The third giornata of Serie A had less drama and surprises then the last two weeks, but it was interesting and exciting nonetheless. All the big teams won (including Milan for the first time): Inter swept aside Torino, Juventus won a tricky away game vs. Cagliari, Roma ended their "crisis" by soundly defeating Reggina 3-0, Milan finally won with a 4-1 victory over Lazio, and Fiorentina keep chugging along (with Gila scoring goals) with a win vs.

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The AC Milan vs Lazio match saw a variety of impressive goals but the one which sticks out above the rest was the winner scored by Gianluca Zambrotta.  Zambrotta's is winning goal of the week for the following reasons, 1. distance 2. location 3. power 4. as fullback Zambrotta doesn't score often, making this a very special goal compared to the rest netted by seasoned goalscorers this week. Click to continue reading...

All of Carlo Ancelotti's high powered summer acquisitions were on display. Flamini, Ronaldinho, and Sheva started for Milan but they ran out of gas as a lively Genoa team ran their legs off. Genoa won through Sciulli and Milito's PK in stoppage time. This is Milan's second loss and Ancelotti must be second guessing his high priced transfer choices.

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(first, sorry for the lack of posts the last two days, we'll be back on scheduled programming starting now)

Daniele De Rossi scored his first ever "doppietta" (brace) in an Azzurri shirt to give Italy the 3 points vs. Georgia. Italy now have 6 points for the first two games and have made an excellent start to World Cup Qualfying, despite their mediocre play.

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One of the Italians to move abroad this summer was World Cup winning fullback (and team barber) Massimo Oddo. The 32 year old right back had a nightmare season last year. He wasn't himself at all, he played poorly, all his crosses ended up in Row Z, and he found himself left out of the national team set-up, missing Euro 2008.

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Hands down the goal of the week goes to Francesco Valiani of Bologna FC for the winner against AC Milan at the San Siro. (AC Milan 1 - 2 Bologna FC) Goalscorers - Di Vaio 18 (B), Ambrosini 42 (M), Valiani 79 (B) Line Ups Milan: Abbiati; Zambrotta, Maldini, Kaladze, Jankulovski (Shevchenko 46); Flamini, Pirlo, Ambrosini (Emerson 85); Seedorf, Ronaldinho; Inzaghi [. Click to continue reading...

By way of a complement to our weekly look at German football called Bundesbag, we're going to be regularly updating you on the other leagues vying for your attention around Europe and indeed the world at large.

This week, we're checking out the first weekend of action in Serie A, and we begin with reigning champions Inter who were playing away to Sampdoria on Saturday. Click to continue reading...

The eyes of the every milanista were set on this date.  It was well over a year in the making.  The speculations, the on again- off again of the entire operation.   From the "Gordinho" headlines to his flashes of brilliance here and there all led up to his triumphant arrival to the San Siro where [. Click to continue reading...

Goalkeepers: Buffon (Juventus), Amelia (Palermo) Defenders: Barzagli (Wolfsburg), Bonera (Milan), Cassetti (Roma), Dossena (Liverpool), Grosso (Lyon), Legrottaglie (Juventus), Zambrotta (Milan) Midfielders: Aquilani (Roma), Camoranesi (Juventus), De Rossi (Roma), Gattuso (Milan), Palombo (Sampdoria), Perrotta (Roma), Pirlo (Milan) Forwards: Del Piero (Juventus), Di Natale (Udinese), Gilardino (Fiorentina), Iaquinta (Juventus) . Click to continue reading...

Today at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin the Trofeo TIM was held between Juventus, Inter, and Milan. It was a triangular tournament with each game lasting 45 minutes, and each match goes to penalties in case of a draw. 3 points for a win, 2 points for a win in penalties, and 1 point if you lose in penalties.

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A few bits and pieces to keep us going this morning.

I suppose we'll start with the Amaury Bischoff thing. According the player he's going to join us to play in the reserves having failed to make a single start for Werder Bremen in his time at the German club. I think much of that was due to injury rather than ability.

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The "biscuits" are only Scandinavian. The miracle of bern repeats itself, but this time it is Italian and not German, like in the 1954 World Cup. Italy gets rid of the Portuguese nightmare and advances to the second round. Italy was great against France and while they beat the French team coached by Domenech 2-0, something they have not done in regular time since the 1978 World Cup, The Netherlands beat Romania 2-0, allowing us to advance to the quarterfinals that will be played on Sunday, the 22nd, in Vienna, against Spain. Click to continue reading...

