11

[Slava]

I'm surprised Napoli are so far off the mark but watching them play in the champions league, they just seem a very solid team.

[magik9113]

They made it no secret that CL is their priority this year, and it has showed

[5DOM]

And Borini scores AGAIN, what the ****!

[Mirjalovic]

Wuhu Lazio wins !!!!

Mauri impact so underrated.

[magik9113]

Mauri impact so underrated.

definitely. I wanted to see him in the national team for euro this summer, but his injury hurt his chances quite a bit. Now I have to be nervous that Lazio will catch up to Juve, who tied Chievo (like they always do) and lost starting CBs Chiellini and Barzagli in the process...
it was also good for Lazio to end up keeping Reja in charge

Current standings:
1. Milan.......54 pts
2. Juve........51 pts -- *make up game @ Bologna on 3/7
3. Lazio.......48 pts
4. Udinese...46 pts
5. Napoli.....43 pts

[TGCanadese]

First visit in this thread. I think that Inter Vs. Milan scheduled two games left before the end of the season will be decisive for Milan. Juventus is a good team, especially solid, they can hold a head-to-head against Milan until may. The problem for Juve are the draws, but statistically they can solve it. Milan must hope to gaining an advantage of points that would allow them of winning the league with three games left, or else by not allowing to Juve to overcome them in case of defeat in the derby. Because the derby is too unpredictable.

Anyway, I think Milan will win the Serie A for the second time in a row. Juventus have lost too many possibilities to accumulate an advantage against low profile teams this season.

Meanwhile, it just ended Palermo - AS Roma. 0-1, Borini scored yet. Now:

1: Milan 54
2: Juve 52
3: Lazio 48
---------------
4: Napoli 46
5: Udinese 46
6: Roma 41
7: Inter 40
8: Catania 35
9: Palermo 34
10: Chievo 34
11: Atalanta 32
12: Fiorentina 32
13: Genoa 32
14: Bologna 32
15: Cagliari 31
16: Parma 30
17: Siena 29
-----------------
18: Lecce 25
19: Novara 17
20: Cesena 17

Tomorrow:

Novara Vs. Udinese
Atalanta Vs. Parma
Cesena Vs. Siena
Milan Vs. Lecce
Genoa Vs. Juventus
Catania Vs. Fiorentina
Lazio Vs. Bologna

My predictions are wins for Udinese, Atalanta, Milan, Lazio. Cesena desperately needs to win, but Siena is the most solid team of lower-profile, coached by a great coach (Giuseppe Sannino). Difficult to predict. Genoa and Juve are the two teams more difficult to "read" in this season, I think it will be a fun game to watch. Fiorentina needs to win but they play the most boring football of the league, and Catania the funniest. Unpredictable.

[magik9113]

welcome, friend
good to see more people who follow the Serie A. I def agree with Siena being the best of the low profile teams. They are a foot in the Coppa Italia finals as well. Bologna is pretty solid also, with good attackers Ramirez, Di Vaio, Diamanti...Hopefully they can hold off Lazio like they did to Juve last game.

Juve fails to score today in a game they really deserved to win. Vucinic and Pepe both hit the woodwork. Now they're 4 points behind Milan and that pretty much kills my hopes of Juve winning the scudetto this year. can't say they didn't have a chance though

[TGCanadese]

welcome, friend
good to see more people who follow the Serie A. I def agree with Siena being the best of the low profile teams. They are a foot in the Coppa Italia finals as well. Bologna is pretty solid also, with good attackers Ramirez, Di Vaio, Diamanti...Hopefully they can hold off Lazio like they did to Juve last game.

Juve fails to score today in a game they really deserved to win. Vucinic and Pepe both hit the woodwork. Now they're 4 points behind Milan and that pretty much kills my hopes of Juve winning the scudetto this year. can't say they didn't have a chance though

Thank you! I'm italian, and I think it is very funny talking about Serie A with fans of others countries. I'm sorry for my bad english but I hope it will improve with time. Just for curiosity: are you italian?

