Author Archives: skasiewicz

A rapid debut goal. A career threatening, bone jarring tackle. A spectacular strike which evoked memories of a legend. Thrust instantly into the unforgiving maelstrom of Scottish football, the Japanese trio of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi have just about survived a spectacular opening chapter in their Celtic careers. It took striker MaedaContinue reading “Hatate leads Celtic’s Japanese evolution”

Juventus signed Dusan Vlahovic and Inter brought in Robin Gosens as the Nerazzurri remained at the top of the table through a period of Covid chaos in January. Lorenzo Insigne agreed an extraordinary move to Toronto FC, Mario Balotelli received a shock recall for Italy and relegation threatened Sampdoria and Genoa both sacked their coaches.Continue reading “Serie A diary: January 2022”

Director: Choi Yoon-tae Starring: Lee Joo-young, Lee Joon-hyuk, Yeom Hye-ran Country of Origin: South Korea Running Time: 1h 45m The pervading influence of baseball in South Korea is not to be underestimated. While puzzling to outsiders, it’s not only a national obsession but a potent symbol of masculinity where only those with the strongest armsContinue reading “Baseball Girl 야구소녀 (2019)”

Celtic’s bold Japanese evolution begins in earnest tonight. At least one of the Glasgow club’s three fresh recruits from the J-League – Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi – is expected to make their debut when Hibs travel to Celtic Park this evening. Compatriot Kyogo Furuhashi has already set a disproportionately high bar forContinue reading “Celtic: Big in Japan again”

It was a dramatic December in Serie A as Inter were crowned winter champions and bottom of the table Salernitana were threatened with expulsion from the league. Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic set scoring records while Juventus recovered on the field but were investigated off it, Catania were declared bankrupt, and Sampdoria President Massimo Ferrero was jailed.Continue reading “Serie A diary: December 2021”

Director: Wes Anderson  Cast: Bill Murray, Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Stephen Park. Production: United States  Imagine roaring through the world’s finest art galleries at breakneck speed while hanging off the back of a motorbike. Everything a fuzzy, unfocused haze. Such is the sumptuous attention devoted to every microscopicContinue reading “The French Dispatch (2021)”

While Serie A’s established stars continued to shine, others made an unexpected impact in 2021. Stephen Kasiewicz examines five who surpassed targets and defied assumptions this year. Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina) The Serbian forward fulfilled and exceeded all realistic expectations in a breakout year of astronomical proportions. At the start of 2021 the promising striker hadContinue reading “Top five surprising players of 2021 in Serie A”

The search for Italy’s striking saviour has led many to anoint Gianluca Scamacca as the new chosen one. A couple of stunning goals against title contenders Milan and Napoli in consecutive games showcased his enormous potential and prompted a deluge of speculation about his international prospects. Italy’s expectations to qualify for the 2022 World CupContinue reading “Scamacca for Italy”

It used to be the draw every club dreaded and the death knell for European progress. However, Napoli must believe there is nothing to fear after being paired in the Europa League play-off against a rapidly declining Barcelona. Only a skeleton of the team which ruled the continent remains, as Gerard Pique and Sergio BusquetsContinue reading “Europa League play-off: Napoli favourites against Barcelona”