Calcio Mercato: And so it begins.........

Didn't take long did it. Christmas dinner still within the memory and already transfer moves have been announced by Serie A clubs. Genoa, hyperactive in the summer market, have announced the arrival of David Suazo on loan, the former Inter, Benfica and Cagliari hitman. In turn this has lead to the departure of Sergio Floccari to Lazio on loan with a reported right to redeem the loan for 10 million in the summer. The former Atalanta man hit the back of the net 12 times last season for the Bergamo based side yet failed to lock down a regular starting place in the Genoa line up. He scored three times in six games, but could not find his way into Gasperini's plans what with Sculli, Crespo, Jankovic, Palladino and Rodrigo Palacio finding themselves ahead in the pecking order.

In this striker merry go round it looks like free agent striker Goran Pandev will now surely move to Inter to provide balance in their forward rotation of Samuel Eto'o, Mario Balotelli and Diego Milito. Another signing set to be announced in January's early days is the transfer of Luca Toni to AS Roma from Bayern Munich. The Italian forward has been out of favour under Luis Van Gaal and the deal looks all but done.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all the users of this site and thanks for all the visits to it throughout the year. This site is young, but it has had hits from all over the world, from Korea to Argentina, Uruaguay to Macedonia, the UK to Italy. Once again, Merry Christmas to you all.

Winter Mercato

Its that time of year again where the Serie A clubs can take stock of their achievements, or lack of them, to date and see where re-enforcements are required. Thats exactly what I am going to do today, looking at some of the rumours that have already begun and some of the areas that believe need re-enforcing on certain teams.

Milan, Juve and Inter
The big three, currently contesting the top three spaces could all do with a little freshening up. Inter will loose Sammy Eto'o in January so a forward is an option you would thing for the serpents. Lazio's Goran Pandev has been linked and due to his current contract situation could be available for only a few million, compared to the 40 million plus that other target Sergio Aguero has been valued at. As for Milan the wing back positions look vulnerable in all honesty. Oddo and Zambrotta have been caught out for pace more than once this season. In light of that it is no surprise to see Brazilian and Schalke 04 ace Rafinha being linked to Milan, and Juventus in fact as well as they look to strengthen their defence. Both of these clubs have also been linked to Edin Dzeko, the Wolfsberg striker who has made quite an impression in Europe in the last two season. However, they may have Chelsea for competition also.

Roma, Fiorentina and Napoli
Amongst the competing clubs for that 4th Champions League spots remain these three clubs who have been rumoured to be active in this mercato. Roma are in need of an addition forward it would seem to help Vucinic and Totti up front as they compete in three competitions. A number of names have been mentioned. Valencia's Nikola Zigic has been linked to Roma, as has Tottenham Hotspurs striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and Real Madrid's Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Napoli, despite their huge summer mercato, have been linked with Lazio's Cristian Ledesma in a possible swap deal with cash for Luca Cigarini, while Genoa too have also been linked with Ledesma but this time in a swap for benched striker Sergio Floccari, the former Atalanta man who enjoyed success their last season. The links to Ledesma are endless and Fiorentina and Juve have been linked as well to the Argentine.

Lazio, in crisis
One of the more interesting mercato's is likely to take place at Lazio. Interesting in the sense of the escapades that will likely suround it, rather than who will or may arrive. With an abysmal start to the season and two of their best players in contract disputes, Goran Pandev and Cristian Ledesma, Lazio will look to move them on in January rather than loose them for nothing in time. Rumoured destinations for the pair seem to be any club in Italy competing for European places, though Pandev is likely to end up at Juve, Inter or Milan and if not abroad. Lazio therefore have major re-enforcing to do. Luca Cigarini and Sergio Floccari are two of the more promising names linked of late but President Claudio Lotito has before conducted several poor mercato's and many fans will not be expecting an different this time.

It looks like it will be a busy market, so stay tuned.

Pandev image credited to Andrea 93

Week 17: The Snow comes and Inter stretch ahead again

Bad weather in Italy affected Calcio this weekend causing Bologna v Atalanta, Fiorentina v Milan, Bari v Genoa and Udinese v Cagliari to be postponed. However, all six other games did go ahead even if Inter v Lazio was played in minus 8 degree weather.

Roma 2-0 Parma
Roma continued their excellent form by comfortably brushing aside an inform Parma outfit at the Stadio Olimpico. The first half was rather uneventful, though Danielle Galloppa did test Julio Sergio in one instance and Mirko Vucinic had a effort go just wide. However, Roma took the lead after the break through Nicolas Burdisso from a corner, and the Argentine International defender swept home. Roma continued to have the better of the game the result was put beyond doubt when Paci was sent off for Parma reducing them to ten men. Moments later it was 2-0 Roma as Vucinic fed Brighi who slid his right foot effort into the top corner from close range.

Juventus 1-2 Catania
Juventus miserable run continues with a defeat to Catania, a team that before this match were rock bottom of Serie A. Catania took the lead from the spot after Tiago pulled a Catania players shot. Martinez made no mistake from the spot. Juve leveled midway through the second half after Diego found Salihamidzic and he volleyed in from 10 yards. However, Juve were constantly on the attack and got caught on the break late on as Mariano Izco put the ball beyond Manninger to send Juve crashing to defeat once again. Disaster for the Turin based side.


Inter 1-0 Lazio
Lazio's miserable form continued, unsurprisingly, against Serie A leaders Inter who were comfortable in this 1-0 defeat of the Aquilotti. Inter wasted little time in taking the lead and were ahead after 15 minutes. Dejan Stankovic crossed into the area for Eto'o to head down on goal which Muslera saved but he could do little about the rebound from which Eto'o made no mistake. The goal did however come on the counter attack from which Inter looked leathal. Lazio tried to get back into the game. Alex Kolarov weaved his way through the defence but his effort was well saved by Julio Cesar. Later on Lazio should have had a penalty when Maicon handled the ball in the area but the referee waved play on. After the break both teams seemed to have been affected by the well below freezing conditions. However, Estaban Cambiasso struck a sweat free kick that went inches wide with that sweat left foot of his. In stoppage time Kolarov again weaved his way through the Inter back line but his cross was intercepted just before Julio Cruz could tap in.

Elsewhere
Napoli continued there unbeaten run under Walter Mazzari by beating inform Chievo by 2-0. Marek Hamsik opened the scoring from the spot and Fabio Quagliarella made the points save late on. Palermo, under new manager Delio Rossi, won again against Siena thanks to an Edison Cavani goal on the 45 minute mark. Finally, Sampdoria's bad run continues as they wer hammered 3-1 by Serse Cosmi's Livorno and Antonio Cassano's loan strike could do little to help.

Serie A by Numbers
Top Scorers: Di Natale 11, Milito 10, Totti 9, Pazzini 8, Hamsik 8, Matri 8, Eto'o 8
Highest Attendances this round: Inter 1-0 Lazio: 52,859 Roma 2-0 Parma: 36,899 Napoli 2-0 Chievo: 31,973
Round total attendance from the six games played: 171650 , round average of 28,608 per game
Season average attendance: 24,408

Attendance stats from www.stadiapostcards.com

Champions League: The second round draw

Today's draw took place. Here it is.

VFB Stuttgart v Barcelona
Olympiacos v Bordeaux
Inter Milan v Chelsea
Bayern Munich v Fiorentina
CSKA Moscow v Sevilla
Lyon v Real Madrid
Porto v Arsenal
AC Milan v Manchester United

In essence, some fantastic ties on offer for the second round. Fiorentina travel to Bayern as a 'reward' for topping their group. The immediate reaction after this for some was that it could be easy fodder for Bayern, but I disagree. Fiorentina after all disposed of Liverpool and Lyon without much difficulty, and Bayern have been up and down all season long. Perhaps Bayern start as favourites due to their historical stature but if Fiorentina can pick up an away goal or hold Bayern away then they have every chance once back at the Artemio Franchi.

Inter host Chelsea in a game that has many significant parameters. Mourinho back to Chelsea, Ancelotti back to Milan to renew his rivalry with Inter. Chelsea will start as favourites but if Inter are serious about this competition then what better than to dispose a team that is in many peoples minds the favourites. Chelsea have been in rampant form this season, but there form has dipped of late so Inter have every chance if they build up an advantage at home.

