Posts Tagged ‘Nicola Amoruso’

Torino 1-3 Lazio: Can Anyone Stop Mauro Zarate? (Serie A Matchday 5)

Sunday, September 28th, 2008

Without the shred of a doubt, the Serie A team which most benefited from their Summer 2008 make-over is Lazio. When the Biancocelesti win, they win big (their average is 2.6 goals/match at the moment). When they lose, they equally lose big. Delio Rossi does nothing by halves and today was no exception, as the three goals conceded by Torino demonstrated.

And speaking of goals, there’s someone at Lazio that has taken quite a knack at scoring them. Pre-season Serie A excitement (in goalscoring terms at least) revolved around the “usual suspects”: Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho, and Del Piero just to name a few. Well, with Zlatan keeping his counter low (2) and Ronnie & ADP yet to score in the domestic league, the topscoring charts are lead by one Mr. Mauro Zarate. With 6 goals in 5 matches (and plenty more to come), the ex-Velez striker (on-loan from Al-Sadd of Qatar) is the symbol of a rejuvenated Biancocelesti side, the surprise lone leaders of Serie A after matchday 5 (waiting for tonight’s AC Milan-Inter Milan derby).

(From Gazzetta dello Sport): Far from being impressed with the 4-point difference in the standings (or with Zarate & Carrizo’s pre-match declarations), Torino threw themselves forward with the clear intention of scoring goals today. Ignazio Abate in particular (back after his Beijing 2008 injury) was roaming free on the right wing, repeatedly pushing down the side and making Radu’s head spin in the process. On the receiving end of Abate’s crosses, Bianchi and Abbruscato provided a constant danger for the Lazio backline, but fortunately for the visiting team Juan Pablo Carrizo was keeping guard.

Then at the 30 minute mark, the match got flipped right on its head. Torino had until then, played better, yet the team taking the lead was Lazio: through on the left wing, Zarate’s run continued inside the box, where some good dribbling work attracted the attention of three Torino defenders. Eventually, the Argentine striker managed to poke the ball towards Goran Pandev, whose instep finish inside the left post left Matteo Sereni no chance. 1-0 Lazio.

A tough blow for Torino, but certainly not devastating. The Granata came back with guns blazing in order to immediately get the equalizer, and they almost did through Elvis Abbruscato just two minutes after the first goal, his chipped shot over Carrizo hitting the crossbar and going wide. Eugenio Corini was keeping busy as well, his trademark free-kicks providing assists for Saumel and Di Loreto’s headers (narrowly wide on both counts). Thus despite a good Torino display, Lazio finished the half in the lead.

In the second period however, the fire in the Granata hearts slowly seemed to lose vigor, all the while Lazio started to pick up momentum. Stefano Mauri had a golden chance to make it two in the 60th, hitting the post straight in front of Sereni, but it was eventually through Zarate (yet again) that Lazio doubled their lead. The Argentine striker obtained the ball 30 yards from goal, took a few steps, and slammed an outswinging blast straight into the top-right corner. Yes, goal-of-the-week stuff. Again!. 2-0 Lazio.

Two goals down, Gianni De Biasi decided to risk it all: Amoruso & Ventola entered the field for Corini & Abate, transforming Torino into a 4-striker formation. Was it enough?

Not really. The final 15 minutes were filled with excitement and highlights-reel moments, but essentially all in Lazio’s favor. First, goalkeeper Matteo Sereni got sent off for bringing down Brocchi inside the box, and since Torino had run out of substitutions goalkeeping duties were left in the hands (litterally) of Nicola Ventola. Little could he do to prevent Mauro Zarate from scoring goal nº6 in the Serie A, putting the Biancocelesti comfortably in the lead. 3-0 Lazio.

Minutes later, Torino were left with 9 men as Pratali earned a second yellow for a foul on Radu, at which point the referee also sent off manager De Biasi for excessive protests. And I guess the consolation goal scored by Nicola Amoruso (penalty kick for a foul of Lichsteiner on Dzemaili) changed very little in a very bad day for Torino, who in light of their next match vs. Udinese will have to do without two important players. Lazio meanwhile, can (at least for the moment) enjoy the view at the top of the Serie A. 3-1 the final score.

