My football adventures all over the world
Heading back across the Straits of Messina onto the island of Sicily by train is always entertaining. Yes, it’s time consuming as they shuffle the engine and carriages on and off the boat, but once all are inside the bowels of the vessel, you can stretch your legs and get a blast of sea air … Continue reading The Elephant in the Stadio
The Campania region is on the rise in the Italian football world. Sitting as kingpin over everything else in this corner of the country is Napoli, not just in terms of recent Scudetto success, but economically too. Its presence looms almost as large as Vesuvius does in this area, with everything sitting in the shadow … Continue reading Milling Around
Forlì, once before featured in FW magazine, part of a region wide overview after my two matches here in April 2017. Emilia Romagna is home territory for Forlì, and one of the most prosperous areas of Italy, especially those cities from Bologna headed north. Here, it is a hotbed of famous Italian exports, from cars … Continue reading Chicken Run
Who would you say is the most famous person you have ever had a wee chat with or shared a selfie? I am sure we have all had at least one such encounter. I guess, post an utterly depressing 1-0 loss for Scotland at Italia ‘90 to Costa Rica (it is why Haiti remains fearful … Continue reading I, Spartacus
Sergio Rachmaninoff, pianist and great composer might seem a curious way of starting a tale about Serie D football, but his famous piece “Theme from Paganini” has been whirring in my mind as I start to write this article, a romantic ditty at its core. The correlation of Paganini and the team from Pagani, Paganese … Continue reading Theme for Paganese
How far back does your love of Calcio go? It seeped into my psyche in Como, July 1982, when Italy dismantled West Germany. That Marco Tardelli celebration still gives me goosebumps. Lago di Como, along with pretty much every corner of Italy, took to the streets in wild celebration. It all left an indelible mark, … Continue reading ….And Green Means Go!
Those clever architects of yesteryear knew what they were doing. Build a Bell Tower with more than a lean, and the world shall forever know the city of Pisa. Allegedly it was unintentional, but inadvertently it has become one of the great icons of Italy. The tower with a tilt isn’t unique to this Tuscan … Continue reading Toscana Inclination
My opening tale from Italy in this 2025/26 season was from a match between Sambenedettese and Carpi. It was the first time I had seen the visiting team from Emilia-Romagna, and seeing a game at their stadium suddenly appeared in lights as the last of the “big” grounds missing off my viewing roster from that … Continue reading Carpi Diem
When UEFA brought in the Conference League, it was meant to be a competition where the wee club could compete. Alas, those who reach the final and win it, still come from one of the “big 5” nations, but certainly in the group stage, the likes of Malta, Gibraltar and Armenia are in the mix … Continue reading Italia, Away, Away, Away
Bisceglie is maybe not the first port of call if you are travelling in the Puglian coastal area between Bari and Foggia. As you edge south from the latter, there are four cities all in close proximity. Each one has more than just football to offer: Barletta-Trani-Bisceglie-Molfetta is the quartet, all fishing ports, some bigger … Continue reading The Old Star of the South
Football Adventures with James Rendall 
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