Italy Under-21 coach Luis Di Biagio is happy with the Azzurrini’s defeat over Slovenia on Tuesday.

The youngsters thrashed their opponents 4-1. The team would end the year on a winning note. The team however would miss Sassuolo defender Claud Adjapong who was injured.

Di Biagio praised his team for the win, saying they did well. They recently began their two year era under the coach after their disappointment at the European U-21 Championship.

The team played Spain on September 1 before facing Slovenia three days later in a friendly.

“Slovenia don’t have the nobility of Spain, but I’m happy,” Di Baggio said about the 4-1 win.

“We had the right attitude to attack the match. These matches are never easy, so you have to make it easy. I didn’t want us to concede. We dropped our concentration level, so we have to grow from this. Still, we’re happy about what we did and it lets us more forward,” the coach added. Continue reading →

So against all imaginable odds, town kid and latest club sensation Gianluigi Donnarumma opted out of extending his contract with AC Milan with 12 months left for his initial one to run out.

To say the whole city of Milan was shaken to hear of such news last Thursday is an understatement. Even rivals Inter are not left out. For the outsider this current fiasco between an 18-year old talented prodigy and a 117-year old prestigious club might seem not much of a big deal.Till you acquaint yourself with the background story.

To follow Donnarumma’s senior career kick off at Milan is to go all the way back to the time arrangements for his joining Inter Milan was at its penultimate stage until he changed his mind at the last minute due to an interest from Il Rossoneri.

The emotional kiss he gave the badge on his jersey when Milan defeat Juventus in the first half of the just concluded Serie A campaign stand out in the list of examples of how dear he holds the club to his heart. Continue reading →

Luigi Di Biagio is the head coach of the Italian under 21’s team and even though the latest result of his team saw them losing 1-2 against the U21 of Spain, the 45 year old manager stated that he still is satisfied with what his squad accomplished.

This match was played on March 27 of 2017 and despite it simply being a friendly game, the match can still serve as a good test for managers to find out how their teams and players are doing and Luigi Di Biagio appears to be proud of what he saw as the Italian tactician said:

“This was the test we wanted to face; Spain is a top-ranking team, one of the strongest squads at European level: my boys deserve a plaudit. We played a good half an hour early. Spain has forced us to run a bit too much with the midfield pole, it is normal: we had to tighten the meshes a bit, we gave some occasions but we also built them. This match must be a reason for growth. ” Continue reading →

Carlo Tavecchio has been re-elected as the Italian football chief on Monday.

Tavecchio defeated close competition Andrea Abodi, winning 54 percent of the valid votes. Many wanted a change after his three terms but the results after three round of voting shows that Tavecchio will lead Italian football for a fourth team.

“We now need to find the same strength with which we were divided to come together. I am emotional, as is normal. I am sure I have done my duty, I said what I could do, the tasks that can be maintained, nothing more,” the 73-year old said after the election.

Following Giancarlo Abete’s resignation due to the poor showing of the national team in the 2014 World Cup, Tavecchio took over despite making a racist comment during his campaign. Continue reading →

Following the recent sacking of Gary Rowett, former coach of Birmingham City, Gianfranco Zola, former Chelsea legend, has been brought on board as a replacement for him.

On Wednesday, the Blues had announced the sacking of Rowett. This was despite Birmingham’s seventh position in the Sky Bet Championship, three points behind Reading, who sit at third place.

The 50-year old signed the contract, which will see him as Birmingham’s boss for no less than two and a half years, unless he is also sacked before the end of his tenure.

His appointment, came on the heels of the new Chinese owners, who made three new boardroom appointments on Monday. The new owners had taken control of the club sometime in October.

A statement issued by the club had read,

“The club is delighted to announce that Gianfranco Zola has been appointed our new manager.” Continue reading →

Liam Brady says Italian football needs to shape up and there is a lot of work that needs to be put into the team. Brady is the right voice for the team. Having handled midfielder positions for teams like Inter Milan and Juventus, Brady is quick to point out that the upcoming match between Republic of Ireland and Italy might not work well for the latter.

This actually did turn out to be reality hence. It also exposes the state of the football team of Italy and what it needs to do to shape up fast during the upcoming season.

The voices of experts like Liam Brady are needed so that the team can take steps to overcome their weaknesses in time. The start of the Euro 2016 started on a positive note for the Italian team. They lost out to a team like Belgium while the game that they played against Sweden ended in a draw.

The game against Ireland was one that they needed to win in order to increase their chances of getting into the 16 teams of the tournament. Those who have played for Italy can tell that the team is not ready to face an opponent like Ireland. It definitely would be tough for the team to take the loss, but it would certainly help them understand where they stand and where they need to go. A game against the team of Martin O’Neill would help Italy realize the preparations they need for the tournament.

Italy definitely had a fresh start to the tournament. They have not been able to develop their offensive side however, and that has led to their failing this time. However, it would definitely perk up the manager and coach who need to look into the team’s requirements for more wins in the upcoming season.