In Florence, the most prideful have been heard saying: “Better to have a dead man at home than a Pisan at the door.” The response to that proverb in Pisa is: “May God grant your wish.”

So it’s great that Pisa and Fiorentina meet for the first time in a generation this weekend. Claudio Ranieri was Fiorentina manager the last time they travelled to Arena Garibaldi for a 0-0 draw in March 1994 on their way to winning Serie B. For Pisa, it felt like a crucial point but they ended up relegated and bankrupt at the end of that season. Still, it was better than the 4-1 thrashing in Florence, with a young Gabriel Batistuta scoring a hat-trick.

This latest derby encounter finds both sides in comparatively rude health. It’s almost 35 years since this was a Serie A match and the ending of that run is largely down to Pippo Inzaghi, who took Pisa back to the top flight before returning to Serie B and coaching Palermo, with whom he will quite likely repeat last season’s exploits.

What makes this derby most interesting is the centuries of history and its almost entirely non-footballing genesis. There is also no exact flashpoint that can be defined as the reason for Pisa and Florence’s rivalry, unlike say Reggio Emilia and Parma. Instead, it’s built upon a series of myths, each almost comically folkloric and uniquely Italian. 

The most basic theory is that it boils to the traditional provincial rivalries, that Pisans agree with their Livornese and Siennese cousins when it comes to the city of Florence. It can f\*\** off as far as they’re concerned. Parma and Reggio Emilia feel the same about Bologna, and so on, and so forth. 

But that sounds all too simple, right? I prefer to believe that Pisa and Florence’s beef comes down to one thing: salt. Like all good Italian derbies, this story begins in the 12th century. The Republic of Pisa, a maritime power on the west coast of Italy, controlled the flow of trade along the Arno river to Florence.

During a dispute with the Florentine republic, the Pisans were said to have blocked all shipments of salt up the river to Florence, a crucial ingredient in making bread. Rather than bend to the will of Pisa, the obstinate Florentines fought back by making their bread without salt. 

To this day, ‘Tuscan’ bread, or more specifically Florentine bread, is made without salt. Is it good? Not really, but that doesn’t matter. The point is that they don’t forget, even if they say they’ve forgiven. 

Florence and Pisa fought at the Battle of Cascia in 1364, where Florentine forces won and took control of territories surrounding Pisa, which set up the 1406 conquest of the city when Florence bribed a Pisan official to open the city gates. Trickery! 

Pisa remained under control by the Florentine Republic for more than a century until its own demise and even quashed a rebellion towards the end of the 15th century.

Pisans often think Florence is an arrogant city. Even the famous Florentine poet Dante Aligheri said as much in his Divine Comedy, before his own city exiled him for supporting the Ghibellines, the faction who lost the war with the Guelfs for control of Florence at the end of the 13th century. 

A statue of Dante stands in Piazza Santa Croce in Florence, despite the fact he died and was buried in Ravenna, which the Pisans consider another mark against their ‘arrogant’ neighbours.

The Florentines would argue their arrogance is, in fact, a sense of superiority, one borne from the fact that their city was the epicentre of the Renaissance and their great people contributed to some of history’s finest moments. It’s just a shame that their football team can’t win a final, they’d say.

Since the Italian people stopped killing each other in the name of their feudal lords, we’re forced to save provincial beef for a Sunday afternoon in the arena, when 22 millionaires do battle with a football to secure the bragging rights of their people. This is what we have left, so it’s no wonder that Sunday’s derby in Pisa is expected to be particularly strongly felt by those in the home end, having been starved of it for a generation.

Both sides are winless in Serie A so far and a negative result for Fiorentina could mean accelerate an end to Stefano Pioli’s second reign at Artemio Franchi much earlier than anticipated.

Pisa have lost all three matches since their opening day 1-1 draw away to Atalanta, all narrow defeats to Roma, Udinese and Napoli; by no means a disgraceful start but the points need to start coming soon.

Alberto Gilardino must be confident his team can put it up to Fiorentina, whose underperforming attack and overly fragile defence look more vulnerable than anyone might have expected this season. 

Set pieces could make the difference as Pisa’s physicality and the atmosphere in Arena Garibaldi combine to make for a difficult afternoon for Fiorentina. Pisa have looked dangerous from dead ball situations, something carried over from Pippo Inzaghi’s promotion winning team last season.

However, it’s just as likely that the away team’s considerable attacking firepower proves too much, provided they turn up.

Eight centuries may have passed with unsalted bread and Florentine exceptionalism, but Pisa-Fiorentina takes place this weekend in the shadow of Bonanno Pisano’s Leaning Tower, and it might take a towering header to give the home team a famous victory. A cringe pun, I know.

Whatever the outcome at Arena Garibaldi, it’s safe to assume the result won’t lead to another war, or any new bland bread products.

Pisa, Fiorentina and unsalted bread

What’s in a football shirt? It’s just some fabric that eleven people wear on a weekend. Some do it in a park with their mates, others in a cauldron surrounded by 70,000 people. The only thing that separates one piece of fabric from another is the identity given to it through club colours and the crest/logo/badge — whatever you want to call it — placed upon the shirt.

There is a yearning for the clear identity of the past in the modern game, where identity becomes increasingly blurred by commercial interests. Many of us crave nostalgia, a sense of history when those running the sport seem damned to forget the past as though it were a pre-enlightened era.

There is perhaps no better time than now to celebrate the man whose drawings changed the game when it comes to football shirts and branding: Piero Gratton. And that’s not just because his work is popping up across Italy once again.

Educated at art school in the Campo Marzio and a Roma fan, Gratton was working for state television station RAI as a graphic designer for their news channel in 1978 when AS Roma came looking for someone to design a logo to feature on the club’s gear for their upcoming tour of the US. 

