Italian/Former-Serie-A Players Abroad

[p_maldini_3]

NEWCASTLE, Poached Italian Youngster Tipped For Greatness
Newcastle United teenager Fabio Zamblera has been tipped for greatness by Italy and Fiorentina legend Giancarlo Antognoni.
14.07.2008 11.49 by Redazione TMW read 126
Source: GOAL.COM

Zamblera is widely regarded as one of Italy’s most exciting young prospects, and he was expected to soon make the step up from Atalanta’s youth team into the senior side.

However, the 17-year-old, who was still too young to sign a professional contract with the Nerazzurri, was ‘poached’ by Newcastle United in January of this year, with the Bergamo-based outfit receiving just a miserly £300,000 in compensation.

Atalanta’s loss could be Newcastle’s gain, as Zamblera has been tipped for great things by none other than Fiorentina and Italy legend Giancarlo Antognoni, who is currently Italy U19 assistant manager.

"Zamblera is an important player for us,â€

[Bagg10]

Graziano Pelle scored the winning goal for AZ Alkmar in Holland, to put them in first place.

[RomaShield27]

Di Michele keen on West Ham stay
http://news.bbc.co.uk – 11:59 GMT, Tuesday, 28 April 2009 12:59 UK

West Ham's Italian striker David Di Michele is hoping he can remain with the club next season after settling in well at Upton Park. The 33-year-old is currently on loan from Italian club Torino until the end of the season.

"I would love to stay at West Ham for a few more years," Di Michele told the official club website. "I am surprised how well I settled down in London. My wife and my children as well, we could not have asked more."

Di Michele has scored four goals so far this season in 27 Premiershit appearances. "It's has been a good season for me," he said. "Maybe I should have scored a few more goals, but I am very satisfied because I played much more games than I expected."

He said he is still hopeful that the Hammers - currently eighth in the Premiershit - can qualify for next season's renamed Europa League. "We are still in the position to get the qualification to the Uefa Cup (Europa League), which would be unbelievable," he said. "There are still four games, we all are confident we can do it."

[tonykart]

Alberto Zaccheroni Agrees To Coach Racing Santander – Report

Zac will take over the Spanish club for the next three years according to the latest transfer market reports.

Alberto Zaccheroni, former coach of important Italian clubs Udinese, Milan, Lazio and Inter, will make a return to the football world, according to the latest reports coming from Spain, which claim he has reached a verbal agreement with Racing Santander.

In fact, according to Cadena Ser, last Thursday the Italian coach and the directors of the Spanish club met and reached an agreement for three seasons.

According to the Spanish reports, the fans of Racing Santander were extremely happy with the news about the new coach. He will replace Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz, whois on his way back to Malaga.

Zaccheroni will most likely bring to La Liga his successful 3-4-3 formation which allowed him to do extremely well with Udinese and even win an unexpected league title with Milan during the 1998/99 season.

His last coaching position was with Torino during the 2006/07 campaign, when he was sacked midway through the season following a string of consecutive defeats.

Since then the 56-year-old has remained on the sidelines, waiting for the right opportunity to knock on his door; and despite being linked to Trabzonspor, he seems to have chosen Racing Santander.
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Damn... someone actually took the time to dust this guy off?

[RomaShield27]

Vieri trial at Blackburn extended
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/footbal ... 151089.stm

Blackburn are to hand Italian striker Christian Vieri another chance to earn a contract at Ewood Park after he impressed during a recent trial spell. The 36-year-old ex-Juventus and Inter Milan star spent a week with Rovers at a pre-season training camp in Austria and will join them on tour in Italy.

He is a free agent after leaving Atalanta at the end of last season. "We'll see how long he wants to give it to see if he can get to Premiershit level," said Rovers boss Sam Allardyce.

"We'll take as long as it needs, hopefully to get there in the end." Blackburn are looking for a striker to fill the gap left by the departure of Roque Santa Cruz, who has moved to Manchester City.

Vieri, who has also played for Atletico Madrid, Lazio, AC Milan and Fiorentina, has scored 185 goals in 330 league matches. Rovers defender Stephen Warnock has certainly been impressed by what he has seen of Vieri so far.

"He proved at the training camp he has the ability to finish out of nowhere," he stated.
"He's a very strong player and very awkward to play against. He could be a good addition."

[Messinterista]

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Serie A Is Too Defensive And Barcelona Have More Depth Than Inter

'Ibracadabra' says there is more magic in the Primera Division...

Barcelona's top summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic has called Italian football too defensive, suggesting there is little joy to be had when playing in such a system.

