Good operation for Italy on Matchday 1 of the UEFA Cup Group Stage. Indeed, out of the three Serie A teams still left in the competition, all of AC Milan, Udinese, and Sampdoria were victorious, achieving wins over Heerenveen (3-1), Tottenham (2-0), and Partizan Belgrade (2-1) respectively. Not only that, but Thursday night was special [. Click to continue reading...

The Azzurri have arrived in Sofia Friday, around 8:00pm local time. The players were greeted by the usual groups of photographers, camera crew, and even a small group of Italian supporters, who will no doubt be present on the stands of Levski Stadium tomorrow, as Bulgaria host Italy for the South Africa 2010 World Cup [. Click to continue reading...

In the current calcio world of teams that are constantly undergoing financial troubles, that jump between Serie A and Serie B, that get relegated and never come back, that have crazy owners who fire managers left and right, that have locker room problems, there is one club that defies all of these qualities and performs miracles every year.

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After the long international break, Serie A is back! Here are some things to look out for when you're watching calcio this weekend:

Walter Zenga trying to beat his old team

Walter Zenga, an Inter legend, returns to the San Siro to take on reigning champions Inter and try to beat his former club.

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Marcello Lippi's first two competitive games at the helm of the Azzurri left no surprises as Italy took victories in both of their World Cup 2010 qualification matches. In the first match of Italy's qualification campaign, a shocking draw seemed to be on the cards until Antonio di Natale's strike found . Click to continue reading...

Stuff to read while you hide a sawed off shotgun in your baby's stroller........ What the billionaires in the EPL mean for La Liga. (Guardian Unlimited) The refreshing fiscal responsibility of the Bundesliga (Deutsche Welle) Andorra's moral victory. (SoccerLens) "Has the Prem become a farce?" (Reuters Soccer Blogs) The secret to Slaven Bilic's success lies abroad. Click to continue reading...

The best player of these early days of the calcio season is without a doubt Antonio Di Natale. In the first day of the season Di Natale scored 2 wonderful goals vs. Palermo and yesterday he saved Italy with 2 goals vs Cyprus. (That makes 9 goals in 22 appearances now for the Azzurri)

Di Natale is a late bloomer.

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Well... you know what they say, right? "We got the three points, that's the most important thing". If only... While the saying may be true, this Italy team will not get very far by playing like they did against Cyprus on Saturday. A shaky defense, a serious lack of concentration, and a weak offensive thrust are [. Click to continue reading...

Despite an early lead off a well struck shot by Di Natale into the bottom left-hand corner of the Cyprus goal, Cyprus with their attacking play, equalized in the 29th minute off the foot of Aloneftis. Italy have been the victim of poor defending however no blame can be given to Gigi Buffon the Italian keeper, as Cyprus kept pushing and eventually dominated the [. Click to continue reading...

Week-End Reviews Serie A is back!! Another season of Italian awesomess just kicked off this week-end, and here are the results and summaries for matchday 1. Full Video Highlights here. Italian Calcio Blog week 1 review Gazzetta in English week 1 review It was a surprising day 1 in the Italian league. Click to continue reading...

The 2008/2009 Serie A season has finally kicked off, and what a weekend it was. There were so many interesting games and results. For the first time since 1984, none of the big teams have full points after the first game. Hopefully this is a sign that this season will be very exciting and interesting.

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1 - 0 Antonio Di Natale 9'



2 - 0 Antonio Di Natale 34'



2 - 1 Mark Bresciano 69'



3 - 1 Gökhan Inler 70'



DISCLAIMER: Calcioplus non hosta alcun video pubblicato su di esso. Click to continue reading...

What began as the first game of the Serie A campaign quickly became The Antonio Di Natale Show with two fantastic goals in the first 34 minutes (first up top, cheeky chip after the jump). They weren't powerful volleys launched from the other half or zig-zag runs from the other box, they were just pure [. Click to continue reading...

For information on European Golden Boot Winners see - European Golden Boot and for previous top goalscorers in Serie A, Top Scorers Season by Season don't forget the previous poll -Who will win the Scudetto?  is still open until Match Day One so place your votes, AC Milan are currently leading. (picture by LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images) Bookmark to: Click to continue reading...

The annual August friendly is not really something Azzurri fans look forward too. In Italy, people are away vacationing at the beach and therefore are not in front of the televisions watching the game. In addition to that, the August friendly every two years takes place after a major tournament, which means we usually get to see a new manager in his first game in charge, experimenting with new tactics, players, and playing style.

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The final chapter to Italy's Euro 2008 campaign came Thursday when the federation sacked head coach Roberto Donadoni, replacing him with Marcello Lippi, who piloted Italy to the 2006 World Cup title. Donadoni was set up with an automatic two-year contract extension if Italy had reached the semifinals. Click to continue reading...

Italian sports newspapers Gazzetta dello Sport rated the Azzurri players at the end of their European adventure. Along with Gigi Buffon, positive scores were obtained by Chiellini and Grosso. All the strikers flunked the test, while some midfielders could have done better. The overall form however, was never great. Click to continue reading...

Spain 0-0 Italy, and then off to penalty kicks. A lottery that historically never agreed too much with the Azzurri, although it seemed as if the World Cup 2006 final vs. France had finally broken that taboo. I guess not. Italy fans just have to hope the curse isn't back. Much like anticipated in the [. Click to continue reading...

They are saying that if the game was a bullfight the bull would have died of boredom..!
Iker Casillas saved penalties from Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Di Natale and Cesc Fabregas scored the winner.Spain had faced shoot-outs to decide quarter-finals on June 22 three times in the past and had lost all three times - to Belgium at the 1986 World Cup, to England at Euro 96, and to South Korea in the 2002 World Cup.

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Franck Ribéry and Luca Toni were right: Tuesday's match between France and Italy has all the marks of a grand final. On paper, two of the strongest teams in the footy world. Mutual respect, but also a great history and rivarly extending throughout the years: epic battles lost & won, the most recent of which took [. Click to continue reading...

*the picture thing ain't working so i'll put one up later

Lowlights here

# 1 Roberto Donadoni can't fill Marcello Lippi's shoes:

Well, it isn't really a new thing, but the last time Italy played Holland the score wasn't exactly the same. The thing that frustrates me the most is the DumbDon's all around stubbornness is costing Italy some points.

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Ya, corny title but it summarizes the Azzurri's current match form pretty well. Ok ok Belgium aren't exactly living up to their Diables Rouges title lately, and the RAI commentators themselves repeatedly defined them as nothing more than a "sparring partner" for Italy. Still, there's something very reassuring about the way Donadoni's team handled the [. Click to continue reading...

In accordance to the UEFA-imposed May 28 deadline, Italian coach Roberto Donadoni has made his final roster selection for Euro 2008: the 23 players who will representing the Azzurri this Summer have been picked and as many expected, Fiorentina midfielder Riccardo Montolivo was the player discarded from the manager's Pre-selection list. Click to continue reading...