That's Conference! #12

Not the players this time, but a systemic failure of officialdom at the Milan v Juventus game at the weekend. First, Sulley Muntari's header was adjudged not to have crossed the line. The referee appears to award it, but the lino has other ideas despite being in a great position:





Later in the game, was this the officials making up for their earlier blunder? Same lino incorrectly flagging Alessandro Matri offside. Bonus points for Matri making the prayer-hands gesture. "Mother of god, how could I be offside", he seemms to say in that wonderfully idiosyncratic Italian way:




That's Conference!

Goalkeepers yelling at defenders #2

Gianluigi Buffon:

Classic

Juventus

Turin-based Serie A side reliant on OAPs (see also del Piero, Alessandro) and floppy, blonde haired Eastern Europeans (see also Nedved, Pavel and Krasic, Milos).
Owned by Fiat and about as reliable. Nicknamed the Old Lady. Big massive cheats (see also Calciopoli)

Possibly the most mispronounced football club name in history (see also Keegan, Kevin)

Serie A Round 24: Inter Grab Derby victory as Juve flounder

Lazio 1-1 Torino
Napoli 1-1 Bologna
Atalanta 3-0 Roma
Cagliari 2-0 Lecce
Chievo 1-1 Catania
Genoa 3-3 Fiorentina
Inter 2-1 AC Milan
Juventus 1-1 Sampdoria
Reggina 0-0 Palermo
Siena 1-1 Udinese

A breathless Milan derby delivered on its billing as game of the week as Internazionale overcame their great rivals to extend their lead at the top of Serie A to 9 points. What was refreshing about this derby, in contrast to previous skirmishes between these two illustrious sides, was the level of respect shown between players - There were very few nasty tackles, incidences of play-acting or petulant behaviour which so blight 'big' premiership fixtures. In the end, Carlo Ancelloti's side were overcome by a more pragmatic, dynamic team in Jose Mourinho's Inter.

Inter took the lead midway through the first half when Adriano, who I have labelled in the past a waste of talent and oxygen, headed a Maicon cross onto his arm and past Abbiati. As an Inter fan I am freely admitting this goal should not have stood - the impact of ball on arm, however unintentional, crucially causes the ball to deviate goalwards and Abbiati, the only Rossoneri player to protest, has a right to feel aggrieved. He could do little about Inter's second, however, a consumate finish from Dejan Stankovic after the Serbian had missed a sitter earlier in the half. Milan, though competing throughout, failed to create anything of note in the first 45 but came out with renewed purpose in the second half. Alexandre Pato, the solitary youngster in an ageing side, duly obliged in pulling a goal back and Filipo Inzaghi, on for the ineffectual (and injured) David Beckham, had a goal correctly chalked off for offside before missing a gilt-edged chance to level late on.

For Milan, their ageing defence simply couldn't cope with the intensity and pace of Adriano and Ibrahimovic. Ronaldinho, shouldering the creative burden with Kaka out, had Esteban Cambiasso snapping at his heels the whole game and, while Pirlo and Pato were exceptional, in the end Mourinho's more counter-attacking, disciplined approach came out on top.

Juventus fell further behind the Nerazzuri after being held to a 1-1 draw by Sampdoria in a frustrating sunday afternoon in Turin. Gianpaolo Pazzini gave the visitors a first half lead only for Amauri to level with a brave header for his 12th of the season. Alessandro Del Piero struck the bar and then the post with the same free-kick and the Gobbini could not find a way through, further jeopardising their title chances.

Comeback of the week goes to Fiorentina, who came from three goals down to record a point in a pulsating match against Genoa at the Estadio Luigi Ferrari. The Grifone had raced into a seemingly unassailable lead through ex-Barcelona midfielder Thiago Motta, Raffaelle Palladino and Diego Milito (The Prince recording his 15th of the season) and even had time for Giuseppe Biava to be sent off in between. The viola looked dead and buried only for Mutu to record a hat-trick inside 20 second half minutes, his first from the penalty spot, to rescue a draw that keeps Cesare Prandelli's team a point ahead of Genoa in fourth.

Roma's great 2009 was brought to an abrupt halt by Gigi Del Neri's Atalanta - a tricky side at home as regular Euroballs readers will note - with a 3-0 hammering. All the goals came in a quick-fire second half spell during which Danielle Capelli fired home the first before Cristiano Doni, the veteran playmaker still doing the business at 35, showed skill and precision for a brace before Simone Perotta capped Luciano Spalleti's miserable afternoon by getting his marching orders from the referee.

Napoli were unable to capitalise on this slip-up by being held at home by Bologna. Marco Di Vaio hit his 16th of the season for the visitors after Christian Maggio had earlier put Napoli ahead, in a result that leaves Edy Reja's side in 10th, a far cry from their position at Christmas. Beneficiaries here were Cagliari, who moved to 7th following a 2-0 win over Lecce. Fini and Matri scoring either side of half time to condemn Lecce to a third straight loss and strengthen the Sardinian's European ambitions. Ambitions fading fast for Lazio as they were held at home by Torino; Udinese, who have stopped their rot, could not find their way past a stubborn Siena side even after Antonio Di Natale had grabbed an equaliser; And draws for Chievo and Reggina do little for their survival prospects. Its getting tight down at the bottom with 6 points seperating Sampdoria in 15th from Chievo in 19th.