Shirts, jackets and everything in between, they needed to take advantage of the extraordinary circumstances of a US tour allowed Roma to experiment with a crest as CONI, the state’s Olympic governing body, limited the use of logos in football to the point that no side had their own ‘identity’ displayed on their shirts. The tour gave Gratton a chance to put something together. And what he delivered was something unforgettable: the Lupetto.

You know the one, the famous she-wolf of Rome, that iconic black logo the club have made an intrinsic part of their identity for more than forty years. Roma returned from that trip across the Atlantic inspired by American sports’ approach to marketing their teams. They weren’t heading back to the Eternal City and calling themselves the Roma She-Wolves, but they did start the branding revolution by sporting the Lupetto on their kits in 1978/79.

Roma’s new image was augmented further by creating a typographic identity with ‘AS Roma’ in Helvetica font, the letters ‘AS’ conjoined and monogrammed. Little did Gratton know he would not only launch the greatest branding exercise in Italian — and maybe European — football history while also kitting out hipsters for all eternity.

The usual tributes poured out from the football community when Gratton passed away in 2020 and one might have been forgiven for expecting a rake of commemorative shirts from Roma and the several other clubs — yes, there were others — that benefitted from his design skills. Except the Gratton influence never disappeared enough for Roma to hastily produce a half-baked memorial.

Even after Roma tried to ‘modernise’ in the late 1990s with a [new logo](https://www.footyheadlines.com/2025/01/roma-to-change-logo.html#google_vignette) that featured Romulus and Remus suckling a she-wolf, the Lupetto lived on in away shirts and training wear. Perhaps it was a consequence of its popularity or a move to placate fans, but it never went away.

It has featured heavily ever since, including the [2023/24 home shirt](https://www.ilromanista.eu/news/as-roma/144216/roma-trapelano-nuovi-dettagli-sulle-maglie-del-2023-24) which might be the most Roman piece of clothing ever created. It had the Lupetto crest, those bold Roma colours and the SPQR ‘sponsor’, which stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus (or The Senate and People of Rome), the abbreviation that symbolises the Roman Republic and is engraved in countless public places across Rome.

Gratton’s work went beyond football clubs. Prior to the Lupetto, he designed the ticket for the [1976/77 European Cup final](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/liverpool-european-cup-final-tickets-11977635) at Stadio Olimpico two years after his first project for Roma, creating a season ticket book with delightful artwork on the front. 

While his other club work included logos for Bari, Ascoli, Cesena, Palermo, Pescara, Udinese and — to the chagrin of Romanisti — a contribution to Lazio’s Aquilotto logo with sports manufacturer Maurizio Pouchain, the prolific Gratton also designed the Euro ‘80 mascot Pinocchio and redesigned the UEFA logo on behalf of their vice-president Artemio Franchi, the legendary Fiorentina director.

And then you had Italia ‘90, where Gratton designed the packs for [MS Mundial cigarettes](https://cigarettecollector.net/tag/mundial/) which were given out in the press area at each match.

The timelessness of Gratton’s designs means that, in an age of nostalgia, those now retro logos are back in vogue but seem like they never left. Back in 1979/80, he designed Roma’s ‘ghiacciolo’ shirt, the [ice lolly shirt](https://www.footballkitarchive.com/as-roma-1979-80-home-kit/16492/). Roma’s 2020/21 home shirt rebooted that design forty years on from the team winning Coppa Italia in the original ghiacciolo, which also coincided with Gratton’s passing in April of that year. The 2020/21 away shirt also bore the Lupetto crest and the best bit is that both kits likely would have been signed off well in advance of that year.

Gratton’s work is synonymous with football culture and the kits that adorn his logos across various clubs thus ensure his place in the hearts of football fans, whether they’re aware of him or not.\
\
The famous Bari ‘Galletto’, little rooster, [logo](https://x.com/WorldClubCrests/status/1297085838275338245) designed by Gratton in 1979 was so popular with the club’s fans that the redesign after bankruptcy was almost more infuriating than the fact the club had briefly gone out of business.

The Galletto embodies how important identity is to football fans. It reminds them of great days, like when Phil Masinga beat Inter or Antonio Cassano [scored his debut goal](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1303799256713924) at San Nicola, also against Inter. Poor Inter.

Bari’s rooster. Ascoli’s woodpecker. Roma’s little wolf. Gratton was inspired by the US sports teams with their eagles and dolphins, which prompted this animal kingdom-themed revolution in the late 70s/early 80s.

The dolphin was an easy move for Delfino Pescara, given that the animal is in the name, albeit in Italian. [His crest](https://www.pescaracalcio.com/il-delfino-saluta-piero-gratton/) for the Abruzzo club lasts to this day and although outsiders may see it as kooky, it’s treasured by fans and appreciated by the purist, much like his ‘Zebretta’ at Udinese which came back for 2023/24 but featured on a woeful home shirt.

The Zebretta, like most of Gratton’s club logos, resonated so strongly because of the link with Pouchain, the kit manufacturer. That iconic style, the jersey effect and embroidery of those Pouchain kits gave the eccentric, brave logos a little more class and substance, while the more commercially minded and synthetic shirts of the 2020s often risk detracting from what is considered graphic design with its shiny, almost knock-off look.

A prime example of that is [Palermo’s 2024/25 third shirt](https://www.footballkitarchive.com/palermo-fc-2024-25-third-kit/266249/) which features Gratton’s sharp eagle logo of 1979. It’s the piece of Gratton’s work that evokes American sport the most, so it’s perhaps not a total crime against football that the Palermo shirt features the sponsor Old Wild West, a barbecue joint popular in Italy. But the sponsor does look horrendous on a shirt. Old Wild West are one of Serie B’s sponsors this year and it genuinely has the feel of an off brand Pro Evolution Soccer sponsor.

