On June 28, 2012, Mario Balotelli peaked. His thunderous second goal in the first 40 minutes of Italy’s Euro 2012 semi-final clash with Germany highlighted a stupendous tournament for the mercurial striker. Named in the Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament and finishing the joint top scorer, Balotelli’s summer exploits concluded a maniacal season for the Italian.
The twisted tale of love and deceit between Argentine footballers Mauro Icardi and Maxi Lopez took another soap opera-style twist on Sunday when their respective club sides met in an Italian Serie A match.
Icardi, 23, is the striker for Inter Milan while Lopez, 32, plays the same role for Torino. The bad blood between the two came to a head following Lopez’s messy divorce with 29-year-old Argentine media personality Wanda Nara in 2013.
Gonzalo Higuain has been banned for four matches following his complete mental breakdown against Udinese. After seeing a second yellow, Higuain completely broke rank and pushed the referee before taking his frustrations out on teammates, opponents, coaches and basically anyone and everyone that tried to intervene. It was a moment of madness that has now stripped Napoli of any chance to win the Scudetto.
Ultras are intimidating people by nature. Ultras who are already in prison are even more intimidating than regular ultras. Therefore, this group of AS Roma fans is really intimidating.
It's time for the traditional video of the Regin Coeli prison in Trastevere cheering Roma's win #DerbydellaCapitale https://t.co/OomPWN7Ukl
With only a handful of games remaining across the top divisions in England, Spain, Germany and Italy, clear title favorites are beginning to emerge while pretenders are falling by the wayside. With the finest of margins separating this season’s elite, predicting the title winners in Europe’s top four leagues remains a tricky process.
Andrea Pirlo is a man of many talents. The Italian New York City FC midfielder can put a soccer ball wherever he wants. He always knows where the other team's free kicks are going. He has won the Champions League, the 2006 World Cup (he was man of the match in the final), and Serie A Player of the Year (three times).
He is...the most interesting man in the world.
Let's check in on our young friend Pietro Tomaselli, shall we?
The hype machine cranked up when Roma signed the then-nine years old Belgian prodigy (we are obligated as members of the media to refer to him as a "Belgian prodigy" at least once per article) and then it cranked even more when a video surfaced in September of Tomaselli enjoying a nice game of keepy-uppy.
One of those players is still with AS Roma. The other is Ashley Cole.
Gigi Buffon has broken the record for consecutive minutes without conceding a goal in Serie A.
ALL-TIME RECORD! @gianluigibuffon has now gone the longest without conceding in Serie A. #NumeroUno #Legendhttps://t.co/iONLdmrVkj
Chance he goes to Manchester United: 9%
Ladies and gentlemen, the fabulous Higuain brothers.
Gonzalo, 28, is enjoying something of a career renaissance. The Napoli striker has 26 goals in Serie A so far this season, twice as many as the next-best scorer. Napoli are within striking distance of Juventus at the top of the Serie A table.
Some of these highlights are just absurd.