Archive for September, 2008

Bate Borisov 2-2 Juventus: Bianconeri Saved by Iaquinta, Close Shave in Minsk (UEFA Champions League 2008-09)

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

After Catania and Sampdoria in Serie A, Juventus obtained their third consecutive draw in less than a week, this time in the UEFA Champions League. And don’t be fooled by the name: if drawing against Bate Borisov (a Belarusian team at its European top competition debut) might seem like a bad result on paper, the Bianconeri can actually be quite thankful for the point they obtained in Minsk today.

Indeed, his team’s apocalyptic initial 30 minutes (Juve were down by two goals in the 23th) could have very well cost Claudio Ranieri his first defeat of the season, but fortunately Juventus’s reputation as the “team that never gives up” isn’t for nothing. Grabbing the match by the gonads, the Bianconeri held their head up high and managed to grab the equalizer before half-time, courtesy of two tallies by Vincenzo Iaquinta. Scary times in Minsk these days… must be the cold.

Juventus started this match, quite litterally, “horror-style“. Claudio Ranieri had decided to make a last-minute change to his “two-defensive-mids-wing-attack” formation, and inserted Sebastian Giovinco in lieu of Mauro Camoranesi (who moved to central midfield) on the right wing. What may seemingly have been a good move in terms of optimizing playmaking, actually turned out to be a logistics error of colossal proportions. The Bianconeri were spread too widely on the field, always outnumbered by their Bate opponents during ball possession, and without a defensive mid partner to aid him in the center, Momo Sissoko’s recuperation duties heavily suffered.

FC Bate on the other hand, exhibiting a dynamic 4-5-1 formation (with active & motivated players on the wings), immediately took advantage of Juve’s tactical problems. The first goal, arriving partly because of a Chiellini offside trap error and partly because of Legrottaglie’s injury (he’d have to be replaced by Dario Knezevic), was just the tip of the iceberg-disaster yet to come. exploiting a Dmitri Likhtarovich through ball, Bate’s nº10 Sergey Krivets escaped through on goal, dribbled past Manninger and deposited the ball into the empty net. 1-0 Bate. Juve supporters pinched themselves… were they dreaming?

Just 5 minutes later, the (bad) dream turned into a (horrible) nightmare, because the home team made it two. Cue assist nº2 for Likhtarovich, delivering a long cross from the left towards Igor Stasevich on the opposite post. Nedved (what was he doing defending?) missed the interception, and the Belarusian midfielder powered an accurate header towards the far post. Manninger didn’t even move. 2-0 Bate.

At this point, the psychological blow would have been too hard for an ordinary team to overcome. Not for Juve: it was time to put the “grinta” (fighting spirit) factor into the equation. Alex Del Piero sounded the charge (good free-kick attempt below the bar, saved by Veremko), shortly followed by Giovinco and Iaquinta: Super-Seba provided the passing, Vincenzo the finishing. First, a good cross by the Bianconeri youngster (receiving full marks for his first European performance tonight) found the header of the ex-Udinese striker. 2-1.

Fifteen minutes later, and in the last minute of stoppage time, Vincenzo made it two. Another good run and pass by Giovinco was well-finalized by Iaquinta, sending the ball between the keeper’s legs to tie the game. 2-2. Juve supporters now breathing again.

At the restart, Ranieri fixed the central midfield leak by replacing Camoranesi with Claudio Marchisio. Juventus turned to their usual wing-attack formation, coupled with the odd percussion of Sissoko (more and more reminiscent of Patrick Vieira) down the center, but it was still Bate giving Manninger scares. Such as in minute 55, when Aleksandr Volodko was litterally given a “rolling penalty-kick” opportunity, but incredibly ballooned his shot over the bar.

It was however the last scare of the night for the Bianconeri, who picked up the pace and took control of the proceedings. Del Piero‘s contribution growed exponentially, with the Juve captain coming close to the left (chipped acrobatic shot over the goalkeeper) and then the right post (diagonal left-footed effort after a 1-2 pass with Giovinco, wide). It was essentially the last highlight of the game, which even saw the appearance of Amauri (on for Iaquinta) in the final minutes.

