Five brands have represented the Italian national team for their kits at the Euros in recent decades. Incontestably, the German sportswear company Puma takes the lead, having sponsored Italy from 2004 to 2020. Nevertheless, each kit the Italians have worn since Euro 1996 is worth examining. Significantly, the design and tailoring of each jersey have […]

Last month, the Italian Football Federation confirmed that Luciano Spalletti will be taking over as the new Italy coach. Roberto Mancini, who had been manager for five years, resigned and was replaced by the former Napoli boss. The 64-year-old has a lengthy club management resume that includes stints as manager of Roma and Inter and […]

One Italian national team played a match yesterday, and the results were quite dispiriting.  With a seemingly safe 2-0 aggregate lead over Belarus, the Italian U-21 club found a way to lose 3-1 in the return match and be eliminated from the UEFA U-21 championship.  The practical result is that the club not only will […]

As the new Serie A season pauses this weekend for national teams to begin their qualifying for Euro 2012, Italian soccer fans may feel lost not being able to watch their favorite club.  To be honest, the Italy-Estonia qualifier looks less than tantalizing only two months after the exciting World Cup match-ups and high-level play.  […]

In 2005-2006, Napoli was looking to escape dire finances and Serie C1.  In 2010-2011, Napoli can credibly claim that it is competing for a Champions League berth.  The Partenopei led by their president Aurelio De Laurentiis have been slowly built up and well managed to the point where last season they qualified for their their […]

Italy boss Cesare Prandelli announced his 23 man squad for the friendly against the Ivory Coast which will take place on Tuesday in England. Many of the names chosen by Marcello Lippi were dropped. Prandelli made some expected changes following the World Cup disappointment with Fabio Quagliarella the only striker remaining from the team selected […]

The Telegraph this morning confirmed previous reports that Arsenal is discussing a transfer of Cagliari keeper Federico Marchetti for around $8.5 million.  Marchetti has made it clear that he is seeking a transfer from the Serie A club and Arsenal would seemingly be a good fit.  Most Serie A clubs have settled on their starting keeper […]

Bari, a city on the heel of the Italian boot, is an excellent market for Serie A and Italian soccer and the type of club that should be a mainstay in Serie A.  The metropolitan area is home to over 1.6 million Italians and Stadio San Nicola was one of the modern stadiums built prior to the […]

The Azzurri performed poorly throughout the World Cup and waited till the 80th minute of the match against Slovakia to start playing when it was too late to make a reaction to compensate for the failures in the previous 260 minutes of football. What is most troubling is the fact the Italian reaction was not […]

Despite Italy's lackluster performance in their first two group stage matches, the Azzurri have the chance to advance into the next round of the World Cup with a win or a tie plus help.  Some excellent analyses of the Italian team's weaknesses have been published over the last few days, and the negatives about this Italian […]

By now you have undoubtedly heard about the injury to Gigi Buffon and his questionable status for the remainder of the World Cup.  Reading between the lines of the statements coming out of the Italian camp it looks like possibly the best keeper in the world could actually miss the entire World Cup.  And in […]

The biggest "win" in New Zealand soccer history was also a major victory for the Italian national team.  Slovakia was the better club for ninety minutes today, taking a 1-0 lead over New Zealand early in the second half on a goal by Robert Vittek.  The All Whites, who looked like a club playing in […]

An ESPN interview with some of the Italian national team players shows that not even the squad seems to know who will be on the pitch on Sunday when they kick off versus Paraguay.  Marcello Lippi has been tight-lipped about who will start and what formation the Azzurri will play, even noting that the formation […]

The World Cup is one week away, and if you are a soccer fan, it is hard not to be anxious for the tournament to begin.  In anticipation of the first Group F match on June 14 (Italy v. Paraguay) I will post of preview of the other three teams in Group F, to help […]

The name "Giuseppe Rossi" makes American soccer fans shake their head in disgust and Italian fans smile in anticipation.  The 23 year old striker has made the Italian national team provisional roster and, even if he is only a reserve in this World Cup, he will likely star on future Azzurri clubs that will need an infusion […]