Mihajlovic standing on his last legs

Last season for the viola was something of an up and down one. Up in the sense of the wonderful Champions League campaign which should have seen then edge past Bayern Munich, but for woeful officiating, and up in the sense of superb wins in Europe’s premier competition against Lyon and home and away against five time winners Liverpool. However, their domestic form suffered to balance out the ‘down’ side of this equation. A final placing of 11th was  an anti-climax given their heroics in Europe, but many a viola fan would have understood the sheer effort expanded to achieve that success was always going to leave them overstretched on the domestic front and in that sense it was worth the sacrifice.

There were of course more positives for Fiorentina. The emergence of Stefan Jovetic as a player who could make the difference against elite European sides added icing to what was already a pretty sweet cake of a season. They have certainly missed his presence this season, and as they continue to tread water, in 13th place, one wonders how much time coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has at the helm and how long Fiorentina have left to save anything from this season. Right now it seems as if survival is the only objective left and that will not please the residents of the Curva Fiesole who before this campaign had begun would have legitimately expected their side to at least battle for a top four spot in the bella campionato del mondo. Strength and creativity in the form of Gaetano D’Agostino had been added to an already strong side with the likes of Vargas, Montolivo and Gilardino still wearing purple and without the distraction of European action there was a solid foundation for a another special season in Tuscany. 

However, these factors have made no difference as their season still has yet to take of with only six victories registered up to this point, and defeat on the road to Lazio this weekend maintained their record of not having won a game away from home this season. Injuries have played their part but one wonders how much the Adrian Mutu saga has impacted upon the club dressing room as again he has been the centre of controversy  this season. However, time is definitely running out for manager Sinisa Mihajlovic and unless points are obtained against fellow struggler’s Genoa and Parma directions to the exit door will be looming.

Giornata 22: Milan face tough test

Milan, the Serie A leaders, face a tough test to maintain their Serie A lead in the face of an away trip to Diego Simeone's Catania. Last season two late Klass Jan Huntelaar goals won the tie, but this year Milan have far more options up front with Cassano, Ibrahimovic, Pato and Robinho to choose from. This is three points Milan simply cannot afford to drop given that Napoli and Roma are breathing down their necks, and Inter, fresh with Giampaolo Pazzini up front could be chasing hard soon enough. Still, if Milan do win in Catania on Saturday night then the pressure will be piled on Inter in their clash with Palermo on Sunday afternoon and Javier Pastore takes to the San Siro turf once again. However, after their gritty win midweek against Napoli in the Coppa Italia Inter may well be galvanised to see off the talented Palermo side.

One side in great shape is Napoli and they face Sampdoria on Sunday afternoon, without their former son's Pazzini and Cassano. Three points looks likely for the home side here, but another home side in Lazio may struggle against Fiorentina. The wheels have come off the Rome giants season for now after a 3-1 humbling at Bologna last week but the prospect of the viola at home will be an even tougher encounter. Roma face a similar trek to Bologna this week, and with the hosts in inspired form it promises to be a tough encounter for il Lupi. 

Finally, Juventus will look to re-ignite their season against Udinese. The problem is the away side are in fantastic form after destroying Inter Milan last week and will fancy their chances in Turin this weekend.

Calcio Mercato: Milan go dutch while Inter look towards Pazzini swoop

Not content with being top and not content with already adding Zlatan, Robinho, Boateng and Cassano Milan have deepend their squad with the signings of Bayern Munich midfielder Marc Van Bommel and Ajax wingback Urby Emanuelson who should help cover Luca Antonini, especially in light of his error prone display at home to Cesena on Sunday evening. This is good news for Milan fans as they have added quality to areas other than their forward line for a change, and it does not stop there it seems as Milan look set to pursue Chelsea defender Alex before the window shuts. Some seem surprised by Milan's activity on the market, but the truth is their wage bill has shrunk since Ronaldinho left and with consistent Champions league qualification and the shirt deal with Emirates yielding significant income Milan have money to spend even when club patron Silvio Berlusconi seems to have been tight with the wallet since their Champions League win in 2007. Both new signings debuted tonight as Milan made their way into the Coppa Italia semi-finals, where they will meet Palermo. 

Not to be outdone, it seems Inter are looking for a forward to back up Milito, who seems to be constantly injured this campaign, and the big name heavily linked at the moment is Giampaolo Pazzini. This has the feel of a deal which could still go either way but with Inter offering talented forward Jonathan Biabiany in with the deal Samp would not be loosing out in terms of personnel. They would however be loosing a hugely talented forward but given the departure of Cassano that has since seemed inevitable. Luis Fabiano has also been linked to Inter, but they may have competition in the sense of bitter rivals Juventus.

