The Sassuolo striker’s brilliant goals against Milan and Napoli this week have bolstered his case to be the national team’s No 9Gianluca Scamacca had a vision for how he wanted this season to play out. Asked in August whether he could earn a role for Italy at next year’s World Cup, the Sassuolo striker demurred, reminding the interviewer from Gazzetta dello Sport that he was still in the under-21s.“One step at a time,” said Scamacca. “But if I manage to play out the season that I have in my mind, the opportunity will arrive.” Continue reading...
A team that plays relentlessly attacking football under Roberto De Zerbi has been piling up some extraordinary resultsThey were playing Chumbawamba on repeat in Reggio Emilia again on Wednesday night. Sassuolo have used the late-90s anthem Tubthumping as their goal music ever since they moved into the Mapei Stadium in 2013. The song, with its “I get knocked down, but I get up again” chorus, was intended by the English band as a celebration of “the resilience of ordinary people”. This week, even more than usual, it felt like a fitting choice. Tubthumping played over and over as Sassuolo came from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 against Juventus in the second half.Resilient? Yes, you could say that of a team...
Inter keep playing good football but are unable to stop throwing away matches from winning positionsSix goals, a red card, two penalties and an early contender for miss of the century. Not bad for the warm-up act. Wednesday’s main event in Serie A was Atalanta-Lazio, a meeting of two teams that have produced some of the finest footballing symphonies on the peninsula. But first on stage, in the ‘early’ 7.30pm slot, were the chaotic chords of Inter-Sassuolo.It was the sort of tune that Antonio Conte never wanted to hear at San Siro. After becoming the Inter manager last summer, one of his first acts was to stop the club’s anthem, Amala, from being played before home games. The song is...