Lessons Learned from Giornata 16

Probably the biggest news to come out of this weekend’s matches is the injury to Gianluigi Buffon and his subsequent surgery, which will take him out of action for a month.  Get used to the name Alexander Manninger, the new starting keeper for Juventus.

The second big story, at least if you live in the US, is the news that Fox Soccer Channel will be broadcasting in high-definition beginning in January.  This will of course include Serie A matches.  To see if your cable provider will offer FSC HD or to petition it to add it, visit this site.

It was a Bad Weekend to be a in Management

By now, probably everyone has seen this video of Silvio Berlusconi:

However, he was not the only one to run into trouble this weekend.  Jose Mourinho was involved in an altercation with a journalist outside the team bus after Inter’s draw with Atalanta.  It seems like the stress of the season is wearing on everyone.

Who Wants the Top Spot?

The only top 10 clubs to outright win this weekend were Bari, Parma and Chievo.  The supposed main competitors to Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus, lost to Palermo and Bari respectively.  A week after their dramatic victory that seemingly put them back in the scudetto race, Juve has fallen out of the Champions League and lost an ugly match to a recently promoted club.  But Inter failed to increase their points lead by drawing with a poor Atalanta squad.  It looks like the race for the top four will be in flux all season.

Parma Has a Strong Position

Parma’s 2-1 victory over Bologna moved them three points ahead of Roma and Sampdoria.  Next weekend, they have a chance to solidify their spot as they take on Roma without Vucinic.  Nicola Amoruso escaped disaster by netting the winning goal only four minutes after missing a penalty shot to take the lead.  A key to their season going forward is young forward Davide Lanzafame, who has only two goals this season but is a playmaker for Parma.

Make or Break for Lazio

Lazio sits in 15th in the table, three points from the relegation zone.  Their next four matches are at Inter, hosting Livorno, at Udinese, at Atalanta.  Three of the four are tough but winnable, and Lazio needs to get points in these four matches to move out of relegation danger.  Seven or fewer points will likely cause a lot of stress in the capital city and prompt changes to the club that only a few months ago beat Inter in China.