Catenaccio N/A

On my commute home one cool evening in May I feel my phone buzzing in my jacket's pocket. I pick up. "Hey, man, listen. I've got to tell you something: I've got to go", my friend Jack intimates. "And you need my permission?", I reply jokingly. "No, dude. I have to go to the final". With these words, Jack opened a door for me to complete the dream of a lifetime: to watch Juventus play and - let's not kid anyone - win a Champions League Final. Another acquaintance of mine, Dom, had already planted a little bug in my ear, suggesting that we meet in Cardiff for the final before Juve's second semifinal against Monaco, generously offering me to split his accommodations if I decided to go. The Clincher In that phone call, Jack told me that unbeknownst to each other, we both had made separate requests for a single ticket to the Juventus Club DOC of Toronto . After a protracted and iterative process my membership ($65/season)...

MLS outfits took advantage of the January transfer window in Europe to import some talent.  This was ever the case to bolster  the presence of former Serie A players (among whom Giovinco, Pirlo, Kaka, Donadel, Keane, Martins, and Bradley) in the North American top flight. It's all but official, but Antonio Nocerino  will be joining his former AC Milan teammate Ricky Kaka at Orlando City.  Over on the west coast, the Galaxy will add two former Serie A players. The first one was reported in the prior post , and was made official in the last days of the transfer market, namely Ashley Cole . The former Chelsea and Roma full back will join the Galaxy at the earliest opportunity.  Late breaking news from yesterday is the imminent transfer of Nigel De Jong to California. The former Dutch international's move to the LA Galaxy is a given at this point. Inter's Nemaja Vidic , who was heavily linked with Chicago Fire, changed hi...

 (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) The winter transfer window may bring to the North American top flight some additions who until recently played in the  Italian Serie A. After the arrival of top talents like Sebastian Giovinco and Andrea Pirlo last season from Juventus, MLS clubs are fishing in Serie A again. Worthy of note are two players who recently rescinded their contracts at the end of an unhappy Italian parenthesis, after arriving from the English Premiership. The first is former Serbian international Nemanja Vidic . The former Manchester United  central defender   rescinded his contract with Inter yesterday, and is being pursued by the Chicago Fire according to respected journalist Matteo Pedrosi. The second is former England international Ashley Cole , who plied his trade for Chelsea before his arrival in Rome in 2014. The Englishman also rescinded his contract, leaving AS Roma after a thoroughly disappointing year and a ha...

Credit: MLS.com Former Juventus forward Sebastian Giovinco was crowned the 2015 Audi Golden Boot award winner in his debut season in Major League Soccer.  The Atomic Ant  was able to reach this achievement strong of his 22 goals scored for Toronto FC. Here are his most spectacular moments of this season: Giovinco also proved to be a great team player, sending his teammates in on goal 16 times.  This solo feat does not, however, amaze. That is, it shouldn't surprise that a talented top-flight soccer player from Juventus who arrived to Toronto in his prime has quickly arisen to be the best player in the league.  We knew of Giovinco's talents since his early days with Juventus primavera (youth) team. His shooting, spot-taking ability, his speed could get him in the starting line up of any of the top 5 teams of Europe's top leagues.  His decision to come to Toronto, in the end, proved to be a great one for his career both from an economic and a ...

This evening, Italian national team coach Antonio Conte made public the list of players called up for the Italy's Euro 2016 qualifiers. Some questions remained as to whether players whom are currently playing their trade in North America would get another call up, after their first one in September. Sebastian Giovinco, it was argued, gained a call-up in September due to the lack of form of his competitors in Italy's attack. As it turned out the TFC striker missed Italy's home matches against Malta and Bulgaria due to a muscular injury. This time, he hopes to respond to his former coach at Juventus. Strong of his 20 goals and 10 assists in Major League Soccer, Giovinco's spot was confirmed among the 27 man squad. The call up confirms that the TFC forward is being called up on his own merits - say what you will about how he dwarfs the league with his talent. Along with Giovinco, national team fixture Andrea Pirlo returns to the fold for his experi...

In the midst of a European trip, I returned to Turin for the third time in a year and a half. The purpose? To fulfill the dream of covering a Serie A match. As I checked into Hotel Orchidea I was yet to receive confirmation from Juventus Press Office on my request for media accreditation on behalf of Italian Football Daily in occasion of Juventus-Frosinone. After a few failed attempts at calling the press office the hotel notified me that phone calls, even local calls, could not be made from the hotel's room (!?!). The receptionist suggested that I purchase a calling card and use a public phone instead (?!?) With little else to do, I took the bull by the horns and simply walked 20 minutes to Juventus headquarters in Corso Galileo Ferraris. I walked through the glass doors and spoke to the receptionist, and asked for the Press Office. The receptionist told me to wait, and dialled up the Press Office and explained why I was there and who I was. "Si... Si. Va bene...