JUVENTUS clinched their ninth consecutive Serie A title with two games to go, beating Sampdoria 2-0, but not many people seem convinced about the club’s latest success. As in London, when Maurizio Sarri led Chelsea to the Champions League and picked up the Europa League trophy on route, the fans, media and pundits are all […]
IT SEEMS amazing that it took until 1985 for Juventus to win their first European Cup. They had gone close prior to that, losing 1-0 in both 1973 (Ajax) and 1983 (Hamburg), but they invariably under-achieved in the competition. Sadly, the achievement was overshadowed by the death of 39 Juventus fans in Brussels, caused by […]
THE PROSPECT of Pep Guardiola leaving Manchester City seems rather remote, but the media is whipping-up a story that the enigmatic Spaniard is on the brink of leaving the Etihad for a stint as head coach at Juventus. The Guardian claimed that Pep has the “four year itch” and is ready to move on. The […]
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 […]
INTER MILAN went back to the top of Serie A after beating SPAL 2-1 while Juventus surprisingly slipped-up against Sassuolo, relying on a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo – his first goal since the end of October – to maintain their unbeaten record. While Juve still haven’t been beaten, Inter’s resilience under Antonio Conte underlines that […]
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 […]
INTER MILAN’s dogged pursuit of Romelu Lukaku underlines the determination of the “nerazzuri” to try and break the Juventus stranglehold in Italy, an era of domination that includes eight consecutive Serie A titles, four Coppa Italia wins and two UEFA Champions League finals. Inter, the last Italian club to win the Champions League (2010), have […]
IF BAYERN Munich win the Bundesliga this weekend, it will complete a clean-sweep for the five champions of the major European leagues, in oither words, every winner from 2017-18 will have retained their title. Across the big five (England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain), we have seen monopolies emerge over the past eight seasons – […]