All the talk of Italy and France in their biggest encounter could be mere piffle if Romania wins against the Oranje.

The Oranje may decide to take their foot off the accelerator for this match, inconsequential to their advancement. If they do, then Romania has a chance.

Well, as good a chance as any, considering their ball possession will be similar to Bush's approval rating.

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It will be the tale of the two keepers. And who will be more effective in keeping the ball away from the crypt. If that is the case then you would take Buffon over Gregory Coupet in a heartbeat. Coupet's heedless charge led to the Robben goal and his delayed reaction could have stopped Van Persie.

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If not for defender Christian Panucci poaching a goal and keeper Gigi Buffon making a fabulous penalty save, the World Champions would already be packing for home. Highlights from the Italy vs. Romania match on Day 7 Footytube Italy 1 -1 Romania Italy: Buffon; Zambrotta, Panucci, Chiellini, Grosso; Camoranesi (Ambrosini 85), Pirlo, De Rossi, Perrotta (Cassano 56); Del Piero Click to continue reading...

Italy 1, Romania 1
Holland 4, France 1

Any questions? Holland continued their dream run through the Group of Death with a 4-1 win over France. The win clinches the top spot in Group C for Marco Van Basten's men after a sweep of the finalists from the 2006 World Cup. As they did in their opener, Holland took the early lead but never let up on the pressure. Click to continue reading...

Italy 1, Romania 1
Holland 4, France 1

Any questions? Holland continued their dream run through the Group of Death with a 4-1 win over France. The win clinches the top spot in Group C for Marco Van Basten's men after a sweep of the finalists from the 2006 World Cup. As they did in their opener, Holland took the early lead but continued to press from there. Click to continue reading...

Tonight was a good night for Italy but not in the conventional sense. I loved Donadoni as a player and i have no doubt he will one day make a good manager but he is out of his depth right now.From playing people in the wrong spot (Zambrotta at left back instead of Right back,Panucci on the left) To choosing the 4-3-3 against a nation that has mastered its intricacies in the least is naive. Click to continue reading...

Good afternoon folks. The first high-profile match of the European Championships is set to kickoff with Italy facing the Netherlands in Group C action.

Both teams come into the match dealing with injury issues. Italy lost Fabio Cannavaro while the Dutch lost Ryan Babel and will be without Arjen Robben for this match.

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Italy have received the late boost that Fabio Cannavaro will be able to give a captain's contribution from the dug-out.

The Azzurri skipper, who is already on the road to recovery following last Wednesday's ankle operation, has been given the go-ahead by UEFA to participate in Euro 2008 from the bench. Click to continue reading...

Yes, as the title reads, A.S. Bari is up for sale. For whoever does not know, Bari is a port city in Southern Italy and is the capital of the Puglia region. It is considered the second biggest "piazza" (behind Napoli) in Southern Italy. The club has a long history, and throughout the '90's was a yo-yo club, going up and down between Serie A and B.

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All signs point to major changes in the Barcelona squad next season. My (massively long, as it turns out) two cents on who should be staying and who needs to be ushered out the door below.

Keep in mind, though, that I haven't taken any economic considerations (e.g. selling X will get us some cash to spend on Y) into account. Click to continue reading...

Against Lyon, a great European side, Barca's 3-man forward line had an average age of 20. Eto'o wasn't quite fit enough yet, Henry's body had finally given out after playing continuously while not 100% fit, and Ronaldinho was on the bench. Andres Iniesta, 23; Lionel Messi, 20; and Bojan Krkic, 17, a forward line crafted in the Barca youth academies, led the line in their stead. Click to continue reading...

(graphic swiped from Sport)

Any other team might be pleased to win 3-0 (especially with most players coming off two international appearances) and gain some distance on our rivals at the top of the table, but as always, Barca are our own greatest enemy. It feels like forever since I've done one of my rambling, player-by-player match reports, so here goes. Click to continue reading...

I picked a bad time to be away, didn't I? Events in the past week have been strangely reminiscent of the 04-05 season: great play, great sense of team spirit, tons of injuries. Perhaps it's a good omen, as Barca won the title that time, but I hope the squad remember that they did it by sticking together and working hard through the bad patches.

Here's an amazing statistic: it's been 10 months since we last won 4 in a row. Click to continue reading...

- According to Arsene Wenger, Arsenal is at a breaking point concerning it's ownership. The French manager is vehemently against foreigners buying controlling stake in the club and singles out the Glazer model at Manchester United as what is wrong with football. His reaction come as Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has increased is stake to 23% in the London club. Click to continue reading...