.

Torino F.C.
TORINO-LAZIO
1-3
[Match Highlights]
S.S. Lazio
GOALSCORERS: : 30′ Pandev (L), 63’, 83’ pen. Zarate (L), 92’ pen. Amoruso (T).
TORINO (4-3-2-1): Sereni – Colombo (72’ P.Zanetti), Di Loreto, Pratali, Rubin – Dezmaili, Corini (59’ Amoruso), Saumel – Abate (69’ Ventola), Abbruscato – Bianchi. Coach: De Biasi.
LAZIO (4-3-3): Carrizo – Lichsteiner, Siviglia, Cribari (23’ Rozenhal), Radu – Brocchi, Ledesma, Mauri (77’ Manfredini) – Foggia, Pandev (69’ Meghni), Zarate. Coach: D.Rossi.

.

Serie A Matchday 2 – Week-end Review + GOALS of the Week (2008-09)

Monday, September 15th, 2008

Week-End Reviews

After the Summer wait, Serie A continues. :) Here are the results and summaries for matchday 2. Full Video Highlights here.
.

Italy.TheOffside.com week 2 review

Italy.TheOffside.com

.

Italian Calcio Blog week 2 review

Italian Calcio Blog 2008-09

.

Gazzetta in English week 2 review

Gazzetta dello Sport

.

AC Milan‘s poor early-season form continued on Sunnday when they lost 2-0 at Genoa for their second consecutive defeat. Giuseppe Sculli struck in the first half and Diego Milito converted a stoppage-time penalty to leave Milan with no points in Serie A after they lost their opener 2-1 to promoted Bologna. The result increases the pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti following Milan’s disappointing 5th-place finish last season and an embarrassing 2-0 defeat at second-division Swiss side Lugano in a friendly on Wednesday.

Genoa 2-0 Milan Match Report (mCalcio)

.

Champions Inter Milan beat Catania 2-1 at home (thanks to two Sicilian own goals), while last year’s runners-up AS Roma lost 3-1 at Palermo on Saturday, despite taking the early lead.

Inter 2-1 Catania Match Report (mCalcio)

Palermo 3-1 Roma Match Report (mCalcio)

.

In the evening fixture later on Sunday, Juventus beat Udinese at home thanks to a goal by ex-Palermo striker Amauri.

Juventus 1-0 Udinese Match Report (mCalcio)

.

In other matches, Napoli came from behind to beat Fiorentina 2-1 thanks to second-half goals by Marek Hamsik and Christian Maggio after Adrian Mutu had put the visitors ahead four minutes before the break. The end stands of Napoli’s San Paolo stadium were closed and will remain shut for the next two home games as a penalty after violence marred their opening-day visit to Roma. The game was also one of three games considered high risk which away fans were banned from, along with Genoa-Milan and Saturday’s match between Inter and Catania at the San Siro.

Lazio are the early pacemakers in Serie A this year, courtesy of a 2-0 home win over Sampdoria secured with goals by Mauro Zarate and Goran Pandev. Atalanta also have a 100% win record from two games after Tiberio Guarente gave them a 1-0 victory at Bologna.

Finally, Lecce overcame Chievo at home thanks to goals by Caserta and Castillo, Reggina vs. Torino ended in a 1-1 draw (goals by Amoruso and a Di Loreto o.g.), while Siena went on to defeat Cagliari at home through Calaió and Ghezzal.

.

GOALS of the WEEKGOALS of the WEEK

Keeping true to our “more quality, less quantity” tradition (I change it when it suits me), here’s the candidates for goal of the week…
.

And the winner is… Giuseppe Sculli. Not so much because of the individual finish (a banal diagonal effort) but rather due to the orchestrated teamplay and action as a whole, in particular the gorgeous Milito chest-pass. Maldini and Favalli don’t know what hit them…


.

Results Summary

.

Serie A 2008-09
Matchday 2

.

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


.

Serie A Matchday 37 – Week-end Review + GOALS of the Week (2007-08)

Monday, May 12th, 2008

Week-End Reviews

Here are the results and summaries for matchday 37. Full Video Highlights here.

