Saturday 29 October 2011

Derby D'Italia: Inter v Juventus

What a game, and what a time for it. With Juventus sitting pretty top of Serie A and Inter sitting, well, abysmally off the pace the contrast in this seasons league form does not mirror that of recent seasons gone by. Champions of Europe in 2010, Inter did what Juventus could not do in 2003, 1998,  and 1997 by climbing that elusive final hurdle in the Champions League final. True, Juventus did achieve that in 1996 in Rome but in recent years Inter have been Italy's finest export whilst Italy awaits Milan and Juve to catch them up, on the continent at least. Expect that to happen this season as Milan look set to do very well in the Champions League, but don't count Inter out just yet. 

Despite a poor start under a totally misguided manager who seemed determined to play every player out of position Inter have quality in abundance and will be keen to show that in today's mammoth encounter. And while Juve have started very well this season question marks have been raised about their true ability to take the Scudetto and whether they really have gotten over two totally atrocious campaigns by their own high standards. Recent matches have shown a soft defensive underbelly that Napoli, Milan, Udinese and Lazio, who all sit close behind Juve, will look to take full advantage of.

Inter however continue to stay alive, albeit only just. They sit top of their Champions League book having registered two excellent away wins against CSKA and Lille, and since Ranieri has taken over they have been resuscitated somewhat with wins over Bologna and Chievo, with the draw away at Atalanta not a bad result given their blistering start to the season so far. The Napoli game stands out, on paper, as a huge disappointment but those having seen the game will realise that it was a false economy of sorts in the sense of the poor referring performance which completely changed the shape of the game just before half time, even if Napoli were on fire that night.

Still, their is no denying the simply awful start Inter have made to live in Serie A this season. While even at this stage Scudetto chances look slim at best a win over Juventus would put some life back into their campaign and show the old lady and city rivals AC Milan that Inter can, and may well, have their say in the Scudetto race this season.

Thursday 27 October 2011

Napoli end Udinese's unbeaten run

A consummate home performance from Napoli saw them brush past Udinese who had up until this match been unbeaten in Serie A this season. Udinese, without Antonio Di Natale and Isla lacked somewhat in creativity but fell behind thanks to a wonderful Lavezzi strike after Cavani provided what seemed like an impossible assist. Udinese did fight back and Morgan De Sanctis produced an outstanding save after a well worked Udinese corner saw Antonio Floro Flores improvise with a volley that tested the Napoli goalkeeper. But he was up to the challenge and Napoli added to their lead just before half time when Maggio headed home to make it 2-0.In many respects after having just picked up one point from their last six this was a must win for Napoli who take on Catania, Bayern Munich and Juventus in their next run of fixtures.

Speaking of Juventus they continued their unbeaten start with a solid 2-1 home win against Fiorentina. It should have been buried at half time with Juve totally dominating their opponents but Fiorentina came out determined after the break to get themselves into the match and another superb strike from Stefan Jovetic leveled the tie. However, Alessandro Matri added to his growing reputation with the winning goal late on and his third in two matches to keep Juventus clear at the top. 

With Udinese defeated Lazio had the opportunity to take over at the Serie A summit against Catania and they started well in this encounter taking the lead after 17 minutes through Miroslav Klose who scored his 5th goal of the Serie A campaign so far. Despite being decimated with injury problems Lazio looked good for their lead but unlike Napoli they could not establish daylight between. They paid the price for this as Catania leveled after some poor defending by the Lazio backline. Depsite this Lazio did rally and the introduction of Hernanes and Kozak showed their attacking intent, but it was to no avail despite dominating the proceedings late on.

Elsewhere Roma fell to defeat in Genoa by 2-1 and Bologna surprised Chievo by winning 1-0 in Verona. Cesena continued their winless start with a 1-1 draw at home to Cagliari while Inter could only draw 1-1 against Atalanta away from home, with the home side continuing their fantastic start. Milan continued their ressurgence with a 4-1 win at home to Parma and move up to joint 4th in the table. Finally, Siena continued their good start with a 1-1 draw away at Novara. 

Saturday 22 October 2011

Juve only draw but continue to show Serie A the way forward

Juve 2 - 2 Genoa was the final score in Turin tonight after a cracking game ended all square. Juve were sublime at times going forward, Andrea Pirlo rolling back the years with inspirational contributions to both goals, from the quickly taken corner that found Marchisio on the first goal where Matri fired home to the simply majestic dummy that let Matri again hit the back of the net. Juve looked set for the win but Genoa continued to advance forward, much through the inspired play of Milan owned Alex Merkel and drew level late on through a Caracciolo equaliser. Shambolic defending and poor goalkeeping led to Juve's demise in this encounter and in the end a point was all they could take from this one.

With this in mind you may wonder what on earth the title to this article is on about. Despite going top of Serie A, albeit temporarily, tonight was a disappointment for the home side before they go on a run of games that sees them take on Fiorentina, Inter, Napoli, Palermo and Lazio. Hardly an easy run and two draws on the trot has taken the sting out of their blistering start. But, irregardless Juve this season with their new Stadium have shown the rest of Serie A what they need to do to modernise and essentially revolutionise the league.

