Alex King

Bari, a city on the heel of the Italian boot, is an excellent market for Serie A and Italian soccer and the type of club that should be a mainstay in Serie A. The metropolitan area is home to over 1.6 million Italians and Stadio San Nicola was one of the modern stadiums built prior to the […]

As always, it pays to take all off-season transfer rumors with a grain of salt. But one rumor within the realm of possibility suggest a move of pure genius by the Rossoneri. Yahoo Sports is reporting that Fulham star and American national team member Clint Dempsey has been targeted by AC Milan for a potential […]

During the World Cup, news has been leaking out about changes to the Lega Calcio Serie A, the newly independent league formerly know as simply Serie A. Most of the announcements were overshadowed by the World Cup, but below are the changes that FIGC has announced over the past few weeks. A few weeks back […]

Of the many reasons Italy was said to have flopped so spectacularly in the World Cup, one was the lack of friendlies prior to the actual tournament. Those that were played, like the Mexico loss, showed the deficiencies in the club but their rarity failed to provide an opportunity to rectify those deficiencies. In the […]

Despite Italy's lackluster performance in their first two group stage matches, the Azzurri have the chance to advance into the next round of the World Cup with a win or a tie plus help. Some excellent analyses of the Italian team's weaknesses have been published over the last few days, and the negatives about this Italian […]

By now you have undoubtedly heard about the injury to Gigi Buffon and his questionable status for the remainder of the World Cup. Reading between the lines of the statements coming out of the Italian camp it looks like possibly the best keeper in the world could actually miss the entire World Cup. And in […]

The biggest "win" in New Zealand soccer history was also a major victory for the Italian national team. Slovakia was the better club for ninety minutes today, taking a 1-0 lead over New Zealand early in the second half on a goal by Robert Vittek. The All Whites, who looked like a club playing in […]

An ESPN interview with some of the Italian national team players shows that not even the squad seems to know who will be on the pitch on Sunday when they kick off versus Paraguay. Marcello Lippi has been tight-lipped about who will start and what formation the Azzurri will play, even noting that the formation […]

Manager – Vladimir Weiss Sr. FIFA Ranking – 34 Schedule – New Zealand (6/15), Paraguay (6/20), Italy (6/24) Qualification – First place, UEFA Group 3 Big name player– Marek Hamsik (Napoli) Last time they qualified for WC – Never A quick geography lesson for those who are unfamiliar with the European landscape – Slovakia is […]

Manager – Ricki Herbert FIFA Ranking – 78 Schedule – Slovakia (6/15), Italy (6/20), Paraguay (6/24) Qualification – First place, Oceania Big name player– Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn Rovers) Last time they qualified for WC – 1982 The colorfully named "All Whites" could conceivably be the worst team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Consider the following: Two members of […]

Update – ESPN.com via Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting that Pirlo plans to be fit by the final group stage match against Slovakia. Add Andrea Pirlo to the growing list of World Cup injuries. The Italian midfielder and AC Milan star could miss an undefined number of matches after suffering a second degree calf injury […]

The World Cup is one week away, and if you are a soccer fan, it is hard not to be anxious for the tournament to begin. In anticipation of the first Group F match on June 14 (Italy v. Paraguay) I will post of preview of the other three teams in Group F, to help […]

The name "Giuseppe Rossi" makes American soccer fans shake their head in disgust and Italian fans smile in anticipation. The 23 year old striker has made the Italian national team provisional roster and, even if he is only a reserve in this World Cup, he will likely star on future Azzurri clubs that will need an infusion […]

In this aggravating time between the end of the Serie A season and the beginning of the World Cup, we can bide our time by looking back at the past Serie A season. As expected by many, Inter Milan won the title. In my series of posts reviewing the season, however, I want to begin […]

The Rafa Benitez saga continued yesterday, as he demanded answers from Liverpool's ownership about his status for next season. The speculation this weekend was that he had a secret deal in place to take over at Juventus and give the Italian club the high profile manager they were seeking, but so far that rumor has yet to […]