Week 4: Roma Perfect No More (And Zampagna Cannot Be Stopped)
By: Martha | September 24th, 2007
Though they’re still undefeated, Roma’s home draw with Juve yesterday meant two things: First, that no one has taken full points through four games, and second that teams are deliciously tight at the top of the table, at least for the moment. While all the big boys (Roma, Juve, Inter, Milan) were drawing, some of the pretenders to the throne were busy piling up three points; when the dust cleared, Roma were still top by two points over (deep breath) Inter, Atalanta (!) and Fiorentina, with four more teams a single point behind them. Awesome. If we can keep things this close through Christmas, Serie A will be a very cool place indeed.
On an individual level, Totti, Zlatan, Di Natale and Trezeguet continued to pile up goals, with the first three grabbing a brace each and stupid Trezeguet scoring his league-leading fifth of the season. Riccardo Zampagna, meanwhile — a very different sort of striker from those four — scored another miracle goal for Atalanta, this time on an contorted deflection in the 93rd minute that gave his team a 2-1 win over Lazio. (Hooray for dock-worker-looking, old-man strikers!) Also, Julio Cesar is still the only player not named “Zlatan” who manages to be effective for Inter on a regular basis. This is not working.
At the tail end of the table, several strugglers secured single points (Livorno thank you, Inter), so there’s a massive logjam at the bottom with five teams on two points. While several are likely to still be there at the end of the season, it’s nice it’s so early still, and they’re a mere eight points from the top, still dreaming of a season not spent clawing desperately at the table as they slide to their deaths.
Also: Midweek games! WOO HOO! (Full results after the jump.)
Atalanta-Lazio 2-1: Riccardo Zampagna is single-handedly making Atalanta an interesting team. Who ever thought this day would come?
Cagliari-Palermo 0-1
Catania-Fiorentina 0-1: Mutu and Vieri are apparently already fighting on the pitch. I can’t decided if I’m excited about the prospect of a meltdown or really, really depressed.
Empoli-Napoli 0-0
Livorno-Inter 2-2
Milan-Parma 1-1
Roma-Juventus 2-2: That first Totti goal was pretty freaking awesome — just the turn, and how he shaped up to the goal and actually thought about what to do with the ball rather than just blasting it. You see that, kids? Let it be a lesson to you.
Sampdoria-Genoa 0-0: Yawn. Hopefully this toothless draw isn’t an indication of how the rest of the derby matches will go this season.
Torino-Siena 1-1: Toro! Still undefeated, still going strong. More or less, anyway.
Udinese-Reggina 2-0
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Comments
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I agree that Totti’s first goal was an incredibly cool finish, once he wrestled the defender to the ground with his off hand (slick turn too). I’m guessing the referees won’t let that slide in the return match in Torino.
And as for your boys Mutu and Vieri, both are saying the right things to the press today, at least, denying that there is a rift. Mutu gifted Vieri two great passes that he should have put into the back of the net, and it was a frustrating match overall for Fiorentina. Vieri still has that great left foot, but at this point there may not be a slower player in Serie A.
I’m fired up for Wednesday’s showdown at the Artemio Franchi and hopefully Prandelli fields a more offensive formation/game plan than he did in Sicily. He usually does for home games. Fiorentina-Roma should be a great match. My boy Frey better make sure to stretch out, he’s going to need to make plenty of saves.
Posted from
United States
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tmc, I think that every time I see Bobo play these days — he receives the ball and settles it and keeps it wonderfully, and then it’s slow-motion when he tries to move. It must be incredibly frustrating for him; I hope he can find a way to make it work, because being able to rely on him will certainly makes things easier on the Viola, particularly if they can stay in the UEFA Cup.
From what I read, Frey was great yesterday — that’s an encouraging sign ahead of the Roma match. (Chris said to me last week that he thinks Roma might rest some people for the game — we’ll see if the draw has changed those plans.)
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United States -
Oh, and Totti doesn’t foul. Surely you know that by now!
Posted from
United States -
if a defender falls to the ground like that after having his elbow pushed, he’s just not strong enough for professional soccer
Totti isn’t know for his unbelievable strenght
Posted from
Canada -
well Bobo was never that fast to begin with. Even in his prime he used his power to slip past defenders.
I was always a fan of Bobo (even though he played for the dark side of Milan before coming to the good side as a washed up mess.) In his prime it was fun watching him. When he played for the national team it was like you could always rely on Vieri to knock one into the net.
Posted from
United States -
“Stupid” Trezeguet? Why “stupid” Trezeguet? :(
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United States
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