Inter: record! Milan, Ronie is back
Sunday, 18 February 07, 11:07 AM
Inter 1 Cagliari 0 (Burdisso)
Empoli 1 AS Roma 0 (Pozzi)
Siena 3 AC Milan 4 (Ronaldo 0-1, Vergassola 1-1, Oliveira 1-2, Maccarone 2-2, Ronaldo 2-3, Maccarone 3-3, Ambrosini 3-4)
Burdisso, this is best year at Inter for Argentina defender
This is the last week without night matches, so teams that will play Champions League next Tuesda and Wednesday played all in advance this afternoon. With its 1-0 win to Cagliari (header of Burdisso after 12'), Inter broke all records with its 16th consecutive win in Serie A, and extended its lead to 14 points on AS Roma. A double face match, this afternoon: a good first half, with Luis Figo teaching football and Ibra 'big foot' giving a ball to Burdisso that the Argentinean defendere just needed to be pushed into Cagliari's goal. Second half wasn't really unforgettable, Inter thought too much about Valencia, and just kept the match under control. Cagliari went close to equalize just once, on the other side Stankovic hit the crossbar. So, now let's think about Valencia: it's a pity that an absurd decision kept people out of San Siro, except the holding season tickets ones.
It could have been a quiet Saturday, but forward Nicola Pozzi of Empoli gave with his beautiful goal a big help to Inter. The 1-0 win of Empoli is the biggest surprise of the day, in an empty stadium (the game was played behind closed doors). This is the real difference between the Nerazzurri and their opponents: Inter can start -and win- without Materazzi, Javier Zanetti, Vieira, Maxwell, Maicon, Adriano. AS Roma today field a formation without Chivu, Mexes, Taddei and Mancini: the Romans were unlucky, hit two goal posts but at the end they lost. Now Tuscans -we already talked about them here- are speeding along to Champions League qualifying. AS Roma just needs to forget about the defeat and think of Champions League and Lyon.
Just two points below Empoli we find AC Milan. The Rossoneri got 3 important points in Siena, and Ronaldo scored twice: the 1-0 goal with a header -not exactly his speciality- and Milan third goal after a slalom of Kakà, when he could just score from 3 metres. Surely Ancelotti had a good Ronaldo, we're not sure the Brazilian was of no use to Real and coach Capello. The problem, for AC Milan, is that he cannot play in Champions League, and for Glasgow also Gilardino probably won't be available. Be sure that it won't be easy at Celtic Park next Wednesday, but Milan has been the best Italian team in Europe during these years. A very good afternoon also for Siena forward Maccarone: Big Mac, back from England, scored twice but he couldn't avoid Siena's defeat.
Serie A Table:
Inter 63, AS Roma 49, Palermo 42, Empoli 35, AC Milan (-8) 33, Lazio (-3) 31, Catania 31, Atalanta 29, Udinese 29, Sampdoria 27, Fiorentina (-15) 25, Siena (-1) 25, Cagliari 23, Livorno 23, Torino 22, Reggina (-11) 19, Chievo 18, Messina 17, Parma 15, Ascoli 12.
Inter, Roma, Empoli, Milan, Siena, Palermo, Catania played 23 matches, all the others 22.
Empoli 1 AS Roma 0 (Pozzi)
Siena 3 AC Milan 4 (Ronaldo 0-1, Vergassola 1-1, Oliveira 1-2, Maccarone 2-2, Ronaldo 2-3, Maccarone 3-3, Ambrosini 3-4)
Burdisso, this is best year at Inter for Argentina defender
This is the last week without night matches, so teams that will play Champions League next Tuesda and Wednesday played all in advance this afternoon. With its 1-0 win to Cagliari (header of Burdisso after 12'), Inter broke all records with its 16th consecutive win in Serie A, and extended its lead to 14 points on AS Roma. A double face match, this afternoon: a good first half, with Luis Figo teaching football and Ibra 'big foot' giving a ball to Burdisso that the Argentinean defendere just needed to be pushed into Cagliari's goal. Second half wasn't really unforgettable, Inter thought too much about Valencia, and just kept the match under control. Cagliari went close to equalize just once, on the other side Stankovic hit the crossbar. So, now let's think about Valencia: it's a pity that an absurd decision kept people out of San Siro, except the holding season tickets ones.
It could have been a quiet Saturday, but forward Nicola Pozzi of Empoli gave with his beautiful goal a big help to Inter. The 1-0 win of Empoli is the biggest surprise of the day, in an empty stadium (the game was played behind closed doors). This is the real difference between the Nerazzurri and their opponents: Inter can start -and win- without Materazzi, Javier Zanetti, Vieira, Maxwell, Maicon, Adriano. AS Roma today field a formation without Chivu, Mexes, Taddei and Mancini: the Romans were unlucky, hit two goal posts but at the end they lost. Now Tuscans -we already talked about them here- are speeding along to Champions League qualifying. AS Roma just needs to forget about the defeat and think of Champions League and Lyon.
Just two points below Empoli we find AC Milan. The Rossoneri got 3 important points in Siena, and Ronaldo scored twice: the 1-0 goal with a header -not exactly his speciality- and Milan third goal after a slalom of Kakà, when he could just score from 3 metres. Surely Ancelotti had a good Ronaldo, we're not sure the Brazilian was of no use to Real and coach Capello. The problem, for AC Milan, is that he cannot play in Champions League, and for Glasgow also Gilardino probably won't be available. Be sure that it won't be easy at Celtic Park next Wednesday, but Milan has been the best Italian team in Europe during these years. A very good afternoon also for Siena forward Maccarone: Big Mac, back from England, scored twice but he couldn't avoid Siena's defeat.
