Striker hit six goals in seven days including two against Juventus to leave Max Allegri’s side 16 points off the topGiovanni Simeone gets tired of every conversation coming back to his father. All through his development as a youth player, he had to put up with the suspicions of strangers. People who might have never seen him play, yet chose to believe he was having certain opportunities because his dad, Diego, had been a superstar player and was on the path to becoming one as a manager.Even now, 26 years old and enjoying his sixth season as a starter in Serie A, Giovanni knows every success will come with a predictable line of questioning. After scoring twice to bury Juventus...
Former Manchester United striker provides ‘Hollywood’ ending to dramatic Milan derby and leaves Inter joint top of Serie AWe ought to be talking about Verona. We ought to be talking about an astonishing week for the club with the lowest wage bill in Serie A, in which they drew with Milan and Lazio before beating the champions, and league leaders, Juventus. We ought to be talking about how a newly promoted side went from battling relegation to sixth place, via an eight-game unbeaten run, inspired by a manager with a passion for death metal.But then, Sunday night happened. A Milan derby played to a full house at San Siro. Flares, banners, and thousands of supporters lighting up their mobile phones...
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...