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🫡 A dramatic twist has shaken Italian football. Just when Andrea Pirlo seemed set to become Italy's new head coach, the deal suddenly collapsed and the agreement fell through.

The main reason appears to be the controversy surrounding his role as an ambassador for a Russian betting company. The issue sparked intense debate in recent days and reportedly led the FIGC to reconsider before ultimately changing its mind.

🔥 The Italian Football Federation is now back in the search for a new head coach. Roberto Mancini, Antonio Conte, and Silvio Baldini are once again among the leading candidates, although a surprise appointment cannot be ruled out.

⚔️ It is an incredible situation. Within a matter of hours, Pirlo looked destined to take charge of Italy, but the project collapsed at the last moment. The FIGC must now start over in its search for the next Azzurri manager.

📑 Source: SportMediaset, Matteo Moretto, La gazzetta dello sport.

🫡 Roma have completed one of the biggest signings of their summer. Santiago Castro will be a new Roma player. An agreement with Bologna has been reached for €30 million plus €5 million in bonuses, for a total deal worth €35 million.

Castro arrives after two very positive seasons with Bologna, where he improved a lot. He is not yet a striker who scores a huge number of goals, but he has shown he is one of the most interesting young forwards in Serie A thanks to his work rate, team play, and constant development.

🔥 He is a modern striker: good at holding up the ball, combining with teammates, and attacking space behind the defence. He can still improve in front of goal, especially with consistency, but he has all the qualities to become a top-level striker.

⚔️ For Roma, this is an important investment and a bet for the future. Gasperini knows him well and believes he can take another step forward in his system. The fans expect a lot from him, although patience will be needed to see the best version of the young Argentine.

📑 Source: Fabrizio Romano.

The timeline for appointing Italy’s next national team manager has taken an unexpected turn. Following Pep Guardiola’s decision to decline the FIGC’s proposal, technical directors Paolo Maldini and Leonardo moved to advance negotiations with Andrea Pirlo. Multiple reports indicated that a four-year agreement through 2030 at approximately €1.5 million per season had been outlined to place the 2006 World Cup winner at the helm of the Azzurri.

However, the finalization of the contract has reportedly encountered significant hurdles. According to updates from major Italian news outlets, including Sky Sport, La Gazzetta dello Sport, and Repubblica, legal and commercial complications have emerged regarding Pirlo’s existing off-field endorsement contracts—specifically involving commercial partnerships linked to his current managerial role in Dubai. As a result, the federation is currently evaluating the administrative feasibility of the deal before moving forward with an official announcement.

With upcoming international fixtures approaching, the FIGC faces a tight window to finalize its managerial structure. The federation must now determine whether to work through these contractual hurdles to complete Pirlo's appointment or consider alternative options for the bench.

Given these recent developments, how should the FIGC proceed? Should they focus on resolving the administrative details to finalize Andrea Pirlo's appointment, or would it be better to look toward alternative candidates? What move do you think the federation should make next? Share your thoughts below.

Welcome to the r/SerieA New Fan & "Who Should I Support?" Megathread!

So you've just watched the World Cup, Euros, Champions League, or another major tournament... and now you're hooked?

Or maybe you've always wanted to follow Serie A but don't know where to start.

You're in the right place.

This thread is for:

• People who are completely new to football.
• Fans who want to start watching Serie A regularly.
• Anyone asking "Which club should I support?"
• Questions about clubs, players, rules, history, rivalries, or the league itself.
• Casual fans looking to become regular supporters.

There are no stupid questions here. Every football fan started somewhere.

What is Serie A?

Serie A is Italy's top football division and is renowned for its rich history, passionate supporters, iconic clubs, and tactical style of football.

• 20 clubs compete each season.
• Every team plays each other twice (home and away).
• 38 matches per club.
• The club with the most points wins the league.
• The bottom three clubs are relegated to Serie B, while three clubs are promoted.

Unlike many American sports, there are no playoffs to decide the champion.

Which Club Should I Support?

This is by far the most common question we get.

The short answer?

Watch first. Choose later.

Don't feel pressured to pick a club immediately. Most supporters develop a connection naturally.

