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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  I know, I know, it couldn't come soon enough especially with all those Champions League, UEFA Cup matches midweek. Check it out folks, Serie A On TV Bookmark to: Click to continue reading...

Keep your Maldinis, your Pirlos, your tailored trousers, your Gucci shades, your cologne samples, your jackets with the collars turned up. To me, AC Milan is Gennaro Gattuso, the world's smallest ton of bricks. Without Gattuso, the Milan squad is civilization itself, or at least civilization as filtered through the late-90s archive of Esquire. Click to continue reading...

OK, so the LA Galaxy will loan David Beckham to AC Milan so he can stay fit for duty with England's team as they aim for World Cup qualification. After watching him spend so much time wither injured or back in England, I'll be the Galaxy management are glad that Silvio Berlusconi will be picking up his salary tab for a few months. Click to continue reading...

Two days away from the match against Montenegro, the composition of the Azzurri midfield still raises some questions: can De Rossi and Gattuso recuperate on time? Meanwhile, the vet (Zambrotta) and the rookie (Chiellini, although Euro 2008 pretty much catapulted him to 90%-vet status) share their views on the match to come. Click to continue reading...

Arrival of Match Day Three for Serie A fans will see several key players missing including, Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso for Milan (both injured), Massimo Maccarone for Seina and Sulley Mutari for Inter (both suspended), forward David Trezeguet for Juventus and forward Ezequiel Lavezzi for Napoli (both also injured). Click to continue reading...

We heard the battle cries and chilling declarations after the crazy injury to Gennaro Gattuso, but now we get to see the incident. And it's not as much the fault of the pitch as they made it seem. It actually appears like....Gattuso didn't look where he was going while backpedaling briskly (don't tell him I [. Click to continue reading...

Lucky? Marcello Lippi isn't afraid of stating the obvious. In the first two games of his new managerial position (the 2-2 draw vs. Austria -courtesy of a goalkeeping blunder- and the painstaking 2-1 win over Cyprus on Saturday) lady luck was a big factor for the Azzurri, and their manager freely admits it. 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...

Don't let the above picture fool you. Despite the "friendly" intentions of Austria's nº16 on Gennaro Gattuso (sorry, couldn't resist...), Italy vs. Austria seemed, at times, anything but friendly. In fact as soon as they were up by two goals, the Austrians thought this could very well be exploit-day for them. Click to continue reading...

As each week passes Serie A gets closer and closer. This was basically the final week of the preseason, as this week there are National Team games on Wednesday and then the SuperCoppa on Sunday, and teams start there normal preparation for the start of Serie A, which will kick-off with Udinese-Palermo and Sampdoria-Inter on Saturday, August 30th.

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AC Milan added another trophy this preseason defeating Juventus 4-1 to win the Berlusconi trophy.  Goals were scored for Milan by Marek Jankulovski, Filippo Inzaghi, and 2 by Massimo Ambrosini.  Not only did Juventus lose this game, but Giorgio Chiellini was injured in a collision with Gennaro Gattuso, and will likely be out for at least a month. Click to continue reading...

Another name has been added to the list of suitors for Xabi Alonso, as AC Milan have now been linked with the Liverpool midfielder.

Alonso's future has been up in the air all summer long, as the Reds' pursuit of Gareth Barry was expected to signal the end of the Spaniard's stay at Anfield. Click to continue reading...

AC Milan lost to Sevilla 1-0, AC's Gennaro Gattuso scored an own goal with a flying header and in the second game, Lokomotiv Moscow and Chelsea drew 1-1.

In the penalty shoot-out, Lokomotiv Moscow won 5-4.

On Sunday AC Milan play Chelsea and Sevilla play the hosts Lokomotiv Moscow in the final. Click to continue reading...

Some of the biggest names in football have joined a campaign to raise funds for charity ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa - Didier Drogba, Steven Gerrard, Samuel Eto'o Gennaro Gattuso,Michael Ballack to name a few.India's Baichung Bhutia also rubbed shoulders with all the big stars.

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Some of world football's biggest super stars are signed up to play in a charity match in Germany next week to help raise money for Africa. Among the players signed up to raise money for this great cause are: Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto'o, Gennaro Gattuso, Michael Ballack, and Steven Gerrard. Fans will make a donation for each goal scored by their favorite player; too bad young David Villa's not on the list. 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...

Have you been missing Euro 2008 match previews, recaps, player interviews and historical tournament events? Well look no further UEFA.com magazine have it all and to prove it follow the latest installment on the exploits of Team Italia and Team Español. Game Day Spain vs. Italy topics include, Spain's 88 year wait for victory over Italy, Azzurri midfields Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo Click to continue reading...

Who would have thought it Croatia, Portugal and Holland all crashing out of the quarter final stages. I take my hat off to the underdogs who have all made it through the the semi finals.

The Spain versus Italy quarter final has extra importance now as the winner of that game would go into the semi final as favourites to win the tournament. Click to continue reading...

Some bluffing from Aragones before Sunday's game: Spain coach Luis Aragones has stoked the fires ahead of the last-eight tie against Italy by claiming Gennaro Gattuso is "not a great player". Both Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo are suspended for Sunday's clash but Aragones believes the loss of Gattuso can be easily compensated. Click to continue reading...

Since I'm in an "uploading-pictures" kind of mood, here are selected snapshots of Euro 2008's France vs. Italy match two days ago. Emphasis on "selected" (i.e. by me, because I thought they were funny and because I just can). Also, since every self-respecting picture should include a caption, I have provided two for each. Click to continue reading...

Italy 2, France 0
Holland 2, Romania 0

What was expected to be one of the tournament's signature matches was a bit of a letdown, but you won't hear Italian fans complaining. The Azurri earned a spot in the quarterfinals with a 2-0 win over France, combined with Romania's 2-0 loss to Holland. Click to continue reading...

Italy 2, France 0
Holland 2, Romania 0

What was expected to be one of the tournament's signature matches was a bit of a letdown, but you won't hear Italian fans complaining. The Azurri earned a spot in the quarterfinals with a 2-0 win over France, combined with Romania's 2-0 loss to Holland. Click to continue reading...

Italy have received the late boost that Fabio Cannavaro will be able to give a captain's contribution from the dug-out.

The Azzurri skipper, who is already on the road to recovery following last Wednesday's ankle operation, has been given the go-ahead by UEFA to participate in Euro 2008 from the bench. 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...

AC Milan midfielder Gennaro "the snarling dog" Gattuso has admitted his desire to play in the English Premier League, potentially next season. Gattuso, 30, previously played in Britain for Scottish side Rangers and has an English speaking wife.  He has been rumored in the past to be a target of Manchester United. Click to continue reading...

Italy vs France, Saturday, 1450 EST
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza - Milan

Italy versus France, the quintessential match of the weekend, the second re-match of the 2006 World Cup final sans Zinedane Zidane and Marco Materazzi except this time instead of being held in Germany or France, it'll be played in Milan. At least it's not Rome.

Other than no Matrix, who is out due to knee injury, the other controversy is French head coach Raymond Domenech was suspended for this match because he spoke the truth about Italy and their knack to pay off refs. Click to continue reading...