14 September 2008
Miss Italia was crowned over the weekend. The competition has been running most of the week on Rai and it has to be said they couldn't have possibly picked a worse winner. She was probably the least attractive of the hundred or so women who took part. Anyway I must congratulate the cameramen for their fine work and the people responsible for the wardrobes.
JUVENTUS 1 (Amauri 67)
UDINESE 0
Attendance : 20,320
Assist : n/a
BOLOGNA 0
ATALANTA 1 (Guarante 9)
Attendance : 18,000
Assist : n/a
GENOA 2 (Sculli 30, Milito 91 Pen)
MILAN 0
Diego Milito, who turned down approaches from several big clubs to join his former team, chested down Gasbarroni's chipped pass for the unmarked Sculli to fire past Abbiati. Milito turned Maldini inside the box and went over his outstretched leg to win a penalty. He picked himself up and blasted past Abbiati to seal the clubs first win over Milan since 1984.
We've been here before of course but this time I think Ancelotti is done. The club held a crisis meeting with him following the defeat against Bologna. Kaka's return couldn't prevent another defeat in a friendly against the decidedly modest Lugano of Switzerland. Ancelotti vowed to turn things around with extra training and by telling the players to get to bed earlier. Needless to say that didn't work either, Milan rarely threatened the Genoa goal. Galliani has told Ancelotti to 'stop losing.' my guess is the players will conspire to get him out and he will be replaced by Donadoni.
Attendance : 30,000
Assists : Milito, Milito (won pen)
LAZIO 2 (Zarate 7, Pandev 72)
SAMPDORIA 0
Zarate continued his fine start to the campaign with a fantastic goal in the 7th minute. Standing with his back to play 30 or so yards from goal he held off his marker, turned and thundered a left foot shot in of the underside of the crossbar. Padalino had a great chance to equalise but was denied by Carrizo who looks considerably more assured than the bald twat who kept goal for Lazio last season. Pandev raced onto a ball over the top before slamming home Lazio's second, sending them top of Serie A.
Attendance : 35,000
Assists : Lichtsteiner, Brocchi
LECCE 2 (Caserta 47, Castillo 83)
CHIEVO 0
Ariatti threw himself at a poor Giacomazzi cross, heading across goal, Malago failed to clear and the unmarked Caserta arrived to plunder a goal the back post. Castillo ran between two defenders onto Tiribocchi's cross and dug the ball out of his feet before lobbing over Squizzi.
Attendance : 8,000
Assists : Ariatti, Tiribocchi
NAPOLI 2 (Hamsik 48, Maggio 70)
FIORENTINA 1 (Mutu 41)
Gilardino released Mutu with a spectacular mid-air back heel volley and the Romanian scored as the Napoli defence stood waiting for offside. Lavezzi, guilty of an extraordinary first half miss, slalomed past two players on the edge of the Fiorentina box before taking out another three with a precise centre leaving Hamsik to tap in the equaliser. Cristian 'superbike' Maggio (I have no idea why he's called that) scored his first goal since completing his big money move from Sampdoria, diving to head home a deflected cross.
Attendance : 30,000
Assists : Gilardino, Lavezzi, n/a
REGGINA 1 (Di Loreto 43 og)
TORINO 1 (Corini 13)
Two own goals in this one. Amoruso scored against his former club via a deflection off Corini. Di Loreto beat
Elvis Abbruscato and his own goalkeeper to a Barilla cross.
Attendance : 10,000
Assists : n/a, n/a
SIENA 2 (Calaio 10, Ghezzal 94)
CAGLIARI 0
Portanova flicked on a corner and Calaio managed to find space in a packed penalty box to score. Cagliari failed to make the most of fleeting chances on the break to equalise and conceded a last minute second on a Jarolim lead a counter attack. The Czech midfielder passed to Forestieri before busting a gut to make a 60 yard run into the box onto the Italy U18 internationals return pass and unselfishly centring for Ghezzal to score his first Serie A goal.
Attendance : 9,000
Assists : Portanova, Jarolim
13 September 2008
PALERMO 3 (Miccoli 19, Miccoli 57, Cavani 73)
ROMA 1 (Baptista 8)
Two minutes after hitting the woodwork with a free kick Julio Baptista tapped Roma into the lead after neat interplay between Okaka and Aquilani. Miccoli received possession on the edge of the box and stepped inside Loria, a journeyman defender Roma signed in the transfer window, before whipping the ball inside the top right corner. Great strike. Simplicio mugged Pizarro as he tried to bring a high ball under control and surged forward before threading a pass between two defenders to Miccoli and the Robbie Williams look-alike lobbed the ball over the advancing Doni. Cavani burst past Panucci onto a Simplicio pass and having twice been denied by Doni diving at his feet this time he waited for the 'keeper to commit before slotting into an empty net.
Slap-head Davide Bellardini is Palermo's second coach of the season. Bellardini has worked under two scudetto winning coaches, Sacchi and Bagnoli, but has been out of work since saving Cagliari from relegation.
Attendance : 22,457
Assists : Okaka, Nocerino, Simplicio, Simplicio
INTER 2 (Mascara og, Terlizzi 48 og)
CATANIA 1 (Plasmati 42)
Tedesco burst past Ibrahimovic onto a square pass into the box and chipped the ball upto the back post which Basmati rice powerfully headed into the net. Catania's lead lasted less than a minute. Quaresma picked up the ball on the right and did his trick of crossing the ball with the outside of his foot, it took a wicked deflection off Mascara wrong footing Bizzarri in the Catania goal. Well known cheat Tedesco got Muntari sent off. He threw himself to the turf clutching his face when Muntari's hand brushed against him after he successfully held off a challenge by the midfielder. The ref probably caught VT of the incident at half time so decided to even the odds by fabricating a winner. Maicon launched a throw in into the box, Terlizzi tried to clear but his header bounced off the base of the left post into Bizzarri's arms. GOAL. Rubbish.
Attendance : 45,809
Red Card : Muntari 45 (Inter)
Assists : Tedesco, n/a, n/a