When Roberto Donadoni was the coach of the Italian national team, I think pretty much everyone thought he had the personality of a brick wall. His interviews were always very bland, he never joked around much, and we wondered how he even motivated players in the locker room. But recent news coming out of Napoli’s preseason training camp in Austria is that Donadoni has imposed strict rules on the players and is really coming out of his shell. He has a list of things that you can be fined for, and girls that are in the stands with revealing clothing must be covered up so that they do not distract the players! Donadoni has said in recent interviews that he wants “Maximum sacrifice from every player” and that “I always want every player to be moving on the pitch. Nobody should be standing still.” So maybe Donadoni is finally showing he has a certain personality now that he runs a club team on a day to day basis? List of things you can be fined for after the jump.

Napoli players have to be really careful, you will be fined 50 euro if your boots are left in a place where they are not supposed to be, and the big fine is 2000 euro if you show up 10 minutes late to training. If you are late one minute it will cost you 100 euro, at 5 minutes late the fine is 200 euro, 6-9 minutes late is 500 euro, and as I mentioned it’s 2000 euro if you are 10 minutes late. Cell phones are not supposed to go off during training sessions and when you are with the team and must be put on vibrate or silent. If a phone is heard ringing, the owner of that phone is fined 100 euro. If you choose to answer the phone call, that fine is doubled to 200 euro. You will also be fined 100 euro if you are not wearing attire that is appropriate for a preseason training camp (so basically you just be wearing your training suit at all times). As of now nobody has been fined yet and everyone is following orders.

On to the curious story about girls wearing “revealing clothing” in the stands. It’s true, at Napoli’s training camp, girl fans that are wearing revealing clothing are not allowed in the stands. Shorts and Tank Tops are not allowed, so basically it’s like they have to dress like they are visiting the Vatican. Three girls have been given trouble already. One was wearing a tank top and a Napoli official told her to sit in the second row, but then told her that if she didn’t cover up she had to leave. So she was given a Napoli sweatshirt to wear and was allowed to stay. Two other girls were given trouble the past couple of days, one for wearing really short shorts, and the other for wearing a shirt with a really low neckline. Apparently the players would be distracted by this and therefore these rules are strictly imposed.

I’m not just putting this picture up to rile up the Inter fans, but this shows just how bad the linesman was Saturday night. Actually, something I noticed this season is that the linesmen have been poor all around in games featuring all teams. It’s like they’re too lazy to do their job and keep up with the last defender. Collina needs to use this Christmas break to do some linesmen training. Which brings me to my next point: what the hell am I going to watch with no Serie A until January 11? I guess I can afford to watch the EPL for a few weeks (but I probably won’t). Results after the jump.

Atalanta-Juventus 1-3
Scorers: 32´ Del Piero (Juv); 38´ Legrottaglie (Juv); 48´ Vieri (Ata);
81´ Amauri (Juv)
Report. Player Ratings. Highlights.

Cagliari-Reggina 1-1
Scorers: 1´ Acquafresca (Cag); 61´ rig. Brienza (Reg)
Report. Player Ratings. Highlights.

Catania-Roma 3-2
Scorers: 34´ Baiocco (Cat); 40´ Morimoto (Cat); 56´ Morimoto (Cat);
74´ Vucinic (Rom); 78´ Menez (Rom)
Report. Player Ratings. Highlights.

Chievo-Genoa 0-1
Scorers: 89´ Olivera (Gen)
Report. Player Ratings. Highlights.

Lazio-Palermo 1-0
Scorers: 67´ Rocchi (Laz)
Report. Player Ratings. Highlights.

Lecce-Bologna 0-0
Report. Player Ratings. Highlights.

Milan-Udinese 5-1
Scorers: 4´ Pato (Mil); 13´ Kaka` (Mil); 17´ Di Natale (Udi);
18´ Pato (Mil); 43´ Seedorf (Mil); 52´ Kaka` (Mil)
Report. Player Ratings. Highlights.

Sampdoria-Fiorentina 0-1
Scorers: 19´ Montolivo (Fio)
Report. Player Ratings. Highlights.

Siena-Inter 1-2
Scorers: 35´ Maicon (Int); 44´ Kharja (Sie); 83´ Maicon (Int)
Report. Player Ratings. Highlights.

Torino-Napoli 1-0
Scorers: 53´ Bianchi (Tor)
Report. Player Ratings. Highlights.

SERIE A STANDINGS

Inter 42; Juventus 36; Milan 33; Fiorentina 32; Napoli 30; Genoa 29; Lazio 27; Catania 25; Atalanta 24; Palermo 23; Roma 23; Udinese 22; Cagliari 21; Sampdoria 19; Siena 19; Bologna 15; Torino 15; Lecce 14; Reggina 13; Chievo 9

NEXT MATCHES

Bologna-Chievo; Fiorentina-Lecce; Genoa-Torino; Inter-Cagliari; Juventus-Siena; Napoli-Catania; Palermo-Atalanta; Reggina-Lazio; Roma-Milan; Udinese-Sampdoria

FRANCESCO’S SERIE A GOALS OF THE WEEK

Houssain Kharja vs. Inter – A brave and well executed diving header from the Moroccan attacking midfielder.