In the final game for the Italian sides, AC Milan renew their rivalry with Manchester United. The last time these sides met Milan smashed United 3-0 in 'that' semi final in their 2007 winning campaign. But, Manchester went in to win the next tournament and made the final last year in imperious fashion. Yet, they haven't looked as so imperious this year without Ronaldo, so I see this as a more even encounter than others may. In essence though it depends upon what Milan turns up. Will it be the AC that outplayed Real in the Bernabeu, or will it be the one that lost to FC Zurich? Hopefully, it will be the former.

The games take place in February 2010.

Europa League Round Up and Draw
Roma continued their fine form by winning easily away in Sofia to confirm their place at the top of their group by 3-0. However, Genoa, despite a huge effort, failed to win against Valencia loosing 1-2 at the end after David Villa scored with the last kick of the game. Valencia had nothing in the second half, while Genoa dominated the possession yet could not quite turn the screw. Crespo leveled the tie for Genoa but they could not find the winner. Lazio, already out of the competition, lost at home to Levski Sofia after fielding what was in part largely a youth team.

The Europa League draw
Thus, Roma have been drawn with Panathinaikos and will travel away for the first leg. On current form they will be overwhelming favourites in my opinion. Unbeaten since October, Roma will be tough to beat in this competition. If Roma do progress they will face either Standard Liege or FC Salzberg in round three.

Juventus, after falling out of the Champions League, will face old rivals Ajax and their star Luis Suarez again playing away in the first leg. If Juve progress they will then face either Fulham or Shaktar Donetsk.

Week 16: Opportunity missed

Opportunity missed, that is the phrase that most of the sides in the top half of the table before this weekend will carry with them into training today. Parma aside none of the sides that were in the top half of the table on Friday night managed a win in Serie A this weekend.

Bari 3-1 Juventus
Juve were the first of the big sides to taste disappointment this weekend as they were well beaten in Bari. Bari took the lead through a deflected goal, and Juve leveled midway through the second half through David Trezeguet who tapped in after a Diego shot was parried away. Juve though shot themselves in the foot before the break as Cannavarro brought down Baretto in the area, and he duly converted the pen. After the break Juve just could not find away through the excellent Bari backline, though they were handed an opportunity to level the tie but Diego ballooned his penalty well over the bar. Bari however did not make the same mistake and finished Juve off late on through an Almiron effort, which was again deflected, that brought the house down.

Milan 0-2 Palermo
The shocks of the Serie A round continued as Delio Rossi's Palermo put in a fantastic effort to take three points from the San Siro. Palermo could have scored early on through Cavani, but Milan too had chances as Boriello just failed to get on the end of a Seedorf cross. Zambrotta too went close, but Milan could not take the early lead that they desperately wanted. After the break though Palermo came out looking like they were the home side and bossed the game for the first 15 minutes. Within this period they scored twice, as Miccoli fired home a quality effort after turning Nesta . Miccoli again was at the heart of the second goal as he squirmed his way through the entire Milan defence. Javier Pastore received the ball and seemed to have blown his chance but Mark Bresciano caught the ball and smashed it into the roof of the net. After this Palermo sat back, and invited Milan too attack. Despite the introduction of Pato Milan could not find a way through. Pato himself got in the way of a Ronaldinho effort and then failed to score from close range in the dying embers.

Atalanta 1-1 Inter Milan
Inter could not take advantage of the defeats to their two main rivals for the Scudetto conceding a late goal from Simone Tirribocchi after they were reduced to ten men thanks to the dismissal of Wesley Sneijder. Diego Milito had given Inter the lead after just 15 minutes, but much like last year in Bergamo they disappointed. Last year they were hammered 3-0 by Atalanta, so this can be considered an improvement. Inter face Lazio at home next week, but go into the game without a win in their last two Serie A rounds.

Sampdoria 0-0 Roma
Before this game there was just one point separating 5th from 13th in the table, so both sides will be slightly disappointed that they could not establish a slight gap between this mass of teams as the Christmas break approaches. Sampdoria started brightly and Pazzini should have scored in the first half but he couldn't get the right angle on his headed effort. Manini also went close but just scuffed his volley attempt, while Julio Sergio pulled off a good safe from an Angelo Palombo Missile. However, in the second half Roma dominated in posession and chances. A looping Vucinic header was tipped over by Castellazzi, and Perrotta missed a good chance after Totti's weighted ball sent hom clean through. It ended 0-0, and both sides would have been slightly disappointed not to gain the three punti.

Elsewhere in Serie A
Finally, Lazio put three points on the board with a 1-0 victory over the entertaining Genoa. Alex Kolarov powered his way through the defence and fired a powerful finish past Marco Amelia. Bologna however fell away to highflying Parma who now are just three points shy of second place in Serie A, and will face the inform Roma next week in what should be an entertaining clash. Napoli blew at two goal lead to Cagliari and conceded three straight goals before leveling in injury time in a classic 3-3 tie, and Fiorentina also blew an early lead away to Chievo but unlike Napoli they could not find anyway back as they crashed 2-1 in Verona. It was Chievo's third win on the bounce. Livorno snatched a vital three points 1-0 on the road in Catania to condemn the Island side to rock bottom, while Siena won at home for the second time in a row against Udinese by 2-1.

Serie A by Numbers
Home wins: 5
Away wins: 2
Top scorers: Di Natale 11, Milito 10, Totti 9, Pazzini 8, Matri 8
Highest game attendances: Bari 3-1 Juve: 51,849, Milan 0-2 Palermo: 39,253, Lazio 1-0 Genoa: 29,489
Round 16 Total attendance: 208661 from 9 games, Cagliari have no offical attendance
Season average Serie A game attendance: 24,242

Attendance stats from www.stadiapostcards.com

Player Profiles: Alberto Gilardino

Fiorentina fans have become more accustomed to the violin celebration that Gilardino often performs after scoring a goal of late, leaving the Milanista wondering why on earth he could not perform his musical celebration more often in the company of the thousands that gather at the San Siro when Milan are in town. But one thing is for certain, Gilardino is back in business big time. The hitman came to light at Parma where he punched out back to back 23 goal seasons leaving Parma in 2005 having hit the back of the net 50 times in just 96 appearances. But he first came on the scene in Verona where he learnt his trade under his current coach Cesare Prandelli with Hellas, who incidentally was also his coach at Parma. Clearly the two work well together, and the omission of Prandelli in Gilardino's transfer to Milan perhaps unsettled the man who had been so prolific in the seasons gone by at Parma.

Gilardino: The Milan years
The transfer to Milan was one of great promise for both parties. With Shevchenko on the wane 'Gila' was sought after to take over the mantle. In the first year arguably he did. 17 goals alongside Sheva made for a respectable return at a club where Gila was part of the team rather than the focus of it as he was in Parma. But, the goals began to dry up and 17 was followed by 12 in the 2006/2007 season, and just seven in 2007/2008. The performances in Europe were not great either for Gilardino, with him registering just twice in the Champions League for Milan, albeit one rather crucial strike against Manchester United in a 3-0 romp for AC which lead in the end to a Champions League title. Still, with a certain Pato arriving Gila was often found on the bench, prompting a 15 million euro fee to Fiorentina, allowing him to reunite with Prandelli.

Batistuta's hunting ground
And, its so far it has been a successful move for Gila. 19 goals last season showed that it was money well spent for Fiorentina and he had no trouble linking up with either Adrian Mutu or Stefan Jovetic. 5 goals in Europe as well followed and a return to prominence in the Azzurri fold has occurred. This season he has simply carried on from where he started. 7 goals so far in Serie A, 3 in the Champions League including one against Liverpool and four for Italy including a hatrick against Cyprus have highlighted what an important player Gilardino has become for not only Fiorentina but Italy also. The question remains, how much further can he go? With Fiorentina ready to do battle in the Champions League knockout stages, it would seem the stage is set.

Image credited to Roberto Vicario.