The former Ajax player joined the Blaugrana from Serie A champions Inter this summer in a deal worth over €40 million, plus striker Samuel Eto'o.

"In Italy, all the squads are strong in defence and defend much more than attack," he insisted in an interview with tuttocampo.

"Here, it is not as stressful as when I played with Inter. The pace and atmosphere is more relaxed and I can concentrate on football."

Meanwhile, the Swede commented on the spending of Spanish sides this summer and also took a swipe at his former team's depth in the process.

"La Liga took the two best players from Serie A and the Premiershit, this league is very special," he said.

"Playing against Barcelona, the opponents must pay attention to many more players [that are threats] - not like against Inter."

Source: http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/20 ... -barcelona

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I appreciate all he done for Inter. I really do!!! Now that he is gone, I can call him a FKN PRICK!

[San Paolo]

[San Paolo]

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini has suffered "potentially life-changing injuries" in a motorbike accident in east London, police said.

He was taken to hospital after his BMW bike was involved in a collision with a car in Walthamstow at about 1030 GMT.

He has fractured his wrists and injured his pelvis but a spokesman for the north London club said they were still waiting for hospital test results.

The Italian, 36, signed from London rivals Chelsea in January this year.

The female driver and a child passenger walked away from the Ford Fiesta Cudicini was in collision with and did not need hospital treatment.

No arrests

The accident happened on Forest Road.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "A 36-year-old male suffered injuries described by the London Ambulance Service as possibly life-changing and was taken to an east London hospital for further assessment and treatment.

"No arrests have been made."

A statement on Tottenham's website said: "Carlo Cudicini has fractured his wrists and injured his pelvis after being involved in a road accident this morning.

Free transfer

"The 36-year-old Italian goalkeeper has been admitted to hospital and undergone scans under the supervision of club medical staff.

"The club will update supporters on Carlo as soon as there is any further information."

Cudicini was signed by manager Harry Redknapp on a free transfer and has made eight appearances standing in for the injured Heurelho Gomes.

He spent almost 10 years at the west London club after spells at AC Milan and Lazio.

His father Fabio was AC Milan's goalkeeper in the 1960s.
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Shit sounds real nasty,what do they meen when they say "Life changing" in these circumstances if he has damage to his pelvis i wonder if that meens he might not walk again? either way i hope not iv always liked Carlo, i met him once he is such a big hearted kind guy, Get well soon Carlo.

[Messinterista]

FALL FROM GRACE: EX-INTER MILAN STAR CHRISTIAN VIERI

Christian Vieri was a bit of a nomad at the start of his career. A list of the number of clubs he was at demonstrates this quite clearly. From 1991 to 1999, in nine seasons he played for nine clubs including spells at Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Atalanta and various other small Italian clubs. It was not as though he was not good enough for most of these clubs but he was in great demand, especially after scoring 24 goals in 24 league games during his one year in Spain for Atletico Madrid in the 1997-1998 season. He then went on to play in the World Cup after that successful season in Madrid and formed a threatening partnership with Roberto Baggio.

His successful spell with Atletico inevitably led to more interest back in Italy, and he was purchased by Lazio after the World Cup in France. During his only season in Rome he scored twelve goals, helping the team to Cup Winners Cup success. His style was of a typical old English centre forward, strong and powerful in the air, and when Marcello Lippi came to manage Inter for the start of the 1999/2000 season, he wanted another striker to partner Ronaldo. Chairman Massimo Moratti went after the Italian striker and he paid Lazio a then world record of £32.5million for the player.

Internazionale would be the most settled time in the career of Vieri, as he successfully led the line for the Milan club. He never developed a partnership with Ronaldo due to injuries which affected both players but he started to score nonetheless during his six year stay at the club. Managerial changes at the start of his career at Inter did not help in his settling in period but he shone under the management of strict disciplinarian Hector Cuper. Inter narrowly missed out on the title on the last day of the 2001/2002 season but Vieri still hammered in the goals as he regularly scored 20 a season, including becoming Serie A’s top goalscorer in 2003 with 24 goals. At international level, he had a successful World Cup in 2002, playing as a lone striker and scoring four goals in four games, including a goal in the controversial last 16 defeat to South Korea.

