Italian Round Up
- Rumours abound that Juve are close to bringing in Juan Roman Riquelme from Villarreal, in exchange for Portuguese midfielder Tiago (ex Chelsea and Lyon). The clubs are not far apart in their valuations and Spanish press report a deal may be close.
- Momo Sissoko wants to join Juventus after snubbing the 'old lady' in the summer. Liverpool may want £8m - a potential stumbling block.
- Adrian Mutu has insisted he is happy at Fiorentina despite rumours linking him to the Premiership. Going the other way might be Bolton's Nicholas Anelka who is rumoured to be a target for shot shy Milan, who clearly don't feel that even Ronaldo's imminent return is enough to kick start their league campaign. Linked with a return to Italy is Newcastle's Turkish midfielder Emre. Man City might have been priced out of a move for Palermo's Amauri, with the Sicilians asking £15m for the Brazilian hitman.
In the league Roma and Napoli drew 4-4 in the capital; Inter and Juve march on with crucial wins, while Milan's season gets worse.
In Rome Napoli shared the spoils in an amazing game. There was no roar of celebration from the visiting fans, banned on Police advice, when Napoli took a shock lead within 120 seconds. A free kick was not cleared effectively and Marcelo Zalayeta passed it out to Ezequiel Lavezzi. The Argentine smashed a splendid right-foot strike into the near top corner from a tight angle.On the half-hour mark the referee pointed to the spot, as Paolo Cannavaro's mistimed tackle clearly brought down Pizarro in the area. Totti stepped up and buried the penalty low despite Gennaro Iezzo guessing the right angle. Roma turned the game around completely before the break. Totti's powerful shot was only parried by Iezzo into the path of Simone Perrotta who buried it.
The Giallorossi did not learn their lesson from the first half, as they conceded an equaliser just 30 seconds after the restart! Marek Hamsik started the move and finished it. Zalayeta hooked down a Savini cross from the left for Hamsik to thump a precise right-foot drive on the bounce into the bottom near corner past a stunned Curci. Roma then scored their third out of nowhere. De Rossi unleashed a rocket from 25 metres and Iezzo was taken by surprise as it dipped, but he horribly fumbled the ball to let it squirm beneath him. Napoli got themselves level on 3-3 with another spectacular effort in this thoroughly entertaining game. Gargano found space well outside the area and cracked a right-foot screamer into the far top corner past Curci's outstretched hand. Claudio Pizarro's set-piece took a deflection off Garics' heel and looped over Iezzo into the far top corner to restore Roma's advantage, but Edy Reja threw on striker Emanuele Calaio for a late trident attack and it worked, as moments later Napoli made it 4-4! A corner kick found Zalayeta's towering header between two defenders and De Rossi's attempted goalline clearance was too late to keep it out. Napoli also managed to hit the woodwork in a quite amazing game.
Inter stayed top with a win away at Reggina despite driving rain and a relatively poor performance. Adriano's goal, his first since April, won the game but his celebration was controversial - the Brazilian cake muncher seemed to be furious with Roberto Mancini, and let his feelings be known. The rain prevented the team's slick passing play undoing Inter as the ball stuck in the mud, or in puddles. Inter won't mind.
Juventus refuse to give themselves any chance but moved second after beating Genoa 1-0 with a special goal from Alessandro del Piero, as it celebrated his new contract, keeping him in Turin until 2010. He volleyed home a Nedved cross before half time to cap a superb game from the veteran forward, whose all round play was a huge feature of the win. The game ended badly for Pavel Nedved when he appeared to elbow Konko and received a straight red. The ban may be lengthy. Genoa played well and can be happy with their start to life in Serie A.
Milan's nightmare continues; another home defeat, less points than games played and no punch up front. The Milan giants rested Kaka to try and force the players to live without their talisman but his absence made things worse as Saudati's goal on 55 minutes sealed their fate. The problem this time was terrible defending, with some comic cuts at the back. The decision to rest on their laurels and not strengthen squad was the wrong one, and that is being felt now. Kaka remain the only 'special player' and the forward line in particular is not good enough for such a club.
Other results:Atalanta | Torino | |
Cagliari | Catania | |
Fiorentina | Siena | |
Livorno | Lazio | |
Sampdoria | Parma | |
Udinese | Palermo |
Table: