Porto (2002–2004)

• Primeira Liga (2): 2002–03, 2003–04
• Taça de Portugal (1): 2002–03
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (1): 2003
• UEFA Champions League (1): 2003–04
• UEFA Cup (1): 2002–03

Chelsea (2004–2007)

• Premier League (2): 2004–05, 2005–06
• FA Cup (1): 2006–07
• Football League Cup (2): 2004–05, 2006–07
• FA Community Shield (1): 2005

Internazionale (2008–2010)

• Serie A (2): 2008–09, 2009–10
• Coppa Italia (1): 2009–10
• Supercoppa Italiana (1): 2008
• UEFA Champions League (1): 2009–10

Real Madrid (2010–present)

• La Liga (1): 2011–12
• Copa del Rey (1): 2010–11
• Supercopa de España (1): 2012

The force of Italian sides in european competition has diminished over the last decade. Having had a gush of teams make at least the quarter finals of the Champions League in the early to mid 2000s, Milan’s famous loss to Liverpool in Istanbul 8 years ago signalled a decline which has been verified by UEFA’s co-efficient rankings over the past 5 years – losing a Champions League qualifying place in 2012 was the final nail in the coffin. I suggest that one needs to look no further than just north of the Alps to see the prime cause of this shift in the rankings. The nation to have pushed Italy over the cliff and down into fourth in the coefficient rankings is Germany and we must take absolutely nothing away from what is a highly competitive, ever strengthening division in a country whose economy reflects the growth in stature that is evolving before everyone’s eyes.

Something else we must take into consideration is the poor showing of Italian sides in UEFA’s second tier competition, a baby which UEFA – contrary to popular belief – actually invest a great deal of care, attention and importance into. In the last 5 years, just 2 of the 40 sides who were in a quarter final tie were Italian. One must take into consideration the factors that surround the Europa League: the range of teams from across the continent, the long-winded schedule, more balance in standard than there is in the champions league (two sides finishing 6th in England and Spain are more likely to provide an even contest than a team who finishes 1st playing a team who finishes 4th). Nonetheless, only 13% of your entrants making the quarter finals over a 5 year period, especially when you are considered the 3rd best league in Europe, is just not good enough.

I suspect, however, that many at the FIGC will not be crying into their limoncello too soon. Milan’s recent rejuvenation, which coincides with the addition of Mario Balotelli, and Juve’s endeavours against foreign competition this season should be seen as much to build on. In the Champions League this season Juve earned a win percentage of 50% – only losing two matches – and handed out demolitions of Celtic (twice) and Chelsea in the process. The game against Celtic at Celtic Park provided me with immense pleasure. Pundits in the post-match analysis lamented that the glaswegians had dominated for much of the first half and were undone by an individual error in the second half from Effy Ambrose. I saw it differently. I saw a confident and intelligent Juventus sit back and allow the eager and passionate scotsmen to play their game and run themselves into the ground, whilst Juve did what italian teams have become famous for in the last 4 decades. Then, as the chances arose, Juve reacted with a killer instinct to crush the hopes of their prey. It was calculated, executed with precision and it showed that Antonio Conte is as intelligent a coach as he was a player for the bianconeri.

Lazio, too, are providing a flicker of encouragement in 2012-13. High flyers in Serie A up until recently when losing Miroslav Klose to injury and going deep in the Europa League seem to have stubbed their form, yet their appointment of the relatively unknown Vladimir Petkovic in the Summer has been tacitly vindicated by the latter. In the Europa League they went unbeaten at home and only lost once away, showing resolute solidity in defence particularly against Tottenham and Stuttgart. The ethos which Petkovic has instilled in them has been wonderful to watch, he has built on the hard work carried out by his predecessor Edy Reja in forming a squad that mixes physicality, experience and individual flair when required.

Looking forward to 2013-14, the three teams looking likely to qualify for champions league football from Italy are Juventus, Napoli and Milan. Juventus have proved their capabilities and should they add to an already exciting squad in the summer they will surely make improvements on their 2012-13 campaign. Napoli and Milan are playing the kind of football that should be getting every fan of european football excited. Mario Balotelli has augmented the productivity of Milan on the pitch and – as Balotelli, El Shaarawy and Pazzini allow people to forget about Ibrahimovic – the rossoneri are a solid replacement of Thiago Silva away from being a serious challenge to Juventus at the top of Serie A once again. Napoli, should they retain their star players, will surely deliver exhilarating and dynamic performances like those they showed glimpses of against Manchester City, Chelsea and Villareal in 2011-12. Though one must fear that Edinson Cavani’s days in Naples are numbered if he continues to play as outstandingly as he has through this season.

Further down, Lazio, Inter, Fiorentina and Roma all have the capabilities and the application to make a decent descent on the latter stages of the Europa League (or even Champions League if they were to qualify) but the aforementioned elements of that competition that make a winning campaign so onerous will no doubt, as they have for so many before, prove the downfall of better teams than themselves.

