I just got back from vacation so I won’t have time to put up a mega Serie A preview like I would’ve wanted, but by now we have an idea at where the 20 Serie A clubs stand for the coming season. So Serie A finally kicks off tomorrow with Bologna-Fiorentina and Siena-Milan, and the rest of the games come our way on Sunday. Serie A is finally back I couldn’t wait much longer. So here are some things to look out for this coming season:

-More Jose Mourinho memorable moments.
Last season Mourinho took Italy by storm in his first season with many memorable quotes (”Io non sono pirla” and “Zeru Tituli” being the big hits) and memorable press conferences and fights with other people through the media. This year he’s started off on the right foot, bickering with Marcello Lippi in the press.

-Serie A without Ibra and Kaka.
These were the two big transfer stories of the summer, with Kaka leaving for Madrid and Ibra for Barcelona. A lot of people say that Serie A has lost its valor with two of it’s biggest stars leaving but I think Italian calcio will be just fine.

-Diego
A lot of expectations have been placed on the Brazilian attacking midfielder’s shoulders. If Diego can survive the pressure and adapt to Serie A quickly, Juventus will have a superstar on their hands. Could potentially be one of the best signings of the summer.

-Low Cost Milan
Adriano Galliani said earlier in the summer that Milan would have a “low-cost” transfer campaign. And so far he has pretty much kept his word. Besides the signing of Huntelaar, little else was done this summer. Will the “Low-Cost Milan” surprise everyone and challenge for trophies, or will they fail miserably? It remains to be seen.

-Young managers at big clubs
How will Ciro Ferrara and Leonardo fare at Juventus and Milan and having been thrown into the big-time really early? Ferrara looks to have a commanding presence so far over the squad and has an interesting style of play, while Leonardo doesn’t really seem to be the best motivator and who knows how great of a tactician he is. Those questions will be answered soon.

-Roma still owned by the Sensi family
The big saga over the summer was when Roma would finally be sold, but it never happened. The Sensi family looks set to stay as majority owners of Roma. The squad is more or less the same as last season with a couple of new names and a couple of players that have left, but will they improve on last season’s 6th place finish?

-Inter’s new attack
Will the Milito-Eto’o partnership succeed? From what we’ve seen it could potentially be a very deadly duo in Serie A and in Europe.

-Antonio Cassano
The Sampdoria fantasista had an excellent season last season with no outburst of any kind. He looks to have finally matured and has been brilliant so far in Sampdoria’s preseason. In addition, its a World Cup year and Cassano really wants to try to get back into the national team set-up. Reminds me of 1997/98 when Roberto Baggio desperately wanted to go to the World Cup and had the best season of his career, forcing Cesare Maldini to bring The Divine Ponytail to France ‘98. Can Cassano force Lippi to call him up for South Africa 2010? We only hope.

-Young Italian talents
Mario Balotelli should find a lot of space in Inter’s attack, Davide Santon gets ready for his first full season as a professional, Alberto Paloschi leads the Parma attack, Ignazio Abate is proving to be a nice surprise for Milan, Robert Acquafresca is the focal part of Atalanta’s attack, Luca Cigarini will direct Napoli’s midfield, and many more Italian youngsters are out there ready to explode. Who will be the revelation of the season?

-Hernan Crespo
The Genoa striker was a sub at Inter all of last season and now he’s ready to lead Genoa’s attack. Despite his age I think Crespo has a lot left to give as he is still an excellent finisher and could be one of Serie A’s top scorers this season. Buy him for your fantasy calcio teams.

-Zenga/Zamparini
Two hotheads have to work together. Will Zenga get frustrated with Zamparini and his outbursts to the media? Will Zamparini sack Zenga after 1 bad result? Who knows. This is Maurizio Zamparini we’re talking about. It should be an interesting year in the Sicilian capital.

-Bari
The Pugliese club returns to Serie A after an 8 year absence. But have the club done enough to ensure salvation? The squad looks a little average and Ventura has never been that successful as a manager so its all up in the air. Maybe with the arrival of Texan owner Tim Barton the club will have more money to buy players. Serie A needs Bari, its a club with a lot of history in one of Italy’s biggest cities and in one of Italy’s biggest stadiums with one of Italy’s most loyal fanbases. If you need to root for a small club this season, choose Bari.

