As the title reads, former Portuguese international and ex-Mourinho pupil Costinha plays for Atalanta and is probably the biggest waste of money in all of Italian football today. Back in the summer of 2007, Costinha's contract expired at Atletico Madrid. Atalanta thought they were making a real steal signing him, as be brought a wealth of international experience to their midfield.

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Police are currently investigating how the stolen vehicle entered Albania. Luxury vehicles stolen from Western Europe often end up on Albania's streets after their plates are changed and are then sold on with falsified documents. The car, a Range Rover SUV, stolen from the Italian football player three years ago, had Tirana plates and was registered to an Albanian national. Click to continue reading...

Portugal is a country that has always produced wingers of the highest class, from old school stars like Luis Figo to the current legends in the making like Cristiano Ronaldo. Everybody in Portugal always said that Quaresma had an extraordinary amount of talent; a player with speed, toughness, and the ability to create something out of nothing.

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Italian giants eyeing up pair of Gunners.

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Juventus are weighing up moves for Arsenal duo Bacary Sagna and Emmanuel Eboue, according to reports.

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Of the European World Cup play-offs I would argue that the Republic of Ireland's fixture against France is the pick of the ties. The Irish have shown a great battling spirit in their qualification campaign so far, drawing twice with Italy and narrowly missing out on defeating the Italians particular highlights.

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Wenger has centre back on his radar.

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Apparently on his way into the Emirates is Torino's Italy Under-21 defender Angelo Ogbonna. "I know exactly what I want and I am not closing the door on anything," he says.

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The last time Napoli won at the Olimpico in Turin against Juventus was on a cold November day in 1988. Diego Maradona and Ciro Ferrara were wearing Azzurro, as Napoli romped their way to a famous 5-3 victory that is still spoken about today in the unofficial capital of southern Italy.

Fabio Cannavaro, another of Napoli's favourite sons, wasn't yet old enough to play for the first team then.

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Guidolin has revolutionized Parma, with young Italian players like Paloschi and Galloppa, mixing with older players that share their experience like Panucci and Zaccardo, Parma has turned into a team that is ready to shine. With an experienced coach like Francesco Guidolin, Parma look to be a consistent side that won't die out after a few more games.

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England manager Fabio Capello breezed into the school of excellence at Coverciano on Monday with the air of authority that comes from having won everything there is in the club game. He was there to give an inspirational speech to the school's students who want to follow in his footsteps.

Instead, Capello launched an unexpected and scathing attack on the state of Italian football, telling the assembled audience that the game on the peninsula is now being held hostage by the Ultrás.

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Turin side interested in Gunners pair.

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Arsenal full-back Bacary Sagna is the latest member of the Arsenal defensive line-up to be linked with a move away from north London.

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Genoa's disappointment of 3-0 result against Lille

A couple of weeks ago, Genoa was the epitome of Italian football, a beautiful attacking 3-4-3 which created a myriad of scoring chances while entertaining the crowd. Now, Genoa lost the last two Europa League matches, the latest a 3-0 loss to Lille.

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In recent years the model of fan ownership exercised through supporters' trusts has been increasingly high-profile in British football, not least thanks to the sterling work of the national body Supporters Direct (SD). Meanwhile, very different yet nonetheless successful models of fan ownership exist across the continent, as seen throughout the Bundesliga or alternatively with the ‘socio' model as at Real Madrid or Barcelona.

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Liverpool defender Andrea Dossena believes that his side can bounce back from their recent poor run when they welcome Manchester United to Anfield on Sunday.
The Reds have lost four consecutive games in all competitions and manager Rafa Benitez's position has come under scrutiny after the Champions League defeat to Lyon on Tuesday night. Click to continue reading...

Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily currently playing in the Italian Serie A and coached by former Italy national goalkeeper Walter Zenga. Following its return to Serie A in 2004, the club became one of the most prominent in Italy. It has obtained a UEFA Cup / Europa League [. Click to continue reading...

Imagine if AC Milan scores tonight a goal? More than one goal? If theyWin? Famous Italian Football commenter Tiziano Crudeli may reactlike this:Now this is passion! By the way, check the dude next to Crudeli. Click to continue reading...

Utility man wanted by Old Lady of Italian Football.

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Serie A giants Juventus will make a move for Arsenal wide-man Emmanuel Eboue in January, according to reports.

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Associazione Sportiva Bari is an Italian football club founded in 1908 based in Bari, Apulia. They're known for bouncing up and down between the top two divisions in Italian football, Serie A and Serie B. A.S. Bari is currently campaigning in Serie A after finishing first in Serie B at the end of the 2008/09 [. Click to continue reading...

Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho has stoked up old rivalries with former Premier League adversaries Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez, claiming he has to win trophies to keep his job.
The former Chelsea manager, speaking about the pressures of managing in Serie A, drew less than complimentary comparisons to the recent records of the Arsenal and Liverpool managers, saying:
"[Arsene] Wenger has been Arsenal's coach for 15 years but he hasn't won even a Carling Cup for six years. Click to continue reading...

