Costinha plays for Atalanta. Oh you didn’t know? Neither did anybody.
As the title reads, former Portuguese international and ex-Mourinho pupil Costinha plays for Atalanta and is probably the biggest waste of money in all of Italian football today. Back in the summer of 2007, Costinha’s contract expired at Atletico Madrid. Atalanta thought they were making a real steal signing him, as be brought a wealth of international experience to their midfield. A player of Costinha’s quality was a luxury for a side like Atalanta, even at the age of 33. Atalanta gave him a three year contract (expires this June) worth 730,000 euro a season, the highest on the team (even more than captain Cristiano Doni). However he suffered a number of injuries, and only made 1 appearance in his first season, playing 56 minutes. To date, that is his only appearance in a Atalanta jersey. No games last season, no games this season so far. He is still on the team, he trains with the team, but doesn’t play. It’s a mystery. Last season sporting director Carlo Osti said ironically “Costinha? I didn’t even know he was an Atalanta player.” He does drive a Lamborghini to training however, as evidenced in this video. He’s also been spotted at the San Siro many times watching his old boss Mourinho and Inter. It’s been rumored that Mourinho wants Costinha on as his staff as a coach, and maybe if that rumor comes true he would finally rescind his Atalanta contract. But the damage has already been done, they’ve already payed him 1,460,000 euro to play one game in 2 years and continue to pay him as the current season goes on. For a club like Atalanta that doesn’t have much financial power to begin with, that’s a big hit. Ah, Italian calcio, it never ceases to amaze me.
Gazzetta editor’s 10 questions he demands Lippi answer
By: Francesco |
8 Comments
The Gazzetta dello Sport is arguably the most famous sports newspaper in Italy, selling more copies than rivals Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport. It is world famous for it’s pink pages and has been printed in pink since 1899. The current head editor of the Gazzetta, Luigi [...]
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Bobo Vieri is going to live in Brazil for a couple of months, and play some football on the side.
By: Francesco | 2 Comments
Recently, it was reported everywhere that Christian Vieri was hanging up his boots. Vieri, at one time one of the most feared strikers in all of world football, had given all he had and was going more and more into a decline, so he it looked like [...]
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Pitch Invader wants Cassano
By: Francesco | 2 Comments
I know, the Cassano-National Team debate is getting old and boring. But this was too funny. In the 5th minute of the game yesterday, a fan ran onto the pitch wearing a t-shirt with the Superman logo and with the words “Cassano in Nazionale” (Cassano on the [...]
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Azzurrini lose to Hungary, qualification in doubt, worst Italy U-21 team of all time?
By: Francesco | 7 Comments
The Italy U-21’s continued their very disappointing qualifying campaign with another loss, this time away to Hungary. The Azzurrini needed a win to get back on track, but now qualification is getting more and more difficult. The Hungarians won 2-0, with goals coming from Nemeth and Koman [...]
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Lippi-Cassano: The Real Reason?
By: Francesco | 34 Comments
Since Lippi has taken over the national team for a second time, the big question has always been, “Why aren’t you calling up Antonio Cassano?” Cassano has widely been recognized as the best Italian player at the moment and there is no other talent in [...]
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Goals of the Week: Giornata 12
By: Francesco | 2 Comments
Fairly good week for goals, as only one game finished 0-0 (Catania-Napoli, but ask Takayuki Morimoto about that). The top scorer table is still wide open, as Di Natale started strong but now has cooled off so he remains at 9, while Hamsik is second with 7 [...]
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Serie A and B Weekend Round-up: Giornata 12
By: Francesco | 1 Comment
Milan has really jumped up the table these past few weeks. After the horrible start where everyone condemned the Rossoneri to a season of misery, Leonardo’s squad has made a complete turnaround, finally playing well and becoming contenders once again. They now find themselves 5 points behind [...]
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The Re-emergence of Raffaele Palladino
By: Francesco | 13 Comments
One of the players playing extremely well at the moment is Genoa fantasista Raffaele Palladino. Palladino has always been a player that could do things with the ball that others could only dream of doing, but he never had the consistency to show that talent at a [...]
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Great Serie A Games: Roma-Inter 1998/99
By: Francesco | 10 Comments
Roma-Inter from May of 1999 is another highly entertaining game from one of the most entertaining Serie A seasons of all time. The 1998-99 season had 3 leaders of the table (for the first part of the season it was Fiorentina, who were winter champions but were [...]