-Ronaldinho
With all the weight of Milan’s creativity on Ronaldinho’s shoulders now that Kaka is gone, will Gaucho sink or swim? Leonardo says he needs to change his attitude and if he doesn’t it will be yet another sad season for the former Golden Ball winner.

-Fabio Cannavaro
The Nazionale captain is back in Italy after 2 years with Real Madrid. With the World Cup looming, will Cannavaro get back into form and show us the old Cannavaro, or will he still be the new Cannavaro that looks to be ready for retirement? Has a great opportunity to form an understanding with Chiellini that will help the national team.

-Napoli
After an extremely disappointing season, Aurelio De Laurentiis wanted to create a squad this summer that would contend this season. Napoli made some excellent buys (De Sanctis, Campagnaro, Cigarini, Quagliarella) and now we’ll see if Roberto Donadoni is actually a good manager or just somebody that got ahead because of his name. If Lavezzi and Quagliarella hit it off, it should be a fun year in Naples.

-The Pazzini/Cassano tandem
When Pazzini arrived at Sampdoria, he was nothing more than a failed promise. But as soon as he started playing alongside Antonio Cassano, he turned into potential goal machine. The striking duo have now had a whole summer to practice together and work out kinks and now we’ll see if they can keep it up next season. If they pick up where they left off Samp will have no problem scoring goals next season.

-Marco Giampaolo
The Siena manager has always been held in high regard by Italian calcio enthusiasts and last season turned one of the weakest rosters in Serie A into a solid side with one of the best defenses in Serie A. If he can do the same this season with the club losing their three best players (Zuniga, Galloppa, Kharja), he deserves to move to bigger pastures.

-Mauro Zarate
Lazio’s number 10 took Italy by storm last season, scoring goals you usually only see on Playstation. Can he confirm himself as a potential superstar or will he cool down this season? Let’s hope he doesn’t cool down because he sure was fun to watch last season. A manager like Ballardini can only make him improve as well.

-A Giuseppe Mascara wondergoal.
Catania’s star player scores at least 2 wondergoals a season. Last season he scored on a volley from midfield vs. Palermo. Should be no different this season.

-Genoa entering the big time.
The Rossoblu really surprised everyone last season with their impressive campaign. Gasperini had the squad playing exciting attacking football and it payed off. This season they may become distracted with the Europa League but if the squad can handle both competitions this should be another great year for Il Grifone.

-Bologna and Livorno being relegated.
Those are my two relegation predictions for this season. Livorno has a Serie B caliber roster that I don’t think will cut it in Serie A despite the magic of Alessandro Diamanti. Bologna had the arrival of the new owner and just bought Marcelo Zalayeta, but I don’t think they have enough quality to make another great escape like last season. The third relegation spot is up for grabs. I want to say Chievo but they always somehow manage to perform a miracle.

On June 16th, Italy will play their first game of the UEFA U-21 Championship 2009 vs. Serbia. The Azzurrini find themselves in a group with Belarus, Serbia, and hosts Sweden. Italy have always been successful at this level however they have not won the U-21 Championship since 2004. Pierluigi Casiraghi has been unsuccessful with the Azzurrini so far since taking over from Claudio Gentile in 2006 and this is arguably his last chance. I think there is a good chance Casiraghi is relieved of his duties if Italy doesn’t at least reach the final of this tournament. The Azzurrini will start training this week. Roster after the jump.

GOALKEEPERS

1. Andrea Consigli (Atalanta)
12. Salvatore Sirigu (Ancona)
22. Andrea Seculin (Fiorentina)

DEFENDERS

3. Marco Andreolli (Sassuolo)
15. Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa)
4. Domenico Criscito (Genoa)
11. Paolo De Ceglie (Juventus)
6. Lino Marzorati (Empoli)
2. Marco Motta (Roma)
14. Francesco Pisano (Cagliari)
13. Andrea Ranocchia (Bari)

MIDFIELDERS

7. Ignazio Abate (Torino)
16. Antonio Candreva (Livorno)
18. Alessio Cerci (Atalanta)
21. Luca Cigarini (Atalanta)
23. Daniele Dessena (Sampdoria)
8. Claudio Marchisio (Juventus)
5. Piermario Morosini (Vicenza)
17. Andrea Poli (Sassuolo)

