The crowd sang Totti’s name in a veiled jab at the man who phased out their hero but Mauro Icardi’s sharp-shooting fired Spalletti’s side to a scarcely-deserved winAt the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, the 46th president of the United States paused to grab a selfie with the eighth King of Rome. Frank Underwood and Francesco Totti: two characters stripped of the jobs that defined them. Netflix are yet to confirm whether House of Cards will be renewed for a sixth season, but for Roma the show must go on, even with their greatest star now relegated to a supporting role.The crowd sang Totti’s name before kick-off against Inter, louder than that of any player who would take to the pitch....
Milan, now owned by a China-backed holding company, need to qualify for next year’s Champions League to pay back huge debts, some at 11.5% interest, to a US private equity fundWhen Marco Fassone was contacted last summer by someone claiming to represent the latest Chinese businessman looking to invest in one of Europe’s most successful clubs, the likable 53-year-old, who has held senior posts at Juventus, Napoli and Internazionale, was unsure what to make of the approach. “I came into the project with some doubts at the beginning because I wanted to understand exactly what their vision was and why they wanted to make such a huge investment,” Milan’s chief executive explains to the Observer. “It was important for me...
Loud and leaping fans test the strength of Girona’s temporary stands as top-flight debut verges on perfection against formidable Atlético MadridOn the way out of the Free City of Braavos, over the river and to the south, leaving King’s Landing behind too, is a bar. Unlike the buildings and narrow streets of the old town of Girona, the setting for Game of Thrones, it’s nothing much and it’s not exactly medieval but it is the only one on Avinguda de Montilivi and the last stop en route, so a small crowd gathers dressed in red and white. On the window is a sign. “Stadium: half a kilometre,” it says. A few hundred metres further along concrete blocks moved into place...
Former Brighton manager hasn’t brought Barcelona’s aesthetics to the Loire Valley but he has at least injected a joie de vivre that has long been lackingBy Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French Football NewsWatching Saint-Étienne against Amiens on Saturday, one would hardly have thought the hosts, playing a promoted side at home, were up to much, to say nothing of having entered the match with an unblemished record. In the game’s early stages, the defence and the midfield were playing a copious amount of long passes, trying to release the full-backs or the wingers into space, a task that was without much reward against the Picardy side’s massed back five. The hosts took the lead through a penalty,...
A penalty awarded against Juventus at home in the opening game was just what the VAR was supposed to pick up – but a referee whistling too soon at Bologna proved costly for TorinoIt used to be that a new Serie A season would provide us with a fresh round of discorsi da bar – football talking points to get worked up about over a beer or Monday morning espresso. This year, things went in a different direction. When the final whistles had blown and Giorgia Cardinaletti welcomed us back to Rai 2’s long-running highlights show, Domenica Sportiva, she and her studio guests instead dived straight into discorsi da VAR.Yes, this was the weekend when Italian football fans received their...