Ruben Olivera vs. Chievo – the Uruguayan midfielder gets Genoa the three points with a nice stop and then a dribble past a few defenders and a nice finish.

Riccardo Montolivo vs. Sampdoria – Montolivo scores the only goal of the match with a excellent first time shot from outside the area.

Kaka vs. Udinese – Jankulovski comes forward and the ball comes to Kaka, who scores with a trademark finish. Just slams it home.

WEIRD SERIE A STORY OF THE WEEK

Sampdoria’s Argentinian central defender Jonathan Bottinelli may have to end his Serie A adventure early. According to reports, Bottinelli’s girlfriend has a son from a previous marriage, and the father of the child says it is against the custody agreement for his son to be living so far away on another continent. Bottinelli doesn’t want to stay alone in Italy and may be forced to go back to Argentina on loan for the rest of the season to settle this whole problem. We’ll see in January I guess.

UGLIEST SERIE A FOOTBALLER

Today is the last day to vote! Tomorrow at 12 PM EST the voting will stop and we will crown Serie A’s Ugliest Footballer. So if you haven’t voted already, vote here.

SERIE B

Ancona-Triestina 2-1
Marcatori: 41´ Rincon (Anc); 51´ Ardemagni (Tri); 86´ Vanigli (Anc)

Brescia-Grosseto 1-0
Marcatori: 33´ Caracciolo (Bre)

Empoli-Mantova 1-1
Marcatori: 36´ Corona (Man); 79´ Saudati (Emp)

Frosinone-Vicenza 0-0

Livorno-Sassuolo 3-2
Marcatori: 2´ Loviso (Liv); 38´ Tavano (Liv); 45´ Zampagna (Sas);
76´ Masucci (Sas); 94´ Tavano (Liv)

Modena-Bari 0-2
Marcatori: 17´ rig. Barreto (Bar); 83´ Caputo (Bar)

Parma-Cittadella 1-0
Marcatori: 74´ Paloschi (Par)

Piacenza-Pisa 1-0
Marcatori: 53´ Guzman (Pia)

Rimini-AlbinoLeffe 1-1
Marcatori: 71´ Madonna (Alb); 72´ Vantaggiato (Rim)

Salernitana-Ascoli 1-2
Marcatori: 11´ rig. Soncin (Asc); 22´ Cani (Asc); 69´ Gerardi (Sal)

Treviso-Avellino 2-1
Marcatori: 2´ Musetti (Tre); 52´ Pepe (Ave); 72´ Guigou (Tre)

SERIE B STANDINGS

Livorno 32; Sassuolo 32; Parma 32; Empoli 32; Brescia 32; Bari 31; Grosseto 29; Vicenza 28; Triestina 28; AlbinoLeffe 27; Pisa 26; Mantova 25; Ancona 23; Rimini 23; Frosinone 22; Cittadella 20; Piacenza 20; Salernitana 20; Treviso 18; Ascoli 18; Avellino 17; Modena 15

NEXT MATCHES

AlbinoLeffe-Livorno; Ascoli-Treviso; Avellino-Modena; Bari-Salernitana; Cittadella-Frosinone; Grosseto-Ancona; Mantova-Piacenza; Pisa-Rimini; Sassuolo-Brescia; Triestina-Empoli; Vicenza-Parma

In Italy the show Scherzi a Parte is like Candid Camera (or Punk’d), and plays practical jokes on various Italian celebrities and films it so we can watch much to our amusement. Over the years there have been many played on Italian footballers and managers, and I have collected the best ones and put them here for your viewing pleasure. Videos after the jump.

Gennaro Gattuso

Background: Gattuso drives to a restaurant (along with Christian Abbiati and Christian Brocchi), and leaves his car with the valet (who says he has named his dog Gennaro because he always gets mad and attacks things). While the three Milan players are dining, they have the mean dog rip apart the interior of Gattuso’s car. When Gattuso comes back and finds his car in that condition, he gets pissed off and starts yelling at the valet. Hilarious stuff.

Francesco Totti

Background: A very young Francesco Totti goes to a restaurant with Roma players (now ex-Roma players) Gigi Di Biagio and Fabio Petruzzi. They sit down to eat and notice the young attractive waitress (especially Totti). The waitress leads Totti on and finally they wind up alone together in the restaurant.

Christian Vieri

Background: Bobo Vieri is at his clothing store and an attractive woman comes in to try some things on. When someone notices there’s a hole in the door, they decide to take a peek. It all culminates when the girl’s boyfriend shows up at the store.

Francesco Coco

Background: Coco is looking for a house in Milan and he goes to look at one. In the room there’s a chest with a girl in it. In come the police and they accuse Coco of being the head of a prostitution ring. Coco gets so worked up he starts crying.

