THE MILAN derby was a personal triumph for fit-again veteran Zlatan Ibrahimović – two goals and victory over one of his former clubs, but it was also affirmation of the Milanese renaissance that appears to be gathering momentum at the San Siro. AC Milan ended Inter’s unbeaten run, their first league defeat in those crazy zig-zag […]
BAYERN MUNICH joined the illustrious list of teams that have won the treble of domestic league and cup and Champions League when they beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in Lisbon. The Bavarians’ success is remarkable given they changed manager earlier in the campaign, appointing Hans-Dieter Flick as head coach. Flick had been the number two at […]
IT IS becoming the fashion these days – the removal of a coach because he no longer fits the bill, regardless of how successful he is. In the case of Maurizio Sarri, an inevitable event that was foretold weeks ago, it confirms Serie A has been a one-horse race for so long that even winning […]
SURPRISINGLY, only eight teams have managed to win a comparable trio of competitions, although many have gone close. Some of this select group have been built around outstanding individuals, such as Lionel Messi and Ajax’s Johan Cruyff, while others – like Celtic in 1967 – were founded on the team ethic. Inevitable comparisons will be […]
JOCK STEIN said it all really: “I want to be remembered for the football we played”. He was referring to Celtic’s first European Cup final appearance against the formidable Inter Milan in Lisbon and the possibility of defeat, something that Stein’s side were unaccustomed to experiencing. Fifty years on, the quality of Celtic’s football in […]
SERIE A in the late 1980s and early 1990s was a fiercely competitive landscape with all-star line-ups comprising some of the world’s best players. Italy was a magnet for top talent, including Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten, Diego Maradona, Gianluca Vialli and Michael Laudrup, to name but a few. The rest of Europe just sat […]
ONCE UPON a time, Italian clubs ruled Europe, not just on the pitch but also through their purchasing power, attendances and in players wages that attracted some of the world’s top stars. Serie A was the envy of most European leagues, notably in England where people became fascinated by the glitz, glamour and smoke bombs […]
THEY CAME, they saw, they rained on Inter’s parade – and how it frustrated the home fans in the 75,000 San Siro crowd! It was Serie A champions against pretenders to the throne and once more, Juventus, perpetual wearers of the crown of Italian football for almost a decade, demonstrated they are still the big […]
ITALY has needed a team to seriously challenge Juventus for almost a decade and Inter Milan have started the Serie A campaign as if they mean to fill that role. Although some people are suggesting that six wins out of six have flattered the Nerrazzuri, the club seems to have been rejuvenated by the arrival […]