Once your sharp intake of breath subsides, Palermo’s effort is still a nice shirt even if you’re hoping it lives up to modern reputation and the sponsor peels off almost immediately after washing.

The Gratton ‘revival’ has continued into this season with Cesena rebooting the crest he designed for their 1980/81 shirts. Their away kit features the reimagined seahorse that gives the club its nickname ‘Cavalluccio’.

Harking back to 1980/81 is a play on nostalgia given the season ended with Cesena promoted to Serie A, something they’ll be hoping to achieve again this year.

More than five years have passed since Piero Gratton left us but the legacy of his work lives on. Of course it does, because his contribution to football was truly brilliant and evokes memories of an innovative era in the game. 

Whether you like the contemporary designs or prefer Gratton’s artistry, it’s impossible to deny the lasting cultural impact those logos/badges/crests (or identities) have had on the clubs that adorned them.

As Italian clubs scramble to find new ways to market themselves in a Premier League dominated world, perhaps leaning into the cult of Gratton might make them a few quid in merchandising as they sell their stuff to hopeless football romantic hipsters. Like me. And maybe you, if you’ve read this far.

The man who made football cool

European competition returns next week and we’re all doing our best to forget about Inter getting pasted 5-0 by PSG in Munich a few months back. Italy has only four Champions League spots this year and seven sides in total.\
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What’s the outlook for Serie A’s seven sides this year? Can anyone follow Roma and Atalanta’s success in recent years? We preview all seven teams and their hopes of Euro glory:

## Napoli

The Serie A champions are back in the Champions League after a year away. Their last match in the competition was a feeble 3-1 defeat to Barcelona in the last 16 when Francesco Calzona — their third manager that season — was in charge and the club were headed towards a 10th place finish.

But things are different now, right? Antonio Conte has revitalised the club and rebuilt a team with Scott McTominay the spiritual leader and midfield maestro. Imagine writing that sentence two years ago. 

Conte’s kryptonite has been managing on both domestic and European fronts at the same time, but it’s ridiculous to suggest that he can’t make this Napoli side competitive in the Champions League while also making a fist of defending their league title.

**Fixtures:** *Man City (A), Sporting CP (H), PSV (A), Frankfurt (H), Qarabag (H), Benfica (A), Kobenhavn (A), Chelsea (H)*

**Prediction:** A plucky last 16 defeat to a top seed, or maybe a run to the quarter-final depending on how much of a challenge they face domestically.

## Inter

The scars of PSG’s lashing will live with them for some time. Their mercurial coach Simone Inzaghi left immediately after that defeat and while Cristian Chivu has retained much of that side, Inter don’t feel like a side capable of punching above its weight anymore.

One positive is that they have greater strength in depth than last season and could put that to use in some of their earlier league phase fixtures. We’re looking at you, Kairat. Just be thankful they’re playing the Kazakh side at home, rather than travelling near the Chinese border and back.

**Fixtures:** *Ajax (A), Slavia Praha (H), Union St. Gilloise (A), Kairat (H), Atletico Madrid (A), Liverpool (H), Arsenal (H), Dortmund (A)*

**Prediction:** The last four fixtures are hectic, so Inter better have some points on the board before then or they mightn’t even make it out of the group. They should reach the play-off round but after that, it’s a lottery. This isn’t Inzaghi’s Inter and that doesn’t seem like a good thing. If they can find some of that 2024/25 form again, they might still have enough to reach a quarter-final.

## Atalanta

A new era in Bergamo as Gian Piero Gasperini leaves for Roma after nine years in charge. They have reached the Champions League once again and will be keen to make up for blowing a favourable draw against Club Brugge in the play-off round.

We’re not sold on Ivan Juric’s new look side just yet and this could well be a year of transition for the club after losing Mateo Retegui to Saudi Arabia and failing to sell Ademola Lookman, who spent most of the summer in a huff and training by himself in Portugal.

**Fixtures:** *PSG (A), Club Brugge (H), Slavia Praha (H), Marseille (A), Frankfurt (A), Chelsea (H), Athletic Club (H), Union St. Gilloise (A)*

**Prediction:** Two winnable home matches early on should help their chances of progression. Only PSG looks like an insurmountable away fixture also. Expect them to reach the play-off at which point the luck of the draw could see them through to the last 16, but no further.

## Juventus

Recent struggles prompted a realignment in Juve’s expectations but there’s a feeling that they’ve gone under the radar this summer. Adding Jonathan David, Lois Openda and Edon Zhegrova to the attack should make them a dangerous proposition and the return from injury of titanic defender Bremer is better than any new signing.

Igor Tudor steadied the ship after Thiago Motta’s less than stellar six months in charge, taking them to the Champions League with a final day win against relegated Venezia. Tudor has taken the revolutionary approach of playing footballers in their best positions, something that might just make Juve a difficult match for anyone in Europe this season.

**Fixtures:** *Dortmund (H), Villarreal (A), Real Madrid (A), Sporting CP (H), Bodo/Glimt (A), Pafos (H), Benfica (H), Monaco (A)*

**Prediction:** This is not the Juventus that reached two Champions League finals in the past decade, but there is still a sense of might about them. Bar their trip to Madrid, they should be targeting points from each and every match in this group. Playing in Bodø at the end of November should be fun. Just ask Jose Mourinho.

## Roma

Another year in the Europa League. It has almost become a continental purgatory as they search for a return to the Champions League for the first time since 2018/19. They might just make it this year under Gian Piero Gasperini, but a good showing in the Europa League is in everyone’s best interests as Italy attempt to recapture the fifth Champions League spot they lost for this season.

Gasperini has put his faith in young striker Evan Ferguson, but retained Artem Dovbyk after failing to agree a deadline day swap with Milan for Santi Gimenez. Gasp’s intense playing style means Roma will need to use the full range of their squad depth for these eight Europa League ties.

