Abdullah Bashiti, Author at The Cult of Calcio

Our Serie A matchday preview is back! Inter and Atalanta fans will have to wait a little more to see their clubs back in actio, so all eyes will be on Juve

Serie A Matchday Preview: All Eyes on Andrea Pirlo’s New Juventus

September 19, 2020 Abdullah Bashiti AC Milan, Atalanta, Benevento, Bologna, Cagliari, Crotone, Fiorentina, Genoa, Hellas Verona, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Italy, Juventus, Lazio, Napoli, Parma, Rifinitura, Roma, Sampdoria, Sassuolo, Serie A, Serie A 2019-2020, Serie A 2020-2021, Spezia, Torino, Udinese

Serie A is back and so is our matchday preview! Unfortunately, Inter and Atalanta supporters will have to wait a little more as their matches were pushed back until the end of September as both Nerazzurri teams were involved in European competitions last month, so this weekend all eyes will be on Andrea Pirlo's official debut at the helm of Juventus.

The Eight-Year Journey of James Pallotta at Roma

August 6, 2020 Abdullah Bashiti Italian Football, Portraits, Presidential Portraits, Roma, Serie A

James Pallotta has officially sold Roma to fellow American billionaire Dan Friedkin, for a reported fee of around 600 million euro. Pallotta's eight-year stay in the Eternal City will be remembered as having had some really enjoyable phases, most notably the Barcelona Champions League comeback, but will also be remembered as being trophy-less.

Throwback Thursday: Helenio Herrera, The Wizard of Grande Inter

June 3, 2020 Abdullah Bashiti Inter Milan, Italian Football, Portraits, Throwback Thursday 2 comments

Inter's history is filled with a special affiliation to controversial, charismatic managers, whose pioneer was without doubt Helenio Herrera. Every die-hard Nerazzurri fan would be forever grateful to that man, who would later become referred to as Il Mago ("The Wizard") and who forged the legendary epoch of the Grande Inter during the 1960s.

The Moral Dilemma of The Newcastle United Takeover

May 3, 2020 Abdullah Bashiti England, Newcastle United, Premier League 2 comments

Imagine being a supporter of a football club, and one day you find out that your club is about to become owned by one of the most criticized states in the world. What would you do? That is the moral dilemma that Newcastle United fans are currently facing as their club seems set to be purchased by controversial Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

The Curious Case of Jurgen Klopp and Coronavirus

March 14, 2020 Abdullah Bashiti Bundesliga, Champions League, Europa League, European Championships 2020, La Liga, Liverpool, Premier League, Serie A, Serie A 2019-2020, U.S.A.

Jürgen Klopp is currently the world's best manager, at least according to FIFA. Yet, even the world's best sometimes make bad statements. But Klopp, being a highly charismatic, widely-loved figure, managed to turn his initial anger towards questions on the coronavirus to a message of hope and advice to everyone around the world.

Juventus Regain Top Spot After Toppling Inter In Derby d’Italia

March 9, 2020 Abdullah Bashiti Inter Milan, Italian Football, Italy, Juventus, Serie A, Serie A 2019-2020

Under bizarre circumstances, Juventus and Inter played out a fan-less Derby d’Italia in Turin. With both opposing managers knowing what’s at stake, the match was very tactical. But it did have its moment of magic when Paulo Dybala scored the second goal for Juventus. Unfortunately, only the stadium lights and a few VIP’s were there to witness it live.

Rifinitura: Juventus Host Inter In Fan-Less Derby d’Italia

February 29, 2020 Abdullah Bashiti AC Milan, Atalanta, Bologna, Brescia, Cagliari, Fiorentina, Genoa, Hellas Verona, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Italy, Juventus, Lazio, Lecce, Napoli, Parma, Rifinitura, Roma, Sampdoria, Sassuolo, Serie A, Serie A 2019-2020, Spal, Torino, Udinese 2 comments

With the threat of the coronavirus spreading in Italy, five matches will be played without fans. The biggest of those is the Derby d'Italia between Juventus and Inter, which will be in an empty Allianz Stadium in Turin. Elsewhere, Lazio will hope to grab all three points against Brescia and wait on a slip up by Juventus, and Genoa face a tough encounter against Milan.