In the end, as the Bate supporters celebrated their first point in the UEFA Champions League, Ranieri can be moderately satisfied with the outcome. Sure, Real Madrid went to beat FC Zenit 2-1 in the other game (and now count 6 points over Juve’s 4 in the group), but there’s still plenty of matches left in Group H. Huh? Just four you say?

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 FC BATE Borisov
BATE-JUVENTUS
2-2
[Match Highlights]
Juventus F.C.
GOALSCORERS: 17’ Kryvets (B), 23’ Stasevich (B), 29’, 45’ Iaquinta (J).
BATE BORISOV (4-5-1): Veremko – Kazantsev, Sosnovski, Rzhevski, Yurevich – Likhtarovich (70’ Sivakov), Volodko, Kryvets, Stasevich, Nekhaychik (86’ Mirchev) – Rodionov (92’ Pecha). (bench: Gutor, Bliznyuk, Skavysh, Sakharov). Coach: Goncharenko.
JUVENTUS (4-4-2): Manninger – Grygera, Legrottaglie (18′ Knezevic), Chiellini, De Ceglie – Giovinco, Camoranesi (46’ Marchisio), Sissoko, Nedved – Del Piero, Iaquinta (81’ Amauri). (bench: Chimenti, Salihamidzic, Molinaro, Marchionni). Coach: Ranieri.

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Fiorentina 0-0 Steaua Bucharest: Viola Hit A Romanian Wall (UEFA Champions League 2008-09)

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Second consecutive draw for Fiorentina in the UEFA Champions League. The Viola could not do better than a 0-0 result on Tuesday, blocked by a tough & well-organized Steaua Bucharest side, surprising not only in their disciplined defensive organization but also with their fair share of technical players (above all, António Semedo, Banel Nicolita, and Dayro Moreno).

And so, not even the free-kicks of Adrian Mutu and the pouncing shots of Alberto Gilardino were enough, as Cesare Prandelli’s boys had to settle for a draw. In light of the other match’s result from group F however (Bayern 1-1 Lyon), grabbing a point shouldn’t be considered all that bad. In other words, the glass is half full for Fiorentina… for now.

(From KwSport): Prandelli’s main plan for tonight, relied on the experience of Alessandro Gamberini and Juan Manuel Vargas at the back, the creativity of Sergio Almiron & Mario Santana in midfield, and the finishing of Mutu / Gilardino up front. On the other end however, Steaua manager Marius Lacatus (who even spent a season in Tuscany back in 1990-91) had installed a very thick & effective central dam, populated by the likes of Mirel Radoi & Florin Lovin in midfield and completed by the tall & powerful Dorin Goian and Sorin Ghionea at the back. In addition, the Viola coach soon had to find a solution to the Antonio Semedo problem on the right wing. Indeed, the Portuguese winger very rapidly became Martin Jorgensen’s nightmare, constantly beating the Danish wing-back on the run and creating all sorts of problems to the Viola backline.

Thus with the path down the middle being thoroughly guarded, and the wings not being much effective either, Fiorentina were forced to operate on speed coupled with the long-ball tactic. Not exactly the home special in Casa Viola: except for a few shots (very wide) by Mutu, the first half ended without major excitement. 0-0 HT.

In the second period, Prandelli patched up his right side by inserting Luciano Zauri for Jorgensen, which had its effects almost immediately. Semedo was neutralized, remained the creativity problem. And in that area unfortunately, the Steaua iron defense continued to get the upper hand, and this despite the increasingly greater Viola ball possession. Thus, remained the long-range solution, at which point Adrian Mutu‘s ballistic skills were called into action. His 66th minute free-kick on the outside part of the post was essentially the biggest chance of the night, even though Mutu repeated himself 10 minutes later and headed the side netting, after a good Kuzmanovic cross.

Definitely not enough to deserve three points today, especially if one considers the series of super-saves Sebastien Frey had to provide, on the several Steaua counter-attacks that landed inside the Fiorentina box. His 78th and 79th minute saves on Semedo (low short-range effort) and Szekely (long-range blast) were nothing short of miraculous, as the entire Artemio Franchi held their breath at the possible hold-up goal.

Bottom line: there are still 4 matches left and today’s draw can’t be considered all that bad, but Fiorentina’s job in group F just got a little harder. The next double header vs. Bayern Munich (currently top of the group with 4 points) will undoubtedly be decisive for La Viola’s fate in the UCL.