Champions League: Inter join Fiorentina and Milan in the knock out phase

Inter 2-0 Rubin Kazan
Inter Milan beat newly crowned Russian Champions Rubin Kazan by 2-0 at home to book their passports for the knock out phase. Sammy Eto'o opened the scoring after some great work from Javier Zanetti, and a backheel from Mario Balotelli, gave him the space to blast home. It was tense thereafter, but a Mario Balotelli freekick settled the tie. Barcelona won in Kiev, to top the group.

Group F
1. Barcelona 11pts
2. Inter 9pts
3. Rubin 6pts
4. Dynamo 5pts

Liverpool 1-2 Fiorentina
Fiorentina picked up a magnificent win at Anfield thanks to goals from Martin Jorgensen and a trade mark cross from Vargas to Alberto Gilardino, after initially falling behind to a Yossi Benayoun goal. Fiorentina thus top the group in spite of the French giants Lyon hammering Debrecen at home 4-0.

So, that is the group stages finished and the draw is set. No teams that qualified from the same group can meet, and not teams from the same national associations can meet.

Pot 1
Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Bordeaux, Fiorentina, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla.

Pot 2
Lyon, Olympiacos, Bayern Munich, Stuttgart, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Porto, CSKA Moscow

So, a real mix of clubs with a great European flavour. From Manchester to Moscow, Milan to Munich, Bordeaux to Barcelona. The draw takes place on December 18th.

Champions League match day six roundup: Milan through, Juve out

FC Zurich 1-1 AC Milan
AC Milan made it through as expected to the knockout phase of the Champions League by drawing away at FC Zurich. Despite dominating in posession, Milan only leveled the tie from the penalty spot after Boriello was brought down in the area midway through the second half. Nonetheless Milan are through to the group phase and four points of the top of Serie A so things have shaped up rather nicely since the start of the season that included a 4-0 derby drubbing and a defeat at home to FC Zurich. Milan therefore could face some rather tough ties in the second round. As they finished second they will play any group winners except for Real Madrid or any Italian ones, possibly Fiorentina or Inter. Top spot certainties so far are Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Bordeaux. However, the likely nature is that Barcelona and Sevilla will be added to that list, with the possibility of Lyon also. Interesting stuff then.

Group C
1. Real Madrid 13pts
2. AC Milan 9pts
3. Marseille 7pts
4. FC Zurich 3pts


Juventus 1-4 Bayern Munich
Juventus were absoultely hammered at home to FC Hollywood last night, despite taking the early lead through David Trezeguet. Bayern drew level from the spot before half time, but goals from Olic, Gomez and Tymoschuk completed the rout. Thus, after beating Inter at the weekend Juve were well and truly brought down to earth against the German giants. One side of this coin suggests that Juve can now focus on taking the Scudetto from Inter in Serie A, but the other side suggests that this beating could de-rail any positives that could be drawn upon in recent days. Time will tell.

Group A
1. Bordeaux 16pts
2. Bayern 10pts
3. Juventus 8pts
4. Maccabi 0pts

Serie A week 15: Juve open up Scudetto race, Roma win derby della Capitale

Juventus 2-1 Inter
Juventus opened up the scudetto race with a 2-1 win at home to Inter Milan on Saturday night thanks to a wonderfully taken goal from Claudio Marchisio. The game was played at a great pace right from the get go and Juve had a great chance to take the lead early on through Mommo Sissoko only for Sully Muntari to make a decisive block on the Juve man. Inter poured forward also and Dejan Stankovic seemed to have a clear strike on goal only for Martin Caceres to challenge at the last moment. Juve did take the lead though in messy circumstances. Diego curled a free kick into the box which took a number of deflections to leave Julio Cesar dumbfounded. Inter though made an immediate response and took advantage of poor defending for Samuel Eto'o to head home. After the break Juve were lucky not to go behind when Stankovic shot was charged down, but Buffon threw out quickly to start the move that lead to the winning goal. Sissoko's shot from distance was parried but only into the path of Marchisio who's wonderful footwork left Cesar with the duty of picking the ball out of his own net. Inter tried to chase the game, and should have scored through Cambiasso when his free header went sailing over. Inter brought on Balotelli and attacking midfielder Mancini to help the cause but after some on the pitch altercations it ended 2-1 to Juve.

Roma 1-0 Lazio
In the capital derby on Sunday night Lazio were looking to snap their dismal run, while Roma were looking to close in on the top four. Despite Lazio having the greater of possession, there really was little for either sides to shout about in the first half. Matuzalems cross cum shot tested Julio Sergio from distance, and Roma had a shout for a penalty, but at half time it was deservedly 0-0. After the break the game opened up a fraction with both keepers making excellent saves. Julio Sergio was beaten at the near post by a Zarate strike but the effort rebounded off the woodwork into Mauri's path. Somehow, Sergio got a hand to it right on the line to pull off a stunning piece of goalkeeping. Muslera also responded for Lazio, pulling off a strong save on a well worked Roma move that resulted in a Perotta header. It looked to be heading for a draw, but Roma opened up the Lazio defence late on and Cassetti found the net. Muslera again had to perform heroics late on to stop the scoreline becoming any worse when he stopped a Riise effort. It finished 1-0 to Roma.

Elsewhere in Serie A
AC Milan closed the gap on Inter to four points after mauling Sampdoria 3-0 at the San Siro. The goals came early as Boriello, Seedorf and Pato made the points safe. Fiorentina also wrapped up three points as they got back to winning ways against Atalanta. Vargas and Gilardino were on the scoresheet. Genoa and Parma played out a highly entertaining 2-2 draw with Parma twice coming from behind. Napoli continued their good form as the fans packed the San Paolo to watch Fabio Quagliarella hit a brace against Southern rivals Bari, who had only 9 men on the field at the end of play. Delio Rossi registered his first Serie A win for Palermo against Cagliari by 2-1, while Bologna also got back to winning ways against Udinese by the same margin. Livorno crashed at home to Chievo by 2-0, while Siena finally registered a win by 3-2 over relegation rivals Catania.

Serie A by Numbers
Home wins: 8
Away wins: 1
Top Scorers: Di Natale 11 goals, Totti 9 goals, Milito 9 goals
Best attended games: Roma 1-0 Lazio: 54,273, Napoli 3-2 Bari: 46,547, Milan 3-0 Samp: 42,824
Round attendance: 271345
Overall season average game attendance: 24,309

Europa League: Roma through, Genoa have to wait, Lazio out

Roma 2-1 Basle
It was a decisive week in the Europa League, and Roma last night pushed through their superiority in a group containing Basle, Fulham and CSKA Sofia by qualifying a round early. Indeed, a win in Sofia in two weeks time will wrap up the top spot in the group and perhaps give them an easier draw in the first knockout round. A penalty from Francesco Totti and a beautifully worked goal from Vucinic allowed Roma to come from behind to grab the win.

Group E
1. Roma 10pts
2. Basle 9pts
3. Fulham 8pts
4. CSKA 1pt

Slavia Prague 0-0 Genoa
Genoa however will have to beat Valencia at home in order to assure themselves of qualification to the next round. It sounds a tough ask, and it is, but Genoa have beaten Milan and Juve in the Luigi Ferraras Stadium last season, so they can pull big wins out the bag when it matters. Anyhow, Genoa came away from Prague on Wednesday night with a point thanks to a 0-0 encouter. Both sides had chances, Crespo namely for Genoa. Slavia did have the ball in the back of the net twice, but both goals were disallowed for offside and infringements on the keeper. In the groups other match Valencia beat Lille 3-1, to leave the group tight and full of possibility. Genoa could go through with just a draw, but that would require Lille to loose to Slavia. As their first meeting went 5-1 in favour of Lille, that outcome seems thin so Genoa will have to win this epic clash with Valencia to ensure passage to the next phases.

Group B
1. Valencia 9pts
2. Lille 7pts
3. Genoa 7pts
4. Slavia Prague 3pts

Salzberg 2-1 Lazio
Lazio's problems went from bad to worse as they crashed out of Europe, the only Italian side to have done so this season. They went behind early in the second half but responded 5 minutes later through a Pasquale Foggia goal. But, despite claims for a penalty that was not given Lazio could not take the lead, and it was Salzberg on the counter attack who managed to do so late on. Lazio crash out as their abysmal form continues. They face Levski Sofia in a meaningless clash in the last round.

