Fighting The Good Fight

By: chris | March 10th, 2008

It’s kinda hard not to feel bad for teams which get relegated (unless they’ve been immersed in scandal, or something) or at least fight the good fight against the drop. Yes, they’re professional athletes and most of their pay checks will buy them many, many boxes of Kleenex to drown their Serie B sorrows in; but still, they work their arses off for a whole lotta nothin’ at the end of the year. Nobody likes that.

On the flip side, relegation battles can be almost as exciting as title chases for the fans - especially when they come down to the very last weekend. Even more when two teams fight to the death for a another year in Serie A (see: Chievo v Catania just last year). Only not so much for the teams. (Sad Chievo to the left.)

There are still 11 games left this season, but it appears the haves and have-nots are already separating themselves, and the contenders, if you will, are sinking to the bottom. Torino and Siena have seen recent runs pull them away from the fight, and both will likely enjoy another year of fighting the good fight. That leaves six teams for three spots: Catania, Livorno, Parma, Empoli, Reggina, and Cagliari. (Standings.)

Here’s a weekly look at the relegation spots:

15. Catania 27pts

Last game: Cagliari W 2-1

Next Game: @ Sampdoria

The “six pointer” against Cagliari was huge, but they still sit only 2 points outside of the zone, and as has been mentioned here an infinite number of times: their away form sucks hard. Chances are asking for anything more than a point in Genoa would be like asking for a win at the Indy 500 with a Hyundai. They can obviously play some serious footy at times - but these second half swan dives really are something to be frightened of. With the Coppa Italia on their plate as well, they just might be a surprise Serie B participant next year.

16. Livorno 26pts

Last game: Lazio L 2-0

Next game: Parma

A bona fide six pointer on the way against Parma, who will be under the tutelage of a new gaffer - one who is still yet to be determined, which can only help matters for the commies. The loss to Lazio is no huge surprise, but they appear to have just enough to avoid the drop, especially if anyone beside Frank Tavano decides to get en fuego any time soon. (Frank has 11 goals - no one else has more than two….and there’s your summer shopping list.)

17. Parma 25pts

Last game: Sampdoria L 2-1

Next game: @ Livorno

Mimmo has been shown his pink slip right before a nice big battle just outside of the relegation zone. This one will have to be revisited once the new coach gets hired and has a couple of games underneath his belt. Til then, wait and see.

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18. Empoli 25

Last game: Milan L 3-1

Next game: @ Atalanta

And this is where you start to say, “looks about right”.

Gigi Cagni pulled an absolute miracle of miracles last year to take Empoli to the UEFA Cup. This year, they’ve looked like a team whose size befits their standing in the table, even if they have half the children from Juve and Milan on loan. And the loss of Sergio Almiron hasn’t helped matters either (though not if you ask Juve fans). Pozzi, as inconsistent as he can be, being out is a huge blow, and their results since show it: 3 out of 4 losses - and the lone win being a home victory over Catania, so it really only counts in the standing because, well, you know. If Empoli can weather March, which features Atalanta, Roma, Juve and Sampdoria, they could be alright. Only one team in the last two months of the schedule currently sits in the top half of the table, and that’s Udinese.

19. Reggina 22pts

Last game: Inter 2-0 L

Next game: Siena

Speaking of miracles, the fact that Reggina is even in this discussion right now is a miracle. They should be scrapping for promotion right now, not avoiding the drop. They lost their best scorer and one of their miracle workers in Rolando Bianchi over the summer and replaced him with, um, no one. And it shows. They’re pulling up the rear in goals scored (only by one, but still).

In the end, this one will be all on them. Reggina’s month of May:

5/4 @ Catania
5/11 Empoli
5/18 @ Cagliari

If they can keep pace until then, those results will determine whether or not they go down - and leave no questions as to whether they deserve it or not.

20. Cagliari 18 pts

Last game: Catania L 2-1

Next game: Torino

The granata have been looking pretty damn decent as of late, so chances of them vaulting up the table are slim and slimmer. Quite frankly, unless they can get those three points from the FIGC back somehow, they’re going down to regroup in Serie B next year. Unless they find a magic lamp or something, their fate looks almost pre-determined, sadly.

Looking Ahead

Week 38 relegation battles:

Cagliari v Reggina
Empoli v Livorno
Catania v Roma
Parma v Inter

Fearless Prediction: The zone stays the same, and these three squads go down this year.

* - Jeremy’s relegation analysis which I only saw afterwards. Whoops.