The Dugout

You will find insightful articles written by our football experts here in the Dugout

WC Play-offs are Azzurri's last chance to avoid oblivion

By Daniele Fisichella- Added 9th January 2025

July 9, 2006. The captain of the Italian national team, Fabio Cannavaro, is on the verge of receiving and lifting the World Cup into the Berlin sky. The Azzurri are world champions for the forth time. No one could have imagined that this night would mark the beginning of Italy's decline in the World Cup. The last hope lies in the play-offs of March 2026. But how did they reach such a low point?

San Siro: Temple of Calcio or crumbling ruin?

By Professor John Foot - Added 12th December 2025

When I lived in Italy in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, I often went to football games at San Siro. It was in the process of being re-built and modernised for the 1990 World Cup when I arrived in the city in 1988.....

San Siro portrait - pierre-antona-M7YlOxQ6zew-unsplash.jpg

Rosario Central: one club, two moments… and two different kinds of pride

By Esteban Bekerman - Added 29th November 2025

Argentina’s three FIFA World Cup victories are each defined by an unmistakable face: in 1978, it was Mario Kempes; in 1986, Diego Maradona; and in 2022, Lionel Messi. There’s no debate: unlike other national teams....

Renaissance under the Two Towers

By Daniele Fisichella - Added 14th November 2025

In the era when calcio dominated abroad and, as Italians proudly say, "we were the Premier League," one could be forgiven for not remembering Bologna.....

Two Towers and Chiesa di San Bartolomeo in the Morning, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.jpg

More articles from our football experts in The Dugout coming soon....