Thank God. Had Italy won Euro 2012 in Kyiv, the ensuing fanfare and outpouring of national pride would have gone a long way towards vindicating the criminal activities of those responsible for blighting the beautiful game here on the peninsula. Football in Italy has become just another charade - no one knows who pays who to fix so many top flight matches. Dozens of mainstream broadsheets that once covered calcio with gusto have closed down in final protest. In the good old days of Italian football, players used to dive, whinge, whine, complain and feign injury - fundamental parts of their game which we grudgingly accepted then eventually derided. Calcio 2012, however, has become an extension of the country in which it is played. Corruption, back stabbing, dishonesty and lies are rife. These unfortunate traits drive an unwilling, perhaps unwitting, resigned population during the working week, a collective common denominator which binds millions of Italians together. Econo...