<div style="float: right;margin-left: 5px"><a href="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/udinese-calcio-siena/image/8624627?term=di+natale" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright" style="border: 0px initial initial" src="http://view4.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/8624627/udinese-calcio-siena/udinese-calcio-siena.jpg?size=500&amp;imageId=8624627" border="0" alt="Apr. 25, 2010 - Udine, Italy - epa02131368 Udinese Calcio forward Antonio Di Natale jubilates after scoring a goal against AC Siena during the Italian Serie A soccer match at Friuli stadium in Udine, northern Italy, 25 April 2010. Udinese won 4-1." width="240" height="262"></figure></div></a></div>
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:
<ol>
<li>Di Natale (Udinese) – 10 goals</li>
<li>Cavani (Napoli) – 10 goals</li>
<li>Quagliarella (Juventus) – 9 goals</li>
<li>Eto’o (Inter Milan) – 9 goals</li>
<li>Di Vaio (Bologna) – 9 goals</li>
<li>Ibrahimovic (AC Milan) – 9 goals</li>
<li>Matri (Cagliari) – 8 goals</li>
<li>Borriello (Roma) – 7 goals</li>
<li>Hamsik (Napoli) – 7 goals</li>
<li>Pastore (Palermo) – 7 goals</li>
</ol>
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.
<div style="float: left;margin-right: 5px"><a href="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/uruguay-germany/image/9324179?term=edinson+cavani" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignleft" style="border: 0px initial initial" src="http://view3.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/9324179/uruguay-germany/uruguay-germany.jpg?size=500&amp;imageId=9324179" border="0" alt="July 10, 2010 - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - epa02244165 Uruguay&apos;s Edinson Cavani celebrates after scoring the 1-1 equalizer during the FIFA World Cup 2010 3rd place soccer match between Uruguay and Germany at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, 10 July 2010." width="180" height="324"></figure></div></a></div>
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!

Di Natale And Cavani Leading In Goals

Di Natale And Cavani Leading In Goals - World Soccer Talk

So far there have been three matches played this weekend, and all three of them have been pretty exciting. Genoa – Inter Milan ended in a 1-0 win for Inter, Roma – Lecce was exciting and finished 2-0 for Roma, and AC Milan – Juventus was the shock result, a 2-1 win for Juve.
Roma – Lecce
Roma – Lecce was an extremely enjoyable match. Both sides went out to score goals, and there were plenty of opportunities for everyone. Roma were more dangerous though, Vucinic was having the game of his life as he waltzed around players to create chances for himself and his teammates. Both sides had their crossbars hit after the first half, and although no goals were scored, it was a very entertaining match.
In the second half Roma finally found the back of Lecce’s net with Burdisso heading in a cross by Riise. But neither side stopped there, and Vucinic finished off one of his many opportunities to give Roma a two goal lead. But in the build up of the goal, a very strange event happened which resulted in the expulsion of two players.
Lecce’s Ruben Olivera tripped Totti who was running towards Lecce’s goal, and the Roma captain got up and shoved the Uruguayan. The referee Gervasoni ran over right away to stop a potential fight, and he gave both players direct red cards. At first they were both incredulous, but Ruben Olivera walked off to the dressing room. Totti protested a little longer, and then when he realized that the referee wasn’t going to let him continue to play, he ran over to where Olivera went to presumably pick a fight with the Lecce player. Totti was eventually dragged off the field by force.
The match ended 2-0 for Roma, with the giallorossi creating plenty of opportunities which they should’ve put away. But Lecce were very dangerous as well, and with a little more luck they might’ve managed to score a goal.
I think that a player like Totti, who earns millions a year should never act in such an immature and idiotic way, but what are your thoughts? I really want to hear what people have to say about this match, and this incident. So please comment below with your thoughts!
AC Milan – Juventus
AC Milan – Juventus was also an exciting match. There were plenty of players who were unable to play for both sides, and when Chiellini had to pull out during pre-match warm-up, it seemed like this would be AC Milan’s perfect night. Delneri started with Bonucci and Legrottaglie in the middle of defense, with De Ceglie and Motta on the left and right of defence. In the middle Felipe Melo played alongside Aquilani with Martinez and Marchisio supporting the attacking duo of Quagliarella and Del Piero.
AC Milan on the other hand were missing Ronaldinho and Thiago Silva, so Allegri had Nesta partnered up with Papastathopoulos in the middle with Antonini and Bonera playing on the outside of the defence. In the midfield AC Milan played with Gattuso, Pirlo, and Kevin-Prince Boateng, and the attacking trident was Ibrahimovic and Pato with Robinho acting as a “trequartista”.
The game was exciting right from the start, and Ibrahimovic slipped a sublime through pass for Pato, and then hit the top right corner of the woodwork with a precise shot. Juventus seemed scared and unable to create as AC Milan pressured from the start in search of a goal. But little by little the tables turned, and eventually Juventus were creating dangerous opportunities from counter-attacks. And the shock goal arrived in the 24th minute for the bianconeri, an unsavable header by Quagliarella which nestled beautifully into the top left-hand corner of Abbiati’s goal.
After this, AC Milan were creating less and less, Ibrahimovic was isolated up top as Robinho could only conjure up useless tricks, and Pato run in a straight line. Bonera and De Ceglie crashed into each other, with the AC Milan defender getting the worse end, he was taken off right away, and De Ceglie was substituted as well after a few minutes of useless limping around on the field. The second goal arrived in the second half, it was a mistake by the AC Milan defence which let Sissoko slip right through them and one on one with Abbiati. But the Malian midfielder literally missed the ball when shooting (very comical), but he somehow managed to pass it back to Del Piero who thundered in a low shot.
Juventus were organized and compact, taking advantage of AC Milan’s general disarray as the bianconeri created plenty of opportunities. But eventually AC Milan began to push forward by crossing in high balls for Ibrahimovic and the substitute Inzaghi to reach. The big Swede got on the end of one of them, and imitated Quagliarella’s goal to bring the score to 2-1. But AC Milan weren’t able to create much more, and Delneri’s side held out to grab three vital points.
What are your thoughts on this match? Did anyone expect Juventus to win? Share your thoughts below by commenting!