STRIKERS

9. Robert Acquafresca (Cagliari)
20. Mario Balotelli (Inter)
10. Sebastian Giovinco (Juventus)
19. Alberto Paloschi (Parma)

Suprisingly Napoli’s Fabiano Santacroce was left home, and Andrea Ranocchia of Bari was included. Lorenzo De Silvestri also misses out, but that is understandable as Delio Rossi benched him most of the season. Alessio Cerci is called up despite suffering injury trouble all year, and Andrea Poli is called in after a solid year at Sassuolo. Alberto Paloschi gets a call up after his splendid season at Parma (12 goals). After this U-21 Championship, the only players that will be eligible for selection for the next cycle are Paloschi, Balotelli, Poli, Ranocchia, and Seculin. Everyone else will have to try to work their way into the full national team set-up if they want to wear Azzurro again.

The long Serie B season finally came to an end today. While some things had already been decided (Bari and Parma automatically promoted; Brescia, Livorno, and Empoli in the play-offs; Avellino and Treviso relegated) some things still had to be decided, like who would join Treviso and Avellino in Lega Pro, who would fight for their Serie B lives in the play-out, and who between Grosseto and Sassuolo would fight for a place in Serie A through the play-off. Results after the jump.

Albinoleffe-Ancona 3-4
25′ Ruopolo (Al), 58′ Perico (Al), 60′ Colacone (An), 68′ Cissè (Al), 70′ Mastronunzio (A), 72′ De Falco (A), 90′ Rizzato (An)

Ascoli-Livorno 2-3
47′ Belingheri (A), 55′ Diamanti (L), 77′ Soncin (A), 79′ Tavano (L), 90′ Tavano (L)

Avellino-Empoli 0-1
75′ Saudati (E)

Bari-Treviso 4-1
3′ Guberti (B), 14′ Musetti (T), 26′ Guberti (B), 49′ Caputo (B), 63′ Barreto (B)

Cittadella-Rimini 2-0
53′ Carparelli, 73′ Meggiorini

Grosseto-Frosinone 2-1
39′ Cordova (G), 50′ Scarlato (F), 82′ Cordova (G)

Mantova-Salernitana 1-1
14′ Godeas (M), 32′ Ganci (S)

Pisa-Brescia 0-1
90′ Zambelli (B)

Sassuolo-Parma 2-2
3′ Noselli (S), 28′ Martinetti (S), 31′ Leon (P) su rigore, 90′ Reginaldo (P)

Triestina-Modena 0-1
84′ Pinardi (M)

Vicenza-Piacenza 1-2
38′ Passoni (P), 39′ Rigoni (V), 81′ Passoni (P)

SERIE B STANDINGS

Bari 80; Parma 76; Livorno 68; Brescia 67; Empoli 67; Grosseto 64; Sassuolo 60; Triestina 59; AlbinoLeffe 58; Piacenza 55; Frosinone 53; Vicenza 52; Mantova 52; Modena 51; Salernitana 51; Ascoli 51; Cittadella 50; Rimini 50; Ancona 49; Pisa 48; Avellino 40; Treviso 35

*Bari and Parma promoted to Serie A
*Livorno, Brescia, Empoli, and Grosseto in Serie A play-offs
*Rimini and Ancona in relegation play-out
*Pisa, Avellino, and Treviso relegated to Lega Pro

So Grosseto make the play-offs for the first time and the Tuscan club have a shot at what would be an historic Serie A promotion.

Disastrous season for Pisa, who last season were in the promotion play-offs and now this season find themselves relegated to Lega Pro. Selling off their stars this summer didn’t work.

Excellent seasons from Sassuolo and Triestina, who weren’t expected to do anything this season and yet came so close to a play-off spot.

Excellent work also at Modena, who in the middle of the season looked like they had one foot in Lega Pro but Luigi Apolloni really turned the club around when he took over and led the Canarini to salvation.

Disappointing season from Rimini, who were a top Serie B club the past few years always pushing for a promotion spot. This season they find themselves in a tricky situation with the play-out vs. Ancona.