Italian Calcio Blog week 37 review

Italian Calcio Blog

Gazzetta in English week 37 review

Gazzetta dello Sport

MILAN, 11 May 2008 – Those who thought everything had already been decided were in for a surprise today: we will have to wait to the last round to know who wins the Scudetto this year. Inter were hoping to celebrate early, but drew 2-2 against Siena today, with Roma only one point behind then in the standings. Patrick Vieira opened the score, Massimo Maccarone drew and at the end of the first half, Mario Balotelli’s goal brought peace of mind back to Inter. In the second half however, Houssine Kharja evened the score and Marco Materazzi’s penalty kick was deflected by Alex Manninger, putting a damper in San Siro’s celebratory plans. For Roma however celebration was very much in order, because Panucci’s and De Rossi’s goals sufficed to win over Atalanta and keep Roman hope alive. The last 90 minutes of serie A will be decisive.

THE RACE FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – In the fight for a place in Europe’s top-flight competition Fiorentina moved ahead of Milan today, taking the fourth place in the standings. Facing against a struggling Parma side, La Viola went one goal down very early in the match (headed goal by Igor Budan), but Mario Santana replied for Fiorentina and Franco Semioli and Pablo Osvaldo followed suit. The Gialloblu will have to fight for survival next week, and they’ll have a very tough customer (Inter). On their part, AC Milan (in fourth place before today’s game after winning the derby last week), lost at Stadio San Paolo against a stunning Napoli side (goals from Marek Hamsik, Maurizio Domizzi and György Garics) before Clarence Seedorf scored the Rossoneri’s consolation goal. The Neapolitans move ahead of Genoa in the standings, who fell today in Marassi at the hands of a Lazio. Inspired by the return of Stefano Mauri, the Biancocelesti overcame the Rossoblu through their striking duo Pandev-Rocchi (1 goal each).

THE BATTLE AGAINST RELEGATION – The first veredict was signed today at the bottom of the standings: Livorno are down to Serie B. The Amaranto lost their last chance for survival in Serie A against Torino (goal from Alessandro Rosina) and bid farewell to Serie A one week before the end of the season. The Granata are safe, and so are Cagliari: the Sardinians (who looked somewhat lost up to only a few months ago) secured their stay in Serie A today, during the first ten minutes of the second half of their match vs. Udinese (goals by Robert Acquafresca and Andrea Cossu). Meanwhile, Marino’s Udinese fell behind Sampdoria in the standings, who won 2-0 in Palermo (goals from Antonio Cassano and Christian Maggio) in Amauri’s last match in front of his fans.

Reggina are also safe after winning the “tie breaker” against Empoli with goals from Edgar Barreto and Nicola Amoruso. The Tuscan side can still hope however, thanks to Juventus‘s draw against Catania (temporarily ahead with a goal from Jorge Martinez) with Alessandro Del Piero’s 19th goal of the season (who now join Trezeguet and Borriello in the ‘capocannonieri’ ranking of the league). We won’t know until next week which one of the three – Empoli, Parma and Catania – will join Livorno down to Serie B.

.

GOALS of the WEEKGOALS of the WEEK

Aside from all the Scudetto-related excitement of Inter-Siena game, the Fiorentina win over Parma, the AC Milan loss vs. Napoli (and so on and so forth), matchday 37 was also characterized by tons of awesome goals, and after last week’s scarce “weight-loss” menu this comes as a very welcome surprise. I’m not putting all of them here but feel free to check the others out for yourself. I recommend, in particular, Hamsik’s goal vs. Milan or Osvaldo’s tackled volley vs. Parma.

This week, the goal-of-the-week award goes to Edgar Barreto. Boy was this an important win for Reggina, who are now assured of remaining in Serie A another season, but check out the goal that opened the score for the Amaranto! That must have been (at least) a 35-yarder (scroll to minute 01:20):


.

Results Summary

.

Serie A – day 37
Fiorentina – Parma 3 – 1
Genoa – Lazio 0 - 2
Inter – Siena 2 - 2
Juventus – Catania 1 - 1
Livorno – Torino 0 - 1
Napoli – Milan 3 - 1
Palermo – Sampdoria 0 - 2
Reggina – Empoli 2 - 0
Roma – Atalanta 2 - 1
Udinese – Cagliari 0 - 2