Group G
1. Salzberg 15pts
2. Villareal 9pts
3. Lazio 6pts
4. Levski Sofia 0pts

Serie A week 14: Inter stretch ahead

Inter 1-0 Fiorentina
Inter Milan stretched ahead of Juventus in their bid to become 'Winter Champions', a title that often leads to the real Scudetto winners. Inter stretched their lead by beating in form Fiorentina by 1-0 thanks to a late Diego Milito penalty. Inter once again though seemed to get the rub of the green as it were, when 5 minutes earlier a brilliant move from Alberto Gilardino came back of the woodwork after he left the Inter defence for dead. Prior to that Fiorentina though had the outstanding Sebastien Frey to thank for making a serious of stunning saves, including in the games dying embers a one on one with Sammy Eto'o. Inter however took the win, and move on to 35 points.

Catania 0-2 AC Milan
City rivals AC however continued their excellent form by picking up their sixth win in seven games on Sunday evening away at Catania, always a tricky place to go. AC started the brighter and through Seedorf could have gone one up in the early going, but he hit the side netting. After, it became difficult for Milan to break down Catania who seemed to be content with the point as they placed all 11 men firmly behind the ball. Still, the introduction of Inzaghi and Huntelaar made all the difference late on. Inzaghi went close within his first few seconds on the pitch but it was the dutchman Huntelaar who finally opened his Serie A account in the last minute of the game, but twice. The first was a half volley that crept under the keeper, while the second was a deft lob that left Andujar reaching for the stars. So, another vital three points for Milan and they will hope to make up ground on Inter next week as the nearazzuri have to travel to Turin to play Juventus.

Cagliari 2-0 Juventus
Speaking of Juventus there season seems to be going of the rails at the present moment. Defeat away to Bordeaux midweek has been followed by a defeat in Sardinia this weekend as Juve had no answer to a talented Cagliari side. Cagliari applied the pressure early as Daniele Conte had a couple of decent efforts on goal, but Brazilian Nene showed why he was top scorer in Portugal last season with a effort from distance that left Buffon with no chance as it crept into the top corner. Juve in the second half tried to respond with Diego being the architect both Molinaro and Del Piero both fluffed their lines. Matri wrapped up the win after going clear through on goal and sliding his effort under Buffon. Cagliari move up to 7th place in the table.

Lanterna derby: Genoa 3-0 Sampdoria
The big game of the round however took place on Saturday evening as two of the inform clubs in the top half took part in the Genoa derby. But, it was Genoa who asserted their style on the game from the get go and were rewarded with a penalty early on which Milanetto converted. It could have been two soon enough but an effort came back off the bar to give Sampdoria a chance. Sampdoria though were handed a life line late in the first half when Biava was sent off for a handling offence. Tempers were at boiling point now and it continued this way after the break. Genoa however even with ten men doubled their lead through as Rossi swept home nutmegging Castellazzi. It just continued to get worse for Sampdoria as their Rossi was given his marching orders. If it wasn't over then, then it was soon enough as Genoa were awarded another penalty which the inform Palladino duly converted. 3-0 was the final score in a derby that had everything.

Elsewhere
Lazio again failed to win for the 12th successive round and could only draw at home to Bologna before next weeks Rome derby. Rivals Roma however continued their winning ways by picking up three points in Bergamo against Atalanta thanks to Mirko Vucinic and Simone Perotta. Southern side Bari's remarkable start to the season shows no signs of relenting as they beat desperate Siena by 2-1 to move up to 21 points, while Siena remain bottom. In Parma Napoli managed to take a point from the Tardini as both these sides continue to build on good starts to the season. Parma though remain in 5th. Udinese finally got back to winning ways by beating Serse Cosmi's Livorno by 2-0 thanks to Antonio Di Natale and Floro Flores goals. However, Palermo continued their slump in form despite new manager Delio Rossi at the helm by going down in Verona to Chievo by 1-0.

Serie A by Numbers
Home wins: 6
Away wins: 2
Goals: 19
Top scorers: 10-Di Natale 9-Totti, Milito 8-Pazzini
Total attendance for round 14: 207523 from 9 games
Highest attendances for round 14: Inter 1-0 Fiorentina: 59,471, Genoa 3-0 Sampdoria: 33,265, Lazio 0-0 Bologna: 30,489
Season average attendance: 24,096

Champions League: Milan edge closer, Juve disappoint

AC Milan 1-1 Marseille
AC Milan made an excellent start in this one as Marco Boriello scored an excellent individual goal early on in the game to give Milan the lead. But, it did not take long for Marseilles pace and power to highlight some of Milan's defensive frailties, as Oddo was hopelessly outplayed down the left channel, and then Dida failed to clear a cross which lead to Lucho Gonazalez finishing emphatically. After that the first half became bitty, but in the second both teams had chances to win. Marseille hit the post twice and Boriello should have scored a free header from a Ronaldinho pass. 1-1 in the end. Milan travel to Zurich in the last round while Marseille host Real Madrid. Nothing is settled in this group, but if Milan win then they are through and would top the group if Real fail to win in Marseille.

Group C
1. Real Madrid 10pts
2. AC Milan 8pts
3. Marseille 7pts
4. Zurich 3pts

Bordeaux 2-0 Juventus
Juventus crashed to defeat to French champions Bordeaux tonight as they threw there place in the next round into jeopardy, as Bayern Munich defeated Maccabi Haifa to close the gap on Juve in second place. Bordeaux scored twice in the second half as a flat Juve failed to create anything of note to help their cause in second round qualification. Juve now have to avoid defeat to Bayern Munich at home in two weeks time to ensure qualification. First place is no longer up for grabs, so they, or Bayern, can only qualify as runners up.

Group A
1. Bordeaux 13 pts
2. Juventus 8pts
3. Bayern 7pts
4. Haifa 0pts

So, its pretty simple really. Fiorentina are through, so not much of a need to worry there. Juve simply need to avoid defeat to meet the second round, while Milan could qualify even if they loose in Zurich so long as Marseille loose as well. But, Milan should aim for the win, and if they do they may top the group so long as Real fail to win in France. As for Inter, so long as they draw no higher than 1-1 then they will be through, but a win again could see them top the group if Barca loose in Kiev. Lots of parameters, but the key is that all the calcio clubs are in qualifying positions come the final round. Thus, it is in their hands.


Final games
Tuesday 8th December
Juventus v Bayern Munich
FC Zurich v AC Milan

Wednesday 9th December
Liverpool v Fiorentina
Inter Milan v Rubin Kazan

Champions League: Fiorentina Through!, Inter stumble

Fiorentina 1-0 Lyon
Fiorentina got the job done tonight against tough opposition in the form of Lyon thanks to a penalty through Manuel Vargas. Sebastian Frey pulled off a number of world class saves, and Fiorentina hit the woodwork on two occasions as they finally got the three points that knocked Liverpool out of the Champions League. They now move to top of Group E on 12 points, with Lyon on second in 10. A draw at Anfield could see Fiorentina top the group and face potentially an easier time in the second round, though looking at the draw destinations like Real Madrid could be a possibility.

Group E after Match day 5
1. Fiorentina 12 pts
2. Lyon 10 pts
3. Liverpool 7pts
4. Debrecen 0 pts


Barcelona 2-0 Inter
It was not a good night for Inter however, as Barcelona raised their game and outclassed the Italian Champions. Its no disgrace of course, but it leaves Inter with a nerve wracking final match against new Russian Champions Rubin Kazan to contend with. Barcelona went in front through Pique, and the doubled their lead through a mistake by Julio Cesar who could not stop Pedro's volley. Inter never really got into the game, but Cesar performed a wonder save in the second half from Xavi's header. Milito finally gave Eto'o some service in the second but Eto'o could not get on the end of it, and Milito would have been better of shooting. There were claims for a penalty but they seemed desperate. Inter lost in the end, and could have few complaints. They will have to bounce back and beat Kazan in two weeks time to ensure qualification.