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 ACF Fiorentina
FIORENTINA-STEAUA
0-0
[Match Highlights]
 FC Steaua Bucureşti
GOALSCORERS: 1′, 42′ Gilardino (F), 73’ Piquionne (L), 86’ Benzema (L).
FIORENTINA (4-3-3): Frey – Jorgensen (46’ Zauri), Gamberini , Dainelli, Vargas – Montolivo (81’ Pazzini), Felipe Melo, Almirón (74’ Kuzmanovic) – Santana, Mutu, Gilardino. (bench: Storari, Kroldrup, Donadel, Osvaldo). Coach: Prandelli.
STEAUA BUCHAREST (4-4-1-1): Zapata – Ogararu, Goian, Ghionea, Marin – Nicolita, Radoi, Lovin, Semedo (93’ Kapetanos) – Moreno (93’ Tiago Gomes) – Stancu (77’ Szekely). (Cernea, Baciu, Golanski, Toja). Coach: Lacatus.

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Italian Players Around the World (29/09)

Monday, September 29th, 2008

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Our weekly Italian Players Around the World segment is back!!

Inspired by Gazzetta dello Sport, here are the performances of all Italian soccer players operating in foreign European leagues (top divisions only). There are currently 31 Italians playing in first divisions abroad, and 18 of them stepped on the field this week-end.

The table below includes the team of the player, their opponents for this week, the time in minutes they played, their match contribution in goal(s) or assist(s), and the final score of the game.

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ENGLAND
Player Team Opp.
Time
Contrib.
Score
Carlo Cudicini Chelsea @Stoke
/
/
2-0
David Di Michele West Ham @Fulham
74
/
2-1
Andrea Dossena Liverpool @Everton
90
/
2-0
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SCOTLAND
Massimo Donati Celtic Aberdeen
(bench)
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3-2
Manuel Pascali Kilmarnock @Inverness
90
/
1-3
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GERMANY
Andrea Barzagli Wolfsburg @Karlsruhe
90
/
1-2
Cristian Zaccardo Wolfsburg @Karlsruhe
(bench)
/
1-2
Massimo Oddo Bayern M. @Hannover
76
/
0-1
Luca Toni Bayern M. @Hannover
90
/
0-1
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SPAIN
Fabio Cannavaro Real Madrid @Betis
90
/
2-0
Enzo Maresca Sevilla @Atl. Madrid
90
/
1-0
Emiliano Moretti Valencia Deportivo
90
/
4-2
Giuseppe Rossi Villareal @Sp. Gijon
45
1 GOAL
1-0
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FRANCE
Fabio Grosso Lyon Nancy
(injd.)
/
2-1
Elia Legati Monaco Lille
/
/
0-2
Flavio Roma Monaco Lille
(bench)
/
0-2
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HOLLAND
Graziano Pellè AZ Alkmaar @Willem II
15
/
4-2
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BELGIUM
Francesco Migliore Mons Roeselare
/
/
2-0
Roberto Mirri Mons Roeselare
90
/
2-0
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SWITZERLAND
Andrea Guatelli FC Zürich N. Xamax
90
/
3-0
Davide Belotti Bellinzona Grasshoppers
/
/
1-1
Lorenzo Bucchi Bellinzona Grasshoppers
90
/
1-1
Paolo Carbone Bellinzona Grasshoppers
/
/
1-1
Andrea Conti Bellinzona Grasshoppers
/
/
1-1
Alessio Ferrazza Bellinzona Grasshoppers
/
/
1-1
Matteo Gritti Bellinzona Grasshoppers
(bench)
/
1-1
Iacopo La Rocca Bellinzona Grasshoppers
90
/
1-1
Giuseppe Miccolis Bellinzona Grasshoppers
(bench)
/
1-1
Angelo Raso Bellinzona Grasshoppers
90
/
1-1
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TURKEY
Morgan De Sanctis Galatasaray Konyaspor
90
/
4-1
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RUSSIA
Ivan Pelizzoli Lok. Moscow Zenit
90
/
0-3