Milan Lose To Organized Juventus 2-1

Milan Lose To Organized Juventus 2-1 - World Soccer Talk

<div style="float: right;margin-left: 5px"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright" style="border: 0px initial initial" src="http://view1.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/9202662/italy-fabio-cannavaro/italy-fabio-cannavaro.jpg?size=500&amp;imageId=9202662" border="0" alt="Italy&apos;s Fabio Cannavaro reacts after the 2010 World Cup Group F soccer match against Slovakia at Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg June 24, 2010. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: SPORT SOCCER WORLD CUP)" width="280" height="392"></figure></div></div>
What should be considered a fair result; Slovakia were better, and Italy were poor, it’s just as simple as that. In the end Italy ends up right where they deserve to end up, the bottom of the table, behind New Zealand, Slovakia, and Paraguay. Italy has not played well throughout their three games, only turning it on in the final minutes after they’d gone down a goal. Italy’s elimination in the end, was because of Lippi’s selection for me, whether it be the 30-man squad, 23-man squad, or the starting 11, for me they were all poor selections.
Lippi decided to go with a 4-3-3, the same back-line as the past two games with Zambrotta on the right, Criscito on the left, and Cannavaro and Chiellini in the middle. Lippi went with a midfield of De Rossi, Montolivo, and Gattuso who were behind the trident of Di Natale, Pepe, and Iaquinta in the middle. While this formation looked a bit better than past ones, it still wasn’t enough to beat Slovakia.
The first half was terrible, Italy were terrible, and Slovakia were taking advantage of that. I had forgotten De Rossi was in the starting line-up because he never got near the ball, the forwards were inactive as their first touch let Italy down, and Gattuso, well he just did what he does best, get yellow cards. It was truly depressing, and when Vittek scored thanks to De Rossi’s inaccurate pass, it felt just about right.
While I hoped that Italy could turn it on, I knew it wouldn’t happen so early, it just doesn’t work that way with Italy, everything has to be dramatic. So they continued playing terribly, all throughout the first half until Vittek scored again. The defense didn’t anticipate and Marchetti was frozen which Vittek tapped in a cross to lower Italian spirits even further. Lippi put Maggio in for Criscito and moved Zambrotta to left-back, he also put on Quagliarella for a bit of inspiration in the place of Gattuso, sliding Pepe back into the midfield.
It wasn’t until the 81st minute that Italy scored, Quagliarella providing a bit of inspiration to take it past a man, play a one-two with Iaquinta so he could go one on one with Mucha. His shot was well saved by the Slovakian keeper and Di Natale followed up to score Italy’s first. Italy began to click, it was nice to see some hope in the Italian team, and when Quagliarella had a goal disallowed for offside, you could finally see some passion and fight in the team.
But in the 89th, the Italian defence fell asleep and Kopunek chipped Marchetti, it had to be over now. The score at 3-1 it felt like Italy’s fight was truly over, there was little to do about it until Quagliarella had a moment of brilliance. From outside the box, Fabio Quagliarella goes for what looks like at first a chipped through ball, but then is actually a long range chip which gets over Mucha and into the back of the net.
When Quagliarella and Iaquinta go to get the ball from the back of the net, &nbsp;Mucha decides to cause a little bit of trouble. He starts grabbing at the ball himself and eventually some pushing, shoving, and a little bit of kicking ends up with Quagliarella on the ground holding his face. Mucha and the Slovakian defender should’ve received red cards for using physical force to stop Quagliarella from getting the ball back, but referee Howard Webb decided to only give a yellow to the Slovakian goal-keeper.
After this there was hope with the score at 3-2, almost the entire Italy team in Slovakia’s penalty box, every player hoping they could become a national hero by scoring a goal. It could’ve been Pepe, the ball came to him at the back post, but the Udinese winger hit the ball badly and sent the shot wide as the entire Italy bench were up on their feet in anticipation. In the meantime, almost all the Slovakian players were trying to waste time, throwing themselves on the ground, feigning injury, and rolling around in efforts to wind the clock down.
It eventually ended 3-2 for Slovakia, and what should’ve been a loss where we could criticize Lippi and his selections almost became a comeback where he could prove us wrong. &nbsp;But what’s important is that he didn’t prove us wrong, and because of this Italy, the holders of the World Cup won’t progress out of the group stages. We saw a creative player like Quagliarella revitalize the team, imagine if he’d have taken Cassano or Balotelli…
Be sure to share your thoughts about the game&nbsp;below by commenting!

