[tps_title]2015 Italian Football League[/tps_title]
This weekend marks the start of the run for Italian Super Bowl XXXV in Milan at Vigorelli Stadium on American Independence Day, July 4, 2015.
In a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIV, the defending champion Milano Seamen will take on the Parma Panthers in Parma. That will be a game to look forward to as Milan trounced the Panthers in last year’s final 33-3.
In the North, the Milano Seamen and Rhinos will be facing each other while in the South the Lazio Marines now have a crosstown rival in the Roma Grizzlies.
There have been plenty of changes for the new 2015 season. Many teams including the Lazio Marines and Ancona Dolphins in the South have made significant changes and improvements to challenge for the Italian title. In the North, the Seamen and Panthers again look like the favorites but both Bolzano and Bergamo have their eyes on a championship ring.
We preview all 12 teams here and start with the South.
Click NEXT for South Conference!!
[tps_title]Italian Football League: South[/tps_title]
[tps_header]Lazio Marines[/tps_header]
(2014: 2-9)
With a brand new head coach in veteran European coach and player Stan Bedwell, the Lazio Marines have demonstrated their determination to make a serious run at the Italian title. The team finished out of the playoffs in 2014, their first year back in the top league in Italy.
Bedwell has played and coached in numerous countries in Europe and done so successfully. He has recruited former Rutgers starting quarterback Chas Dodd along with Tennessee starting defensive lineman Corey Miller, an NCAA division one National player of the week last year. At 6’4″ and 260 lbs, Miller will make opposing offenses have to scheme for him.
[tps_title]Italian Football League: South[/tps_title]
[tps_header]Roma Grizzlies[/tps_header]
(2014: Div 2)
The Grizzlies mark their return to the top league this season after dominating the LENAF for a number of years. They will re-ignite the crosstown rivalry with Lazio which will make for raucous crowds in Rome.
Former South Carolina State starting offensive lineman Devon Dawson returns to the Grizzlies after suffering a severe shoulder injury a couple of years ago. He has spent a two years coaching the Gladiators Roma but was itching to return to play as well as coach. However, the 6’4″, 300 lb Dawson will be hard pressed to keep his team in the top division as they are playing without any other imports.
[tps_title]Italian Football League: South[/tps_title]
[tps_header]Ancona Dolphins[/tps_header]
(2014: 5-5)
Head coach Daniel Levy comes to the Dolphins with an impressive resume despite his young (31) age. The club makes no bones about the fact that they want to improve on their 5-5 record from 2014.
Most recently Levy coached two seasons in Brazil. Prior to that in Norway, with the Kristiansand Gladiators in 2012 he took a team that he had just helped get promoted to the first division all the way to their first championship game in 20 years.
Levy has brought in former Oklahoma Sooner superstar and ex-NFL player Nic Harris on defense. Offensively they have Luke Zharadka at quarterback who has starred for the French Amiens Spartiates and the Kirchdorf Wildcats in Germany.
[tps_title]Italian Football League: South[/tps_title]
[tps_header]Napoli Briganti[/tps_header]
(2014: 1-10)
NFL/CFL and European veteran Tony Simmons is the new head coach of Napoli Briganti. Still reeling form a dismal 1-10 season, the Briganti have made major improvements.
They have added quarterback Zach Hoffman (Lake Erie College – Ohio: NCAA Div. II). Hoffman has spent the past two years playing in both Germany and France. In addition they have signed linebacker Antonio Davis (South Carolina State – NCAA Div. I).
The team will be young but Coach Simmons intensive recruiting drive has uncovered some gems from in and around the Naples area.
[tps_title]Italian Football League: South[/tps_title]
[tps_header]Bologna Warriors[/tps_header]
(2014: 3-7)
Head coach of the Warriors, Mauro Solmi is facing a daunting task in 2015, playing without any imports. The decision made in 2014 will carry over into this season.
Nevertheless, quarterback Simone Slusarz is a successful veteran who will lead a young, but talented squad.
On defense veteran Andrea Mirenda, rated as one of the top Italian defensive lineman in the country anchors a bend-but-don’t-break squad.
[tps_title]Italian Football League: South[/tps_title]
[tps_header]Aquile Ferrara[/tps_header]
(2014: 2-8)
Veteran Val Gunn returns to coach the Aquile in 2015 looking to improve on a 2-8 record from 2014.