Schedules:

PLAYOFF

Semi-final first leg (June 7) [Second leg June 11]
Grosseto-Livorno
Empoli-Brescia

Final
First Leg (June 14)
Second Leg (June 20)

PLAYOUT

First Leg (June 6)
Ancona-Rimini

Second Leg (June 13)
Rimini-Ancona

Today the list of 35 players was announced that will play in a friendly on June 6th in Pisa vs. Northern Ireland and the upcoming FIFA Confederations Cup. 22 players were called up for the Northern Ireland game, while 13 will skip that match and go straight to South Africa. Lippi said in recent weeks that the roster for the Northern Ireland match would be mainly experimental and would give national team experience to the players that merited a call-up based on their play throughout the Serie A season. So who did Lippi call “based on merit”? Let’s see after the jump.

First, here is the list of 13 players already going to the Confederations Cup:

Goalkeepers: Buffon (Juventus), Amelia (Palermo);
Defenders: Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Chiellini (Juventus), Zambrotta (Milan);
Midfielders: Camoranesi (Juventus), De Rossi (Roma), Pepe (Udinese), Pirlo (Milan);
Strikers: Gilardino (Fiorentina), Iaquinta (Juventus), Quagliarella (Udinese), Toni (Bayern Monaco).

No real surprises, as this is basically Lippi’s core group. Funny how Simone Pepe has now become one of the national team’s untouchables. (Yes, it’s ok if you feel sick to your stomach like I did after I read that phrase.)

Here is the roster for the Northern Ireland friendly. 10 of these players will be added to the Confederations Cup roster:

Goalkeepers: De Sanctis (Galatasaray), Marchetti (Cagliari);
Defenders: Cassani (Palermo), Dossena (Liverpool), Gamberini (Fiorentina), Grosso (Olympique Lione), Esposito (Lecce), Legrottaglie (Juventus), Santon (Inter);
Midfielders: Biagianti (Catania), Brighi (Roma), D’Agostino (Udinese), Galloppa (Siena), Gattuso (Milan), Montolivo (Fiorentina), Palombo (Sampdoria);
Strikers: Foggia (Lazio), Mascara (Catania), Pazzini (Sampdoria), Pellissier (Chievo), Rossi Giuseppe (Villarreal).

1) First things first, if I have to make predictions on who will go to the Confederations Cup from this group I would have to say De Sanctis will go as the third keeper; Dossena, Gamberini, Grosso, and Legrottaglie will be added to the defense; Pazzini and Giuseppe Rossi will be added to the strikers; and the tricky predictions are in midfield. Currently Lippi has 4 midfielders on the Confederations Cup roster, which leaves room for 3 players. I’m pretty sure Biagianti and Galloppa won’t be in South Africa this June, so that leaves Brighi, D’Agostino, Gattuso, Montolivo, and Palombo fighting for three spots.

2) So this is supposedly a list of the 35 best players in Italy this season. (long pause) NOT!!!!! It is obvious from these call-ups that Lippi has something against certain players, or just doesn’t want to include them in his team. And yes, you all know where this is going:

ANTONIO CASSANO

Cassano was one of the top players of Serie A this season. He scored 12 goals and countless assists (last time I checked he was at 12 or 13). He only received 2 yellow cards all season. And if Lippi was making call-ups “based on merit” as he said, surely Cassano did more than enough to “merit” a call-up. Does anyone else realize that Sergio Pellissier is on the national team and Cassano isn’t? That’s right, Sergio Pellissier. I mean ok, Pellissier is a good player, he played really well for Chievo this season, but why does he get a call-up over Cassano? Because he scored a hat-trick against Lippi’s beloved Juventus? Can Lippi just come out and say that Cassano doesn’t fit into his plans instead of saying the same line (”Every player aged 18 to 40 has a chance to play for the national team“) everytime he is asked about him? Well, I could go on and on about the Cassano situation but I’ll stop my rant now.

3) Giuseppe Mascara aka “The King of Scoring Goals from 40 yards out” has received his first-ever national team call-up. Mascara is a very good player with good technical ability but not national team material in my mind. In fact, if Lippi had to call up a fantasista from Sicily, he should of called Palermo’s Fabrizio Miccoli. Anyone watching Serie A this season knows that Miccoli had an awesome season and deserved a national team call-up. He’s also much more talented then Mascara. But you know, this is Lippi, and probably when Miccoli played for Juventus the Italian Romario probably said something Mr. Lippi didn’t like and now he holds a grudge.