I'm totaly agree on your analysis about Bologna and I want to add Gabi Mudingayi, former Lazio, to list of their key players. In my opinion he is a strong midfielder, more useful than fun to watch, but he was the best player against the big teams in this season.
And we don't forget that - like Siena - they are coached by a very good coach, Stefano Pioli, stupidly dismissed by Palermo's owner Maurizio Zamparini before the start of the league. The owners of middle-profile teams are another italian's football problem: there is this costume to dismiss a coach, assume another coach, dismiss this coach and re-call the first coach. During this week also Novara did it, dismissing Emiliano Mondonico and re-calling Attilio Tesser, who took the team from Serie C (equivalent to current "football league one" in England) to serie A within two years.
Just few hour ago Massimo Cellino, owner of Cagliari Calcio, has dismissed Davide Ballardini, and now probably he will re-call Massimo Ficcadenti.
It's a stupid and expensive custom.

I don't have nothing to add about your analysis of today Juve's game.

[magik9113]

yes I am italian but live in the U.S...my parents moved here before i was born.

Zamparini is by far the worst when it comes to firing coaches

Who is your team? Roma?

[TGCanadese]

Who is your team? Roma?

No, no, I hate AS Roma. Between AS Roma and SS Lazio I prefer the second. It's a very strong rivalry, something that nobody who does not live in Rome can understand. In my opinion it is the stronger rivalry of world's football, with Glasgow and Buenos Aires. Influence every day of year. But i don't support nobody of the two sides, my team is FC Internazionale! And Inter fans have a friendship with the Lazio fans and a rivality with Roma.

[magik9113]

Who is your team? Roma?

and a rivality with Roma.

and with my Juve ...... ...... but seriously

predictions for Inter in champions league tomrrow? I think they get knocked out. Napoli will handle business on Wed.
3 Serie A teams in the next round would be great though

[TGCanadese]

Who is your team? Roma?

and a rivality with Roma.

and with my Juve ...... ...... but seriously

predictions for Inter in champions league tomrrow? I think they get knocked out. Napoli will handle business on Wed.
3 Serie A teams in the next round would be great though

Napoli not only will be qualify, but they will win again. I predict 1-2 or 0-1 or 0-2. The atmosphere in Naples is incandescent, Chelsea will haven't respite from the first to the last minute as the first leg. Lavezzi against Chelsea's defense has fun. And in the quarter-finals Napoli will scare everyone except FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. They never give up, they are an incredible team. They can reach the final.

Inter Vs. Marsiglia is unpredictable now. Inter is unpredictable. We can win 3-0 as we can lose 0-3. It is only a question of proud. Maicon, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Stankovic, Milito: no one else will decide this game, for better or for worse.

The italian teams are at their best in the quarter-finals and semi-finals (and yes, I remember Inter-Schalke 2-5, but it was a particular situation, Inter collapsed that night, a total black-out). If Inter and Napoli will be qualify, I'm sure that one italian team will play at the Allianz Arena in may. Unless:

Inter-Barcelona
Milan-Napoli
-------------------
Real-Apoel
Bayern-Benfica

[TGCanadese]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A9G1z8D7y4[/youtube]

Interview of Ibra after Milan-Lecce (2-0, one assist and one goal for Ibra).

Translation:

Ibra: "No The team is playing good, I help the team and my teammates help me. *Suddenly* WHAT THE **** YOU LOOKING AT?"
Journalist: "err... thanks!"
--------------------------------------

Immediately after the final whistle of the referee, Ibra has stood on the sideline for an interview with a reporter of Sky Sport Italia, Vera Spadini, which has also asked him about the controversy with Massimiliano Allegri after defeat against Arsenal on wednesday.
At first, Ibra has responded with difficulty, clearly showing that it did not liked the question: "Many people speak without knowing facts - he said - and they should be silent: no one is happy when you lose, me first. Are you one of them who talking much". Then began an interview in front of live cameras for Mediaset, another Italian TV, and he has launched the rubber band to Vera Spadini who was present nearby and said to her: "What the **** you looking at?". So the reporter went away, and the Swedish is back in the locker room.

Ibra is totally crazy.

