In a bizarre weekend of Serie A action, Juventus dropped points to a newly-promoted team, the Rome derby ended goalless, while Adel Taarabt stole the headlines (for a few minutes) with a wonderful debut goal. As Inter Milan and Napoli bounce back from their defeats, Fiorentina continue to fight for the last Champions League place. With all the action heating up as the season progresses, here are five lessons from this weekend’s matches.

1. Mazzarri’s patched-up Inter manages to win

Having not won a game since the Milan derby (which was back in December), Mazzarri’s reimagined and slightly patched up Inter Milan side were able to defeat Sassuolo by one goal. The newly promoted club had just replaced the former manager Eusebio di Francesco with the more experienced Alberto Malesani, along with a variety of January signings including many Serie A veterans and journeymen like Paolo Cannavaro, Floccari, Brighi, and Biondini. The new signings had difficulty keeping pace with the Inter’s own new player Hernanes, along with the returning Guarin, and the ever-industrious Nagatomo. It was another key returning player Walter Samuel, who headed in the only goal from Hernanes’ corner. There were plenty of missed opportunities for Inter, with Diego Milito finding himself twice in front of the goal but unable to put it past Sassuolo’s heroic keeper Pegolo. Mazzarri replaced the Argentine forward with Ruben Botta in the second half, and along with Hernanes, the substitute helped knit together the nerazzurri midfield and attack for the rest of the match. This mixture of old and new faces managed to create, score, and win, however Mazzarri will need to take a look at Milito’s role, and whether or not the 34 year-old should continue to be part of the starting lineup.

2. AC Milan suffers against Napoli as Taarabt and Essien shine

For the first ten minutes of this match, Adel Taarabt had convinced us all that he truly was the Moroccan Balotelli. His early goal curled around Reina was a miracle of brilliance for Milan (especially in these tough times) which in the 11th minute was cancelled out by Inler’s deflected shot. For the rest of the match, it was Taarabt who provided any attacking invention, and with the real Balotelli barely contributing aside from a single powerful shot for Reina to block, Seedorf’s January signings (not including Honda, unable to play due to a stomach bug) did their best in the circumstances. Essien helped De Jong in the central holding pair in front of the defence, and the Ghanaian showed that he hadn’t lost any of his tough tackling or dynamism while at the fringes of Chelsea. For Napoli it was Higuain who made the difference. His two goals topped off a strong performance which included the return of Hamsik for the Neopolitans. Seedorf tried to invigorate his side with the substitution of Kaka (still recovering from the flu), however there was little the Brazilian could do especially with the uninspiring performance by Balotelli who was substituted later. While Napoli have gained ground on Juventus and Roma with this routine win, AC Milan is rooted in 10th place in the table with only Bologna to play before Atletico Madrid visits the San Siro.

3. Immobile is a player worth taking to the World Cup

With the deep history of attacking duos in Italy, it’s about time that the current top duo of the Serie A be truly acknowledged by Prandelli. Torino’s Alessio Cerci and Ciro Immobile have been firing newly-promoted Torino to the top half of the table with their continuous goalscoring and assisting. Cerci’s talent and hard work was already noticed last season by Prandelli, however Immobile is still waiting to get his first call up. This weekend against Bologna he scored his twelfth goal this season thus far, and throughout his prolific campaign Immobile has shown that the traditional Italian center forward is still existent and effective. With the Italian U21s Immobile has scored 10 in 14 appearances, including a memorable goal against the Netherlands in which his dribbling and finishing skills are showcased. With the variety of attacking options available to him Prandelli’s squad for the 2014 World Cup will be difficult to pick, and the strong performances and continuous goalscoring by Immobile only add to the Italy coach’s selection troubles.

4. The Rome derby doesn’t manage to satisfy or entertain

The returning derby for Edy Reja was reined in by the characteristic pragmatism of the Lazio manager. The 0-0 draw makes for an acceptable result, as stifling Roma’s prolific forwards has only been managed twice this season (by Cagliari in a goalless draw and Juventus in their 3-0 win). However, this draw was a significant opportunity missed for both sides. If victorious, Lazio would have overtaken Parma and Torino into seventh place, inching closer to a qualifying spot for the Europa League. Roma on the other hand will be disappointed for having missed the chance to gain ground on Juventus which dropped points at the Bentegodi against Hellas Verona. Goalless and without significant gains for either side, this Rome derby keeps both sides treading water as they look to their next matches and significant cup ties coming up (Napoli in the Coppa Italia for Roma, and Bulgarian side Ludogorets for Lazio in the Europa League).

5. The scudetto race is still undecided

With the Rome derby ending in a 0-0 draw and Juventus held 2-2 against Hellas Verona: Napoli, Fiorentina, and Inter Milan were able to creep closer to the top of the table by a couple of points. Even if Juventus still retained their nine point lead ahead of second placed Roma, this weekend has shown that Conte’s feared bianconeri can be stalled. With the Turin derby approaching (before this Juve will host struggling Chievo this upcoming weekend) in the Serie A as well as the Europa League tie against Trabzonspor, followed by matches against AC Milan and Fiorentina, these upcoming weeks will be a tough test for Conte’s team. Whether or not Roma can capitalize on Juventus’ future mistakes is uncertain, however with 45 points still available in the next 15 match-days there’s still plenty of time available for the season to get more exciting.

Many of the more interesting matches from the weekend were played on the European continent instead of the British Isles. Here are 5 things we learned from Serie A this past weekend:

1. Fiorentina’s defense must improve if Montella hopes to reach the Champions League

This past weekend Vincenzo Montella’s Fiorentina had the opportunity to gain some ground on third place after Napoli was held to a 1-1 draw against Chievo. However Fiorentina’s copious defensive errors against Geona resulted in a free scoring 3-3 draw at the Artemio Franchi, leaving the club still three points behind the last Champions League qualifying spot in the table. Alberto Aquilani’s hat trick couldn’t make up for the variety of poor defending from the Fiorentina backline. For large parts of the first half it was the visitors who took advantage of Fiorentina’s inability to retain possession, largely due to Borja Valero’s absence (out for about two weeks because of a thigh strain). If Montella truly hopes to bring Fiorentina back to the Champions League, the defensive mistakes against Genoa must be observed and patched up.

2. Anderson makes a muted debut for Fiorentina

Despite having heard a variety of stories regarding Anderson’s fitness and inconsistency, the words “Brazilian from Manchester United” still inspire belief among fans that perhaps the player can reach his potential at Fiorentina. However things did not start well, as Anderson’s substitution debut in the 74th minute was followed up four minutes later by Genoa’s equalizer to make it 3-3. The midfielder touched the ball only a couple of times, neither impressing or disappointing, yet it was evident that it will take time for him to fit comfortably into Montella’s formation. With the injuries of Rossi, Gomez, and Borja Valero, the space and opportunity for Anderson to make a positive impact is available, however he’ll have to show more than he did on his short debut.

3. Gervinho is revitalized at Roma under Garcia

After scoring the only goal to knock out Juventus in the Coppa Italia quarter-final, Gervinho’s rebirth under his old Lille manager is proving fruitful for Roma. This weekend a ten-man Juventus dropped points in their 1-1 draw against Lazio, and it was imperative that Rudy Garcia’s side win away against Hellas Verona in order to keep the scudetto race alive. It was Gervinho again who played a decisive role in Roma’s 3-1 victory at the Stadio Bentegodi assisting the first goal and scoring the second. Now with five goals and five assists thus far this season in the Serie A, Gervinho has been tormenting Italian defences with his high speed and quick dribbling. Having tightened the gap behind Juventus to only six points, Roma will hope that next weekend Inter Milan can force Juventus to drop some more points, as the giallorossi host a high-flying Parma team which has managed to earn fourteen points from their last eighteen available.

4. Mazzarri’s Inter continues to disappoint in scoreless draw

Under the eyes of current president Erick Thohir and honorary president Massimo Moratti at the San Siro, Inter Milan were held to a disappointing goalless draw against Catania. Despite having created opportunities, Mazzarri’s side simply lacked the proper invention and creativity needed to score. Even with Diego Milito back in the team for Inter, Catania were able to hold on and even create a few dangerous opportunities of their own. Since the 1-0 derby victory over AC Milan at the end of December, the nerazzurri have only gotten two points from their last four games. With Torino, Parma, and Hellas Verona all just one point behind Inter Milan, next week’s visit against Juventus is a pivotal match if Inter hope to hold on to a Europa League place in the table this season.

5. A weekend filled with penalties

In a weekend rife with defensive errors and goalkeeping mistakes, there was a grand total of seven penalties. Two of them featured goalkeepers bringing down forwards, with Buffon getting a straight red card in the 24th minute after impeding Klose in Juve’s 1-1 draw against Lazio. The other was in Torino’s 1-0 victory over Atlanta, with Consigli crashing into Alessio Cerci, who then promptly tucked away the penalty. Strangely enough, that match ended with both keepers (Padelli for Torino and Consigli for Atlanta) given yellow cards. The first two goals of Fiorentina and Genoa’s 3-3 draw were penalties (one for either side), and neither keeper received a booking that match despite the variety of interventions they were forced to make. The high number of penalties this game week shows a rise in dangerous play, but also some over-sensitivity regarding light contact in the penalty box by certain referees.

You can read more of Niccolo’s work at Soccer Wrap Up.

Hosting an inconsistent and underachieving Aston Villa, Liverpool were forced to a 2-2 draw as an early tactical misstep from Brendan Rodgers left his side vulnerable and unable defend properly. Despite having his favourite strike partnership paired together in a fairly standard 4-4-2 (which with Coutinho and Sterling on the wings looked more like a suicidal 4-2-4), it was the central midfield pairing of Gerrard and Henderson which wasn’t able to compensate for the overly attacking lineup.

Rodgers’ choice to use Sterling and Coutinho on the wings was an aggressive and ultimately unsustainable move. With both Gerrard and Henderson often creeping forward to join the attacking play, whenever Aston Villa reclaimed the ball Agbonlahor and Benteke had plenty of space to charge at an unprotected defence. Considering that Cissokho was often caught rising up the left wing, in order to add width because of Coutinho’s tendency to cut inside, Liverpool’s defence was completely unprepared for Villa’s fast-moving and hardworking trident.

It didn’t take long to see that neither Henderson or Gerrard were truly able to perform the holding midfield role properly – an early miss by Agbonlahor and Clark’s header stamping itself against the post were premonitions of Villa’s fearless approach to the match. On the other hand the home side was having difficulty in maintaining possession, and when Aston Villa stole the ball and counter-attacked with Agbonlahor, Skrtel and Toure couldn’t keep up as Weimann poked in the opener.

On the touchline Rodgers had to wait and hope, however Coutinho and Sturridge were unable to fully integrate themselves into Liverpool’s sparse offensive advances. It was Benteke who punished Rodgers’ team again, heading in Agbonlahor’s cross after Mignolet and Johnson were both unable to intercept. Sturridge managed to pull one back right before the end of the first half, a tidy back heel by Henderson setting him up to finish the ball over Guzan. Even if Sturridge’s goal offered consolation, Aston Villa’s attacking freedom in the first half convinced Rodgers to substitute Coutinho with fellow Brazilian Lucas Leiva.

The second half began well for the home side, with Liverpool’s main tormentor Gabriel Agbonlahor replaced (due to injury problems) by Grant Holt. Lambert’s fortune took another turn for the worse when Suarez won a soft penalty (it’s difficult to tell how much contact Guzan makes with the Uruguayan) for Gerrard to tuck away and make up for his disappointing performance in midfield thus far. Half-time substitute Lucas Leiva, who had brought back some balance to the Liverpool formation had to be substituted due to injury giving Joe Allen a chance to stifle the quick-moving Villa team.

Escaping the match with a point, Rodgers will consider himself fortunate especially after a first half in which Aston Villa could have scored three or four. Travelling to face AFC Bournemouth in the FA Cup next week will be a good chance for the Liverpool manager to revise and perfect his tactics, especially with the next Premier League match being the Merseyside derby. Rodgers can’t permit another disappointing performance at Anfield, and he’ll have a variety of important tactical decisions to make as Roberto Martinez’s Everton will be eager to surpass the Reds in the table.

You can find more of Niccolo’s work on his blog Soccer Wrap Up.

Antonio Conte’s Juventus has shown yet again its unmatched supremacy in the Serie A after a clinical 3-0 victory over Roma. This was the tenth Juventus win without conceding goals, and from the very start of the match the bianconeri seemed rarely troubled by Roma’s inconclusive attacks. Even if the giallorossi had the majority of possession throughout the match, Conte’s clinical side was defensively impregnable and direct with its attacking advances.

Roma’s best chance to score came in the first minutes of the match when Totti slipped Ljajic through the Juve defense but Buffon was quick to stifle the opportunity. Garcia’s team was at its best early in the first half, continuous possession and tight passing triangles created shooting opportunities which Buffon saved without too many problems. With De Rossi dropping in between the central defenders, Maicon and Dodo were given reign to surge forward and contribute to the various passing combinations of the giallorossi.

However Juventus was much more efficient in its sparse possession, and it took one opportunity for Conte’s side to take the lead. Tevez held the ball in Roma’s box, quickly turned to face goal, and laid off to Vidal who slotted by De Sanctis’s near post. It was a tidy dismantling of Roma’s defence, inviting the visitors to attack in hopes of finding an equalizer. Although Roma managed to keep the ball and pin Juventus into their own half, Garcia’s side was inconclusive and unable to create goalscoring opportunities as the first half ended.

Juventus might have allowed the visitors possession, but when the second half resumed it only took a couple of minutes for them to double to scoreline. Pirlo’s free kick picked out the completely unmarked Bonucci at the far post, and the defender slid in the easy finish. For all of Roma’s one-touch passing their defending was easily exploited, and there would be no similar lapses of concentration by the Juventus defence. Garcia replaced Pjanic (suffering from constant niggling injuries) and Dodo with Destro and Torosidis, in hopes of adding some substance to his formation which was always ponderous in possession.

View: Serie A TV and Internet schedule for soccer fans in the US.

The directness with which Juventus often counter-attacked Roma was led by Carlos Tevez. The Argentine was always a threat, instrumental in creating opportunities for himself and his teammates. Conte let Tevez get a standing ovation from the Juventus Stadium in the 59th, substituting him with Vucinic. Roma’s overcommitment when attacking yielded few chances, often fizzing out with wide shots or abruptly ending by the feet of an imperious Chiellini.

Garcia’s final substitution put on Florenzi in the place of Totti in the 72nd, but it had little effect when two minutes later De Rossi was sent off with a straight red for a two-footed tackle on Chiellini. Roma’s collapse continued when from the resulting free kick Castan conceded a penalty and received a red card for blocking the goal bound ball with his hand. Vucinic drove the penalty past De Sanctis, and in just a couple of minutes Roma were three goals down and with only nine men. As Garcia retreated to the bench, Roma continued to keep possession, now truly unable to venture forward in the final ten minutes of the match.

Referee Rizzoli spared the giallorossi the injury time after a plea from Maicon, saying that the match was already over. Juventus are now comfortable at the top of the table with an eight point lead over Roma. Conte’s side was infallible in its defending and clinical going forward, earning a decisive victory that pencils them in for the scudetto.

As the Serie A season returns with the start of a new year, the table is tight after an incredibly open first half of the season. There are currently eight teams in the middle of the Serie A table, all within two points of each other. With the likes of AC Milan and Lazio stuck in that middle cluster, the rest of the season is shaping up to be a test of true grit as teams attempt to make up lost ground in hopes of a respectable finish.

However, in this first weekend of 2014 all eyes will be on the top-table clash between Juventus and Roma in Turin. With the returns from injury of Pirlo, Vucinic, and Tevez, it seems like Conte will be willing to play his midfield maestro from the first minute, with Tevez probably starting and the ex-Roma player most likely on the bench. The chance for Conte to lengthen his lead at the top of the table up to eight points will be crucial, especially considering his side’s early elimination from the Champions League. A victory over Roma would manage to unload some pressure from the scudetto race, and allow Juventus to focus on claiming the Europa League.

It’s up to Roma to pry open the scudetto race by stopping the bianconeri’s streak of nine Serie A victories. Currently Roma is the only team in the league which hasn’t suffered a defeat, and while Rudi Garcia’s task of keeping that record straight at the Juventus Stadium will be difficult, the giallorossi have all of the ingredients required. Although Garcia seems undecided about whether Totti will be in the starting eleven, the speculated attacking trident with Gervinho, Destro, and Totti (with Florenzi maybe in place of the captain) might be enough to create difficulties for the sturdy Juventus defence which has only conceded one goal in their past nine matches.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, view the Serie A TV schedule.

Undoubtedly keeping an eye on the match will be Napoli’s coach Benitez, who will be beginning his new year by hosting Sampdoria at the San Paolo. There have been various transfer rumours circling as the Spaniard initially hoped to bring in Mascherano or Javi Garcia, but the rumours have simmered down and the expected name right now is that of Gonalons. Lyon’s central midfielder could offer Benitez protection for the Napoli defence along with precise distribution on the counter.

While Rafa waits for De Laurentis to take out the check book, the return of Hamsik from injury promises a reinforcement to the midfield. The Slovakian has returned to training with the rest of the team and will be at Benitez’s disposal against Sampdoria. However it seems like Napoli might still be missing Pepe Reina for the first match of the new year, and while Sampdoria isn’t the toughest of matches, Benitez will want to have his first-choice keeper playing as soon as possible.

