There was a moment of real shock when I learned of the passing of Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci. Those in the know were aware he was ill, but it took me by surprise, a bit like when Paolo Rossi died. In many ways, the baton had passed from one to the other as the centre forward … Continue reading Toto Le Hero →

I guess I never quite fully get this notion of the groundhopper. To visit a stadium just once, purely because it ticks a box isn’t in my DNA. Certain places, certain teams keep calling me back, and in the case of the two clubs involved in this story, on multiple occasions, something that will continue … Continue reading Old Familials →

A previously written article about the main Pro teams has been shortened into this story solely about Aurora Pro Patria now for Football Weekends as Pro Sesto appeared in another tale this month in the magazine. The other Pro sides still featured but in a reduced way. A number of clubs especially in Serie C … Continue reading A Patriotic Pro →

Let’s get the elephant in the article right out from the off, I am divorced from the top end of football. The owners, the salaries, the need to continually win, or at the very least make the top money spinning European competition, make it a business and not a sport. The players have lost all … Continue reading Big Time Calcio →

Umbria is always perceived as the poor man’s Tuscany, with similar rolling hills and beautiful small towns and cities. In reality, it is the equal of its neighbour in every way, just lacking the literature of romantic travels of yesteryear and a leaning tower to truly put it in the shop window. Its capital is … Continue reading A Gubbio Crusade →

The city of Salerno is one of my favourite places in Italy! Sitting on the Gulf of Salerno which forms part of the Tyrrhenian Sea, essentially the Mediterranean. Salerno's coastline runs for around ten kilometres, and while it is not blessed with the great beaches you will find in other parts of Italy, it does … Continue reading Salerno and Her Team →

With accommodation prices more affordable in Salerno, aside from the featured four clubs in this Special Campania South-West article, here are a number of other Campania clubs all within sixty minutes travel from the city. Everyone of whom has its own story, and while none have ever set the heather on fire, lower league football … Continue reading In and Around Salerno →

If you are ever looking to plan a trip to watch some Serie C playoff action, it needs to be at very short notice, or taking a gamble. Towards the end of the season, I was starting to get fidgety about where I could base myself, and also allow for other action. I plumped for … Continue reading The Cava-Nocera Axis →

It was always my wish to head back to Catanzaro from the first minute I stepped out in its streets last year. Being at the first home match in Serie B for 18 years was a privilege beyond words and something that landed in my world courtesy of some farcical nonsense about the Cervolo floodlights, … Continue reading Catanzaro chaos →

In September 2022 Estonia, then Finland closed its land border with Russia. It totally threw a spanner in the works for my girl Tania and I, with whom I had booked a two week sojourn in Tuscany, with the plan to fly south together from Tallinn. Flights were lost, buses to and from St Petersburg … Continue reading In Napoli →