A memorable round for the Italian clubs who took seven points from a possible nine to place themselves in good positions for progression into the knock-out stages. Inter Milan have had a torrid start to their domestic season. Following a shock loss to Turkish minnows Trabzonspor in Champions League and the dismissal of Provincial manager Gian Piero Gasperini, the European Champions of 2010 earned a hard fought victory against CSKA Moskva away and are now on top of Group B [...]
Archive for October, 2011
We’ve got the Champions League, the much maligned Europa League but if there was a knockout competition comprised of the top XI’s from Europe’s second divisions where would Serie B finish? As the first quarter of the season ends the column selects the stand out performers and those to compete in the inaugural Second Best League. Firstly the coach. There are a number of candidates; Torino are top of the league so Giampiero Ventura has a fair shout, Fulvio Pea [...]
To say that Inter’s Champions League match Tuesday night against Ligue 1 champions Lille was a “must win” would be a massive understatement. After a lackluster performance at the weekend that resulted in a loss to Catania, the heat was on and cranked up to the maximum temperature. Yes, one could argue the penalty given against Luca Castellazzi was a soft call and it should never have been given. The thing is, the Inter squad that took the pitch in [...]
There was some lack of goals in Serie A this week where 5 out of the 7 games on Sunday ended up 0-0. Some of the sceptics will be licking their lips saying that Serie A is a defensive league. 5 Pablo Osvaldo Roma vs. Lazio The opening goal from the Rome derby and it was Pablo Osvaldo with his 4th in 4 games. Miralem Pjanic played a lovely ball over the top for Osvaldo who took his time and [...]
1) They’re baaaaaack! And probably better than ever. The Champions have had a sluggish start to the season, but the biggest shock was not the high profile losses against Napoli and Juventus themselves, but the manner in which they were utterly outplayed by both pretenders and looked completely toothless. Finally though a convincing performance in every department, epitomised by the fact that Palermo didn’t even have a shot on target in the second half; this against a team that has [...]
Five goalless draws and an average of just 1.4 goals per game made for Serie A’s quietest round of games yet but there were still a handful of notable performances. Entertaining ties (particularly at the Stadio Olimpico) resulted in big wins for Lazio, Milan, Bologna and Parma, but Inter’s enduring woe is the real story of the week. The Nerazzurri fell to a 2-1 defeat at Catania to leave them just one point above the relegation zone: their worst start [...]
On Sunday night, Lazio won the derby. It was the first win for the blue side in Rome in a long while, having lost the last 5 – a fact that the Roma fans took great pleasure in announcing with countless banners reading “Roma 5-0 Lazio”. It was a hard fought victory for a Lazio side who conceded sloppily in the first 6 minutes. Their equaliser arrived in an incident that would condition the rest of the game when Simon [...]
Italian Serie A returned after the international break and if you were looking for goals this match day, Serie A was not obliging. Five games ended as nil-nil draw result. Inter stumbled away yet again, while Lazio over came A.S. Roma thanks to a late winner and AC Milan were gifted an important win at home 24 hours prior. Saturday 15th October Inter Milan went down to Catania to a 2-1 defeat after Esteban Cambiasso gave Inter the lead. Catania [...]
Champions AC Milan are back to their brilliant best after an utterly dominant 3-0 victory against Palermo. Massimiliano Allegri stated prior to the match that Milan had to “get three points” above all else, but what he got was far more important. Accomplished performances from the midfield new boys Nocerino and Alberto Aquilani, a stunning comeback from Brazilian Robinho, doubts over Antonio Cassano and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s commitments to the long term future thoroughly dispelled and above all else a champions [...]
It was a great celebration that was long overdue for the red half of the San Siro. With Kevin-Prince Boateng doing his best impression of the late Michael Jackson, Milanisti cheered wildly as their beloved team was presented with its 18th Scudetto, and first since 2003-2004. Fast-forward only a month into the new campaign, and Milan find themselves in unfamiliar territory. The Rossoneri are struggling through their worst start to a Serie A season since 2001. Sitting a very modest [...]
Gazzetta dello Sport Eto’o Inter, yes we can Moratti doesn’t close the door to a loan ‘It’s a strange idea. I’d say it is 90% not going to happen’ Ghana ready to ‘kidnap’ Boateng for six weeks He could say yes to the African Nations Cup. Thiago Silva is ready for Palermo. Totti jokes: ‘Reja is our derby hero’ Rocchi responses with “it is Totti who is the comedian, joke fits!” Juve seek Casemiro and Ilicic Agent: ‘Balotelli-Lavezzi swap would [...]
It’s official, qualifying for the European Championships in the Ukraine and Poland next summer is over, well almost. 240 games have been played by 51 national teams across 403 days with 648 goals scored. So far the tournament has 12 sides confirmed, Italy topped group C and finally we can get on with a few weeks of uninterrupted domestic football; about bloody time. Domestic fans of Serie-A have had to suck on a trio of postponements with two international breaks [...]
