Nothing Should Surprise In Italian Football But...

Italian football has everything from Serie C players servicing Serie A players to massive match-fixing scandals. It's the wild west of the big time. This latest story doesn't rank up there with the most shocking. It's more a WTF than anything else. Let's meet Andrea Vasa.

Vasa, a defender for local Milan side Brera, has a new home. No big deal except he's living in the front window of fashion designer Dirk Bikkemberg's new "mega-boutique". A free luxury pad for a player who toils six leagues below Serie A sounds too good to be true. Tom would say, "It's a deal, it's a steal, it's the sale of the fucking century! Actually, Andrea, fuck it. I'll keep it myself."

There's a big catch. Customers are allowed to call on Vasa at any time the store is open. They can go through his storage spaces which are filled with Bikkemberg products. He can't decide who comes and goes no matter what he's doing. Bikkemberg isn't without empathy. He covered the shower with copies of Gazzetta dello Sport which is the sports newspaper of record in Italy.

Bikkemberg says Vasa will allow customers to "identify with a sporting personality". That's like saying customers in a store would be attracted by the opportunity to hang out with a semi-pro football player. I suppose now's a good time to announce that I'm moving into the Conway across from Penn Station on 34th next week. Come identify with a semi-prominent sports blogger from open to close and buy some clothing that will probably bleed or come apart before you get home.