Search: 'Napoli'

Simon Tyers tries to get his head around some strange happenings in football broadcasting

This was a strange month. After Sky’s build-up to the second leg of Arsenal’s Champions League tie against AC Milan seemed to assume a comeback was inevitable, Rob Hawthorne reckoned Massimiliano Allegri would “put his faith in his team holding onto what they have”, as if he might have considered letting Arsenal score as many goals as they fancied instead. There was Harry Redknapp on Match of the Day after the league defeat at Everton letting his chirpy pragmatist mask slip by framing every statement as a question – “What can you do? We battered them second half?” – while considering any query about the game as a personal affront. Interviewer Guy Mowbray nearly burst out laughing, which seemed an appropriate reaction.

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Matthew Barker examines US Ancona, whose supporters united to save the club after relegation and financial woe threatened its existence

US Ancona 1905 were founded at the turn of the last century by a local who returned from a stint working at the docks in Liverpool, hence their red and white kit. They have appeared in Serie A twice, most recently during the 2003-04 season (with Goran Pandev, Dario Hübner and Dino Baggio among their ranks), though they dropped straight back into the second tier with a miserly 13 points from their 34 games.

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Paul Kelly looks at how the award for the world’s best player has evolved since 1956

In Paris three years ago, after Cristiano Ronaldo became the fourth Manchester United player to win the Ballon d’Or presented by France Football magazine, Alex Ferguson was asked which Old Trafford legends he considered unlucky not to have lifted the prize. “Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs,” he replied. No Roy Keane? No David Beckham? Ferguson’s wrong side is a lonely place to be.

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While the big clubs claim conspiracy, Matthew Barker believes that Verona don’t receive enough credit for a famous title in the 1980s

The popular back story to Hellas Verona’s one and only Championship win, in 1985, tends to focus on the introduction of a new public balloting system for the selection of referees. Claims had been repeatedly made that the bigger clubs would block the use of certain unfavoured match officials. Juventus had just won two controversial scudetti in a row. Surely, the argument goes, it was no coincidence that the one season when referee selection was kept in check, a smaller team were able to take the top prize?

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As supporter initiatives gain popularity across Europe, plans are afoot for one of Italy's biggest clubs. Vanda Wilcox explains

Not a season goes by in Italy without a handful of clubs going bust, and a big name or a glorious history are no protection, as Napoli, Parma and Fiorentina can all testify. Serie A is struggling to retain players and prestige in the face of increasing Spanish and English competition and debts are growing out of control. Now fans are trying to organise a new model of ownership, azionariato popolare (popular shareholding) – an Italian version of supporters’ trusts. Assistance has already been offered by Supporters Direct Europe, the UEFA-funded group which aims to promote good governance and sustainability in clubs across Europe.

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