THE LAST eight of the UEFA Champions League does not have a single representative from Serie A; Lazio, Inter Milan and Napoli all went out in the round of 16, making it three years in the last four in which Italian clubs are nowhere to be seen in the latter stages of the competition. Not so in the other UEFA offerings – the Europa League includes AC Milan, Atalanta and Roma, while Fiorentina are still waving the tricolour in the Conference League. Serie A has become more competitive in the past few years. After Juventus won the scudetto in 2019-20 for the ninth consecutive season, Inter Milan ..read more

LAST SEASON, Napoli were arguably the most exciting team in Europe. They were not the best, that accolade belonged to treble-winners Manchester City, but for exhilarating football, Naples was the place to be. They had two of the continent’s most watchable players in Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and they were scoring goals for fun. They were worthy winners of Serie A.  This season, Napoli have struggled with more or less the same team. Admittedly they lost coach Luciano Spalletti, who wanted a sabbatical but has now taken over the Italian national team, but they had the cachet ..read more

THE FA Cup has thrown up another major shock in the form of non-league Maidstone’s 2-1 win at Ipswich Town, who are second in the Championship. The two sides are currently 98 places apart in the football pyramid. Ipswich had 38 shots on goal while Maidstone scored from their two efforts. They took the lead after 43 minutes through Lamar Reynolds, but the home side levelled on 56. Maidstone’s winner came from Sam Corne after 66 minutes. Amid the joyous scenes at the end, Maidstone manager George Elokobi said: “I doff my cap to our community. This is for our community and it’s the magic of the F ..read more

A DECADE ago, Milanese football was in the doldrums; two giant, popular clubs playing in an iconic stadium in one of the European game’s greatest cities. The clubs had financial challenges, they had become uncompetitive and they were being pushed into the shadows by Juventus. In 2021, Inter Milan ended Juve’s period of domination by winning Serie A, and a year later, AC Milan succeeded them as champions. Last season, the Milan clubs were paired together in the last four of the Champions League, with Inter going through to the final. Although Inter have their problems over their ownership, the ..read more

FOUNDED in 1899, Milan have won Serie A 19 times and have seven European Cup/Champions League titles to their name. Their history includes a catalogue of great names, big games and some of the most innovative coaches in football. Their most recent scudetto was picked up in 2021-22, moving the club back among Europe’s elite. It may not be comparable to the highs of the 1960s or 1990s, but Milan are back. Here’s some of their best teams. 1906-1907 Early champions of Italian football, driven by an Englishman. Attilio Trere, Herbert Kilpin, Andrea Meschia, Alfred Bosshard, Oscar Gig ..read more

WATCH the Netflix David Beckham series and you come to a number of conclusions; firstly that the former England captain is a product of his time; secondly, that he is more complex than he sounds or appears; and ultimately, that he constantly needs his family around him. It is part documentary, part marketing film and something of a football history lesson. In his early days, he was a tremendous player; he had energy, drive and could take a mean free kick. Once he became “Brand Beckham”, he seemed to be a different person, obsessed with image, media and attention. Despite claiming he does not l ..read more

PREMIER League leaders West Ham will sign Ajax midfielder Mohammed Kudus for around £ 40 million. The Ghanaian international, who scored a hat-trick in the Europa League in midweek against Ludogorets, has been trailed by a number of clubs, including Chelsea. The 23 year-old started his career in Denmark with Nordsjaelland and was on the brink of joining Brighton a few weeks ago. The deal also includes a sell-on clause that will benefit Ajax should Kudus become even hotter property. He is the second player signed from Ajax by the Hammers this summer, following the acquisition of Edson ..read more

WE’VE known for a long time the Champions League doesn’t always go to the best team around, but the finalists are often those that took their chances, rode their luck and had a sprinkling of genius when it was really needed. One of the Milan sides will make the final in 2022-23, neither of whom are comfortably among the very top clubs, but they have earned their place by slaloming their way through the competition.  It has generally been a good Champions League for Italy this season, with three of the last eight coming from Serie A, including the stuttering Champions-elect, Napoli, as wel ..read more

THE UEFA Champions League quarter-finals kick-off tonight with Benfica hosting Inter Milan and Manchester City welcoming Thomas Tuchel and Bayern Munich to the Etihad Stadium. Tomorrow, Real Madrid are at home to Chelsea and there’s a Serie A derby with AC Milan and Napoli coming face to face for the second time in under a fortnight. Five of last season’s eight are back, but there’s an interesting change to the composition in that Italy has no less than three clubs involved, their highest since 2018 and in the past decade. Benfica and Napoli have been two of the most exciting teams in the comp ..read more

THREE big-name Italians, one Portuguese and only a single representative from Spain; the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals have some familiar names, but there’s some notable absences such as Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool. Although it’s not a dramatic sea change, it is refreshing to see teams like Napoli and Benfica in the mix and not one but two Milans. And although their fans may not be happy, it is also good, and one might say healthy, that the emphasis shifts away from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. There is a reasonable chance we will have a new winner of the competi ..read more