Calcio News: Diego Simeone takes over the reins at Catania

Diego Simeone, the former Inter Milan, Athletico Madrid and Lazio legend has taken his first management position in European football as head coach at Catania, succeeding Marco Giampaolo as boss of the Massimino as the Etnei parted company with the former Siena manager. Initially the replacement of a manager for a club that perhaps most would favour to battle relegation for the season may come as somewhat of a surprise. After all, Catania are joint 14th in the table and 3 points away from 11th place and don't necessarily look like being in any significant danger, especially compared to last season where prior to the Christmas break they were rock bottom of the division until Sinisa Mihajlovic took over and on his second game in charge of the club mastered a stunning 2-1 win in Turin against Juventus. 

Still, perhaps this is a sign of progression from their clubs point of view. Not content with simply battling it out in the depths of the division Catania are looking to progress up to at least midtable now that they can consider themselves an established club in this division as they have been in it since the 2006-2007 season and much like Udinese they are beginning to get into the habit of buying for cheep and selling for significant profit, as testified by the sale of Jorge Martinez to Juventus in the summer and Juan Manuel Vargas to Fiorentina a couple of seasons ago.

That is testament to their scouting system with seems to scour South America, Argentina specifically, in search of new talent. Indeed, the clubs has a huge number of Argentines already on their roster and that will add to the attraction of the job for the Argentine hard man. Similar presence to Sinisa Mihajlovic Simeone will provide a fearsome figure from the Sicilian touchline that will inspire a mixture of fear and fire in the Catania players, perhaps something that has been mising this season since Mihajlovic headed up to Florence.

There is however significance substance behind Simeone however. With two titles to his name, the Argentine Apertura with Estudiantes in 2006 and the Clausura with River Plate in 2008 Simeone has already shown that he knows how to win. Now he needs to demonstrate that the Massimino faithful, and in my view it is simply a matter of time before he does that and moves onto coach a major European club. Athletic Madrid is known to be on his radar, but what price he manages Lazio or even Inter Milan one day too. Watch this space.

Round 20: Milan stall again as Lazio, Juve and Inter begin to catch up

Another dramatic round of action concluded in, well, dramatic fashion last night as Lecce managed to pull of an improbable point at the hands of league leaders Milan. After Zlatan Ibrahimovic opened the scoring with a contender for goal of the season, it looked as if Milan would steamroll on for a comfortable victory after somewhat of an unconvincing first half. However, the seven times European Champions could not shake the pressure that Lecce put them under in the latter stages and yielded to a well taken Olivera strike in the 82nd minute. Milan responded with Zlatan going close twice in the latter stages, but not close enough. A disappointing point for Milan and they will look to take six points from their next two games against Cesena and then Catania. 

With Milan dropping points most of Calcio's powerhouses are queuing up for a taste of the top spot now, and Lazio closed to within four points after defeating Sampdoria at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday afternoon. In a game of few chances it looked set to finish a drab 0-0, but a superb delivery from Cristian Ledesma found its way onto the head of the young Libor Kozak who again weighed in with an important contribution from the bench. Inter additionally continued their winning ways this time in emphatic fashion against Bologna.  Samuel Eto'o was once again in inspired form and scored two wonderful goals, the latter a stunning free kick. Diego Milito and Dejan Stankovic supplied the other two goals. Napoli however could not find a winner against a well drilled Fiorentina outfit. Disappointing in the first half the vesuviani picked up the pace after the break but could not find away through as they have done so many times this season in the latter phases of games.

One side returning to wining ways however was Juventus, although only thanks to a late Aquilani volley while Roma left it late in Cesena as well having secured the three points through an own goal in the 89th minute. They were joined in the victory catergory once again by Udinese who are in fine form at the moment. As usual there were fireworks when the Friuliani outfit took to the pitch and Antonio Di Natale, Alexi Sanchez and German Denis were all on target for the second game running. The fact that they are now only one point behind Palermo is all the more amazing given that they lost their first four games of the season.

Elsewhere Palermo fell 3-1 at Cagliari as Roberto Donadoni's men continue to impress after his arrival while Brescia showed that's there is fight in them yet as they beat a downbeat Parma 2-0. Finally, Catania and Chievo picked up an important point each as they look to move towards salvation.

