On the good foot.
Lazio — ... than Delio Rossi, but good god in heaven, it has to be clear by now that Stephen is just not cut out for Serie A. That’s not to say that Zarate is going to be a guaranteed success in the top flight, but at least with him you can see the class and talent. Makinwa…not so much. The last market week is bound to bring some changes, but if it doesn’t, I’d like to see more of the Zarate kid please. The next opponent on the Coppa Italia trail will now be Atalanta...Forza Lazio. Here are a few pics from yesterday’s game. You can see ...

2008-09 Serie A Table Prediction
The Offside — ... – Lost giver of glorious goals Marco Borriello but they made a bevy of solid, many young, additions this summer, namely on the flanks. And that’s exactly what they’ll be: solid and improving. 10. Atalanta – They inspire no awe whatsoever. Their lineup is decent, certainly nothing to write home about. Shouldn’t battle relegation, but shouldn’t really compete for Europe, either. Holding a couple grande talents in Luca Cigarini and Alessio Cerci, and will also host the Bobo Vieri Retirement Tour. So after finishing 8th & 10th since promotion two years ago, sounds like they’ll ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 1
Italy — ... man Napoli held Roma at the Olimpico. Sampdoria held Mourinho’s Inter at the Ferraris, and Fiorentina and Juventus split points in Florence. Lazio destroyed Cagliari, while Lecce didn’t have the best of returns to Serie A. Chievo came back with a win, and Catania and Atalanta both grabbed wins. We’ll also look at Lippi’s World Cup qualifier call-ups, round-up Serie B, and look at some last minute transfers. SERIE A Atalanta 1-0 Siena Report. Highlights. Player Ratings. ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 2
Italy — Giornata 2 was another exciting week of Italian calcio. Inter and Juventus got back on track with wins, but Roma, Milan, and Fiorentina fell back a step with losses. Lazio continues to impress (Mauro Zarate especially) and Atalanta show they are a solid side. Cagliari still finds itself without any points (like Milan) and Massimiliano Allegri looks set to be on Cellino’s chopping block. Let’s start the review: Bologna-Atalanta 0-1 Scorers: 9´ Guarente (Ata) Report. Player Ratings. ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 3
Italy — ... were lots of great goals scored from far outside the box this weekend, I’ve never seen so many in a single giornata. Make sure to watch Maicon’s vs. Torino, Zambrotta’s vs. Lazio, Bovo’s vs. Genoa, and Aquilani vs. Reggina. Detailed round-up after the jump. Cagliari-Juventus 0-1 Scorers: 39´ Amauri (Juv) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Catania-Atalanta 1-0 Scorers: 59´ Paolucci (Cat) Report. Player ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 5
Italy — ... 2-0 Scorers: 34´ Giacomazzi (Lec); 61´ Castillo (Lec) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Milan-Inter 1-0 Scorers: 37´ Ronaldinho (Mil) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Palermo-Reggina 1-0 Scorers: 52´ Miccoli (Pal) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Roma-Atalanta 2-0 Scorers: 17´ Panucci (Rom); 32´ Vucinic (Rom) Report. ...

Lazio - Atalanta
Lazio — ... Tomorrow evening a high-flying Lazio side will take on a talented Atalanta team in the Coppa Italia. We may be the current kings of Serie A but we have a long way to go before we reign in the cup. ...

Serie A (and B) Weekend Round-up: Giornata 7
Italy — ... of Mourinho. Saturday Night Fever? Bologna-Lazio 3-1 Scorers: 5´ Volpi (Bol); 12´ Di Vaio (Bol); 26´ Di Vaio (Bol); 51´ Rocchi (Laz) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Catania-Palermo 2-0 Scorers: 68´ Martinez (Cat); 86´ rig. Mascara (Cat) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Chievo-Atalanta 1-1 Scorers: 45´ Mantovani (Chi); 62´ Ferreira Pinto (Ata) ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 10
Italy — ... 2 losses. Napoli were top spot and Milan were looking to overtake them. After a hard fought game, Milan eventually broke the deadlock after a Ronaldinho free-kick was deviated into the net by Napoli striker German Denis (see picture on left). It was a tough loss for Napoli, but the Partenopei have to be very proud of the way they played, especially since they were in 10 men for most of the second half. Full Serie A results after the jump. Atalanta-Lecce 0-0 Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 11
Italy — ... 92´ aut. Cicinho (Rom) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Catania-Cagliari 2-1 Scorers:6´ Jeda (Cag); 37´ Mascara (Cat); 87´ Sabato (Cat) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Chievo-Juventus 0-2 Scorers:40´ Del Piero (Juv); 53´ Iaquinta (Juv) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Fiorentina-Atalanta 2-1 Scorers: 20´ Melo (Fio); 23´ Gilardino (Fio); 77´ rig. ...

Atalanta vs. Napoli preview
Napoli — ... With Juve and Inter having already won, and Milan playing at home to Chievo, Napoli need three points to keep pace at the top. Games like these are a real thorn in the side. Although Napoli have nine more points than Atalanta, it’s still a difficult trip up north to face a side that won’t be pushovers. In fact, last season Napoli played probably their worst game of the season in Bergamo, losing 5-1 and being outclassed from the start. It’s a scenario that isn’t likely to repeat itself, but Napoli will have to grind this one out for most of 90 minutes. ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 12 (plus Serie B and other news)
Italy — ... high in the upper echelons of the table. Roma needed a victory over their rivals to kick-start their season and boost morale, while Lazio were looking to confirm themselves as a side to be reckoned with this season. While the game itself was hard-fought by both sides, the Giallorossi came out on top, with Julio Baptista scoring the lone goal of the match. Roma fans everywhere hopes this wakes up the squad. Full Giornata 12 results after the jump. Atalanta-Napoli 3-1 Scorers: 62´ Ferreira Pinto (Ata); 73´ rig. ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 13
Italy — ... Player Ratings. Highlights. Lecce-Roma 0-3 Scorers: 11´ Vucinic (Rom); 38´ Juan (Rom); 48´ Totti (Rom) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Napoli-Cagliari 2-2 Scorers: 9´ Hamsik (Nap); 55´ Lopez (Cag); 85´ Lavezzi (Nap); 95´ Conti (Cag) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Reggina-Atalanta 3-1 Scorers: 10´ Cozza (Reg); 21´ Corradi (Reg); 79´ Corradi (Reg); 90´ ...

The Troubles With Tommaso
Lazio — ... , I hope to see Tommaso and Goran lead the attack against Atalanta. Considering our next two games are against Milan in the Coppa and Inter in Serie A, I don’t think it would be foolish to give Maurito a rest. I think after all the talk of Pandev and Rocchi’s relegation in the ranks, giving them the shout at the weekend would do much for team morale. Perhaps I’m wrong but it will definitely be interesting to see what Delio decides on. ...

Atalanta - Lazio
Lazio — Lazio will travel to Bergamo tomorrow to face mini-rivals Atalanta in what promises to be an intriguing tie. This game should be exciting for a variety of reasons. Atalanta are a very capable side with a lot of talent and they can cause anyone problems as they have already demonstrated this season. We, on the other hand, are much the same, if slightly better but considering they have home advantage and our fans are not allowed to attend the stadium, I think this makes the two of us match up quite nicely. We have faced them ...

