Italy

The Tottenham goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini has said that the Italian football should be learning a lot from English football when it comes to stopping hooliganism in football. Hooliganism was one of the biggest problems faced by English football back in the 1980s.

However, a lot of reforms by the government and changes to the way security in football was implemented have done a lot of improvement in this regard. Now, football hooliganism is almost eliminated from English football apart from the few instances. This, however, is a big problem in Italian football and the recent incident involving Lazio supporters doing anti-Semitic chants and attacking Tottenham supporters should be stopped according to the Tottenham goalkeeper.

It was the same old story for the Three Lions last night as Roy Hodgson’s men continued their country’s tradition of being eliminated on penalties.

1. Player of the day
No contest here to be honest. Andrea Pirlo ran the show for 120 minutes as he set the tempo of the game and made sure the other 21 players on the pitch were marching to the beat of his drum.

England were unable to put any real pressure on the Juventus playmaker as he sat deep and fired the ball around the field at his own will.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has sensationally said that club football in the country should be banned for the next few years after it was revealed that the police are investigating what could be another match fixing scandal.

Italy were shocked by the match fixing scandal of 2006, which resulted in the relegation of a number of high-profile clubs most prominently Juventus.

It could be repeated this time around as well after it was revealed that a number of players and managers from clubs like Juventus and Lazio were involved in match fixing. Juventus won their 28th league title this season after being undefeated throughout the season.

The Italian football Association has announced that it will be cancelling all the features in the Italian Serie A and the Italian Serie B following the death of the 25-year-old Udinese player Piermario Morosini.

Piermario Morosini is thought to have died of heart attack, which has been an increasing phenomenon in the football world in recent times. A number of players – particularly Spanish players – have passed away while playing football on the pitch.

England midfielder Fabrice Muamba almost lost his life in the match against Tottenham, but excellent medical facilities meant that the doctors were able to save his life at the right moment.

Sportswear manufacturer Puma have now extended their deal with the Italian football Federation till the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The sportswear manufacturer recently signed a new contract that will also see them become the management head for the entire portfolio of the Italian football Federation, while they have also been granted a new designation as the "Official Master Licensee".

Puma will also continue to provide the FIGC's official kitwear for the most high profile team they have in their client list. Other clients for Puma at the international stage include the likes of South Africa, Uruguay – the Copa America champions, and Switzerland.

It looks like Italy will be making their traditional slow start to the World Cup, though coach Marcello Lipi doesn't seem too concerned by their defeat to Mexico.

If I was looking for excuses, I could tell you all that it was only a friendly, that we started the game in a completely new formation (though we switched from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-2 after half-time), and that we were missing some key players.

However, the facts remain that we had a good number of the first-teamers playing (including Buffon, Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Pirlo , De Rossi, Di Natale and Gilardino), and we were convincingly outplayed. Mexico dominated possession (with 65% of the ball), and created the better chances, without ever looking too shaky at the back.

And so to the very first post, and this is to give you all an example of the dross us Italy fans are up against over here in the 'Home of Football' TM.

I know I should have better things to do than read the News of the World, and I know they are probably trying to dress-down all Italy fans because we're generally better looking / more sophisticated than the average NOTW punter, but still...

NOTW ITALY REVIEW
THE defending champions could well be brought back down to earth with a nasty bump this summer. Let's hope so.

Oh.

If Italy should prevail again, maybe their anti-football style will be copied by more and more coaches.