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| | Spotlight: Rampant Rosina |
Monday 18 December, 2006
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| Football Italia rounds up the winners and the losers from Week 16 of the Serie A season |
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The winners…
Alessandro Rosina (Torino)
Torino’s change in fortunes has coincided with the explosion of Alessandro Rosina at the top level. Having been tipped for greatness over recent years, the Under-21 international was stunning at Ascoli – especially on the counter-attack. He scored twice, including the coolest penalty you will ever see, to ignite Toro’s Champions League ambitions.
Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina)
The Romanian is the shrewdest buy of the summer. After a few lean years, he’s back to his best under his former Parma boss Cesare Prandelli. The ex-Juve forward is Fiorentina’s top scorer this season and his brace against Milan has seen him move into second spot in the scorers’ charts. Who needs Luca Toni?
Antonio Di Natale (Udinese)
A nightmare to stop for Cagliari on Saturday night. The Italian international is having some season and he was a constant headache for the Sardinians with his pace and technique on the left wing. No wonder he’s at the top of so many transfer target wish lists.
The losers…
Cristiano Lucarelli (Livorno)
The Livorno captain was undoubtedly the idiot of the week for his antics after Goran Pandev had given Lazio the lead. While the striker was legitimately celebrating his goal, Lucarelli ran across the field of play to shoulder the Macedonian in the face. Ludicrously, the referee only gave him a yellow card and the Italian would go on to net the equaliser.
Sulley Ali Muntari (Udinese)
If this midfielder is going to live up to his potential then he needs to cool things down. Although aggressive tackling is part of his game, he lost his head against Cagliari. After picking up a yellow card for a foul, he gave the referee no choice but to expel him for the most useless wild challenge on Andrea Capone. He’s been dismissed three times in 11 games this season…
Sasa Bjelanovic (Ascoli)
It was a dark day for the attacker against Torino. After already putting in a disastrous performance versus the Granata, he blew the chance to net his side a 1-1 draw by seeing his late penalty saved by Christian Abbiati.
The goals…
Marco Materazzi (Inter)
Inter opened the scoring against Messina with the unlikeliest of strikes. As Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed the ball across the six-yard box, nobody was expecting what followed. With his back to goal, Marco Materazzi co-ordinated himself to smash a Gianluca Vialli style scissor-kick past Marco Storari.
Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria)
It was an afternoon for bicycle-kicks as Sampdoria netted their win at Reggina thanks to a Fabio Quagliarella effort. Despite having a marker on his back, the in-form striker acrobatically jumped up and smashed the ball over his own shoulder which gave Ivan Pelizzoli no chance.
Daniele Dessena (Parma)
Under-21 international Daniele Dessena grabbed a gorgeous goal at the Tardini to temporarily give his side the lead. The youngster blasted home an angled curler from outside of the penalty area which swung effortlessly into the top corner.
The numbers…
Bitter 16
Ascoli’s winless start to the season continued with a 2-0 loss to Torino. If the Bianconeri don’t win their next game then they will equal a club record when they went 17 games without success in the 1984-85 campaign.
Pen pal
Torino ‘keeper Christian Abbiati faced his second spot-kick in two games without conceding. Milan struck the post through Alberto Gilardino, while the ‘keeper expertly saved Sasa Bjelanovic’s effort at the Del Duca.
Ninth symphony
Inter set a new club record by collecting their ninth straight Serie A win with the 2-0 over Messina. The Nerazzurri have collected 42 points from the first 16 games which has only been bettered by Juventus – with 44 in 1949-50 and 43 last season.
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| Words: Antonio Labbate |
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Past Spotlights
A unique review of each round of the 2006-07 Serie A campaign. More |
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