Italian Football Serie A News and Stories in English
There are many reasons why Francesco Totti has gained an unparalleled place of honor in the Roma supporters’ pantheon, as well as in any good calcio lover’s. The most simple is that perhaps he was just an awesomely talented football player, capable of scoring such unique goals as the one by which he stunned the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in a 2-4 win against Sampdoria.
Juventus won the Derby d’Italia, and what a strong statement they made. The Bianconeri are once again the number one pretender to the title as they raided San Siro to regain the solitary lead of the Serie A league table. It was mostly a victory of Maurizio Sarri, who started with Paulo Dybala and finished with Gonzalo Higuain. Both strikers made it to the scorecard.
Marco Giampaolo is safe. Milan’s coach found a last-minute ally in goalkeeper Juan Manuel Reina, who stopped a late penalty to preserve his side’s 1-2 win at Genoa. That’s the least the Spaniard could do to redeem himself after a blunder of his had put the Rossoblu ahead, before Theo Hernandez and Frank Kessié could turn the tables in favor of the Rossoneri.
A shocking first-minute opener by Inter’s beloved “Uncle” Giuseppe Bergomi, a penalty tap-in by Le Roi Michel Platini, after Walter Zenga had saved his first shot. The Derby d’Italia between Inter and Juventus played at the San Siro Stadium on November 24, 1985, was a showcase of talent and players who would go on to make history in their respective clubs.
Inter played the Sixth Symphony. Sampdoria’s poor shape of these days was just what the Nerazzurri needed to grab an easy win at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium and extend their perfect record to 18 points in 6 games. The Nerazzurri had not had such a flawless Serie A start since the 1966-67 season, and those were the days of coach Helenio Herrera. Just saying.
The Rooster raised his crest, and Milan paid a bitter price for it. Andrea “Rooster” Belotti scored twice in four minutes to push Torino towards a key home win against Marco Giampaolo’s Rossoneri on Thursday. The Azzurri’s centravanti neutralized Krzysztof Piatek’s initial lead with a stunning overhead kick, condemning Milan to suffer their third loss in five Serie A games.
Marco Van Basten removing his shirt and throwing it to the ground. The Swan of Utrecht sent off by referee Rosario Lo Bello, together with teammates Frank Rijkaard and Alessandro Costacurta. The surreal images of Milan’s second “Fatal Verona” are stuck in any Rossonero’s mind, remembering him of when his club lost 1-2 to the Gialloblu to throw a Scudetto away.
Lazio won the platonic Derby of the Posts in Rome, hitting the sticks four times against Roma’s two in a vibrant version of the Italian Capital cross-town battle. The count of goals, however, read 1-1, with Luis Alberto answering to Aleksandar Kolarov. It was an abnormal derby, if only for being the first in a long time without either Francesco Totti or Daniele De Rossi.
As lights faded down at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday, football fans from both Juventus and Napoli must have spent a few minutes recollecting the emotions they went through. The scorecard read 4-3 for the Bianconeri, but a game like this has no loser. A most thrilling match was resolved only by an incredible own goal by Kalidou Koulibaly during stoppage time.
Marco Giampaolo debuted at San Siro with a win as Milan beat Brescia 1-0 on Saturday. A lone goal by Hakan Calhanoglu after 12 minutes saved the day for the Rossoneri’s new coach after his shocking loss in Udine. However, the way is still long for the Milanese side before they can think of achieving something more than a fourth place in the table.
A cap, a bandage on his neck, a hollow-cheeked appearance that still did not affect his proud look. Sinisa Mihajlovic dropped like a bomb on the Serie A opening round as he sat on Bologna’s bench for their debut in Verona. His appearance was the icicle on the cake of a Serie A Round 1 which saw Juventus, Napoli, and Inter win, whereas Milan lost to Udinese.
Antonio Conte couldn’t imagine a better debut on the Nerazzurri’s bench as he led Inter to a convincing 4-0 win in their Serie A 2019-2020 opening match. The former Nazionale’s coach showed no mercy for newly promoted Lecce, which fell under the strikes of Marcelo Brozovic, Stefano Sensi, an impressive Romelu Lukaku, and Antonio Candreva.