Serie A Round 21 & 22

I took my eye off the ball this week and didn’t notice that there was midweek action in Serie A on Wednesday. The results were as follows:

Fiorentina 2 - 1 Napoli
Chievo 1 - 1 Lecce
Sampdoria 3 - 1 Lazio
Udinese 2 - 1 Juventus
Catania 0 - 2 Internazionale
Milan 1 - 1 Genoa
Atalanta 0 - 1 Bologna
Cagliari 1 - 0 Siena
Torino 0 - 0 Reggina
Roma 2 - 1 Palermo

Inter stretched their lead to 6 points after Juventus lost, and Milan’s draw with Genoa leaves them further off the pace. Roma have steamed into a UEFA cup spot and there was a vital win for Sampdoria. All of which means, round 22 shapes up like this:

Saturday Jan 31
17:00 Napoli v Udinese
19:30 Juventus v Cagliari

Sunday February
14:00 Atalanta v Catania
14:00 Bologna v Fiorentina
14:00Siena v Lecce
14:00 Genoa v Palermo
14:00 Reggina v Roma
14:00 Chievo v Sampdoria
14:00 Internazionale v Torino
19:30 Lazio v Milan

On Saturday, Napoli have the chance to get back to winning ways having only collected 3 points from a possible 15 recently. They will do so, however, against an Udinese team that beat Juventus on Wednesday to record their first win in 11 matches which has taken Pasquale Merino’s men back to the relative sanctuary of 12th.

Juventus were awful on Wednesday with Sebastian Giovinco copping the most flak, and he will most likely be replaced by Alessandro Del Pierro for their home clash with Cagliari. This will be no walkover for the Gobbini as the Sardinians are unbeaten in 2009 and have collected 10 from a possible 12 since the new year, with the strikers Jeda and Acquafresca in enviable form.

On Sunday two Jekyll-and-Hyde teams Atalanta and Catania, clash at the Azzuri d’Italia with just a point separating them. On their day, both these teams can beat the best but those afternoons do not come frequently enough – although Atalanta’s home form should tell in this case. Fiorentina visit Bologna looking to keep their European credentials intact, although the Rossoblu bounced back from their Milan beating last week to win at Atalanta to put 5 points between them and the drop zone. Siena and Lecce meet at the Artemio Franchi with the visitors desperate to pull away as well, while Reggina, in some trouble at the bottom, welcome Roma who are quite simply red hot, having taken 19 points from their previous 8 games.

Genoa, who are European contenders depending on whether Diego Milito scores, entertain Palermo and Chievo host Sampdoria. Jose Mourinho will be without Sulley Muntari and Adriano (both suspended) for the visit of Torino but only a miracle will enable Walter Novellino’s team to gain so much as a point. Rounding off the weekend Lazio host Milan, the visitors are unlikely to have David Beckham, as well as being without Maldini or Flamini. But with Lazio continuing to struggle after their brilliant start, the Rossoneri will still be confident of gaining three points from their trip to the capital.

Serie A Preview

Saturday January 17
17:00 Catania v Bologna
19:30 Milan v Fiorentina
Sunday January 18
14:00 Atalanta v Internazionale
14:00 Cagliari v Udinese
14:00 Siena v Reggina
14:00 Torino v Roma
14:00 Chievo v Napoli
14:00 Lecce v Genoa
14:00 Sampdoria v Palermo
19:30 Lazio v Juventus

There's some football going on this weekend amidst the tedious and frankly distasteful Manchester City pursuit of Kaka. The Brazilian should feature in AC Milan's match against Fiorentina in a game David Beckham is also slated to start. Two points seperate the hosts in third from the visitors in second, and two of the league's in-form strikers, Alexandre Pato and Alberto Gilardino will face off here. Gilardino has flourished since leaving the Rossoneri and will want badly to get one over on his former employers. If you've not already seen it, watch Pato's goals last weekend - in particular the way he strolls past Phillipe Mexes like he isn't there. Hilarious. Elsewhere on Saturday Siniša Mihajlović takes his Bologna team to Catania. Like or loathe him, the former Lazio and Inter man is unbeaten since he took over from Daniele Arrigoni, and he's inspired journeyman Marco Di Vaio to 13 goals, making him Serie A's top scorer.

On Sunday, Inter Milan face a tricky visit to Bergamo, against an Atalanta side who are notoriously good at home. Inter's nemesis last week, Robert Acquafresca (who they own) and his Cagliari side welcome Udinese who have been in free-fall since October - only a point seperates them. Siena will look to put some daylight between them and the bottom three by defeating second-bottom Reggina, Roma will accept nothing less than 3 points away at Torino while Napoli, who are enjoying a good season, visit bottom side Chievo. Genoa, who have a series of teams coveting their European spot, will hope to maintain it away at Lecce who have won twice at the Via Del Mare all season, Palermo visit Sampdoria with the home crowd desperate for improvement and finally, Lazio and Juventus face off at the Olimpico. In what way will Alessando Del Piero dominate this week? The veteran is in terrific form and is carrying his side, who have one of the best records away from home.