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Heroes of the week

In week 1, we first went to Spain (to see Maresca at Sánchez Pizjuán) and then Germany (to meet Toni at Allianz Arena). Then in week 2, we passed by England to say hello to Di Michele at Upton Park. This week we’re back to Spain, and are glad to note Maresca has established a firm presence in the Sevilla midfield, while Rossi celebrated his return from injury in the best possible way: with a goal…

Giuseppe Rossi, age 21It’s been over a month Giuseppe Rossi‘s had to sit out of active duty. Technically he had already recovered last week, but Villareal coach Manuel Pellegrini preferred not to risk his talented youngster just yet. This week however, the Yellow Submarine was travelling to Sporting Gijón, a team which in three consecutive matches managed to concede as much as 17 goals against Sevilla, Barcelona, and Real Madrid. Not exactly easy matches, but… wow. What better cannon fodder for Rossi to get his feet wet again right?

And indeed he did get them wet. Coming on for Nihat in the second half, it took the ex-Man Utd striker only 19 minutes to score the match-winning-goal, a powerful right-footed shot following a mis-cleared corner-kick. What else to say than… ¡Viva Joe Red!

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Enzo Maresca, age 28And while we’re on the Spain subject, our good buddy Enzo Maresca is doing really good at Sevilla lately. Scoring a goal and an assist in week 1, he litterally dominated the Sevilla midfield against Atletico Madrid this week, as the Rojiblancos went on to beat the Colchoneros 1-0 at Vicente Calderon. Take that, Mr. Sergio Aguëro!

Finally, it was definitely not a good day for our German ex-pats: Luca Toni and Massimo Oddo both lost at Hannover, while Andrea Barzagli‘s solid (really?) performance was not enough to prevent Wolfsburg’s defeat at Karlsruhe. Cristian Zaccardo was left on the bench the entire game.

Serie A Matchday 5 – Week-End Review + GOALS of the Week (2008-09)

Monday, September 29th, 2008

Week-End Reviews

Sure was a busy week-end in Serie A this week. The Derby della Madonnina may not have provided a lot of goals, but excitement definitely wasn’t absent from San Siro on Sunday.

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Italy.TheOffside.com week 5 review

Italy.TheOffside.com

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Italian Calcio Blog week 5 review

Italian Calcio Blog 2008-09

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Gazzetta in English week 5 review

Gazzetta dello Sport

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Serie A started with Bianconeri and Viola involved on Saturday, on account of their mid-week commitments in the UEFA Champions League (against Bate and Steaua respectively). And while Fiorentina went on to beat Genoa 1-0 (thanks to yet another goal by Alberto Gilardino), Juventus was held to a 0-0 draw at Sampdoria. Not the best motivational result for Claudio Ranieri’s boys…

Fiorentina 1-0 Genoa Match Report (mCalcio)

Sampdoria 0-0 Juventus Match Report (mCalcio)

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On Sunday, the big hero of the Serie A afternoon was Argentine forward Mauro Zarate, who scored twice and set up another goal to help Lazio beat Torino 3-1 Sunday (and assert itself as a serious challenger to Inter Milan atop the Italian league standings). Zarate drew three defenders toward him and passed to Goran Pandev for the opening goal in the 30th minute, then scored in the 63rd with a powerful, curling shot before adding a penalty in the 84th. Nicola Amoruso pulled one back for Torino with a penalty in added time.

With its fourth win in five rounds, Lazio took a two-point lead on Inter ahead of the Milan derby later Sunday, leading the Serie A with 21 points. Napoli, who beat Bologna 1-0, is next with 11 points while Inter, Udinese and Catania are tied with 10 each.

Torino 1-3 Lazio Match Report (mCalcio)

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Of course, the biggest attention on Sunday was pointed toward Stadio Giuseppe Meazza “San Siro” in Milan, which hosted the 171st edition of the famous AC Milan vs. Inter Milan match. The great victors of the night were the Rossoneri and in particular a certain Ronaldinho Gaucho, who thanks to his first half header gave Carlo Ancelotti his first derby win of the season (and also José Mourinho’s first loss in the Serie A).