**Fixtures:** *Nice (A), Lille (H), Viktoria Plzen (H), Rangers (A), Midtjylland (H), Celtic (A), Stuttgart (H), Panathinaikos (A)*

**Prediction:** There’s nothing stopping Roma from progressing straight to the last 16. Nice and Stuttgart should pose some challenges, but they are one of the better sides in the competition. Two trips to Glasgow could be fun. If they show up in this league phase, there’s no reason they can’t make a real tilt at lifting some silverware, depending on how things are going domestically.

## Bologna

Last season’s Coppa Italia winners qualify for the Europa League one year on from their first Champions League campaign in more than sixty years. Vincenzo Italiano took Fiorentina to consecutive Conference League finals before leaving for Bologna and will likely lean on that experience this season.

They have greater squad depth than this time last year and they’ll need it. The Bologna project relies on the team reaching Europe each year, allowing them to attract new talent they can sell on for multiples of profit, so it’ll be interesting to see on which fronts Italiano chooses to fight. They were a truly dangerous cup side last year in domestic competition, highlighted by reaching the final where they beat Milan to claim a first trophy since 1974.

**Fixtures:** *Aston Villa (A), Freiburg (H), FCSB (A), Brann (H), Salzburg (H), Celta Vigo (A), Celtic (H), M. Tel Aviv (A)*

**Prediction:** There’s no tougher place to begin than at Villa Park but it gets easier after that. Bologna have to target a top eight finish and direct route into the last 16. If they can achieve it, they might just get a chance to lean on that Coppa Italia experience.

## Fiorentina

Groundhog Day! Fiorentina are in the Conference League for the fourth year running. The competition has only been around for five. Their three attempts so far have been: runner-up, runner-up, semi-final. With Stefano Pioli returning to his old club and ownership recruiting some more attacking firepower, they have to consider themselves favourites along with Crystal Palace.

This season’s Serie A is set to be one of the most competitive in a long time and the top half of the table could be truly robust. So why not go for it in this competition, Fiorentina? Fourth time lucky?

**Fixtures:** *Sigma Olomuc (H), Rapid Wien (A), Mainz (A), AEK Athens (H), Dynamo Kyiv (H), Lausanne (A)*

**Prediction:** A tough away trip to Mainz but a set of fixtures they will expect to take enough points from to avoid the play-off round. If they can avoid Crystal Palace (and maybe Strasbourg) then surely they’ve got to fancy themselves to reach a third final? It wouldn’t be right if Fiorentina don’t finally win a trophy.

TIRO’s Euro Preview 2025/26

The summer transfer window is often dominated by a select few stories that the media squeeze for every ounce of clickable content, but there’s so much more to life than Ademola Lookman’s failed transfer to Inter, or even Luka Modric scoffing at Saudi millions or the American dollar.

Every now and then, a transfer comes along that makes you think football has a little romance in it yet. A redemption arc, a future star forging their path in relative obscurity, maybe even an underdog finally being recognised and getting that big move.

These are the transfers that made us feel something this summer:

#### Papu Gomez to Padova

Why not start with a totally off the wall move? The protagonist of Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta original side, Papu is now a Serie B man after receiving a two year doping ban while at Monza. It expires in October, at which point he’s free to rock the world in Mantova, Catanzaro and beyond.

Newly promoted Padova took a punt on the 37-year-old fantasista who could rip the league up if he’s even a fraction of the player that Gasperini fell out with in 2021.

Padova also created [this enjoyable video](http://instagram.com/p/DMz72CWsoTZ/) to formally announce him. Papu will be eligible after the October international break and should attract some informal attention to Serie B. If Modric can do it for Milan at 40, then why can’t Papu make magic happen at Euganeo?

#### Evan Ferguson to Roma

A one-time boy wonder in need of rejuvenation? A striker? Working under Gasperini? Sign me up. Well, sign Evan Ferguson up, at least. 

Never has a transfer made so much sense despite not being an obvious move for both parties. Roma needed a striker and Ferguson a change of scenery. Gasperini is widely considered the Doctor Doolittle of strikers, able to turn their fortunes around and get them scoring with his encrypted whispers.

Ferguson had a strong pre-season but, more importantly, he looked sharp in Roma’s 1-0 win against Bologna and set up the only goal in their win against Pisa. If he can stay fit, the goals will surely come and it won’t be long before Roma are tempted to activate that €40m buy option.

If a 20-year-old Irish striker can make himself loved in Roma, then it might just be the story of the season.

#### Ciro Immobile to Bologna

From one striker to another, except Immobile is already revered in Rome, but on the other side of the city. The eternally prolific Ciro left Lazio last summer and embraced a crying fan at Fiumicino airport as he jetted off to Turkey to play for Besiktas.

A year has passed and he returns to Italy, tasked with playing big brother to Bologna’s young attacker Santiago Castro and help take some pressure off Thijs Dallinga, who has struggled for goals since joining from Toulouse last summer.

Immobile strained his hamstring on his opening day debut and will likely miss the next six weeks, but when he returns we might see him hunting down Roberto Baggio and Toto Di Natale’s scoring records. Although, these days, you can’t rule out Immobile playing another six years and chasing Silvio Piola’s all-time record of 274. After all, he’s only 73 goals short.

#### Lennon Miller to Udinese

The Scottish invasion of Serie A continues with teenage midfielder Lennon Miller. A versatile player with 76 senior matches under his belt at Motherwell already, he clearly has a bright future ahead.

Miller might be the archetypal Udinese signing: high potential for a low fee and, crucially, has the ability to generate a considerable sell-on profit. His compatriot Aaron Hickey was eighteen when he signed for Bologna in 2020 and was a star by the time he left for Brentford two years later.

There’s real belief in Udine that Miller could be another gem and that he’ll play for a top club at some point, which is no disrespect to the Zebrette.