Vera Spadini:

[magik9113]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A9G1z8D7y4[/youtube]

Interview of Ibra after Milan-Lecce (2-0, one assist and one goal for Ibra).

Translation:

Ibra: "No The team is playing good, I help the team and my teammates help me. *Suddenly* WHAT THE **** YOU LOOKING AT?"
Journalist: "err... thanks!"
--------------------------------------

[King of Troy]

I love Zlatan so much. Reading his autobiography right now.

[TGCanadese]

Today I've read "La Gazzetta dello Sport" (the most important newspaper for sport in Italy) and there is an interesting statistic: in this season, Juve have shoot to the goal 172 times and they've made only 38 goals. 38-172 M-A for saying this in basketball style. They must be much more "cynics" to fight against Milan until the end of the season.

[TGCanadese]

Games in program this weekend (Italian time zone):

March 17
18:00 Parma ? - ? AC Milan
20:45 Fiorentina ? - ? Juventus

March 18
12:30 Cagliari ? - ? Cesena
15:00 Bologna ? - ? Chievo
15:00 Catania ? - ? Lazio
15:00 Inter ? - ? Atalanta
15:00 Lecce ? - ? Palermo
15:00 Siena ? - ? Novara
20:45 Udinese ? - ? Napoli

March 19
20:45 AS Roma ? - ? Genoa

Not two easy games for Juve and Milan. Fiorentina Vs. Juventus is one of the most heated rivalries in Italian football and the "Tardini stadium" of Parma has always given many troubles to the "giants". Napoli-Udinese will be very interesting, two teams eliminated this week from the European cups who fighting now for the third place in Serie A.
For my Inter an anonymous game, not will be the first from here till end of the season. Sneijder is out for injury (what a news! ), Guarin will be back after Juventus-Inter scheduled for the next week.

[magik9113]

Parma 0 - 2 Milan....Milan still on a roll.

Fiorentina 0 - 5 Juve
what a game by Juve, even if Cerci got himself a red card halfway thru the 1st half.

Cagliari 3 - 0 Cesena....Pinilla hattrick, Cesena surely to get relegated.

Inter 0 - 0 Atalanta....missed PK by Milito = another disappointing result for the nerazzurri

Catania 1 - 0 Lazio....big blow to Lazio, as they will no longer be in 3rd place if there is a winner in the Udinese - Napoli game

Bologna 2 - 2 Chievo

Lecce 1 - 1 Palermo

Siena 0 - 2 Novara....very poor game from Siena

[TGCanadese]

My awards for this weekend, waiting Roma-Genoa tonight.

Player of the week: Mauricio Pinilla (F, Cagliari),

An hat-trick for this player so much criticized, but who's potentially one of the greatest talents in Italy.

*Honorable mentions for Mirko Vucinic (Juventus), Marco Rigoni (Novara) and Andrea Consigli (Atalanta)*
--------------------------------------------------------------
Team of the week: Juventus

They destroy the rivals of Fiorentina and they launch a signal to AC Milan: if they play well, there is no chance for anybody.

*Honorable mentions for Novara, Catania and Cagliari
-------------------------------------------------------------

Player of the "weak": Nicolàs Bertolo (Palermo)

Your team is 1-1 in Lecce. Lecce have only ten players, Oddo, captain of Lecce, was sent-off by the referee in the first-half. Ok, we can win this one! So, what do you do? Simply, you hit a opponent in front of the referee and you restore numerical parity of players. Brilliant! Match that ends 1-1.

*Honorable mentions for Alessio Cerci and Amauri (Fiorentina), Diego Milito (Inter), Miroslav Klose (Lazio) and all Cesena players.
------------------------------------------------------------

Team of the "weak": Cesena

I really like the NBA. And I think that at this time a soccer team compounded by NBA players can beat Cesena in a soccer match. Awful moment for them.

[magik9113]

very good choices for your awards.

Juventus-Milan today, Coppa Italia second leg (3:45 eastern time in the U.S. on GolTV)
Juve won 2-1 in Milan first leg. I do expect Juve to win this game and go on to win the cup. It will be their consolation for missing out on 1st place in the league.

fan-made image found on facebook: