Italian Football Serie A News and Stories in English
Italian football fans have just been treated to the first full round of Serie A action since the restart, and it was peppered with talk of relegation, European qualification and of course, the Scudetto. Inter and Sassuolo played out a thrilling 3-3 draw, and Atalanta staged a dramatic comeback to beat Lazio 3-2, as they look for a place in next season’s Champions League.
Juventus defender Daniele Rugani tested positive for the COVID-19, the disease generated by the much-famed coronavirus. Rugani is the first player from a Serie A club to be infected. Juventus and Inter issued stataments announcing that their players and staff will likely need to undergo quarantine, casting further doubts on the prosecution of their football season.
Italy was placed under a total lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus. With about three to four Serie A game-weeks now set to be outstanding after the suspension, what are the possible implications this may bring to the current season? According to multiple Italian media sources, there are now four possible scenarios after the ban.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that Italy will be in a total lockdown until at least April 3 to contain the coronavirus outbreak – extending to the whole country the extreme measures originally announced yesterday for 14 provinces only. The restriction also applies to any sports activity, including the Serie A and lower divisions.
A decision, finally. That’s what every football fan was waiting for, and what the Lega Serie A took to somehow get out of the stalemate caused by the coronavirus outbreak in Italy. Serie A games will be played behind closed doors until April 3. All the league games canceled last weekend, including Juventus-Inter, will be played between next Sunday and Monday.
Milan are getting closer than ever to sacking their chief football officer Zvonimir Boban, a true Milanista whether he’s on the field or in the corporate offices. The Elliot Management, who took it upon themselves to steady the eternally sinking ship that is Milan, is set to press the restart button once again and offer fans what we should now call another false dawn.
The Lega Serie A – the governing body of the Italian football top-flight – has decided to postpone all the five games previously scheduled to be played behind closed doors this weekend due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in Northern Italy. The decision applies also to the much-awaited Derby d’Italia between Juventus and Inter.
With the threat of the coronavirus spreading in Italy, five matches will be played without fans. The biggest of those is the Derby d’Italia between Juventus and Inter, which will be in an empty Allianz Stadium in Turin. Elsewhere, Lazio will hope to grab all three points against Brescia and wait on a slip up by Juventus, and Genoa face a tough encounter against Milan.
Having struggled for form throughout the first-half of the season, Milan have since turned their fortunes around having lost just one game in all competitions since New Year. The Rossoneri look a much more solid outfit under Stefano Pioli and will be looking at this game against Genoa as a banker in their push for a top-six spot.
With big games looming in Europe, Italian teams must be prepared to take on the continent’s best in these upcoming weeks. Napoli beat Brescia and now prepare for the visit of Lionel Messi and Barcelona, while leaders Juventus travel to Ferrara to take on bottom-of-the-league SPAL, before facing Lyon in midweek in the Champions League.
This past Serie A weekend was full of thrills and chills. Both Atalanta and Lazio came back from behind to beat their respective guests, Roma and Inter, in two exciting, important fixtures. Juventus got a disappointing victory, Genoa seem to have forgotten how to lose, and Milan are on the right track thanks to the rebirth of a certain Ante Rebic.
The Derby di Milano between Inter and Milan is always a match that is massive in the football world. As a result of this season so far, both clubs are desperate to win. This may seem obvious, but it’s true. Here influential calcio blogger Joseph Porco from Calcio Fan Blogs previews for us the much-awaited Derby della Madonnina.