Massimo Oddo

Background: Oddo and his wife go to see an old house they are thinking of buying in Sardegna. A group of guys come and pretend they are robbing/kidnapping Oddo and his wife. Oddo gets scared and worked up.

Marco Materazzi

Background: Marco Materazzi goes to visit a fan of his that is in the hospital and has apparently been in a coma for a long time. While Materazzi is there the patient wakes up and talks to Materazzi, and Materazzi explains to him that Inter won the Scudetto. (The patient says, “but we never win…”) The Materazzi in instructed to slap the patient in the face so he doesn’t fall back into a coma. When the patients father sees this, he yells at the defender.

Serse Cosmi

Background: A “magician” goes to Perugia training and was supposedly sent by Torino to put curses on Perugia so that they will lose. Manager Serse Cosmi thinks its a joke first but then some things start to happen: (like players getting injured, etc.) and Cosmi starts to get mad.

News today is that Antonio Cassano has (with the help of writer Gianluigi Pardo) authored his first autobiography, entitled “Vi Dico Tutto” (I’ll tell you everything). And as always, Cassano does indeed tell us everything. We’ll have to wait for the book to actually be released (it will be on Italian bookshelves next week, November 19 to be exact) to read everything but some excerpts were released and they are quite amusing and interesting. We’ll see what he has to say after the jump.

His origins

First Cassano talks about growing up in Bari Vecchia: “I was poor my whole life, but I never worked, mainly because I don’t know how to do anything.”
He’s in love with Bari Vecchia, Antò, Piazza Ferrarese more than anything, his home. “I played near the bancarelle (little market stands), everyone wanted me on their team and bet 10, 15 or 20 thousand lire on the team that I played on. However I wasn’t dumb: I wanted the money, so they had to give me a percentage“. And there, near the bancarelle, there wasn’t much joking around: “Frequently you heard gunshots, police sirens, ambulances“. His judgment of his current life: “So far I have lived 17 years as a disgraziato (ungrateful person) and 9 as a millionaire. I have 8 years left to break even“. (I guess that means he’ll be playing for 8 more years?) A phenomenon on the pitch, little Antonio wasn’t so much a phenomen in school: “I had a ‘2′ in all subjects [Italy uses a grading system from 1-10, 2 is almost equivalent to a 20]. I failed a grade 6 times, from elementary school to middle school”. Antonio grew and he became obsessed with cars: “My first love was a Volkswagen Golf that [Bari President] Matarrese gave me as a gift after Bari-Inter. A promise kept by the president. The car was free but for the license I had to spend a little bit, not much, they gave me a good price. When I was 17 in the space of a few months they took away from me two 125 cc. motorcycles and three cars”.

Relationships with coaches

“Eugenio Fascetti (former Bari manager) is the only manager I never caused trouble with. I detested Claudio Gentile (former Italy U21 manager)”. To Luciano Spalletti he said: “You’re not coaching those useless players you had at Udinese, this isn’t your house, it’s my house“. Then on Fabio Capello: “In Tarragona he made me and Ronaldo warm up the whole second half without putting us in. In the locker room I told him ‘you’re a piece of shit, you’re more fake than Monopoly money“. Then on Luigi Del Neri: “I never understood what the fuck he was talking about and he was too ambiguous.“. About former Roma striker Gabriel Batistuta he said “he had a smell under his nose” (like saying he had a certain air to him). Then about his falling out with Francesco Totti, which started when both players were guests on Maria De Filippi’s TV show and the Roma captain took home 80% of the appearance fee.

His two passions: Food and Sex

With food and sex Cassano doesn’t joke around. He talks about his important stories (”Four girlfriends in 11 years is a low number“) and the rest (”To summarize, I had a few other adventures. Let’s say that between the 600 and 700 women I’ve been with, around 20 were from the show business world“). And then: “Many times I played great games right after having sex. Go look at Roma-Juve 4-0. I had sex at six in the morning that Sunday, with one of the many ‘friends’ I had at that time. In Madrid it was even easier, because we were in a hotel, the whole squad and staff on one floor, so on the floors above or below you could invite whoever you wanted to meet you during the night. I made friends with one of the waiters. His job was to bring me 3 or 4 cornetti after I had sex. He would bring the cornetti to the stairs, I would bring the girl and we would make a trade: he took the girl, I stuffed myself with cornetti. Sex plus food, the perfect night“.

I think I will definitely be buying his book when it comes out next week

Beppe was born on February 17, 1968 in Alzano Lombardo, Bergamo. As did most Italian boys, he loved to play and watch soccer. His own career started as a youth team player in a club connected to Inter, however he was found too small & light by the Inter youth team trainers. So at the age of 17 he moved to a non-league team called AlbinoLeffe (now in Serie B). He made a good first impact for AlbinoLeffe: During the first 8 games for the club he managed to score 5 goals and helped the club gain promotion to Serie C2. Since Beppe had a magic left foot and was a fast player his manager
preferred to play him as a left-winger so the team could take advantage of his beautiful crosses and his pace. Beppe did as the manager told him even though he preferred to play as a forward. The second year at AlbinoLeffe he played 30 games and scored 3 goals. But his left foot was involved in more goals then the three he scored himself. He made many assists from his position on the
left side of the field. After his promising performance at AlbinoLeffe a lot of clubs started
to show interest in him and before the 1986/87 season Piacenza decided to buy the talented youngster.

