26 letters for 26 themes. The latest Serie A round offered much food for tought. From Inter overtaking Napoli at the top of the standing, to Benevento conquering their first point thanks to a goal by their goalie Alberto Brignoli. From Gonzalo Higuain deciding the partitissima in favor of Juventus, to Giuseppe Rossi signing a deal with Genoa and hopefully stepping foot again on a pitch soon. So let the alphabet guide us through a review of the most recent weekend of calcio:
A for Abisso, the referee of Roma-SPAL, which literally translates as abyss: A catastrophic situation seen as likely to occur (Oxford dictionary).
B for Benevento’s goalkeeper Brignoli, the man of the week. What a goal he scored!
C for cucchiaio (the Italian for a Panenka penalty kick), tried by SPAL’s Federico Viviani at Francesco Totti’s home stadium. He failed, of course. No, Viviani, you cannot beat the Legend.
D for Bologna’s coach Donadoni, who once again missed a chance to step up.
E for Eusebio Di Francesco: Organization, hard-work, knowledge, and 34 points for the young Roma trainer.
F for Family Tradition, as Federico Chiesa and Giovanni Simeone both have a famous father with some past Serie A experience!
G for Gonzalo Higuain, more than a player. Ask the information desk for more details.
H for the horror at seeing Napoli playing in black, and Juventus in yellow. What’s wrong with these football jerseys, and their marketing strategies?
I for Inter, we cannot fail to mention their overtaking on Napoli at the top of Serie A.
J for Juventus, are we really sure that they are weaker than last year?
K for KO, because a 2-2 tie in Benevento sounds like a knock out. Not a great start for Ringhio Gattuso.
M for manita. Inter scored five goals to Chievo, and, yes, they are now leading Serie A!
N for Nothing Left to Do but Cry, a famous Italian movie starring AC Milan…oops, I mean, Massimo Troisi and Roberto Benigni.
O for once upon a time Torino was able to win. Now It’s ten games straight without a victory. Will coach Sinisa Mihajlovic make it to Christmas?
P for Perisic, who scored three goals and sent a clear message to Napoli and Juve: Inter wants the Scudetto!
Q for Quo Vadis, where are you going next summer? See R.
R for Russia 2018, in which group was Italy seeded? Oh right, we almost forgot…
S for Simone Inzaghi, the first coach to conquer the Marassi Blucerchiata this season. Not bad!
T for transfer market: Welcome back Giuseppe Rossi, who was just signed by Genoa on a free transfer.
U for Udinese, a convincing 3-0 win to put five point between them and the relegation area.
V for Viviani, go back to letter C.
W for World Cup, go back to letter R.
X for x marks the spot. The treasure hunt for Scudetto is more open than ever!
Y for Yonghong Li, there is so much to do for Milan’s new President!
Z for Zapata, how is it possible that Napoli let him go away?
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Feature Photo: Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images