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Get into gear for the Serie A
As the Serie A new season kicks off discover how to get kitted out in all the best gear - via Internet, of course. (Or, as Naomi Klein might say, how to make your favourite team into a major profit-making multi-national company.)
The brand business - look out for logos on clothing, bags, ties, toiletries and even credit cards - is big business for all the major football teams. Merchandising is big news in Italy, but nothing like in England where last year alone Manchester United sold some 750,000 official jerseys in comparison to a mere 120,000 by Juventus.The going price for an official jersey is ITL 130,000 (67 Euros). No bargain when you consider it lasts for just 9 months as market (designers, sponsors and team accountants) demands see to it that each new season provides new home and away strips plus all the necessary for the European Cups.
Juventus
The club Italians love (to hate). You can still buy last season's jerseys on Juve's official website at 50% discount - but hurry as the sale days are numbered. Manufactured by sportswear specialists Lotto, and with a new sponsor Fastweb, this year's strip has slightly narrower stripes (black and white, for those of you who need to ask). Juve Eau de toilette, anyone? You can buy a 100 ml bottle for ITL 80,000 (41 Euros). Fancy stubbing out your fags with an official Juventus ashtray? There's one free if you purchase the perfume.
Milan
The subtle joys of being a Milan fan. The old gear is still on the site and manufacturer and sponsor remain the same (Adidas and Opel). You can buy scarves, bags and gifts galore but diehard fans choose Milancom as their phone service. Milancom pledges 20% lower costs than Telecom Italia plus a credit of ITL3,000 (1.5 Euros) for each championship win.
Inter
Will this be Inter's season? Nike and Pirelli (the respective manufacturer and sponsor) certainly hope so and who knows, maybe the new kits (the black stripes are slightly narrower and a gold border has been added) will bring about a much-needed change in fortune. Inter still hasn't an official webstore so you'll need to go to Cisalfa, in Corso Vittorio Emanuel, Milan to get your gear and you can stop to admire lots of Inter memorabilia as well as match footage on the store's videowall.
Roma
The current champions. Robe di Kappa provide official jerseys, tracksuits, anoraks, pyjamas, hats . . . and basically anything you'd ever dream of wearing! The official store warns against fakes but unable to tell the real thing from the counterfeits we found this site worth looking at. Prices? Hats are priced from LIT 29,000 (15 Euros). A word before we go . . . the president of Roma's official sponsor, Ina Assitalia, recently admitted to being a Lazio fan.
Lazio
Rome's other team. Up until going to press the Puma jerseys for sale on the website still boasted the Cup won by Lazio in the 99/2000 season. However you can still keep up-to-date with a Lazio Wap mobile made by sponsors Siemens, "your ideal business partner". How much? A mere LIT 540,000 (279 Euros).
Parma
Big name, small town. Parma never quite makes it but is always in the running, a good reason for Champion sportswear to choose it to flaunt their wares. This year Parma's official sponsor is Joy and 30,000 copies of new star-striker Hidetoshi Nakata's number 10 jersey have already been sold in Japan, There's even a site for resident Americans.
As Roma Store Coupon