuta had…