Rifinitura: Napoli Beat Brescia, Prepare For Barca Clash

February 22, 2020 Abdullah Bashiti AC Milan, Atalanta, Bologna, Brescia, Cagliari, Fiorentina, Genoa, Hellas Verona, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Juventus, Lazio, Lecce, Napoli, Parma, Rifinitura, Roma, Sampdoria, Sassuolo, Serie A, Serie A 2019-2020, Spal, Torino, Udinese One comment

With big games looming in Europe, Italian teams must be prepared to take on the continent's best in these upcoming weeks. Napoli beat Brescia and now prepare for the visit of Lionel Messi and Barcelona, while leaders Juventus travel to Ferrara to take on bottom-of-the-league SPAL, before facing Lyon in midweek in the Champions League.

Lazio Jump To Second Place After Win Against Inter

February 17, 2020 Abdullah Bashiti Inter Milan, Italian Football, Lazio, Serie A, Serie A 2019-2020

Lazio pulled off yet another comeback win, this time against Inter, to claim second spot in the league standings, due mostly to top scorer Ciro Immobile and a superb performance by Sergei Milinkovic-Savic. Manager Simone Inzaghi, after four years in charge of Lazio, is beginning to show the world he is one of the best.

Rifinitura: Inter Play Lazio As CR7 Aims For Record

February 15, 2020 Abdullah Bashiti AC Milan, Atalanta, Bologna, Brescia, Cagliari, Fiorentina, Genoa, Hellas Verona, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Juventus, Lazio, Lecce, Napoli, Parma, Roma, Sampdoria, Sassuolo, Serie A, Serie A 2019-2020, Spal, Torino, Udinese

Leaders Inter travel to Rome to take on Lazio on Sunday night. Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo hopes to score in his 11th consecutive league game. Meanwhile up north, Sassuolo host Parma as both search for derby bragging rights, under the guidance of the two Roberto’s – Roberto De Zerbi of Sassuolo and Roberto D’Aversa of Parma.

Rifinitura: Bologna Stun Roma as Inter, Milan Play Out Derby

February 8, 2020 Abdullah Bashiti AC Milan, Atalanta, Bologna, Brescia, Cagliari, Fiorentina, Genoa, Hellas Verona, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Juventus, Lazio, Lecce, Napoli, Parma, Rifinitura, Roma, Sampdoria, Sassuolo, Serie A, Serie A 2019-2020, Spal, Torino, Udinese

Roma’s disappointing run in 2020 continued as they suffered their fifth defeat in seven games. Bologna, on the other hand, recorded their third straight league win, thanks to Riccardo Orsolini, and new signing Musa Barrow. The Serie A weekend will climax on Sunday night as Inter and Milan square off in the Derby di Milano.

Rifinitura: Inter Travel to Udine With Eyes On Next Week Derby

February 1, 2020 Abdullah Bashiti AC Milan, Atalanta, Bologna, Brescia, Cagliari, Fiorentina, Genoa, Hellas Verona, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Juventus, Lazio, Lecce, Napoli, Parma, Rifinitura, Roma, Sampdoria, Sassuolo, Serie A, Serie A 2019-2020, Spal, Torino, Udinese 2 comments

Here’s our usual preview of this weekend’s match-ups, starting from Brescia traveling to Bologna in search of their first win there since 2005 and concluding with Sampdoria hosting Napoli on Monday night hoping to replicate last season's 3-0 win. Inter will hope to make good use of their new signings as they pay a visit to Udinese with an eye to next week's Derby with Milan.

Author: Abdullah Bashiti