Currently trailing five points behind second-placed Roma, Napoli will need to take advantage of the clash between the top two in order to remain in the race for the scudetto. While many teams will be hoping the giallorossi can stop Juventus from running away with the Serie A title, Antonio Conte’s side has shown a pragmatic dominance which is yet to be rivalled in Italy. The return of the Serie A requires a decisive turn of events if one hopes for an exciting race for first place this season.

Editor’s note: For the latest Italian news, analysis and opinion, visit the Serie A page.

After a full schedule of Serie A matches over the weekend and going into Monday, it’s time to reflect on what five things we learned from Italy’s top flight from this past weekend.

1. Juventus may have faltered in the Champions League, but their domestic dominance remains unstoppable. After Juve’s latest 4-0 victory over Sassuolo, the bianconeri are now leading the Serie A five points clear of second placed Roma who were held to a 2-2 draw against AC Milan at the San Siro. The easy home victory for Juventus showed that while they were unable to qualify from the Champions League group stages, Conte’s side still has a firm grasp on the scudetto. With his hat-trick over Sassuolo Tevez continues to prove himself as one of the best signings of the summer, and although the Serie A title undoubtedly remains Antonio Conte’s primary objective, the Europa League offers an opportunity of redemption for fans yearning to claim some European silverware.

2. Napoli and Inter Milan need to secure their defensive problems quickly if they aim to compete for a Champions League spot. Following Napoli’s 4-2 victory over Inter Milan, there seemed to be a pressing dissatisfaction for both Mazzarri and Benitez with the various defensive errors and disorganization in their sides. Just about every offender was present: poor clearances, stray defenders keeping a forward onside, and even some goalkeeping mistakes from the ever-shaky Handanovic (although he did save a late Pandev penalty to stop the score from being truly humiliating). While Benitez has earned an important victory against an Inter team previously unbeaten when playing away this season, Napoli struggled to keep possession even when Alvarez was harshly sent off for Inter in the second half. Only with their quick counter attacks and by taking full advantage of Inter’s mistakes, Napoli earned a victory without showing too much possessive drive throughout the match. Benitez left the sloppy six-goal encounter with three points, but Mazzarri’s Inter is now in 5th place after being overtaken by Fiorentina. Although new Inter president Erick Thohir said he was disappointed with the referee’s performance after the match, there are still numerous frailties in this Inter Milan side.

3. Giuseppe Rossi is looking more and more like Italy’s top striker as Fiorentina rise up to fourth. With the 2014 World Cup approaching at the end of the season an increasing amount of forwards are beginning to show their full capabilities, and Rossi (current top scorer of the Serie A with 13 goals) is cementing his position in Prandelli’s starting eleven. Fiorentina cruised to a clean 3-0 victory over Bologna with Ilicic opening the scoring early, followed by Rossi assisting Borja Valero for a curling finish, and the Spaniard returning the favour for Rossi to chip in the third. Currently fourth trailing five points behind Napoli, Fiorentina still has quite a daunting task ahead if they truly intend to claim a Champions League place by the end of the season. However with Rossi picking up some of the weight since Mario Gomez’s injury, Montella’s side is showing impressive solidity as the January transfer window approaches.

4. Newly-promoted Torino and Hellas Verona continue to show resilience in the top half of the table. It has been quite some time since I’ve seen two newly-promoted sides climb the Serie A with such ease. While it’s difficult to anticipate how long these two clubs can manage to hang on to the 6th and 7th places, Hellas Verona is just two points behind 5th placed Inter Milan. With the Milan derby next week, Hellas will be keen to claim victory when they host Lazio in hopes of taking advantage of any possible points dropped by Inter. Torino will be rooting for their Hellas Verona in hopes that Lazio drop points, giving Torino a chance to end 2013 five points ahead of 8th placed Lazio if they can defeat Chievo Verona next week.

5. AC Milan will scrape and fight until the bitter end. After their grueling 0-0 draw against Ajax to progress out of the group stages of the Champions League, AC Milan have managed to scrape out another important draw against Roma. A late goal by Muntari salvaged a point which sufficiently allows Allegri to continue treading water in the middle of the table. It has been an incredibly disappointing season for AC Milan, however there is a stubborn persistence which must be admired. The rossoneri continue to fight with a devilish freneticism, and with their backs against the wall next week’s derby with Inter is a chance to end the year on a positive note. After missing an easy chance to score the winner against Roma, Balotelli will have to be ruthless against his former club which hasn’t been the best at the back in their past few games.

Jose Mourinho has always stated that soccer is a game that revolves around transition and change of possession. After his 2-1 victory over Manchester City, it’s evident that Mourinho is crafting a deadly counter-attacking Chelsea side with Fernando Torres as his star-striker. It’s the Chelsea manager’s age-old formula of a hard-working side that exploits the phases of the game in which possession changes hands.

Jose Mourinho has always had a special relationship with his chosen starting center forward. From his first shift at Chelsea with Drogba, his Inter Milan days with Eto’o, and Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, it is now Fernando Torres’s turn to be the chosen one’s chosen forward. It all came to fruition at Stamford Bridge against Manchester City when Fernando Torres assisted Schurrle for the opener and put away the winner at the end of a fantastic match.

Torres is now beginning to show all of the key qualities Mourinho’s system needs in its main striker. His quick change of pace, deadly shooting, and his energetic runs behind the defense at every opportunity are what make him instrumental in the system. Torres is now showing Mourinho that he’s the an indispensable part to Chelsea’s attacking system, something which the Chelsea manager probably couldn’t have been too sure about at the start of the season. Many wondered why Mourinho brought in Samuel Eto’o over the summer, it was a pre-emptive move in the case of Torres not playing to his best or suffering an injury. The Cameroon striker has many of the same qualities as Torres, and for now remains as a second option while the Spaniard continues scoring.

Torres’s supporting cast is also being meticulously groomed and selected by Mourinho. Schurrle is another speedy threat with his runs while also being very flexible positionally thanks to his technical proficiency and high work-rate. Against Manchester City, the German was always slipping behind the defense, and he ultimately earned his tap-in with his vivacious performance. When the City back four were keeping an eye on Torres for his runs when Chelsea gained possession, Schurrle always made sure to work in harmony with the Spaniard, making himself another threat for defenders with his supporting runs.

Hazard and Oscar are just as crucial to Chelsea’s counter-attacking system. Both tend to start further back than Torres or Schurrle (who tend to make those initial penetrating runs to set the opponent’s defense on the back foot), and drive forward, either dancing past defenders to attempt a solo effort on goal or crafting one of their teammates an assist. However this quick-attacking quartet requires the support of Chelsea’s holding midfield duo of Lampard and Ramires.

Frank Lampard is an old Mourinho favorite due to the way his innate qualities, which fit the vigorous transitional style of play. His surging runs forward towards the box from further back force a defense already preoccupied with Torres, Schurrle, Oscar, and Hazard, to deal with yet another dangerous player. Ramires can provide the same burst forward when regaining possession for his side, and has a far-reaching presence in the midfield as his stamina and work-rate rarely falter. In these instances, it can become very easy for Chelsea to become unbalanced. The box to box midfield duo of Lampard and Ramires must always be sure to restrain themselves in certain situations, especially if Ashley Cole and Ivanovic are advancing up the flanks. Yet if there’s a man who can impart tactical rigidity onto a set of players. It’s undoubtedly Jose Mourinho.

Perhaps the one weakness Mourinho’s Chelsea has is when possession is forced upon them. When teams defend and allow Chelsea what could be considered the burden of possession (a definite burden for a side that shines most when possession changes), the speedy fluidity associated with their counter-attack is stifled. We saw this towards the end of the match, when Manuel Pellegrini’s team was giving Chelsea possession and were content to hold onto the away draw. While Mourinho came away with the victory thanks to some miscommunication between Joe Hart and Nastasic, Torres has now earned his place as Mourinho’s top striker.

Editor’s note: Read more articles by Niccolo on his blog at www.soccerwrapup.blogspot.com.

In the first match day of this season’s Serie A, there was the shock result that everyone was looking for. The 2-1 home victory for Hellas Verona over AC Milan caught everyone’s eye, and all fingers were immediately pointed at Allegri’s Milan for their ineptitude and inability to defeat the newly-promoted side. While people are still scrutinizing the rossoneri and their stuttering start (currently 12th with only 8 points from a possible 21), it’s about time we start eyeing that newly-promoted side that defeated Milan on that first match day. After their latest 4-1 away victory over Bologna, Hellas Verona are currently in fifth place, just one point shy of fourth placed Inter Milan.

While this was Verona’s first away win of the season, Mandorlini’s side has made the best of their difficult first few matches. After the aforementioned season-opening win against Milan, Verona has had to travel to Roma and Juventus (losing both of those matches), along with direct clashes against relegation fighting rivals, including fellow newly promoted sides Sassuolo and Livorno (winning all except a 2-2 away draw against Torino). With four victories in seven matches, Hellas Verona and Mandorlini have now given themselves a secure start to build upon and will be looking to reach the magical relegation-avoiding goal of 40 points as soon as possible.

While the exceptional start might come as a surprise to most, when the squad is given a closer look you begin to understand how they’ve begun so successfully. A strong core of Serie A veterans, which include the likes of Donadel, Donati, Jankovic and the gigantic goalscoring machine that is Luca Toni, has mixed well with a strong group of young and talented South Americans, creating a side that plays with freedom and attacking fluidity. It’s been Toni and Iturbe up front scoring goals (Toni with three and the 20 year-old Argentine with two so far this season), supported by a midfield featuring Jorginho, a 21 year-old Brazilian also boasting three goals for himself this season.

There are definitely questions to be asked about whether Verona will have the resilience to continue this run of good form and finish somewhere in the top of the table. Yet after seeing the ease with which the club put four past Bologna, it’s certain that the side has plenty of attacking choices with which to score and create goals. Whether it’s Toni providing a definite aerial threat, or Iturbe with his devastating left foot shot, it’s very difficult to contain Mandorlini’s side.

Next week Hellas Verona will be hosting Parma in a match they should win, followed by what will be an incredibly difficult test at the San Siro against Inter Milan. After their recent 3-0 home defeat to Roma, the nerazzurri aren’t looking too secure when they’re forced to defend, so Verona can definitely look to nab a point, and maybe even another victory to really cement what could be a fantastic start for the newly-promoted side.

At the start of the season, it looked like the Serie A would have its most competitive season yet. The old powerhouses patched themselves up over the summer: Juventus bringing in Carlos Tevez, the return of Kaka to Milan, and Inter hiring the man who could be their most stable manager since Jose Mourinho. But of course the new contenders, the big spenders Fiorentina and Napoli were the ones who everyone kept their eyes on, expecting both sides to possibly contend for the scudetto. Yet amidst all the expectations placed upon all these sides, it’s Roma who have risen above the rest with a perfect record having won all six matches thus far.

Nobody had intentionally forgotten about Roma when predicting title-contenders, it was just that too often had great expectations been placed on the Giallorossi, only to see them struggle to find consistency and internal harmony. But after an easy 5-0 win against Bologna, Roma are now beginning to impose themselves as the top dog with fluid and attacking play.

The French architect of the side’s rebirth, Rudi Garcia, is showing his Spanish origins in the way he has set up his side thus far. High pressing, possession, and fluidity are the key ingredients to the way Roma plays. Garcia sets his side up in a 4-3-3, using Totti as a false centre forward, along with the speed and stamina of Gervinho and Florenzi on the wings. In the midfield the strong physical duo of De Rossi and Strootman break up anything headed towards the Roma defense, and then distribute with grace to Pjanic and the fullbacks Balzaretti and Tsoridis who both constantly rise up the field, stretching defenses.

Thus far this has been the perfect formula for Roma; giving Totti (who just a couple of days ago turned 37) freedom to float around the opposing midfield and defensive lines, spearheading the one-touch passing which the Giallorossi use to quickly burst up the field has created lots of goals distributed all across the team. The central defender Benatia scored his second of the season against Bologna, and who can forget Balzaretti’s tear-inducing goal against Lazio in the Rome derby the past midweek. In fact, of the fourteen players who played against Bologna, only five haven’t scored this season for Roma, and that’s counting the goalkeeper De Sanctis.

There seems to be a freedom with which Roma have been playing, and it was incredibly apparent in their latest victory netting five goals each one prettier until the last. Bologna just couldn’t keep up with the quick tempo that Rudi Garcia’s side played with in the first half, an infectious passing display which served Gervinho two fantastic counter-attacking goals. Along with a Benatia’s volley and a surreal chip from substitute Adem Ljajic which pops in flicking under the crossbar, Roma’s attacking display was supreme, held up by an unstoppable pressing defensive style which gave Bologna no time to breathe.

When asked post-game about whether Roma were a perfect side thus far, Garcia responded, “There is no perfect team, there’s always something better to do but, the merits go to the players, they played with enthusiasm, joy, and when it was possible playing one-touch. We have some talents and you could see that. The objective is to return to Europe and do a final sprint with the others, the favorites Juventus and Napoli. Superior? We’ll see when we play against them, right now their two points behind, and two points are nothing”.

Rudi Garcia’s side will be traveling next week to the San Siro to face Walter Mazzari’s 4th placed Inter Milan, followed up by a home return against Napoli. Two stern tests which could Roma’s chance to assert themselves as the leaders of the Serie A.

Editor’s note: Read more articles by Niccolo on his blog at www.soccerwrapup.blogspot.com.

After having a fairly rocky start to the season, it seems like AC Milan are finally getting back on track to contend amongst the top of the Serie A. The Rossoneri’s latest signing, Mario Balotelli managed to drag the team to a very lucky 2-1 victory over Udinese at the San Siro. With these three points, AC Milan has managed to catch up to fourth place rivals Inter Milan who suffered a 3-1 loss to Siena this weekend. Starting to rise back up the table with a great debut performance from Balotelli AC Milan fans can now look to the rest of the season with a bit of hope and relief.

It took about 25 minutes for Balotelli to light up the Stadio Meazza with his first goal for his new club. The 23 million Euro wonderboy rifled a powerful left foot volley into the back of Udinese’s goal, giving AC Milan the lead in what would be a very tightly contested match. Already in their first match together, El Sharaawy and Balotelli seem to have an understanding which will create plenty of goals. It was El Sharaawy himself who created Balotelli’s two goals, assisting and procuring a controversial late penalty. Among the pair of young Italians is the energetic Niang, who seems to complement his attacking partners fairly well with his pace and hard work.

Udinese on the other hand seemed too tentative in their attempts forward. Long balls for Di Natale were occasionally threatening, but not good enough to create any goals. Udinese’s equalizer came ten minutes after halftime, a long ball flicked on by Di Natale past the Milan defence for Muriel to center to Pinzi for a quick finish. Udinese was forced to defend for the rest of the second half, Padelli made some impressive saves to keep his team alive, but also getting a bit of luck with a shot by Balotelli barely deflected onto the crossbar by an Udinese defender.

The most controversial moment of the match came in the 93rd minute of the match, El Sharaawy breaking forward into the box, going down after a slide tackle from Heurteaux. The Udinese player had got the ball before knocking down El Sharaawy, and while the rest of his team protested, the referee awarded the penalty which would be the last kick of the game. Mario Balotelli told his teammates he’d take care of the penalty, managing to send Padelli the wrong way with a very cool side footed shot into the bottom left hand corner.

It was the debut of dreams for Balotelli, snagging his new club three points which they probably didn’t deserve. Even AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri acknowledged the luck his team had in getting the winner, “In the occasion of the penalty we were lucky. El Sharaawy touches the ball, then the Udinese defender touches it as well, and then El Sharaawy is taken down. It was given be given, just like it sometimes isn’t given: it’s all the more controversial because it’s 30 seconds from the end of the match”.

With the next two Serie A matches away at Cagliari, and then at home against Parma, AC Milan is going to have to solidify their position with two wins. Winning the next two matches is all the more important because after that Barcelona will be visiting the San Siro in the midweek, followed by the Milan derby that weekend. Mario Balotelli may have managed to make his mark on the Serie A with a fantastic debut for AC Milan, but it’s going to be a very different matter against Barcelona.

What are your predictions for AC Milan’s upcoming matches? Can Mario Balotelli continue performing, and maybe even score a few goals against Barcelona and his former team Inter Milan? Share your comments below!

The sad and untimely death of Gary Speed, manager of the Wales National Team has shocked many fans of football. The apparent suicide of the 42 year old will surely result in many questions in coming weeks regarding what would cause someone who has enjoyed a glittering football career to take his own life at such a young age.

Speed has been described as ‘one of the most respected young managers in the game’. He was a player at Leeds, Everton, Newcastle and Bolton, before moving on to coach the Welsh national team.  In addition to this, Gary Speed was one of the most popular players of his generation. The highlight of his career, as a player, was winning the league title with Leeds United in 1992. It has been suggested that he was tipped to enjoy similar success as a manager after having made a successful start to his international management career.  Since taking over at Wales in December 2010, Speed had remarked on the team’s improvement. They had enjoyed a 4-1 friendly win over Norway, which represented a third successive win for Wales, and Speed’s fifth in 10 games as manager.

