After his youngsters shone in the 4-3 thriller against Sassuolo, it is easy to see why Vincenzo Montella might feel optimistic about Milan’s long-term futureIn the end, it was all just a little bit much. Manuel Locatelli could not hold back the tears, so he stood in the middle of the pitch at San Siro and blubbed. His chest was still shaking when the Mediaset TV crew arrived, the interviewer placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “It’s all real, I want to tell you that,” said the kind man with the microphone. Locatelli forced half a smile, glanced at the ground and started to well up all over again.This is what they mean on the peninsula when they tell...
Return of striker Andrea Belotti and the authority shown by a rejuvenated Joe Hart against Roma bodes well for the hopes of Sinisa Mihajlovic’s sideThere were a few, subtle, lost-in-translation moments during Joe Hart’s introductory press conference for Torino this month. When the club president, Urbano Cairo, hailed his new signing’s physical presence, the interpreter swapped the word “tall” for “high”. Happily, nobody took this honest mistake for a comment on how the player might like to unwind.Later on, an Italian journalist asked Hart whether he thought Torino could qualify for Europe. But the interpreter put the question more vaguely, asking simply whether he thought that the Granata could have a strong season. “Of course,” came the reply. “We believe...
A player once billed as the next Gianfranco Zola has had a nomadic career, but a fine start to his season offer hope that his promise can finally be fulfilledAt Milan they used to think Simone Verdi could become Italy’s next Gianfranco Zola. His team-mates even started to refer to him by the former Chelsea player’s nickname: “Magic Box”. Just like Zola, Verdi was an undersized second striker with a hint of mischief and spellbindingly brilliant technique. Unlike Zola, he was equally happy striking the ball with either foot.“Even Simone doesn’t know whether he’s better with his left or his right,” insisted the player’s father recently to La Repubblica. For as long as anyone can remember, Verdi has always practised...
Defeat to the Hornets makes it three defeats in a row for Manchester United, while Manchester City’s perfect start continues. Plus: Stoke hit rock bottom and Inter win the Derby d’ItaliaSubscribe and review: iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, AcastOn today’s Football Weekly, AC Jimbo is joined by Barry Glendenning, Iain Macintosh and Michael Cox to look back on another exciting weekend from the best league in the world. Continue reading...
A stunning 2-1 victory over Juventus saved face for Internazionale just three days after arguably the club’s biggest embarrassment in almost three decadesThere was no witty pun on the front page of Friday’s Gazzetta dello Sport, no attempt to make mirth out of Inter’s Europa League defeat at home to Hapoel Be’er Sheva. Instead, only a damning question: “Inter, aren’t you ashamed?”A national newspaper, but also a Milanese one, Gazzetta can sometimes be more generous to the city’s two leading clubs than they really deserve. Not this time. The tone of the coverage was such that you almost expected to find an editorial inside calling for the Nerazzurri’s starting XI to be stripped naked and harangued by a woman with...