Juventus so far this campaign have had an average attendance of 36,293. It's not huge by any stretch and only ranks sixth overall in Serie A but it is a massive improvement on their gates from last season which culminated in an average of 21,966. You could argue it has been the difference between a great start and a poor one as well. Last season at the Stadio Olimpico Juventus lost at home to Milan, Parma and Bologna, their first three home games. This season they took seven points from those same encounters instead and the crowd played their part in these fixtures as well, becoming the the essential 12th man that had been missed and the frankly limp and lifeless Olimpico in recent seasons passed. Much of course has to be attributed to a decent Summer mercato. But, their is a freshness around this club that could well take them out of the doldrums, which undoubtedly the last two campaigns have been and their is no doubt that the new Stadium is part of this.

But how does this relate to the rest of Serie A? Well aside from the revenue opportunities that a self own Stadium would provide new stadia for the other clubs would have massive knock on effects for game day attendances which so far this season are at an average of just under 24,000. This will increase as the season goes on and games become more vital to the campaigns final outcome, but it is fair to say that this number has not been helped by teams like Chievo, Lecce, Novara and Siena who barely pull in an average of more than 10,000 a game and in that regard the sooner the likes of Torino and Sampdoria come back to Serie A the better. But, for the likes of Fiorentina, Lazio, Palermo, Roma and Cagliari, teams who have been trying to build new stadia for some time, the impact could be huge. Indeed, such has the delay been in the case of the Viola that they have considered building a new Stadium out of the city limits itself. 

Much of the problem has to do with current legislative restrictions and the frustration that local Council's in Italy will miss out on revenue generated by their currently owned Stadiums. But, the sooner the other clubs are able to follow the path that Juventus have then the better off they will be, and the better off the league will be too.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Champions League: Napoli hold Bayern, Milan and Inter push on

It was another decent round for the Italian clubs in the Champions league as all teams picked up valuable points that given all a chance of going through to the last 16. Milan tonight put one foot into the last 16 with a strong 2-0 home win against Bate. They barely had to break out of second gear to gain the three points thanks to two excellent goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a Prince Boateng missile. That being said Milan played with an attitude that a goal would come eventually and although it most certainly did they almost paid the price while the encounter was balanced at 0 - 0 when Van Bommel made a sloppy pass straight to Bate forward Bressan who should have put the away side 1-0 up. However, it all ended well for Milan who now head to Belarus in the next round where they again must pick up three points before their titanic clash with Barcelona at San Siro on match day five.

Last night also saw good results for the Italian clubs. Inter picked up a comfortable 1-0 win away at Lille where Wesley Sneijder and Mauro Zarate combined some magic to supply Giampaolo Pazzini who fired home with thunderous effect to put the French Champions behind. Inter looked strong but once Sneijder and Zarate were withdrawn they lacked creativity and Lille took advantage of that, putting pressure on Inter's back line which has not exactly been up to task as of late. However they and talisman Eden Hazard could not find a way through and Inter emerged victorious and like AC Milan sit top of their Champions League group.

Napoli however arguably pulled of the result of the round taking a point of Bayern, and scoring a goal against them something which had not been done since August 7th. Bayern have been steamrolling opposition all season long and at this moment in time, along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, are arguably playing the best football in Europe so far this season. They took the lead through a defensive lapse by Napoli after just 90s seconds and the writing looked on the wall for Napoli. However, they steadied the ship and began to take the game to Bayern at the end of the first half. They were rewarded with a goal as well after Maggio's goal was deflected in by Badstauber. It could have been even better for Napoli as well had the referree spotted Schweinsteigers handball  which denied Hamsik a goal scoring opportunity. He did however spot a soft handball, if you can even call it that, which came off Cannavaro's arm when blasted at him from close range. Justice was done when De Sanctis saved from the spot. Napoli held on but were at times comfortable in possession. With Man City beating Villareal they will now go to Munich looking to take something from that match, perhaps as a necessity.

Monday 17 October 2011

Four points seperates first from 13th as goal shy round ends in Lazio derby win

After a goal fest of action on Saturday in Serie A with Milan rolling over Palermo and Napoli and Inter both suffering surprise defeats the action did not continue on Saturday afternoon as the net was only rippled twice across six matches in Serie A. Both those goals came in the same game as Bologna won 2-0 away at Novara to move themselves up to four points in the standings and ease the pressure on them at the bottom of the table. However, as far as goals go that was all she wrote. That being said their was no shortage of controversy especially in the early kick of in Cesena as Adrian Mutu saw red for petulance that frankly blighted Cesena going on the collect the three points they looked set to get given their strong second half performance. Their slow start continued however as they picked up just their second point in six outings.

With so many draws taking place three points would have catapulted any side high up the table but not even regular Sunday afternoon goal scorer Antonio Di Natale could ripple the net as Udinese drew 0-0 away at Atalanta in perhaps what should have been the best game of the afternoon given both sides strong starts to the season. 

