The state of the Premier League nation...

Italian football has its share of unusual characters, none more so than Renzo Ulivieri.

The biggest surprise of Liverpool’s epic penalty shoot-out victory over Middlesbrough in Tuesday night’s Capital One Cup tie was not that the home side, who had a 60/40 advantage in the shoot-out before a ball was struck courtesy of kicking first, won, but that Middlesbrough pushed them so close.

It was a story that gave an insight into the other Lionel Messi.

As the World Cup gets into full swing, Robert Hume throws a spotlight on the Irishman who in 1890 invented the penalty kick — soccer’s most famous rule

It’s 20 years since Ray Houghton’s goal saw Ireland shock Italy at the World Cup

Carlos Tevez spoke of his pride after being handed the iconic number 10 shirt upon signing a three-year contract with Juventus.

From Best to Messi and McGrath to Gerrard — oh, and not forgetting Bernie Slaven! These are the stand-out players of my time.

Euro 2012 will be Giovanni Trapattoni’s third time to lead a team at the finals of a major international competition. Paul Kelly looks at the campaigns in which his under-achieving Italy recorded two wins, three draws and two defeats.

When it comes to ranking my shameful confessions, this one doesn’t quite make it to the top spot.

Giovanni Trapattoni has revealed Paul McShane was handed Kevin Foley’s ticket to Euro 2012 amid fears of a crisis in central defence.

For Petr Cech, it was a case of when in Germany do what the Germans do.

Having converted a low cross from the right to give Nigeria the lead against Bulgaria, Yekini stood in the goal, arms through the net, hands alternately clenched around the strings and clasped to his face as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Here is a potted history of the man who captained Johan Cruyff’s ‘Dream Team’ in the ‘90s and managed one of the greatest Barcelona sides ever.

ITALY will need to display character to handle the problems the Republic of Ireland will inevitably cause them in tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier at Croke Park, Gianluigi Buffon said last night.

Sven-Goran Eriksson has placed Elano alongside Italian legends Roberto Baggio and Roberto Mancini as one of the best playmakers he has ever worked with.

ITALY’S World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro has been named European Footballer of the Year.

THERE is a certain symmetry that the player who got Italy’s World Cup campaign off to a winning start is the same one whose intervention earned them a place in tomorrow’s final against France.

Pop star Ronan Keating was today appointed as a goodwill ambassador for a campaign to combat world hunger.

SVEN-GORAN ERIKSSON insisted he had never avoided big decisions as a manager as he prepared to show his ruthless streak by leaving Rio Ferdinand out of England’s World Cup qualifier against Austria.

ALAN SMITH has admitted his controversial move from Leeds to Manchester United could not have gone much better.

VOTED Italy’s most popular player in a recent poll, Alessandro Del Piero could be forgiven for showing frustration when asked whether he feels overshadowed by team-mate Francesco Totti.

THE best performance by Denis Irwin that I witnessed live was the one he produced when Ireland beat Italy in the World Cup finals of 1994.

Inter Milan clinched a 1-0 win over Parma to move into fourth spot in Serie A - a position which will see them qualify for next season’s Champions League preliminary round if they hold it for one more week.

ROMANIA routed Germany 5-1 in a friendly last night, giving the World Cup runners-up a major headache just over a month before the start of Euro 2004.

Germany suffered their heaviest defeat since losing 5-1 to England three years ago as Romania thrashed them by the same scoreline tonight.

REAL MADRID reclaimed top spot in the Primera Liga yesterday after fighting back from two goals down to snatch a 3-2 win at Valladolid, thanks to a last-gasp strike from Ronaldo as both sides finished with 10 men.

Italian legend Roberto Baggio has confirmed that he will retire from football in 2004 after nearly 16 years in Serie A.

SVEN-GORAN ERIKSSON has been urged to pick Wayne Rooney from the start in Turkey next month, with England captain David Beckham and Steven Gerrard insisting that he can handle the high pressure.

Italian star Roberto Baggio has announced his decision to retire from professional football at the end of this season’s Serie A campaign.

Christian Vieri outshone Inter Milan new boy Gabriel Batistuta by grabbing a hat-trick as the Nerazzurri moved back into second place in Serie A with a convincing 3-0 victory against Empoli.

FIFA has announced the result of their ultimate Dream Team poll, which was voted for by on-line fans.

World Cups are made for showmen and showmen come no bigger than Italy’s limelight lover Alessandro del Piero.

Despite the mounting pressure being applied by his younger rivals, David Seaman is still England's number one.

Nothing can impact upon a footballer’s career quite like a sticking sobriquet. But imagine being branded ‘Glass Legs’, the moniker afforded Robert Prosinecki in his injury-ravaged Primera Liga days.

Francesco Totti has recovered from an ankle injury and could play in Italy's last warm-up match against the Czech Republic on Saturday.

Giovanni Trapattoni has named Italy's 23-man World Cup squad, and as expected there is no place for Roberto Baggio.

Rangers’ Argentinean striker Claudio Caniggia will have a better idea today if he has a chance of being fit in time for the World Cup.