No More Running Away
Lazio — ... defeat to an Atalanta side that never really got going themselves. There are a million and one questions to be asked but I don’t know if anyone could be bothered to ask them. Without doubt, it was the worst display of the season and by some distance at that. ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 14
Italy — Palermo and Italy goalkeeper Marco Amelia said saving Ronaldinho’s penalty kick was “like playing Playstation“. Now I bet tons of clubs will be getting calls from FIFA ‘09 addicts saying they should get a trial because they are good at saving penalties on Playstation. Roundup after the jump. Atalanta-Lazio 2-0 Scorers: 54´ Valdes Zapata (Ata); 68´ Floccari (Ata) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Cagliari- ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 15
Italy — Diego Milito. Who would’ve thought that he would turn out to be possibly the best signing a Serie A side made this summer? 12 goals in 15 games. Results after the jump. Atalanta-Udinese 3-0 Scorers: 20´ Valdes (Ata); 78´ Doni (Ata); 88´ Vieri (Ata) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Cagliari-Palermo 1-0 Scorers: 34´ Fini (Cag) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Chievo ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 16
Italy — ... Bologna-Torino 5-2 Scorers: 7´ Barone (Tor); 48´ Volpi (Bol); 53´ Abate (Tor); 55´ Di Vaio (Bol); 62´ Di Vaio (Bol); 68´ rig. Bernacci (Bol); 79´ rig. Di Vaio (Bol) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Fiorentina-Catania 2-0 Scorers: 56´ Mutu (Fio); 79´ Gilardino (Fio) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Genoa-Atalanta 1-1 Scorers: 17´ Floccari (Ata); 87´ Sculli (Gen) Report. ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 17
Italy — ... season is that the linesmen have been poor all around in games featuring all teams. It’s like they’re too lazy to do their job and keep up with the last defender. Collina needs to use this Christmas break to do some linesmen training. Which brings me to my next point: what the hell am I going to watch with no Serie A until January 11? I guess I can afford to watch the EPL for a few weeks (but I probably won’t). Results after the jump. Atalanta-Juventus 1-3 Scorers: 32´ Del Piero (Juv); 38´ ...

Serie A Mid-season Report Cards
Italy — ... A starting up again this weekend, the second half of the season begins (although technically it begins January 25th when the girone di ritorno begins). I thought it would be a good idea to give each team a grade for their efforts so far. Serie A has been very interesting this season and has provided us with some top quality football to gaze our eyes upon. I’ll give the grades American style, from A through F. Report cards after the jump. ATALANTA Grade: B+ Gigi Del Neri has transformed Atalanta into a ...

Preview: Palermo - Transfer Targets
Palermo — ... Marco over at the Atalanta Offside can probably tell you all about it, but just for the record: Manfredini and De Ascentis are out, while Vieri scored his first on the last giornata. ...

Well I suppose it Could Have Been Worse
F.C. Internazionale Milano — ... (I thought at least we could count on Milan dropping points). Inter come out of the weekend still at the top, but not quite as commandingly so. Next Sunday’s fixture against Atalanta has now become pivotal. But I suppose we can wait until at least Thursday to start stressing over that. ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 18
Italy — ... 1-1 Scorers: 65´ Acquafresca (Cag); 77´ Ibrahimovic (Int) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Juventus-Siena 1-0 Scorers: 34´ Del Piero (Juv) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Napoli-Catania 1-0 Scorers: 80´ Maggio (Nap) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Palermo-Atalanta 3-2 Scorers: 22´ Miccoli (Pal); 39´ Bresciano (Pal); 65´ Floccari ...