The arrival of Alberto Zaacheroni as coach in 2004 however changed Vieri’s fortunes dramatically. An injury he had sustained against Valenica in the Champions League Quarter final second leg the previous season had affected his game, and despite partnering Adriano upfront, his performances became substandard. His loss of fitness became an issue with the club and his contract was terminated in July 2005. Vieri’s career began to go downhill rapidly and he once again became a nomad, switching from club to club at regular intervals. After a brief six month spell with Inter’s city rivals Milan, he moved to Monaco in France to get regular first team football in a bid to get into the 2006 World Cup squad. A serious knee injury put pay to those ambitions and he returned to Italy on a small wage with one of his previous clubs Atalanta. Vieri had signed a contract with Sampdoria but the Genoa club terminated it due to laziness and he was picked up by Atalanta on a minimal wage, earning bonuses for scoring goals.

After a brief successful spell with Fiorentina in 2007/07 where he scored 9 goals in all competitions, he returned to Atalanta before his contract was terminated in April last year. Now 36 years of age, after a failed trial with Blackburn in the summer, Vieri finds himself in Brazil looking for work. A contract was withdrawn by Brazilian first division side Botafogo and last month Vieri expressed his desire to join third division outfit Boavista. Vieri is certainly a long way from the heights of European football he was at ten years ago.

Source: http://www.footballtransfertavern.com/e ... sferTavern

[vtec]

[Lupa]

I thought about putting this in the Fiorentina thread, but it kind of makes sense here.

Soccer legend Socrates thrived as ‘anti-athlete’

That Brazil’s Socrates was one of the greatest talents to grace the game of football is probably the least of it.

He was also a leftist philosopher, a medical doctor, an alcoholic libertine and a key figure in dislodging his home country’s military junta.

He took more pleasure consorting with radicals than footballing legends, once calling himself an “anti-athlete.”

He captained one of the greatest teams of all time, but saw football as only one extension of his gifts, and not nearly the best of them. He was — in a way that no longer exists in professional sport — an icon.

After a series of illnesses, Socrates died early Sunday morning from septic shock brought on by food poisoning. He was 57.

Many will remember the louche figure he cut at the 1982 and ’86 World Cups — bearded, bedraggled, both regal and ragged at the same time. He was the first and last bohemian football star, with the political credibility to back up the look.

He was famously languorous on the field, lazy even, drifting out of the flow of play for long stretches only to dart back in at the crucial moment. He was two-footed, an adept finisher and tall for a midfield general. Too tall probably, at 6-foot-3. He started out as a striker but drifted back toward a spot that suited his meandering turn of mind.

His signature move was the back-heel pass. Pele once noted that Socrates was better going backward than everyone else going forward.

The flamboyant artists collective he led into the ’82 World Cup is still one of the most obsessed-over teams in history. They were heavily favoured to win, until they ran aground on Italy’s rocky defence in a classic quarter-final. That Brazil team is roundly cited as the best side not to win a world championship.

But now that he’s gone, Socrates may be remembered less for sport than for his wonderfully idiosyncratic personality.

He trained and qualified as a medical doctor while he was playing professional football on the weekends. After his playing career ended, he practised medicine for several years. Later still, he became a crusading newspaper columnist.

He was also a principled hedonist, a man who happily quickened his own passing.

Like several of his Brazil teammates, he was a chain smoker and a heavy drinker. That partially explains the remarkable level of on-field intelligence — Socrates needed to guard his stamina in order to make it through all 90 minutes of a game.

After leaving Brazil for the lure of big money in Italy, Socrates found himself rattled by the expectation that he devote himself to training.

“The way of life is so correct and organized in Europe. It’s not like that in Brazil, where things are more spontaneous,” Socrates said in a 2010 interview. “I was in Florence for a year with Fiorentina and sometimes I didn’t want to train, but to hang out with friends, party or have a smoke. There’s more to life than football.”

Unlike others playing football in a country controlled by a dictatorship, he had a probing mind and a fearless ability to speak truth to power.

His best years, in all senses, came during a long stretch with Sao Paulo’s Corinthians.

Under Socrates’ guidance, the players formed a precursor to the recent Occupy movements, called “Corinthians Democracy.” The team debated and voted on every aspect of their day — when and how to train, when to eat, what tactics to employ.

Corinthians Democracy spiralled out into the wider political realm. Players wore jerseys urging fans to vote and embrace change. Socrates addressed crowds at leftist rallies. It was a radical, even dangerous, stand to take in a society fearful of criticizing the regime in even the blandest terms.

Socrates used his football celebrity to insulate himself. He would later say that winning a league championship with the word Democracy printed across the back of his jersey was his finest achievement.

Socrates was part of a footballing breed that has been done in by commercialism and big money. He was a stupendously talented player who only grew in stature every time he stepped off the pitch.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/ar ... ti-athlete