Looking back over the matches Chelsea have played so far this season, one of the ways increasing television coverage has changed football over the last ten years is startlingly apparent.
Chelsea have played 12 games so far this season, including the Community Shield, and only four haven't been shown live on television.

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Looking back over the matches Chelsea have played so far this season, one of the ways increasing television coverage has changed football over the last ten years is startlingly apparent.
Chelsea have played 12 games so far this season, including the Community Shield, and only four haven't been shown live on television.

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Beyond the nation's borders, Italian football has certainly faded into the background in recent years. A devastating match-fixing scandal in 2006 bitterly overshadowed the country's World Cup triumph that year while the domestic league has clearly become a one-horse race ever since. Reigning champions Inter Milan have shown no signs of a slip up in the Serie A for the last three seasons and that trend continued with their strong start to the current season as well.

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By now you've heard the news: 2006 World Player of the Year and Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro failed a doping test in late August, testing positive for cortisone. The Italian football establishment players, coaches, officials, media came out in his defense. "The cortisone was lifesaving treatment for a bee sting!

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Big Story
England and the United States might be the favourites to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, but both countries have hosted a World Cup before: a fact Russia are counting on as crucial in their own bids. "Every tournament should be held in a country that has not previously hosted it," said sports minister Vitaly Mutko.

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Serie A Talk: Mazzarri Takes on Napoli job
I just wanted to let everyone know that my first article at Serie A Talk is out, it is about the dilemma of Italian football club Napoli, and the managerial problems they have had.
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New coach Walter Mazzarri (left), and ex coach Roberto Donadoni (right)

After Napoli's disappointing start to the season, president Aurelio De Laurentis has decided to "dismiss" Roberto Donadoni as head coach, and has now hired Walter Mazzarri.

Napoli were looking forward to a successful season, with new signings such as Quagliarella, De Sanctis, and Cigarini.

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As everyone knows by now, Roberto Donadoni was relieved of his duties as Napoli manager and was replaced by former Sampdoria boss Walter Mazzarri. We can't deny that Donadoni was one of the greatest wingers Italian football has ever produced. But his managerial career so far? Not great. We really don't know where Donadoni is at as a manager or if he will ever improve.

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It is a sign of the decline of Italian football in recent years that a trip to Florence at the end of September wasn't at least, not before kick-off a cause of major concern for Liverpool. Ten or fifteen years ago things might have been different, but the Premier League is wallowing and basking in its opulence at the moment while Italian football is scratching its head and wondering where things went wrong.

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Not entire languages of course. Just the football words. Because football is global, it's a great way to learn about other cultures. Most recently, Alessio posted an excellent article on Juventus Offside titled Alessio's Comprehensive Calcio Dictionary, which is basically and English-Italian football phrasebook. Click to continue reading...

Photographs of what looks like Italy's new home and away football shirts for the 2010 World Cup have been leaked.

Designed and manufactured by Puma, Italian football fans will hope their nation will be wearing these shirts if and when Italy qualifies for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa next summer.

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It has been 16 months since the „Special One" took over Inter's bench and now we are free to say that he made no impact. There hasn't been any progress and it is time for Massimo Moratti to ask himself what was wrong with Roberto Mancini.

The fact that Inter defended the title cannot be considered success and most of Italian football fans will agree with me on this.

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Arsenal and Manchester United fans will remember the games against Fiorentina in the early part of noughties as Spanish and Italian clubs dominated the European front. That Fiorentina featured the likes of Gabriel Batistuta, Fernando Toldo and Rui Costa. In the following years they went from one extreme to the other as they rose from the grave to once again qualify for the Champions League.

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In this week's quiz we test your knowledge about all things Italian football. The answers to the quiz will appear tomorrow.

1. An easy one to start with. Which club has won most Serie A titles?

2. When was the last time AC Milan won the scudetto (Serie A title)?

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Bologna Football Club 1909 is an Italian football club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. They were formed in 1909. The club is nicknamed the Rossoblù because of the red and blue striped shirts they wear. Bologna F.C. was promoted to the Italian Serie A for the 2008/09 season, having last played in the top division in 2004/05. Click to continue reading...

There is no doubt that Italian teams in recent times have really struggled in Europe. That is, with the exception of Milan. Despite all the troubles with the side, despite the significant strengthening of both Inter and Juventus over the European summer, it was Milan who once again carried the flag for Italian football in [. Click to continue reading...

Tuesday night we witnessed the everlasting phenomenom that is Filippo Inzaghi. Score a few goals. Check! Remind everyone he's still around. Check! We've been here before haven't we?

Being a rarely casual follower of Serie A these days, it's a bit of a shock when Inzaghi pops up to decide games.

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