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Joined April 19th 2008
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 Last Day Deciders: Part 3 of 3 - Serie A Survival - Saturday, 17 May 2008May 18th 2008 11:27
The battle at the bottom of Serie A has been fascinating this season, with 6 teams separated by ony 5 points at mid-April. Since then, Cagliari have continued good form and avoided the drop, and Reggina have made a great escape too. These being at the expense of Empoli and Livorno. Those two are now relegated, and one of Parma and Catania will be joining them on Sunday.
Parma are currently in 18th place, 2 points behind Catania and relying on them losing at home to Roma, who have their own motives for victory. Ahead of Parma's must-win gameat home to Inter Milan, their coach, former Nerazzurri man Hector Cuper, has been sacked by club preseident Tommasso Ghirardi, after being in the job only 2 months. He has been replaced by Caretaker boss Andrea Manzo, but this is hardly good preparation, and it will require a massive performance to give them hope. Catania go into their game with Roma having collected only one win in the last six in all competitions, under the new manager Walter Zenga. Their season was going very successfully until February when they started a fall that saw them go from 10th place, to 18th. They now face a tough game with the Giallorossi, but have the extra boost in the knowledge that they would have to lose, and Parma would have to win against the Champions. A draw would suffice, and is a possibility having held Roma to a 1-1 result in the Copa Italia final second leg the other week. Their safety is in their own hands, but it might not come to that. Serie A Survival verdict: Catania
Last Day Deciders: Part 2 of 3 - Champions League Spot - Friday, 16 May 2008May 17th 2008 17:47
The illusive Champions league 4th spot has been up for grabs for much of the season, with Fiorentina the closest to claiming it as their own. The disastrous first half of the season by AC Milan had allowed the position in the "Big four" to be occupied, and La Viola duly obliged. This was a year when many of their players really came to prominence, notably Franco Semioli, Riccardo Montolivo, and Adrian Mutu. Their position in 4th even looked safe through until mid-February, but the resurgence of Milan combined with Fiorentina's lack of a consistent out-and-out goalscorer, as both Pazzini and Vieri struggled.
Meanwhile, AC Milan, after taking until January 13th to register a home win, found an upturn in form that coincided with Pato's elligibility to play, and continued by Filippo Inzaghi's excellent end to the campaign. The team has suffered in confidence this season, and become a Jekyll and Hyde team. Indeed, there can be no better metaphor for the whole second half of the season, than Milan's excellent victory over rivals Inter, and their subsequent 3-1 defeat against Napoli when they could have cemented the Champions League place. It would cement the Serie A status quo should the Rossoneri sneak into Europe's premier competition. Fiorentina on the other hand will have over-performed slightly should they win that prize. Milan face Udinese at the San Siro, and will be expected to be too strong for the Bianconeri. Fiorentina meanwhile will face a Torino side who are now free of the danger of relegation. Come sunday evening, it will therefore depend a lot on how il Toro approach the game, but it could be the case that Milan have shot themselves in the foot one too many times. Champions League spot verdict: Fiorentina
Last Day Deciders: Part 1 of 3 - Lo ScudettoMay 17th 2008 11:44
The last day of the season will determine the winners and losers in 3 vital areas: The title will be won on Sunday, by either Inter Milan or Roma, Milan and Fiorentina will battle over the last remaining Champions League spot, and Catania will try to stay out of Serie B at the expense of Parma.In this 3 part series we will look in more depth at these key last day deciders.
Premiership to Miss Out Again - Saturday, 10 May 2008May 10th 2008 19:48
The last decade saw a number of successful Italian players testing themselves in the Premiership: the likes of Gianfranco Zola, Gianluca Vialli, Fabrizio Ravenelli, Paolo Di Canio and Benito Carbone to name but a few. But has England become less of an attraction for Italian players? Many prefer to ply their trade in Serie A, significantly enhancing their chances of getting into the national team.
But the last couple of years has seen Zambrotta, Rossi, Cannavaro and Cassano play in Spain, and Luca Toni move to Germany. This trend seems to be continuing this summer, as World Cup winning centre-back Cristian Zaccardo will probably be leaving Palermo (the deal is not finalised according to Palermo Chief Executive Rino Foschi), moving to VFL Wolfsburg for around £5 million
Milan aim to put Inter celebrations on hold - Saturday, 3 May 2008May 3rd 2008 16:01
Both teams will be without a major striker – Milan’s Ronaldo is injured long-term, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return from his injury lay-off on May 11th against Siena. In the battle of the young striking sensations, Balotelli looks set for a start alongside Hernan Crespo, but Alexandre Pato will start on the bench, largely thanks to some terrific form from Pippo Inzaghi, who has scored 8 goals in 4 games. Elsewhere, Materazzi returns in defence for Inter having come off the bench to score last week against Cagliari, and Milan are still without Paolo Maldini. It promises to be an amazing game with so much to play for, and will see the very best of Italian football on show
Italy's Euro 2008 strikersApril 20th 2008 21:54
As we reach the end of the season, and our attention turns towards Euro 2008, it is time to analyse who will be scoring the goals in the “Group of death” and beyond in the summer. Serie A has thrown up some magnificent telent that may not have been in the reckoning just two years ago – Marco Borriello, Amauri and Fabio Quagliarella notably, but with this there will be the inevitable absentees to allow for them, and some hard choices for Azzurri boss Roberto Donadoni.
Lets firstly look at the general set of players we are discussing
LinksApril 20th 2008 19:52
Hi people - just an annoucement to say that if you have a website on a Serie A team, then why not link to us, and we will link to you!!
Really Long Link
Toni in top formApril 20th 2008 11:12
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Luca Toni is on course to shape the Azzurri Euro 2008 campaign as he continues to impress all at Bayern Munich. Italians don't generally travel that well in Europe when it comes to new clubs, Lucarelli's spell at Shakhtar the latest example, but Toni has bucked that trend this season. Last night Toni added another two goals to his collection, including the extra-time winner for Bayern to overcome Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup 2-1. This brace takes his goal tally to a staggering 35 in 41 games for Bayern, something that bodes extrememly well for the Italian National team. He is likely also to win the League with Bayern, as they lead by 10 points, and they are still in the UEFA Cup
Fiorentina out to hold 4th spotApril 19th 2008 15:14
Fiorentina will be looking to improve their chances of securing fourth spot, and that highly lucrative Champions League position, by winning at home against the sicilians Palermo in the Saturday night game in Serie A. Pressure will be on as main rivals for this position, fifth place AC Milan, host Reggina on Sunday afternoon in what should be a safe 3 points for the Rossoneri.
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