Given the professional success that Gary Speed enjoyed, one issue that this tragic loss raises is the personal cost in the lives of professional players. There are many people in the world who struggle to make enough money to meet the basic needs of themselves and their families. On the other hand, there are those such as professional footballers that enjoy high standards of living as a result of high salaries. The one thing that unites all people is the need and quest for happiness. Hearing stories about what happens in the lives of high profile individuals such as footballers in the media consistently highlights the fact that the emotional needs of many wealthy and successful individuals from a variety of disciplines are left unsatisfied. Many people aspire to be like these people because they are certain that more success or money will make them happier. Seeing footballers such as George Best and Paul Gasgoine fighting public battles against alcoholism, and hearing the sad news that Gary Speed has committed suicide, sends a message to us all that success and money do not bring happiness or refuge from personal demons. This is an important lesson that must be taught to younger generations. Many young children are buying into ideas that becoming the next footballer or celebrity sensation will right all of the wrongs in their lives.

Gary Speed’s success as a footballer is unquestionable. He began his playing career at Leeds United after coming through the trainee ranks, and was part of the side that won the last Football League title in 1992, before the introduction of the Premier League. He left Leeds in 1996 after 312 appearances to join Everton – who he went on to captain – in a £3.5m move. Newcastle followed, in a £5.5m switch in 1998. During his six years with the Magpies, he suffered two FA Cup final defeats and sampled Champions League football. He then spent four years with Bolton Wanderers after agreeing a £750,000 move. He was handed his Wales debut as a 20-year-old in the 1-0 friendly win over Costa Rica in May 1990. Speed became the first player to reach 500 Premier League appearances and won 85 caps for his country during a 14-year international career. He retired from international duty in 2004, with a record of seven scored goals and 44 appearances captaining his country. Speed’s final appearance came in 3-2 World Cup qualifying defeat by Poland in October 2004. He was given the top job in Welsh football despite only having four months managerial experience at Sheffield United. This admirable record is no doubt part of the reasoning behind the Football Association of Wales and Speed’s former club Leeds being shocked and saddened by news of his suicide.

Whatever the reasons were behind the premature departing of Gary Speed, his story is a lesson for other footballers and all of us to ensure that our lives are happy and our emotional needs are met. May his relatives and friends find comfort in the wake of this sad news and all observers learn to assess what really makes life worth living.

Many people may have been under the illusion that sexism was no longer present in football until Richard Keys and Andy Gray faced disciplinary action over their comments about female referee’s assistant Sian Massey. The fact that influential figures still harbour sexist views sends a clear message that sexism still exists in British football.

It is perfectly reasonable to argue that the existence of sexism affects the quality and success of the female game. The United States women’s national soccer team won the first ever Women’s World Cup in 1991 and has dominated in women’s international soccer ever since. The team is currently number one in the world according to the FIFA Women’s World Rankings and has won three Olympic Women’s Gold Medals. There is an enthusiasm amongst girls in the U.S for soccer along with a level of support that facilitates progress and promotes the emergence of talent. No doubt the success of the national team has a lot to do with this. The team is an inspiration to many girls across the country and positive attitudes abound in education and amongst parents. The view that it is important to promote the equal rights of girls to participate in a range of sports allows them to succeed in football and other sports. In addition to this, a combination of support and financial investment enables American girls to see soccer as a sport that is equally as open to them to pursue as a hobby and as a career as it is to boys. In contrast, in the U.K. there is a lack of interest in football amongst girls, sexist attitudes and unsurprisingly, as a result, limited talent being produced.

Despite the increased interest in female football internationally, there are sexist attitudes in the U.K. that contribute to a limited number of girls playing football and taking it seriously. It stands to reason that the fewer girls there are playing the game the less talent there will be developing in the women’s game. Whilst this situation continues in the U.K., finding the type of talent required to compete with the likes of the U.S is going to be a challenge to say the least.

Women’s football had a blaze of glory in the U.K. in the early 1920’s when some matches achieved over 50,000 spectators. However, this was soon stopped when England’s Football Association voted to ban the game from grounds used by its member clubs in December 1921. The ban was canceled in July 1971 but not before enough time had passed to send home the message that girls playing football would not to be taken seriously by the British. Certainly the children growing up during this period would have been given a loud and clear message about football. Many of the boys will have gone on to have an influence in the game later in life as officials, coaches and players. People growing up in that era have become parents and spread narrow minded ideas about football to subsequent generations.

In contrast,  in the USA, women’s soccer is taken seriously. It has a significant following and is growing with money consistently being invested at collegiate and pro levels. This has surely led to the development and progression needed to produce a quality team. Whilst having some talented players and qualifying for three World Cups, so far the England women’s side’s most impressive achievement to date was reaching the European Championships final and losing 6–2 to Germany. Whilst not down playing the achievements of the women who play football in the U.K., it has to be said that they pale into insignificance in comparison to the U.S. ladies.

This is certainly connected to the sexist attitudes that permeate the culture where women’s football in concerned. As we know in order to nurture any kind of talent support, belief and investment are needed. The existence of sexist attitudes in football in the U.K. demonstrate a lack of belief and affect the support and the money invested in women’s football at all levels. This is having an impact on the success of women’s football and the ability of the country to produce considerable amounts of talent on a consistent enough basis to compete on the international field.

Photo by blenky64

There are 92 professional football clubs in the UK and around 25% of the players within those teams are black. Despite the fact that the number of black players has continued to rise there are still only two black managers: Chris Powell of Charlton Athletic and Chris Hughton of Birmingham City. To say this is disproportionate is an understatement. This has led to mounting pressure being put on the FA from various angles to change the face of football.

The lack of non-white faces in the football boardroom is contributed to by a lack of recognition and progression opportunities for grass roots coaches from Afro-Caribbean, Asian and other backgrounds. Many of these individuals dedicate years of time and energies into working with youth from inner city areas. A significant number of these players are from African and Caribbean backgrounds and desperately in need of positive male role models. “They need people who understand their backgrounds and the issues they face as young black men”. These are the words of Andrew Palmer, a coach from Nottingham and scout for Leicester City FC. Despite having worked successfully with many young people for over 15 years as a coach, scout and mentor. Andrew adds, “It is impossible for me to progress within the FA. I don’t know if it’s because I am black or because I’m not a professional player, probably a combination of both.”

Andrew is testament to the fact that given the current cultures that exist within football it is tough for black coaches of all levels to secure positions in the boardroom regardless of how much knowledge they have of the game, how many years they have dedicated to coaching or how effective they have been. Of this Andrew says, “It is not a merit based profession, it’s about who you know and having a face that is favoured by the media.” Coaches like Andrew have uniquely valuable connections with their communities and invaluable relationships with the young players they coach, scout and mentor. Yet they are overlooked for top positions. This leaves the FA suspected of not only racism but also extreme elitism.

There are numerous admirable professional players that may inspire young people from a range of backgrounds. However, it has been shown through studies that young black men need role models that they can relate to in order to be motivated to succeed and navigate their way through challenges in their personal lives and professional careers.

A lack of black men in managerial positions at all levels within football leaves players without such role models and suggests that whilst they may be valuable as players, men who are not white have no value as decision makers or leaders. In addition to this, denying community coaches the opportunity to progress into positions within the FA in an attempt to reserve such position for professional players leaves the association lacking the diversity needed to make it adequately representative of the whole fan base.

The continued dedication and support of fans of UK football determine its continued success. In order to maintain football’s appeal to the growing diverse population, the FA must consider how to make the game representative at all levels.

Going into the derby, not much was mentioned regarding AC Milan and the Brazilian duo which would play up front. Pato and Robinho were almost cast aside, with people doubting their ability to combine and create against this frail Inter defence. Instead, eyes were focussed on the lack of a big Swede, and people were fearlessly talking about how the Serie A would reopen if Inter won.

Before the derby Leonardo said:

“A derby goes beyond any tactical reasoning, there are many feelings especially because the two top teams of the table are facing each other, at a distance of just two points.”

This mentality was Inter’s undoing in the derby. While AC Milan were well organized, marking Sneijder and Eto’o tightly and very calculative in their movement, Inter was unprepared on a tactical level. Leonardo’s calm and romantic style of play wasn’t enough to break down this AC Milan side which defended rigidly and attacked quickly. And while Sneijder was silenced by van Bommel throughout the match, Pato and Robinho were given plenty of time and space to work their Brazilian magic.

From there, Pato scored two goals thanks to poor marking. While Ranocchia was doing his best to keep Inter in the game with some great interventions, when his central partner Chivu was sent off, there wasn’t much the young Italian defender could do. Pato was slipped through thanks to a wonderful pass by Robinho, and Chivu clipped Pato just enough to make him fall. As the last defender, Chivu had to go. The rest of the match was highlighted by brilliant saves by Julio Cesar, and a strange cameo by Cassano in which he scored a penalty, celebrated by taking his shirt off, and then got a second yellow and was sent off.

Ignoring Cassano’s strange ten minutes of play, AC Milan were unparalleled on the field. Mark van Bommel was brilliant in shutting down the Inter midfield, and Robinho and Pato were always dangerous with their quick movement. Massmiliano Allegri must be praised for setting up a well-oiled machine which had little difficulty in defeating the current champions.

The 3-0 derby victory puts AC Milan three points clear of second placed Napoli, and five points ahead of third placed Inter Milan. The possibility that AC Milan drops enough points for Inter to claw their way back to first seems slim, and as long as AC Milan keep focus, the scudetto will be theirs.

There are plenty of experienced players returning, among them is Gianluigi Buffon. Juve’s keeper is finally in a relatively positive state of fitness, but Prandelli’s call up highlights a sickly dependence on the keeper which needs to stop soon. While Buffon is a legendary goalkeeper, Prandelli can’t drag the 33 year-old to the 2012 European Championships, Italy needs a younger keeper. I’ve seen Sirigu (who has been called up) make some excellent saves for Palermo, and he’s probably my first choice to be Buffon’s heir.

Here’s the 23 players called up by Cesare Prandelli for the friendly against Germany:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon, Salvatore Sirigu, Emiliano Viviano

Defenders: Davide Astori, Leonardo Bonucci, Mattia Cassani, Giorgio Chiellini, Domenico Criscito, Christian Maggio, Andrea Ranocchia

Midfielders: Alberto Aquilani, Daniele De Rossi, Sebastian Giovinco, Stefano Mauri, Riccardo Montolivo, Antonio Nocerino, Thiago Motta, Angelo Palombo

Forwards: Marco Borriello, Antonio Cassano, Alessandro Matri, Giampaolo Pazzini, Giuseppe Rossi

Something which hit me when I was looking at the teams which these players play for is that there are now three Inter Milan players in the squad! Somehow, the club notorious for its lack of Italians, has snuck in three players into the national team. I’m glad to see Ranocchia, Pazzini, and Thiago Motta in the team, because all three of them are relatively youthful and energetic.

I’m also glad to see Alessandro Matri being called up. The ex-Cagliari forward who recently joined Juventus in the January transfer window has been banging in the goals this season. Giovinco is also being given a chance after his re-emergence at Parma, and I’d really like to see this pair of newcomers succeed.

How do you think Italy will do against Germany in the friendly? Is this squad good enough? Share your predictions and comments below!

After a disappointing start of four losses in their first four matches, Guidolin’s decision to join Udinese seemed ridiculous. Given time, Udinese began to play more attacking football, ultimately cruising their way up to eighth in the table, where they are currently situated. With the highest average of goals per match (2.95 goals per match) in the Serie A, Udinese has become a scintillating team, fearing no opponent with their attacking playing style.

Their latest victory came against Inter Milan, an exciting 3-1 victory at the Stadio Communale Friuli. While Udinese conceded first with Stankovic scoring for Inter in the 17th minute, Guidolin’s team quickly made up the lost ground. Zapata took advantage of Inter’s poor defending, smashing the ball into the roof of the goal. While Castellazzi should have done better, Zapata’s shot was powerful and precise.

Di Natale scored Udinese’s second in the 25th minute, a wonderful free kick which looped over the wall, nestling into the bottom corner of the goal. The comeback was complete, but Udinese didn’t stop there. Inter tried to slow the tempo of the game down, doing their best to keep possession and slowly build from the back. Yet Udinese’s relentless pressure was a constant obstacle. Guidolin taught his men well: give the opponent no time on the ball, and once you have it, strike quickly.

Inter suffered for the rest of the first haf, and well into the second. Udinese eventually found the third goal, with Domizzi anticipating everyone, flicking the ball over Castellazzi with his outstretched toe. Leonardo could do nothing to inspire the Inter Milan players against Udinese. Guidolin on the other hand never had to say much, with his players giving everything for the home win.

It was a fantastic victory for Udinese. When Guidolin first joined the club, I feared that the underrated manager would have trouble, but he has shown his worth. Udinese’s next match is away from home, against Juventus. While Udinese seems very strong right now, their away record doesn’t compliment them. Out of eleven matches, Udinese have only three victories away from home. We’ll see if this exciting team will be able to win away from home, and maybe aim for a European spot for the end of the season.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments, share them below!

Things haven’t been easy for Luigi Delneri at Juventus. He has tried his best to impose a sense of order on the club, with a rigid 4-4-2 which alters itself only when players are sent off (like Felipe Melo against Parma), or get injured (like Fabio Quagliarella who will be out for the rest of the season).

The latest mishap which has happened is Luca Toni’s injury. Toni was bought just days ago to help score some more goals, but in the Coppa Italia match against Catania (which Juventus won 2-0), he had to be carried off the field. The striker has injured his knee (a very delicate part of a footballer’s body), and it could take 25-30 days to recover. Now the only partially-healthy forward left for Delneri to use is Amauri, and the Italian-Brazilian has yet to score in the Serie A this season.

Del Piero is also having trouble, and it is doubtful he will be able to play against Bari. So in order to keep his classic 4-4-2 alive, Delneri could decide to put Pepe as a forward. It’s a temporary solution, and the club is quite keen on buying another forward during the January transfer market.

Right now it seems like the club has already agreed almost everything with Udinese’s Floro Flores. While the deal still needs to be signed, supposedly it has been worked out that Floro Flores will join Juventus for the rest of the season on loan. It’s a good choice as a replacement for Fabio Quagliarella, the two have many similar qualities.

Juventus fans will also be glad that their legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon made a good return in the Coppa Italia match against Catania. He pulled off a couple of diving saves to keep a clean sheet, and he will be invaluable against Bari. Although Bari don’t score many goals (only 12 so far this season), Juventus concede quite a few (24 so far this season). If Buffon can manage to stop the Galletti from scoring, and the rest of the team can help Amauri get his first goal, Juventus could get what should be an easy win against Bari.

What do you think about this match? Will Juventus have any trouble against last-placed Bari? Share your comments about this match and any others this weekend below!

1. Di Vaio Never Stops Scoring

Talk about consistency. Marco Di Vaio has had a lengthy career around Europe, and at the age of 34 he still bangs in goals which keep Bologna alive in the Serie A. With his latest goal against Bari he has now reached eleven goals this season, making up about 57% of Bologna’s goals in the Serie A! At the beginning of the season I wondered whether Di Vaio would continue to score so many goals, and he hasn’t slowed down a bit. With Bologna all the way up in 10th place, they shouldn’t have much trouble escaping relegation. Now the question springs into my mind, can Di Vaio continue this record for the rest of the season?

2. AC Milan trudge on after 4-4 draw

This was the most exciting match so far of this season in my opinion. An exciting 4-4 draw at the San Siro, with two goals coming in the final minutes of the match. While AC Milan started well and created opportunities, Udinese scored the first goal with Antonio Di Natale. As the first half drew to a close, Pato equalized with a simple tap-in delivered to him by Ibrahimovic. The second half saw Udinese go 3-1 up with a diving header by Sanchez and a fantastic run with a curling finish by Di Natale. With 12 minutes to go, AC Milan get lucky when Benatia heads a cross past Handanovic and into his own goal. Cassano replaces Seedorf and Denis replaces Di Natale, and both of the substitutes light up the match. Cassano serves Pato a great assist for the equalizer at 3-3, and then Denis scores a tap-in in the 89th minute to make it 4-3. As AC Milan fans filed out of the stadium in disgust, Cassano conjures up another sublime assist, filtering a pass through the Udinese defence for Ibrahimovic to score.

At 4-4, Allegri is happy to escape without a humiliating loss. The late equalizer will help hide the fact that this AC Milan side is unbalanced and concedes goals. If AC Milan concede this many to Udinese at the San Siro, how many will they concede to Tottenham at White Hart Lane? Hopefully Massimiliano Allegri will find a way to balance the side, or else AC Milan could be facing humiliation in the Champions League.

3. Edinson Cavani the hat-trick hero against Juventus

When Cavani joined Napoli from Palermo, I was slightly skeptical about his ability. While I thought that he wouldn’t be able to score as much without the brilliant Javier Pastore providing assists, I was completely wrong. Edinson Cavani has now scored 13 goals in the Serie A, with three in Napoli’s latest game against Juventus. All three goals were headers, showing that although Cavani can dance around defences and score with both feet, he can also use his tall frame to find the back of the net.

After this win, Napoli is now just four points from first placed AC Milan. If AC Milan continue to concede goals like they did against Udinese, and Napoli continue to provide Cavani assists, the title race could be between these two clubs.