This season Gunn has signed with Serbian superstar wide receiver Ivan Pavlovic. At 6’5″, 220 lbs and highly athletic he can dominate defensive backs. He is already getting major college attention. Throwing to him is Italian quarterback Nicolò Willo Scaglia who some feel is maybe the best Italian quarterback in Italy. Scaglia’s center is Stephano (Zio) Chiappini, the starting center on the Italian national team.
On defense Coach Gunn has brought in Jonathan Perkins, a four year starting defensive back at UC Davis (NCAA Div. I). In addition he has two more national team players on defense.
The team has improved immensely over last year’s squad and there are a few who think they can make the playoffs.
[tps_title]Italian Football League: North[/tps_title]
[tps_header]Milano Rhinos[/tps_header]
(2014: 5-5)
The Rhinos are looking for a playoff spot this season. They’ve signed quarterback T.J. Pryor (Eastern Kentucky), who enjoyed an outstanding season with the Nice Dauphins last year, guiding them to the French semifinals.
On defense they have brought in defensive back Parker Orms who was a four-year starter at at Colorado.
[tps_title]Italian Football League: North[/tps_title]
[tps_header]Milano Seamen[/tps_header]
(2014: 9-1)
Defending champion the Milano Seamen will again be led by veteran quarterback Jonathan Dally (Cal Poly). Dally was a key in the Seamen’s emphatic win over Parma in the 2014 Italian Super Bowl.
Defensive back Justin Bell (cousin of Pittsburgh Steelers running back, LeVeon Bell) fills in in the Milano secondary. Bell was an All American at Ohio Dominican (NCAA Div. II).
The top running back in Italy, national team running back Mattia Binda who was also the MVP of the Italian Super Bowl, also returns for the Seamen.
[tps_title]Italian Football League: North[/tps_title]
[tps_header]Parma Panthers[/tps_header]
(2014: 10-0)
The Panthers have four players who have returned after playing college football in the United States, including Micheli Canali who played at Menlo College (NCAA: Div. II). That experience should translate onto the field.
Tomasso Monardi was superb in 2014 and even when his two leading receivers were hurt, he managed to return the Panthers to the Italian Super Bowl for the fifth straight year.
[tps_title]Italian Football League: North[/tps_title]
[tps_header]Bergamo Lions[/tps_header]
(2014: 6-4)
Whispers around the league suggest that head coach Aristide Marossi may have a sleeper of a team. At quarterback Jose Mohler (North Dakota State) is a bonus. He played for the Cologne Falcons in the German Football League and was instrumental in helping the Falcons recover from a 2-10 last place finish in 2013 to 7-5 and the playoffs in 2014.
Also added to the Lions is defensive back Garrett Griffeth (3 time NAIA All-Conference and Maple League All-Star in Finland in 2014).
The Lions may sneak up on some teams in 2015.
[tps_title]Italian Football League: North[/tps_title]
[tps_header]Bolzano Giants[/tps_header]
(2014: 8-2)
Bolzano enjoyed an outstanding year in 2014 losing only two regular season games – to the Seamen and Panthers – and then the Italian semifinal against Parma. But their opener against Milano last season was a nailbiter as they lost only 10-7 to the eventual champions.
This season they have signed quarterback Steven Adams (East Stroudsburg NCAA Div. II) who was the pivot for the Seinajoki Crocodiles in Finland in 2014. The Giants have improved their defense with hard hitting defensive back Paul Morant (Old Dominion NCAA Div. I).
Despite a weak showing against the Cineplexx Blue Devils of Austria in an exhibition game a couple of weeks, the Giants head into the 2015 campaign with title aspirations.
[tps_title]Italian Football League: North[/tps_title]
[tps_header] Torino Giaguari [/tps_header]
(2014: 5-5)
The Torino Giaguari have undergone some turmoil leading into the 2015 season. Losing Notre Dame defensive back Chris Salvi was a blow as he was one of the best players in Italy in 2014.
But the club is confident.
They have signed LSU running back R.J. Jackson, who was the top running back in Finland in 2014.
On defense, defensive back Kurtis Ovesen (Marshall: NCAA Div. I) is a true ball-hawk and is playing his first season in Europe.