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…
Tag: serie a
Securing European qualification with a squad made up of numerous academy graduates, Atalanta are pioneering a better future for player development in Italy
Oftentimes, people with the greatest potential take the longest to find their path and discover themselves. They wander through life unaware of their talent, or even worse, neglecting and ignoring it. The…
Thousands gathered outside the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in front of the iconic and eye-catching mosaic of Sevilla’s club crest, surrounded by those of 60 visiting teams. The Andalusian’s side clash with…
If you were to ask a Real Madrid fan about Fernando Redondo, there is a distinct likelihood they would begin with a smile. Given the title of ‘El Principe’, Redondo helped the…
WITH THE EYES OF THE WORLD ON HIM in Juventus’s first leg Champions League quarter-final clash against Barcelona, Paulo Dybala did not disappoint. La Joya (The Jewel) showed everyone exactly what he’s…
WHO CAN IDENTIFY a solid antivirus if not the best of hackers? And who can point to the toughest alarm system if not the stealthiest of thieves? In life, as in the…
BORN IN THE TOWN of Castellammare di Stabia, beneath the brooding Mount Vesuvius, Fabio Quagliarella would have been four-years-old when his beloved Napoli won the Scudetto and Coppa Italia in 1987. Led…
From the 17th to the 19th century, there existed a custom amongst the British upper class, famously known as the Grand Tour. Considered as a necessary rite of passage for aristocrats, this tradition became…
This feature is part of The Masterminds: 10 Under 45 In 560 BC, the mathematician Pythagoras lived in a small village in what is now known as Calabria, the southern part of…
BENEDIKT TASCHEN’S BOOK ON 1970s FOOTBALL PHOTOGRAPHY is titled The Age of Innocence. An apt title, perhaps – it was the final time when footballers were still at some level “our lads”, clubs…
This feature is part of The Masterminds: 10 Under 45 Vincenzo Montella is not entirely dissimilar to Roberto Mancini. Like the former Inter and Manchester City manager, Montella exudes effortless charisma and…
RUI COSTA’S footballing life can be summed up by one goal and the few moments that followed it. In August 1996 in Lisbon’s Estádio da Luz, Benfica lined up against Fiorentina for…
As featured on Guardian Sport SOME FOOTBALLERS HAVE the privilege of working under gifted tacticians and thoroughbred winners during their careers, but it’s the intuitive ones who take it upon themselves to…
With a minute left of the 1996 Champions League final, only one result remained beyond question. Despite a field brimming with attacking talent, Juventus’ rampaging full-back had been the undisputed man of…
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
It was not the most popular of appointments. When Antonio Conte departed his post as Juventus manager on the eve of pre-season in the summer of 2014, the Italian champions turned to…
ARTISTS, EXPERT, INVENTORS, composers, producers and virtuosos; few exist in isolation. Creative license, by design or by necessity, can camouflage or gloss over the painstaking hours of practice and relentless hard work…