4. Leonardo wins again as Inter return to form

Inter Milan’s second victory under Leonardo was a tough one. The nerazurri travelled to Catania where they went a goal down after 70 minutes of suffering. But in just ten minutes Leonardo’s side had turned the result around with two quick goals by Cambiasso. The first was a good finish after being served a sublime assist, and the second was a header which was served on a silver platter by Maicon’s outside of the foot cross. It’s a positive result for Inter who will now have to make up two of their matches which were postponed due to the FIFA Club World Cup. If they do win both of their games in hand, they’ll be just six points from their rossoneri cousins at the top of the table.

5. Both Roman sides lose

Lazio and Roma were unable to take advantage of AC Milan’s slip against Udinese. Lazio were defeated at home 2-1 by Lecce, and Roma lost by the same scoreline to Sampdoria. While Roma started well, with Vucinic skimming through Sampdoria’s defence and pounding the ball into the goal, the game changed when Julio Sergio was sent off ten minutes into the second half. The Brazilian goalkeeper’s rough challenge also gave Sampdoria a penalty which Pozzi smashed into the roof of the net. The winner was Juan’s mistake, he knocked the ball back towards substitute keeper Doni, and Guberti pounced striking the ball into the back of the net for the winner.

Lazio on the other hand were unable to function when their mastermind Hernanes had a bad day. Lecce went ahead first with a shot hitting the post and bouncing off of Muslera’s back and into the goal. An unlucky own goal which was equalized when Mauri awkwardly pushed the ball into the back of Lecce’s goal. But it was not to be for Lazio, Lecce showed great spirit and Grossmuller tapped in the winner, his first goal for Lecce.

What are your thoughts regarding the weekend of action? Will AC Milan pick themselves back up after their draw? Can Napoli continue to win and fight for the title? Share your comments below!

Having recently completed his loan deal from Manchester United to Sampdoria, Federico Macheda could already play tomorrow in Sampdoria’s match against Roma. Mimmo Di Carlo has chosen Macheda as part of the squad, and the young Italian might even get in the starting eleven. It depends on whether Giampaolo Pazzini, who has been ill, will be able to play or not. Whether or not he starts, Macheda should get some playing time, and I really want to see how the 19 year-old does in the Serie A.

So far this season Macheda had seven appearances in the English Premier League, scoring only one goal. It’s only because of an in-form Berbatov and the energetic Javier Hernandez that Macheda hasn’t played much, and his return to the Serie A is a smart one. Macheda is tall, technically gifted, and intelligent with his runs, so if Di Carlo can use him properly we should see some good things from him.

There’s another tall Italian forward who will be making an impact this season. Stefano Okaka joined Bari recently, and he played in Bari’s 1-0 win against Lecce, scoring the only goal of the match. It’s certainly a great debut with the Galletti, and it looks like he will be in the starting eleven tomorrow when Bari play Bologna. Okaka could look to Marco Di Vaio as an example of a goalscoring forward, and model himself on the Bologna captain. Okaka has the pace and strength needed to succeed, he just needs to implement it properly around the goal.

These January transfer moves aren’t all of successful players, Davide Lanzafame has been overshadowed this first half of the season at Juventus. While in the preseason he had a big part to play in friendlies, the arrivals of Krasic and Pepe ultimately pushed him out of sight of any playing time. I really like Lanzafame, and I expected big things to come from him this season. Hopefully he will deliver at Brescia, because an Italian with his talent should be playing every weekend.

This January transfer window we also saw some intricate dealings between Parma and Genoa. Parma received Palladino (who scored against Juventus in his first appearance for Parma) on loan. And then the two clubs basically traded Francesco Modesto and Luca Antonelli, with a half share of Alberto Paloschi also given to Genoa, where Paloschi will be playing for the rest of this season. So for Antonelli and half of Paloschi, Genoa gave Parma all of Modesto, half of Palladino, and seven million Euros. Only are transfers in the Serie A this complicated.

The upcoming matches tomorrow will be exciting, with many young (and some old) Italians with a chance to really make themselves known. What are your thoughts on these transfers? What do you think will happen tomorrow? Share your comments below!

“I’m extremely happy, it’s a dream to wear this jersey… I thank Preziosi for this opportunity, at Genoa there were some problems, the marriage [between the club and the player] didn’t end well.”

Toni continued talking about the transfer,

I didn’t hesitate in joining Juventus, it is an adventure which fascinates me. I know the group, I know that every player wants to win. I believe… The Scudetto? We will try to win all the games and then we will see what happens, there’s a lot of will to return to the win.”

While Toni is 33 years-old, the tall striker was a useful player for Roma last season in their attempts to win the Serie A. Juventus’s next match is against Napoli at the San Paolo, a tough match after their 4-1 defeat to Parma at home. Quagliarella had to be substituted just three minutes into the match after injuring his knee, and he was replaced with Amauri. But the Italian/Brazilian had another dry night, goalless as his side suffered Giovinco and Palladino’s wrath.

Toni says he is ready to play, and after seeing what Amauri provided up front (little to nothing), Delneri could try and spark the team this weekend with his new signing. Here’s what Toni said regarding his possibility to play this weekend, and what he hopes to do at Juventus.

“I played 90 minutes yesterday with Genoa, I’m ready to play against Napoli, but Delneri will decide. I did my best to come to Turin, in 2007 I was a step away from Juventus but then I went to Germany. To play here I turned down offers which were economically more beneficial, I’ve cut my wages because I want to show my value here”

“I’m ready to play at Naples. I will find myself well, I’m a man of the penalty box and I can count on two strong wingers. I chose the number 20 even if I like 9 and 30, they were already taken.”

While this is a big move in the Serie A for this January transfer window, there’s a possibility of more to come from Juventus. It seems like they aren’t happy with just Luca Toni, especially after seeing the poor display of Amauri and Del Piero. Marotta didn’t say yes or no to whether Juventus will try and find a more similar forward to Quagliarella in hopes of replacing him.

I’m unsure about how Toni will do. While he won’t have a major part in Delneri’s plans, he will be a a useful player who will provide some goals. Krasic’s excellent service will finally be put to some use with Luca Toni often being a commanding presence in the box.

How do you think Toni will do at Juventus? A good or a bad signing for the bianconeri? Share your comments below!

It was a big test for Leonardo, having to face Napoli in his first match. The pressure of the San Siro weighed upon the new coach, the fans unhappy with the previous reign under Rafa Benitez. Yet Leonardo put out an organized and inspired side which scored just minutes into the match. A quick give-and-go between Thiago Motta and Stankovic, with the former spanking the ball diagonally into the bottom corner.

The San Siro went wild as did the players, celebrating after their good start to 2011. Yet Napoli’s response was quick, just minutes later Cavani had a goal disallowed because of an offside in the build-up, and then Napoli managed to score the equalizer. Pazienza snuck behind a distracted Inter defence on a corner, and he headed past a fumbling Castellazzi to make it 1-1.

But this Inter side is different from Benitez’s depressed group of injured players, Leonardo has truly inspired them. Cambiasso pops up with an opportune header in the 37th minute, putting Inter Milan in front. It was Maicon’s cross which was placed expertly on the Argentine’s head, and the Brazilian fullback had a strong game with the right wing his territory.

In the second half there was more of the same, with Inter not allowing Napoli breathing space. Ten minutes into the second half Thiago Motta bests himself with another beautiful goal. A pinpoint header from a corner, the ball perfectly thumped into the top corner for the final goal of the match. Inter held onto the match for their first three points of 2011.

While Inter Milan played well, Napoli allowed Leonardo’s side freedom in the midfield. Mazzari wasn’t happy on the sideline, and he was often found yelling at inanimate objects and colleagues. It’s an important win for Inter, and although they’re still 13 points from AC Milan at the top of the table, they have two games in hand to make up against Cesena and Fiorentina.

Is this a complete revival for Inter Milan? Will Leonardo be able to continue succeeding? Share your comments below!

The team which has been dominating the Serie A though isn’t quite the same after the winter break. Nesta complained about a muscle strain, and although he is part of the squad travelling, it is unlikely he will play. That leaves Thiago Silva and Bonera in the middle of defence, and they’ll be without Zambrotta on the right side of defence due to a meniscus problem. The midfield is weakened as well because Kevin-Prince Boateng won’t be playing due to a problem in his tendons (As you can see, I’m not an expert), and Pirlo is injured as well.

The attack is patched up with Pato returning from his injury, and Robinho should be able to play even if he crashed his knee into a camera on the side of the pitch in AC Milan’s 2-1 friendly win against Al Ahli. Yet AC Milan will be missing their main man up front, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede is suspended after repeated yellow card in multiple matches, and without Ibra, the team could have difficulty scoring. Along with Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho won’t be playing because it seems like his deal with Gremio is in the final stages of completion, leaving a slightly inexperienced forward line.

But Allegri has a player he can call upon if needed, Antonio Cassano is among the substitutes, and he will probably make an appearance in the match. Cassano played well in the friendly against Al Ahli, providing an assist for Seedorf and being selfless with his distribution to his teammates. But Cassano has been receiving comments regarding his overall fitness, and there’s certainly room for improvement in that area.

Whether Cassano will be able to make a difference against Cagliari is a tough question to answer, but I don’t think he’ll have much of an impact. While Cagliari are in 13th place, with just 20 points this season, don’t expect that Roberto Donadoni’s side will allow AC Milan to trample over them at their home ground. It will be a tough return for Allegri, especially with the reduced squad which he has to resort to. Do you think that AC Milan will continue winning in 2011? Can they be stopped? Share your comments below!

Starting at the top of the table, AC Milan seem omnipotent with the team they already have. Ronaldinho will probably be leaving for Gremio (the club where he started his professional career)  in Brazil. While the Brazilian would be glad to return home, AC Milan are trying to squeeze anything out of Gremio, and Galliani has put an 8 million Euro price tag on Ronaldinho.

AC Milan fans shouldn’t worry that one of their Brazilians will be leaving, the replacement is already training with the team in Dubai. Antonio Cassano seems to be the perfect replacement when Ronaldinho leaves, and he is probably and even better partner for Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front. But AC Milan are looking to sign another creative Italian, Andrea Lazzari, to help out the already overpowered attacking sector of the team. Massimiliano Allegri shouldn’t have too much trouble bringing the 26 year-old to the San Siro considering that he coached him last season.

The rossoneri will also try to do some work regarding Kevin-Prince Boateng who belongs to Genoa but is on loan at AC Milan. It is very possible that Milan will try to give half of Alberto Paloschi for half of Boateng, but we will have to see what Genoa want from Milan for the Ghanaian midfielder. It should be a fairly quiet transfer market for AC Milan, but you never know with Berlusconi.

Lazio are looking to buy this transfer market, and there are multiple names circulating as to who they want as their new center-forward. While Bayern Munich‘s Klose would be the dream, it is more likely that Manchester City reject Santa Cruz could join. Sadly there have been problems regarding that deal as well, and it seems like Santa Cruz isn’t interested in a loan or transfer to Lazio. So now the name which has been mentioned is Federico Macheda‘s. The young Italian currently at Manchester United could return to Italy for a loan (or permanent transfer) deal.

Inter Milan are searching for a few players to buy, and while the names of Kaka and Fernando Torres have been mentioned, it is doubtful that Moratti will be splashing the grotesque amount of cash needed for those players. Instead Inter are chasing Zaccardo to strengthen the defence, and the wild idea of Patrice Evra of Manchester United has been floating around. Ilicic of Palermo is unlikely to be bought in January and so is Udinese‘sSanchez, both might be additions made this upcoming summer. For now Inter have got Ranocchia from Genoa, but there could be few other signings until the summer of 2011.

Juventus are looking at some possible deals, but nothing has materialized yet. While the big rumours have been around a possible swap Gilardino-Amauri, it is more likely that the Fiorentina forward arrives for a hefty transfer fee, without a swap. What is needed for Gilardino’s arrival is some cash, and Juventus might find it in the form of selling Sissoko. The Malian has been observed by Wolfsburg, and a deal worth around 10 million Euros could be struck sometime soon. The money from selling the midfielder could be used to get a proper forward to finish off all of Krasic’s delightful crosses, Edin Dzeko maybe?

Roma has sold Julio Baptista to Malaga for around 2 million Euros and it seems like the giallorossi have managed to agree a deal with Behrami of West Ham. Another unhappy Brazilian at Roma had apparently decided to leave, but it now seems that Adriano will be staying with Roma. Unless it is a successful season for him, expect him to leave for Brazil this upcoming summer.

Which possible tranfser are you looking forward to most? Share your comments below!

2010 was a bad year for Italian football. I tried to think of the positives, but very few came to mind. A disastrous World Cup in South Africa, a bad showing in the Europa League, and only a Champions League victory (guided by a Portuguese mastermind) which retains some dignity for Italian football.

While 2010 was a poor year, it now allows all of Italian football to rebuild in 2011. Just looking at the Serie A, a much more competitive league has formed after an exciting summer of transfers. AC Milan have strengthened considerably with the super-signings of Ibrahimovic, Robinho, and Kevin-Prince Boateng. Juventus are rebuilding properly under Luigi Delneri, who is creating a team which plays through the electrifying Milos Krasic. Inter Milan are in a rebuilding phase as well after the disappointment of Benitez’s failure, and now Leonardo trying to make a proper impact with a treble-winning side.

These changes along with a general strengthening of teams like Lazio, Napoli, Palermo, and even Roma all contribute to a much more exciting league.

No more 1-0 wins, ground out with counter-attacking football, now Italian sides seem to have realized that to win, you have to score goals. Juventus score plenty of goals while leaking at the back, Palermo play a fluid style with the humble Javier Pastore orchestrating the side, and AC Milan steamroll through teams with Ibrahimovic’s wrath accompanied by a dancing Robinho. No matter what anyone says, the Serie A has become exciting. AC Milan seem unstoppable, and if Leonardo manages to wake up a drowsy Inter team, we’ll have a proper battle for the scudetto on our hands.

With the Serie A becoming more exciting, we are also seeing this positive change reflected in the Italian national team. Cesare Prandelli is a shining symbol of hope for Italy fans, giving us all the chance to see Cassano back in the Azzurri shirt, along with Mario Balotelli and other exciting young players. The qualification for the European Championships of 2012 doesn’t look to be too difficult, and if Prandelli continues to breed these youngsters into the national team, there’s a chance that Italy will be a contender for the tournament held in Poland-Ukraine.

2011 is ultimately a year of hope for Italian football. A chance to forget about the UEFA co-efficient, the World Cup in South Africa, and a boring Inter Milan dominance in the Serie A. An exciting league has formed, and along with it a stronger national team is moulding itself under Cesare Prandelli’s venturing eyes. What do you hope for Italian football in 2011? Share your comments below!

With the winter break, I’ve decided to look at this season’s current top goalscorers. It has been an interesting season, and there are some veterans accompanied by new signings which populate this list. Here’s a look at the top 10 Serie A goalscorers so far this season:

1. Di Natale (Udinese) – 10 goals
2. Cavani (Napoli) – 10 goals
3. Quagliarella (Juventus) – 9 goals
4. Eto’o (Inter Milan) – 9 goals
5. Di Vaio (Bologna) – 9 goals
6. Ibrahimovic (AC Milan) – 9 goals
7. Matri (Cagliari) – 8 goals
8. Borriello (Roma) – 7 goals
9. Hamsik (Napoli) – 7 goals
10. Pastore (Palermo) – 7 goals

A unique mix to say the least. We have Di Natale at the top of the list having scored 10 goals so far this season for Udinese. I shouldn’t be surprised, mainly because Di Natale has always scored plenty of goals, but every season I think that his goalscoring record will slowly die off, but I’m always wrong. Di Natale’s ten goals this season have been crucial to Udinese’s campaign, and he has scored about 48% of Udinese’s goals this season. Not bad for a 33 year-old.

Cavani is joint top with Di Natale, and while I was slightly doubtful at first regarding the Uruguayan’s abilities, he has proven himself to be a true goalscorer. The 23 year-old is tall, fast, and knows where the goal is, and playing alongside two other young stars, Lavezzi and Hamsik, he has found his place at Napoli. A large part of Napoli’s success in the Serie A this season (second place, just three points from AC Milan) has to be attributed to Cavani, and the Uruguayan has also been scoring important goals in the Europa League. If Cavani can finish the season with at least 20 goals – a notion which seems very possible – then there will be “bigger” teams knocking on Napoli’s door for the striker.

After Di Natale and Cavani we have a quartet of players all with nine goals. Quagliarella, Eto’o, Di Vaio, and Ibrahimovic have all been key players for their sides this season. Quagliarella has been a target for Krasic’s crosses, Di Vaio has scored 56% of Bologna’s goals, Eto’o has started wonderfully scoring goals for fun, and Ibrahimovic has been wreaking havoc under Massimiliano Allegri. If Juventus, Bologna, AC Milan, and Inter Milan didn’t have these players, they’d be in a very different position in the Serie A. We’ll see if Di Vaio can continue scoring and keep Bologna up, and we will also see if Eto’o can continue to score under Leonardo…

Matri is always among the top goalscorers, and that is probably why there were rumours circulating that he might join AC Milan in the January transfer window. With the long-term injury to Inzaghi, and Pato having difficulty with niggling problems, Matri could be a hard-working partner for Ibrahimovic. But maybe AC Milan have already found a different partner with the name of Antonio Cassano. Cassano will be joining the likes of Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho, Robinho, Gattuso, and Boateng, talk about adding another lunatic to the asylum…

The rest of the list is Borriello, Hamsik, and Pastore all with three goals. I wasn’t sure about these three and their amount of goals. Borriello had a shaky time at AC Milan, Hamsik was fairly quiet last season, and Pastore tends to set up more goals than the ones he scores. But I’m pleasantly surprised, an Italian along with two young talented midfielders isn’t a bad image for the Serie A at all.

