Recently, it was reported everywhere that Christian Vieri was hanging up his boots. Vieri, at one time one of the most feared strikers in all of world football, had given all he had and was going more and more into a decline, so he it looked like he wanted to finally call it quits at age 36.

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A measly six days ago, Bobo Vieri a man without a club since he terminated his deal with Atalanta because fans "expected too much from him" announced his retirement by unequivocally stating:

"I don't want to play anymore and I'm not even tempted to play abroad."

And now, just SIX DAYS LATER he's about to sign with Brazilian minnows Botafogo.

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All the stuff being covered outside the unfriendly confines of the award winning Dirty Tackle...

I wonder how Rio Ferdinand picks these models for his magazine. The latest issue of #5 and more pictures of Victoria Moore at [#5 Magazine]

"I was like oh geez, Thierry Henry and myself are going to be playing as strikers together.

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It's official: Bobo Vieri has retired. Vieri was a great striker, perhaps even the best in the world when he was at Inter from 1999-2005. He bagged an amazing 103 goals in 144 appearances during that time. He's been to many clubs since, including stints and Fior and Atalanta, but in Click to continue reading...

Non ha più voglia di giocare, non si diverte più. Bobo Vieri, che da tempo si è dato al Texas Holdem (il poker americano) annuncia di voler smettere di giocare al calcio: "Non ho più voglia di giocare e non sono tentato nemmeno dall'estero". Ma la vera notizia è che il calciatore giramondo (ha fatto parte di tantissime società , tra le quali Lazio, Juventus ed Inter) ha espresso queste poche battute (come è suo solito) all'uscita del Tribunale di Milano, dove si è presentato (insieme alla mamma e alla sua compagna Melissa Satta) per rendere dichiarazioni sulla causa intentata contro Telecom e Inter per spionaggio ai suoi danni. Click to continue reading...

First, the international week is incredibly boring. Second, I thought I'd start a new post here on the Italy Offside: Great Serie A games. A post that will show videos of some of the greatest Serie A games of all time. For the first post I decided to stay fairly recent. We go back to the 2004/2005 season.

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Bobo Vieri recently appeared on the Italian TV show noted for its managerial lap dances, Chiambretti Night, and spoke about the tons of fun he and Fat Ronaldo used to have in their days at Inter:

"When I was at Inter, Ronaldo was the player who trained less than anyone else, because he was the best footballer in the world and it is true that we went back home at between 5 and 6 in the morning.

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There was a time when Christian Vieri was arguably the best striker in the world. He was a goalscoring machine and would hit the back of the net regularly in Serie A and with the national team. Although after a couple of years at the top, "Il Mostro" (The monster) as he was nicknamed by Inter fans, went through a steep decline and was not the player he once was. Click to continue reading...

Yes, this was a tough quiz, given that I didn#8217;t give you any time parameters. The goals were scored over a forty-year period, from 1966 to 2006. And yet you still managed to guess 13 of the 14. Well done! What#8217;s fun about these quizzes is that when multiple countries are [...]div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds2. Click to continue reading...

One of the most popular shows in Italy is "Striscia la Notizia" a parody news show (kind've like a Daily Show with Jon Stewart or a Colbert Report but more variety show styled) that is broadcast on Canale 5 in Italy. It is a very funny show and the news covers all aspects of daily life. Probably one of the shows most famous segments is the "Tapiro D'Oro" (pictured) [Golden Anteater Award] which is given to celebrities and famous people who are embarrassed in the media.

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Forget the Balloon D'Or: The Golden Bin/Trash Can - Bidone D'Oro in Eye-talian - is the best award handed out every year in football. It's kind of like the Razzies compared to the Oscars; one is for glittering performances...the other the complete opposite. And the 2008 winner is Ricardo Quaresma, making it the third year in [. Click to continue reading...

In Italy, famous players that flop at top clubs, big money transfers that wind up not fulfilling their potential, or players that just plain flat-out stink are given the title "bidone", which means "trash can" (or "rubbish can" for the UK). So every year, Radio Rai Due gives out the "Bidone D'Oro", or "Golden Trash Can" Award to the biggest "bidone" of the season.

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In Italy the show Scherzi a Parte is like Candid Camera (or Punk'd), and plays practical jokes on various Italian celebrities and films it so we can watch much to our amusement. Over the years there have been many played on Italian footballers and managers, and I have collected the best ones and put them here for your viewing pleasure.

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Those of you who have been reading the Italy Offside blog longer than 8 months now, know that February 13, 2008, was a sad date for Serie A fans worldwide. On that day, one of the greatest and most entertaining bloggers I've ever had the pleasure to read stepped down from her post, leaving hundreds [. Click to continue reading...

I decided, since this weekend Inter and Roma play crucial games on the last day of the season to decide the Scudetto, to post two videos of what happened to both teams the last time they were in the same situation. (Having to win on the last day to win the Scudetto)

The last time Inter had to win on the last day was the infamous 5 Maggio 2002 (Sorry Inter fans).

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I decided, since this weekend Inter and Roma play crucial games on the last day of the season to decide the Scudetto, to post two videos of what happened to both teams the last time they were in the same situation. (Having to win on the last day to win the Scudetto)

The last time Inter had to win on the last day was the infamous 5 Maggio 2002 (Sorry Inter fans).

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There is no denying that Christian (Bobo) Vieri in the late 1990's and early 2000's was one of, if not the deadliest striker in the world. The Aussie-born striker was a goalscoring machine, and scored with such ease. He would just power past defenders and put the ball into the net anyway possible.

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After hearing news that Zenit St. Petersburg had demolished Bayern Munich 4-0, La Viola had to like their chances if they reached the final. However, they could not surpass the final hurdle. Fiorentina quite simply dominated the game (15 shots on goal), but they could not finish for anything.

