Archive for November, 2008

Juventus 4-0 Reggina: Saint Bernards Needed in Turin… (Serie A Matchday 14)

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

There was one hell of a snowstorm in Northern Italy Saturday, and rescue operations are undergoing at Turin’s Stadio Olimpico. It seems that many Reggina players are still buried under the snow, something which down in Calabria they evidently don’t get to see a lot of. The same cannot be said for Juventus, who welcomed the powdery weather with open arms and proceeded to put an avalanche of goals past their Amaranto opponents.

The match was also particularly sweet for Alessandro Del Piero, who thanks to his 72nd minute penalty-kick achieved a total of 250 goals with Juventus. An historic milestone for the Bianconeri captain, and a great night for Juventus who after their 1-0 loss to Inter last week-end, get right back on track for the Scudetto race.

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Filippo Inzaghi sends Milan to the Next Round (UEFA Cup Group Stage, Matchday 3)

Friday, November 28th, 2008

After triple and double wins on Matchday 1 and Matchday 2, the Serie A wave of success came to an halt in the UEFA Cup Group Stage.

With Udinese taking a break this round, both AC Milan and Sampdoria couldn’t do better than 2-2 and 1-1 draws vs. Portsmouth and Stuttgart on Thursday. However, while the Blucerchiati’s future in Europe still remains uncertain, Milan mathematically achieved their ticket to the next round thanks to a dramatic last-minute come-back, courtesy of the one and only Pippo Inzaghi.

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Inter Milan 0-1 Panathinaikos: We Lost, We Qualified, We Got Booed… Inter’s Veni Vidi Vici (UEFA Champions League 2008-09)

Friday, November 28th, 2008

One certainly can’t say Jose Mourinho had not warned his players earlier this week. On paper, a home match to Panathinaikos seemed like an easy routine job for Inter, just the Portuguese manager’s concerns had a strong smell of pre-tactical (José-patented) “mindgames”.

Instead, those concerns were well-founded. This was indeed a tough match to handle for the Nerazzurri but what no one expected above all, was how inherently unmotivated and predictable the Milanese team played tonight. On the positive front for Mourinho, tonight’s tied game between Anorthosis and Werder Bremen effectively qualified Inter for the playoff round, but the Nerazzurri will have to wait matchday 6 to determine first-rank seeding business. And the ride to Germany promises to be a bumpy one.

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CFR Cluj 1-3 Roma: Giallorossi Back in the Driver Seat (UEFA Champions League 2008-09)

Thursday, November 27th, 2008

Roma seem to have taken a fondness for 3-1 wins lately. After Bordeaux and Chelsea, CFR Cluj was the third team Wednesday to fall to the hands of Spalletti’s boys in Europe, enabling the Giallorossi to take sole command of Group A with one match to go.

And indeed that last match against Bordeaux will be determining to seal Roma’s fate: a draw would ensure their mathematical qualification to the next round, but with the first spot of the group on the line, even better would be for them to win.

But speaking of Roma wins, now that is something no man with a sane mind would have bet on just a few weeks ago. Roma were losing match after match in the Serie A, and their 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge seemed like the final nail in the Champions League coffin, a campaign which had already started with the shocking 2-1 loss to Cluj on matchday 1 and could only seem to get worse. Or so we thought.

Instead Roma recovered, recuperated their captain Francesco Totti, and they are back. Alive & kickin’! And kicking is what they did today.

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Fiorentina 1-2 Lyon: End of the UCL Line for La Viola… (UEFA Champions League 2008-09)

Wednesday, November 26th, 2008

Less fancy playing, better defending, more cynical finishing. This will be Fiorentina‘s lesson tonight after their elimination from the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League. And it sounds like an awfully familiar one. The kind that spectacular but inexperienced teams are forced to learn, as indeed La Viola’s return to Europe’s top competition demonstrated. 8 years after their last appearance, Fiorentina’s adventure ends in the Group Stage.

As for Lyon, they proved that winning seven Ligue 1 titles in a row can be a useful experience. You know, for European cups and stuff.

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