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Articles by Stefano Ursolini

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About Stefano Ursolini

The son of a leading Florentine art dealer, Stefano initially worked in the Uffizi Gallery. He went into journalism and soon became a popular stringer writing on Tuscan wines, art and football. Stefano lives with his partner Umberto in the Santa Croce quarter of Florence. A dedicated supporter of AC Fiorentina his elegant articles on the Viola as well as the Serie A have earned him an appreciative global audience. More Posts

View from Italy

Here in Italy we have been shocked by the defeat by Costa Rica but all is not lost and we think we can beat Uruguay in the crunch game on Tuesday. Our problems are defensive, which is surprising given our reputation. Giorgio Chielini is the worst culprit being now slow and making clumsy challenges. [...]

June 22, 2014 // 0 Comments

Italy’s win

I thought Italy ‘s win was merited. Roy Hodgson is a highly respected coach here after two terms at Inter Milan and one at Udinese. His philosophy is old-fashioned catanaccio, the rigid defensive style perfected by both Milan clubs in the 60s, so I was surprised by the adventurous, pacy side [...]

June 15, 2014 // 0 Comments

Italy file

Italy are in good shape going into the World Cup and worth a bet. We may not be as well-rated as Spain and Germany but we have many attributes. The first is our manager Cesare Prandelli, one of the best around. He managed successfully Fiorentina, never an easy  job, before becoming coach of the [...]

May 29, 2014 // 0 Comments

Fiorentina file

I do not know who had the worse Saturday, Alan Tanner or me. I was in the Stadio Olimpico for the final of the Coppa which Fiorentina lost 3-1 to Napoli. Before the game there was a serious shooting incident which delayed the kick off for some 45 minutes.  The Napoli fans did not want the game to [...]

May 5, 2014 // 0 Comments

Fiorentina file

Fiorentina were assured of 4th position and a Europa League place after winning at Bologna, our 9th away win and a club record. Traditionally la Viola are indomitable at the Artemio Franchi in Florence but less reliable on our travels. It’s been  a successful season, given that for most of [...]

April 28, 2014 // 0 Comments

A sad night in Florence

The city has been charged with excitement all week. There is nothing like the anticipation of a visit from Juventus, especially when we have every chance of progressing in the Europe Laegue at their expense. Old scores will be settled. Perhaps there is something in the Florentine DNA, going back to [...]

March 21, 2014 // 0 Comments

Fiorentina file

Fiorentina lost 0-1 away to ther hated rivals Juventus on Sunday and now play them this Thursday and the following one in the Europa League. The bitterness goes back to 1982 when the scudetto went to the last game.  Juve were at Catanzaro and awarded a late penalty, whilst Fiorentina were refused [...]

March 11, 2014 // 0 Comments

Fiorentina File

I thought you all might be interested in a recent development at Fiorentina.  The system of support  is a different model  to yours. There is a network of supporters clubs normally characterised by location, for example there is A Viola Club of London, but it could be a place of work. There is [...]

February 28, 2014 // 0 Comments

Fiorentina file

Last night Fiorentina reached the final of the Italian Cup after beating Udinese 2-0. We will play the winners of Roma and Napoli. Although your FA cup has declined in status it does have more tradition than ours, which I would compare to the League Cup. It is also seeded. Fiorentina had to [...]

February 12, 2014 // 0 Comments

Fiorentina file

Pepito Rossi was in the stand last night, watching our 2-0 victory over Chievo in the Cup. The Italian Cup has the status of the Capital Cup. I am sure that overseas players in the Premier League do not understand the traditions of your FA Cup. Rossi will fly out to Colorado to be assessed by the [...]

January 9, 2014 // 0 Comments

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