What do you think about the current top scorers of the Serie A? Share your comments below!

Finally this power struggle is over. It was inevitable that the Spaniard was not going to get anything from Massimo Moratti for this January transfer window, and Moratti got fed up with Benitez’s strange demands. It all seemed slightly better when Rafa Benitez had guided his team to the World Club Cup title, but after the final against TP Mazembe, Benitez decided to stoke the fire with some strange comments.

“I deserve respect. I’ve carried all the blame and all the responsibilities, but the club had promised me three players in August. Nobody arrived. Now there are three possible options: or the club has a project and buys four players right away in January, or we go ahead like this with the coach as the only one to blame, or the president talks with my agent and we find another solution.”

Benite continues his rant,

“Last year Moratti had spent 80 million for five players, all starting eleven players, this year with a new coach he has spent zero. I don’t know why, he had projected a market plan which then wasn’t executed, because of the [UEFA] financial fair play or something else. After the summer I was disappointed one-hundred percent.”

And so, Benitez had tried to earn himself some respect and transfer funds with these defiant comments. While it seems like Benitez is right in many ways, he approached solutions in the wrong way. It is true that Moratti spent plenty for Mourinho and didn’t spend anything for him, and it is true that Benitez has been carrying basically all of the blame, but ranting like this won’t get you very far with the president he has.

In a certain way, it seems to me that Moratti almost welcomed the option of firing Rafa. Moratti decided to go for a “softer” coach after Mourinho’s arrogant demanding time, and if Benitez worked, problem solved, if he didn’t Moratti would just bring someone else in. It’s almost as if Benitez was never meant to be a long-term coach, almost just a transition coach who wouldn’t put up much of a fight. Yet Benitez tried to fight, and now he is without a job.

The man who will replace Benitez could be considered another “softie” compared to Jose Mourinho. It’s the youthful Leonardo who had previously managed AC Milan before Massimiliano Allegri had replaced him.  While Inter fans may be thinking, “Why would we want an AC Milan reject?” the solution is relatively simple.

At AC Milan, Leonardo was in a similar position that Benitez was with Inter. An aging squad, a president who prefers not to spend money, and a group of slightly divided players. Leonardo did his best with that side, arriving third in the Serie A, 12 points off of the scudetto winners Inter Milan. Now Leonardo has a chance to work with a better team than that AC Milan team at the time, and it seems like Massimo Moratti is lining up some players to bring in this January.

Right now the name which has been circulating is Andrea Ranocchia, the 22 year-old central defender already partially owned by Inter. The deal between Genoa and Inter is being negotiated right now, and it’s almost 100% certain that Leonardo will have a new central defender to work with in 2011.

Along with Ranocchia, some other names have been floating around, even if they look like very unlikely possibilities. Kaka from Real Madrid could have a shock return to the Serie A after his poor spell in Spain, and Riccardo Montolivo of Fiorentina could join Inter in January as well. You may think that these are ludicrous possibilities, but Moratti could decide to unite new Brazilian with new Brazilian, and create a team which could maybe challenge for the Serie A title.

As a player Enzo Bearzot was hard-working and versatile. Bearzot had 251 appearances in the Serie A, playing for Inter Milan, Catania, and most notably Torino. He was an important piece in Torino’s side, playing often as a central defender, and helping rebuild the team after the tragic Superga air disaster. In his playing career he also earned one cap for the Italian National team in 1955. He wasn’t a truly fantastic player, but he had great ideas and skills which he utilized in his coaching career.

Bearzot’s greatest moment as a coach was without a doubt when he won the 1982 World Cup at the helm of Italy’s national team. When he first took the job, he was scrutinized by the media due to his, lack of inexperience in big coaching jobs. Italy had a poor start to the 1982 World Cup, and as the Italian media was wildly criticizing Bearzot, the coach issued a “silenzio stampa”, which means “silence to the press”, allowing him and his side to work in temporary silence. Bearzot eventually found the perfect combination with time, and Italy defeated favorites Brazil, then Argentina, and finally West Germany in the final. Enzo Bearzot conquered the 1982 World Cup, Italy’s third, ending 44 years of drought in which the Azzurri hadn’t been crowned as world champions.

There weren’t many other highlights like 1982 in Bearzot’s coaching career, nonetheless he was a man with the right ideals.

“The player profile has also changed, especially regarding loyalty to clubs, which have themselves become profit-making businesses. What’s more, football has now become a science, if not always exact, but for me, it’s

still first and foremost a game.”

I mentioned before that Enzo Bearzot was more than just a coach. He did his best to rid Italy of the tight and defensive catenaccio, instead trying to imprint a more fluid and attacking style, inspired by the Netherlands which played total football in 1974. While the Azzurri didn’t play total football, they became a more attacking side, entertaining crowds with exciting performances. In the end Enzo Bearzot had a simple philosophy regarding how his teams should play,

“For me, football should be played with two wingers, a centre forward and a playmaker. That’s the way I see the game. I select my players and then I let them play the game, without trying to impose tactical plans on them. You can’t tell Maradona, ‘Play the way I tell you.’ You have to leave him free to express himself. The rest will take care of itself,”

A simple yet wonderful idea of football from a true legend of the game. While Bearzot was often criticized at the beginning of the campaign of 1982, every Italian loved him by the end of the tournament. It wasn’t love just because of what he achieved, but it was a love which extends past the fact that many never knew him. Bearzot was a father figure for all of Italy, guiding the country while taking criticism by ones which would ultimately be proven wrong. Not only did Bearzot create a family with his players, he brought all of Italy closer together, winning a tournament which lives in a nation’s hearts.

Enzo Bearzot, born 27 September 1927, died 21 December 2010.

AC Milan hosted Roma at the San Siro, and I thought that Milan would’ve played through a pretty simple win at home, but it was not to be. The match started well for Allegri’s side though, they were very dynamic, trying to get underneath Roma’s backline of defenders and create problems for Doni between the sticks. Roma on the other hand were slightly sluggish, especially with Adriano on the field. Although the Brazilian had some good touches, he was unable to do much due to his girth which was a little too much for him to carry around, instead Roma relied on the energetic Frenchman Jeremy Menez to create opportunities.

But the first half didn’t produce much action, Ibrahimovic seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed, Robinho played Pippo Inzaghi-style and was constantly in an offside position, and Roma were too dependent on Menez. AC Milan were forced to make a substitution in the first half after Pirlo was clattered, and Allegri altered the shape of his formation by putting on Seedorf. With Pirlo in the midfield, Boateng could almost play as a “trequartista”, but with Seedorf on the field the Ghanaian had to be a little more conservative regarding his attacking runs. So the first half ended with some good chances for AC Milan, but little else to be noticed as the players prepared for the second half.

The second half was slightly different with both teams slowly getting out of their shells. Roma were trying too often to lump the ball up to Borriello, who was being silenced expertly by Bonera and Nesta, and AC Milan’s one-man team, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, was having an off day. The Swede got a fantastic chance in front of Doni who had scrambled early off his line, and while all of the San Siro and I thought that he was going to chip Doni for an easy goal, Ibrahimovic ended up toe-punting the ball into Doni’s hands. An opportunity which usually doesn’t go wasted by Ibrahimovic is what ultimately could’ve decided the match.

It was in the 69th minute that Roma struck. Another speedy run from Menez down the wing lead to a pass across the six-yard box, the Borriello missed the tap-in but scored anyways when Abate tried to punt the ball out of his box, but instead punted it into Borriello and into the back of the net. A strange goal to say the least, with little to no skill from Borriello, but he celebrated it like any other. His ridiculous hairstyle along with his goal celebration against his former side made him a permanent target for the whistles and boos of the 50,000 at the San Siro.

Things didn’t get much better for AC Milan, especially when Ibrahimovic was caught in an offside position, and instead of obeying the referees whistle, the Swede went on a kicked the ball into the back of the net. While he protested vehemently at referee Damato he got himself a yellow card, and added to last game’s yellow card he received it means that he won’t be playing next match against Cagliari the return day after the winter break. Roma held on well to the win, anxiously waiting for the final whistle. Once it went, the San Siro was filled with unhappy fans, and a group of ecstatic Roma players due to the win that they had just pulled off.

Is this a turning point in the season with AC Milan losing and Inter Milan regaining some form? Or is it Roma’s turn to push for the scudetto? Share your comments below!

The draw for the Round of 16 matches in the Champions League did not go too well for the Italian teams. Here are the three fixtures which the Serie A sides will be playing in the first round of the knockout stages.

Roma – Shakhtar Donetsk

AC Milan – Tottenham Hotspur

Inter Milan – Bayern Munich

It seems like Roma have the easiest opponent in Shakhtar Donetsk, but the Ukrainian side topped their Champions League group which included Arsenal. They managed to win all of their games in the group stages except one, which they lost away to Arsenal, so it seems like Roma will have a tough time with them.

AC Milan instead get the team which haunted Inter during the group stages, Tottenham Hotspur. The newcomers to this competition did wonderfully well in the group stages, finishing above Inter Milan in the group after some spectacular attacking play. This match looks to be extremely exciting along with it being very difficult to call. While in my mind AC Milan should be able to defeat Tottenham, which have been conceding tons of goals this season, there is a doubt that Allegri’s side falls short to the task.

Inter Milan – Bayern Munich is a strange match-up in my opinion. Both teams which won their domestic leagues and cups, and met each other in the Champions League final last season are now doing poorly in the Serie A and the Bundesliga. Inter Milan are seventh in the Serie A, and Bayern aren’t doing much better in sixth in the Bundesliga, but this clash still looks to be exciting in my opinion. Bayern Munich will undoubtedly want revenge for last season’s final, and they could knock Rafa Benitez’s slowly assembling team out of the competition. Whichever way this match goes, a big team won’t be progressing, and lets hope that it isn’t Inter which goes home from Europe early.

Among all this Champions League talk, I’ve almost forgotten about the horrible draw which Napoli got in the Europa League! Walter Mazzari’s side which barely managed to qualify for the Round of 32 of the Europa League were drawn with Spanish side Villareal. The Spaniards have been doing excellently this season in La Liga, and they’re in third behind – guess who? – Barcelona and Real Madrid. It’s certainly a tough challenge for Napoli, and they’ll truly need to be at their best if they want to progress to the Round of 16. With no other Italian sides left in the competition, lets hope that Napoli show that the Serie A still has much to offer in Europe by overcoming this big initial obstacle.

If you’re interested in seeing the complete Champions League and Europa League draws, you can click here. What are your thoughts regarding the Champions League and Europa League draws? Share your comments below!

Napoli desperately needed a win at the Stadio San Paolo, or else they would not qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League. But Steaua Bucharest came to defend with grit, staying turtled up in their own half, soaking up Napoli’s pressure, and then striking on the counter-attack. Napoli did their best, pushing well on the flanks and through the middle, eventually creating a great opportunity which Cavani put over the bar. Steaua had opportunities to score as well, and going into halftime, the two teams were fairly even.

The second half continued like the first, with Napoli slowly chipping away at the resolute Romanian side. Walter Mazzari’s team created more and more chances, with Cavani even hitting the post. The ending became more and more tense, with insults being thrown to and fro from players on the field to the ones on the benches. Both Steaua and Napoli were getting frustrated, creating goalscoring chances which weren’t finished properly or were saved by a pair of outstanding goalkeepers. Yet Napoli believed until the very end, and in the 92nd minute of the match Edinson Cavani scored what he calls, “a miracle goal”. The young Uruguayan managed to flick a corner from the near post with his head, sending Napoli through to the knockout rounds of the Europa League. Yet the tension was still high, and Paolo Cannavaro got sent off before the final whistle after receiving a second yellow card.

The other Italian sides did surprisingly well considering their previous poor form in the Europa League. Palermo defeated Lusanne Sports 1-0 away from home thanks to a late goal from Munoz, and Juventus got a good 1-1 draw against Manchester City, with some youngsters on display for the crowd at the Stadio Olimpico. Sampdoria though weren’t able to win or draw away against Debrecen, and lost 2-0. It’s nice that Napoli have managed to qualify for the round of 16, and hopefully they’ll receive a good draw and go deep in the tournament.
Inter Milan were in Abu Dhabi, where they defeated Asian champions Seongnam Ilhwa 3-0. This victory was an important one for Rafa Benitez, because the team is slowly recovering from injuries positively, especially Diego Milito who scored and assisted the other two goals. However there was a slight setback for Inter in this match; in the first minutes Wesley Sneijder received a tough tackle and had to be replaced. He won’t be able to make the final, which will be played against TP Mazembe, the first African side ever to reach the FIFA World Club Cup final.

The final is being played this Saturday, and while some don’t really consider this tournament as very important, if Rafa Benitez could manage to win it, it could be a turning point for his team. There have been many doubts over whether Benitez would stay much longer at Inter, and it seems like Massimo Moratti has calmed the voices by prasing the Spaniard regarding the team’s performance. But no matter how much praise Moratti heaps on Benitez, the president wants the coach to win this tournament, and transfer the momentum to the Serie A and Champions League campaigns.

What are your thoughts regarding Napoli’s qualification and Inter Milan’s solid win? Share your thoughts below!

Parma hosted Fiorentina in the round of eight of the Coppa Italia, and the match dragged deep into extra time with both sides creating chances, but Fiorentina having more. Fiorentina’s substitute Santana came on in the first half of extra time, and just six minutes from the end of extra time he produced a long-range goal. All of the Fiorentina team celebrated wildly, with Santana taking his shirt off, thinking that he had sealed Fiorentina a spot in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia.

But a minute later, the eternal Hernan Crespo got on the end of Lucarelli’s header to volley right at the Fiorentina keeper Avramov. While it should’ve been a fairly simple save, Avramov let Crespo’s solid volley spill into the back of his net. After the late equalizer, Crespo popped up again just two minutes later with the winner. Avramov parried a shot, and Crespo’s predatory instincts took over as he rushed to tap the ball into the goal to make it 2-1.

So much emotion in just one match, hopefully the other round of eight Coppa Italia matches will be just as exciting. The next ones taking place are Inter – Genoa and Palermo – Chievo on the 11th of January. The day after Juventus will face Catania, and then on the 17th of January Napoli will face Bologna. Then on the 18th we have some very exciting matches, with Roma facing Lazio and Sampdoria facing Udinese. And the final match of the round of eight will be played on the 19th of January between AC Milan and Bari.

Plenty of exciting match-ups in the Coppa Italia, what are your thoughts regarding the competition? And what are your thoughts of Crespo’s magnificent double which puts Fiorentina out of the tournament? Comment below!

A fantastic match between two sides which battled for the win. Juventus took the lead in the first minutes with Chiellini powering his way through a weak Lazio defence on a corner, heading in a temporary lead for the bianconeri. But Lazio fought back, and about fifteen minutes later they scored a scrappy goal with Zarate tapping in from a corner kick swung into a crowded group of players. Yet Lazio changed their style, and as the match wore on, they began playing more and more defensively, trying to hold onto the draw. Juventus on the other hand pushed well, creating opportunities with Krasic making the right wing his own, and Aquilani playing very well to set up teammates with opportunities to score.

The game wore on, and Lazio retreated more and more into their bunker as Delneri threw on Del Piero, Pepe, and Sissoko, the three of them providing more movement in the place of tired players. And after many chances to score the winner, Juve’s top man, Milos Krasic found the 90th minute after another rampaging run down the right side. A cheeky chip, which was probably meant as an assist for players in the middle of the box, was flapped in by Muslera’s gloved hands.

A very important win for Juventus which helps them rise up to second place along with Napoli and Lazio, all three sides equal with 30 points. But this win does something else, it allows AC Milan to take a six point lead above the three teams dwelling in second place. Who would’ve thought that Allegri’s side would be six points clear around December? Certainly not I.

2. AC Milan’s new signings continue to score

AC Milan managed to pull six points ahead of second place after their 3-0 win away against Bologna. Strangely enough, the three players who scored the goals against Bolgona – Kevin-Prince Boateng, Robinho, and Ibrahimovic – were also the ones who scored against Milan’s 3-0 win against Brescia, and for total deja vu, they also scored in the same order!

But other than just an interesting stat, maybe this represents a little more. All three players are new signings which Berlusconi secured over the summer, and they’ve truly thrived under Massimiliano Allegri. While I had few doubts about how Ibrahimovic and Boateng would do, I didn’t think that Robinho would do to well in the Serie A. I’ve been proved wrong by the Brazilian who has scored six goals already this Serie A season, coincidentally the same number that the other Brazilian starlet, Pato has scored this season.

So did AC Milan do the best business this summer? It certainly seems so; with Roma’s Adriano receiving the Golden Bin award, Inter’s lack of new signings, and Juve’s slight dependence on Milos Krasic, AC Milan have made three excellent signings over the summer which are slowly winning them the scudetto.