Piacenza played in Serie C1 at that moment. But the competition was hard and young Signori
didn’t have many chances to show what he was made of. During the season he only played 14 games, many of these as a substitute, and he only managed to score one goal. The next season Picenza let him go on loan to another Serie C club Trento to give him the possibility to play first team soccer on regular basis so he would develop. Beppe was playing great and once again he was among the best left-wingers in Serie C. He played 31 games for Trento that year and scored one goal. In the season 1988/89 Piacenza took him back and he was more mature and more confident. He played regularly in the first team. While at Trento, Piacenza had been promoted to Serie B, so now he was playing Serie B football and was once again considered one of the most talented left wingers in the league. He played 32 games and scored 5 goals during that season and a lot of scouts around the
country liked what they saw.

Foggia, a team on it’s way up through the system decided to invest money in the talented left winger who was causing headaches for all right backs in Serie B. But when Foggia’s manager and 4-3-3 enthusiast Zednek Zeman saw Beppe’s performance & qualities during pre-season training, he told him he could forget his days as a left winger. Zednek sawwhat other managers didn’t see. This was that Beppe had world class scoring abilities and that he made his best performances as
a striker with his remarkable pace, his technique and his left foot. The first season as a striker was a success. Beppe scored 14 goals and he was the Foggia fans’ new hero. This was only the
beginning though, Signori’s left foot had a lot more to give. The next season he scored 11 goals and helped Foggia to get promoted to Serie A. He was now playing at the highest level in
Italy and his first season was promising. 32 matches and 11 goals, and very good overall performance was the result of his first Serie A season. Foggia finished in 11th place.
A good result for a new team in the first division. During his Foggia time he formed a classic attacking trio together with Roberto Rambaudi (later Lazio) & Francesco ‘Ciccio’ Baiano (later Fiorentina & Pistoiese). With Beppe to the left, Baiano in the middle and Rambaudi to the right, the trio was devastating defenses all around the peninsula.

His performance in Foggia made it possible for him to represent his country as well. Arrigo Sacchi took over the Italy national team shortly after they had failed to qualify for the European
Championships in 1992. During the World Cup qualifications between 1992-94 Signori played on a regular basis for the national team, sometimes as a winger, and sometimes as a forward. He managed to score 3 goals during the Qualifying campaign and helped Italy to qualify for U.S.A 1994. Since he was playing so good for Foggia a lot of bigger clubs were after his signature. When S.S Lazio and its new owner Sergio Cragnotti hired Zeman as manager before the 92/93 season Zeman took some old Foggia players with him to his new club. Beppe was one of them, along with Chamot & Rambaudi.

Signori’s first season for Lazio can only be described in one way: Success. He scored 26 goals in 32 games and the fans at the Stadio Olimpico had a new hero. He also played 6 games for Lazio
in Coppa Italia, and scored 6 goals. Lazio finished 5th and qualified for Europe. The follwing year was partly destroyed by injuries. But even with injury problems, Signori managed to score 23 goals. The fact that he only played 24 Serie A games that year makes it even more impressive. He had an average of 0.96 goals per game. Imagine how many he could have scored if he had been injury free. Since Lazio had finished 5th the season before they got the opportunity to play in Europe. But Beppe missed the UEFA Cup adventure and only played one game in Europe that year. He also played 3 Coppa Italia games, but scored in none of them.

