The Italian defender is the first winner of the award for his remarkable determination to reach Serie A after suffering from Guillain-Barré syndrome at the age of 14. It is a truly inspiring storyThe Guardian Footballer of the Year is an award given to a player who has done something truly remarkable, whether by overcoming adversity, helping others or setting a sporting example by acting with exceptional honesty. Fabio Pisacane is our inaugural winner. “It’s an illness that strikes one person in a million,” says Fabio Pisacane, breaking eye contact for a moment to glance down at the floor. “But it’s serious stuff once you have it. Even with treatment, it will take its own course. You have to touch...
The podders reflect on City’s controversial comeback against Arsenal. Plus: Hull hit rock bottom, Manchester United’s decent run continues, and Real Madrid win the Club World Cup for a second timeIt must be (nearly) Christmas, because on today’s Football Weekly, my true love sent to me AC Jimbo, Barry Glendenning, Paolo Bandini, and Barney Bloody Ronay!We kick things off at the Etihad where City came from behind to beat Arsenal, much to the chagrin of Arsène Wenger. Elsewhere, Manchester United made it three wins in a row and eight games sans defeat with a Zlatan double against West Brom, Jamie Vardy saw red as Leicester battled to a 2-2 draw with Stoke, and Hull hit rock bottom after they lost...
The gap between the champions and chasing pack in Serie A looks as wide as it has ever done after Gonzalo Higuaín bulldozed Juve to a win over RomaThe numbers alone tell a story. Following a 1-0 victory over Roma, Juventus sit seven points clear at the top of Serie A. The Bianconeri have won 25 consecutive home matches, equaling a club record, and collected 100 points in this calendar year. They have been crowned as Serie A’s ‘winter champions’ – the unofficial title given to the team that leads the table at the season’s midway stage – with two games to spare.And yet, an even more vivid picture of their domestic domination had been painted on the pitch at...
The striker did not quite live up to the hype at Manchester City but is in prime form and helping Roma in their pursuit of a first Serie A title since 2001Edin Dzeko never did turn into Marco van Basten at Manchester City. That is what some predicted would happen when he joined from Wolfsburg for £27m in January 2011 having scored 66 goals in 111 appearances for the German club. Aged 24, he appeared to have the strength, speed and skill to become a world-class centre-forward. Van Basten’s image adorned Dzeko’s bedroom walls growing up in Sarajevo and, in the Bosnian’s own words, he was “very flattered” to be seen as a modern-day version of the Dutch legend upon...
It was billed as the battle between Juve’s nearest rivals and while Roma defeated Milan, Saturday’s trip to Turin will be a truer test of their credentialsThumbing through the newspaper previews for Roma’s match against Milan, one might have come away with the impression that Italy was preparing not for a football match but rather an assault on King’s Landing. Like the put-upon peasants in Game of Thrones, columnists yearned for a less oppressive form of leadership. It was time, as La Repubblica put it, for the “One, True, Anti-Juve” to emerge.In the standings, there was nothing to choose between these two pretenders to the Serie A throne. Joint second on 32 points, they each trailed Juventus by seven. But...