4) Marco Biagianti and Daniele Galloppa are not national team material and have no future with the national team. Good players for mid-table clubs, but that’s it. But then again, I said the same thing about Simone Pepe. And we all know how that’s going.

5) Mattia Cassani is a very good player and Lippi actually made a good choice calling him up, especially since besides Zambrotta and Grosso the only other fullback we really have is Andrea Dossena, who didn’t play much for Liverpool this season. Cassani had an excellent year in Sicily. However I also feel Giandomenico Mesto of Genoa deserved a call-up as well, as he played just as good if not a little better then Cassani this season.

6) Davide Santon. Awesome for the first few months, but understandably suffered a drop in form in the later parts of the season. We can’t blame him, he is only 18 years of age. It’s good for him to get a feel for international play, especially since after the World Cup he’ll probably be one of our starting fullbacks.

So the Nazionale will begin training on June 2nd in Florence for next Saturday’s friendly and on June 4th Lippi will announce the 10 other players that will join the first 13 for the Confederations Cup.

Tomorrow is a big day for Lazio and Sampdoria. Two sides who have performed under expectations throughout the season have a chance to salvage their season by winning a trophy, and more importantly, a place in the Europa League (I think the new name is so stupid) next season. Both sides have not won the Coppa in a long time (Lazio haven’t lifted it since 2004, Sampdoria since 1994; both sides have won it 4 times in their history).

The pre-match press conferences have been pretty much the same. Both Walter Mazzarri and Delio Rossi have stated that since it is a one leg final both sides will have to concentrate and nerves will play a big part. Both also have said that Lazio has a slight advantage since the game is being played at the Stadio Olimpico, however there will be around 20,000 Sampdoria fans in attendance. Also, a win will be the first ever trophy for both of these managers.

It would also be the first trophy for either club under the regime of their current owners. Claudio Lotito took over Lazio in the summer of 2004 right after their Coppa Italia victory and therefore has not experienced a trophy in his 5 years in charge. Riccardo Garrone took over Sampdoria in 2002 when they fell down to Serie B and led them back to the promised land. He has not seen any victories either, although the Primavera side did win the Primavera Scudetto and Coppa Italia last season.

Then there is the economic factor. The prize money for winning the Coppa Italia is around 3 million euro, while the winner will also participate in this August’s SuperCoppa in Beijing and that will net them another 2 million euro. And then there is the qualification to the Europa League, which will net you 10 million euro if you make it all the way but will also guarantee you around 5 million euro just for playing in the group phase. So both sides would love to put that money towards this summer’s transfer market. And of course, a lot of the Lazio and Sampdoria players have never won anything in their career to date, which makes it a lot more interesting and more special.

The game should be very interesting (and let’s not forget a game is always made interesting when Antonio Cassano is on the pitch) and everyone should be watching tomorrow.

The game kicks off at 2:45 PM EST and will be shown in the USA live on GolTV, and Rai Uno in Italy.

Here are some Coppa Italia promo videos for Sampdoria and Lazio showing their roads to the final:

For the last 4 years it was the same thing. Roma-Inter, Inter-Roma, Roma-Inter, Inter-Roma. It was starting to get boring and predictable. Finally, the Lega gave us a break this year. They put Inter and Roma on the same side of the bracket and therefore eliminated the chance of having another year of Giallorossi vs. Nerazzurri. So with Lazio’s win over Juventus and Samp’s win over Inter, we get a nice Lazio-Sampdoria final. Now many of you may love to see finals with two big teams, but I think Lazio-Sampdoria is going to provide lots of entertainment and be fun to watch. First, we have two teams taht haven’t won anything in a very long time. Lazio has been winless in 5 years (last winning the Coppa Italia in 2004), while Sampdoria haven’t lifted a trophy in 15 years (last winning the Coppa Italia in 1994). So both teams will be very motivated to go out there and win. Second, we have two of the most exciting players in Serie A going toe to toe: Antonio Cassano and Mauro Zarate. Both players have been playing brilliant football all season and have the ability to make a stadium go nuts. So I think on May 13 we’ll be glued to the tv sets.

