The Gentleman Ultra

Frank talks with Santo Cilauro, an Australian comedian, television and feature film producer, screenwriter, actor, author and a co-founder of the legendary The D-Generation and The Late Show.

Frank and Santo discuss his early days watching football in Melbourne, the Victorian Premier League and NSL, his Dad's love of Calcio and football, attending multiple World Cups as both a fan, including a special trip to Korea and Japan with his father in 2002.

Watching the Azzurri, both in the early hours of the morning and in person, the 1970 and 1982 World Cup, working as an unofficial translator for Juventus in the early 80's and all that came with it, Italy versus Australia, the special connection between football and family and much more.

In this episode Frank chats to Tom Griffiths from @CalcioEngland and https://calcioengland.com/.

Frank and Tom discuss; Italian teams preseason travels in England; Tom's passion and love of Italian football; Tom's unique work on his blog Calcio England and The Gentleman Ultra; Travelling around Italy for Calcio and the matchday experience; Going down a Calcio rabbit hole and shopping for Italian football treasures; Where's next on Tom's Calcio travel schedule and more.

Frank chats with author Stephen Brandt (@StephenCBrandt).

In this conversation they discuss; The legendary Flamengo era of the early 80s'; 1981 Club World Cup between Flamengo and Liverpool; Zico's footballing career in Brazil, Italy and Japan; Zico's management career and his legacy; Zico's Serie A spell with Udinese; the Zico vs Maradona showdown and watching football in Italy, Brazil and Argentina.

Stephen has an upcoming book on the great through @PitchPublishing called  'Flamengo Collecting the Cups' due out in 2023 and has published a book on the history of Boca Juniors called 'Boca Juniors: A History and Appreciation of Buenos Aires' Most Successful Futbol Team'.

In this must listen conversation, Frank and Vince Grella discuss growing up in an Italian household, his early days in football and the now defunct National Soccer League (NSL), his move to Italy from former NSL club Carlton FC to Empoli, the expectations and pressure that come with playing in Italy's top flight, his spell at Ternana and the foundations it built for a 10 year career in Italy, his move back to Empoli and subsequent move to Parma, resilience, mental health, leadership, his time in Turin with Torino, sliding doors moments, the Italian national team, the 2006 World Cup, Vince's move to England and more.

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Frank is back with another episode, and in it he talks to author of The Fix: The Story of the first Champions League Season, James Dixon.

In this episode, Frank and James discuss: the birth of the Champions League and the process behind the book; the 1993 CL Final between Marseille and AC Milan; Silvio Berlusconi and Bernard Tapei; the Marseille match-fixing controversy and the lead up to the final against AC Milan; Fabio Capello's Milan; the legacy of Marseille and AC Milan in the years following the final; Bernard Tapei. A hero or villain?

In his latest episode, Frank talks to Dotun Adebayo of Football Ramble, Brazilian Shirt Name and BBC5 live World Football fame to discuss a range of topics, including: Dotun's early life and career in journalism and broadcasting, the rise of Paul Gascoigne and his move to Italy, AC Milan, George Weah and Italia 90', Racism in Italy and in the UK, the power of football to connect us all around the world, Mario Balotelli, Growing up in a multicultural UK, the WFPI, mental health and the power of a conversation.

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Frank is back with another episode of TGU Down Under. This time Frank sits down with Fiorentina Femminile striker Karin Lundin.

Frank and Karin discuss her move to Fiorentina from Sweden, her life in Florence on and off the field, the challenges and obstacles in moving to Italy, becoming a full time professional, the differences between playing in Sweden and Italy and her first season with Fiorentina in Serie A Femminile.

In his latest episode, Frank interviews John Foot, author of the seminal book 'Calcio: A History of Italian Football', one of the must-have books on the Italian game in the English language.

Frank and John discussed the origins, history and the process behind his book 'Calcio', the referees influence on Italian football, controversy in Italian football, how writing the book changed his perspective on certain clubs and players, the media and personalities in Italian football, Italian football's missed opportunity, how different would the book look if it was written today, the divide between Italy's regions through football, the political and government influence on Italian football, a possible second Calcio book - fingers crossed - and more.

In his latest episode, Frank sits down to talk to Vieri Capretta, who works for UEFA and Fiorentina. Frank and Vieri talk about:

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In a double whammy of Serie C goodness, Frank talks to Andy Wallace (@CCalcistica on Twitter) to discuss his passion for lower league football in Italy, travelling to Italy and his first matchday, Serie B, Lega PRO and everything that comes with it, his team Taranto F.C. 1927, Italian football on and off the field and finally someone to explain how the Lega PRO playoff system all works!