Italy Eliminated with 3-2 loss

Italy Eliminated with 3-2 loss - World Soccer Talk

<div style="float: right;margin-left: 5px"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright" style="border: 0px initial initial" src="http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/d/2/e/3/Italys_Fabio_Quagliarella_d6fb.jpg?adImageId=13114041&amp;imageId=9038094" border="0" alt="Italy&apos;s Fabio Quagliarella heads over Switzerland&apos;s Philippe Senderos to score the equalizer during their friendly soccer match in Geneva" width="304" height="234"></figure></div></div>
Italy have just concluded their final friendly before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and it seems like the Azzurri have been asleep for these friendlies. While a 1-1 draw is certainly better than the 2-1 loss they suffered to Mexico, the current World Cup champions seem pretty ordinary before the tournament kicks off.
The game started and became very quickly an uphill battle for Italy, it was the Udinese man Gokhan Inler who started the scoring in the 10th minute. The Swiss man rifled a shot from 25-yards out into the bottom right corner giving Marchetti no chance. It took Italy just four minutes to equalize with Montolivo crossing the ball in for Quagliarella to header in with his second attempt. The rest of the game was fairly equal, but Switzerland had the better chances, Chiellini had &nbsp;great last-ditch tackle, and Marchetti had to save a couple of long-range missiles sent his way. In the end, Italy were unable to get a win against Switzerland, the current world champions unable to defeat the 24th ranked team in the FIFA rankings. This troubles me just a little bit.
While some may point to the strange statistic that in 1982 and in 2006, Italy drew 1-1 with Switzerland before winning the World Cup both of those years, I point to the fact that Italy are having serious trouble. Serious trouble in defensive solidity, attacking creativity, creating chances, scoring goals, and in the end, winning games.
Here are some statistics that should worry you about the Azzurri’s chances in the 2010 World Cup:
<ul>
<li>Out of their last 5 friendly matches, Italy have only won one.</li>
<li>In their last 5 friendlies, Italy have conceded 3 goals, and have only scored 3.</li>
<li>And in these last 5 friendlies, only one of these teams (the Netherlands) are above them in the FIFA rankings, all the rest are at least 12 positions below them.</li>
</ul>
In my opinion, these three statistics are very unsettling. How can a team which won the last World Cup be playing so badly and without direction? It seems like it might have to do with <a href="http://www.serieatalk.com/italy-23-man-world-cup-squad-announced/2477">Lippi’s squad selection</a> although the man that was controversially included (Quagliarella) scored Italy’s only goal this game. What do you think? Be sure to share your thoughts by commenting below.

Italy draw against Swiss in final friendly

Italy draw against Swiss in final friendly - World Soccer Talk

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