Here’s a Sampdoria Coppa Italia game from 1994:

Lazio’s 2003-2004 Coppa Italia victory:

Often we always find ourselves arguing with other people about which league is the best in the world. Everyone has their own opinion, whether it’s the English Premier League, Serie A, or La Liga. Well, even though we know this won’t tell us 100% which league is the best, all three Italian teams have been paired with English opposition in the Round of 16 in the Champions League. Draw results (as well as UEFA Cup) after the jump.

With Chelsea finishing second in their group, Juventus faced the risk of drawing them, and that’s exactly what they did. This makes for a nice storyline, as Claudio Ranieri goes back to Stamford Bridge where he was replaced by Jose Mourinho after taking Chelsea to second place and the semi-final of the Champions League. Now he has a chance to prove a point to Mr. Abramovich and knock Chelsea out of Europe.

Inter knew they were going to have to face tough opposition by finishing second in their group. And they drew last year’s champions Manchester United. Jose Mourinho knows Manchester United well after his time with Chelsea, so maybe he has some tricks up his sleeve to defeat Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and continue the Nerazzurri’s European dream.

Roma finished first in their group for the first time in their history. They were hoping for maybe a break in the Round of 16 (Totti even said in an interview he would not like to face Arsenal) but the soccer gods said that the Giallorossi will travel to the Emirates and take on the Gunners. Arsenal play a similar fast-paced style as Roma does and this should be an interesting encounter.

And the best news for Italian soccer fans about all three Italian teams drawing English sides is: you have a great chance of watching your team on ESPN! All they show are games featuring Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool, so your in luck!

Full draw:
Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma
Inter v Manchester United

UEFA CUP

In the UEFA Cup, Fiorentina and Milan were handed tricky ties while Sampdoria and Udinese were left off the hook for now.

Milan, having faced German opposition in the group stage (Wolfsburg), finished second in the group and it has come back to bite them. They have to face a Champions League drop-out and have to take a trip to Germany and play Werder Bremen. It will be a tough encounter, and Milan can’t afford to play like they did in the group stage.

Fiorentina reached the UEFA Cup semi-final last year but lost to Rangers. This year they will try to impress in the UEFA Cup again after their Champions League adventure didn’t go so well. They have been handed storied Dutch club Ajax. They aren’t the force they once were, but they are still a tough team and La Viola will have to be at their best to knock off Van Basten’s side.

Udinese have been the best Italian team in the UEFA Cup so far, finishing on top of their group with 9 points. That means they face a third placed UEFA Cup team, and have been paired with Poland’s Lech Poznan. If they get out of their slump and play like they did in the beginning of the season the Friuliani have a good chance.

Sampdoria made it through to the Round of 32 at the last minute, defeating Spanish powerhouse Sevilla 1-0 yesterday in a must-win encounter. They have been handed Ukranian’s Metalist, who were the surprise of their group, finishing first in a group with Hertha Berlin, Galatasaray, and Olympiakos. If Sampdoria can get it together they could surprise.

Full draw:
PSG v Wolfsburg
FC Copenhagen v Manchester City
NEC v Hamburg
Sampdoria v Metalist
Braga v Standard Liege
Aston Villa v CSKA Moscow
Lech Poznan v Udinese
Olympiacos v St Etienne
Fiorentina v Ajax
Aalborg v Deportivo
Werder Bremen v Milan
Bordeaux v Galatasaray
Dinamo Kiev v Valencia
Zenit v Stuttgart
Marseille v Twente
Shakhtar v Tottenham

After the long international break, Serie A is back! Here are some things to look out for when you’re watching calcio this weekend:

Walter Zenga trying to beat his old team

Walter Zenga, an Inter legend, returns to the San Siro to take on reigning champions Inter and try to beat his former club. The Inter fans admire Zenga and Moratti respects him as well. Zenga also stated his dream is to eventually coach the Nerazzurri one day. Maybe a win here would help his dream become a reality in the future?

Small teams in first place

Torino and Chievo have games vs Reggina and Lecce and may find themselves at 6 points at the end of week 2. The winner of Bologna-Atalanta will also have full points and will find themselves top of the table. The big teams will have to be chasing them for yet another week. (but we know it won’t last)

Davide Ballardini’s new Palermo

Stefano Colantuono was relieved of his duties after one game and Ballardini, who conducted the Cagliari miracle last season, tries to get Palermo to perform its own miracle and impress Maurizio Zamparini. However standing in their way is Roma, who want to win after it’s opening day draw with Napoli. So how many games do we think Ballardini is going to last? 1? 5? 15?