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Team News
The International Break is Over, Parma come to the Franchi
Well, jet lag, returning to work and an oncoming cold aside, it is damn good to be back. Especially with a tasty Serie A matchup to look forward to tomorrow. I'm planning to do a post about playing a little calcio on the beach in Essaouria on the Atlantic coast of Morocco during my vacation (still have quite a few pictures and videos to sort through), but for today, let's stick to the big Fiorentina - Parma matchup tomorrow night at the Artemio Franchi.
Nov 20, 2009 | Read this article...
Napoli vs. Lazio: Finally, A Home Game
After two consecutive road games and an international break, Napoli will return to the San Paolo for the first time in quite a while. The opponents are a Lazio team currently in 16th place in the table. Napoli has good news on the injury front, as the only significant problem is Fabiano Santacroce who is recovering from a torn meniscus. Lazio are famously without Goran Pandev and Cristian Ledesma, and more on that after the jump.
Nov 20, 2009 | Read this article...
Thursday Milan Musings
So what is usually a boring international break has turned into quite a eventful Wednesday. As the entire World discussed France, Ireland, and replay, we can discuss Milan but not before I say peace regarding replay in football. Is it a good idea? Sure it is, but practically says otherwise. Let’s stop for a moment and consider the use of replay for goal line situations, it would probably be easy for a fourth official to view a monitor while the scoring team is celebrating and play is restarted. It is a natural stoppage and in the one minute that elapses between a goal and a restart it is probably safe to assume that an individual can judge the goal as valid via some goal line cameras. This is not the problem though, the real issue arises from the Hand of Henry. Will a goal line camera replay Henry’s handball? No, because the play led to the goal not scored it, and then the question needs to be asked how much of the goal should be judged during the replay, how long will that take? How will a referee, coach, or players effect the decision of how replay is used, and how will it affect the only game on Earth that flows with little stoppage for 90 minutes?
Nov 19, 2009 | Read this article...
PotD: The Juventus Family
So with Thanksgiving (for us Yanks) and the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/etc season coming up, people are all about spending time with their family, until they realize how much they cannot stand constant interaction, and head to the bars. It is no coincidence the night before Thanksgiving is the largest drinking holiday in the United States. So, without further ado, while you can't stand your family, here's some photos of Juventini with their family that is sure to make the men jealous, and the women all swoony about Juventini spending time with their children. Pictures after the jump.
Nov 19, 2009 | Read this article...
A History Of Bad Goalkeeping
If there has been one weak spot in our team in the last years, it's most definitely the portiere. Why is it that guys who have proven their worth in the past suddenly look like U15-players when they come to Palermo? And why do we seem to change portiere every single season? Time for an overview...
Nov 18, 2009 | Read this article...
Bidone d'Oro Nominations out: Does Rai Radio Due watch Serie A?
Every season this time of year, the hosts of Rai Radio 2 give out the Bidone d'Oro, or the "Golden Trashbin" to the worst flops of the past year. Nominations have come out, and either they hate Juventus, they hate our midfield, or they have it out for Tiago and Poulsen, both who were nominated in years past. List and commentary after the jump.
Nov 17, 2009 | Read this article...
Top 20 Players of the Decade..Sardinian Style
And the Winner is........
1.Ronaldinho
Close but not quite......
2.Paolo Maldini
3.Lionel Messi
4.Ronaldo
5.Zlatan Ibrahimovic
6.Francesco Totti
7.Ryan Giggs
8.Cristiano Ronaldo
9.Samuel Etoo
10.David Beckham
11.Zinedine Zidane
12.Stephen Gerrard
13.Alessandro Nesta
14.Kaka
15.Wayne Rooney
16.Luis Figo
17.Fabio Cannavaro
18.John Terry
19.Gigi Buffon
20.Diego Forlan
Gotta take the whole decade into account when deciding on this list, not just a year or two of brilliance.
Goalies are real iffy but Buffon is that ...
Somebody Snap Up Sinisa
Over the course of the weekend, I asked you to choose your successor for Ballardini should he be shown the door at Formello and we have a comfortable winner. It seems many fans are hoping and praying for the return of a former legend and if the choice is between ...
Nov 16, 2009 | Read this article...
Why Foreigners are Important to Serie A
There is a perceived lack of Italians on this team, even though we have several, who apparently don’t count. Supporters of other teams, who like to find a reason to have a go at us, often use the “no Italians” chant to show their superiority where none might otherwise exist.
Nov 16, 2009 | Read this article...
Annoyance in the Azzurri squad
Of course, it's been caused by the man who is not even involved. And satisfyingly, it's Genoa's Raffaele Palladino that he is annoying. The striker responded tetchily to journalists who suggested that he is only in the squad because Cassano isn't, even though he is clearly only in the squad ...
Nov 16, 2009 | Read this article...
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