The key will be to ensure that each and every one of the teams who qualify for a european competition go as far as possible and to establish a culture of this for many consecutive seasons. Points are awarded to a national FA for each win or draw that one of their club collects along with bonus points for various feats. The point are tallied up and are then crucially divided by the number of clubs from that country who qualified for european competition that season. Again, the importance of supplying finalists – whether that be quarter, semi or grand – for both european competitions is exemplified.

All is not lost for Italy in Europe. They are some distance from regaining their coefficient placing and should conceivably be looking over their shoulders at their neighbours on the other side of Mont Blanc, especially if PSG continue to improve, but I firmly believe that with the correct foci and a development of the exciting players and intelligent tacticians on offer, it is fully within Italy’s grasp to turn their domestic european fortunes around.

Serie A

Stadio Adriatico

Saturday 13th April 2013

Pescara fans at the Stadio Adriatico – Photo by emilio di fabio

Luke Peter Watson

Both sides went into this fixture in desperate need of 3 points to put towards their hopes of retaining Serie A status for 2013-14. Pescara had to contend yet again with a plethora of absentees, whilst Siena could draw on a relatively unaffected squad. As Palermo and Genoa – the two relegation rivals for both sides – take on clubs in the bottom half of the table on Sunday, a win for both teams would be invaluable.

It was Siena who started with the most intent, having a series of indecisive attacks stemming from the right hand side through the boots of the Brazilian Angelo. Though his crossing was well directed and at times tricky to deal with for Pelizzoli in the Pescara goal, the biggest threat that emerged from his deliveries was a limp shot from Alessandro Rosina.

The first goal of the match came from a scrap in the Pescara goal that was half cleared to the far side of penalty box, only to meet the head of Angelo at an enticing height, leaving him with the matter of simply applying enough direction and force to ball to send it into the back of the net. He did so with assurance, low to the left of Pelizzoli.

To their credit, Pescara responded well. They showed greater intent to chase the ball down higher up the pitch and strung some sequences of passes together nicely, but any chances that developed were snuffed out by the Siena back-line before they grew into anything promising. The Delfini had a wonderful opportunity to draw level in the 21st minute, but as Caprari struck the incoming cross, unmarked at the far post, it was immediately clear that it would sail over the bar.

Siena’s Rosina was now driving the ball forward with purpose and, even though the game seemed more balanced, Siena were the most likely to score next. They did so on 32 minutes by way of an unfortunate own goal. One of the many corners that Siena had won in quick succession flicked on from two heads at the nearside and landed at the feet of Pescara’s Zanon who could only manage to deflect it into the direction of the goal.

The first half ended quietly and the replacement of Pescara’s D’Agostino with Mervan Celik was the most interesting part of the final ten minutes.

7 minutes after the restart, the Biancoazzuri drew a goal back through substitute Celik who exquisitely volleyed through a group of players, including goalkeeper Pegolo of Siena, who had failed to collect or even clear an initial ball in from the left.

Minutes later, Pescara won a free-kick in a dangerous position. Claudio Terzi had been adjudged guilty of using his elbow on Giuseppe Sculli when both men were ambling to connect to a header – the edgy scenes that followed earned both men yellow cards. The aforementioned free-kick was then delicately slotted into the top left hand corner by Romulo Togni. The kick was made even sweeter when replays showed that it had just grazed the underside of the bar as it passed the line, proving that it had been placed with perfection – so much so that Pegolo had been cemented in position for the duration.

The following 20 minutes passed with little to talk about. Neither team was allowing the other to get the ball through their defensive line – though on two occasions when each team managed to, the resultant chances were of high quality and both were wasted spectacularly. There was, however, a sense that this game wasn’t over just yet.

As the final final 5 minutes approached, both teams began to gift the other oceans of space in centre of the pitch and this was duly exploited by Siena on 86 minutes. A Pescara corner, lacking a good delivery, was ejected into the path of Terzi who pressed forward centrally with ease and found himself involved in a 3 on 3 situation. With the Pescara goal growing ever closer, he found Salvador Agra – in an offside position but not penalized for being so – who then squared the ball with precision to Emeghera who comfortably rolled the ball home to spark passionate celebrations from the Tuscan bench.

Pescara pumped the ball ferociously into the Siena penalty area during the last few moments in order to salvage their second point in 13 games, but alas their efforts were unrewarded and Siena ended the match as victors with 3 valuable points to put towards their safety charge.

The Curva Nord in full flow

‘You do realize that we’ve just seen the joint second leading goalscorer in world cup history score tonight, don’t you?’. My three companions lapped up the thought with as much awe and astonishment as our crammed passage on the tram back to Termini would allow. The thought that moments like the one we had witnessed 36 minutes into our very first experience of live calcio simply pass Miroslav Klose by as another day at the office left me feeling quite insignificant, but I wanted more of them.