#### Lorenzo Colombo to Genoa

Even if only because he shares a name with Genovese native [Christopher Columbus](https://x.com/GenoaCFC/status/1949908009070842100) — Colombo being the Italian version — there’s something about this signing that screams: success!

Let’s ignore the whole failing to score in his first two matches thing and just go along with this one for the vibes. Milan have kept him on the books until this point because they clearly believe he has a future, or at least see a considerable sale on the horizon, and seven goals at relegated Empoli last year would indicate he can make an impact in Serie A.

Colombo can navigate — wahey! — the stormy seas — alright, that’s enough — of Serie A and help lead Genoa’s attack. 

#### Jamie Vardy to Cremonese

This one has the vibe of a Football Manager game that’s gone too far about it. Jamie Vardy playing football in the home of Stradivarius violins. Red Bull spritz is about to become a thing in the city, especially if Vardy can do much to add to his 145 Premier League goals scored at Leicester City. 

To say that Cremonese fans are excited is an understatement. One man had already tattooed Vardy on his body and asked the new Grigiorossi striker to sign the fresh ink. 

Even at 38, he’s got the potential to score a few goals, ones which could make the difference between survival and relegation for Davide Nicola’s men. Vardy doesn’t quite have ‘star power’ in the way Kevin De Bruyne or Luka Modric do, but he is a cult figure in the game and it’s undoubtedly a move that will put Cremonese on the radar of some people who probably thought they were just an off-brand Nutella until now.

#### Andrea Adorante to Venezia

Hipster alert! “Hey dude, you really should be watching Andrea Adorante at Juve Stabia,” me, probably. But really, he ripped things up in Serie B last year for a newly promoted Juve Stabia side that made it to the play-off semi-finals largely thanks to his seventeen goals.

Venezia snapped him up after relegation back to Serie B, adding him to a decent attacking crop that should give coach Giovanni Stroppa reasons to be optimistic about securing what would be his fourth promotion at this level.

Adorante hasn’t scored in his first two games but he wasn’t helped by strike partner John Yeboah being sent off as they drew 0-0 in Adorante’s return to Castellammare di Stabia last week. If he finds his 2024/25 form, he might be looking at challenging Joel Pohjanpalo for the league’s top scorer gong.

#### **Sebastiano Esposito to Cagliari**

A teammate of Colombo at Empoli last season, the Inter wonderkid of 2019 is also searching for a permanent home, like Colombo. Optimistic Inter fans may have hoped his ten goals for Empoli might have been enough to keep him around this year, but Cristian Chivu preferred to bring Yoan-Ange Bonny with him from Parma.

Esposito has shed the failed wonderkid tag by displaying maturity in his last two loan spells at Empoli and Sampdoria before that. He’s capable of leading the line but having a traditional number nine to work with brings the best out of his ability to link play and create chances for others also.

With the sale of Roberto Piccoli to Fiorentina, the Sardinian side will be even more reliant on Esposito, who joined on loan with an option to buy.

The same happened with his 2022/23 teammate at Bari: goalkeeper Elia Caprile. The young stopper joined in January last year on loan from Napoli and impressed immediately, making his stay permanent in the summer.

#### Gaetano Castrovilli to Bari

We do love a hometown boy returning to the place where it all started. Euro 2021 winner Castrovilli’s career stalled due to a horrific knee injury in April 2022, the aftermath of which saw him fail a medical at Bournemouth a year later.

Castrovilli had a relatively unhappy 2024/25, failing to make an impact at Lazio before heading to relegation bound Monza for a few months.

Now, he’s back at Bari, who he joined aged nine and stayed until Fiorentina signed him in 2017. He’s only turned 28 this year, so there’s certainly still hope for him. If he can stay relatively injury free, he could be the midfield signing they needed to guide them to the play-offs. Should he achieve an unexpected promotion with Bari, it might just be the fairy tale of the season.

#### Rasmus Hojlund to Napoli

And just like that, another big money Premier League signing is back in Serie A as grown men hiding behind faceless social media accounts call a 22-year-old everything under the sun.\
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It feels as though Hojlund’s move to Napoli was purely accidental, the consequence of Romelu Lukaku’s serious thigh injury, but you’d hope he’s relishing the chance to play under Antonio Conte in the Champions League for a team that’s favourite to defend their scudetto.

Conte always got the best out of Lukaku, another striker scorned in England, so there’s every reason to believe he can do the same with Hojlund, a raw talent.

#### Antonio Palumbo to Palermo

He was Modena’s star player last season, scoring nine and assisting ten goals, and has been consistently one of the best creators in the division for the past four years. So, naturally, moneybags Palermo decided to buy him in their pursuit of City Football Group-backed glory.

Palermo manager Pippo Inzaghi put a great emphasis on set pieces at Pisa last season, with almost 40% of their goals on the way to promotion generating from dead ball situations. Palumbo’s delivery is second to none in Serie B. 

He’s slowly being eased into the team but it would be astounding if he’s not forming a triumvirate with Matteo Brunori and Joel Pohjanpalo at the spearhead of Palermo’s attack very shortly. If he does, it could be very, very fruitful for the Rosanero on their way back to Serie A.

Ten transfers we enjoyed this summer

"We're at the Officine Garibaldi, we play at the Arena Garibaldi, and I want a Garibaldi-style Pisa.” Fighting words from new Pisa coach Alberto Gilardino, quite literally. He was referencing Giuseppe Garibaldi, the general widely considered Pater Patriae of modern Italy who unified the country and after whom Pisa’s Arena Garibaldi stadium is named.

If Gilardino is to give Pisa a dose of the Garibaldi treatment, then they might just survive in Serie A, a feat that’s been beyond them since 1987/88. When Atalanta defender Isak Hien turned the ball into his own goal on Sunday night, the travelling Pisa fans must have felt a sense of Garibaldi-ism about their team’s abrasive start to life in Serie A.

