SPECIAL FEATURES 10 BECKS APPEAL (Cover feature) England star David Beckham has finally made the move to Serie A by signing for Milan. Is it a match made in heaven or a disaster waiting to happen? 22 KEEPING FAITH Gianluigi Buffon’s injury problems should be causing panic for Juventus and Italy, but Alex Manninger and Marco Amelia have been keeping the fear at bay 26 INTER BACKBONE Jose Mourinho’s Inter are all about the team, so we highlight the players forming the spine of the side – Julio Cesar, Douglas Maicon, Javier Zanetti and Zlatan Ibrahimovic 38 MARMITE MAN Few players split opinion like Clarence Seedorf, but the former Holland midfielder can certainly count Milan Coach Carlo Ancelotti as one of his fans 40 FANTASTIC THREE With Napoli flying high we take a closer look at the three players sending the San Paolo into raptures, attacking trio Ezequiel Lavezzi, Marek Hamsik and German Denis

Vol 14 Iss 12 (No 160) DECEMBER 2008

NEWS 6 LA GAZZETTA Up-to-date news including the arrival of David Beckham at Milan and the second coming of Alessandro Del Piero 16 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE At least three of the four Italian teams look set to qualify from their group in the Champions League. James Sugrue reports on all the latest from Europe’s top club competition 18 UEFA CUP The group stage of the continent’s second tier trophy got under way this month. Paul Watson judges Italy’s chances of claiming the last UEFA Cup title 19 COPPA ITALIA The fixture pile-up means there were only three domestic Cup games, but there was still plenty to keep the fans entertained 20 INTERNATIONAL SCENE With Marcello Lippi looking ahead to the 2010 World Cup, we pass our eye over some of the Azzurri’s newest recruits

REGULAR FEATURES 36 AROUND THE PENINSULA Our popular feature highlighting the humorous and the off-beat lurking behind the headlines 60 MY CITY, MY CLUB Our fan’s guide to the best cities for watching the beautiful game. Alessandro Gandini takes us on a stroll through the streets of his native Genoa 62 TERZO TEMPO Welcome to the Third Half, where anything goes. Featuring lookalikes, the calcio alphabet, curva idols explained and much, much more

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is just one of the Inter stars we take a closer look at this month

46 PANTO PARTY As the festive season hits Calcio Italia, Susy Campanale casts her own Christmas Panto amongst the stars of Italian football 54 KRYPTON FACTOR With more stars than ever before in Serie A, Dave Taylor plays Dr Frankenstein and wonders what the perfect calcio Superman might be like 56 ROAD TRIP Genoa may be pushing for a place in Europe this season but, despite the late arrival of Thiago Motta, the Rossoblu still need a cure for their travel sickness 66 VINTAGE RED Roma veteran Christian Panucci refuses to fade into the background as we profile the evergreen Giallorossi defender 74 OLD BLOOD Misbehaving and unruly players aren’t anything new to football. Steve Wilson casts his mind back to the infamous Battle of Santiago World Cup game between Italy and Chile

RESULTS SERVICE 82 SERIE A REVIEW The 2008-09 season is shaping up nicely with a host of teams battling it out at the top and bottom. Susy Campanale reports on all the latest top-flight action 84 SERIE A RESULTS All the stats, including results, scorers, tables, attendances, red & yellow cards and referees 90 SERIE B REVIEW Who will be taking on the big boys of Serie A next season? Paul Watson reveals all following the latest round of Second Division clashes 91 SERIE B RESULTS Your complete guide to every result and fixture plus tables and scorers

PICTURE SPECIALS 48 PULL-OUT POSTERS The latest Serie A stars in action, featuring: SEBASTIAN GIOVINCO (JUVENTUS) GOKHAN INLER (UDINESE) ALBERTO AQUILANI (ROMA) ANTONIO NOCERINO (PALERMO) PLUS: BOLOGNA 2008-09

68 HALL OF FAME Few players have ever enjoyed the kind of hero worship that Gigi Riva received at Cagliari. Giancarlo Rinaldi introduces the third member of our calcio honour roll 73 ITALY INDEX Our nation-by-nation guide to the history of the Azzurri continues as we delve into the archives of the Nazionale’s history, bringing us to, amongst others, England 77 FLORENCE POSTCARD This month John Pitonzo gets a helping hand from none other than Santa Claus as he decides which Serie A stars deserve a full stocking this Christmas 78 CALCIO CLOSE-UP The inside scoop on some of calcio’s best-kept secrets, including: KERLON (CHIEVO) FELIPE MELO (FIORENTINA) FABIO CASERTA (LECCE) ABDEL GHEZZAL (SIENA) 97 LAST WORD Has no one heard of growing old gracefully? Susy Campanale offers her support for some Serie A stars refusing to cave in to the sands of time

GREAT OFFERS 8 CHRISTMAS CRACKER Take advantage of one of our great subscription deals 33 EXACT EDITIONS Calcio Italia goes digital! Find out how you can get a virtual subscription to Calcio Italia on your PC or Mac 64 SUBSCRIPTIONS Great new offers. Save money, get copies delivered straight to your door 72 BACK ISSUES Your chance to go back in time and catch up with those missing copies 86 ITALIA WEB Your pointer on where to get the most comprehensive minute-by-minute information on Serie A and all that’s best in Italian football PLUS – Opinion, gossip, competitions and the very best action pictures

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