Lazio seem a step closer to financial safety. A group of Italian banks came forward to put in some capital with the condition that Sergio Cragnotti and his children resigned as President and Directors respectively. They appointed a lawyer, Ugo Longo, as President until a new Board of Directors is put together and meets to decide on post holders.
New directors include manager Roberto Mancini, who is seen as vital to the club's future. Longo's first move move was to plead with Italian TV company Stream to advance Lazio's TV money, a request they agreed to. This allowed the club to play their players and avoid losing their entire squad to free transfers.
Juve have completed the purchase of a 99 year lease on the Stadio delle Alpi. They will renovate the stadium by removing the athletics track and reducing capacity. Torino will share the stadium until they move back to a renovated Stadio Communale in 2006. Fans of Napoli have set up the Diegorean Brothers, it was good to see the Sunday Liam pick this up fully four months after it happened. A Church dedicated to Maradona may seem excessive but he did deliver Napoli to the promised land. The 100 or so devotees believe that he is God and worthy of such praise. Their Christmas is the great man's birthday, and they date their calendar from the date of his birth. This is currently 42AD (After Diego).....
Serie A results this weekend suited the Milan clubs, who both won while their rivals dropped points. Milan beat Modena 2-1 at home with goals from Pirlo and Inzaghi, while Inter won away to Torino, a comfortable 2-0 victory. Juve were held by Atalanta while Chievo and Lazio fought out a draw with Lazio equalising in the 89th minute through Simeone. Roma managed a win, 3-1 at home to Bologna while the youngsters of Parma remained on course for Serie A safety, and in fact entered the European placings, with a 3-2 victory over Udinese.
Results
Piacenza 1 Brescia 4
Roma 3 Bologna 1
Milan 2 Modena 1
Atalanta 1 Juve 1
Chievo 1 Lazio 1
Empoli 0 Como 0
Parma 3 Udinese 2
Reggina 3 Perugia 1
Torino 0 Internazionale 2
Standings after 19 games:
Milan 42
Inter 42
Juve 39
Lazio 37
Chievo 33
Parma 30
Lazio played host to Roma in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final on Wednesday night. The Olimpico was packed, setting a Coppa Italia attendance record. Not surprisingly there was some trouble before the match but nothing to get worked up about. Mancini's biancocelesti are eleven points clear of Roma in the league but with the giallorossi staring down the barrel in Serie A and the Champions' League, this is there only realistic chance of success this season. They certainly took it. Goals from Cassano and a thirty metre bullet from Emerson put them two up before Fiore scored to set up a tense finish. The hero of the evening was Ivan Pelizzoli, the keeper had an inspired evening for Roma and may now claim the jersey from Antonioli. Therefore, an intense evening in the eternal city sees Roma installed as favourites to progress to the final where they will face treble seeking Milan or Perugia, that game being played on Thursday evening.
Juventus featured in the news as well. Mauro Camoranesi, the gifted right-sided midfielder has opted to play for Italy rather than Argentina and looks to be included in Trapattoni's squad for the game against Portugal this month. There were the usual cries for Roberto Baggio to be picked but despite his great form for Brescia, Trap will never pick him after their World Cup dispute. A shame for Italy and everyone's loss as we won't get to see the best player of the modern era grace the international stage again.
There was also some bad news for Juve. After dropping two points at Atalanta last weekend they will be without Del Piero for five weeks, he has a thigh muscle injury. A blow to their scudetto aspirations and he'll also miss both CL games against Manchester United.
Massimo Marazzina joined Roma from Chievo before the transfer deadline. He's delighted but his wife Alessia is more so. She comes from Rome and is a romanista. Never been fully convinced by Marazzina and it'll be interesting to see how he develops with Capello's team.
Final word on the race for lo scudetto. Both Milan teams are locked together with identical records, thirteen wins, three draws and three defeats. Add to that the fact that the rossoneri have the best defensive record and Inter have scored the most goals and it makes a trip to Milan for the next derby quite an exciting prospect.
Next week we'll have an update on ex-Gers in Italy.