Group F
1. Barcelona 8pts
2. Inter Milan 6pts
3. Rubin Kazan 6pts
4. Dynamo Kiev 5pts

More action tomorrow night as Milan host Marseille and Juve face Bordeaux in a fascinating clash between Italy and France. Wins for both Milan and Juve would sent them through a round early, but it won't be easy against quality opposition.

Serie A week 13: Milan, Inter, Samp and Juve win, Fiorentina fall

The big three of Italian football all registered wins at the weekend to keep the pressure on each other as the season draws closer to Christmas. Inter began the rounds proceedings with a 3-1 win away at an inconsistent Bologna side.

Bologna 1-3 Inter
Diego Milito continued his excellent form in an Inter shirt by putting the serpentini ahead half way through the first half with a well taken volley but Bologna responded almost instantly with a goal from former Napoli and Juventus player Marcelo Zalayeta. But Inter restored their lead before the break though a headed goal by Mario Balotelli, making up for missing a sitter earlier. Inter wraped up the points in the second half through an excellent move started and finished by Estaban Cambiasso with the help of a through ball by Diego Milito.

Milan 4-3 Cagliari
City rivals Milan wasted little time in asserting their presence against Cagliari, but all concepts of defending seem to have gone out of the window. Clarence Seedorf put Milan ahead early on, but Cagliari took a 2-1 lead after 30 minutes thanks to goals from Matri and Lazzari and it was well deserved. Milan seemed to have no answers until Pato's strong header forced Marchetti into a great save but only for Boriello to head home on the line. The game was turned on its head moments later when a wonderful piece of vision from Ronaldinho found Pato who's unstoppable shot found its way into the top corner. Pato again was at the heart of Milan's fourth goal when brought down into the area, and Ronaldinho made no mistake from the spot. Cagliari pulled one back through the promising Brazilian Nene, but it was not enough in the end.

Juventus 1-0 Udinese
Juventus squeeked out a win against an Udinese side that minus Antonio Di Natale seemed intend on playing for the point. Diego had a couple of efforts from distance in the early going, but Handanovic had no trouble in dealing with the shots. Udinese rarely ventured forward but Juve did and should have scored through Amauri on 30 minutes who was clear through but fluffed his lines. It did not have the attacking flare of Milan v Cagliari but the move for the goal was worthy of that game when Martin Caceres played a quality through ball into the area for Fabio Grosso to finish with consumate ease. Udinese had no answer and Juve took the three points to remain five points behind leaders Inter.

Fiorentina 2-3 Parma
In another hugely entertaining game in this weeks round of Serie A fixtures Parma conquered the Stadio Artemio Franchi as Fiorentina seemed to have their minds on their blockbuster midweek clash with Lyon. Fiorentina took the lead through Alberto Gilardino's header but Parma wasted little time in leveling the tie through Nicola Amoruso. Parma went one better at the beginning of the second half with Valeri Boijinov doubling the away sides tally with a well taken goal. However, Gilardino again showed his quality through another header to make the game 2-2. Parma though just would not be undone and a superb goal from Davide Lanzafame after a great ball through from Cristian Pannuci. Parma took the points.

Elsewhere in Serie A
Napoli continued their unbeaten run but could not break down Lazio at home on sunday afternoon as the tie finished as it started at 0-0. Roma, thanks to the return of Francesco Totti, gave Bari only their third defeat of the season in a 3-1 win for il Lupi. Genoa came undone again away from home loosing to the Cosmi effect away to a re-invigorated Livorno while city rivals Sampdoria warmed up for next weeks derby with a 2-1 win against trickey opposition in Chievo Verona. Palermo could only manage a 1-1 draw to bitter rivals Catania, but it was slightly better than the 4-0 reverse that they were handed last year. Still, this could not prevent Palermo manager walter Zenga from receiving the sack this morning as his short reign in charge came to an end. In the final game Siena lost again in Serie A, their 9th time already this season, to Atalanta by 0-2. The Tuscan side look in real trouble and will have their work cut out to survive this season it would seem.

Serie A by numbers: Week 13
League goals: 31
Home wins: 5
Away wins: 3
Current top scorers: 9 goals: Di Natale, Totti. 8 goals: Milito, Pazzini
Overall attendance week 13: 277076
Best individual attendances week 13: Napoli v Lazio: 46,524 Roma v Bari: 41,248 Milan v Cagliari: 39,821
Season average attendance per game so far: 24,160

Serie B Focus: Lecce lead the way back to Serie A

Lecce have overhauled an early challenge from Frosinone to lead the current standings at the top of Serie B. With 14 games played Lecce sit top on 27 points, 1 more than Ancona, 2 more than Cesena and a whopping five clear of Torino and Padova. So, two of last years relegated teams from Serie A are in the mix for an instant return but the other fallen side, Reggina, sit in 20th place in Serie B and seem to be involved in another relegation battle, this time with the consequences of dropping down to the Lega Pro. Still, it looks like the promotion candidates will swing up and down like a yoyo, as usual, in Serie B this season. Torino, in my view, will be there or there abouts due to the presence of in form striker Ronaldo Bianchi who is a class above at the moment, leading the scoring charts with 11 goals. Second in that respective category is former Palermo and Sampdoria hitman Andrea Caracciolo who now plys his trade for Bresica. Brescia came close to a Serie A return last year, but sit nine points off the pace at the moment. One team that is closer is Empoli, and its been a two year absence for them since they last took to the Serie A playing fields.

This weekends fixtures in the Cadetti bring about some intersting clashes. Lecce travel to Brescia while second place Ancona travel to Ascoli. But, in the game of the round Torino travel to Cesena to the stadium in which Italy recently beat Sweden in.

Lega Pro
Hellas Verona still lead the way in division 1B on 27 points, and with seven wins and six draws remain undefeated in the division. Second are Ternana, level on points, but Hellas just came of a difficult away draw at third placed Pescara. Hellas face Spal next, while Ternana go away to Cosenza and Pescara travel to Reggiana. In division 1A Novara are still in charge but again are tied at the top with former Serie A club Cremonese on 29 points.

Calcio Legends: il fenomeno

In this quiet downtime if you will before the hectic schedule of Serie A and the Champions League begins again it is time to turn back the clock and look at arguably one of the greatest forwards of all time in Ronaldo. His adventure in Calcio began in 1997 when he signed for Inter Milan after a spell binding season with Barcelona in which he scored a staggering 47 goals in 49 games including a stunning goal against Compostela in which he ran more than fifty yards, rounded a number of defenders, displaying lightning pace, and finished with consummate ease. It was a great season for him and for Barca in which the Catalan side won the Uefa Cup Winners Cup and Copa Del Rey title.

Inter Years
This success was not enough to allow Barca to hold onto Ronaldo who moved to Milan to play for Inter as they tried to rise above rivals AC Milan and Juventus who had been trading titles since 1992 in Serie A. It didn't work, but Ronaldo was a huge hit. In his debut season he hit 25 goals in Serie A in just 32 games and lead Inter to the Uefa cup final against Lazio which they won 3-0 against the Roman club. This made up for the defeat in the final a year before to Schalke 04. Still, it did not bring the Scudetto that the club wanted as they ran out second in the 1997-1998 season to Juve, and in the seasons following simply could not surpass the displays made by Milan in 1999, Lazio in 2000 and Roma in 2001. This could hardly be attributed to Ronaldo though, as during his second season in Serie A he suffered an injury against Lecce which was exacerbated in the Coppa Italia final in 2000 against Lazio, which Inter lost. He looked down and out, but the world cup in 2002 proved to be his salvation where he lead Brazil to glory with eight goals in the tournament. This ended his days in Serie A, for the time being at least, as a move to Real Madrid beckoned.

Onto Real and back to Milan
The move rewarded him with his first La Liga title and he continued where he had left of in La Liga by scoring goals by the hatful. Indeed, one of his best moments was receiving a standing ovation at Old Trafford after a sparkling performance for Real Madrid. Yet, injuries again plagued the great man and in 2007 he left for AC Milan and created a piece of history by becoming the only man to ever score for both Inter and Milan in the derby. The season he joined Milan the Italian club won the Champions League, but Ronaldo was not eligible for the award as he was cup tied. It remains the only omission on his playing CV.

