Tag: Premier League

On Her Majesty’s Service: Carlo Cudicini Could Have Been a Star

Chelsea, Italian Football, On Her Majesty's Service, Premier League
Carlo Cudicini lasted 22 years as a professional goalkeeper, with 13 of those being spent in England between Chelsea and Tottenham, making him one of the Premier League’s longest-serving Italian stars. But for all his talent, it seems he was always with the wrong club at the wrong time and somehow forged a reputation as a "back-up" player.
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On Her Majesty’s Service: Attilio Lombardo’s Stint at Crystal Palace

England, Italian Football, On Her Majesty's Service, Premier League, Serie A
Attilio Lombardo was one of the most robust right-wingers of the '90s. He spent a year-and-a-half in England, playing for the newly-promoted Crystal Palace in 1997. His move shocked many, as Lombardo had only just reached the heights of Italian football with Juventus and he swapped that all to become Palace's star player of an otherwise forgetful season.
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The Moral Dilemma of The Newcastle United Takeover

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.
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On Her Majesty’s Service: Gianluca Festa’s Hard-Hitting Days

England, Italian Football, On Her Majesty's Service, Premier League
The North East of England has never been a hot-spot for incoming European footballers, but Gianluca Festa broke the mold when he joined Middlesbrough in 1997. Festa was an iconic Premier League player, renowned for his hard-hitting, no-nonsense style of defending, and also for his goal-scoring touch. A player who Boro fans will associate with their "glory days."
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On Her Majesty’s Service: Alberto Aquilani’s Liverpool Missed Chance

England, Liverpool, On Her Majesty's Service, Premier League 3 comments
Liverpool had some forgettable Italian names in their ranks - Mario Balotelli, Andrea Dossena, and Fabio Borini to name a few. They all disappointed during their spell at the club and would move on without leaving any lasting legacy. But none joined with as much expectation surrounding them as Alberto Aquilani, and none endured as torrid a time at Anfield as he did.
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On Her Majesty’s Service: Benito Carbone’s Brit Tribulations

England, On Her Majesty's Service, Premier League
Of all the Italian names to have graced English shores, Benito Carbone is one that you may well have forgotten. He arrived at Sheffield Wednesday in 1996 amid the "European invasion" of the Premier League and, despite always becoming a fan favorite wherever he played, his time in England always seemed to have a factor that was holding him back.
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On Her Majesty’s Service: Roberto Di Matteo’s Managerial Greatness

Champions League, Chelsea, England, On Her Majesty's Service
Roberto Di Matteo was an understated player. Through Chelsea’s resurgence in the 1990s, he was at the heart of it. But it is as a manager that he achieved true greatness, leading Chelsea to lift both the Champions League and FA Cup trophies in a few months, in what was possibly one of the greatest managerial turnarounds in modern Premier League history.
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On Her Majesty’s Service: Zola’s Inspiring Love Affair With Chelsea

Chelsea, England, On Her Majesty's Service, Premier League 2 comments
The Premier League is home to hundreds of overseas players, but go back twenty years or so and there were much fewer in the English top-flight than there is today. Foreign players were seen as exotic, flamboyant and simply different from what English football fans were used to. One player who was certainly different, but for all the right reasons, was Gianfranco Zola.
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The Grass Is Greener: The English Summer Transfer Window

England, Fulham, Premier League, The Grass Is Greener
With the English leagues kicking off ahead of those in continental Europe, we asked our only present non-Azzurro staffer Carlos Molano to get in touch with a football-mad friend from England: Andreas Duhn, whose love for the game has taken him in more than 100 stadiums worldwide. Here he gives us his appraisal of the English summer transfer window.
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