In that moment, Pisa were beating Champions League team Atalanta. The same Pisa who had toiled in Serie B for two very frustrating seasons after losing a play-off final to Monza in 2022, an opportunity that passed them by and looked like their only to return to the top flight.

Gilardino has to pick up where his predecessor Pippo Inzaghi left off before he upped sticks for the bright lights — and massive bank balance — of Palermo, at least if Pisa are to have any hope of surviving in Serie A.

Drawing 1-1 away to Atalanta is a decent start to that gargantuan task, with Pisa showing resilience in defence against the inevitable onslaught, only conceding to a fine Gianluca Scamacca strike.

Inzaghi had Pisa defying our preconceived notions of modern football last year, achieving automatic promotion with a relatively unremarkable side that ignored the possession football trend, instead utilising direct counter-attacks and counter-pressing football. 

But their greatest threat came from set pieces, with Inzaghi’s team scoring 24 of their 61 goals from set piece situations, with a special focus on getting their physically imposing wing-back Idrissa Toure involved.

It’s no wonder the big man popped up with six goals and four assists, having displayed an innate ability to win second balls and find himself in the right position to shoot at goal. 

Inzaghi repurposed Toure from central midfield to the wide position, a move that has revitalised the player’s career.

It was Toure that played the cross into Atalanta’s box which led to Hien’s own goal and he could claim to be his team’s best outfield player on the night, winning all ten aerial duels and making himself useful at both ends of the pitch.

Set pieces will be vital for Pisa’s survival hopes this season, at both ends of the pitch, and one can read into the hiring of Gilardino as an indication that the Pisa board believe as much.

Their new coach built a strong Genoa side in 2023/24, one which thrived on its prowess from set pieces.

Signing a player like Juan Cuadrado should help them excel there. Sure, he’s a 37-year-old winger/wing-back, but he can take free-kicks and corners, and he’s got a truly remarkable CV at this level.

Their summer business has been quietly impressive, picking up Swiss international midfielder Michel Aebischer on loan from Bologna, as well as striker M’Bala Nzola from Fiorentina, a player who thrived in a relegation-threatened Spezia side, hitting double figures twice in three seasons.

Then there’s Matteo Tramoni, Pisa’s most exciting player. The Corsican attacking midfielder arrived from Cagliari in summer 2022, having impressed for Brescia the previous season.\
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He had a decent first campaign at Pisa and started 2023/24 with a goal against Sampdoria on the opening day before tearing his cruciate ligaments and missing almost the entire season.

Tramoni came back on Easter Monday and scored twice in the final six minutes as Pisa came from behind to win 4-3 against Palermo.

Despite Pisa’s set piece prowess, their promotion likely would not have happened without Tramoni last year. He missed twelve matches through injury and Pisa won only three of them. For reference they won 23 times last season.

Their mercurial talent’s injury proneness meant he never played more than seven matches without missing one that season, but he still scored thirteen times and assisted another three.

Tramoni scored winners against Brescia and Sampdoria, and struck twice in a massively important win 3-1 against eventual champions Sassuolo on St. Stephen’s Day. 

If Tramoni can stay fit for much of this season, it will be fascinating to watch him go about his business in Serie A. It’s obvious that he won’t have anywhere near as much time and space to impact matches, but he looks capable of making the step up to the top level and he’ll get chances.

Pisa feels like a club in tune with its city and fanbase right now, despite some teething issues in the past couple of years. Their Curva Nord ultras protested against the club in January 2024, after what they felt was negligence from the board that led to reduced capacity at Arena Garibaldi due to safety issues.

Said issues have since been resolved and the Rangers Pisa group are back in the curva flying their Che Guevara flag again. They’re a socially aware, often radical bunch, which is to be expected in a university city, so it’s no wonder that one of the news takeaways from their promotion celebrations was a [video of Pippo Inzaghi](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KfMhKCmBFY8) waving a Palestine flag from the team’s open top bus.

One can’t expect the peace between ownership and ultras/fans will last forever, but owner Alexander Knaster appears to be keeping a slightly lower profile than some other American club owners as he continues to pump investment into the club.

Long gone are the days of charismatic, eccentric owners like Romeo Anconetani, the last Pisa chief to see the club into Serie A in 1990. Anconetani was famous for salting the pitch before matches to the roar of the crowd and for bringing South American talent like Diego Simeone, Dunga and Jose Chamot to Europe.

Though there are bigger cities in Italy, it feels right seeing Pisa in Serie A, even if only because the stadium is a short walk from the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

This Saturday sees the first Serie A match at Arena Garibaldi in 34 years when Pisa take on Roma, who were the opponent the last time Pisa played at home in the top flight. 

While a repeat of the 1-0 defeat from 1991 would be no disgrace for Pisa, they’ll be hoping for a memorable return on a day that will undoubtedly see the Curva Nord bursting with blue and black.

Pisa are making strides to bridge the gap between them and the three teams they need to finish above this year and may pick up another couple of experienced additions before Monday’s transfer deadline, but they’ll need to rely on several of their Serie B stars to make the grade.

Making themselves a threat from set pieces and hard to beat feels like the best way to give yourself every chance to avoid relegation and Pisa seem intent on doing as much. 

If Idrissa Toure pops up with a goal from a corner and Pisa nick a point — or even a win — this weekend, then it might be time to believe the hype.

Pisa are playing the Garibaldi way

Serie B 2025/26 Season Preview

Serie A 2025/26 Season Preview

It’s the 14th of May 2011. Maurizio Ciampi blows his whistle and gestures towards the San Siro tunnel. 

No one is heading that way, of course, as the end of a 4-1 rout of Cagliari signals the beginning of Milan’s eighteenth Scudetto celebrations, the end of Inter’s run of five successive league wins and the end of Milan’s seven year title drought (despite a minor detour to two Champions League finals along the way).