The Nerazzurri v the Nerazzurri
F.C. Internazionale Milano — ... Unfortunately, it looks like the Atalanta board here on the Offside is dead. We will just have to muddle through on our own. As I am sure you all know, our old friend Bobo Vieri has found his way back to Atalanta, making this his third season with team (1995/6, 2006/7, 2008/9). He has played six games this season, scoring two goals. With players like Floccari and Doni available, though, I dont see Bobo making the starting lineup. Still Del Neri likes him, ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 19 + Oscar Del Calcio Winners
Italy — After a day full of tension, Berlusconi announced late today that Kaka will be staying at Milan and that he closed the deal himself. So Milan fans everywhere can now breathe a sigh of relief (unless you were in favor of him leaving). We’ll see what happens over the next few days though. Regarding Serie A, we are now officially at the half-way point. The return fixtures start this weekend. Atalanta-Inter 3-1 Scorers: 18´ Floccari (Ata); 28´ Doni (Ata); 33´ Doni (Ata); 90´ Ibrahimovic ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 20
Italy — ... Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Palermo-Udinese 3-2 Scorers: 2´ Pepe (Udi); 17´ Simplicio (Pal); 54´ Simplicio (Pal); 57´ Cavani (Pal); 63´ Di Natale (Udi) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Reggina-Chievo 0-1 Scorers: 90´ Italiano (Chi) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Siena-Atalanta 1-0 Scorers: 44´ Frick (Sie) Report. Player Ratings. ...

Serie A Midweek Round-up: Giornata 21
Italy — ... and funny. The midweek round was supposed to be Milan and Juventus’ chance to catch Inter as they had a difficult away tie in Catania. Unfortunately both sides failed to do that, with Diego Milito scoring a late equalizer at the San Siro to grab a precious point and Udinese finally breaking their long slump with a win over Juventus. Inter got the job done vs. Catania in 10 men, with a hard-fought 2-0 win. Full results after the jump. Atalanta-Bologna 0-1 Scorers: 79´ Volpi (Bol) Report. ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 22 + Last minute Transfer Madness
Italy — ... high in the top part of the table. Allegri has shown he is a genius of sorts, making this team play fast-flowing, entertaining soccer with no real superstars (their biggest name is striker Robert Acquafresca). Imagine if Cagliari had done well in the first 5 games as well. They would be in the Champions League zone. Simply an amazing story. Let’s hope the small side from Sardegna can continue to amaze. Results and transfer news after the jump. Atalanta-Catania 1-0 Scorers: 24´ Guarente (Ata) ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 23
Italy — ... to a 1-1 draw, Christian Poulsen scored in stoppage time to catapult Juve past Milan. Roma kept their charge to 4th place going as they defeated fellow European challengers Genoa 3-0 at the Olimpico. A late Gilardino goal vs Lazio allowed Fiorentina to stay ahead of the Giallorossi in the standings. Also, Giornata 23 was one of the best weekends of Serie A goals. There are many beauties to admire this week. Results after the jump. Cagliari-Atalanta 0-1 Scorers: 66´ Cigarini (Ata) Report. Player ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 24
Italy — ... However both Inter goals showed Milan’s weakness, their defense. Both the first and second goals can be attributed to defensive errors, and if Milan want to get to the top of Italy and Europe again, they need to fix that this summer. Inter went to +9 over Juve and +11 over Milan, and barring one of the greatest slip-up/comeback stories in calcio history, the Nerazzurri look on their way to yet another title. Full results after the jump. Atalanta-Roma 3-0 Scorers: 52´ Capelli (Ata); 56´ Doni (Ata); 59´ Doni ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 25
Italy — ... 0-1 Scorers: 69´ Jankovic (Gen) Report.Player Ratings. Highlights. Palermo-Juventus 0-2 Scorers: 27´ Sissoko (Juv); 79´ Trezeguet (Juv) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Roma-Siena 1-0 Scorers: 63´ Taddei (Rom) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Sampdoria-Atalanta 1-0 Scorers: 61´ Pazzini (Sam) Report. Player Ratings. ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 26
Italy — ... when Balotelli fell in front of De Rossi (replays show he did dive) and Rizzoli pointed to the spot. Balotelli put it past Doni to score his second of the game. Hernan Crespo was thrown on and after a minute of being on the field connected with a Luis Figo cross perfectly and scored his first goal since last year. The match ended 3-3 and Roma missed the chance to be 4th place while Inter stayed 7 points over Juventus. Full results after the jump. Atalanta-Chievo 0-2 Scorers: 79´ Langella (Chi); 89´ rig. Pellissier ...

