CBS Sports’ Serie A studio team and commentators are heading to Italy this weekend to cover Sunday’s Napoli-Milan game on-site.



It’s another example of the commitment that CBS Sports is showing to coverage of Italy’s <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/serie-a-tv-schedule/">Serie A</a>. And the timing couldn’t be better. Napoli are close to winning the scudetto, for the first time since 1990. A lot has changed since then when Diego Maradona helped Gli Azzurri win their second title.



Speaking by phone with World Soccer Talk, Serie A studio analyst Mike Grella (pictured above, far right) couldn’t be more excited. He’ll be doing the pre-match and post-match coverage alongside his colleagues and Italian soccer legend Gianfranco Zola who is joining the broadcast as a guest analyst.



“It’s a little bit surreal for me because I grew up watching Gianfranco Zola,” said Grella. “It’s something special for me personally, but also I think it’s really nice for the viewers.” 



<h2>CBS Napoli-Milan adventure is a personal story for Grella</h2>



With his family connections to the Napoli region, former footballer Grella summed up what it would mean to the people of Napoli if they win the Serie A title this season. Currently 19 points ahead in first place, Napoli look unstoppable.



“I reached out to my family to tell them I was coming to Naples to cover the game, and wanted to see them, and their response was all about the team and the city of Naples,” explained Grella. “Those two things are intertwined. 



“They said to me, ‘You are going to see things that you’ve never seen before in terms of the way they’re going to celebrate, and the affection they have towards the team, winning this thing, the game of football, Maradona. They are very emotional and positive people.’



“If they win [Serie A], there’s going to be chaos in terms of the celebration.”



Grella is one part of the entire Calcio E Cappuccino studio show traveling to Italy this weekend for live coverage of Napoli-Milan on <a href="https://paramountplus.qflm.net/c/330866/1007330/3065" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paramount+</a>. Pre-match coverage begins at 1:30PM ET, while kickoff is scheduled for 2:45PM ET. Paramount+ also plans on 45 minutes of post-match coverage too, live from the stadium.



In total, CBS Sports are flying Andrés Cordero over to commentate the game alongside Matteo Bonetti, who will also double as a pre-match analyst. Joining Bonetti pitchside is host Poppy Miller, and analysts Marco Messina and Grella. The star of the show is the aforementioned former Napoli and Chelsea footballer Zola. Meanwhile, Christina Unkel is CBS Sports’ rules analyst. She’ll be on hand to break down any controversial refereeing decisions.



Coincidentally, Sunday’s match between Napoli and Milan is also an apéritif before the April 12th UEFA Champions League semi-final between both clubs (also on <a href="https://paramountplus.qflm.net/c/330866/1007330/3065" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paramount+</a>). Grella expects there to be some mind games played on Sunday.



“I think there’s going to be tactical and selection games going on for this weekend because sides are not going to want to show their true colors for the Champions League,” explained Grella. “I think Naples has the scudetto in the bag, so they’re both very focused on what this Champions League tie is going to look like.



“They don’t want to show too many cards. I think they don’t want to have guys injured or tired, so it’ll be very interesting as far as mind games.”



For a final question, we asked Grella what his favorite thing is about Serie A, and what makes it so special.



“I would say it’s the brand of football,” Grella said. “In general, in the Italian blood, they figure out ways to win. They never had the most talented sides, but they figure out ways to win —&nbsp;whether it’s tactically, defensively, gritty, or being physical. They’re a very competitive group. When you’re watching Serie A, you’ll see they’ll figure out ways to get a chance in the game regardless of how talented the group are.”



Editor’s note: Don’t miss Napoli-Milan in Serie A on Sunday, April 2nd as well as in the Champions League on April 12th. Both games are on <a href="https://paramountplus.qflm.net/c/330866/1007330/3065" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paramount+</a>.

CBS is sending their studio show to Italy to cover the Napoli-Milan game live from the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples.

CBS to call Napoli-Milan on-site with Gianfranco Zola as guest - World Soccer Talk

CBS to call Napoli-Milan on-site with Gianfranco Zola as guest

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London (AFP) – Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola is back in management after being hired as the new boss of Championship club Birmingham on Wednesday.
Zola has been appointed at St Andrew’s just 24 hours after the second-tier team’s new Asian owners sacked previous manager Gary Rowett.
The 50-year-old, widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s all-time great players, returns to the dug-out after previous spells in charge of West Ham and Watford.
“We are delighted to welcome Gianfranco and his backroom team to the club,” Birmingham director Panos Pavlakis said.
“His pedigree, philosophy and ambition fits with what we would like to achieve as we move in a new direction.
“Gianfranco has a wealth of top-level experience as both manager and player and we are extremely excited about his appointment.”
Rowett was surprisingly axed despite leading Birmingham to seventh place in the Championship as Paul Suen, the frontman for the investors who took over in October, starts to make his presence felt at a club with a rich history but a flawed recent past.
Zola, whose reign starts against promotion rivals Brighton on Saturday, has signed a two and a half year contract and will be expected to lead Birmingham into the Premier League.
His former Chelsea team-mate Pierluigi Casiraghi joins him at Birmingham as first-team coach, with another ex-Chelsea team-mate Kevin Hitchcock hired as goalkeeping coach.
The Italian has mixed managerial pedigree, having been sacked in June after just one season in charge of Qatari side Al-Arabi.
He was dismissed by West Ham in 2010 after an underwhelming spell in his first job as a manager.
Zola’s Watford were beaten by Crystal Palace in the 2013 Championship play-off final and he left the Hornets midway through the following season.
He was also sacked by Serie A side Cagliari after just 10 matches in charge in 2015 after failing to lift them out of the relegation zone.

Zola hired as Birmingham boss - World Soccer Talk

Zola hired as Birmingham boss

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Doha (AFP) – Former Italy and Chelsea star Gianfranco Zola has been sacked as coach of Al-Arabi, a spokesman for the Qatari Stars League side said on Monday.
Zola, who lasted just one season in Qatar, will be replaced by veteran Uruguayan coach, Gerardo Pelusso.
“Our president has said he is going to change the coach,” the spokesman for Al-Arabi told AFP.
Asked if Zola, who signed a two-year contract with the Doha-based club in July 2015, had been sacked, the spokesman replied: “Yes.”
Despite being one of the biggest names in the Qatari league, the Italian, who celebrates his 50th birthday next week, appears to have paid the price for Al-Arabi’s poor league form.
The club finished eighth in the 14-team league, exactly the same position and with the same number of points, 35, as the previous season.
The decision to replace Zola comes after the club installed a new president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Jabr Al-Thani.
Managerial changes are common at Al-Arabi and Zola was the 12th coach at the club in just the past six years.
Previous Al-Arabi coaches included Zola’s former Chelsea teammate Dan Petrescu and Germany’s Uli Stielike.
Zola, who was voted Chelsea’s greatest ever player by fans after almost seven years at the London club, has been linked to a return in England.
Recent media reports have claimed that he could become the next manager at former European champions, Nottingham Forest.
Al-Arabi will be the 22nd club for Pelusso as coach.
The 62-year-old Uruguayan has previously been in charge of the Paraguayan national team and was most recently the coach of Colombian side, Santa Fe.

Zola sacked by Qatari club Al-Arabi - World Soccer Talk

Zola sacked by Qatari club Al-Arabi

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