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| | Spotlight: Don't count out Doni |
Thursday 26 October, 2006
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| Football Italia rounds up the winners and the losers from Week 8 of the Serie A season. |
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The Winners…
Cristiano Doni (Atalanta)
This side embodies the ‘Provinciale’ in Italian football – character, determination and a never-say-die attitude. Nobody sums this up more than Doni, the man who returned to the club to end his career in familiar surroundings. The midfielder’s powerful header completed another great comeback from 3-1 down to hold Cagliari 3-3 days after a similar feat against Sampdoria resulted in a 3-2 victory.
Marek Jankulovski (Milan)
The Czech was more often used on the left side of midfield – if at all – at Milan before injuries to both Serginho and Giuseppe Pancaro gave him his chance at left-back. Jankulovski is making the most of this serendipitous double setback for Milan by showing himself off as a good crosser of the ball and far handier in the goal-scoring department than either of his rivals for the role. Incredibly, he’s the Rossoneri’s current top scorer on two.
Marco Delvecchio (Ascoli)
How satisfying must it have been for Delvecchio to return to the Olimpico and score against the club he represented for a decade? The old wolf showed up young upstarts Philippe Mexes and Matteo Ferrari with his header to silence the Giallorossi crowd and almost allowed Ascoli an historic victory, but after almost a year out injured, the goal will have been quite enough for Delvecchio.
The Losers…
Stefano Pioli (Parma)
It’s a wonder how long the inexperienced Coach can ride out this disastrous wave of results. Parma have lost six of their eight games and only won once. The team has no shape, no leadership figures and no character. It’s embarrassing to note that Igor Budan has scored half of their measly total of six goals. Pioli needs to rethink his one-striker system or face the possibility of the sack.
Alvaro Recoba (Inter)
He was so close to entering the ‘Winners’ section of our little round-up after setting up both of Inter’s opening goals in the 4-1 thrashing of Livorno, but there are two things that have held back Chino’s career – inconsistency and injury. This time it was the latter, as he limped off after 24 minutes with a muscular problem, having only just returned from a two-month lay-off. Put simply, he’s a liability.
Marc Pfertzel (Livorno)
Please do try to witness how Inter opened the scoring less than a minute into this match. Recoba’s crosses can be tricky, but it doesn’t help when you insist on clearing for a corner with your left foot when doing it with your right would’ve been far wiser. He succeeded in turning the ball into his own net under no pressure whatsoever. His face went as deep red as his shirt.
The Goals…
Francesco Totti (Roma)
A free kick was touched on for the captain to smash a powerful strike under the crossbar. It was almost enough to make up for having a penalty saved by Gianluca Pagliuca…
Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria)
The ex-Ascoli striker is on fire at the moment, having already scored as many goals in seven games as he did throughout all of last season. He pounced on Manuel Belleri’s error and took the goalkeeper out wide before slotting an angled drive into the net.
Mario Frick (Siena)
A triumph of ingenuity and instinct from the Liechtenstein international. Erjon Bogdani’s shot came off the bar and, as he was already falling and the ball was going behind him, he reached back to flick it into the net with a scorpion move off his heel.
The Numbers…
Lucarelli Consolation
Livorno may not have earned a single point at San Siro since 1946-47, but at least they finally managed to score a goal. Cristiano Lucarelli’s strike was the first they’ve managed against Inter here since Stradella netted in a 3-1 defeat on November 21, 1948.
Rollicking Roma
The Giallorossi have now hit the back of the net in Serie A with 11 different players in eight games. Philippe Mexes’ last-gasp equaliser with Ascoli allowed him to join Alberto Aquilani, Daniele De Rossi, Amantino Mancini, Vincenzo Montella, Stefano Okaka, Simone Perrotta, David Pizarro, Aleandro Rosi, Rodrigo Taddei and Francesco Totti on the scoresheet. However, Totti has now missed two penalties, firing wide against Livorno in Week 1 and bringing a fine save out of Pagliuca.
Viola Victory
Fiorentina hadn’t beaten Torino away from home in Serie A since 1995-96, when they registered a 1-0 result. Their tally here also includes 15 defeats and just 10 draws. Curiously, the Viola haven’t shared the spoils in official competition since a 1-1 with Juventus on April 9, notching up nine wins and five losses between the League and Coppa Italia.
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| Words: Susy Campanale |
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Past Spotlights
A unique review of each round of the 2006-07 Serie A campaign. More |
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