Sometimes in football, like in this match, the most incomprehensible things occur; the littlest player on the field (Ivan de la Pena) comes through with an unlikely header, unmarked and unchallenged, and then he adds to the tally with a monumental gift by Victor Valdez chipping it over the keeper after receving a wayward clearance from the same character. Bottom beats top, left is right, and suddenly we’re back into the mix, an escape from relegation a certainty?

Now, people on the other side of town (mostly cules) are going to downplay the loss, blame the ref or a subpar performance before a Champions League match midweek against Lyon looming. Xavi himself said that the ref took over the game, listened to the protestations of the Espanyol players, pulling out the red card, and awarded the “pessimism” of Espanyol to get in the way of the beautiful football that they were “dominating” with.

What a load of rubbish. They have no inherant right to beat all comers just because they can play neat pretty triangles on the pitch. Sometimes they need to fight. It was a chippy game from the get-go, a true derby match (emotional and heated) and Barca were giving just as much as they were getting. The cards were even throughout on the field (6 apiece) with one weird yellow going to the Barcelona bench for dissent. The red card didn’t look all that bad at first glance, but in slow motion you could see studs up in the lead foot for Keita and the trailing foot hitting the Espanyol player. There’ll be complaints, but it was a fair call, especially considering we lost a similar call in the corresponding fixture at the beginning of the year at the Montjuic; a game that threw us into a death spiral and humiliated us in front of the league. Karma. ‘Nuff Said.

I said we’d be lucky to get 3 points out of the matches against Sevilla, Barca, Real Madrid and Villareal, anything else in the next two is gravy I think.

This week on Forza Futbol Mando and Hannah review the latest from Serie A and La Liga. We also discuss this weeks UEFA Cup action. Get the whole episode here, direct download here or subscribe in iTunes. Check out ForzaFutbol.com!

AC Milan's David Beckham reacts against Reggina during their 1-1 draw 07/02/09 (by Reuters) I went to McDonalds today for my morning coffee and sitting down with the local newspaper was hoping to read in the sports section about the world's biggest derby happening this weekend. I was however greeted instead with continued news on, 'Beckham won't be staying in Milan' as LA Galaxy president Tim Leiweke closes transfer talks.

The article release was of course a knee-jerk reaction on the part of a North American daily lacking in European football expertise, and relying instead on wire services for page fill, when a derby story line would have been more entertaining. Susy Campanale of Channel4 Football Italia had the better angle on all of this with her 'Going Beck-wards' story, as Becks and company will have their focus on tomorrow's Derby della Madonnina.

For the moment, Galaxy handlers have to settle down and wait it out until after the Milan derby for the serious offers to come through as this story ain't over by a longshot. It does Major League Soccer and LA Galaxy no good in attempting to force a settlement right now but when an offer does come through for consideration, I'm sure Beckham will probably have to give up some of his own bobbles to make it all happen.

It's clear Milan won't pay the Galaxy their total asking price during this financial crisis, as both parties have taken a hard line with the "it's business only" approach and that is reasonable. Contrary to earlier comments made by Beckham as he expressed his desire to stay at Milan, this will not be left up to clubs and lawyers but to David Beckham. If Beckham wants to make this move complete ultimately he will have to help make the financial settlement which will enable that final transition away from the Galaxy.

How troubling is all this to Diavolo fans?

How troubling is all this to Diavolo fans who are now warming to the Englishman and more importantly, how troubling to his new teammates? It was after all, only days prior the club was dealing with reports of a mythical offer by Manchester City, for their star playmaker and favorite son Kaka. That bit of reporting might just have disrupted some very important domestic league matches with all the attention creating unwanted tension in the dressing room. Now, this weekend, there are even higher stakes to consider when the Milan city derby takes center stage. As It is highly unlikely Kaka will play due to injury, Beckham becomes an even more important option to a Milan lineup short in the midfield.

Inter versus Milan is one of the biggest games in European football. I've been looking forward to this and what else Serie A will have to offer in the coming month. With 85,000 cheering tifosi at the San Siro the Milan derby has a unique atmosphere found in only a few other venues.

When Inter and AC Milan meet tomorrow it will be the 270th encounter between the two city rivals a long way from that first encounter of 1908. Over the years there has been a repeated struggle for dominance by one club over the other yet the overall head to head results are still split fairly equally with the slightest of advantage to AC Milan with a record of 106 wins, 72 draws and 91 loses to Internazionale.

This time round Mourinho and crew are definitely looking for satifaction after losing this season's opener 0-1 to a Ronaldinho finish as Inter defenders Burdisso and Materazzi would both receive red cards later on in that encounter. Inter atop Serie A look to be the stronger side for the moment and much is at stake as the race for the scudetto could hinge on the outcome tomorrow. The current leaders have an 7 point advantage over second place Juventus but with AC Milan only a point behind Juventus, another loss to Inter's city rivals would be like losing an addition 6 points.

Don't miss any of the Derby della Madonnina action, starting Sunday February 15th at 2:30 pm EST

By Kevin Walker

ForzaFutbol.com 

A Bologna icon Giacomo Bulgarelli has passed away, he was 68. Bulgarelli played for the Azzurri 27 times and had scored seven goals. He made two World Cups 1962 and 1966 and was part of the European Championship in 1968 when Italy won the competition. Bulgarelli was a one team player having played for Bologna (Rossoblu - Red-Blues) 486 times between 1959 and 1975. In 1964 Bulgarelli was able to lift the Scudetto. for more information of Giacomo Bulgarelli go to Bologna FC. 