3. Bari hit new lows after latest loss

I really don’t know what to say after seeing Bari rack up another loss. It isn’t the fact that they lost against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico which really surprises and bothers me, it’s the slide which Giampiero Ventura’s club has been going down, all the way into last place. Bari have only managed to scrounge out ten points this season! Alarming, especially compared to last season, when they arrived tenth in the Serie A.

Not too much I can say regarding this, I’m just shocked that Giampiero Ventura hasn’t managed to get more out of his talented side.

4. Sampdoria suffer from fantastic Cordova free kick

Sampdoria have lost against Brescia, and while I have been constantly mentioning the Cassano situation, and maybe the lack of a world class player, that excuse has gotten a little old. While they were playing away from home, and Brescia’s goal was a strange free kick from Cordova, that still doesn’t hide the fact that Mimmo Di Carlo’s team isn’t doing too well. Hopefully this won’t be the beginning of a fall for Sampdoria, or else maybe the president Garrone will have to go crawling back to Cassano, begging for forgiveness.

Regarding Cordova’s free kick, I say that it was strange, mainly because I’ve never seen another one scored like this. Centrally facing the goal, but pretty far out, Cordova went for pure power, and his low free kick bounced through many Sampdoria players before tricking Curci into looking like a fool as the ball hit the back of his net. Check it out if you haven’t seen it yet, a possible “Goal of the Season” contender.

5. Lecce rise above Chievo with 3-2 victory

The result which truly shocked me this weekend was seeing Chievo lose 3-2 to Lecce. Chievo who are in 12th place after this loss, losing to Lecce which only has 15 points, and is in the relegation zone at 18th place. You could say that Chievo failed to wake up quickly enough considering that they were two goals down by halftime, two very nice goals from Ofere and Piatti. Then in the second half Chievo got one back with a magnificently struck, curling free kick from Bogliacino, but before they could find an equalizer, Piatti striked again for Lecce. Chievo pulled a goal back in the final minutes to make the final score 3-2, but Sergio Pioli’s side was beaten by a confident looking Lecce.

So could Lecce play well enough to survive relegation this season? After what I saw against Chievo, they seemed like a good side, especially with the forward Piatti, who reminds me quite a bit of Diego Milito. Share your comments below regarding the Serie A action which happened over the weekend!

The Serie A is getting more and more exciting, especially after these recent results, and the matches which will be played this Sunday. Napoli got an important 1-0 win away against Genoa, Palermo came back to beat Parma 3-1 at the Renzo Barbera, and Udinese also completed a comeback win at home, 2-1 over Fiorentina. While we had three important matches today, there’s plenty more action to come tomorrow when AC Milan travel to Bologna and then Juventus host Lazio.

Napoli defeated Genoa 1-0 at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, and what separated the two sides was a bullet header by Marek Hamsik. It was Gargano’s free kick on the 25th minute, swung in with great pace, which Hamsik flicked wonderfully past Eduardo. Genoa created opportunities, but they weren’t able to capitalize on key chances. This win puts Walter Mazzari’s side in second place, equal on points with Lazio who will be facing fourth placed Juventus tomorrow. The bianconeri are three points behind Lazio and Napoli, so if Juve can manage to win, there will be three teams equal on points in second place.

Palermo hosted Parma at the Renzo Barbera stadium, and Parma coach Pasquale Marino was unable to see his side take the lead due to his mother’s death. It was a header by Lucarelli which hit the back of the net after a well placed corner. The first half lacked the usual inspiration which Javier Pastore provided for Palermo, and Delio Rossi eventually decided to take the Argentinean off at halftime. Instead it was the Chilean Pinilla who took his place, scoring the equalizer just five minutes into the second half, and then assisting Miccoli for Palermo’s second goal. Kasami secured the result when his header bounced off of Zaccardo’s head, and into the back of the Parma net for an own goal.

And in the third match today, Udinese came back against Fiorentina to win 2-1, and it was a match filled with wonderful goals. Santana struck first, a low, long-range effort which Handanovic had fallen asleep on allowed the visitors to take the lead. But in the second half Guidolin’s side reacted, first with Pablo Armero’s thunderbolt strike from far out, and then Di Natale’s goal which was preceded by some beautiful one-touch build-up play. An important win for Guidolin’s side which is making up for their bad start to the season, and right now Udinese are 8th in the table.

What are your thoughts regarding these matches? Plenty of exciting play, moments, and goals, and hopefully more will come tomorrow when Juventus and Lazio face off. Share your comments below!

Good thing they managed to draw 1-1 away from home against CFR Cluj, it was a well-fought match by both sides. Borriello scored to put Roma ahead around 2o minutes into the match, but Cluj fans will be disappointed that Borriello was offside (classic Pippo Inzaghi, perfectly fooled the linesman), the Roma forward made a piercing run towards goal, and curled it around the Cluj keeper with his left foot.

Cluj reacted and created some chances, but it was Roma which truly threatened to score another couple of times. Menez probably should’ve been awarded a penalty for being obstructed as he was running towards goal, and Totti and Borriello had some good chances which they should’ve tucked away. Burdisso even hit the crossbar with an extremely precise header, but it seemed like the ball wouldn’t go into the net for a second time for the giallorossi. Cluj equalized in the dying minutes of the match, a header from Traore, who had been lively all match, got a resounding cheer from the home supporters, but they knew that they wouldn’t manage to qualify.

Although AC Milan were already qualified mathematically, that didn’t stop Allegri’s side from doing their best to give Serie A a bad reputation. The rossoneri lost 2-0 at the San Siro to an Ajax team which created most of the opportunities between the two sides. While Massimiliano Allegri started with a relatively weaker team than previous matches, with Ronaldinho, Bonera, Yepes, and Amelia all getting starts, the result was still disappointing. Amelia played well in goal, and the two goals he conceeded were due to some bad defending by the Milan backline, and an incredibly unstoppable top-corner strike by Alderweireld.

So where do the three Italian sides go from here? The potential opponents seem very difficult, especially because all three Italian sides finished runner-up in their groups. Can all three Italian sides progress past the round of 16? Am I being a bit too optimistic hoping that there will be two Italian teams in the semi-finals this season? A lot of wishful thinking, and very few solid performances from the Serie A sides in Europe…

Share your thoughts by commenting below!

The Champions League group stages have finished, and now it’s time to see which teams will face each other in the round of 16 which is coming up next. UEFA will be drawing the match-ups for the Champions League and the Europa League on December 17th, and there’s a set of guidelines which the round of 16 matches will have to comply with. Here’s the guidelines below:

• Winners and runner-ups of the groups will be drawn against each other.

• The runner-up team will play the first leg at home.

• No two teams from the same association can be drawn against each other, ex. Manchester United – Arsenal cannot be drawn because both sides are from the Premier League.

• No two teams from the same group can be drawn against each other, ex. Tottenham – Inter Milan cannot be drawn because they were in the same group.

With these guidelines, I’ve put together the matches that I want to see in the round of 16. I tried to think about match-ups which will be exciting, even, and hopefully full of goals. Here they are below:

Tottenham Hotspur – Valencia

Schalke 04 – FC Copenhagen

Manchester United – Marseille

Barcelona – Roma

Bayern Munich – Inter Milan

Chelsea – AC Milan

Real Madrid – Arsenal

Shakhtar Donetsk – Lyon

What do you think about my choices? I decided to put Bayern Munich against Inter Milan, because I think it would be exciting to see Bayern take revenge for last season’s final which they lost. I also decided to put Arsenal against Real Madrid because Arsene Wenger’s side tries to replicate Barcelona’s beautiful passing and attacking style, could they do it against Real Madrid? Tottenham against Valencia seems like an extremely exciting match-up to me, because both sides love to play an attacking and free-flowing style, and I don’t think I can predict a winner between those two. And I put Chelsea against AC Milan because of Carlo Ancelotti facing his former side, along with the possibility of seeing an Ibrahimovic-led AC Milan side try and break down Chelsea.

Make sure to share your thoughts on what match-ups you want to see in the round of 16 by commenting below! What could be the most exciting match in the next round? Comment below!

The Champions League group stages have been extremely exciting this season, and as the knockout stages draw nearer, we’re beginning to see the sides which will take part in the latter stages of the competition. Right now, the sides which have qualified are: Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Schalke 04, Lyon, Manchester United, Valencia, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.

Manchester United – Valencia

Manchester United sealed their qualification in first place of the group after drawing 1-1 against Valencia at Old Trafford. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side started with a bit of complacency, they were sloppy, and unable to transition quickly like they were able to do in their 7-1 victory against Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League, mostly because Valencia closed them down quickly and efficiently. Berbatov and Anderson both had great opportunities to score, but poor finishing was what stopped United from taking the lead. Then Michael Carrick lost the ball (not for the first time) and allowed Pablo Hernandez to score the opening goal for Valencia.

What Manchester United were lacking was a bit of spark, a midfield maestro, or an experienced playmaker in the middle of the park. The second half began, and Rio Ferdinand had to be substituted in the 50th minute, when his hamstring seemed to be causing him problems. Chris Smalling was placed in the center of defence, and the big defender struggled against a Valencia side which was looking for another goal. But Manchester United got the final goal of the match, tying up the result which qualifies them in first place of the group.

It was the lively Anderson who got on the end of Park Ji-Sung’s parried shot, and the Brazilian tucked away his first goal at Old Trafford. It was a good game, and Valencia looked very dangerous against a slightly complacent Manchester United side. It’ll be interesting to see which side will have to face Valencia, and I’m sure that the Spanish club will give their next opponents a tough game.

FC Twente – Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur also qualified in first place of their group after their 3-3 draw, away against FC Twente. Harry Redknapp’s side had a lucky start when the FC Twente goalkeeper Boschker scored a comical own goal in the 12th minute. Boschker was about to clear a pass from his defender, Wisgerhof, and the keeper completely missed the ball, allowing it to roll into the back of his own net! But Twente recovered and eventually equalized when they were awarded a penalty about ten minutes later when the ball bounced off of Assou-Ekkoto’s arm.

In the second half the two sides alternated scoring goals, with Jermain Defoe scoring a brace, and Chadli scoring a fantastic free kick which equalized the score at 3-3. It was a great result for Tottenham, especially with their rivals for first place, Inter Milan, being humiliated 3-0 by Werder Bremen.

Other games

Barcelona had few problems defeating Rubin Kazan 2-0 at the Camp Nou. Josep Guardiola put out a very young side, and his youngsters proved him right with 21 year-old Andreu Fontas and 23 year-old Victor Vazquez scoring the two goals.

Copenhagen also qualified in the same group with Barcelona after their 3-1 win against Panathinaikos. The Danish side had no trouble until the 90th minute, when Kante scored a consolation goal for Panathinaikos, making the final score 3-1 for Copenhagen.

Schalke 04 qualified in first place of their group after a fantastic 2-1 away win against Benfica. Schalke were two up with Jurado and Howedes having scored the goals when Luisao scored a consolation goal for Benfica. This win is fantastic for Felix Magath’s side which hasn’t been playing too well this season. Maybe this is where their season turns around?

Lyon qualified second behind Schalke 04 after their exciting 2-2 draw against Hapoel Tel Aviv. Hapoel Tel Aviv thought that they’d managed to win when Zahavi scored their second goal with a beautiful bicycle kick to make it 2-1, but it was the youngster Lacazette who ruined their victory dreams. If the Israeli side had managed to hold on for the win, they’d have qualified for the Europa League, but instead it will be Benfica which will be playing in the Europa League this season.

Share your comments regarding the Champions League action below!

Benitez’s team selection was clearly influenced by the upcoming FIFA World Club Cup, with Nwankwo, Biraghi, Santon, Muntari all starting, and 38 year-old Orlandoni making his Champions League debut in goal. Benitez was further hampered when Marco Materazzi injured himself warming up for the match, so the Spaniard chose to put Esteban Cambiasso (who was due to rest this match) in the heart of the defence.

Although they had many new and young players, Inter didn’t play a bad first half. They managed to hit the woodwork twice with Pandev, yet they were suspect at the back, often giving a dangerous Bremen sides scoring chances. They conceded the first goal in the 39th minute, a Prodl header which sunk spirits before halftime.

In the second half Werder Bremen ran the show, and former Inter player, Marko Arnautovic, punished Inter with a great volley just five minutes in the second half. Inter were unable to create anything in the second half, and Pizarro sealed the match with a low diagonal strike, making it a humiliating 3-0 for last season’s champions.

What are your thoughts regarding this big loss for Inter? Can Rafa manage to drag himself out of these bad times, and start winning in Abu Dhabi? Share your comments below!

It’s the final group stages matchday of the Champions League, and Roma and Inter Milan need to win their midweek matches. After such a poor display from Italian sides in the Europa League, the Serie A needs to hold its head high and have three teams go into the knockout stages of Europe’s top competition. If Inter can manage to steal first place in their group from Tottenham, and Roma manage to qualify in their group, things will be looking slightly brighter for the Serie A, and the two clubs themselves.

Roma will be travelling to Romania for their match on Wednesday against CFR Cluj, and while at first it doesn’t look like a very difficult match, an upset could end Roma’s Champions League campaign early. After their fantastic 2-2 draw against Chievo (Chievo came back from two goals down, and then came close to scoring a winner after De Rossi was sent off in the final minutes), they play Cluj, and then the giallorossi will be hosting last-placed Bari next weekend. But two tough matches come right after playing Bari, first they’ll have to host Lazio in the Coppa Italia in the midweek, and then they travel to AC Milan the following weekend, and both of those matches could finish in a loss for Ranieri’s side.

While I think that Roma will manage to move on to the knockout stages of the Champions League, Lazio could knock out Roma from the Coppa Italia, and then the Ibrahimovic led AC Milan could easily defeat Roma at the San Siro. What do you think? Share your comments below!

Inter Milan are certainly in one of their worst moments right now, especially after their 3-1 loss to Lazio over the weekend. But Rafa Benitez has remained upbeat and optimistic about his current situation with Inter, and he seems to be prepared to grab a win away against Werder Bremen, which is the last game of Inter’s group stages in the Champions League. Yet the odds seemed stacked against him, not only will Rafa Benitez be missing Diego Milito, but the Spaniard will also have to do without Wesley Sneijder and Lucio! A cold trip to Germany doesn’t seem the best place to test out even more new youngsters, but it seems like Benitez will be forced to.

Right after the important game in the Champions League, Benitez has a chance to redeem himself after this season’s bad start with the European champions will travel to Abu Dhabi to play in the FIFA World Club Cup. Many players seem set to return in this competition, and winning a fairly simple trophy could motivate and convince players enough to begin winning in the other competitions. It’s very possible that Julio Cesar and Maicon will manage to return for the FIFA World Club Cup, and two veteran players like them should be able provide some cover for Inter at the back. Do you think that Rafa manage to right the ship at Inter Milan? What if Inter loses to Werder Bremen, and then has a poor display in the FIFA World Club Cup? Would it be time for him to go? Share your comments below!

This weekend in the Serie A, among the results there were plenty of 1-1 draws, a goalless draw, a couple of 3-1 wins, and then a 5-2! Yes, a 5-2 win took place in the Serie A this weekend, and it was Inter Milan which defeated Parma in the seven goal thriller. This weekend there was also a match which didn’t take place, Bologna – Chievo was postponed because of heavy snowfall which was too much to play on. But there were nine other exciting matches which took place over the weekend, and here’s five things to note about them.

Juventus and AC Milan halted

Both AC Milan and Juventus were looking relatively ominous and powerful, especially the rosseneri, yet both of them were unable to get wins this weekend, drawing 1-1. Juventus faced Fiorentina at home, and they were a goal down in the first five minutes, with Motta heading a powerful cross/shot by Vargas into the back of his own net. But Delneri’s team fought through the entire match, and they eventually found an equalizer in the 82nd minute with Simone Pepe curling in a free kick. AC Milan on the other hand travelled to face Sampdoria, and they went up before halftime with a cool volley by Robinho, assisted by the ever-present Ibrahimovic. But in the second half Sampdoria clawed back to earn a point with Pazzini scoring yet another goal, the forward was in the right place at the right time, finishing off Gastaldello’s header from a corner.

With these two draws, the question arises: Will AC Milan and Juventus be able to reuturn to their winning ways? Share your comments below!

Inter Milan slowly returning to form

I mentioned above that Inter Milan won 5-2 at the San Siro against Parma, and this result was unpredictable considering that Benitez’s side has had difficulty scoring one goal per match, let alone five. But it was Parma which scored first, with the eternal Hernan Crespo expertly finishing a good chance past Castellazzi to score against his former team. Inter Milan responded with Dejan Stankovic scoring twice in a minute, both goals deflected shots of the Serbian. After the two goal flurry Cambiasso scored as well, seemingly earning Rafa Benitez three secure points. But Parma fought back and scored again, and it was Crespo yet again, leaving the nerazzuri insecure about their three points going into the second half. In the second half, Inter finished off the match for good, with Thiago Motta scoring on his return, and then Stankovic finishing off his hat-trick.

So have the nerazzurri finally returned to their winning ways? Rafa Benitez has certainly got his team to play much better than in previous weeks, the question is whether they can rise from fifth to first, making up seven points between them and AC Milan. Share your comments below!