Napoli stall at a packed San Paolo

After their emphatic win against Juventus last Sunday night many a Napoli fan would have been well within their rights to have expected them to roll over a somewhat disappointing Fiorentina side come Saturday afternoon, but it was not to be after a disheartening 0-0 stalemate.

In a game where direct chances were few and far between Napoli fans will be left wondering whether they really can challenge at the very highest echelon of the league or whether they have simply gone as far as they can go this season and are in reality one step removed from both AC Milan and Inter. For this is a game where surely both of those sides would have found a way to win even in the most difficult of circumstances. It's not all doom and gloom for Napoli however.

Napoli did minus Marek Hamsik, in the second half especially, dominate play and forced a well organised Fiorentina side onto the back foot for large parts of it who to their credit defended resolutely and with be happy with their golden point, as so described by Lorenzo De Silvestri.

For Napoli the prospect of well drilled and organised sides perfectly happy in the long run to come to Naples and shut up shop is something they will have to get used to. As Walter Mazzari commented after the match teams are afraid to come to the San Paolo and given the demolition job inflicted on Juventus I for one will not disagree with him.

Round 20 preview: Half way house

It's hard to believe that we are half way through another Serie A season once again, but we are and this round sees a host of top fixtures that entertained us day one of the bella campionato del mondo. Up first sees a great encounter, Napoli v Fiorentina at the San Paolo. Excitement is cranked up to ten in Naples at the moment following their demolition job on Juventus and the viola won't be looking forward to stepping into this caldron. However, that was arguably their feeling last year and they ran out 3-1 victors. In addition to that this Fiorentina is packed with quality despite their poor start to the season. In other words this is a potential banana skin for the Azzurri. If they do win they'll be one point off the top, although not many will expect that to last given that Milan head down South to Lecce. However, given Lecce's win in the Stadio Olimpico against Lazio last week the home side will be encouraged to complete an impressive double to begin the New Year.

One team bringing up the rear at the moment is Inter and they will expect to win at home to Bologna on Saturday night. Bologna have been impressively solid this season and would sit in 10th place had it not been for their 3 point deduction for financial irregularities. They held Inter in week one and would do well to do so again. Roma were also held in week one but unlike Inter they must venture out of their home turf in this round to Cesena. Cesena have picked up seven points in their last three matches to move them up to 17th place in the table and news of a possible link with Adrian Mutu may well galvanise them to go onto survive this season. Roma however will be looking to make up for the three points they literally threw away at Sampdoria last week. Juventus will also be looking to make up for lost time and they host rock bottom Bari at home. After recording a solid win against Catania in the Coppa Italia midweek and with the return of Gigi Buffon. Anything but a win here for the old lady surely removes them from the title race and begins parallels with last seasons fall from grace. Lazio may well fall into that category too if they fail to beat Sampdoria at the Olimpico on Sunday afternoon. Sampdoria are missing their central defensive pairing of Gasteldello and Lucchini while Lazio are without Matuzalem and Tomasso Rocchi. 

Elsewhere, Genoa host an inform Udinese with Di Natale and Sanchez currently on fire, while Brescia host Parma as they look to dig themselves out of their hole. Finally Cagliari host Palermo in the battle of the Islands. The latter will look to win after a draw in Chievo to really launch their season which is simmering bellow the main challengers at the moment. Still, Palermo are unbeaten in the league since their 1-0 loss to Napoli in early December and are once again making themselves a top six calibre side.

Calcio video: Milan 4-4 Udinese

It's not every day you get a 4-4 draw. It's not every day an away team is able to score 4 at the San Siro. Check at all the action from this epic encounter.

Round 19: Topsy turvey round

In what turned out to be a strange round some degree of normality resumed itself at the end of play when you consider that it was another good week for both Milan clubs. Inter were victorious in Catania, unlike last season under Mourinho, thanks to a Cambiasso brace and much like against Napoli it was the midfield that delivered the goals for Leonardo. Indeed, it was Cambiasso's third goal in just two games. For AC Milan their game went from the ridiculous to the sublime from their viewpoint, coming back from a 3-1 deficit at home to Udinese to eventually tie 4-4. Udinese have been in excellent form since a torrid start to the season and looked set to complete a remarkable win at San Siro having taken the lead when eventually pegged back to 3-3 to make it 3-4 thanks to German Denis late on. But Zlatan Ibrahimovic hit his tenth Serie A goal of the season deep  into injury time to give the rossoneri a point. It was certainly a game where the stars shone the brightest, with Di Natale and Pato netting a brace a piece and Ibrahimovic and the excellent Sanchez on target as well. A point was probably not the desired result but other games went their way. Roma collapsed after looking dominant against Sampdoria thanks to two Juan errors, while Lazio were embarrassed at home to Lecce in a lacklustre and somewhat downbeat performance which did little to please the home tifosi. Napoli however did register a win, the only side in the top six to do so, thanks to a wonderful Cavani hatrick against Juventus to hand them their second hammering in two matches. There title chances hang by a thread. 