It was Sunday 26th February 2012 and I had, along with three calcio-curious europhile allies,  just witnessed Lazio beat Fiorentina 1-0 at Lo Stadio Olimpico. The one, solitary goal came from a delicately neat chip from Anderson Hernanes through a solid – albeit congested – offside trap into the path of a certain Miroslav Klose, who then proceeded to round Artur Boruc and slot the ball home with the calmness that so personifies him. I can recall the moment well; I remember thinking ‘Corr, you hardly ever see people go round the keeper these days’ and I then, as I finished that thought, I found myself jumping up and down and turning to hug my friend as if I had been frequenting the Curva Nord from the age of about 6 or 7.

It didn’t matter.

We were there and we were there to support Lazio. We may as well have been born and raised on Gascoigne, Signori and Vieri with the way that we had collectively reacted to the goal. It wasn’t our fault, we had been sucked in by the atmosphere; the noise and the way with which the ultrà combine into one being for every second of the ninety minutes, recruiting the relentless help of the men who sit on the fence at the front of the stand with megaphones and lead the songs, never actually taking in a moment of the football.

Truth be told, I was apprehensive at attending, however two moments on our way into the stadium had quelled any fears we had about going to the game and made us feel welcome enough to celebrate like true Laziali. The first was when a group of women agreed to take our photo in the colossal shadow of the Mussollini era architecture that dominates the skyline once you cross the Ponte Duca D’Aosta. They were normal people, not the blood thirsty savages that we have been led to believe exclusively attend Italian football matches. They took our photo and then insisted that we shout ‘Forza Lazio’ at every opportunity and we’d be safe. You can’t kill that mothering instinct, no matter where you go.

The second and most memorable moment occurred when my Scottish friend wanted a beer. He queued up only to be confronted from the side by a burbling, beer wielding man of about 55 saying all kinds of things to him in Italian. My bemused and wary friend looked to the pleasant girl who had just served him his beer for help and she, fortunately, obliged.

“He says ‘You are blonde!’” announced the girl. A look of awkward relief came over my friend and the rest of us joined him for we had been hovering slightly away from the stranger.

Our pretty translator announced that the man had enquired ‘Where are you from?’. Before we embarked on our trip to Rome, we had briefed ourselves on our nationalities and how many beers we would need to order so we replied with some pride and smugness ‘Inglese’.

The man took a step back. His face trembling with childhood joy and the nectar of long gone memories. The breath he took was infinitely long. And then…

“GAASSSSSSCCCCCOOOOIIIIGGGGNNNNNNEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!”

This, evidently, was one of the many thousands of people who have fallen in love with Paul Gascoigne over the last 25 years or so and who can blame him? Gazza’s goal against Roma in the derby della capitale of 1992 was something so enthralling that even I get goosebumps watching those celebrations now!

Our new amico gathered us round for a group hug and ordered us to have a photo with him. He bid us farewell and, singing a song of which the only words we understood were ‘Paul’ and ‘Gascoigne’, went to find his place amongst the sea of sky blue and leather jackets.

The second half came and went. As much as I yearned for another Lazio goal right in front of me and for somebody to hurdle the advertizing boards – alla Gazza – in order to get closer to the Curva Nord, no such occasion developed. Again, it didn’t matter. This was theatre as much as I had ever seen it before, on stage or at a stadium, and it was a pure unravelling of unconditional love that would have moved any person who has been through the ups and downs with their own club.

As each moment passed, as each pass was strung together, as each move broke down to the sound of approving cries and encouraging applause, I felt a greater sense of honour to have been witness to the scenes that night. This was by no means a remarkable match, nor was it riveting, yet it was the sense that, even with the most enthusiastic recount of my evening, I would never be able to replicate it with a degree of accuracy that would give anyone else an idea of what it was like.

This was football as escapism. For those two hours I was living in that precise moment and making the most of life as it came to me. That is why I think football is so important and well loved: it gives us a chance to be free, to express ourselves and to not be judged by those who surround us. Opportunities like that do not present themselves to us as freely as some might hope, nevertheless for two hours, I found out that football can grant us our wish.

Le ultime due sfide dei quarti di finale di Champions hanno visto passare il turno, secondo pronostico Barcellona e Bayern Monaco, che raggiungono Real Madrid e Borussia Dortmund alle semifinali, per un inedito ma intrigante scontro Spagna-Germania.

