Catenaccio N/A

The final match of my Serie A roadtrip saw my Juventus face Parma. Juventus-Parma has seldom been a bore. In fact, this encounter decided the scudetto, UEFA cup and Italian Cup final in the early to mid 1990s, was the official opening match in September 2011, and often ended in high scorelines like 3-0, 4-0, 3-1, and 5-0. This encounter stayed true to the trend. The match got off to a hot start, with Juventus coach Allegri proposing a 4-man defence (featuring Lichtsteiner, Chiellini, Bonucci, and Padoin) once again after the forced experiment 4 days before, against Olympiacos in Champions League. The starting formation also featured 3 midfielders (Romulo, Pogba, Marchisio), 2 attacking midfielders (Tevez, Pereyra) and one striker (Llorente) up top. The match had very little to say, except for one-way traffic from Juventus whose continuous attacks produced three goals in the first 30 minutes, featuring a brace by Llorente and a goal by Lichtsteiner. Juventus would add ...

A legend of the Italian footballing movement in North America has decided to hang up his boots. Marco Di Vaio announced that this is his last season as a footballer, and will do so as a Montreal Impact.  The former goalscorer for Bologna, Juventus, Lazio, Bari, Salernitana and many others was interviewed by Emanuele Righi for GianlucaDiMarzio.com , showing that his feelings are quite mixed: “I’m happy, sad, and worried at the same time. I’m happy that I’ll return home to my family in Bologna, sad because my living dream of being a footballer has come to an end, and finally I’m worried because I don't know what my new life will be like. Of course, I want to continue living and working in the football world”. The 38-year old reminisces of his time as a Serie A player: “Lazio is my home base, I grew up in their youth system. At Salerno I felt strong emotions for the first time as a professional in an incredible and unique environment. At Juventus, I competed with many champ...

Few Canadians have ever bent grass blades of Italian soccer fields, and even fewer were born in Canada. Robert Stillo , a 23 year old Mississauga native is living the dream of so many Italian-Canadian Serie A enthusiasts: to play soccer in Italy. Robert is a self-declared "crazy Canuck goalie", currently plying his trade at AC Perugia Calcio . The Grifoni,  once a hotbed of soccer featuring Japanese superstar Hidetoschi Nakata and South Korean Jung-Hwan Ahn , is currently looking to revive past glory and is fighting for promotion in the Lega Pro. Stillo is currently on loan to Perugia, a city he says he's in love with, from none other than Serie A's Parma FC . Robert granted me an interview, in which we talked about his soccer background, his present and his prospects for the future. Tell me about your career in Canada. Which soccer clubs did you play for there and for how long? "Growing up in Mississauga I played for my local club Erin Mi...