Elsewhere, Fiorentina came from two goals down against Brescia to win late on while Bologna and Cagliari registered impressive away wins and Bari and Parma respectively. Chievo and Palermo drew 0-0 in a stalemate in Verona while Genoa did the same in Cesena. So at the half way point Milan sit four points ahead in first place while Napoli remain the closest to them. Lazio sit third on 34 but Inter could leapfrog them into that berth if they win both of their two games in hand.

Calcio mercato: Desperate old lady seeks older man

No, don't be mistaken this is not a dating advert for me to you lot out there. It's a reaction to Juve's mercato so far and their signing of Luca Toni. For a club that has invested heavily in their midfield over the last two summer mercato's its rather strange that they have yet to actively add a true world class forward to their attack. Quagliarella is without question the closest forward they have in that regard but with his serious injury ruling him out potentially for the rest of the season Juve fans have been left with a totally out of form Amauri, an injured Iaquinta and an ageing Del Piero who despite his undoubted quality cannot be expected to carry Juve to the Scudetto on his own. Now the Juventini have the prospect of watching Luca Toni upfront, potentially tommorow night against Napoli and that probably won't fill them with confidence especially in light of their 4-1 drubbing against Parma. How they would love to get their hands on just one of Napoli's upfront pairing of Cavani and Lavezzi. 

Now, don't get me wrong. Luca Toni has had a decent career and one that blossomed late at that. After becoming somewhat of a journey man through the Peninsula going through clubs in 'Christian Vieri fashion' at Modena, Empoli, Bresica and Vicenza amongst other's Toni finally came to prominance at Palermo before moving onto Florence where he amassed an amazing 31 goals in 38 games for the Viola. A move to Bayern in 2007 came to pass and he enjoyed great success there topping the scoring charts in his first season in Bavaria. But, things have gone down hill since then and after falling out with Louis Van Gaal and failing to impress significantly at both Roma and Genoa one wonders why Juve, in a potentially defining moment of their season, have turned to a player who since his return to Italy has only hit the back of the net 8 times. Considering Milan picked up Cassano, Ibrahimovic and Robinho for their forward line for this season the difference does seem to look at the moment as significant. The upshot is that Juve will probably need to do more this mercato if they aspire to the title.

Round 18 review: Milan stretch ahead

They left it late but some inspiration from Antonio Cassano and Rodney Strasser, of all Milan players, gave Milan three vital points in Cagliari despite being somewhat depleted. No Nesta, no Ibrahimovic, no Zambrotta and no Boateng illustraited Milan's growing sense of depth that their squad has as Cassano, Robinho and Pato filled the void upfront instead. It's certainly exciting times for Milan as their initial three point lead at the beginning of play on Thursday afternoon was extended to five by the 90 minute mark what with Lazio managing just a 0-0 draw against Genoa, breaking their run of three wins in a row against Genoa at the Marassi. After dominating the first half Lazio were subjected to a barrage of pressure from the Grifoni who spurned many guilt edged chances, with Luca Toni missing a free header. However as usual Lazio keeper Fernando Muslera was on top form making a number of world class stops.

This was not the best time for Lazio's winning streak to come to an end at the Marassi but for Milan it was an added bonus to what had already turned out to be a good day for them. What am I talking about? Juve of course and there debacle at home to Parma which resulted in a 4-1 defeat after the old lady were reduced to ten men after just 17 minutes. Felipe Melo saw red for kicking Massimo Paci in the face while on the ground. It was a disgraceful incident from a player who has quite a habit of disgracing himself on the pitch in recent seasons. This, of course, came after the injury to Fabio Quagliarella. Things only got worse for Juve as a disallowed goal, Giovinco brace, Crespo penalty and a Palladino injury time goal subjected Juve to a 4-1 massacre. It must have been sweet however for Giovinco to return and haunt his parent club who have shown little faith in him. 