Palermo defeat Roma 3-1 to go sixth in the table

This weekend Palermo hosted Roma, and the giallorossi were going into the match having won six in their last seven matches in the Serie A. Palermo had quite a tough game on their hands, and Roma started off with plenty of chances until Palermo found the back of the net with Miccoli. From there Ilicic and Nocerino tapped in simple goals to make sure that the home side won. Roma created many chances, and they eventually scored in the 90th minute with Totti slamming a powerful shot through Sirigu’s hands.

With this win, Palermo jump over Roma in the table, leaving the giallorossi in seventh place as Palermo are even on points with Inter Milan. I think that Palermo can claim a Champions League place this season, but that means that another team doesn’t get to enter Europe’s top competition. Will that team be Roma? Comment below!

Di Natale bags another hat trick

Antonio Di Natale has been fantastic for Udinese for many many seasons, and this one is no exception. Di Natale is now at eight goals this season after scoring yet another hat trick over the weekend. It was a sensational hat trick, the first goal was a penalty, the second a spectacular top-corner long range effort, and the third was directly curled in from a corner. It had been a long time since I’d seen a corner scored directly, and Di Natale did it very well to make sure his side won the match against Napoli. Hamsik got a consolation goal with a stunning long range rocket, and Napoli had the chance to make the score 3-2, but Handanovic saved a penalty taken by Hamsik.

A fantastic match with Di Natale asserting his talent as one of the best Italian forwards playing right now, the question is how far he can drag this Udinese side up the table. Right now Guidolin’s side is 9th, but can Udinese rise up the table and maybe get into a European competition? Comment below!

The most exciting team in the Serie A is Palermo

The reason that Palermo are the most exciting team in the Serie A is based upon statistics and my own personal opinion of the side. Right now Palermo have scored 25 goals in the Serie A (second only to Juventus which has scored 26), and the side has conceded 19 goals so far this season. Their average amount of goals per game is 3.14, better than any other team in the Serie A and any team in the French Ligue 1! Regarding their style of play, the team is a joy to watch. With the Argentinean playmaker Pastore illuminating the field with his talent, supported by the energetic Ilicic who always takes a shot when he can, their midfield is fantastic, and with Miccoli up front along with the young Abel Hernandez, scoring goals isn’t difficult at all.

Although they’re the most exciting, it doesn’t mean that they’ll win the Serie A this season, especially with the amount of goals they’re conceding. While I think it would be fantastic for all of Italy if the side manages to get into the Champions League and prove the stereotype of “boring Italian football” wrong. Please share your thoughts by commenting below!

With just one more set of group stage matches to go, many teams have mathematically qualified for the knockout stages, but few did it better than Barcelona. Although Valencia destroyed Bursaspor 6-1, Barcelona played their usual brand of spectacular football, and they crushed Panathinaikos 3-0.Right now the teams which have mathematically qualified for the knockout stages are:

Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Schalke 04, Manchester United, Valencia, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.

Among the qualified teams you have some surprises, the newcomers Tottenham Hotspur fought well for their spot defeating the German side Werder Bremen 3-0 at home. Aaron Lennon was devastating on the right wing as he provided two assists with phenomenal runs. Eunice Kaboul netted the first with a great volley, Modric scored the second after Crouch headed it down into the Croatian’s path to control and volley, and then the big Englishman Crouch got a goal as well, tapping in from close range after Lennon had nutmegged a defender before passing it to him.

Inter Milan also qualified with their 1-0 win over Twente, and although the Italian side has been going through difficult times with a big injury list, Rafa Benitez’s side played excellently. Although the nerazzurri hit the woodwork a couple of times, the lone goal was scored by Cambiasso who reacted first to get on the end of a deflection off of Sneijder’s free kick. But Twente were dangerous as well, they clipped the crossbar late in the second half after a well worked chance, but the nerazzurri had already won. If you’re interested in a full breakdown of how Italian teams are doing in the Champions League, click here.

Manchester United also won, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team defeated Rangers 1-0 at Ibrox Stadium with a late penalty scored by Wayne Rooney. Rangers had played well throughout the match, and although the red devils had some good chances during the match, they never capitalized. But the win arrived with Wayne Rooney scoring the late penalty and celebrating with plenty of intensity.

What are your thoughts regarding the teams which have qualified? Make sure to share your thoughts regarding the Champions League matches below!

Finally some positive news for Serie A and Italian football in general, this midweek, while some sides played in the Coppa Italia, Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Roma played and won in the Champions League. It was the penultimate matchday of the group stages, and although Roma haven’t mathematically qualified yet, AC Milan have mathematically qualified in second place (behind Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid), and Inter Milan have mathematically qualified, and they have a chance to fight for first place in the group with Tottenham Hotspur. All we can hope for now is that Roma manage to qualify for the knockout round, Inter qualify in first place, and that the Italian teams in the Europa League do just as well.

Roma defeated Bayern Munich at the Stadio Olimpico 3-2, in a fantastic comeback. The giallorossi went two down after some defensive mistakes, allowing Gomez to net a double in the first half, but they picked it up in the second half. Borriello clinically finished from the ground to give Roma some hope, and then De Rossi netted a goal to tie up the score at 2-2. Then in the 84th minute Roma were awarded a penalty, and the legendary captain Francesco stepped up and put it barely past Kraft’s fingertips, for an epic winner.

But Ranieri’s side hasn’t qualified yet, next matchday they’ll travel to Romania and face CFR Cluj while Bayern Munich faces FC Basel at home. All that Roma need to do to qualify is either get a draw or a win against Cluj, and that way they’ve mathematically qualified along with Bayern to the knockout rounds of the Champions League.

AC Milan on the other hand have mathematically qualified after their 2-0 win away against Auxerre. Zlatan Ibrahimovic who provided another wonderful goal, a first time rocket which flew into the back of the French side’s net. Ronaldinho scored the second in the final minutes of the match, the Brazilian waltzed through the penalty box before he finally slipped a curling ball onto the far post and in.

With this win AC Milan have qualified for the next round, and the result of their next fixture against Ajax doesn’t really matter. It’s just a shame that Allegri’s side was unable to challenge Real Madrid for first place in the group, but as long as they do well in the knockout stages, I’m sure rossoneri fans won’t mind that much.

The match which took place today was at the San Siro, Inter Milan vs. Twente. It ended 1-0 for Rafa Benitez’s side which finally seems to have played some decent attacking football. Inter still had to play a relatively weakened side due to the injuries which have been plaguing the side for quite some time now, but they pressed Twente high up the field and created many opportunities to score. It was Esteban Cambiasso who scored the goal, Sneijder had a free kick deflected, and the ball fell perfectly for the Argentine to volley into the back of the net. This performance certainly showed signs of revival from a side which looked lifeless these past few weeks in the Serie A. We’ll just have to see if Benitez can continue to get this motivation from his players this weekend against Parma.

Right now Inter Milan and Tottenham are tied at the top of the group with 10 points, and it’s the English side which is ahead with a goal difference of +7, while Inter’s is just +4. Both Inter and Tottenham are travelling away next Champions League matchday, Inter will face Werder Bremen while Tottenham face Twente, and it seems like Inter have an easier match to win against the German team which only has two points and is at the bottom of the group table. So can Benitez inspire his men again enough to get a win, and hopefully steal the first place from Tottenham? I don’t think so, and in my opinion Inter will finish second, but make sure to share your thoughts by commenting below!

A great display from all three Italian sides, and hopefully this season not only will we have three teams in the knockout stages, but maybe more than just one of them will progress! What are your thoughts regarding the Champions League games? Comment below!

In the first eight matches of this Champions League matchday, there was plenty of excitement to go around. Some sides like Chelsea have made sure that they’re going through top of the group, while others like Arsenal have complicated their Champions League campaign terribly.

In these eight games, there were 23 goals scored, making for an average of 2.8 goals per game. But what I find very interesting is that in these eight matches, there were four players sent off with red cards! All four sending offs were in the second half of the matches, and three were in the last five minutes. I guess it’s a sign that the tension is rising as teams need to qualify for the next round of the tournament.

The most exciting match which took place today was Roma – Bayern Munich, with the Italian side triumphing at home 3-2. Bayern started the scoring with Gomez taking advantage of shaky Roma defending in the 33rd and 39th minutes, leaving Ranieri’s side in a bit of disarray going into the second half. But Roma came out to win the match in front of their home fans, and Borriello pulled one back four minutes into the second half, then in the 81^st minute De Rossi scored to make it 2-2. And in the 84^th minute, Roma were awarded a penalty, and their legendary captain Francesco Totti stepped up and scored the winner.

A fantastic match which keeps Roma in second place, three points behind Bayern Munich, and three ahead of FC Basel. FC Basel defeated CFR Cluj at home 1-0, with Alerares scoring the only goal in the 15^th minute. Cluj had Piccolo sent off with a direct red card in the 88^th minute, and the player will miss their next Champions League match against Roma. So Group E is relatively tight with Roma needing a win if they want to qualify, while Bayern look pretty solid up in first place with a goal difference of +7.

Chelsea faced Zilina at Stamford Bridge, and while they went a goal down in the first half, Ancelotti’s side scored twice in the second half in order to win 2-1. Zilina scored from a quick give-and-go passing move which Bello poked past Turnbull. It was the youngster Sturridge who equalized, and Chelsea began to press on, with Drogba almost scoring from a free kick, and  youngster van Aanholt smacking an effort against the post. It was Florent Malouda who scored the winner in the 86th minute for Chelsea, helping his side get their fifth in a row in the Champions League, qualifying them mathematically for first place.

Behind Chelsea which has fifteen points, Olympique Marseille are second with nine, with Spartak Moscow following the french side with six points. Marseille defeated the Russian team comfortably 3-0 in Russia, with Valbuena, Remy, and Brandao scoring the goals while Welliton was sent off for Spartak. While it is mathematically possible for Spartak Moscow to steal Marseille’s second place and qualify for the next round, Marseille have a goal difference of +8, while Spartak’s is -4, so it’s very likely that Chelsea and Olympique Marseille will move on to the next round from Group F.

While Chelsea have qualified to the next round, Arsenal have made their qualification a little more difficult after their away loss to Sporting Braga. It was a 2-0 win for the Portuguese side with Matheus Nascimento scoring both very well taken goals. What will bother Arsenal fans the most is probably the fact that their side conceeded the goals in the 83^rd and 90^th minutes, and that they’ll probably have to win next Champions League matchday in order to qualify.

This is because Sporting Braga are tied with Arsenal with nine points, with the English side ahead by goal difference. Ahead of both of the sides is Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk which defeated Partizan 3-0, which puts them first with 12 points. Watching all the action from the very bottom of the table is the Serbian side Partizan, the team has only scored one goal, and has zero points, and their chances of picking up some points next matchday are slim, considering that they’ll be facing Arsenal which will be fighting for qualification.

Jose Mourinho will be glad that his team, Real Madrid, conquered first place in the group with a 4-0 away win over Ajax, but he won’t be too glad about the two players which received red cards in the final minutes of the match. Everything was going perfectly all the way until the last five minutes of the match, the Spanish side were 4-0 up with Benzema and Arbeloa on the scoresheet along with Ronaldo who scored twice, of which one of the goals was a penalty.

But in the 87^th minute Xabi Alonso gets a second yellow card for time wasting (his first was for throwing the ball away during a stoppage of play), and therefore a red card, and just minutes later Sergio Ramos replicates his teammate and gets sent off for wasting time as well! But Jose Mourinho won’t care too much, especially considering that this win mathematically qualifies his side in first place.

AC Milan have also mathematically qualified for the knockout round in second place after their 2-0 win away from home against Auxerre. And it was Ibrahimovic who scored a fantastic goal, a truly unstoppable rocket which shows that the Swede has been playing wonderfully and scoring plenty of goals to help his side, whether it be in the Champions League, or the Serie A. Ronaldinho got the other goal in the 90^th minute, a sly dribbling move finished by a curled left foot shot onto the far post.

What are your thoughts regarding these matches? Will Arsenal qualify? What about Roma? Can they catch Bayern? Share your comments below!

The penultimate matchday of the Champions League group stages is coming up, and it’s make-or-break time for some big clubs. These midweek matches could even decide the future for some coaches, like Rafa Benitez at Inter Milan, who’s been getting some bad results with the holders of the Champions League. Plenty of teams have the chance to qualify for the knockout round, but they’ll have to do the business, and see how they match up against Europe’s other elite sides.

Roma – Bayern Munich

This is a match of huge proportions for both sides, while Bayern Munich have already mathematically qualified, the Bavarian side has been having lots of difficulty in the Bundesliga. Louis van Gaal’s side is 8th in Germany’s top league, with 14 points to make up between them and the table-leaders Borussia Dortmund. So this match is relatively important if Bayern want to begin to string together some wins, and have a hope of retaining the Bundesliga title this season. Roma on the other hand have six points in the group, and they lead the other two sides by three points. Claudio Ranieri needs to win this match if he wants to go deep into this competition with the giallorossi, and it seems like his squad has the momentum. The frenchman Menez has scored great goals so far this season, and he looks like a very dangerous player for any opposition defence, the question is, will he be able to pierce Bayern’s?

All of the Group A matches

Group A is extremely tight right now, you have last season’s competition winners, Inter Milan, second only by goal difference to the newcomers Tottenham Hotspur, with both sides on seven points, and below those two, Twente have five points, while Werder Bremen only have two! So the matches taking place in this group are crucial to see who will pass through to the next round, and who will come first.

First you have Inter Milan hosting Twente, and the Dutch side get to face Benitez’s team at the perfect time. The nerazzurri are in total disarray, having not won once in their past five matches, and the team is devastated by injuries to many key players. So if Twente can pull off a surprise win away from home,they’ll have a good chance of going through to the next round in place of the holders of the competition.

The other Group A match is first placed Tottenham Hotspur hosting Werder Bremen, and it’s the German side which has been doing badly this season. They’re 12th in the Bundesliga table, just four points away from the relegation zone, and in the Champions League group, qualification would take a miracle. Tottenham on the other hand are coming in to this match having just won a fantastic North London Derby against Arsenal where they came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, away from home! So while on paper this looks like a pretty simple Tottenham win, Werder Bremen might pull out a sneak result, putting a stick between the spokes of Tottenham’s Champions League campaign.

I haven’t been able to adress all the matches which will be taking place this midweek, but if you have any comments or thoughts regarding any matches in the Champions League, make sure to share them below!

Roma 2-0 Udinese

AC Milan 1-0 Fiorentina

Genoa 0-2 Juventus

Brescia 1-2 Cagliari

Catania 1-0 Bari

Cesena 1-2 Palermo

Chievo 2-1 Inter Milan

Lecce 2-3 Sampdoria

Parma 1-1 Lazio

Napoli 4-1 Bologna

1. Ibrahimovic scores a Goal of the Season contender

The Swede has often been controversial, with a fiery arrogance which flames up occasionally (like against Arrigo Sacchi), but it’s this arrogance and confidence which puts him a level above your average player. In AC Milan’s 1-0 win against Fiorentina, it was Ibrahimovic who broke the deadlock with a spectacular goal. He receives the ball in the penalty box, juggles it, and then promptly does a bicycle kick to score against Boruc who was playing excellently in goal for Fiorentina. It’s a Goal of the Season contender without a doubt, if you haven’t seen it, check it out here.

2. Sampdoria beginning to pick up where Cassano left off

Finally it seems like Mimmo Di Carlo’s team has begun to click. With Cassano gone for good, Pazzini finally realized that someone would have to pick up where Antonio left off, and score some goals. Pazzini scored a hat trick away from home, helping his side defeat Lecce which only managed to score two goals. Now 8th in the table, Sampdoria will have to host league-leaders AC Milan next week. The idea of a win for Di Carlo’s side seems near-impossible, but could they halt this rampaging Milan side with a draw? Share your thoughts by commenting below.
3. Eto’o goes Zidane on Chievo player

Inter’s 2-1 loss to Chievo was highlighted by a few things, but none of them were as exciting as Eto’o head-butting Chievo player, Cesar. “Classic Zidane” you could call it, with the same head to chest attack which left the victim writhing on the ground. But nobody saw what Eto’o did, and while Cesar complained from the ground, the referee didn’t send off the Camerun forward, who will most likely be punished for two to four matchdays after the Italian FA reviews the incident. To justify Eto’o, he was punched in the gut by Cesar before he decided to head-butt the opponent, but the reaction was still unacceptable. What are your thoughts on Eto’o’s Zidane-esque head-buttt? Comment below!

4. Time for Rafa to go?

After Inter’s latest loss away against Chievo, without a doubt Massimo Moratti is beginning to worry. In the past four matches, out of a possible of 12 points Inter Milan has only taken two, and so far this season they’ve lost three matches and drawn five, which means that they’ve lost or drawn 60% of their matches in the Serie A. While it’s true that Benitez has had to cope with a ridiculous amount of injuries, he should still be able to get something out of a group of players which won the treble last year. While I don’t think that Rafa Benitez should be sacked, I think that he’s skating on thin ice with Moratti, who certainly expects better from the Spaniard.

5. Krasic is unstoppable

Every once in a while, the Serie A gets players who truly light up matches, Krasic is one of those. His terrifying pace destroyed Genoa’s left side of defence, as he created the first goal and then scored the second. His goal was an absolute beauty, cutting in from the right side, a step-over got rid of two defenders as he pierced right through the penalty box, poking the ball against the far post and into the back of the net. He continued to terrorize Genoa’s defence throughout the match, showing that he is currently the best winger in the Serie A right now. And if it weren’t for Gareth Bale, maybe he’d be the best winger in all of Europe right now…

What were your thoughts on this weekend’s Serie A matches? Share your comments below!