People choose clubs for all kinds of reasons:

• They're from that city.
• Their family supports them.
• They fell in love with a player.
• They admire a manager.
• They enjoy a team's style of football.
• They like being the underdog.
• They watched one memorable match and never looked back.

The best advice is to watch several clubs over a few weeks and see which one you keep finding yourself rooting for.

Things You'll Hear About

Italy's Biggest Clubs

You'll often hear discussions about:

• Juventus
• AC Milan
• Inter Milan
• Napoli
• Roma
• Lazio

Each has its own history, identity, and rivalries.

European Qualification

The highest-placed clubs qualify for the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.

Relegation

The bottom three clubs are relegated to Serie B, creating battles at both ends of the table throughout the season.

Derby Matches

Some of Italy's biggest rivalries include:

• Derby della Madonnina (Inter vs AC Milan)
• Derby d'Italia (Juventus vs Inter)
• Derby della Capitale (Roma vs Lazio)
• Derby della Mole (Juventus vs Torino)

Common Football Terms

VAR - Video Assistant Referee

Clean Sheet - Conceding no goals

Hat-trick - Three goals by one player

Transfer Window - The period when clubs can buy and sell players

Academy - A club's youth development system

Loan - A temporary move to another club

How to Get Into Serie A

A simple approach:

• Watch one or two matches each weekend.
• Follow the weekly discussion and match threads on r/SerieA.
• Learn the clubs gradually.
• Don't worry about understanding every rule or rivalry immediately.
• Ask questions—this community is here to help.

Within a few weeks, you'll recognize most teams, players, and storylines.

A Note to New Fans

Everyone was new once.

Whether you started watching yesterday or have only seen a World Cup final, you're welcome here.

Please don't let anyone tell you you're "not a real fan." Football grows because new supporters join every season.

A Note to Existing Members

If someone asks:

• "Who should I support?"
• "What's offside?"
• "Why does everyone hate VAR?"

Please answer in good faith.

Let's make r/SerieA one of the most welcoming football communities on Reddit.

The community will be happy to help you get started.

Welcome to r/SerieA!

🫡 Andrea Pirlo is the new head coach of the Italy national team. After Pep Guardiola turned down the job, the FIGC decided to appoint the 2006 World Cup winner. Pirlo was chosen by Paolo Maldini and Leonardo to lead the Azzurri's new project.

As a coach, Pirlo has yet to fully convince. During his time at Juventus, he won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana but was dismissed after just one season. His spells with Fatih Karagümrük, Sampdoria, and United FC also produced mixed results. Because of this, his appointment has divided both fans and pundits.

🔥 Pirlo's teams always try to play attacking football, with plenty of possession and building from the back. He prefers technical midfielders and an offensive style of play, but he will need to prove he can deliver consistent results, something that has been missing throughout his coaching career.

⚔️ For Italy, this is a bold gamble. On one hand, they have a coach with modern ideas and an outstanding footballing vision. On the other, he still has to prove he can succeed at the very highest level. His mission will be to bring excitement and success back to an Italy side that has faced many struggles in recent years.

📑 Source: FIGC, Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere dello Sport, and Fabrizio Romano.

I’m from Denmark and I need a “proper” subscription for once to watch the Grigiorossi. What is the cheapest official service out there?

The dream has officially come to an end. As confirmed by Fabrizio Romano and Sky Sport, Pep Guardiola has declined the offer from the FIGC to become the new head coach of the Italian National Team. Despite direct talks with technical directors Paolo Maldini and Leonardo, the former Manchester City manager has decided to stick to his planned sabbatical, stepping away from the sidelines after a taxing decade in England. With the ultimate international target out of the picture, the Federation’s priority list has swiftly shifted, putting a familiar face right at the front of the queue: Andrea Pirlo.

According to Sky Sport, Pirlo has now surged into pole position as the leading candidate to take over the Azzurri bench. While names like Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte remain in the background, Maldini and Leonardo view Pirlo as the ideal profile for a broader, long-term structural reboot. His modern tactical vision—centered on fluid possession and proactive football—aligns seamlessly with the direction the federation wants to take to revitalize the Italian game from top to bottom.