Corinthians
Back in Brazil in where Ronaldo now plys his trade, and still to great effect which has allowed the rumour mill to debate over whether he will regain a level of form that will allow him to return to the Brazil squad for the 2010 world cup. Time will tell on that one, but it will have more to do with fitness issues than anything else as the ability to turn a game still remains.

Image credited to Ricardo Stuckert

Marek Hamsik

Marek Hamsik has been quite a star for sometime now. Its no surprise to follower of Calcio that he we have a man who has been linked to Inter, Juve, Real, Chelsea and Milan for fees that run into millions and millions of Euro's. Napoli then can consider the fee that they paid for Hamsik peanuts. The 5.5 million Euro's paid to Brescia for Hamsik in 2007 may have seemed slightly high at the time for a player aged 19, and with no Serie A experience but with the performances that Hamsik has put in and the eye for goal that he has the vision to sign him, at the expense of bigger clubs in the league at the time of Napoli's promotion back to Serie A, can be seen as a huge coup. Especially as he has been Napoli's top scorer for the last two years in Serie A registering nine goals in each campaign from midfield. This may highlight the deficiencies that Napoli forwards Lavezzi, Denis and at the time Zalayeta had in front of goal for the last two seasons, but nine from midfield remains a tally that Hamsik's idol Pavel Nedved would be proud of.

If that was an impressive start, then performances this season have been stunning. 7 goals so far in just 12 rounds from midfield put Hamsik second in Serie A scoring behind only Antonio Di Natale, and level with such luminaries as Giampaolo Pazzini and Diego Milito. It takes his goal tally to 25 goals in just 81 games, from midfield. Nothing, however, stands up to the perfomance against Juventus two rounds ago when Napoli stormed Turin, from two goals down, to take three points back to the bay of Naples. Hamsik, along with Jesus Datolo, was the instigator of this comeback and rounded off the perfomance with a stunning finish into the postage stamp of the goal that left Gianluigi Buffon with no chance. One wonders what's next for Hamsik, but he is on the rise and on the way to greatness.
Image: Steindy

Pato: Like a duck to water

After a poor start to the season Milan are beginning to find their feet again and one player who has had a huge part in this revival of sorts is Alex Pato. The Duck, as he is known, has shown blistering form of late after himself coming out of a slump in form after a two goal opening day performance against Siena. It’s not surprise that he has returned to form. After all in Pato we have a player who on his Milan debut, at just 18, scored twice against Napoli in the white hot pressure of the San Siro. And, whilst Alberto Gilardino at the time could not get anything going for Milan the young Pato took to the surroundings like a duck to water. Indeed in just 20 appearances for Milan in the 2007/2008 season Pato registered 9 goals in just 20 games. Last season, his first complete season, saw him step up in quality again. With David Beckham watching from the stands just before Christmas last year Pato scored twice against Udinese in a 5-1 home win with teammate Kaka also on the score sheet, and it was during this part of the season that Pato hit red hot form. He scored a classy finish against Fiorentina in a 1-0 home win. But arguably his best performance came away at Roma when Pato scored twice, on one occasion leaving Philippe Mexes for dead and applying a consummate finish that left Doni with no chance. Pato finished the season with 15 goals in 36 games, not bad for a 19 year old. The start to this season has been little different. Stunning goals against Roma and Real Madrid of late has propelled him into arguably one of the best forwards in Europe on current form and even comparisons with Messi are beginning to be made. Both like to operate down the right for starters and both posses the ball control, skills and finishing ability that make them something very special. Pato, of course, has some way to go before he can outdo his Argentine rival but the signs are there that he could do just that, in time.

Serie A week 12: Roma stall Inter, Juve hit top gear and Milan and Viola pull closer

Inter Milan 1-1 Roma
Roma headed to the San Siro on Sunday night and took a point back for their troubles. Roma always raise their game away to Inter, and Sunday was no different. Right from the outset they caused trouble and Mirko Vucinic put them ahead early on into the match, making up for an early miss. Roma, utilising their midfield creativity through Pizzaro and Menez kept Inter at bay for the first period, but the introduction of Sneijder and Balotelli after the break suggested Inter wanted to turn the tide. Still, it was Sammy Eto'o, with a wonderful turn and left footed shot, that drew the Nerazzurri level a few minutes into the second half. Roma could have won it late on through Okaka, but will be happy with the point. Inter, however, have their lead cut to five points.

Atalanta 2-5 Juventus
This game was packed with incident, and was certainly one of the best matches I have seen so far this season. Juve went ahead through Camoranesi after the midway point in the second half, and only 86 second later the little winger doubled his, and Juve's talley, to put them two up. After the break though the fireworks began. A stunning ball from Guarante set up Valdes who nutmegged Buffon, although the Italian had little chances. Juve though responded in the right way, with an absolute missile of an effort from Felipe Melo who was running the show in midfield. Atalanta though again reduced the deficite to one, with Ceravolo cutting inside of the D and firing a cracking effort past Buffon. Diego though had had enough, and scored a classy goal after defensive errors from Atalanta. Trezeguet finishes the scoring with his 167th goal in a Juve shirt, equaling Omar Sivori's record of top foreign scorer in a Juve shirt.

Lazio 1-2 Milan
Milan came, saw and conquered in Rome against Lazio on Sunday afternoon. Lazio started brightly, but it only took Milan one chance, and one incident of poor defending, for them to go in front. Thiago Silva headed home from a freekick. Pato doubled the lead with a header on 35 minutes, leaving the Lazio faithful with their heads in their hands. After the break, Lazio came out firing attempting to get back in the game, and they did 64 minutes through an own goal by Thiago Silva. Lazio poured forward, mainly through Zarate, but Dida kept Milan ahead. Muserla, not to be outdone, pulled off two stunning saves from Pato and Flamini, but Lazio remain win less since week two.

Elsewhere
Fiorentina conquered the Friuli to take three points off Udinese thanks to Manuel Vargas, who is becoming the epitome of world class this season. Bologna surprised a high flying Palermo side, with Zalayeta and Marco Di Vaio, as usual, on the score sheet as they ran out 3-1 winners. The wheels came of for Sampdoria, who after being sent down to ten men, conceded twice to Cagliari after the 80th minute mark away from home. There were no such problems for City rivals Genoa however, who beat Siena by 4-2 with Hernan Crespo hitting two for Genoa. Both Parma and Bari notched up another three points, Parma by beating Chievo by 2-0 and Bari by beating Livorno 1-0 at home. Napoli could not repeat however the miracles of Turin, and drew 0-0 away at Catania on Saturday night.

There is a two week break for Serie A now, so later this week I shall check in with Serie B and Lega Pro. Forza Calcio.

Europa League: Roma and Genoa win, Lazio crumble

Roma 2-1 Fulham
Roma and Genoa both flew the flag of Italy well in Europe tonight by coming from behind to gain three points in the Europa League. Roma beat Fulham by 2-1, with goals from John Arne Riise and Stefano Okaka earning them the three points late on and moving them back up to second in the group with games against Basle at home and CSKA Sofia away to come next.

1. FC Basle 9pts
2. AS Roma 7pts
3. Fulham 5pts
4. CSKA Sofia 1pt

Genoa 3-2 Lille
Genoa performed even greater miracles against Lille. They were cruising by 2-0 thanks to Rodrigo Palacio and Hernan Crespo, but Lille pulled two back. It took a 90th minute winner from Guiseppe Sculli to settle the tie, and move Genoa up to level on points with Valencia in the group. They travel to Prague next to play Slavia and face Valencia at home on match day six.

1. Lille 7pts
2. Valencia 6pts
3. Genoa 6pts
4. Slavia Prague 2pts

Villarreal 4-1 Lazio
Lazio crumbled in Spain after a dreadful opening 15 minutes for them. Lazio should have taken the lead through Rocchi after 40 seconds, but Pires instead fired them ahead from a freekick that the defence simply fell asleep for. The misery was compounded moments later when Baronio was unjustly sent off. Cani added to the tally to make it two, and Pires made it 3-0 from the spot. Mauro Zarate pulled one back late on, but Mauri gave away a penalty and Rossi made it 4-1.

