If you were to guess at the first team to go through an entire Serie A season unbeaten, a few obvious names leap out. The Milan clubs, Juventus, maybe Roma or Lazio. But in the 1978-9 season, in a long, difficult title fight against Milan, it was a small regional side from Umbria, Perugia, who achieved the feat. And yet, more remarkably still, they somehow still failed to win the Scudetto.
Continue reading “The Heartbreaking Story of the First Italian Invincibles”
Following their success at the 1966 World Cup, and the disappointment of a Quarter-Final exit in 1970, there was shock in 1973 when England, still under the command of Sir Alf Ramsey, was unable to qualify for the competition to take place in the following year. Jan Tomaszewski, branded a clown by Brian Clough, put in a man of the match performance for Poland, and Alf Ramsey left his post to be replaced by Don Revie. But that didn’t mean England had no representation at the tournament. Most famously, Jack Taylor refereed the final between West Germany and the Netherlands. But more intriguing is the story of Joseph Wilson, Lazio legend and Italy international.
Continue reading “The Darlington Maldini”
When fans filed into the Stadio Artemio Franchi in October 1954, the excitement was building for a thrilling derby between Tuscan giants Fiorentina and local rivals, and minnows, Pistoiese. Ten thousand people packed the concrete arena for the game, and the first half passed without any noteworthy incident. But just as the second half kicked off, an unusual hush fell over the stadium. Fans were distracted from their conversations, players turned away from the pitch, and the ball rolled, neglected, to a stop. More than ten thousand people, and all of them had their eyes trained on the skies above.
Continue reading “When UFOs Stopped Play”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic recently announced that he was looking to sign another contract at Milan, in his 40th year, having led the line alongside Olivier Giroud as the Rossoneri lead the Serie A table and look for a first Serie A win since 2011. He has helped the cause with more than just his eight goals this season; he is an icon, a gravitational presence that inspires and intimidates in equal measure. But he is far from the first Swede to make his way to the San Siro, and in the minds of many, he may not even be the best.
Continue reading “Gre-No-Li: Milan’s Unstoppable Swedes”