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Player Focus: Putting Side Before Self Attracts Azzurri to Éder

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Player Focus: Putting Side Before Self Attracts Azzurri to Éder On the eve of Sampdoria’s game against Inter, Sinisa Mihajlovic called a team meeting at the club’s Mugnaini training ground in leafy Bogliasco. He booked the film room for it and left the players under the impression that they were about to do some opposition analysis. Big misunderstood...

Player Focus: Could Di Natale Still Succeed on the International Stage?

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Player Focus: Could Di Natale Still Succeed on the International Stage? In the film ‘Mike Bassett: England Manager’, there’s a moment where the recently-appointed England boss comically selects Ron Benson and Tony Hedges for his first squad. They’re third division players, one of them is 46! a reporter remarks in Bassett’s first press confe...

Player Focus: Zaza Works His Way to Top Thanks to Sassuolo's Italian Loyalty

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Player Focus: Zaza Works His Way to Top Thanks to Sassuolo's Italian Loyalty Edvard Munch’s Expressionist masterpiece The Scream hangs in Oslo’s National Museum. After Simone Zaza scored his first goal for Italy in Tuesday night’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Norway at the Ullevaal Stadion, Sky Italia’s Alessandro Alciato remarked that the bald striker...

Player Focus: Darmian's Promising Start to Life with the Azzurri

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Player Focus: Darmian's Promising Start to Life with the Azzurri Jorge Luis Pinto went to a football stadium and fell in love. It was the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. The year was 1978. A World Cup was on. Pinto had tickets to see Italy play Argentina and witnessed a shock. The hosts lost. Roberto Bettega’s 67th minute strike was the only goal of the...

Player Focus: The Challenge of Stopping Andrea Pirlo

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Player Focus: The Challenge of Stopping Andrea Pirlo The announcement had been expected for some time. On Wednesday it finally came. Andrea Pirlo signed a new contract with Juventus. Fans of the Old Lady will get to see the veteran deep-lying playmaker perform in Turin for another two years. Pirlo will continue to pull the black and white shirt on unt...

Player Focus: Maturing Cassano Ready For World Cup Challenge

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Player Focus: Maturing Cassano Ready For World Cup Challenge Until recently, Antonio Cassano didn’t believe he had any realistic hope of making Italy’s squad for the World Cup. Back in the spring he gave himself a “zero percent” chance of participating. “I think about Brazil,” he joked. “It’s a beautiful country...

Player Focus: Mario Balotelli and Italy's Striker Situation

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Player Focus: Mario Balotelli and Italy's Striker Situation “Pure nihilism,” huffed Zvoni Boban. The Milan great had become exasperated with Mario Balotelli. His opinion was that the striker had played like he didn’t care on Friday night. Against Roma, he had walked around the pitch indolently. Existential questions were posed. Didn’t...

Player Focus: Can Pirlo and Verratti Play Together?

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Player Focus: Can Pirlo and Verratti Play Together? On Saturday afternoon, Andrea Pirlo appeared on Radio Deejay Football Club. The presenters, Ivan Zazzaroni, Guerin Sportivo’s former editor, and Fabio Caressa, Italy’s foremost commentator, touched upon many subjects in their interview. They covered his free-kick taking technique, why he...

Player Focus: Does Luca Toni Warrant A Return To The Italian National Team?

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Player Focus: Does Luca Toni Warrant A Return To The Italian National Team? At the ripe old age of 36, Luca Toni is still impressing in Italy’s top tier. The burly striker joined Hellas Verona in the summer and made an instantaneous impact for his new club, netting a brace in his first game in the opening day 2-1 win over Milan back in August.Following reports that th...

WhoScored Tipster: International Betting Tips

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WhoScored Tipster: International Betting Tips There are many predictable results ahead of this weekend's international fixtures, with qualification for next summer's World Cup already having been achieved by a number of nations. This week we choose some safe bets in those matches, as well as daring to predict the outcome of a few crucial head-t...