Milan 1-0 Inter Match Report (mCalcio)

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In other matches, Fabio Quagliarella scored one and set up another goal as Udinese beat Siena 2-1, and Michele Paolucci found the net for Catania in a 1-0 win over Chievo. Roma beat Atalanta 2-0 for only its second win, with goals from Christian Panucci and Mirko Vucinic as captain Francesco Totti again sat out. Also, Fabrizio Miccoli scored his fourth goal of the season as Palermo beat Reggina 1-0, and Lecce had goals from Guillermo Giacomazzi and Jose Castillo in a 2-0 win over last-place Cagliari.

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GOALS of the WEEKGOALS of the WEEK

Nothing particularly extraordinary this week, with the exception of two very nice top-corner howitzers. Mauro Zarate is appearing quite regularly in this segment lately…
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And the winner is… Guillermo Giacomazzi. You just gotta love it when someone blasts it into the top corner from 30 yards, and as far as this week goes, Giacomazzi’s was better than Zarate’s.
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Serie A 2008-09
Matchday 5

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UC Sampdoria
Sampdoria
0-0
Juventus
Juventus FC
ACF Fiorentina
Fiorentina
1-0
Genoa
Genoa CFC
Udinese Calcio
Udinese
2-1
Siena
AC Siena
AS Roma
Roma
2-0
Atalanta
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio
US Lecce
Lecce
2-0
Cagliari
Cagliari Calcio
Bologna FC 1909
Bologna
0-1
Napoli
SSC Napoli
Torino FC
Torino
1-3
Lazio
SS Lazio Roma
US Città di Palermo
Palermo
1-0
Reggina
Reggina Calcio
Calcio Catania
Catania
1-0
Chievo
AC Chievo Verona
AC Milan
Milan
1-0
Inter
FC Internazionale Milano


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AC Milan 1-0 Inter Milan: And Then Came Ronaldinho’s R10 Day… (Serie A Matchday 5)

Monday, September 29th, 2008

Or should I say… R80? Either way ladies & gentlemen, Ronaldinho could not have picked a better day to score the first Serie A goal of his AC Milan career. With the first edition of 2008-09′s “Derby della Madonnina“, the Rossoneri have struck a big blow to Inter and José Mourinho’s big “confidence plan”. No doubt the Portuguese manager will find the right words to re-motivate his team soon enough, but losing the Milan derby is never an easy thing to swallow. Even for ‘Special Ones’…

As for Ronaldinho, well… everyone was expecting his first goal, one he had promised to the Milan faithful before the match. And Ronnie delivered. Launching Kaká on the right wing, and then patiently waiting for the return cross… sailing high over Esteban Cambiasso and heading the ball with fury. Not exactly the kind of goal you’d expect from Mr. “crossbar challenge”, but what a vital goal nonetheless. Followed by the inevitable & traditional R10 Samba jig, and the Brazilian’s contagious smile, grinning below la curva rossonera. Boa vinda Ronaldinho!.

(From Gazzetta dello Sport): Fans of Inter Milan is San Siro’s Curva Nord proudly presented a “Ladies and Gentlemen… this evening Milan is pleased to present to you…” banner before the match. A great idea to celebrate the derby, but only for AC Milan. And that’s how it happened – Milan were pleased to present Ronaldinho’s first goal in Italy from an all-Brazilian move. A fiery derby, with the sending-off of Burdisso and (from the bench) Materazzi. The Rossoneri deserved their success because they worked harder for it – they were more organised, and willing to make the necessary sacrifices.

The clash of two strong forces: the light cavalry of Milan against the heavy one of Inter. Kaká-Ronaldinho-Pato against Mancini-Ibrahimovic-Quaresma. The resourcefulness of Carlo Ancelotti (who confirmed his pre-match starting line-up) against the shrewdness of Jose Mourinho (who at the last minute decided to switch Cordoba with Burdisso).

The first surge of the match came from the Rossoneri, and it was a declaration of war. A nice, rapid passing exchange between Pato and Kaká put the AC Milan nº22 in good position to cross, but Julio Cesar intercepted. Mancini replied 3 minutes later with a low shot past Abbiati’s post. In other words: the game was on!

Milan was all about pace, while Inter tried to suffocate the opposition with tight pressure & marking. The current Serie A champions have already burned the José-playing style deep into their skin: ball possession and a tendency to put the game to sleep, to then make a lethal strike when least expected. The kind you saw in minute 11, a fast exchange and touch to Ibrahimovic on the right kept out by Abbiati’s foot. As for Milan, their propensity to attack put Zambrotta in a good position to shoot in the 14th: his 30m shot was high, but only slightly.

