Serie A Weekend Round-up: Giornata 1

By: Francesco | September 1st, 2008

Di Natale

The 2008/2009 Serie A season has finally kicked off, and what a weekend it was. There were so many interesting games and results. For the first time since 1984, none of the big teams have full points after the first game. Hopefully this is a sign that this season will be very exciting and interesting. Antonio Di Natale was the star of the weekend, putting in an awesome performance vs Palermo where he scored 2 goals. The ‘new Palermo’ disappointed in that match. Bologna pulled off the upset of the weekend with a 2-1 victory at the San Siro, while 10 man Napoli held Roma at the Olimpico. Sampdoria held Mourinho’s Inter at the Ferraris, and Fiorentina and Juventus split points in Florence. Lazio destroyed Cagliari, while Lecce didn’t have the best of returns to Serie A. Chievo came back with a win, and Catania and Atalanta both grabbed wins. We’ll also look at Lippi’s World Cup qualifier call-ups, round-up Serie B, and look at some last minute transfers.

SERIE A

Atalanta 1-0 Siena
Report. Highlights. Player Ratings.

Cagliari 1-4 Lazio
Report. Highlights. Player Ratings.

Catania 1-0 Genoa
Report. Highlights. Player Ratings.

Chievo 2-1 Reggina
Report. Highlights. Player Ratings.

Fiorentina 1-1 Juventus
Report. Highlights. Player Ratings.

Milan 1-2 Bologna
Report. Highlights. Player Ratings.

Roma 1-1 Napoli
Report. Highlights. Player Ratings.

Sampdoria 1-1 Inter
Report. Highlights. Player Ratings.

Torino 3-0 Lecce
Report. Highlights. Player Ratings.

Udinese 3-1 Palermo
Report. Highlights. Player Ratings.

Table
Lazio 3; Torino 3; Udinese 3; Atalanta 3; Bologna 3; Catania 3; Chievo 3; Fiorentina 1; Inter 1; Juventus 1; Napoli 1; Roma 1; Sampdoria 1; Genoa 0; Milan 0; Reggina 0; Siena 0; Palermo 0; Cagliari 0; Lecce 0

Next Round
Bologna-Atalanta; Genoa-Milan; Inter-Catania; Juventus-Udinese; Lazio-Sampdoria; Lecce-Chievo; Napoli-Fiorentina; Palermo-Roma; Reggina-Torino; Siena-Cagliari

SERIE A Top 11 of Week 1 based on ratings:

Portiere:
Doni (Roma) 7,19
Difensori:
Pratali (Torino) 6,88
Manfredini (Atalanta) 6,81
Diana (Torino) 6,75
Centrocampisti:
D`Agostino (Udinese) 7,06
Rosina (Torino) 7,06
Valiani (Bologna) 7,06
Palombo (Sampdoria) 7,00
Attaccanti:
Di Natale (Udinese) 8,13
Zarate (Lazio) 7,44
Amoruso (Torino) 7,19

SERIE B

Ascoli-Vicenza 1-0
Marcatori: 32´ Bucchi (Asc)

Avellino-Livorno 1-3
Marcatori: 45´ rig. Tavano (Liv); 53´ Szatmari (Ave); 66´ Tavano (Liv);
72´ Tavano (Liv)

Bari-Triestina 1-1
Marcatori: 5´ Volpato (Bar); 76´ Allegretti (Tri)

Empoli-Brescia 2-2
Marcatori: 35´ rig. Lodi (Emp); 68´ Caracciolo (Bre); 83´ Vannucchi (Emp);
94´ Possanzini (Bre)

Mantova-Frosinone 2-0
Marcatori: 66´ Caridi (Man); 67´ Corona (Man)

Modena-AlbinoLeffe 0-2
Marcatori: 46´ Laner (Alb); 92´ Ferrari (Alb)

Parma-Rimini 1-1
Marcatori: 31´ rig. Lucarelli C. (Par); 42´ Basha (Rim)

Piacenza-Cittadella 1-0
Marcatori: 33´ Abbate (Pia)

Pisa-Grosseto 1-2
Marcatori: 29´ Colombo (Pis); 63´ Pichlmann (Gro); 68´ Gessa (Gro)

Salernitana-Sassuolo 1-0
Marcatori: 12´ rig. Di Napoli (Sal)

Treviso-Ancona 2-2
Marcatori: 37´ Moro (Tre); 45´ Nassi (Anc); 65´ Beghetto (Tre);
89´ Langella (Anc)

Table
AlbinoLeffe 3; Livorno 3; Mantova 3; Ascoli 3; Grosseto 3; Piacenza 3; Salernitana 3; Ancona 1; Bari 1; Brescia 1; Empoli 1; Parma 1; Rimini 1; Triestina 1; Cittadella 0; Pisa 0; Sassuolo 0; Vicenza 0; Avellino 0; Frosinone 0; Modena 0; Treviso -2

Next Round
AlbinoLeffe-Parma; Ancona-Ascoli; Brescia-Treviso; Cittadella-Salernitana; Frosinone-Bari; Grosseto-Piacenza; Livorno-Mantova; Rimini-Modena; Sassuolo-Pisa; Triestina-Avellino; Vicenza-Empoli

NAZIONALE

Here are Lippi’s 22 players for the qualifiers vs. Cyprus and Georgia:

Goalkeepers: Buffon (Juventus), Amelia (Palermo), De Sanctis (Galatasaray).
Defenders: Barzagli (Wolfsburg), Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Cassetti (Roma), Dossena (Liverpool), Gamberini (Fiorentina), Grosso (Olympique Lione), Legrottaglie (Juventus), Zambrotta (Milan).
Midfielders: Aquilani (Roma), Camoranesi (Juventus), De Rossi (Roma), Gattuso (Milan), Palombo (Sampdoria), Pirlo (Milan).
Strikers: Del Piero (Juventus), Di Natale (Udinese), Gilardino (Fiorentina), Iaquinta (Juventus), Toni (Bayern Monaco)

Looks like Lippi is going with his trusted World Cup 2006 core group along with some non-World Cup winners like Dossena, Cassetti, Gamberini, Legrottaglie, Aquilani, Palombo, and Di Natale. Cannavaro and Toni make their return to the national, while there is still no room for Antonio Cassano. The games are Saturday September 6th away to Cyprus and then Wednesday September 10th at home vs Georgia.

CALCIOMERCATO

The market ended tonight at midnight, and some Italian teams got some last minute deals in.

Reggina brought in promising young attacking talent Davide Di Gennaro on loan from Genoa (co-owned with Milan) and striker Dobre Rakic from Red Bull Salzburg.

Serie B side Brescia strengthened their midfield with Lazio outcast Roberto Baronio. Baronio grew up in the Brescia youth system.

Palermo decided to add depth to their attack and signed promising Ravenna hitman Davide Succi. They also sent young Serbian midfielder Bosko Jankovic on loan to Genoa.

Guglielmo Stendardo, unwanted by Lazio, was sent on loan to Lecce. Lecce also signed Serbian youngster Dusan Basta from Udinese.

Napoli signed Reggina defender Salvatore Aronica, after being linked with him for a while. The sold unwanted defender Maurizio Domizzi to Udinese.

Chievo made two big moves. First they secured Roma’s Mauro Esposito on loan, then they signed Kerlon, the promising young Brazilian famous for the ’seal dribble’. (I can’t wait to see how some Italian defenders react to that)