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Hey, everyone, it's Francesco from the Parma Offside. Since Chris has been busy and hasn't been able to update the Italy Offside, I will now handle the duties and hope to give you guys news about Calcio every day. Here's my first post, it's about the Events of 5 Maggio that Nobody Talks about:

The Events of 5 Maggio that nobody talked about

If you bring up the term "5 Maggio" to an Inter fan, they will know what it means, and will most probably curse or cry or do something along those lines because they would be upset.

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I'm irredeemably biased when it comes to Bobo Vieri, but based on the first half today, I think anyone could see why Cesare Prandelli prefers him to Giampaolo Pazzini right now: He plays simple and smart and, mostly importantly links up really well with Adrian Mutu, who is indesputably the focus of the Fiorentina attack.

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•The Pope loves football. Stay in school, kids.

•Via something that's not their official website, Atletico Madrid have reportedly confirmed the loan of Maniche to Inter. If he passes his medical, the midfielder will be join the Nerazzuri tomorrow and stay until June, when they'll have the option of making the move permanent for €6 million.

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I know you don't need any justification for this one, but Debora Salvalaggio dated Super Bobo. And Super Pippo. And she no only knows (as she says) a lot about football, but also used to host a show about it. And still finds time to do nudie calendars!

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Sory this is so epic, I'm headed to the airport and wanted to pull together as much as I could before I'm at the mercy of the FAA and the weather. God only knows when I'll get home.

•RomaChris has done a great Roma rumor roundup, including such diverse (and occasionally bizarre) names as Arjen Robben, Santiago Solari, Fabio Liverani and Javier Saviola.

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With their derby victory yesterday, Inter secured a seven point lead going into the break, keeping that distance despite the wins of both teams behind them. Roma, who end the first half with just one loss (to Inter, in which they played with 10 men for more than an hour) dispatched Sampdoria 2-0 behind a magical Francesco Totti, while third-place Juve got another goal from David Trezeguet and put away Siena by that same score.

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A largely first-choice Fiorentina side defeated Mladá Boleslav (the team that knocked Palermo out) 2-1 in their final UEFA Cup match yesterday, tying up second place in Group C and confirming their place in the draw for the knockout stage.

From the sound of reports, the match was a bit ragged, with the Viola having an early penalty shout denied and Franco Semioli and Giampaolo Pazzini failing to make the most of first-half chances.

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That refers to both the match and Antonio Cassano, but mostly to Cassano, who had a meltdown of truly spectacular proportions when he got a card (for dissent, of course) and realized he would be suspended for the Roma match next weekend. It was so bad it was actually almost impossible to watch there was screaming, crying, and kneeling on the ground and pounding it with his fist.

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•Claudio Ranieri is quoted in the press as saying Juve were "forced" into buying Tiago when the high price tage Liverpool slapped on Mohamed Sissoko (who Juve were chasing fully a year ago) made them look elsewhere for midfield help. Boy, I'm sure that makes Tiago feel really great about being there.

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•Man City are in the picture for Adriano again. Well, maybe anyway this time the interest is official, with no less an authority that Thaksin Shinawatra putting his name forward.

•More on the Davide Marchini saga: His agent/mouthpiece Lorenzo Marronaro is now suggesting Cagliari president Massimo Cellino is the problem in the relationship between player and club, since Marchini is not "the first employee to have trouble with Cellino.

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Inspired by Gabriel, who suggest that one (of the many) Pippo Inzaghi WAGs be featured this week in tribute to the Milan man's Goal Scoring Greatness, and by Linda, who said it might have been this very WAG who led to the falling of out of BFFs Pippo n Bobo, I present to you Ms.

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Great performance, great result for Inter; frustration and disappointment for the Viola who, after having a lot of the game in the first half, were just played off the pitch in the second. In the opening 45 minutes, Fiorentina had the majority of possession and were around the Inter box a lot, the problem was that most of the balls played in were lobs at which everyone had a chance, rather than incisive passes to feet.

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Fiorentina dominated long stretches of their away match with AEK Athens today, coming away with a creditable 1-1 draw that keeps them top of Group B with two rounds left to play (the Viola will be off on the next Matchday, not playing in Europe again until December 20).

The first half was reported a lively one with both teams threatening; the Viola opened the scoring on the half hour mark through Pablo Daniel Osvaldo, who put strike partner Bobo Vieri's accurate through pass past the hesitant Marcelo Moretto in the AEK goal.

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Fiorentina face AEK Athens today in great shape to move on the UEFA Cup, needing a win to go through to the next round with a match remaining. They're currently top of Group C but, since three of the five teams will move on, even an unimaginable collapse against tiny Mladá Boleslav (yes, I know, they did beat Palermo) on Matchday 5 probably wouldn't knock them out.

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Well, Fiorentina got the dull away draw they apparently wanted it may have said 4-3-3 on paper, but what they actually played for most of the match was 4-5-1, with Giampaolo Pazzini stranded up top and a rickety, second-choice backline. Reggina, on the other hand, continued their incredible progress under new coach Renzo Ulivieri, taking their fifth point from his first three matches, two of which have been draws against good teams (this match and the one against Genoa).

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Me, I'm thankful for Bobo (among other things) and for the fact that Fabio Capello thinks he "could be the trump card" for Italy's Euro 2008 campaign. Whatever you're grateful for and however you're celebrating the day, enjoy it. I'll see you tomorrow (though you might not recognized me, because I'll be at least eight pounds fatter).

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•Bobo Vieri is either right on the verge of agreeing to stay with Fiorentina for one more year, or he's not. Since the denial comes from the man himself who says he prefers one-year contracts at this point in his life so he can quit if he's just not feeling it anymore (that's what she said) it's possible the renewal thing is a lie.

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