Serie A Table:
Inter 63, AS Roma 49, Palermo 42, Empoli 35, AC Milan (-8) 33, Lazio (-3) 31, Catania 31, Atalanta 29, Udinese 29, Sampdoria 27, Fiorentina (-15) 25, Siena (-1) 25, Cagliari 23, Livorno 23, Torino 22, Reggina (-11) 19, Chievo 18, Messina 17, Parma 15, Ascoli 12.
Inter, Roma, Empoli, Milan, Siena, Palermo, Catania played 23 matches, all the others 22.
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Serie A: miracles in province
Monday, 12 February 07, 06:30 PM
Though this championship is -according to many observers- poorer than the last ones, we think that it’s not just a technical matter. Of course, everybody would love to have Juventus, Napoli, Genoa and Bologna in Serie A, as they mean more fans and more money. In terms of quality, the problem is that Inter is dominating, and some teams that could do very well have been penalized, but there are two small clubs that are surprising everybody for their performances.
The first one usually fights till the end to avoid relegation. Sometimes they got it, sometimes they had to take a white flag in their hands. This team is Reggina, and everybody before the beginning of the season said it had no chance. A fifteen points penalisation due to match fixing (then on December reduced to 11) on a weak team could have been lethal, but if Serie A finished now, Reggina would be safe from relegation. All this has one name: Rolando Bianchi. The 24 y.o. forward has broken all goal records for a player of the “Stretto” club.
Coming from youth academy of Atalanta (he was born close to Bergamo in 1983), Rolando failed with black and blue jersey (no goal scored), then he played at Cagliari in Serie B and again in Atalanta (but just one match for him). Before this season, he had scored only 3 goals in Serie A (also due to a long stop for a knee injury), now he has already scored 12. Only Totti is doing better. Will it last? We hope for him.
Empoli FC is the other “miracle” this year. Empoli, the quiet town in the surroundings of Firenze, well-known in Italy for artichokes and glass, now is famous for its football team as well. The 'Blues' won in Palermo yesterday, and now they’re fourth (a place that in Italy means Champions League Qualifying). One of the creators of this miracle is Gigi Cagni. The 56 y.o. coach, after notoriety in the 90’s in Piacenza and Verona, has been forgotten for a long time before president Corsi called him in 2005 to guide his team. Last season, the no-frills game of Cagni’s team, brought –after many teams’ penalization- Empoli to UEFA Cup qualifying, but it couldn't even play the Continental competition, as they didn’t have the UEFA licence.
Now, after the 1-0 win in Sicily with a goal of the only foreign player, Argentinean Sergio Almiròn, they achieved an extraordinary result. Are we going too far? Don’t think so, if you play 4-4-2 and the names are not Ronaldo or Ibra, but: Balli; Raggi, Lucchini, Pratali, Tosto; Almiròn, Moro, Buscé, Vannucchi; Matteini, Pozzi. Cagni said he’s happy about the match, but don’t ask him about Europe, he could look you askance…
The first one usually fights till the end to avoid relegation. Sometimes they got it, sometimes they had to take a white flag in their hands. This team is Reggina, and everybody before the beginning of the season said it had no chance. A fifteen points penalisation due to match fixing (then on December reduced to 11) on a weak team could have been lethal, but if Serie A finished now, Reggina would be safe from relegation. All this has one name: Rolando Bianchi. The 24 y.o. forward has broken all goal records for a player of the “Stretto” club.
Coming from youth academy of Atalanta (he was born close to Bergamo in 1983), Rolando failed with black and blue jersey (no goal scored), then he played at Cagliari in Serie B and again in Atalanta (but just one match for him). Before this season, he had scored only 3 goals in Serie A (also due to a long stop for a knee injury), now he has already scored 12. Only Totti is doing better. Will it last? We hope for him.
Empoli FC is the other “miracle” this year. Empoli, the quiet town in the surroundings of Firenze, well-known in Italy for artichokes and glass, now is famous for its football team as well. The 'Blues' won in Palermo yesterday, and now they’re fourth (a place that in Italy means Champions League Qualifying). One of the creators of this miracle is Gigi Cagni. The 56 y.o. coach, after notoriety in the 90’s in Piacenza and Verona, has been forgotten for a long time before president Corsi called him in 2005 to guide his team. Last season, the no-frills game of Cagni’s team, brought –after many teams’ penalization- Empoli to UEFA Cup qualifying, but it couldn't even play the Continental competition, as they didn’t have the UEFA licence.
Now, after the 1-0 win in Sicily with a goal of the only foreign player, Argentinean Sergio Almiròn, they achieved an extraordinary result. Are we going too far? Don’t think so, if you play 4-4-2 and the names are not Ronaldo or Ibra, but: Balli; Raggi, Lucchini, Pratali, Tosto; Almiròn, Moro, Buscé, Vannucchi; Matteini, Pozzi. Cagni said he’s happy about the match, but don’t ask him about Europe, he could look you askance…
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ANTI_MADRIDISTA said:Johny, that is completley wrong when you say that Robinho is the best player at...
US Commentary said:The US B team lost to the Argentinian A team, as most B teams from any country ...
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Gabriele
Roma, IT
Un posto diverso da Calciopoli, molto più bello!
On Wambach-Boxx-Lilly, and the US go to the semi-final!