After his 1993/94 season journalists all over the world were writing that Signori could get his big international break in the upcoming World Cup. In Italy’s first game against Ireland Signori
played up front together with Roby Baggio. He was replaced in the 84th minute by Nicola Berti and Italy lost the game 1-0. Right before Italy’s 2nd game against Norway, Beppe’s girl friend
(and later wife) Viviana told him that she was pregnant. That game was one of the best in Beppe’s career. He played with an amazing enthusiasm. Italy had a rough start though. After 21 minutes of the game Italy’s keeper Gianluca Pagliuca (later teammate with Beppe in Bologna) was sent off. Sacchi then chose to take superstar Roberto Baggio off the field and replace him with 2nd keeper Marchegiani, instead of substituting Beppe or Gigi Casiraghi who were playing up front together
with Roby. Beppe played amazing and in the 69th minute he hit a beautiful free kick from the left wing. Dino Baggio got his head on the ball and Italy got three vital points. Signori played the whole game. In the 3rd group game he also played the whole game. Italy drew with Mexico (1-1) and was ready for the knockout round. In the first playoff game they faced Nigeria. Nigeria took the lead
after 26 min and in the 63rd minute Signori was replaced by Zola. Italy managed to win though, after two goals by Roby Baggio. In the quarter final against Spain Signori once again had a decisive
part. He substituted Albertini at halftime and played the last 45 minutes. The score was 1-1 until the 88th minute when Signori created the goal. Signori ran onto a pass and clipped it over a Spanish defender for Roberto Baggio, who skipped past he keeper and finished from an impossible angle to put Italy through to the semi-final. In the semi-final Signori substituted an injured Baggio in the 71st minute. Baggio had already scored two goals by then and the result was Italy 2 – Bulgaria 1. Before the game Beppe had refused to play as a winger, and told Sacchi he wanted to start as a forward. For this he was placed on the bench, and it also had consequences for Beppe’s participation in
the World Cup Final. Signori felt that he deserved a chance as a striker. The general opinion among the experts of the world was that Signori was misused as a winger, and that a player who had scored
49 Serie A Goals in 56 Serie A games the past two years should play as a forward. Beppe, like Baggio, didn’t get along with Sacchi. Italy was now ready for the World Cup Final. But when Sacchi picked
the starting eleven he chose not to use Beppe who was dropped from the final after he had participated in all the other games in the tournament. He didn’t choose to play him as a substitute either. The final went to penalties and Italy lost. Baresi missed the first penalty, Albertini
& Evani then scored, but Massaro missed. Now the score was 2-3 and Brazil had the lead. Baggio took the last penalty for Italy and everyone knows what happens next. And Italy’s dreams of a new World Cup trophy were now over. Beppe had later said that he regrets the decision not to play as a winger when Sacchi told him to. The decision to not let Beppe play in the final led to a friction between Signori and Sacchi that continued in the following years. Signori only played 6 national team games after the World Cup. His last match took place against Slovenia on the 6th of November 1995.

The next season Signori and his Lazio finished 2nd in Serie A. Beppe scored 17 goals in 27 matches. He also scored 4 goals in 5 Coppa Italia matches. He continued to be the big star at Lazio and was now captain of the team as well. In the season 1995/96 Signori reclaimed his top scoring title.
He scored 24 goals in 31 games and shared the title with Bari’s Igor Protti. During the
summer rumors had been raised that Signori maybe would be transferred to Parma. This was not popular among the Lazio fans and lead to massive protests. The transfer was halted and Signori continued to play with the biancocelesti. Signori wasn’t picked for the Euro 96 squad that year and it was considered a scandal by many journalists.

In 1996/97 Signori scored 15 goals in 32 games and Lazio dropped another place in the league, finishing 4th. After the season Cragnotti decided he wanted a new coach. Ex-goalkeeper and World Cup winner Dino Zoff had coached the team for a while after Zeman had left, but Cragnotti wanted someone other then Zoff. He chose Sven-Göran Eriksson who was coaching Sampdoria at the time. This choice of manager would have big consequences for Beppe’s future career. Signori was at the moment Lazio’s biggest star & the fan favorite, captain of the team, and top scorer for the club during the last 5 seasons. When Eriksson moved in he brought with him his favorite player,
Roberto Mancini from Sampdoria, and he also brought back Boksic who had played for Juventus for a season. Suddenly Eriksson counted Signori as the 4th forward, after Mancini, Casiraghi (Beppe’s
partner for many years) and Alen Boksic. Eriksson tried to play with Signori-Mancini-Casiraghi up front for a while but it didn’t work out that well. Signori and Mancini were too similar. And when Eriksson had to choose between Mancini & Signori it was no surprise he chose Mancio. During the game between Rapid Wien & Lazio in the UEFA Cup, Beppe had enough. Eriksson had told him to warm up and prepare for a substitution. When Beppe stood and waited by the side line for the substitution, Mancini, the player he was supposed to replace got his second yellow card
and was sent off the field. Eriksson then changed his mind and ordered Pavel Nedved to quickly come over, and he put Pavel on the field instead of Beppe.

The relationship between Eriksson and Signori was already on it’s last edge, and Signori responded to the decision to not put him on the field by gathering his things and leaving the Stadio Olimpico. This was the last time Beppe sat on the Lazio bench or played for Lazio at all. A few weeks later he went on loan to Sampdoria, where he had a period that was marked by injuries and bad form. The following season Lazio took him back, and he was used sparingly yet again. Then he suffered a leg injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season. That summer, Signori went under a period of reflection. He wanted to go to a club where he would play all of the time and refresh his career. He had seen what his friend Roberto Baggio did at Bologna, and since Baggio had left for Inter, Bologna were looking for a new talisman to lead their squad. In the summer of 1998, Signori signed for Bologna.

Signori arrived in Emilia-Romagna looking to get his career back on track. He scored 15 goals in 28 games in Serie A and was also one of the reasons behind Bologna´s successful UEFA Cup run. The team was only minutes away from reaching the final, but lost to Marseille on away goals. He played 12 games for Bologna in the UEFA-Cup (which they reached through the Intertoto cup) and scored 6 goals. Bologna finished 9th in Serie A. During his first season in Rossoblu he formed a dangerous attacking duo together with tall Swede Kennet Andersson. They had a great partnership and most of Andersson’s goals resulted from crosses from Beppe’s left foot.