Al Camp Nou partita molto vibrante ed in bilico fino all’ultimo minuto, con un Psg molto autoritario e per nulla intimorito dal roulino casalingo dei catalani. I parigini molto ben messi in campo da Ancelotti hanno creato numerose occasioni da rete nel corso della prima frazione ma solo nella ripresa trovano il vantaggio con Pastore imbeccato da Ibrahimovic. A svegliare dal torpore i blaugrana ci pensa il solito Lionel Messi che in dieci minuti, piazza un paio di accelerazioni, innescando l’azione del gol di Pedro per il pareggio che ipoteca l’approdo alle semifinali della squadra di Roura. Tuttavia il Barca, come spesso è accaduto quest’anno, non convince in difesa complice la mancanza di pressing in fase di non possesso ed in generale, ritmi blandi che rendono il classico tiki toki del tutto sterile. Barcellona avanti quindi, ma “rimandato” alle semifinali dove ci vorranno partite ad alti ritmi, come nell’era Guardiola per intenderci, per poter superare le altre tre semifinaliste.

Discorso differente per l’altra sfida che vedeva opposte la Juve ed il Bayern, con i bianconeri che non sono mai stai in corsa per la qualificazione dal primo minuto della partita dell’Allianz Arena. Tedeschi di Heynckes che bissano il 2-0 dell’andata questa volta fissato dal centravanti operaio Mandzukic e dal subentrante Pizzaro. Se questa sfida doveva servire per far capire ad Antonio Conte il livello raggiunto dalla sua compagine a livello europeo allora bisogna inesorabilmente dire che I tedeschi sono superiori a livello di organico, di organizzazione tattica e di condizione fisica. Una Juve sicuramente migliore dell’andata, ma ancora lontana da impensierire una corazzata come quella allestita dal direttore generale Karl Heinz Rumenigge. Si sono palesati di nuovo i problemi in fase di costruzione dell’azione e sopratutto una fase di non possesso non molto bene organizzata come testimoniato dal fatto che gli esternibianconeri siano stati sistematicamente messi in mezzo dai bavaresi. La Juve, dunque  esce bocciata dai quarti di finale di Champions e deve far tesoro della lezione impartita dai tedeschi, per preparare al meglio la prossima stagione. In conclusione, Antonio Conte in conferenza stampa sosteneva che nessuna squadra italiana vincerà la Champions League per diversi anni, ecco il tecnico leccese dovrebbe invece preocuparsi di spiegare come mai la Juve corre a mille a Novembre-Dicembre mentre, nel momento topico della stagione, dimostra inequivocabilmente di avere le batterie scariche.

Il martedi sera di Champions League ci offriva due gare sulla carta molto chiuse nel pronostico alla luce dei risultati dell’andata con Real e Borussia nettamente favorite su Galatasaray e Malaga. Alla fine i blancos e i gialloneri approdano alle semifinali ma l’esito delle partite è stato inaspettatamente in bilico fino agli ultimi minuti.

I madridisti forti del 3-0 del Bernabeu e del vantaggio iniziale firmato Cristiano Ronaldo hanno giocato una partita d’attesa e a ritmi blandi confidando forse nell’arrendevolezza degli uomini dei Terim. Mai sottovalutare il cuore dei campioni diceva un vecchio adagio, e di campioni il Galatasaray ne ha, un pò attempati ma pur sempre campioni. Ebuè, l’infinito Drogba e Sneijder hanno nella ripresa ribaltato il risultato mandando in fibrillazione il pubblico dell’Ali Sami Yen. Il Real è stato costretto a riaccendere i motori e solo con il solito Cristiano Ronaldo, all’undicesimo gol in Champions, ha arginato la rimonta della formazione di Terim.

Ancora più equilibrata la gara di Dortmund, il Malaga desiganto da tutti come vittima sacrificale ha invece tenuto testa ai giovani rampanti di Klopp che hanno fatto molta fatica a trovare  gli spazi per sciorinare il tanto decantato gioco del Borussia. Al minuto 82 gli spagnoli erano in vantaggio 2-1 in virtù di una partita attenta sotto l’aspetto tattico e di un pizzico di fortuna. Il Westfallenstadion era sul punto di capitolare in maniera simile a quanto accaduto nel 2006 ai mondiali, ma stavolta l’audacia e la sfrontatezza di Reus e compangni e la divina provvidenza, leggasi terna arbitrale che convalida il gol decisivo di Santana in evidentissimo fuorigioco, rendono dolce il finale della partita.

In conclusione Real e Borussia in semifinale, ma entrambe le formazioni non hanno convinto a pieno, anzi hanno mostrato molti punti deboli, la caccia alla coppa delle grandi orecchie è ancora aperta e a nostro avviso non c’è una grande favorita.

Riccardo Montolivo continued his fine form and opened the scoring after 14 minutes.  Flamini made it 2-0 on 62′ but Milan gave away two penalties, converted by Ljajic and Pizarro. All goals and highlights are in the video.

First Half Highlights

Second Half Highlights

What did you think of the teams’ performances? Who was your man of the match?