Letters If you’ve got something to say about Italian football then this is the place to air it. Send your letters to Calcio Italia, Poland House, 249 Main Road, Walter's Ash, High Wycombe, HP14 4TH or email editorial@calcioitalia.co.uk Full names and addresses must be supplied even if you don’t want them published

Pinkie & Perkie Itotally agree with Luca Millesi’s letter in the May issue of Calcio Italia about the bias of British coverage of football on television. Mr Millesi didn’t name names, but I will. Richard Keys can barely even mention the word Italy, and it must have been torture for him watching the scintillating game where Milan tore into Manchester United at the San Siro. He sat almost speechless alongside two former Milan players. Ray Wilkins understandably was torn, but Ruud Gullit didn’t have to be. It was so special to hear him say that part of him was still at Milan and that he would like them to win the Champions League Final. A camera glimpse of Keys’ face then was priceless. But the Sky Sports presenter is not alone and his sidekick Andy Gray – Pinkie and Perkie – is no different. When the Rossoneri won the European Cup in 2003 and then went on to contest the Intercontinental Cup which they lost to Boca Juniors, they sent their strongest team. But this coincided with the early round of the 2003-04 Champions League, when Milan lost to Celta Vigo after fielding a weakened XI. The Spaniards went on to get through the group having had, according to Gray, an unfair advantage. He pontificated about Milan sending out their strongest side to play some “tin pot Cup game in Asia.” Perhaps by the time Liverpool went out to contest it in 2005 Gray might have read up on it! Margaret Ward, Guildford

Perhaps by the time Liverpool went out to contest it in 2005 STAR LETTER

Ruud Gullit is often the lone voice defending Italian football on Sky’s Champions League coverage

Despite the signing of French youngster Yoann Gourcuff, Milan still have an aging side

Some fans believe Daniele De Rossi should be Roma skipper instead of Francesco Totti

Captain Daniele Did anyone notice how brilliantly Daniele De Rossi played in Roma’s 7-1 defeat at Old Trafford? And how Francesco Totti did next to nothing? Everybody seems to thrive on Totti, singing his praises at every opportunity, yet he only seems to make an effort in easy matches and not in ties where the stakes are high. De Rossi, the young Roman, delivers every time. All season his name has kept popping up, then in Manchester he was the only one who kept going. Even after half-time he was there trying to hold things together. He seems to have matured a lot this season since the elbowing incident against the USA at the World Cup last summer. Although you can’t really compare the two, as both have very different roles on the pitch, when it comes to passion Francesco seems to be lacking. Maybe it is time for a change, maybe it is time for a younger, braver captain of Roma. It’s not just about scoring goals. Lisa De Martino, Leeds

Napoli mania! Thank you Calcio Italia for finally giving Napoli and Diego Maradona the credit they deserve. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I went to buy the May copy of the magazine and ‘Il Pibe d’Oro’ in a Napoli shirt was on the front. You could imagine my excitement at finally seeing the best player to ever appear in Serie A – Diego Maradona – grace the cover for the first time in Calcio Italia history. It was well worth the wait though, as Napoli’s fairytale golden era was superbly covered. It just made me realise that this sort of achievement will never happen again, not unless a billionaire oil magnate or media mogul plays sugar daddy and invests heavily into your club and buys your team the world’s best. The Vesuviani tifosi will never forget what ‘The King’ did for our beloved Napoli. They say one man doesn’t make a team, but they broke all the rules when they made El Diego! Grazie Calcio Italia. Francesco Scarpato, Newport

Our coverage of Napoli and Diego Maradona brought cheer to his many fans around the world

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Lax Lupoli “In England the young players get more of a look-in. My teammates in the Under-21 Italy side would all be first team players in the Premiership,” says Fiorentina-bound striker Arturo Lupoli. Is this guy for real? He made just one topflight appearance during his spell at Arsenal. Even Coca-Cola Championship outfit Derby dropped him because he wasn’t scoring many goals. The fact is that if you are good enough to play for a team then it’s likely that you will be handed an opportunity. Could anyone realistically see Graziano Pelle pulling on a Newcastle United shirt and going goal crazy in the Premiership? Youngsters have just as much chance of making it at home as they do abroad and it’s time that players started to take a bit of responsibility for their failings and not look to blame others. Quite frankly, Lupoli is an average player who doesn’t even compare to his former Parma colleague Giuseppe Rossi. And he certainly doesn’t come close to matching up to his future Viola teammate Giampaolo Pazzini. Even if, as I expect, Luca Toni does depart the Stadio Artemio Franchi this summer I doubt Lupoli will get many opportunities. The only hope for him is that Cesare Prandelli can work his magic, just like he did on Alberto Gilardino and Adriano. But both of those are now massive underachievers at bigger clubs, and I expect exactly the same fate for Lupoli if he does somehow manage to end up at one of Italy’s top three. Josh Cox, Greenwich

Has Francesco Tavano been an Italian returning to strengthen his home League, or because he didn’t make it in Spain?

