Catenaccio N/A

This week Serie A returned and so does my Serie A Weekly Round-Up in which I review the performance of North American Serie A players. With Bryan Cristante  not utilized by Inzaghi in Milan's home debut against Lazio and Giuseppe Rossi sidelined due to a slight injury, the sole North American player who played - and shined - was Scarborough, Canada native Jonathan De Guzman . De Guzman , in fact, came on at the 74th minute in Genoa-Napoli with the score locked at 1-1 . In the dying minutes Napoli poared on with multiple chances from Insigne, Callejon and Higuain respectively but Genoa shot stopper Mattia Perin was equal the the task every time. In stoppage time, however, Zuniga floated a ball in for De Guzman who brought the ball down with his chest and came across the 6-yard box and hammered the ball in to give Napoli the win . The goal brought joy to Napoli's fans, still languishing midweek heartbreak from Champions League elimination at the hands o

A feature on an AC Milan booster club is way overdue on Catenaccio, NA. I was lucky to connect with David Fante who runs the AC Milan club in Philadelphia. International Club Championship tailgate in Pittsburgh (2014) 1. How and when did you become a fan of Milan?  My love of soccer started with the 1990 World Cup.  I followed the Italian National Team religiously that summer, and the player who most stood out for me was Paolo Maldini.  Growing up, I had little to no access to club matches- so World Cup time was always very special to me. By the time Italy won the World Cup in 2006, club matches were easily accessible on Fox Soccer Channel and Gol TV, so my love for Maldini and the national team heroes of 2006 (Pirlo, Gattuso, Inzaghi, Nesta) led me, naturally, to Milan. 2. How did Milan Club Philly club come about? In the summer of 2012, Milan trained in Philadelphia.  During their time here, I had the opportunity to meet Umberto Gandini who invited me to a training se

Today newly elected president Carlo Tavecchio presented Antonio Conte as new Azzurri coach at the FIGC's (Italian Federation's) headquarters. Highlights from the press conference: Tavecchio: "The first phone call with Conte didn't end with his assent [to take on the role of coach]. I had to insist to create this energy with one of the best coaches in Europe. The second and third phone call gave me certainty that Conte would have accepted. The Nazionale is FIGC's biggest asset: choosing excellence was a must in order to emerge from this last World Cup. We needed a leader, a commander like Conte that may make us feel united and strong when the Italian national anthem is playing [before kickoff]" . Conte: " I can't deny I'm excited, because any coach in the world would like to be in my place, to represent Italy , which with Brazil is among the most important national teams in the world. I'm proud that president Tavecchio thought of me

Scarborough's Jonathan De Guzmán is set to don the azzurro of SSC Napoli shirt, according to Sky Italy 's Gianluca Di Marzio. The Canadian-born midfielder is expected to be in the parthenopean capital tomorrow where he will take the ritual medical examination before being presented officially by Napoli club president Aurelio De Laurentiis. Napoli paid a reported €8M to Spanish club Villarreal to avail themselves of the Canadian who plays for the Netherlands. The 26-year-old midfielder was brought in by the club to serve mainly as a replacement for Valon Behrami, who left for German side Hamburg in late July for €4.5 million. De Guzmán will be reunited with former teammate Michu, with whom he played at Swansea City. In 53 matches that he played for the yellow submarines, De Guzmàn scored 5 goals and provided 6 assists.

The epilogue of the Italian football federation’s (FIGC) presidency ended according to script with 71-year old amateur league president Carlo Tavecchio as the winner. Tavecchio was declared the winner after three rounds of voting (when only 50%+1 vote was necessary) with 63.63% of the consensus. He had gathered 60% and 63% in the first two rounds, respectively. His rival, Demetrio Albertini, received only 33.95% consensuses in the third and final round. The FIGC vicepresident received 35% and 34% of votes in the first two rounds. “Thank you to all those who supported me throughout this process, especially in the most delicate moments. I will be everyone’s president. Reforms are doable only if united, together”, Tavecchio stated in a brief post-election speech. This election result will likely spell Albertini’s resignation from his current post of FIGC vicepresident very soon. Tavecchio is now charged with the arduous task of fashioning and implementing much needed reforms

Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC, the Italian footballing federation) vice president Demetrio Albertini tweeted a statement promising to rescind his candidacy for the presidency of FIGC, should his rival, Carlo Tavecchio, do the same. The latter is stonewalling calls from 9 Serie A clubs asking him to rescind his candidacy. “Not Long Ago, Optí Poba who plays for Lazio was Eating Bananas” Lega Nazionale Dilettanti (LND, Italian Amateur league) president Tavecchio made waves in Italian and international media  when he pointed to “banana eating Africans” as one of the culprits in Italian football’s decay. The statement would automatically rule out any candidate in any race, but not Tavecchio. The unfortunate statement catapulted the anti-Tavecchio sentiment into a movement that began with the non-endorsement of the 71 year old by Juventus and Roma. The two league leaders were joined by 7 other Serie A clubs, who have asked him to rescind his candidacy on the account of