Antonio v. Alessandro

Juventus vs. Udinese meet at the Stadio Olimpico this weekend (battle of the Bianconeri). Of course, all eyes will be on the most talented players of both teams, Antonio Di Natale and Alessandro Del Piero. Di Natale is easily the most in-form Italian player right now and can change the game at any instant. However Del Piero is Del Piero and always plays great for Juventus. Who will prevail?

Rossoblu vs. Rossoneri

Last week another Rossoblu team (Bologna) got the better of the Rossoneri, prevailing 2-1 over Milan at the San Siro. This week another Rossoblu team (Genoa) will try to get the better of the Rossoneri. Let’s face it, Milan aren’t in the best of form right now (they lost a friendly to a second division Swiss side mid-week), and Genoa have a good chance at taking some points. They also want to get some points after losing last week and they’ll have new signing Diego Milito upfront.

Nostalgic Bianchi and Amoruso

Two seasons ago Bianchi and Amoruso were scoring goals together in maroon kits, however the Southern variety (Reggina). The deadly pair led Reggina to an improbable salvation and became heroes. Now they are in maroon kits again, but up north in Torino, and make their return to Reggio Calabria this Sunday.

Napoli-Fiorentina

This game has meaning for both teams. Napoli will try and show they are a contender this year and can beat the big teams, while Fiorentina have to confirm themselves as a contender and show they can win on the road against good teams. Napoli always play well in the San Paolo (even though some fans will be missing) and this will be no walk in the park for the Viola.

Along with Serie A this weekend, Serie B will kick-off as well. The second division has many exciting teams this year and it should provide for an interesting campaign. In my opinion Serie B is the best second division in Europe. There are so many quality players in Serie B and it is a league with lots of skill and technique. There are teams with history (Vicenza, Bari, Parma, just to name a few) and newcomers that surprise (Sassuolo, Cittadella). So I’ll divide the teams up into Promotion contenders, Almost-Promotion contenders, Relegation candidates, and the rest of the lot.

Promotion Contenders

Parma- The Gialloblu’s relegation last season shocked the calcio world and expect them to be out for vengence. Parma have an experienced manager (Gigi Cagni) and a squad filled with players that could easily be playing in Serie A. The big name is Cristiano Lucarelli, who will look to score lots of goals to redeem himself for last season. They also have attacking midfielder Julio Cesar Leon, who is a luxury in Serie B. Young Milan striker Alberto Paloschi joined yesterday and will look to learn from Lucarelli. Parma should be the force of Serie B.

Empoli- The Tuscan side will most probably be the other force of Serie B. Silvio Baldini has always been a great manager when it comes to getting teams promoted. There squad also has many Serie A caliber players. Captain Ighli Vannucchi is a great player and should make the difference in Serie B. Francesco Lodi is another skillful player that will make a difference after some impressive seasons at Frosinone. Up front Nicola Pozzi may be on the way out, while Luca Saudati and Daniele Corvia should get the job done. In January Francesco Flachi will return to the pitch as his suspension is up. He will just be an added asset to the Empoli front line.

Livorno- The Amaranto are another team intent on getting right back up to paradise. They have the squad to do it, and manager Leonardo Acori (formerly of Rimini) will look to satisfy the Tuscan fans. They too have experienced players, and I expect Alessandro Diamanti to have an awesome season. Diamanti left his mark in Serie A and he looks all set to breakout. Francesco Tavano will look to score goals after disappointing last season.

Brescia- Brescia are desperate to get back into Serie A after being relegated in 2005. Serse Cosmi is at the helm and will look to finally lead them back to glory. The team added Domenico Morfeo, who on his day can be a genius, and have a good strike force in Andrea Caracciolo and Davide Possanzini. The rest of the squad has experience but Brescia will have to fight hard and be consistent all season to realize their dream.

Almost-Promotion Contenders
These are teams that could push the big 4 for promotion places.

Bari- Bari hasn’t been in Serie A since 2001, and since then haven’t really put up much of challenge to come back. But it looks like the club that launched Antonio Cassano is finally serious about getting back to the top. Manager Antonio Conte has proved to be a very good tactician and good at managing young players. If they can play well consistently they may be able to surprise.