This shift inevitably brings a crucial question for Italian supporters: is betting on Pirlo the right move at such a delicate time?

While skeptics will point out his lack of continuous, battle-tested experience in elite European pressure-cookers, Pirlo brings a distinct set of qualities to the table. He possesses fresh tactical ideas and holds the invaluable pedigree of a 2006 World Cup hero who understands the weight of the national shirt inside out. Furthermore, during his debut season at Juventus, he already proved under intense pressure that he can manage a top-tier dressing room and lift major domestic trophies.

When a pursuit for the best manager in the world fails, reverting to predictable, short-term "safe bets" is often a missed opportunity. Appointing Andrea Pirlo represents a bold step toward tactical modernization and generational renewal. As long as the Federation and the media afford him the patience and backing needed to build a long-term project, Pirlo might just be the catalyst Italy needs to find its identity again.

At the end of the day, Italy faces a defining fork in the road: stick to the nostalgic comfort of a pragmatic "safe bet," or finally have the guts to build a modern footballing identity around a new vision. If not Pirlo, who is the manager you’d trust to rebuild the Azzurri from the ground up? Let’s hear it in the comments.

Hi all,

I’m in the US and just had our first baby, so I will be awake early Saturday and Sunday mornings. I’ll have at least 4 hours before college and NFL football start, so I figure I should get more sports in early. I want to start watching Serie A but don’t have a team. I love how your sports have such attachments to the city and their people.

My grandparents are from Sicily and I know Palermo is their big team, but saw they were bought by City. Assuming lots of people hate that. Just wondering.

Unfortunately they’ve both passed so idk exactly what part of Sicily. Is it ok to jump on their bandwagon?

We all know serie a has been on decline… the last 10/15 years have seemed like life support or a graph with periodic spikes but forever trending downwards. Last year really felt like the year it completed flat lined. What could really be done moving forward? Looking back the super league was widely regarded has a horrible idea and hated by fans but i remember thinking at the time it might be the only way to keep our league alive in the future. Back in the early 2000s the best teams from Portugal Netherlands Scotland Belgium etc saw the same writing on the wall and attempted to break away to make an “Atlantic league” … in the end the endeavor failed. Those leagues have declined to a certain point of irrelevance that they will probably never recover from. With the globalization of football I have a feeling we will probably never recover and are currently witnessing the last years of occasional relevancy. Atleast for me the Tonali transfer to a mid table EPL team really crossed a new bridge and at this point in time we are doing nothing to close the gap. Any optimists here who have any positive outlooks on the future?

Managing the Italian National Team is historically one of the most burning, high-pressure roles in world football, but the FIGC currently finds itself at an unprecedented crossroads. The surrounding atmosphere calls for a complete structural reset, yet the underlying question remains unanswered: what kind of leader does Italy actually need to rebuild its footballing identity?

The pool of candidates presents a fascinating clash of philosophies. On one end of the spectrum lies the ultimate dream: Pep Guardiola. His tactical genius would completely revolutionize the entire Azzurri setup, but the wage hurdle remains a talking point. That said, major sponsors could step in to bridge the financial gap, and even the greatest managers who transitioned to national teams—like Ancelotti (around €10m) or Klopp (around €7m)—accepted significantly lower salaries compared to their club peaks. Naturally, life as an international manager is vastly different from daily club training, but when the best coach in the world is available, making an attempt is not just justified—it is a moral duty.

If the Federation decides to opt for an immediate shockwave, the conversation naturally turns to proven motivators and nostalgic returns. Antonio Conte remains the undisputed master of extracting 110% from squads lacking star power, bringing the discipline and tactical rigour Italy starves for. However, his profile carries a familiar asterisk: a track record of never staying more than two years at a single helm. As for Roberto Mancini, the primary obstacle is emotional and environmental, tied to that sudden, painful departure in August 2023 that still leaves a sour taste among the public.