After failing to get a chance in the Premier League, can Arturo Lupoli be a hero for Fiorentina next season?

Euro sceptic Iusually enjoy reading Susy Campanale’s articles on the ins and outs of the Italian game, but her feature on the number of players returning to the peninsula from abroad skirts the central issue so badly it resembles something created by a New Labour spin doctor. Her main focus is that the return of Italian players to Serie A and B is that they miss the lifestyle and the competitions. That may be a reason, but it certainly isn’t the prime factor, which is that each and every one of the examples given failed to make the grade abroad. She cites the return of Arturo Lupoli – a player recently benched by Derby County in favour of Darren Currie – as a demonstration of the magnetic power of calcio, ignoring the fact that he wasn’t going to make it at Arsenal. Similarly, Francesco Tavano failed comprehensively at Valencia and Massimo Maccarone never truly delivered at Middlesbrough. Yet they are treated as conquering heroes? There has been an awful lot of nonsense written about the perceived collapse of calcio, and Calcio Italia is correct to defend the game against outrageous attack. However, Campanale’s article gave the impression of an individual with her head placed firmly in the sand. Perhaps Calcio Italia is unwilling to admit what actually has been lost... Robert Mann, Belfast

IN OFF THE POST

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Ian Hughes. Aged 37. 21 Heathfield Drive, Waterhays, Newcastle, Staffs, ST5 7TJ. Fav Teams/Players: Stoke City, Napoli/Diego Maradona, Fabio Cannavaro. Italia Ideas: More on Napoli. Travel Companions to: Napoli. Interests: Learning Italian. Would like to hear from Napoli fans male or female. Phil Simons. Aged 33. 176 Todmorden Road, Bacup, Lancs, OL13 9TZ. Fav Teams/Players: Blackburn Rovers, Rangers, Lazio/George Best, Paul Gascoigne, Robbie Savage, Roberto Baggio, Paolo Di Canio. Swops: Football tops, Lazio merchandise. Interests: Watching football, music, reading, writing, playing guitar, travel. Looking for pen pals from all over the world, especially Lazio supporters, both male and female. Letters in English please. Tori Bielby. Aged 19. 43 Shaws Road, Northgate, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 8DU. Fav Teams/Players: Juventus, Roma, Real Madrid, Chelsea/Alex Del Piero, Luis Figo, John Terry, Gigi Buffon. Swops: Pics of Del Piero or Figo, Football shirts. Interests: Running, gym, computer games, going out, cinema. James Maddison. Aged 31. 5 St Edmonds Road, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 1NP. Fav Teams/Players: Lecce, Sampdoria/Valeri Bojinov, Francesco Flachi. Travel Companions to: Lecce & Samp games. Swops: Vast collection of English football merchandise in exchange for Lecce/Samp items. Interests: Football, sports, music (especially Britney/Kylie). Would like to hear from male/female Leece/Sampdoria fans of any nationality with similar interests. Rosello Fleming. Aged 29. 69 Trinity Lane, Waltham Cross, Herts, EN8 7EL. Fav Teams/Players: Juventus, Italy, Napoli/Roberto Baggio, Fabio Cannavaro, Alex Del Piero, Fabrizio Miccoli, Francesco Totti, Vincenzo Montella. Interests: Music, Italian & Neapolitan language, studying art, football. Linda Whyte. Aged 19. 18 Park Gardens, Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, Scotland, PA10 2LR. Email: linda_whyte23@hotmail.com Fav Teams/Players: Rangers, Milan, Chelsea/Pippo Inzaghi, Paolo Maldini, Adrian Mutu. Italia Ideas: More posters. Swops: Postcards, pictures. Interests: All sports, F1, shopping, making new friends, music, cinema. Would like to hear from both boys & girls.

CONGRATULATIONS Calcio Italia April 2007 competition winners: Subside shirt (1620035) Tom Banks (Louth) Roma board game (1620033) Rosa Venn (Southam) Allan Morton (Kilmarnock) Mary Lynchehaun (Edinburgh) Martin Ling (Manchester) Paul Darby (Tamworth)

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