The Serie A Table without Refereeing Errors
Italy — ... position, Bologna would remain even, and Reggina would escape last place and improve to third from last and fighting for safety: 1a: Milan 53 +5 2a: Fiorentina 51 +5 3a: Juventus 50 -3 4a: Inter 49 -11 5a: Genoa 46 +1 6a: Roma 45 +1 7a: Cagliari 40 +2 8a: Udinese 40 +6 9a: Palermo 39 +3 10a: Napoli 39 +4 11a: Lazio 39 +1 12a: Sampdoria 36 +4 13a: Atalanta 35 -1 14a: Catania 33 = 15a: Siena 31 +3 16a: Torino 24 ...

Genoa - Inter: A Chance at Redemption
F.C. Internazionale Milano — ... meets Atalanta on Sunday. The thing about Atalanta is you just never know which team will show up. Will it be the one that soundly thrashed Inter and Roma? Or the one that gets thumped by Reggina? Who can say. ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 28
Italy — ... when he was pushed aside by players like Vieri, Totti, Del Piero, Toni, and Gilardino, he managed to scored 25 goals (imagine if he had started more!). Inzaghi has always been one of the my favorite players. He never complains about playing time, he’s always waiting in the wings for his opportunity and when he comes on the pitch he gives 110%. Congrats SuperPippo, and here’s to hoping you score many more goals. Results after the jump. Atalanta-Torino 2-0 Scorers: 47´ Floccari (Ata); 73´ Floccari ...

Bobo Vieri rescinds contract with Atalanta
Italy — ... last year with highs and lows, Vieri signed for Atalanta, a club he was familiar with, having played with them in 1995/96 and 2006/2007. At the start of the season it looked like Vieri would have a good year and looked reborn to a certain extent, but as usual injuries caught up with him and he only made 9 appearances, scoring 2 goals. He also didn’t really have the fans behind him, as many felt he was finished and shouldn’t have been signed in the summer. The frustrating injury troubles finally got to Bobo and ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 31
Italy — ... 4-2 Scorers: 2´ Pandev (Laz); 4´ Zarate (Laz); 10´ Mexes (Rom); 57´ Lichtsteiner (Laz); 79´ De Rossi (Rom); 85´ Kolarov (Laz) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Lecce-Sampdoria 1-3 Scorers: 11´ Pazzini (Sam); 30´ rig. Cassano (Sam); 59´ rig. Caserta (Lec); 88´ rig. Cassano (Sam) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Napoli-Atalanta 0-0 Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Reggina- ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 32
Italy — Atalanta-Reggina 0-1 Scorers: 40´ Ceravolo (Reg) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Cagliari-Napoli 2-0 Scorers: 5´ Jeda (Cag); 92´ Lazzari (Cag) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Catania-Sampdoria 2-0 Scorers: 39´ rig. Mascara (Cat); 48´ Martinez (Cat) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Genoa-Lazio ...

Lazio - Atalanta
Lazio — ... Lazio face a tricky tie at home to Atalanta today as we seek to take advantage of Rioma’s misfortune and continue our charge towards sixth spot. After turning in three top quality performances in the past ten days, our squad is decimated and we are undoubtedly fatigued. On paper, it is difficult to see anything other than a win but in reality, this is tough. ...

Wednesday Milan Musings
AC Milan — ... of the two schedules with Inter running into teams that are complacently stuck firm in the middle of the table while Milan have some tough games against Udinese, Juventus, and Fiorentina. Seven points stand between Milan and a title, and frankly stranger things have happened. Inter really have nothing left to play for and they will have to get geared up week in and week out to get the job done, question is can the rest of Italy and I mean you Lazio, Atalanta, and Siena get geared up as well! Milan knows what is as stake, and frankly the next ...

