Lastly, Roma looked to have picked the worst group of the lot, drawing Ajax, Arsenal and Valencia. very difficult to predict who will emerge from this group. I don't think all four will progress this time but I'd be disappointed if we don't have three Serie A squads in the quarter-finals.
Roma may be the team to miss out. The UEFA Cup wasn't quite as good, Parma losing to Wislaw Cracow after extra time. Lazio however put on a great display in Belgrade to oust Red Star and have been rewared with a tie against Sturm Graz. I expect the biancocelesti, money problems aside, to brush the Austrians aside.
The demise of the Azzurri may have been overstated. Over four thousand fans turned out in Pescara to watch them train. They'll be hoping for a repeat of the last international match there, also a friendly against Turkey, which resulted in a 3-1 win for Italy. The U21's also play Turkey, special mention for young Antonio Floro Flores from Napoli who has been called up to replace the injured Antonio Cassano. Unfortunately last weekend saw football take a backseat in the peninsula. Juve hammered Torino in the Turin derby, Milan beat Parma,
Lazio secured a fifth consecutive away win and Roma and Inter shared the points. However, there was trouble from Cagliari to Como, Brindisi to Torino, not forgetting Bergamo, Livorno, L'Aquila, San Benedetto and Napoli. The trouble before the game in Napoli saw a fan hospitalised but the most dramatic scenes were in the Olimpico where police had a battle with fans. In Bergamo, Carlo Mazzone had his usual run in with the home fans and had to be escorted away from the pitch. In Cagliari, the Messina goalkeeper was attacked by an outraged supporter in the 87th minute. The keeper later awoke in hospital, unable to remember the incident. The game was abandoned and Cagliari, trailing 1-0 at the time will probably have to pay a big fine and accept the imposition of a 2-0 defeat. Their President has stated that it may be cheaper to play behind closed doors at the Sant' Elia. These were just some of the incidents which highlight the extremism and vandalism that is blighting the resurgent Italian game just now.
Hopefully sanity will prevail in the coming weeks. To end on a footballing note, well done to the promoted teams Modena and Empoli who are sitting comfortably in mid table. The real work begins now though.
Last weekend's results:
Bologna 2 Perugia 1
Roma 2 Inter 2
Atalanta 2 Brescia 2
Como 1 Lazio 3
Empoli 4 Reggina 2
Milan 2 Parma 1
Modena 1 Piacenza 0
Udinese 2 Chievo 1
Torino 0 Juventus 4
Top 6 Standings:
Juventus 24
Inter 23
Milan 22
Lazio 21
Chievo 18
Bologna 18