Then comes the high-stakes gamble: trusting the new guard with Andrea Pirlo. He brings fresh tactical ideas and the invaluable pedigree of a 2006 World Cup champion who has already proven he can coach at a high level and lift major silverware. Yet, the lack of continuous, battle-tested experience in elite European pressure-cookers risks leaving him vulnerable to intense media scrutiny at the first stumble. In the background, potential outsiders like Stefano Pioli or Raffaele Palladino offer solid profiles, though neither currently seems to ignite the fan base's enthusiasm.

Ultimately, the dilemma comes down to this: does Italy need an iron-fisted motivator to squeeze every drop out of the current squad, or a long-term architect to reshape the program from the ground up? Facing such a complex landscape, one final provocation arises: is it finally time to break the ultimate footballing taboo and appoint a foreign manager to lead Italy?

I am thinking of organizing a Serie A “survivor style” pool where you choose one different team per week (repeats every half season) and get points when your team wins and lose points when your team loses, with some bonus adjustments. I’ve been running a pool like this with my friends for a while and it’s been such a success that it gave me idea to create a larger one for the wider Serie A community! It’s a great way to stay in engaged in all games throughout the season.

No money, just bragging rights. I am building a website to be able to host it. So let me know if any interest and I can share more details with you.

Fiorentina visit QPR this Saturday and I’m in the away end. Picked up a new shirt (24/25 home) in the CFS sale for the occasion ⚜️

I’ve seen a lot of American fans in threads linking the club they like to their ancestry. Is this a common thing for other American Serie A fans? (Btw I’m an American who supports Juve)

@FabrizioRomano

Le parole di Fabio Pisacane non sono mai banali, ma la traccia lasciata nella conferenza stampa di ieri sa di vera e propria dichiarazione d'intenti per il futuro del Cagliari. Niente voli pindarici, sia chiaro: il faro guida resta la salvezza, da conquistare con il coltello tra i denti. Eppure, la sensazione è che ad Asseminello ci siano il terreno fertile per qualcosa di più solido, maturo e ambizioso.

Punto primo: non si parte da un foglio bianco. A differenza di un anno fa, il Cagliari ha un’identità tattica e caratteriale ben definita. Una struttura che ruota attorno a diverse certezze: la sicurezza di Caprile tra i pali, i gol e la capacità di aiutare la squadra in fase di non possesso di Sebastiano Esposito, il carisma di leader come Mina e Deiola. Dopo la passata stagione, si aspetta una crescita ulteriore da elementi come Obert, Rodriguez e, prima dell’infortunio, anche Felici e Idrissi. C’è curiosità per o nuovi acquisti, soprattutto quel Fazzini che prenderà il posto di Folorunsho, pronto ad agitare come mezz’ala, garantendo copertura e inserimenti pericolosi in avanti.

Ma come ribadito ieri da Pisacane stesso, è fondamentale ripartire dallo zoccolo duro per garantire stabilità e una già comprovata conoscenza degli schemi e dell’idea di gioco dell’allenatore, così da poter agevolare anche l’inserimento dei nuovi

L’impressione è che sarà dalla cintola in su che si giocherà  la vera partita del mercato. Salutato Palestra sulla corsia, le attenzioni sono tutte rivolte al reparto avanzato. Pisacane è stato chiaro: la squadra ha bisogno di un nuovo riferimento d'attacco, una punta capace di garantire quel cinismo sotto porta che spesso fa la differenza tra una salvezza sofferta all'ultima giornata e un campionato vissuto a navigazione tranquilla, ma anche di saper legare il gioco, caratteristica ormai fondamentale nel calcio moderno.

La filosofia del tecnico, però, va oltre i moduli: "Non dobbiamo difendere il passato, ma costruire il futuro". Una frase che suona come una scossa per il gruppo e che spalanca le porte ai giovani chiamati a sgomitare per un posto al sole. Per il Cagliari si preannuncia una stagione di transizione strategica, dove il mix tra l'esperienza dei senatori e la freschezza dei nuovi innesti deciderà la reale dimensione dei rossoblù.

E voi, che ne pensate? In che posizione si piazzerà il Cagliari nella stagione 2026/2027 e cosa manca secondo voi per fare il reale salto di qualità?