In this preview of the upcoming Serie A matches, I’ll be looking at the interesting matches, and the two teams which recently got new coaches, Genoa and Cagliari. Regarding Italy’s game against Romania, I was unable to watch it, and therefore I didn’t write a match report. The match finished 1-1, with Marica scoring against the Azzurri, and then scoring an own goal off of Quagliarella’s flick from a corner.

But back to the Serie A, while last weekend was filled with big clashes like the Milan derby, and Juventus – Roma, this week still has some interesting fixtures.

Roma are hosting Udinese at the Stadio Olimpico, and after a terrible start from Giudolin’s side, they’ve really picked it up, especially after their 4-0 win against Lecce last week. Di Natale looked fantastic as he scored a hat-trick, and the entire side was playing very well. Roma on the other hand, drew against Juventus 1-1, a good result, but they’ll still want to make sure that they can win this weekend against  Udinese, and assert themselves as scudetto contenders.

Juventus are travelling away to Genoa, where Gasperini was sacked and replaced with Ballardini. A veteran coach in Italy, Ballardini has coached the likes of Palermo, Cagliari, and Lazio, this appointment is his biggest yet. Last weekend he got the side to grind out a 1-0 win away against Cagliari, with Ranocchia scoring a late header from a corner in the 84th minute. But things will have to be different when the rossoblu face Juventus at home.

While Gasperini is one of my favorite coaches who loves attacking football, Ballardini is another great coach in my opinion. Without a doubt he’ll organize Genoa, but whether he can manage to defeat Juventus, we’ll see. How do you think he’ll do? Make sure to share your opinion by commenting below!

Pierpaolo Bisoli also lost his job as Cagliari coach recently, and the man who has replaced him at Cagliari’s helm is Roberto Donadoni. With his side just out of the relegation zone, Donadoni will have to start well by winning away against Brescia. A very important match considering the two sides are tied on points, and goal difference seperates them with Cagliari 17th in the table and Brescia 18th.

I’m not sure how Donadoni will do, and I have always been slightly doubtful of his managerial abilities. While he might be a great tactician, I don’t think that he’s able to motivate his players properly, which was noticeable when he was Italy’s head coach for the European Championships of 2008. How do you rate Donadoni? Is he underestimated by the general public? And how do you think he’ll do, comment below!

And a coach who’s being evaluated right now is Rafa Benitez. The Spaniard apparently has two matches to show that he deserves to remain as Inter’s coach, away at Chievo this weekend and at home against Twente in the Champions League. But the coach will have to do this without his Brazilian starlet Philippe Coutinho, who has pulled his hamstring and will be out for about two to three weeks. While I think that Benitez will survive and manage to grind out two wins, the fact that yet another Inter player has fallen to injury is concerning.

What do you think about this weekend’s upcoming action? Share your thoughts by commenting below!

An international break is coming up this midweek, and Prandelli is preparing Italy for a friendly against Romania. From the 23 that the former Fiorentina coach has picked, you have some new inclusions like Lazio’s Argentinean-Italian, Cristian Ledesma, and the return of Mario Balotelli who has recovered from injury. The full squad of 23 is below:

Goalkeepers: Viviano, Mirante, Sirigu.

Defenders: Astori, Balzaretti, Bonucci, Cassani, Criscito, Gastaldello, Ranocchia, Santon.

Midfielders: Aquilani, De Rossi, Diamanti, Ledesma, Marchisio, Mauri, Pirlo.

Forwards: Balotelli, Gilardino, Pazzini, Quagliarella, Rossi.

To me the team looks very good, while Cassano isn’t included because of his fallout with Sampdoria, and therefore lack of playing time, there’s still creativity and flair in the squad. Balotelli has a big role to play, and apparently Prandelli has given him the number 10 shirt. Santon also makes a return for Italy, along with Aquilani, both players who look ready to step up and perform. Another player who will need to show his talent is Giuseppe Rossi, if he can put in a good performance in this friendly, then maybe he’ll ascertain himself as Balotelli’s strike partner.

My only worry is the defence, it seems slightly weaker than the rest of the team, but with Viviano, Sirigu, or Mirante in goal, I think that Italy probably won’t concede a goal. I expect a pretty comfortable win for the Azzurri, maybe 2-0? But what are your thoughts? Make sure to share them by commenting below!

The Serie A had some fantastic matches played this weekend, and probably the one that most people watched was the Milan derby. The match finished with AC Milan winning thanks to a lone goal by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, scored from the penalty spot. The match was interesting, and while it might not have had too much goalmouth action, I certainly found it entertaining. Here’s what happened at the San Siro.

The match began full of intensity and support from both sets of fans, but things changed drastically after just five minutes. A good run from Ibrahimovic was spotted by Seedorf who picks him out, the Swede runs towards his former team’s goal, but was brought down by Materazzi in the box. An obvious penalty for AC Milan, and while things were looking bad for Materazzi in his first appearance this season, things were looking great for Ibrahimovic who had the perfect chance to score against his former side.

The Swede stepped up and sent Castellazzi the wrong way with a wonderfully taken penalty. Just five minutes in, Rafa Benitez’s side was losing. Things went downhill for Inter, they were literally unable to create anything. It was scary seeing a side which was so powerful last season, have difficulty stringing three passes together in this match. The main problem with Inter Milan was the lack of movement from the forwards, Milito was a statue up front, and Eto’o was isolated on the left wing, trying to dribble too many times.

AC Milan on the other hand didn’t fully take advantage of Benitez’s shell-shocked side, while they created opportunities with quick counter-attacks, they should’ve scored another goal. The match took a turning point in the 36th minute, when Rafa Benitez was forced to take off Obi because the Nigerian had hurt himself. While at first it seemed like Cambiasso was going to go on, it was Coutinho who replaced Obi, injecting pace, intensity, and a direct approach which lit up the match. Inter began to create more, but they still weren’t getting any shots on target, and then went into halftime losing by a goal.

The second half was more exciting, Allegri took off Gattuso who had risked getting a red card in the first half, and replaced him with Pirlo. Benitez also decided to make a change, taking off Milito and putting on Pandev, in hope of another injection of pace, invention, and flair like Coutinho had done in the first half.

The only thing that Pandev achieved for Inter in the second half was starting up a bit of a pushing fight with Abate. Abate already had a yellow card, and when he kicked the back (he was going for the ball) of Pandev’s foot, the Macedonian turned around right away, and pushed Abate to the ground. Abate got up right away, and decided to push Pandev back, and it was then that Tagliavento noticed the fight, and he ran over and booked both players with a yellow. It was Abate’s second, and he was sent off.

But still, AC Milan showed that they weren’t second-best, defending well against a mediocre Inter team. The rossoneri held on well, and after losing four consecutive derbies to Inter, they finally won. A very interesting match which puts AC Milan top of the table, leading Inter by six points now. It’s evident that Rafa Benitez and Inter Milan are in crisis, the question is, can the Spaniard lead them out of it? What are your thoughts to what happened at the San Siro? Share your thoughts by commenting below!

My favorite derby is coming up this weekend, Il Derby Della Madonnina between Inter Milan and AC Milan looks to be very exciting, with a depleted Inter side facing the league-leaders AC Milan. But this isn’t the only, “big match” taking place this weekend, we’ve also got an extremely interesting game between Juventus and Roma on Saturday, along with 2nd placed Lazio facing 3rd placed Napoli.

But let’s focus on the Milan derby first, two sides with their roles seemingly reversed; last season Inter was winning plenty of games in the Serie A, while AC Milan was suffering. But this season we see the rossoneri going into the game with five wins in their last six games, while Inter Milan has only won two games in their last seven. This is an extremely crucial game for both sides, with Inter having the chance to draw level on points with AC Milan if they win, or with AC Milan possibly getting a six point lead if they defeat the current champions.

Regarding how the squads are looking with injuries, it seems like Benitez will have Julio Cesar, Stankovic, Sneijder, and Milito available for the derby, with Cambiasso still unsure whether he can manage an early return to fitness. AC Milan on the other hand have just been dealt a big injury blow, and that’s the loss of their veteran forward, Filippo Inzaghi. Inzaghi tore a cruciate knee ligament, and will be out for about six months. But there’s more bad news, AC Milan will also have to do without Alexandre Pato who suffered a thigh problem, and will be unable to play.

So how will this key derby go? My prediction is a narrow and tight 2-1 win for Inter Milan, with Diego Milito scoring both goals. I think that the Argentine has found his scoring boots in the midweek against Lecce, and Benitez will be able to motivate his team for this important game. Regarding AC Milan, I think that Ibrahimovic will go for individual glory against his old team, maybe even score a goal, but not win the game. But what are your predictions? Make sure to share them below by commenting!

Juventus and Roma will also be battling it out over the weekend, and this seems like one of the most open matches of the season. I can see this going either way, even though Juventus is at home, but if there’s one thing I’m fairly certain of, it’s that the match will be exciting. While I think that Roma are a better side then Juventus, we saw what Delneri’s side did to AC Milan a couple of weeks ago.

My prediction for this match is an exciting 3-1 win for Juventus. Delneri always sets his sides up very well, and he’ll surely notice any possible tactical faults that Roma has to take advantage of. The two sides are just a point away from each other in the table right now (Juventus 5th and Roma 6th), so this match can really propel a side to challenge for the title. What are your thoughts on how this match will go? Be sure to comment your predictions below!

Former table leaders Lazio are taking on Napoli this weekend in Sunday’s early kickoff. Yet another very tight match, with Lazio in 2nd place, and Napoli just a point behind in 3rd place. But Lazio have lost their last two games, while Napoli have won their last three. Lazio do have the advantage of playing at home, but I still think that they’ll suffer with Napoli’s formidable forwards Lavezzi, and Cavani who combined have scored 12 goals so far this season.

My prediction for this match, a 2-0 win for Napoli. It’s a little bit of a shock result I guess, but I think that Napoli can pull it off. Make sure that you share your thoughts on how this match will finish below! And if you want to talk about any other matches being played this weekend, make sure to comment!

1. Bari was on the brink of returning to form

Bari have been going through some tough times recently, and although they lost 3-2 at home to AC Milan, they showed signs of promise. Bari are currently at the bottom of the table with 8 points, and while the situation looks bleak, if Bari can pull off a win or two in their upcoming matches, they’ll be out of the relegation zone. The Galletti lost to AC Milan this weekend, but they still played well enough to score two goals, and both were beautiful. The first one for Bari was a weaving run by Kutuzov past the Milan defense, and a perfect finish past Abbiati, and the second was by the Brazilian Barreto. A wonderful volley from a long ball, no first touch or anything, he just smashed it into the back of the net right away, truly a wonderful goal by Barreto. But can Bari make it out of the relegation zone? I think that they will survive this season, what about you? Comment below!

2. Mihajlovic is safe… for now

Fiorentina have been in a similar situation to Bari, while they’ve begun to recover now, Mihajlovic was leading the sack race for a while. But Fiorentina stole three points against Chievo over the weekend, defeating the away side in a scrappy 1-0 win for the Viola. The goal was a tap-in for the substitute Alessio Cerci, Mutu had created the chance for Gilardino, and when the Italian’s shot was stopped by Sorrentino, Cerci followed up for the goal. But Fiorentina fans shouldn’t be rejoicing right away, mainly because Mihajlovic’s side will be travelling to Rome in the midweek day of the Serie A to face Roma. So is Mihajlovic safe? While fans won’t be expecting too much from their game against Roma, they’ll be expecting at least a Europa League place by the end of the season. Can Mihajlovic deliver? Share your thoughts by commenting below!

3. Lazio are finally stopped

Yes, the day has come where Edy Reja’s Lazio has lost. They even lost what’s technically a home game, but the Stadio Olimpico is shared by both Lazio and Roma, so it’s not like Lazio had much of an advantage. The Rome derby finished 2-0 for Roma, with two penalties being scored by Borriello and Vucinic. But if the penalties awarded to Roma were actually penalties, then Lazio had at least one clear cut penalty which should’ve been given. Both sides played well, with both of them having spells of dominance where they created danger. With this win, Roma rise up to 7th place, seven points away from their city rivals who are still at the top of the table. Lazio remain top of the table, but their cushion is reduced to just two points with AC Milan right behind them. Lazio have been finally stopped, is this the beginning of a slump, or can Reja’s side bounce back to continue their good run? What are your thoughts regarding the derby? Comment below!

4. No Cassano, no goal

Cassano is still not being chosen in the Sampdoria squad, and Mimmo Di Carlo’s side is suffering from the lack of creativity, big time. A 0-0 draw between them and Catania could’ve used Cassano’s flair, danger, and trickery, yet he’s not being allowed to participate in matches right now. If you notice, last weekend they had a similar problem, and Di Carlo’s side could only find the back of the opponent’s net in the 90th minute with Pazzini who gave his side a 1-0 win over Cesena. So will this “No Cassano, no goal” trend continue? We’ll just have to wait and see until this midweek when they play Parma.

5. Walter Samuel out for the season

It’s been confirmed that Walter Samuel has damaged his cruciate knee ligaments after hyperextending his knee in Inter’s 1-1 draw against Brescia. Samuel was stretchered off, and from seeing the incident, I could tell that he’d be out for quite some time. But I didn’t expect him to be out for the entire rest of the season, sadly that’s what it seems like after his terrible incident. Really bad news for Inter Milan fans, and the question arises, who will partner up with Lucio at the center of defence? Will it be Cordoba? Or will Chivu slide over into the middle, letting Santon play some more? Or could we see the return of Marco Materazzi? Benitez has options, but maybe they’re not exactly the best ones. We’ll have to see how badly yet another injury affects Inter’s season.

Two matches have been played so far this weekend, and the more interesting result of the two has to be the 1-1 draw which was played out between Inter Milan and Brescia. The other match played was a 2-0 for Bologna against Lecce, with Di Vaio and Gimenez scoring simple tap ins.

But the match which will be attracting the media attention was at the San Siro, where Brescia almost managed to pull off a win against Rafa Benitez’s side. The Inter squad is currently destroyed by injuries, with Benitez unable to utilize Julio Cesar, Thiago Motta, Esteban Cambiasso, Dejan Stankovic, and Sulley Muntari. And this match Benitez has lost another couple of players to injury, first Maicon was substituted for a right thigh muscle problem, and then Walter Samuel awkwardly landed on his knee, twisting it and needing to be stretchered off. Wesley Sneijder also needed to be taken off at half time because he was apparently suffering from “lightheadedness”, another blow for Benitez.

The game seemed to start well for Inter Milan, some good possession with a few shots scattered as Brescia started defensively. But 14 minutes in a long ball for Caracciolo wasn’t dealt properly by Samuel and Lucio, and the Brescia captain managed to finish past Castellazzi to give the away side the lead. Then, Benitez’s side began to panic, and Bresica made sure to cover up defensively to not allow Inter to have any goalbound chances.

Maicon had to be replaced around the half-hour mark, so Benitez chose to do so with Cordoba. Then when Samuel needed to be substituted as well, Benitez finally put in Santon, sliding Cordoba in the middle of defence with Lucio, and giving Santon the right wing to operate on. And Benitez had to take off Sneijder at halftime because of some “migraine problems”, and Benitez decided to put in the young Nigerian Obi.

Inter pressed and pressed, with Pandev as useless as a stump, Eto’o dribbling too much, and Coutinho the only player providing danger to the Brescia goal. Milito, Obi, and Coutinho worked hard to make sure that Brescia remained on the defensive, and Santon was exceptional in tearing down the right wing to provide an attacking option. Eventually Inter Milan created the opportunity to score, Samuel Eto’o was brought down in the penalty box after one of his trademark dribbles, and referee Gava gave the penalty. Samuel Eto’o sent the keeper the wrong way with an unreachable and beautifully taken penalty into the bottom left corner of the net.

Regarding whether it was actually a penalty or not, it’s a very tough call to make. Eto’o had been brought down plenty of times in the box where the referee could’ve called a penalty with certainty, yet the referee called one when it was slightly dubious. There was certainly pushing and maybe some tripping by the defender, but looking at the replay, it seems like Eto’o is slipping with his foot literally on top of the ball. Whether he’s slipping because of the defender’s push, or his own faulty traction, we don’t really know.

So Inter manage to squeak a 1-1 draw where they were probably the better side, but I’m not sure they deserved a win. They had plenty of opportunities to score, one of which in the last minute of stoppage time with Diego Milito in front of an open net, volleying the ball over the goal, but Inter didn’t put any away. Sure, they kept possession and had some goal-bound shots, but they still didn’t score from open play, a worrying statistic for any Inter fans.

But what Inter fans should really be worried is the injury situation. I think that Samuel will be out for at least a month after his awkward and wince-causing knee injury, and Sneijder’s migraine problem isn’t a positive thing. But if you were to take the positives for Inter from this match: Santon is doing wonderfully and he can easily replace Maicon, Coutinho looks fantastic and was unlucky not to have a goal, and Milito is returning with a hardworking mentality.

What are your thoughts regarding these two matches? Was Inter Milan’s draw a surprise for you? Please share your thoughts below by commenting!