At this point, Inter were givung the impression of being more of a team: authoritative and authoritarian when necessary, especially with the deep runs of Maicon down the right flank. The Brazilian wing-back provided a spark in the sometimes overly complicated play of the Nerazzurri, not shying away from the odd long-distance shot (such as in minute 24, hitting the side-netting).

The first real chance of the game however, came after 26 minutes for Ronaldinho: exploiting a Kaká back-pass Dinho’s rotating volley was perfect, but a huge deflection from Julio Cesar kept the ball from hitting the inside of the post. An indication that Milan had picked up the pace, and that Inter needed to match speeds. Ibrahimovic responded, making Abbiati’s hands sting in the 35th, but it was shot that lacked the full Zlatan-power, the Swedish striker being asphyxiating by his close Rossoneri man-marking.

In minute 36, finally the deliverance. Served by Ronaldinho, Kaká (perhaps in offside position) found a way through on the right and invited his Brazilian buddy to dance. R80 did not need to be asked twice: spreading his wings and rising above Cambiasso, Ronnie slotted his header out of Julio Cesar’s reach and into the top-right corner. Samba-time at the San Siro, and 1-0 Milan.

Inter got angry, put their heads down and charged. The Rossoneri closed up like a clam, shutting down spaces and doubling the marking, not ignoring the opportunity to counterattacking however. The Nerazzurri pushed forward but they had to reckon with a gritty AC Milan side that was workmanlike when necessary, without sparing anyone; Ronaldinho and Pato included. It was the recurring theme of the second half as well, in which Milan played with an attitude in line with the scoreline: cautious defence and assertive counterattack that put Inter’s rearguard under pressure.

With about 30 minutes to go, Mourinho decided to play the all-out-attack card: exit Materazzi & Mancini, enter Julio Cruz & Adriano. Inter switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation that saw Javier Zanetti move back to defence, but the more convincing team still remained AC Milan, making the most of their fine all-Brazilian evening up front. Losing their shape and coordination, instinct took over for the Nerazzurri, such as in minute 72 when Ibrahimovic found some space in the middle but sent his low shot wide. Ancelotti noticed that he needed to add some muscle between the defence and the midfield, so Pato left to make room for Mathieu Flamini.

The Milan box siege (which highlighted the covering & defensive qualities of Massimo Ambrosini), turned into a double-edged sword for the Nerazzurri, because with 15 minutes to go yet another counterattack forced Nicolas Burdisso to upend Kaká in the middle of the field. The center-back had already been booked, which meant Inter were now down to ten men. Nerves started to flare amongst Inter ranks: Materazzi was sent off from the bench for protesting with the fourth official, while Stankovic (on for Vieira) came close to another red card for an ugly challenge on Kaká.

In the final minutes, Andriy Shevchenko (on for Ronaldinho) had the opportunity to show he’s still miles away from his golden-days-self, but nonetheless had a good shot on target that only Julio Cesar’s attentive reflexes kept out of the goal. The final moments saw an Adriano header (well served by Maicon) from point-blank range finish inches wide of the left post, the last chance for Inter in a now lost derby. The referee’s final whistle added itself to San Siro’s samba beats: it was most definitely Ronaldinho’s day.

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 AC Milan
MILAN-INTER
1-0
[Match Highlights]
F.C. Internazionale Milano
GOALSCORERS: 37’ Ronaldinho (M).
MILAN (4-3-2-1): Abbiati – Zambrotta, Maldini, Kaladze, Jankulovski – Gattuso (88’ Bonera), Seedorf, Ambrosini – Kaká, Ronaldinho (84’ Shevchenko) – Pato (73’ Flamini). (bench: Dida, Cardacio, Antonini, Emerson). Coach: Ancelotti.
INTER (4-3-3): Julio Cesar – Maicon, Burdisso, Materazzi (59’ Cruz), Chivu – Vieira (80’ Stankovic), Cambiasso, J.Zanetti – Mancini (59’ Adriano), Ibrahimovic, Quaresma. (bench: Toldo, Córdoba, Rivas, Balotelli). Coach: Mourinho.

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