Archive for November, 2008

Italian Players Around the World (17/11)

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

.
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 32 Italians playing in first divisions abroad, and 17 of them stepped on the field this week-end.

(more…)

Serie A Matchday 12 – Week-End Review + GOALS of the Week (2008-09)

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

Week-End Reviews

(more…)

Roma 1-0 Lazio: Light at the End of the Giallorossi Tunnel? (Serie A Matchday 12)

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Derbies are always fun. No matter what the teams’ ranking, no one wants to lose them and there’s a big entertainment factor involved. For Roma however, winning this week-end’s edition of the Derby della Capitale was oh so… capital. Effectively, Julio Baptista 50th minute header brought an end to a 5-game winless streak for the Giallorossi, and offers hope to end a results crisis that Totti & friends have been dealing with for quite some time now.

As for Lazio, Delio Rossi’s squad put an end to a three-match winning streak, but did so by losing with dignity. Despite playing with one man down (after Ledesma’s red card in the 66th), the Biancocelesti held tight all the way till the end.

(more…)

Palermo 0-2 Inter Milan: Zlatan Power, Express Delivery (Serie A Matchday 12)

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

José keeps his promises. On the match eve, Mourinho had said “Juve will only stay on top until Saturday evening”. Said & done, Inter Milan won 2-0 courtesy of one Mr. Ibrahimovic: Zlatan was in stunning form tonight, and apparently he’s been also practicing his free-kicks (his second goal was clocked at 124 km/h!).

As for Palermo, Ballardini’s team held their own for about 45 minutes, i.e. for as long as stamina allowed them to keep pressing high. In the second half, an early goal and a mental collapse meant the end for the Rosanero.

(more…)

Juventus 4-1 Genoa: Bianconeri On Top of the Serie A Mountain Again (Serie A Matchday 12)

Friday, November 14th, 2008

915 days, aka two years and a half since May 14, 2006: that’s how long Juventus had to wait to breathe top-ranking air in the Serie A again. Granted, it’s an ex-aequo lead for now, and too bad if those sharing 1st place with the Bianconeri are eternal rivals Inter Milan (set to clash at San Siro on November 22). This, and Juve’s seventh consecutive win (the fifth in Serie A) must sure feel good for Claudio Ranieri, who not even one month ago was seriously linked with the backside of the president’s boot.

On Thursday (for Serie A’s early matchday 12 encounter) Juve’s victims were Genoa, beaten with a (perhaps too) severe score of 4-1, goals courtesy of Grygera, Amauri, Iaquinta, and an own goal by Papastathopoulos. Genoa played well in the first half despite ending 2-0 down, but their wastefulness in front of Alex Manninger’s goal cost them dearly: after the break the Rossoblu lost whatever grip they had, worn down by the combativeness of an omnipresent Giorgio Chiellini and the talent of the ever-present Alessandro Del Piero (who may have not put his name on the scorers, but was capital in pulling the strings of well-directed passes for his teammates). Diego Milito saved face for the visitors, thanks to a penalty shot after a Legrottaglie handball.

(more…)