AlbinoLeffe- Tiny AlbinoLeffe were the surprise of last season and almost found themselves promoted to Serie A. The squad is something to behold. Most players are homegrown, and only 2 players in the entire 28 man squad aren’t Italian (Brazilian), and there aren’t any big names. The players work hard and play as a team, and that gets them results. Striker Marco Cellini was excellent last season. Let’s see if they can confirm themselves again this season.

Mantova- In the past few years Mantova has always been tipped as a promotion contender but in the end they always wind up disappointing. This season they once again have a squad that is capable of gaining promotion, and even added experienced veteran Tomas Locatelli to their ranks, who should easily be one of the best players in Serie B. Denis Godeas had a great season up front last year, but the defense looks to be a little shaky. Also, this is manager Giuseppe Brucato’s first stint with a Serie B club, he has only managed small teams in the past.

Rimini- In recent years Rimini has not only become known for its beaches and clubs in the summer but also for its soccer team. The small club has been knocking on promotion’s door but can’t seem to find the right key to open it. The squad has lost some players but they still have Argentine fantasista Adrian Ricchiuti, who really makes the difference.

Possible Surprises

Sassuolo- That’s right, little Sassuolo. The club from the tiny town of 40,000 may very well be the surprise this season. Andrea Mandorlini is in charge and they have picked up some players that can make the difference, especially striker Riccardo Zampagna. The big striker looks like a big physical presence but he has the technique of a fantasista. He has the ability to score amazing goals. Experienced midfielder Emiliano Salvetti is also in the squad and is always a hard worker with good playmaking and goalscoring ability.

Triestina- The club from Trieste has long been trying to put together and a promotion project but has failed every time. They finally look to have something good cooking up. They are aided by the fact that revelation striker Pablo Granoche, although signed by Chievo, will stay on loan for the rest of this season.

Vicenza- Although the storied club were almost relegated last season, I believe they made some really good signings this summer and the squad is really good and ready to compete for higher objectives in Serie B. They are well rounded all over the pitch and have a mix of good youngsters and experienced veterans.

Relegation candidates

Ancona- Ancona are back in Serie B but I think it will just be a one year stay. They haven’t done much on the transfer market to improve.

Treviso- The club were nearly relegated last season and I don’t think they’ll make it this season. Manager Luca Gotti’s only other coaching experience has been with the Italy U17 national team. The squad has been virtually unchanged from last year.

Cittadella- Padova’s neighbors are a nice story, but unlike Sassuolo they haven’t made changes to their squad that may allow them to surprise.

The Rest of Serie B

Avellino- Readmitted to Serie B because of Messina’s bankruptcy, the Irpini have worked diligently on the transfer market this summer to ensure they won’t be relegated again.

Ascoli- Recently in Serie A, Ascoli will look to surprise with a promotion playoff push but will most probably finish midtable. Christian Bucchi, who has always been awesome in Serie B, returns, and they will hope to keep hold of talented winger Stefano Guberti.

Frosinone- Since promotion from Serie C Frosinone have proven to be a decent Serie B team. Not good enough for promotion but not bad enough for relegation. Just an average team that will finish midtable.

Grosseto- Grosseto did well in their maiden voyage last year, finishing 13th and safely away from relegation. Expect them to have a similar campaign, but they may fall into relegation trouble.

Modena- Last in Serie A in 2004, Modena are trying hard to put another project together that will get them back into Serie A again quickly. However it most probably won’t happen this year.

Piacenza- A mainstay in Serie A during the late ’90s, Piacenza haven’t tasted the top flight since 2003. Unfortunately the club still hasn’t gotten back on track and will most likely be midtable again.

Pisa- The surprise of last season, Pisa were so close to being promoted to Serie A. However I don’t think they can repeat last season’s performance, especially after their brilliant attacking trio from last season (Cerci, Castillo, Kutuzov) have moved on and they lost Emmanuele D’Anna in midfield.

Salernitana- The Granata are finally back in Serie B after being relegated and suffering financial problems in 2005. Fabrizio Castori, who did well with Cesena, is at the helm. They have experience up front in Arturo Di Napoli and Dino Fava so goals shouldn’t be a problem. Manolo Pestrin will bring grit to the midfield. They should be capable of achieving salvation and then will look to greater heights in 2009/2010.