With Lazio and Juve both dropping points it was turning into the dream start to 2011 for Milan. However, Roma and Inter had something to say about that. The Lupi recorded a solid 4-2 win over Catania with a brace from Marco Boriello and Mirko Vucinic apiece while Inter, under new manager Leonardo, recorded an excellent 3-1 win over in form Napoli with Thiago Motta scoring an superb double, and with two games in hand over their fellow title contenders Inter could well find themselves back in contention in no time at all. However, a tricky trip to Catania awaits them on Sunday and they will be looking to overturn a 3-1 hammering that they receieved on their last visit there.

Elsewhere fans were ultimately allowed into watch Lecce v Bari but many would have left disappointed as the home side fell to a 1-0 defeat in what was Bari's first win since September. Joining Bari in the win category were Cesena with Luis Jimenez again on the mark in a huge 6 pointer against Brescia while Udinese again showed themselves to be rock solid at home. Unbeaten since Juventus routed the Friuli 4-0 in mid september Udinese, despite being down to ten men for over an hour, ran out 2-0 winners against Chievo thanks to goals from rising star Alexi Sanchez and club icon Antonio Di Natale. Finally, Palermo continued their fine season with a 3-0 demolition job on Sampdoria. Fabrizio Miccoli got the rout started before Migliaccio and Maccarone completed the job late on. It represented a fine win for Palermo over an inconsitent and now Cassanoless Sampdoria and now the Sicilian outfit

Round 18 preview: Inter the breach

Napoli face Inter at the San Siro in the showpiece game of tomorrows midweek round and this time start the game well ahead in league points of their northern rivals. There's no doubt that this season so far has been one of disappointment for Inter but for Napoli, currently 10 points ahead of the Nerazzurri, its been one of consistently getting the job done. Of late they have squeezed out two one nil wins in the league against Genoa and Lecce respectively but some would say that is the mark of Championship sides, winning when not playing their best football. That being said for Napoli this represents a massive test of their credentials. Whilst they are in second right now, along with Lazio, is fair to say that few really consider either of this sides eventual Scudetto winners. But a win for Napoli away at Inter would put a spanner into that notion. However, with Leonardo taking the reins at Inter the nerazzurri may well get that new manager boost and end the night with three points. It will certainly be exciting to watch.

Elsewhere Roberto Donadoni comes face to face with his old friend AC Milan as Cagliari play host tomorrow afternoon. There's no Zlatan Ibrahimovic but Alex Pato returns to partner Robinho upfront and its fair to say the Cagliari defence won't be sleeping easy tonight. Neither will Parma's as they travel to Turin to take on Juventus, who sitting fourth at the moment could well climb to second until the evening game. Sitting in third as things stand is Lazio and they will look to add another three points on the road in Genoa tomorrow afternoon. Genoa away has been a fruitful occasion for Lazio since the grifoni returned to Serie A with the Aquile winning three out of three visits there. Many fancy them to make it four.

Amongst the other round highlights Palermo entertain Sampdoria at home in a rematch of last years fourth and fifth place battle while Roma will look to build on their away win at Milan before the winter break when they take on Catania.

Calcio Mercato: Inter add Ranocchia as they look to the future, but they should be more concerned with the present

Andrea Ranocchia has joined the ranks of Inter Milan for a cool 12.5 million Euro's as the Genoa connection once again fed the San Siro with another talent. This time however it is an investment for the future as the 22 year old Ranocchia links up with fellow future prospects Santon, Biabiany and Coutinho at San Siro to learn their trade alongside their more senior counterparts. There is no question about the wealth and quality that Inter have at their disposal but if anything has been shown from this season so far with regards to Inter it is that it is not as deep as perhaps it was perceived to be. Their injury crisis has been a huge factor to the downturn in their performances this season. Missing Diego Milito and his vat of goals has been problem number one, whilst the  long term absence of Estaban Cambiasso and Thiago Motta has no doubt weakened Inter's strength. This confirmed may peoples opinions that the European Champions not only stood still in the summer, but let the rest of Europe catch up.

All is certainly not lost though. They have two very winnable games in hand against Cesena and Fiorentina and avoided more difficult paths in the Champions League, although Bayern represent a tough test. However, there's always the danger that a lesson has not been learned and whilst Ranocchia represents an excellent signing they, in my opinion at least, require more firepower upfront to help Eto'o whose been keeping Inter afloat in that department so far. With that in mind Alexis Sanchex of Udinese has been heavily linked to Leonardo's black and blues in recent days and his creativity, speed and close control ability could add an unpredictable nature to Inter's attack and aide Eto'o and Milito as the season cranks up to the business end. Watch this space.