Just Typical
Lazio — ... Just typical. That’s the only words I can use to describe our loss to Atalanta last weekend. Credit to La Dea, they have done the double over us and you can’t say they haven’t deserved it but considering we beat them in the cup earlier in the season, one has to question how we can go down in such fashion to them. ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 34
Italy — ... (Pal); 48´ Jeda (Cag); 50´ Tedesco (Pal); 57´ Cavani (Pal); 87´ Succi (Pal) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Roma-Chievo 0-0 Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Siena-Napoli 2-1 Scorers: 11´ Kharja (Sie); 25´ Maccarone (Sie); 80´ Pia’ (Nap) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Udinese-Atalanta 3-0 Scorers: 43´ Quagliarella (Udi); 74´ Quagliarella (Udi); 90´ ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 36
Italy — ... Ratings. Highlights. Genoa-Chievo 2-2 Scorers: 35´ Pinzi (Chi); 58´ rig. Milito (Gen); 71´ Olivera (Gen); 85´ Pellissier (Chi) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Inter-Siena 3-0 Scorers: 45´ Cambiasso (Int); 52´ Balotelli (Int); 76´ Ibrahimovic (Int) Report. Player Ratings. Highlights. Juventus-Atalanta 2-2 Scorers: 2´ Cigarini (Ata); 26´ Iaquinta (Juv); 36´ Zanetti ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 38 - Plus some coaching news
Italy — ... of my mind and I gave him hell. Del Neri was a nice guy, but I couldn’t understand what the hell he was saying [Del Neri has a thick Northern Italian accent]. ‘Antonio blah blah blah’ he would say, and I would just nod my head and pretend I understood.” So it will be interesting to see if the reformed Cassano makes amends with Del Neri, or if Cassano will even be at Sampdoria at all. -As of now, the following teams need new managers next season: Atalanta, Catania, Juventus, and maybe Lazio and Palermo. Atalanta ...

PoS: The Trophy and Beyond
F.C. Internazionale Milano — ... Oh ya, the rest. Well, Inter beat Atalanta 4-3, with a brace from Ibra, one from Muntari, and one from Cambiasso. Ibra’s last goal was enough to put him over the top, and with ...

Three coaching vacancies filled
Italy — So, three clubs have now officially ended their search for a new boss. Atalanta, Juventus, and surprisingly Palermo have all appointed new managers today. Atalanta and Juventus choosing a new manager was expected, but Palermo appointing someone new was very surprising, especially considering that Davide Ballardini hasn’t even been fired yet. Atalanta have chosen to go with the young and up-and-coming route and have appointed Angelo Gregucci as boss. Gregucci has little Serie A coaching ...

Massimo Donati to Bari
Celtic — ... have published on their website that the deal to bring Massimo Donati back to Italy has been completed. The site is reporting that the “formalities” of the deal should be completed by tomorrow. The Italian midfielder has spent the last two years with Celtic. Before his time in Glasgow, Donati began his career at Atalanta, before moving on to ...

Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 3
Italy — After 3 giornate, only 3 clubs are still at full points: Sampdoria, who defeated Atalanta 1-0 in Bergamo with a goal from Daniele Mannini; Juventus, who saw Lazio off with a 2-0 win thanks to Martin Caceres and David Trezeguet; and Genoa, who thumped Napoli 4-1 with Sergio Floccari, Giandomenico Mesto, Hernan Crespo, and Houssine Kharja all scoring their first goals of the season. Full results after the jump. REPORTS All reports ...

Can Sampdoria be the surprise of the season?
Italy — ... to compete with any side. One name to look out for is Andrea Poli, the U-21 center midfielder. I consider him to be of Italy’s best upcoming talents, and could be the true heir to Andrea Pirlo. He started vs. Siena and left a very good impression. OK, so let’s say you’ve read up to this point and you say all this well and good, but Sampdoria’s first 4 opponents weren’t the cream of the crop of Serie A clubs. Catania, Udinese, Atalanta, and Siena may not be the top, but they are still all formidable squads and the ...