Two second half substitutes shared an intimate embrace on the halfway line; Filippo Inzaghi and Andrea Pirlo.

The 2010/11 Scudetto would be the final trophy that the iconic pair would win with the Rossoneri and would kickstart an unthinkable eleven years without silverware for the club. The magic that seemed to follow Milan for decades prior was finally coming to an end. 

Twelve months later Filippo would be retired; Andrea would be experiencing a professional rebirth in Turin for eternal rivals Juventus, and Milan would be in the early stages of one of the most lacklustre eras in the club’s history.

The years following that success were a difficult time for Milan, with ten managers in as many years, three of which were members of the 2011 league-winning squad. 

Clarence Seedorf, Filippo Inzaghi and Gennaro Gattuso were part of the long list of bosses who failed to stem the mediocrity bleeding from the club. Several mid-table finishes followed, the worst a 10th place in the 2014/15 season.

**<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKpEVKLSoVY>**

Milan were a squad in transition at the time of the 2011 league win, blending in new talent such as Alexandre Pato, Robinho, Kevin-Price Boateng, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Thiago Silva while phasing out other club legends such as Clarence Seedorf, Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso, Gianluca Zambrotta and, crucially, Ronaldinho. 

The Brazilian talisman departed in January for Flamengo after making just eleven league appearances in the 2010/2011 season, bringing an end to the European career of one of the greatest players to ever grace football and henceforth making every Pepsi advert much worse. 

You’d be forgiven for thinking the removal of a figure of that magnitude from your team mid-season would hinder your title chances but, in this instance, no.

Ibrahimović arrived on a one year loan from Barcelona in August 2010, his third Italian club after Juventus and city rivals Inter. Zlatan's return to Milan came after a very difficult time in Spain. 

Barcelona had signed him in 2009 for a huge £62.5m. The Swedish striker and manager Pep Guardiola took an almost immediate dislike to each other and they spent the entire season completely at odds, causing the Spanish club to eventually take an embarrassing £41m loss on the transfer. Zlatan later spoke publicly about the frosty relationship he shares with the now Manchester City boss:

> **“When you buy me, you are buying a Ferrari. If you drive a Ferrari, you put premium petrol in the tank, you hit the motorway and you step on the gas.** 
>
> **"Guardiola filled up with diesel and took a spin in the countryside. He should have bought a Fiat.”**

Zlatan came back to Serie A with a point to prove and he certainly played like it, scoring 22 goals and providing twelve assists in all competitions, becoming a crucial player for Massimiliano Allegri’s Milan side. 

Milan showed little sign of faltering throughout the whole campaign, only experiencing defeat on four occasions. 

The final of which came two months before the end of the season, when veteran Mark Van Bommel broke from his defensive line and played Dorin Goian very much onside and the Rossoneri fell to a 1-0 away defeat to Palermo, opening a small door of opportunity for the teams queueing up in wait of a Milan slip-up. 

The same door that youngster Alexandre Pato triumphantly booted closed two weeks later by scoring just 42 seconds into a derby di Milano, which saw A.C. run out 3-0 victors, putting them in the driving seat for the Scudetto.

The feeling in Milan was that their team of the mid to late 2000s should've achieved much more on their own turf, and it's hard to disagree. Dida, Jankulovski, Paolo Maldini, Nesta, Cafu, Massimo Ambrosini, Pirlo, Gattuso, Seedorf, Kaka, Inzaghi (excluding a cup tied Ronaldo Nazário) make up the most common starting eleven for the 2006/2007 Champions league winning season.

The Carlo Ancelotti team of superstars adorned his Christmas tree formation like Galactico baubles but couldn't quite string together the consistency of brilliance required to win their domestic league; they finished fourth instead, alongside a 5-3 loss to Roma in the Coppa Italia final. 

A bit underwhelming, really, but you could make an argument for them being one of the best club sides in the history of football. Allegri's team of 2011 were undoubtedly less talented, less iconic and less fun than many of its preceding incarnations; but they achieved what hadn't been done since 2004; they won the league.

Allegri’s Milan were defined by their consistency. A season managed with composure rather than spectacle. As we’ve come to expect with Allegri, he didn’t overhaul or revolutionise, he steadied. A slow rumble toward success. 

The feeling of inevitability that we came to expect from his subsequent Juventus sides. In a club used to noise, Allegri lowered the volume, creating a team with shape and clarity. Let others slip up, be consistent and have a very good striker. The Allegri way. Some would say that it’s not romantic, but it is effective.

Which, if you love football, is romantic in itself.

#### *I﻿mage by Lewis Urquhart ([@calciolewis](https://www.instagram.com/calciolewis/))*

Before the banter years, there was Max Allegri's Milan

Being a Premier League wonderkid must be an exhausting life. Thrust into the media spotlight at a young age, you’re constantly faced with questions about your dream move and sandbagged with ridiculous comparisons to stars from days gone by.\
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There’s never a quiet moment and you can’t win. If you hit the big time, certain sections are desperate for you to fall, see Wayne Rooney. Should you not reach the heights expected of you aged sixteen? Forget about it.

Evan Ferguson’s time in England is a case study in itself and his loan transfer to Roma this summer could prove the change of scenery required to save his career.

The idea that a 20-year-old’s career is at the point of needing salvation is preposterous in itself, but it says a lot that people were getting excited when Ferguson scored four times in a friendly against Serie D side UniPomezia the day after he arrived in Italy’s capital.

For those in England, the focus on Ferguson in the past four years has been around his progression as a future Premier League star. 

His breakthrough at Brighton came at 18, four years after he first lined out for Bohemians in the League of Ireland and became the club’s youngest ever player. Scoring in the Premier League against Arsenal on New Year’s Eve 2022 was to be the start of a path that would eventually lead to Ferguson signing for Chelsea or Manchester United.

