Alex King

Last season was a special one for the Blucerchiati, as they finished the season in fourth place in Serie A and qualified for the Champions League. The club also unveiled a striker-duo that could not only lead Sampdoria to further success but form the basis of a more potent attack on the Italian national team. […]

Named one of this blog's most surprising teams of 2009-2010, Parma not only survived their first season back in Serie A but finished eighth, two spots ahead of the team that finished before them in Serie B and three points behind Juventus. The club scored in all but nine of their Serie A matches last […]

In 2005-2006, Napoli was looking to escape dire finances and Serie C1. In 2010-2011, Napoli can credibly claim that it is competing for a Champions League berth. The Partenopei led by their president Aurelio De Laurentiis have been slowly built up and well managed to the point where last season they qualified for their their […]

Serie B champions Lecce have once again made the jump to Serie A, two years after finishing nineteenth and being relegated. Prior to that they spent two years in Serie B, preceded by three years in Serie A. As you can see, Lecce has made a habit of bouncing up and down the ranks, making […]

Mention the 2009-2010 season to Juventus' 170 million fans and they will shake their head in disgust. Italy's most successful and beloved soccer team was a shell of itself, missing out on a European tournament spot due to poor play and aging players. It is not a coincidence that the Italian national team also failed […]

Italy's oldest soccer club finished a disappointing ninth last season, and the management has made it clear this offseason that such a result is unacceptable. Disappointing play by a number of key players left the club outside the top six, one year after qualifying for the UEFA Cup and two years after returning to Serie A […]

Looking back on our 2010-2011 Serie A preview to this point, it is interesting to see the number of teams that have failed to actively work the transfer market for improvements to their clubs, even though they are in danger of finishing at the bottom of the table. Whether due to money or management, some […]

The other Sicilian club in Serie A last season, the Elefanti finished in the bottom half of the standings but avoided relegation by mid-April. Since their return to Serie A in 2006, this has been a trend for the club – struggle at the beginning of the year only to secure enough points to avoid relegation […]

For a club that has had an unimpressive record in Serie A over the years, Brescia has a proud soccer history. Home of Andrea Pirlo and the last club for the legendary Roberto Baggio, the Rondinelle return to Serie A for the first time since the 2004-2005 season. Unlike most clubs that spend their first […]

In mid-July, I posted a story on this site proposing that Bari, if they played their cards right, could be poised for a top six finish. In the intervening four weeks, they lost a top-flight defender and whiffed on a major signing, leaving the club in worse position than they were just a month ago. […]

Earlier today, UEFA unveiled its pairings for both the UEFA Champions League play-off rounds and the UEFA Europa League play-off draw. For Champions League participant Sampdoria, they will take on Bundesliga club SV Werder Bremen on August 18 (away) and August 24 (home). The Werder are the 2009 UEFA Cup runners-up, losing 2-1 to Shakhtar […]

AC Milan fans saw the best and worst of their squad this weekend in London as the club competed in what has become a big-name tournament. The Emirates Cup is a two-day preseason event where host Arsenal and three clubs (many of whom are sponsored by Emirates Airlines) compete to win the Emirates trophy but more […]

The Telegraph this morning confirmed previous reports that Arsenal is discussing a transfer of Cagliari keeper Federico Marchetti for around $8.5 million. Marchetti has made it clear that he is seeking a transfer from the Serie A club and Arsenal would seemingly be a good fit. Most Serie A clubs have settled on their starting keeper […]

The rumors flying around the Internet recently have been focused on the makeup of the 2010-2011 Inter squad. Will Balotelli move to Manchester or London (or Madrid)? Will Maicon reunite with his former manager? At some point I think every player on the roster has been rumored to move to another club. But what's interesting […]

As I always say when I write about transfers, please take this post with a grain of salt – there are so many transfer rumors out there that will never pan out. That being said, Rafa Benitez should acquire Giuseppe Rossi with the money he acquires from transferring Mario Balotelli. It is one of the […]