ForzaFutbol.com 

This week on Forza Futbol Mando and Hannah are joined by Gene and Kevin in a Serie A Round Table. Together we discuss what is going on in the world of Serie A. Get the whole episode here, direct download here or subscribe in iTunes.

Forza Futbol 50

This week on Forza Futbol Mando and Hannah review the latest from Serie A and La Liga. We even have some Segunda División news for you. Make sure to check out ForzaFutbol.com! Get the whole episode here, direct download here or subscribe in iTunes.

Palermo beat Napoli 2-1 on Sunday evening at the Renzo Barbera Stadium in Palermo. All the goals were scored in the 1st 43 minutes, and my Napoli team was asleep for the 1st 15 minutes of the game, and it cost them 2 goals. the 1st goal in the 2nd minute off a corner kick by Fabrizio Miccoli, was scored by (here we go again) Neapolitan born Giulio Migliaccio his 1st of the campaign. and in the 14th minute another Palermo goal, this by Simplicio on an assist from Miccoli, who was the best player on  the pitch.

Napoli answered back on a pretty goal by Marek Hamsik his 9th of the season, in the 43rd minute on an assist from German Denis.

Napoli attempted to tie the game all through the 2nd half, but only had one real chance By Ezequiel Lavezzi, in the 73rd minute which Marco Amelia made a good save on.

I know that this will sound like a broken record, but, I again blame this loss (Napoli's 7th consecutive defeat away from home,and 4th out of  5 overall) on Coach Reja.

He had the wrong players in the wrong positions. Example Salvatore Aronica who is a right-defender was playing on the left side and not by coincidence was beaten by the Palermo players on not 1 but both goals.

2 why is Mateo Contini even in the squad, He makes me wish for Savini back from Palermo.

Also, Christian Maggio was out of position again.

Let me say this, I would fire Reja immediately, and bring in Roberto Mancini, before Chelsea, who just sacked Scolari, decide to grab him.

I will tell you this, if Napoli do not win their next 2 games, both at home, against Bologna and Genoa, to reach 40 points. before they return to Torino. REJA WILL BE SACKED I GUARENTEE IT. if they dont beat Bologna Saturday evening, He'll be sent packing back to Gorizia. Let's enjoy Italy-Brazil today (Tuesday) from London.

Also tommorow France-Argentina in Marsailles.

Marcelo Lippi goes for the all time record by an Italian Manager of 32 consecutive games without a loss on the Azzurri Bench, which would surpass 2-time World Cup winning Manager Vitorio Pozzo who had gone 31 matches without a defeat in the 1930's.

Buona Fortuna Marcelo. (good luck)

Forza Futbol 

Lecce-Inter 0-3

Inter dominated Lecce at the Via Del Mare stadium in Lecce on Saturday evening.

In the 12th minute Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave Inter all they needed to win the game on a pretty goal by Ibra that beat Benussi to make it 1-0 Before the goal however, Inter had come close in the 9th minute, on a shot by Dejan Stankovic that went just over the crossbar. On the goal Ibrahimovic took a nice pass from Esteban Cambiasso which he put into the lower left corner of the net. in the 18th minute Julio Cesar made a nice save on Guigliermo Stendardo's header.

In the 37th minute Ibrahimovic is given a yellow for falling in the area without being touched.

In the second half, Inter closed the game on a goal by Luis Figo in the 71st minute and Another by Dejan Stankovic in the 82nd minute winning by 3-0  this result, combined with Milan's home tie with last-place Reggina 1-1 on a 34th minute goal by Davide Di Gennaro and a 66th Minute Penalty Kick by Kaka basically gives Inter the scudetto for 2008-09,. they now lead Milan by eight points and the only hope Milan has is to win next weeks derby, But they will have to win in front of Nerazzurri fans.

the Milan penalty was a legitimate call which Alexandre Pato caused and Ricky Kaka converted. Tomorrow's TV games are Roma-Genoa on Raitalia and FSC and the night game is Palermo-Napoli on Raitalia and FSC be watching I will.

Forza Futbol

 Italy Squad for Brazil Friendly

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Marco Amelia (Palermo), Morgan De Sanctis (Galatasaray/TUR)

Defenders: Daniele Bonera (AC Milan), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid/ESP), Andrea Dossena (Liverpool/ENG), Alessandro Gamberini (Fiorentina), Fabio Grosso (Lyon/FRA), Nicola Legrottaglie (Juventus), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan)

Midfielders: Alberto Aquilani (AS Roma), Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Simone Perrotta (AS Roma), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)

Forwards: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese), Giuseppe Rossi (Villareal/ESP), Luca Toni (Bayern Munich/GER) 

Spain Squad for England Friendly

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid) and José Manuel Reina (Liverpool/ING)

Defenders: Raúl Albiol, Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Álvaro Arbeloa (Liverpool), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Juanito (Real Betis), Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol (Barcelona) and Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso, Albert Riera (Liverpool), Sergi Busquets, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona), Santiago Cazorla, Marcos Senna (Villarreal) and David Silva (Valencia).

Forwards: Daniel Güiza (Fenerbahce), Fernando Llorente (Athletic), Fernando Torres (Liverpool) and David Villa (Valencia).

Forza Futbol

Forza Futbol’s Mando talks to Andy Mitten author of Mad For It. Get the whole episode here, direct download here or subscribe in iTunes.