Ferguson scored six goals in both 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, but the latter ended with him damaging his anterior cruciate ligament and missing six months through injury.

The setback cost him his place in the Brighton team, limited to the odd substitute appearance under new coach Fabian Hürzeler. A loan to West Ham reunited him with his first Brighton coach Graham Potter, but again Ferguson remained a peripheral figure.

He now finds himself in the unique situation of being surplus to requirements at Brighton — hence the loan to Roma — but still considered enough of a prospect for them to demand €40m from the Serie A club should they wish to buy him.

Evan Ferguson leaving English football didn’t seem likely, despite his West Ham spell going sour. Perhaps we’re still conditioned to believe that the Premier League is the best in the world and nobody should want to leave, but Ballon d’Or nominee Scott McTominay might have something to say about that.

It’s strange to consider leaving Brighton for a club like Roma as the move that gets a player ‘out of the spotlight’, but it’s true in Ferguson’s circumstances.

Brighton leaned into the Ferguson hype and even released a [thirteen-minute documentary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QNoBGlnXvk) with the cringey title: From Bohs to Men: The Remarkable Rise Of Evan Ferguson. He had just turned 19 and was less than fifty matches into his senior career. No pressure, kid.

English football media focuses on the individual, i.e. players and managers, while Italian football — fans more than media — is all about the devotion to the maglia (the shirt) and supporting the club, rather than any one person.

Neither approach is objectively correct, but Ferguson now finds himself in a position that should — I said should — suit him better. This is a new beginning, a chance to truly find his feet in professional football in a less helter-skelter environment.

The media coverage in Italy is slightly greater than the Premier League gets in England, but it’s more saturated, overly analytical and, at times, melodramatic. Shocker, right? It still feels like scrutiny of a different kind, less definitive. One bad match does not make a bad player, for example.

The most crucial advantage Ferguson has this season is the coach he gets to work with: Gian Piero Gasperini. The new Roma man arrives after nine years at Atalanta during which he took the club to previously unthinkable heights, including delivering the Europa League in 2024. 

Gasperini’s teams all had one thing in common: an attacker scoring goals at unprecedented levels in their career. Papu Gomez, Josip Ilicic, Luis Muriel, Duvan Zapata, Ademola Lookman and Mateo Retegui, to name a few. 

Charles De Ketelaere went from zero goals at Milan to hitting double figures in each of his first two seasons at Atalanta, while Gianluca Scamacca’s career looked to be rehabilitating before a devastating knee injury this time last year.

His work with attackers didn’t begin at Atalanta, however. Marco Borriello, Iago Falque and Leonardo Pavoletti had breakout seasons in his Genoa teams, while an already prolific Diego Milito got his move to Inter off the back of a 24 goal season that saw him win Capocannoniere, the award for Serie A’s top scorer, in 2009.

Ferguson spoke about Gasperini in his first [interview with the club](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EDAMMZh21k): 

> **“Before signing for a club, you have to look at who the coach is and how he manages the team, and I think that at this stage of my career, Gasperini could be an excellent person to play for, to work with, and to learn from.** 
>
> **"He obviously has an excellent track record with strikers. I hope the same goes for me.”** 

Assuming that Ferguson has been well advised by his management, they will have seen Roma as the perfect opportunity to develop him under a coach like Gasperini. 

At the risk of reading much into pre-season, he did score in each of his first three matches, which might indicate that he’s settled in quickly and is enjoying life in a new environment.

Having the chance to play with Paulo Dybala will likely have influenced his decision too. Should Ferguson oust incumbent first choice striker Artem Dovbyk as some reports suggest, then he’ll have plenty of chances to recapture his form and get a taste for scoring goals.

More than any Gasperini project player, Ferguson’s situation could be best compared to De Ketelaere. The young Belgian attacker arrived at Atalanta in 2023 with his confidence in tatters after a tough debut season in Italy.\
\
Milan spent more than £30m to take him from Club Brugge in 2022. De Ketelaere was only 21 and less than a hundred matches into his senior career. 

He struggled with his bit part role after Milan gave him a run of starts early in the season during which he produced little in front of goal. The pressure of wearing the Milan jersey arguably proved too much and, at Atalanta, De Ketelaere thrived with less expectation.\
\
Roma are a much, much bigger club than Brighton in reality, but Ferguson and those around him will be hopeful that the set of circumstances laid out can work to his benefit.

Not only does Ferguson have the pressure of being a one-time Premier League wonderkid, but he carries the hopes of his nation on his shoulders. He was the bright hope, an international quality number nine to lead Ireland into future major tournaments and put an end to a decade of mediocrity.

Interest in Ferguson this season will go beyond the cursory intrigue from Premier League fans, as Irish supporters will likely find themselves more invested in Roma than they could ever have imagined.

Should Gasperini turn Ferguson into the goalscorer Ireland fans have dreamt of for years, then perhaps he might be the most popular man based in that part of the world since Pope John Paul II came to Ireland in 1979.

Likewise, Ferguson could become the most popular Irishman in Rome since…I don’t know, James Joyce? Give it six months and he'll be riding a Vespa while listening to Italo-disco, and scoring fifteen goals.

He’ll have divine help from the various folks in his native Bettystown who’ll be lighting candles and saying the rosary on his behalf, and who knows, he might even encourage a few to come out to see him play.

While this move is certainly not make or break for Ferguson, it’s time he started to show the football world what he’s capable of. To do so, perhaps he needed to spread his wings and leave the comforts of home, or at least one within touching distance of Ireland.

Not all roads lead to Rome these days, but Ferguson’s path has taken him to the Italian capital and into the caring guidance of Gian Piero Gasperini. What more could a young striker want?

Pisa, Fiorentina and unsalted bread

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