1. Salzberg 12pts
2. Villarreal 6pts
3. Lazio 6pts
4. Levski 0pts

Champions League: Inter go topsy turvey, Fiorentina win again

Dynamo Kiev 1-2 Inter Milan
Inter Milan came from behind against a tough Kiev side away from home. Old foe Andriy Shevchenko put Dynamo ahead in the first half. Inter woke up in the second and wasted chance after chance with Balotelli missing unbelievably at one point. However, late on Diego Milito equalised and Wesley Sneijder put them ahead on 90 minutes with a scrappy goal, but one that sees them top group F with just two games to go. A trip to the Nou Camp comes next, but this group remains wide open.

Group F standings
1. Inter Milan 6pts
2. Rubin Kazan 5pts
3. Barcelona 5pts
4. Dynamo Kiev 4pts


Fiorentina 5-2 Debrecen
Fiorentina won their third game in the Champions League in succession to take their points total to nine, now five clear of third placed Liverpool. Adrian Mutu put them ahead early on, and despite being drawn level Fiorentina moved clear through goals by Danielli, Marchionni and Gilardino. With Lyon holding Liverpool at home things are heading in the right direction for Fiorentina and a win against Lyon at home next will see them qualify a round early.

Group E standings
1. Lyon 10pts Qualified
2. Fiorentina 9pts
3. Liverpool 4pts
4. Debrecen 0pts

A good round for Calcio in the Champions League. Three wins and a draw, and although none have yet qualified all sit in a qualifying position with two rounds to go. Still, there are some huge games for the Italian clubs in round five that could define this years competition from their point of view. Juventus travel to Bordeux, Milan host Marseille, Fiorentina host Lyon and Inter travel to Barcelona. Massive games in a massive competition.

Welcome back Sandro

With Paolo Maldini retiring, the Milan defence was in need of some leadership, quality and youth mixed into its ranks this summer. Youth, and great potential have come in the form Thiago Silva. But quality and leadership have returned with Alessandro Nesta. Nesta, who played only thirteen minutes in one game in Serie A last season against Fiorentina has since the season begun sent out a timely reminder of why he was the best central defender in the world a few seasons ago. It seemed barely possible a year ago, when again injury beset the great man, that he would insert such steel and consistency at the back of the San Siro line. However, despite being the wrong side of 30, Nesta looks fresh and hungry in all his play, even going forward now as two goals against Chievo testify. Some of this could be attributable to not just last year out on the injury shelf but also much of the 2006-2007 Champions League winning season also. Perhaps, in his mind, laurels and great moments of old cannot be relied upon anymore. In many respects, he has had to prove his current quality all over again and has done so to such an extent that calls for his International retirement have been called to end.

Indeed, in as much as Nesta has turned his fortunes for the better this season, so have Milan as time has gone by. The 4-0 defeat in week two to Inter now seems a distant memory with victory over Real Madrid in Spain now seemingly being a source of inspiration for them. Of course the season is young and for Nesta, with his catalogue of injury history, one hopes that this done now recur for him again. But, who knows, perhaps if current performances continue like this for both Nesta and Milan he could add to his haul of trophies, that include two Champions League titles, two Scudetti and two European Super cups. But for now, like us, its just good to see him back in action again.

Champions League: Juve roll on, Milan hold Madrid

AC Milan 1-1 Real Madrid
AC Milan and Real Madrid, with 16 European Cups between them, played out an exciting 1-1 draw in the San Siro tonight. The game was played with a high temp from the start, with Pato going close in the early stages after weaving his way through the back line. But, it was Real, who were growing in stature at this point, who took the lead through Karim Benzema after Kaka's shot was parried by Dida, again making an error despite picking up domestically in recent weeks, and Benzema fired home from a tight angle into the bottom left corner. There were questions of offside here, but the goal stood. Not long after though, Milan were level after Zambrotta's counter attack down the left flank resulted in a Pepe handling offense in the area. Again there were question marks over this, but Ronaldinho made no mistake from the spot. Moments later it was 2-1 to Milan as Pato touched down a long ball and fired across goal leaving Casillas with no chance. Yet, this was ruled out for an alleged handling offense by Pato, which replays suggested were incorrect. After the break, both sides have chances. Inzaghi hit the side netting, and should also have scored late on when a cross found him unmarked in the six yard box. Real also could have won it late on with a strong drive from Raul only just parried away by Dida.

Group C
1. AC Milan 7pts
2. Real Madrid 7pts
3. Marseille 6pts
4. FC Zurich 3pts


Maccabi Haifa 0-1 Juventus
Juventus won their second Champions League match so far this campaign, but again struggled to finish off the opposition in Israel. Diego went close with a freekick, but again Gianluigi Buffon proved his magnificent worth with a fantastic save to keep the tie level by palming a ball away that was virtually behind him already. Camoranesi put Juve in front on half time however as his volley deflected into the back of the net. 1-0 it stayed, depsite an Amauri goal being ruled out for offside. Juve move four points clear of Bayern, and go to France next to face group leaders Bordeux. A win would put them through and move them to first place in the group.

Group A
1. Bordeux 10pts
2. Juventus 8pts
3. Bayern 4pts
4. Maccabi 0pts

Serie A week 11: Inter shunt ahead

Livorno 0-2 Inter
Inter moved seven points clear in the table to lay down the gauntlet to the rest of Serie A. If anyone else wants the title, they've got there work cut out not. Livorno in this round didn't provide the toughest of tests potentially for Inter, but it did not all go the way of the nearazzuri in Tuscany on Sunday afternoon. Julio Cesar pulled of a couple of good saves in the first half, which allowed Diego Milito and Douglas Maicon to ease Inter through to the three points.

Juventus 2-3 Napoli
In one of the comebacks of the season so far, a never say die Napoli side took three points from Turin to continue their revival. Juve went ahead in the first half thanks to an excellent David Trezeguet header, and doubled their lead after the break after a defensive error literally handed Seb Giovinco a goal. But Napoli introduced Datolo and this seemed to make the difference as his cross was smashed home by Marek Hamsik. Datolo got in on the act himself, as he tapped the ball across the line in a melee in the Juve area. Juve poured forward and began to look the better team again, but a stunning break by Napoli ended up with Hamsik again beating Buffon, leaving the Juve keeper with no chance whatsoever as his shot slid into the top corner.

Milan 2-0 Parma
Milan continued their resurgence and now sit fourth in the table after a win over an impressive Parma outfit. Ronaldinho was in decent form, and his through ball found Boriello on 12 minutes and the Italian wasted little time in putting Milan in front. Again though, Milan did not press home their advantage until the 93rd minute when Ronaldinho again found Boriello from 40 yards, and the former Genoa man scissor kicked home the second to give Milan all three points.

Elsewhere
Fiorentina got back to winning ways with two stunning Marchionni goals in a 3-1 win over Catania, despite being down to ten men. Roma restored some pride after the loss to Livorno last week by beating Bologna by 2-1 thanks to Vucinic and Perrotta. City rivals Lazio continued their dismal form by picking up just a point at rock bottom Siena. Cagliari continued there great form by mauling Atalanta by 3-0, with Nene, top scorer in Portugal last season, hitting a brace. Udinese picked up a solid point in Verona against Chievo with Floro Flores amongst the goals, while neither Palermo or Genoa could take advantage of each other in a stagnent 0-0 draw. Finally, Sampdoria struggled to contain new boys Bari as the away side almost stole three points in injury and would have, but for a Baretto penalty miss.

Week 9 Review: Inter, Milan, Samp and Juve win, Viola drop points, Roma and Lazio crumble

A round of consolidation, you could say, before some big midweek clashes in Serie A that will see Juve entertain Sampdoria, Milan travel to Napoli and Inter facing Palermo. But until then, round nine is where our attention will reside.

