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| | Spotlight: See here |
Monday 17 March, 2008
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| Football Italia rounds up the winners and the losers from Week 28 of the Serie A season |
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The winners…
Clarence Seedorf (Milan)
He’s not a multiple European Cup winner with three different clubs by chance. Seedorf was Milan’s inspiration in Rome where he, and his side, deserved more than the defeat which followed. His enforced substitution thanks to a thigh injury preceded Roma’s fightback and his absence in the recent 2-0 defeat to Arsenal may have been of more significance than first thought.
Patrick Vieira (Inter)
More than one Inter fan had asked why they had even bothered to sign Patrick Vieira from Juventus in 2006 given his struggles since. But even the most critical Nerazzurri follower was silenced on Sunday thanks to the Frenchman’s Palermo display. Power personified, the game’s opening scorer deserved his standing ovation.
Luciano Spalletti (Roma)
Having seen his side suffer for 60 minutes against Milan, the Roma Coach realised that it was time for not one key change but two. And what intuitive substitutions they were as both Ludovic Giuly and Mirko Vucinic netted in the space of three minutes to ensure the points. “Inspired substitutions? Perhaps, or maybe I got the starting XI wrong…”
The losers…
Luca Bucci (Parma)
So often the hero for Parma in the past, it was veteran ‘keeper Luca Bucci who disappointed in their relegation scrap at Livorno. He’s been in this game long enough to know that you need to get more than a bendy wrist behind a powerful shot from distance – even if it is the hardly prolific Luis Vidigal shooting.
David Trezeguet (Juventus)
It was one of those invisible days in front of goal for David Trezeguet, but the Juventus man certainly got himself noticed for a couple of challenges. Having been rightly booked for a tackle from behind, the Frenchman was more than a little fortunate to not be shown a red for his combined elbow and knee ‘assault’ on Fabiano Santacroce.
Per Kroldrup (Fiorentina)
A critic splitter, the Danish international had another difficult afternoon against Genoa’s attacking talent. Sometimes caught out of position, he offered the likes of Marco Borriello and Co a little too much room at times. Fortunately, Fiorentina’s attack was on fire at the Franchi yesterday afternoon.
The goals…
Cristian Ledesma (Lazio)
It’s getting to the stage now when not too many people are that surprised when the Argentine strikes the ball from distance and it ends up in the back of the net. His latest rocket arrived at the Stadio Friuli after his powerful shot from 30 yards comfortably beat Samir Handanovic.
Reginaldo (Parma)
The Brazilian’s goal at the Picchi was all about control. Cristiano Lucarelli delicately flicked the ball back to Reginaldo on the edge of the D for the attacker to volley it over the innocent Marco Amelia. It would have been easy to blast the ball over the bar, the former Fiorentina player didn’t.
Mario Santana (Fiorentina)
Fiorentina opened the scoring at the Franchi with one of the prettiest goals of the day. Although Santana was the man who got his name on the scoresheet, he must share the credit with Adrian Mutu after the two exchanged some delightful passes. Replays showed that it really should have been ruled offside, but a linesman’s flag wouldn’t have masked its quality.
The numbers…
Late late show
Juventus are making a habit of scoring late. Vincenzo Iaquinta’s winner against Napoli last night means that the Turin giants have now scored 19 of their 49 goals in the last 15 minutes of Serie A ties this season. The Turin giants got back to winning ways at home after a 0-0 draw with Torino and 3-2 loss to Fiorentina.
Not seeing red
For the first time this season, no red cards were shown in the Italian top flight. And, for the fourth time this term, there were no away wins after Week 5, 17 and 25 also saw home advantage count. Of the week’s total 33 goals, a massive 28 went to the hosts.
When in Rome
Roma maintained their stunning form at home. The 2-1 victory over Milan was their 10th successive League win at the Stadio Olimpico. They’ve collected 11 wins there overall. However, Kaka’s goal against them was the first conceded in their own arena for 765 minutes.
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| Words: Antonio Labbate |
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Past Spotlights
A unique review of each round of the 2007-08 Serie A campaign. More |
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