24 May 2003

BOLOGNA				0-2			REGGINA
								Bonazzoli 13
								Di Michele 67

Bonazzoli scored on a rebound after Pagliuca pushed his first shot straight back at him.
Di Michele headed in when Pagliuca went missing on a corner. A couple of Bologna's
promising youngsters, Della Rocca and Smit, went close to scoring.

Bologna : Guidolin has done all he can with Bologna. It's time he moved on. It's also time
for Pagliuca, Paramatti and Signori to call it a day. Meghni needs a more attack minded
coach to bring out his potential and in my opinion Cruz is good enough to play at any
club.

Reggina : Nakamura has been linked with a move to Chievo. Bonazzoli will return to Parma.

Attendance : 18,500
Assist : Cozza (ck)


BRESCIA					2-2			MODENA
A Filippini 68							Colucci 4
Baggio 85							Vignarolli 20

A Brescia defender sliced a ball back towards his goal, Colucci held off two defenders before
lobbing over Sereni. More uncharacteristically bad defending gifted Modena a second.
Filippini got Brescia back in the match when he ran onto Tare's knock down and Baggio
earned a share of the points with another fantastic free kick.

Brescia : I hope Mazzone retires, for the sake of Serie A. No idea on Baggio's future. Seric and
Appiah are Brescia's most talented youngsters.

Modena : Milanetto would be ideal for one of the UEFA Cup chasers. Kamara and Scullli
are super talents but would probably be better off staying at the club for another season.

Attendance : 17,000
Assists : Milanetto, Tare, Baggio (won fk)


COMO					1-0			TORINO
Benin 83

Mezzano should have been sent off for kicking Aligretti. Aligretti was sort of involved
in the winner, as he was fouled Benin ran onto the ball and let fly with a shot into the corner.

Como : There's no talent at the club but Juve rejects Amoruso and Pecchia always seems to
fine their way back into Serie A

Torino : Donati is the only player at the club with any potential. He's going to return to
Milan but their midfield is absolutely loaded.

Attendance : 4,000


EMPOLI					0-2			PARMA
								Mutu 16
								Filippini 85

Mutu blasted in his 17th league goal and Filippini scored a late second. Almost certainly
the first time two brothers have scored for different clubs on the same day in Serie A.

Empoli : Grella is a brilliant attacking midfielder. Di Natale needs Rocchi a lot more than
Rocchi needs him. All three would be perfect for Parma.

Parma : The club have balanced the books and achieved the objective of UEFA Cup football.
Whether they consolidate their position or push for another championship depends on
where Mutu is next season. His striker partner, 'The Experiment' Adriano will return to
Inter.

Attendance : 6,400


INTER					2-2			PERUGIA
Crespo 10, 56							Obodo 46
								Di Loreto 89

Milanese helped give his former team the lead. He sent Cristiano Zanetti's attempted pass
straight to Kallon, the ball bounced off him and landed at Crespo's feet and Kalac couldn't stop
his slow shot rolling into the net. 19 year old midfielder Obodo equalised with a fantastic
shot which thundered in off the post. Crespo headed Inter back in front, Javier Zanetti giving 
a rare assist, but as usual Inter's midfield disappeared and Perugia finally scored after a
long period of sustained pressure when Di Loreto headed in Gross's excellent chipped pass.

Inter : Lazio coach Roberto Mancini supposedly met with Moratti earlier this week. Bye bye
Cuper, you suck. Inter have been linked with Kaka. Adriano will return from Parma. If Inter
are smart they'll cash in on Vieri while they can.

Perugia : Cosmi is waiting for Sensi to offer him the job at Roma. Capello's future is uncertain
and he has lost the confidence of both his president and star player - Totti. Miccoli will
re-join Juve in the summer. Ze Maria would be the ideal replacement for Cafu at Roma.

Attendance : 45,000
Assists : Kallon, Miccoli, J Zanetti, Grosso


JUVENTUS				4-3			CHIEVO
Zalayeta 16, 57							Bierhoff 61, 73, 79
Trezeguet 70
Zenoni 86

A woman ran the line in Serie A for the first time. Oliveira back heeled Pessotto's pass to
Zalayeta, he skipped a challenge and unleashed a fierce shot which flew inside Ambrosio's post.
he blasted in a second before Bierhoff headed Chievo back in the match. Trezeguet rolled in Juve's
3rd after Mensah screwed up what should have been a routine clearance. D'Anna was sent off for
tripping Zenoni. Bierhoff bundled over the line and completed his hat-trick with a low shot.
Zambrotta picked out Zenoni with an excellent cross and the midfielder kept his composure
to score the winner. Mensah and Legrottaglie missed three absolute sitters in the last few
minutes.