Inter Milan 2-1 Catania
Inter, again in action on a Saturday night, took three points against Catania by 2-1. Inter started well, but the two goals scored were once again gift wrapped too them, and that's just something you cannot do when playing at the San Siro. The first was just a simple high ball from Muntari that Eto'o failed to connect with, but still found its way past Campagnolo. Inter should have doubled their lead through Viera who hit the bar, but Wesley Sneijder did anyhow moments later when he hit a strong, but arguably savable free kick, from 25 yards. Inter were cruising, but didn't finish Catania off and the Elephants got themselves back in the game through Mascara who converted a deserved penalty kick late on. Inter took the points, but if they keep playing like this then they will meet there match in Serie A soon enough, and it could be against Palermo midweek.

Chievo 1-2 AC Milan
City rivals Milan were in action on Sunday night when they traveled to Verona to take on Chievo. They struggled in the first half going down to a Giampaolo Pinzi strike, with Chievo dominating early proceedings and showing why they are comfortably away from the relegation zone at the present moment. However, Milan's confidence was on a high after a stunning win in the Bernabeu midweek, and right from the whistle in the second half Milan asserted their authority on the game. Good chances came through both Pato and Seedorf, who had decent efforts on goal, and Milan were later denied through some splendid Sorrentino goalkeeping who denied Ronaldinho, who looked sharp once again. Klass Jan Huntelaar was replaced by Marco Boriello, and it seemed to make all the difference and the former Genoa mans ariel strength put Chievo under more pressure. Indeed, thanks to a splendid ball from Andrea Pirlo, Boriello headed a strong effort against the bar only for Alessandro Nesta to catch the rebound and level the game. Milan now searched for the winner, but would have lost the tie but for some fantastic goalkeeping through none other than Nelson Dida , who somehow kept out a strong Granoche header. It proved costly for Chievo as Nesta again headed in from a Pirlo corner to give Milan all three points.

Siena 0-1 Juventus
Juventus finally got back to winning ways in Serie A thanks to a headed goal from Amauri, once again assisted by former Werder Bremen man Diego. It was not a convincing performance, and again the old lady had to rely on the heroics of Gianluigi Buffon who made yet another stunning save from Albin Ekdal to keep the tie level at that point. Still, three points to Juve who face a tough test against Sampdoria in midweek in Turin.

Sampdoria 4-1 Bologna
The weekend started in Genoa with Sampdoria in blistering form once again. It didn't take long for Samp to get in front as some wonderful work from Cassano allowed Pazzini to apply a smart finish to send them on their way. Samps second was an early contender for goal of the season as Pazzini again was involved, lobbing a ball through to former Napoli man Manini who volleyed home first time into the top right corner. Defender Ziegler got in on the act, and fired home with his left foot from 25 yards to make it 3-0. If this was great, it only got better for Samp as Cassano waltzed him was through what seemed to be the whole Bologna side and fed Manini who headed in from a few yards out. Bologna were at that moment down to ten men, and they did pull one back through Osvaldo after the break but it was already far too late. Samp will fancy their chances against Juve.

Elsewhere
Lazio continued to falter to deceiver and crashed 2-0 in Bari, against well organised and talented opposition it has to be said. Roma somehow managed to loose at home to winless Livorno as former Valencia man Francesco Tavano opened his account for the season. Napoli pulled off a stunning win in Florence as Cristian Maggio scored in the 90th minute, minutes after Fabio Quagliarella missed a penalty and Palermo registered their third win in succession as they defeated a tough and talented Udinese side. Antonio Conte's Atalanta won for the second round in a row, this time beating Parma 3-1 in Bergamo and moving them up to 9 points in the table. Last season's suprise packages, in Cagliari and Genoa, clashed in Sardinia and Cagliari came from behind twice to take the three points and register their first home win of the season.

Great stuff then, and with week 10 taking place on Wednesday and Thursday night before week 11 next weekend there will be plenty of Calcio to talk about.

Player Profile: Dejan

Right now, Dejan Stankovic is a key cog in the Inter Milan midfield, and for good reason. Three goals in the league so far this season, all absolute gems, is one of the reasons why Inter sit top of the Serie A table yet again. Funny, then, that just over a year ago he was on the verge of a huge move to Juventus as they began to re-establish themselves in this division. It didn't happen, and Inter fans will be thankful of that. Why, well because he is the type of player that offers so much to a coach. Able to play central mid, trequartista, and even adopt a hard tackling role in the defensive midfield if need be. Crisp passing, long range efforts, headers are all in the package that Stankovic offers.

The Lazio years
His arrival at Lazio was relatively low key, but on he debut he addressed that fact with interest. An absolute missile, now a trademark, found the back of the net against Piacenza and he found his way into a team that was not exactly short on talent at that time. Great success followed, with a Scudetto, Coppa Italia, Cup Winners cup and European Super Cup in a Lazio shirt. Still, needs must. And when Lazio were fighting financial meltdown he was sold to Inter, a club now that he has become a central part of.

Inter-Milan
Indeed, it has become something of a speciality for Stankovic, scoring cracking goals that is, and on numerous occasions of city rivals Milan. This years cracker in the derby is evidence of that, and also the one a few years back when a corner kick somehow found its way into the back of the net, and of course last seasons winner against Milan by 2-1 after a Zlatan Ibrahimovic knock down. However, he is more than simply a 'show pony' in that regard. He has stepped up to new levels this season, scoring vital goals for Inter in the Champions League, keeping them afloat in the competition. Maybe this is not a surprise, as his leadership qualities attained at International level, as Serbia's captain, flood through to the Inter team.

Image: Steindy

Europa League: Mixed night for Italian clubs

It was a mixed night for the Italian clubs in the Europa League.

Lazio 2-1 Villareal
Lazio, despite going down to ten men, managed to tame Villareal and all their creative genius in Rome. Lazio went ahead through a well worked goal, in which Dabo's long ball was trapped by Cruz who fed Zarate who applied a smart finish. However, it was against the run of play and after Villareal dominated in possession and leveled through a well worked move in which Eguren finished with a header. Half time arrived and with great thanks from the Lazio fans perspectives. After the break Villareal again dominated in possession without posing the same threat it had to be said. Travesty struck for Lazio though as Matuzalem was sent off despite replays showing he should have been given a penalty. Amazingly though this forced Lazio into life as they began to take charge of the game and created a host of chances. Cruz should have scored and Zarate went close with a mazy run and hit the post. Zarate again had an effort through a freekick. But, it was Kolarov's superb cross that found Rocchi who slotted home to send the Curva nord into elation.

1. Salzberg 9pts
2. Lazio 6pts
3. Villareal 3pts
4. L. Sofia 0pts

Fulham 1-1 Roma
Roma came from behind in London tonight against Fulham. Fulham started the brighter and attacked Roma in the early stages resulting in a headed goal from Hangeland. However, after Roma began to dominate and in the second half Fulham barely registered a move beyond their half way line. Roma were confident in possession and used it well without having the ball cross the line. It looked like they would get back in the name when Menez was brought down in the area but he missed his spot kick. Roma were pouring forward in the latter stages and were finally rewarded at the death when Andreolli volleyed in from the tightest of angles.

1. Basle 6pts
2. Fulham 5pts
3. Roma 4pts
4. CSKA 1pts

Lille 3-0 Genoa
Genoa crumbled away in France tonight loosing by 3-0. Its not a game I saw, but I think its fair to assume that the hammering their received on Saturday night had some effect on the confidence that this squad holds. Thankfully for them there next game is at home to Lille, and perhaps in the two weeks between Genoa can recapture form. Lille top the group, but face difficult trips to Valencia and Genoa yet.

1. Lille 7pts
2. Valencia 5pts
3. Genoa 3pts
4. Slavia 1pts


Overall, its been a very good week in Europe for Serie A clubs. Four wins, two draws and one defeat. A classic win by Milan over Madrid, Juve getting back to winning ways, Fiorentina looking strong. Indeed, arguably all the clubs are still in a qualifying position in their group and it would not surprise me if all went through to the second round of the respective competitions. European action returns in two weeks with the fixtures of this round reversed, so Milan with host Madrid in arguably the tie of the round again.