For over a decade, twins Antonio and Emanuele Filippini spent their weekends stifling the midfields of some of Serie A’s most creative forces
Tag: parma
Fitting the mould of calcio’s defensive nature, the contrasting styles of Fabio and Paolo would ensure the name Cannavaro was put up in lights
At his best one of the world’s top striker, yet still criminally under-appreciated, Enrico Chiesa was as good as any Italian striker of the 1990s
Though he may be remembered by some for a troubled spell in England, Verón was a world-class, complete midfielder, achieving success everywhere else
A player shy of motivation or a gifted maverick often misused? Wherever you stand, it’s a shame that Italy never truly saw the best of Sebastian Giovinco
Faustino Asprilla always entertained, sparkling in some major moments and searing himself onto the memories of all football fans whose hearts he touched
The son of a single mother and migrant from Guadeloupe, Thuram was raised in Paris and became Les Bleus’ record cap holder and a legend in calcio
This feature is part of The Football Italia Years The history of Italy can be traced through that of its cities. Each has carved out its own social, cultural and political identity,…
Undefeated. That was the word on the minds of River Plate fans as their team marched into La Bombonera on 11 December 1994. Not once in their 93-year history had Los Millonarios won a trophy without losing…
It’s a tournament forgotten to time, sandwiched between France’s epic glories in 1998 and 2000, and just three years before Brazil won the 2002 World Cup, but the 1999 Copa América was…
This feature is part of Duology The Italians prize their art. It is something that has become a part of their culture, a part of their history for centuries and it still…
The Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke described childhood as man’s true homeland. The place where one wants to return, where one never left. For many Croatians, the summer of 1998 arouses such…
It is the evening of 14 June 1992 at the Rasunda Stadium in Stockholm. England are playing their final Group A game of Euro 92 against the host nation Sweden, needing a…
The thing with being an instantly likeable footballer is that it’s oddly linked with being consigned to relative obscurity. As a mercurially gifted playmaker, Gianfranco Zola dazzled fans wherever he played. He was a magician.…
Illustration by Federico Manasse Before the summer of 2002, Asia was largely forgotten by the footballing world. A general awareness existed among top-level clubs that the continent offered large swathes of untapped…
Gianluigi Buffon ran triumphantly, alone, to the anticipant, raucous Juventus fans in the Curva Sud. The applause was mutual, the celebrations were shared, a collective admiration apparent even for those that know…
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…
IN THE LONG HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL, a total of just 20 men can boast lifting the game’s ultimate prize. It is a particularly selective group of illustrious players, but of all those…