So, the goals were saved for the Rome derby and the game did not disappoint. Both sides had made major acquisitions in the off season with Lazio adding Miroslav Klose, Cisse and former Italian International goalkeeper Federico Marchetti while Roma had added the likes of Dutch International keeper Martaan Stekelenburg, Gabriele Heinze, Simon Kjaer, Bojan Krkic and Pablo Osvaldo to name a few. The away side started strong as well and went in front after seven minutes through Osvaldo. Lazio came back into the match late in the first half and started where they left off after the break scoring from the spot through Hernanes. The worst part from Roma however was the dismissal of Kjaer and that left them really up against it for the rest of the half. Cue lots of pressure from Lazio who rattled the woodwork twice through Cisse and Klose before the tall German finally found the winner deep into injury time much to the elation of the home support at the Stadio Olimpico. Having lost the five previous derby's the winner in injury time was of great relieve to the Laziale's the world over and they now see their team move up to third in the table.

Lazio, Milan, Inter, Udinese and Napoli now head into Europe where tough tests await in the shape of Zurich, Bate, Lille, Athletico Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Saturday 15 October 2011

Milan push on while Inter crash to defeat again

Milan and Inter both have got off to poor starts this season in Serie A. While they both sit in decent positions in their respective Champions League groups their positions in the Serie A table have been a different story. Between them prior to todays round they had been beaten five times between them, in just five rounds. With Napoli and Juve getting off to such good starts it was imperative for both clubs that they picked up three points in this round, and both had to do this against Sicilian opposition. One overcame that objective, one did not. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly given their truley dismal start it was Inter that failed to do so as five minutes of madness in the second half allowed Catania to score twice and overturn Inter's quick start thanks to a superbly taken Estaban Cambiasso goal. Having led at half time Inter looked to have established a strong foothold in this game but the lack of any sort of defensive cover allowed Catania back into this one. Almiron's stunning strike pulled Catania level while Lodi scored from the penalty spot, ironically his first Serie A goal that had not come from a free kick. 

It was a well deserved win for Catania and another defeat for Inter whose season looks in tatters before we have even reached November. Milan however pulled away from the disaster zone after recording a comfortable win over high flying Palermo. Having set out in two banks of 4 at the back Palermo looked hard to break down and it took Milan a while until Ibrahimovic unlocked the door with a ball to the back post that was knocked across goal for Nocerino to send in. Milan had been applying the pressure and deserved the lead, and this was doubled not long after the break with Ibrahimovic again involved as he fed Robinho who opened his account for the season. Milan were in total control now and Cassano added a third as he continued his superb form so far this season. Having hit two for Italy midweek his confidence was high and it showed as he fired home with consummate ease to make it 3-0 despite their being a number of bodies in between the ball and the goal. 

It was a good win for Milan and with Lecce and Parma up next in Serie a they will be confident of climbing the table soon enough. For Inter however as things stand the season looks long and hard and one wonders whether any shot at the title is in fact already over.

Sunday 2 October 2011

Calcio comment: Juve got to believe them!

Questions had been asked of Juve up until this round, whether they had really turned a corner or whether they were the Juve of the last two seasons which faltered to deceive and then promptly embarrassed the 27 time, or 29 depending on which fence you sit, Scudetto winners. But, when the champions came to town tonight Juve gave a performance worth of champions themselves, dominating possession with an expansive style of play that at times left Milan looking one dimensional and without threat. Not bad, considering this was a Milan side that drew a Barcelona only a few weeks ago. Despite this, it was 0-0 come 86 minutes until Claudio Marchisio hit the back of then from a well worked team goal and then doubled his tally moments later thanks to an Abiati howler. It's only week five but there is definitely a different feel to Juventus this season, their new stadium and new additions appear to have transformed a side that has been in the doldrums for a few seasons.

Elsewhere Napoli, or perhaps referee Rocchi added to Inter's miserable start to the season. The game had been played at a cracking pace with Inter on top in the early exchanges until Joel Obi was adjudged to have fouled Christian Maggio inside the box. Infact, the foul was committed outside the box and Obi's initial yellow card was extremely harsh. To make matters worse for Inter after Hamsik's penalty was saved Hugo Campagnaro converted the follow up, despite have encourached into the penalty area way before the kick had even been taken. It was a poor night for the referee but Napoli fans won't care and the partenopei came away with three fantastic points after a dominating the second half with some great football.

One city that whose clubs have had a mixed bag of results so far this season is Rome, but both clubs set themselves up for the Rome derby with solid wins, Roma over inform Atalanta and Lazio with a superb away win at Fiorentina who themselves have had a good start to the season. Roma broke down Atalanta with goals from Bojan, Osvaldo and Simplicio while Lazio came from behind in florence thanks to a wonder strike from Hernanes and another crucial winner from German hero Miroslav Klose who hit his third Serie A goal in five games.

Elsewhere, Genoa were mauled in Parma thanks to Seb Giovinco while Novara and Catania played out a wonderful 3-3 draw. Bologna were again beaten by pace setters Udinese while Palermo continued their great start with a 2-0 win over Siena, despite being down to ten men. Cesena picked up their first point against Chievo but will rue a Adrian Mutu penalty miss while Lecce look in deep trouble after another home defeat this time to Cagliari.