Throwback Thursday Archives - The Cult of Calcio

Between the 1970s and the 1980s, the Roma and Napoli fan bases were linked by an official twinning. How did that come to an end?

Roma vs Napoli Throwback: The Breaking of the Twinning

November 29, 2025 Matteo Carnevale Italian Football, Napoli, Roma, Serie A, Throwback Thursday

It sounds almost incredible to believe nowadays but, between the 1970s and 1980s, the Roma and Napoli ultra groups were linked by an official gemellaggio, a “twinning” so strong that it was re-cemented every time the two sides met via a solemn pre-game flag-exchange ritual. Until something happened.

Inter vs Milan Throwback: Minaudo, the One-Derby Wonder

November 20, 2025 Matteo Carnevale AC Milan, Inter Milan, Serie A, Throwback Thursday

Scoring the winner in the Derby di Milano at just 19 years of age, right on the day of your Serie A debut. Can it get any better than that for a footballer? Perhaps it cannot, as that indeed turned out to be the highest career point for Giuseppe Minaudo, a product of Inter's youth academy.

On April 12, 1981, Gaetano Musella scored the only goal of the day in a key battle at Torino that sent Napoli top of the Serie A table with five games left

Torino vs Napoli Throwback: Musella Strikes for a Scudetto Illusion

November 29, 2024 Matteo Carnevale Italian Football, Napoli, Serie A, Throwback Thursday, Torino

Before Diego Maradona, the Neapolitan fan hearts beat for a young lad raised just a few meters away from the San Paolo Stadium. His name was Gaetano Musella and, on April 12, 1981, he scored the only goal of the day in a key battle at Torino that sent Napoli top of the Serie A table with just five matchdays left.

On February 12, 2012, Luis Enrique's Roma annihilated the remains of Inter’s Triplete-winning squad at the Stadio Olimpico by a 4-0 score

Roma vs Inter Throwback: A Fleeting Glimpse of Luis Enrique Brilliancy

October 20, 2024 Matteo Carnevale Inter, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Roma, Serie A, Throwback Thursday

Luis Enrique endured a torrid maiden campaign as a coach, ending a disappointing 7th with Roma in Serie A and resigning at the end of the season. Still, he did manage to show glimpses of the good things to come in his career, especially on February 12, 2012, when Roma annihilated Inter’s Triplete-winning squad.

During the 1997/98 Serie A season, Juventus won at Empoli as the Azzurri were disallowed a goal despite Peruzzi saving the ball past the goal line

Empoli vs Juventus Throwback: The Best “Save” by Angelo Peruzzi

September 14, 2024 Matteo Carnevale Empoli, Juventus, Serie A, Throwback Thursday

“Gianni Agnelli called me,” goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi recalled in an interview. “He told me that that save from Empoli's Bianconi was the best I had made since joining Juventus.” Only that it was not. The ball had clearly crossed the goal line, but the referee didn't see that, a mistake that took Juve closer to the 1997/98 title.

Napoli vs Frosinone Throwback: Higuain’s Season Scoring Record

April 14, 2024 Matteo Carnevale Frosinone, Napoli, Serie A, Throwback Thursday

Records are set to be broken, even the oldest ones. In the last round of the 2015/16 season, Gonzalo Higuain of Napoli delivered a hat-trick to poor Frosinone to bring his seasonal tally to an astonishing 36 goals – one more than Gunnar Nordahl, setting a new record for the most goals scored in a Serie A season.

On October 15, 1972, Milan beat Atalanta 9-3 as the match at the San Siro went down in history as the Serie A match with the most goals scored ever

Milan vs Atalanta Throwback: The Match With the Most Goals Ever

February 25, 2024 Matteo Carnevale AC Milan, Atalanta, Italian Football, Serie A, Throwback Thursday

People present at the San Siro Stadium on that day claim that the electronic scorecard went in tilt and lost track of the scorers. Others report that the referee Giunti run out of space in his notebook to list them. While such claims may fade into legend, one thing is for sure and it’s the score of the Serie A match with the most goals ever: On October 15, 1972, Milan beat Atalanta 9-3!

Roma vs Inter Throwback: Nine-Goal Thriller with Baggio and Ronaldo

February 10, 2024 Matteo Carnevale Inter, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Roma, Serie A, Throwback Thursday

What happens when you put against each other a star-studded Roma side, coached by an ultra-offensive manager in the name of Zdenek Zeman, and one of the most impressive Inter lineups ever seen – where Roberto Baggio had just joined the Fenomeno Ronaldo Nazario da Lima? That's easy: You get one of the craziest games in the history of Serie A.

The only team capable of temporarily halting the seemingly-unstoppable march of the "Inter dei Record" was a Fiorentina side coached by Sven Goran Eriksson

Fiorentina vs Inter Throwback: The Fall of the “Inter dei Record”

January 27, 2024 Matteo Carnevale Fiorentina, Inter, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Serie A, Throwback Thursday

The only team capable of temporarily halting the seemingly-unstoppable march of the "Inter dei Record" was a Fiorentina side powered by a young Roberto Baggio and some unlucky players, Enrico Cucchi and Stefano Borgonovo, who would leave us too soon. It was February 12, 1989, when Fiorentina beat the Inter dei Record 4-3.

In the 1954/55 season, Udinese ended second in Serie A, and the game that best sums up their phenomenal run was a 3-2 triumph over Milan

Udinese vs Milan Throwback: Zebrette One Step Away from the Title

January 20, 2024 Matteo Carnevale AC Milan, Serie A, Throwback Thursday, Udinese

In the 1954/55 season, Udinese ended second in the Serie A table despite having narrowly escaped relegation in the previous year, and the game that best summed up their phenomenal run was a 3-2 triumph in a six-pointer against the future Scudetto winners Milan played with one man less.

The age of Kaká started when he came in as a sub and conjured a fantastic screamer to help Milan prevail in a tense match at Empoli

Empoli vs Milan Throwback: The Night the Serie A Discovered Kaká

January 5, 2024 Matteo Carnevale AC Milan, Empoli, Serie A, Throwback Thursday One comment

When Milan won the 2003/04 title, Kaká was by now a top star in the Serie A. But it all had started only a few months earlier, when he had come in as a substitute and conjured a fantastic screamer to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for the Rossoneri in a tense away match at Empoli.

Few images are as representative of Italian football as that of Ronaldo dashing past Lazio goalie Luca Marchegiani in UEFA Cup Final of the 1997/98 season

Lazio vs Inter Throwback: Ronaldo and That Epic UEFA Cup Final

December 16, 2023 Matteo Carnevale Inter Milan, Lazio, Serie A, Throwback Thursday, UEFA Cup

Few images are as representative of Italian football in the 1990s as that of the Fenomeno Ronaldo Luis Nazario da Lima donning an iconic horizontal striped black and blue Inter jersey and dashing past Lazio goalie Luca Marchegiani at the Parc des Princes in the all-Italian UEFA Cup Final of the 1997/98 season.

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