In 1999/2000 Signori scored another 15 goals and played good soccer again, only one of those 15 goals was from the penalty spot. Once again he and Andersson formed a formidable attacking duo. He played 31 games that year. He also signed a new contract with Bologna
that would keep him at the club until 2003. Bologna finished in 11th place, comfortably midtable.
In 2000/2001 Signori had injury problems again and only scored a few goals before Christmas. But after that he got going and when the season was over he had scored 16 goals in only 23 games.
Bologna had another season in the middle of the table and finished in 12th place. The 2001/2002 season was a disappointment for Signori, who was injured most of the season and only managed to score 3 goals.

The following year was better for Signori, even though he also had injury trouble. Beppe played 24 games and scored 12 goals, 5 of them on penalties. During the season Beppe
had a small friction with coach Francesco Guidolin. Beppe was out of the team for some games when he was fit to play and the papers talked about a friction. The fans also showed their disappointment with Guidolin and supported Signori’s case. That summer, Beppe wasn’t offered a new contract at first, and was looking at other offers from abroad and from Italy. Rumors said that Chelsea,
Lazio, Siena, and clubs from Saudi Arabia & Qatar were interested. The fans of Bologna went out on the streets of Bologna to protest against the fact that their captain didn’t get a new contract and the board changed their mind. Guidolin also resigned before the season started and was replaced by Carlo Mazzone who had been Beppe’s coach in Bologna when he first arrived. Beppe had problems with injuries during the first half of the season of 2003/2004 and scored only two goals. Signori played 23 games and scored 6 goals. After the season, Signori said he couldn’t take the physical demands of Serie A anymore and wanted to play in a less competitive league. He ended his Serie A career with 186 Serie A Goals, only 14 away from the 200 goal milestone. He signed with Iraklis in the Greek First Division, but didn’t play well, only playing 5 games. The following season he decided to try his luck in Hungary with Sopron. He played 9 games and scored 3 goals. He clearly wasn’t the same player anymore and hung up his boots officially.

Following his retirement, Signori first tried his luck as a TV analyst, but then decided to go through the coaching course at Coverciano, where he received his coaching license. Currently his the director of sport for Serie C club Ternana.

Quick Profile

Name: Giuseppe Signori
Position: Striker
Clubs: AlbinoLeffe, Piacenza, Trento, Foggia, Lazio, Sampdoria, Bologna, Iraklis, Sopron
National Team: 28 games, 7 goals
Summary: Signori was a deadly striker blessed with great pace and an amazing left foot. He made scoring goals look so easy and his finishing was sublime. His goalscoring record speaks for itself, he scored 188 goals in Serie A, only 12 away from the big milestone of 200. If he had at least stayed another season or two in Serie A he could’ve reached it, however his injury problems were too much towards the end of his career. He also deserved more of a chance with the national team, but unfortunately he didn’t get along with Sacchi. Signori was also one of the most reliable penalty takers in Serie A history. He had a unique way of taking penalties, he would simply stand by the ball with no run-up and place it into the net.

VIDEOS

Goals with Lazio

Goals with Bologna

There is no denying that Christian (Bobo) Vieri in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s was one of, if not the deadliest striker in the world. The Aussie-born striker was a goalscoring machine, and scored with such ease. He would just power past defenders and put the ball into the net anyway possible. He was one of my favorite players to watch and I’m sure many others enjoyed watching Vieri as well.

However, after Thursday night, I think we may have seen the end of Bobo Vieri playing top level football or even the end of Vieri playing in Serie A. We all know what happened that night:

And it’s not only the missed penalty, but the whole game he played on Thursday. He also has had an up and down season. Sometimes he would be terrible, and other times he would show glimpses of his former self. Prandelli never really put faith in Bobogol, saying that when you reach a certain age you can’t expect to play all the time. There was a part of the season where he was really good, and some people were even calling for his return to the national team as Toni’s back-up. But as the season went on, I think even those people started to keep quiet. Vieri just doesn’t have it anymore, but he still has some options. First let me say, that he will most definitely not retire, he still has a desire to play football, but it is also very clear that he will not be wearing a purple jersey next season. I also don’t think he won’t be dropping down to Serie B.

Option 1: Napoli

Napoli has shown some interest in Vieri throughout the season, and see him as the “new Pampa Sosa”. He would come to Napoli as the experienced veteran who helps the young ones learn, and to sit on the bench and get called in when needed. I don’t think Vieri will go to Napoli. Why? Because, Vieri wants to play, he will not go somewhere just so he can sit on the bench and collect a paycheck. And at Napoli, he would probably get less playing time than he did this season, especially since Napoli is looking to buy more players this summer and they will only be playing in Serie A, so it’s not like he can look forward to playing in the UEFA Cup or something.

Option 2: Tottenham

It seems that Tottenham is also a little interested in Bobo. While Bobo wouldn’t mind a move to the EPL, could he handle it? If he can’t keep up in Serie A, how’s he going to keep up in the EPL, which is 10 times more physical than Serie A. I don’t see this happening at all. Plus at Spurs he would be a bench warmer at all.