Juventus : Lippi will address the ageing defence in the summer and will be hoping to offload
Salas. Zalayeta has improved greatly this season so may have a future at the club.

Chievo : Del Neri was linked to Milan but having reached the final Ancelotti's job appears safe,
unless they get thrashed in the final. Legrottaglie is off to Roma, Franceschini, Bjelanovic and
Pellisier have been this season's finds. Missing out on the UEFA cup is a blow.

Attendance : 39,400
Assists : Oliveira, Di Vaio, Perrotta, De Franceschi, Perrotta, Della Morte
Red Card : D'Anna 71 (Chievo)


PIACENZA				4-2			MILAN
Hubner 6, 82							Brocchi 30 (Pen), 91
Maresca 16 (Pen)
Marchionni 31

Ancelotti fielded none of the players who will feature in the Champions League final. Hubner
volleyed Piacenza in front and Maresca doubled the lead from the spot after Stefano had pulled
back Hubner. Brocchi converted a penalty but Marchionni restored Piacenza's two goal lead
when he headed over Fiore. Hubner smashed in Piacenza's fourth before Brocchi tried his best
to play himself onto the bench with a superb lob.

Piacenza : Maresca will return to Juve but will Lippi give him a chance in the first team? Hubner
has been linked with Roma.

Milan : Ancelotti has an ageing squad but only Rivaldo and Serginho look to be on his way out.
Stam is rumoured to be right back next season. Milan could use some pace in midfield.

Attendance : 6,100
Assists : Baiocco, Hubner (won pen), Ba (won pen), Baiocco, ?


ROMA					1-2			ATALANTA
De Rossi 30							Doni 27
								Gautieri 55

Zenoni's shot deflected in off Doni. De Rossi scored his second Serie A goal when he headed in
Guigou's corner. Gautieri kept Atalanta's Serie A hopes alive when he punished Roma for some
comical defending.

No Samuel or Cassano for Roma. Totti has been whining about wanting to move to another
club.

Roma : Ibrahimovic, Legrottaglie and Appiah are rumoured to be joining next season.
Depends on what happens to Capello.

Atalanta : Doni is likely to leave regardless of what happens in the relegation play off.
Dabo does nothing but score stupidly violent goals from distance. Someone needs to
uncork his obvious potential, teaching him to pass would be a good start.

Attendance : 45,000
Assists : Zenoni, Guigou


UDINESE				2-1			LAZIO
Pizarro 67 (Pen)							Lopez 86 (Pen)
Jankulovski 83

An excellent match with about 300 chances but the first goal came from the spot after
Muzzi dived right in front of the referee. Jankulovski scored with another stunning
long range effort. Lopez converted a penalty won by fellow Argentinean Castroman,
probably his last goal in Serie A.

Udinese : I wish someone would give this club £20 million so they could hold onto their
star players and build a championship winning side. Jorgensen, the potentially World
Class but injury prone midfielder wants to join Milan. Pizzaro is a fantastic playmaker
and would do a hell of a job at Milan in place of Rui Costa. Iaquinta is a huge talent,
literally.

Lazio : This loss means Lazio will have to qualify for the group stages of the Champions
League. Lopez (Valencia), Stam (Milan) and Stankovic (Juve) are all likely to leave
in the summer, without them Lazio are screwed. The next coach has a tough job on his
hands.

Attendance : 20,000
Assists : Muzzi (won pen), Jorgensen, Castroman (won pen)

That brings an end to what has unfortunately been another mediocre championship. For
every Milan and Juventus, teams with an attacking philosophy, there are teams like Inter
and Brescia, teams with a destructive approach. I hope we've seen the end of Cuper and
Mazzone. I hope next season Del Neri, Mancini and Cosmi find themselves coaching teams
with World Class players. And above all else I hope Milan defeat Juventus in next
weeks European Cup final.

Thank you for reading.


R Mehdi