Option 3: MLS

Yes, Vieri can follow in the footsteps of David Beckham and make the move across the Atlantic. This is what I think is the most likely option. Think about it: Vieri speaks fluent English, he frequently takes trips to the USA and owns a house in Miami, his girlfriend Melissa Satta is Italian-American, he would be an automatic starter on most MLS teams and is probably better than every other striker in the league bar a select few who have more experience in MLS (JP Angel, Twellman, etc.). I seriously think this would be the best option for Christian Vieri, and a move to MLS may just be what he needs to rejuvenate his career.

Option 4: Another less competitive league

If Vieri had to choose to play in a less competitive league, I think he would go with MLS. But maybe if that didn’t work out he would make a return home to Australia in the A-League? Who knows, but I think it’s unlikely.

So what does everybody think? Does Bobo still have it in him to keep playing in Serie A? Or should he make the move to MLS?

Share your thoughts in the comments.

and just to refresh everyone’s memory, this is what Bobo used to do:

Having watched the Roma – Catania match and simply judging by the scoreline of the Inter – Lazio game I’ve come to one conclusion: meh. Coppa first legs have never done much for me beforehand (afterwards can be a different story), and this was no exception. One goal scored in total isn’t ideal when you’re looking forward to second rate defenses and massive goal-scoring explosions*. Unfortunately, both Roma and Catania looked like they were performing a pregame walkthrough. The Inter – Lazio highlights provided some pretty good chances – appearing more exciting than the other semi – and a nice save from Grandpa Ballotta, but not a 12 goal explosion.

They’ll do it all again in a few weeks. We want some goals, dammit.

* – One look at the bracket and you’ll see what I mean.

Juventus 3 – Parma 0

(This was the makeup game from a few weeks back due to the death of the Parma fan.)

Juve managed to seal up a Champions League spot next year with a victory over Parma, who failed to use that game in hand to their advantage and move a bit away from the zone. The opening and closing goals were far from typical, with Tiago scoring the luckiest goal of his life, so just have a look-see:

Who Needs Some Love?

Walter Novellino, that’s who. How cruel was this?

“I was in the bank when they called me. I haven’t spoken to anyone yet and I don’t want to make any comment. I don’t need to say anything now, it’s a horrible moment but I don’t want to talk about it.”

Guy gets canned trying to cash his paycheck. Alright, it’s not terrible, but shouldn’t they do the cannings in person? That’s like breaking up with someone via text message or email….uncool.

Make Up Lovin’

So what’s the “in” thing to do in Serie A? Hire back the guy who was the coach before the guy you just fired. Duh. So as soon as Gianni De Biasi heard Cairo had broken up with his latest flame, GDB dumped his new girl Levante and ran straight into Urbano’s arms in Torino. Hooray for comfortable relationships.

Same deal as last year when GDB was brought in during February: avoid relegation. As long as Gianni can figure out how in the hell to get this team to score some damn goals, they should stay afloat. Easier said than done though; they have two in their last half dozen games….and those two came in the same game. Didn’t realize “impotence” translates to “Torino” in Italian.

Here’s the deal with Ms. Merz, who is actually Mrs. Bazzani: If google images is any indication, I’m not even sure she wears clothes. Or maybe she’s just allergic to all types of clothing materials – which, I guess, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Aside from being topless all the time, Merz is/was an actress of sorts, with a less than bustling IMDb page – though she did play “Fair Woman” in an Italian TV reproduction of Dracula, which will surely jump off the page of any resume. But she got her start as a model (no way!) and worked her way onto the WAG circuit by doing TV dramas and the WAGgish things. Plus she did a calendar. You know, standard stuff.

Now she’s employed by having hubby Fabio Bazzani’s babies (two of ‘em so far, one just last month) and being all motherly and that type of stuff. Bazzani being, of course, former striker for like 12,000 teams in Lega Calcio, with Sampdoria being his longest run until last year, and plying his trade in Serie B with Brescia now. Plus he’s got a few Azzurri caps to his name. (Rumor has it she was the girl to console Francesco Totti’s heart after his breakup with Maria Mazza.)

If you like stuff less safe for work, google images is the place, or her calendar – she’s not shy by any means.

Jump’s thataway.

I was quite surprised Martha didn’t happen introduce everyone to Ms. Federica Ridolfi, the girlfriend of Giuliano Giannichedda, some dude who now only occasionally plays football for Livorno (formerly of Juventus, Lazio and Udinese).

Federica followed the official “How To Be A WAG” self-help book and got started as a dancer on a TV show, which led to more TV shows, which eventually led to taking her clothes off in front of cameras. She’s now 31, despite looking much younger, and quite deserving of a prestigious spot here as the WOTW. And she has a mighty distinctive tattoo; you can figure out what it is if you stare at it long enough.

More pics down below.

[Google Images is easy enough for the other, less safe for the office stuffs.]

The reigning World Champions are looking forward to their Swissaustrian stay this summer. This is one of the deepest teams on the Travelling National Carnival. Marco Amelia’s performance for Livorno and his solid play against an aggressive Portuguese squad has demonstrated that he’s an excellent keeper. Not Gigi good but honestly, who is? Even without Nesta, the Defensive backline posses 2 world class players per position. The midfield is probably the most complete of any national team.

Versatile players like Perrotta, Camoranesi and Aquilani, give Italy a lot of different tactical options. And I’m sure you’ve heard the names Pirlo and Gattuso before. What I’m trying to say is that if Daniele ”DDR” De Rossi is considered a substitute, that means you have a hell of a midfield. However on offence we have…uh…Luca Toni. Toni e Fulmini might have bloomed late but what a yield of goals he managed to produce. If he was 25, he’d be worth around 420 M $!

Nonetheless, Coach Donadoni is posed with a striking problem. What happens if Luca Toni dies unexpectedly?

Gilardino isn’t looking like the player he was at Parma, Cristiano Lucarelli isn’t cutting it, Iaquinta’s not exactly a prototypical Centre Forward, Stefano Okaka Chuka isn’t ready yet, Borriello’s nothing more than flash in a pan and and Bobo Vieri is in constant need of geriatric care.

This is exactly why the; Should Amauri play for Italy? Debate has started. Just like he did in Palermo, Amauri, technically speaking of course, would be an ideal Luca Toni replacement. The 27 year old Brazilian will be receiving his Italian citizenship shortly and for some odd reason he has never been called up to the Brazil NT.

Amauri has never hidden the fact that unhappy at being shunned by Dunga and his Brazillian Mennonites. He has also stated that:

“I hope to obtain an Italian passport shortly and maybe I will go to the European Championships.”

Amauri has been on the International football map since his arrival in Palermo, the capital city of the beautiful/marvellous underestimated Gem that I like to call Sicily ( NO it isn’t dangerous and I don’t care that you don’t believe me because you rented(downloaded for all you U25’s here) The Godfather and I Cento Passi )

So I believe that Steven from the Palermo page is better suited to give you an opinion on the Brazilian Born Big Boy :

I’m probably not unbiased enough to be writing an objective article on Amauri. Ever since his transfer from Chievo, he has been a delight to Palermo-fans and football-fans thoughout Italy. It’s a miracle that the Brazilian is still playing in Sicily: without last year’s injury, he would be showing off his talent in the Champions League. It’s just a matter of time before he can. I don’t believe there’s one single Rosanero-fan who believes that we will see Nappy in the pink shirt again next year. The price has been set at an incredible 25 million euros, but Amauri’s all worth it. He can act as a goal machine when you put that decisive wingman next to him, but he can also be that wingman. Just go to YouTube and find his marvellous assist for Miccoli in the game against Fiorentina.

Another question is if we should involve Amauri in the Italy-squad. I say we should. The nationality-discussion is bullshit: the guy has been playing here for years, speaks the language better than most Napolitani and Camoranesi and Sivori also did it. Is he good enough? Yes. With Toni, we have a perfect goal machine. But what if Toni gets injured? Quagliarella did well but hasn’t been able to keep his form, Di Natale isn’t an Italy-goalmachine, Pippo’s too old, Gila’s going downhill and Cassano’s just a loose canon. Why not give Amauri a chance? If it doesn’t work out, no harm done. If it does…hello European Championship!

I love Amauri’s skill and play I’m all for ”dropping the flags” and our globalized world is bringing humans closer every minute, but this has nothing to do with; What defines/qualifies someone as Italian? How about Giuseppe Rossi ? He was also born outside the Boot.

Steven’s right, the nationality-discussion is bullshit,but please let me disagree with Amauri’s inclusion ; Italy are World Champions and you don’t see Brazil doing it.

Italy doesn’t need to use the same tactics as Qatar, or to a certain extent, Portugal. Seeing how a portion of the Italian fans have always poked fun at France for ”adding naturalized foreigners*” to their squad, this would make no sense.

* (I’m in no way implying whatsoever about the French NT. But let’s be honest, we’ve heard it before. An African friend of mine mentioned after the 2006 final: I’m not sad because Italy beat France, I’m sad because they beat Africa.)

Not unlike Mauro Camoranesi, Amauri has said in the past that he would only accept an Azzurri call up if he felt he had no chance whatsoever at breaking the Brazilian roster.

This ”Oriundi” situation isn’t the 1st ever. We all know about Mauro Camoranesi and Post War legends Omar Sivori , Jose Altafini and Angelo Sormani.

Nonetheless, Why should a footballing power like Italia accept being a foreign born player’s plan B? We‘re as Sexy as that Brazilian girl (Does Brazil officially have the monopoly on Sexiest Citizens? If not we should start a poll and make it official)

Anyways, having already gone through the extremely pleasant joys of Italian Bureaucracy ; There’s no way in Hell Amauri will get his passport in time to fly the friendly Swiss Airs.

It truly a shame that International Football fans don’t get the chance to see players like Amauri on the biggest stages. But Tell that to Ryan Giggs…