So far there have been three matches played this weekend, and all three of them have been pretty exciting. Genoa – Inter Milan ended in a 1-0 win for Inter, Roma – Lecce was exciting and finished 2-0 for Roma, and AC Milan – Juventus was the shock result, a 2-1 win for Juve.

Roma – Lecce

Roma – Lecce was an extremely enjoyable match. Both sides went out to score goals, and there were plenty of opportunities for everyone. Roma were more dangerous though, Vucinic was having the game of his life as he waltzed around players to create chances for himself and his teammates. Both sides had their crossbars hit after the first half, and although no goals were scored, it was a very entertaining match.

In the second half Roma finally found the back of Lecce’s net with Burdisso heading in a cross by Riise. But neither side stopped there, and Vucinic finished off one of his many opportunities to give Roma a two goal lead. But in the build up of the goal, a very strange event happened which resulted in the expulsion of two players.

Lecce’s Ruben Olivera tripped Totti who was running towards Lecce’s goal, and the Roma captain got up and shoved the Uruguayan. The referee Gervasoni ran over right away to stop a potential fight, and he gave both players direct red cards. At first they were both incredulous, but Ruben Olivera walked off to the dressing room. Totti protested a little longer, and then when he realized that the referee wasn’t going to let him continue to play, he ran over to where Olivera went to presumably pick a fight with the Lecce player. Totti was eventually dragged off the field by force.

The match ended 2-0 for Roma, with the giallorossi creating plenty of opportunities which they should’ve put away. But Lecce were very dangerous as well, and with a little more luck they might’ve managed to score a goal.

I think that a player like Totti, who earns millions a year should never act in such an immature and idiotic way, but what are your thoughts? I really want to hear what people have to say about this match, and this incident. So please comment below with your thoughts!

AC Milan – Juventus

AC Milan – Juventus was also an exciting match. There were plenty of players who were unable to play for both sides, and when Chiellini had to pull out during pre-match warm-up, it seemed like this would be AC Milan’s perfect night. Delneri started with Bonucci and Legrottaglie in the middle of defense, with De Ceglie and Motta on the left and right of defence. In the middle Felipe Melo played alongside Aquilani with Martinez and Marchisio supporting the attacking duo of Quagliarella and Del Piero.

AC Milan on the other hand were missing Ronaldinho and Thiago Silva, so Allegri had Nesta partnered up with Papastathopoulos in the middle with Antonini and Bonera playing on the outside of the defence. In the midfield AC Milan played with Gattuso, Pirlo, and Kevin-Prince Boateng, and the attacking trident was Ibrahimovic and Pato with Robinho acting as a “trequartista”.

The game was exciting right from the start, and Ibrahimovic slipped a sublime through pass for Pato, and then hit the top right corner of the woodwork with a precise shot. Juventus seemed scared and unable to create as AC Milan pressured from the start in search of a goal. But little by little the tables turned, and eventually Juventus were creating dangerous opportunities from counter-attacks. And the shock goal arrived in the 24th minute for the bianconeri, an unsavable header by Quagliarella which nestled beautifully into the top left-hand corner of Abbiati’s goal.

After this, AC Milan were creating less and less, Ibrahimovic was isolated up top as Robinho could only conjure up useless tricks, and Pato run in a straight line. Bonera and De Ceglie crashed into each other, with the AC Milan defender getting the worse end, he was taken off right away, and De Ceglie was substituted as well after a few minutes of useless limping around on the field. The second goal arrived in the second half, it was a mistake by the AC Milan defence which let Sissoko slip right through them and one on one with Abbiati. But the Malian midfielder literally missed the ball when shooting (very comical), but he somehow managed to pass it back to Del Piero who thundered in a low shot.

Juventus were organized and compact, taking advantage of AC Milan’s general disarray as the bianconeri created plenty of opportunities. But eventually AC Milan began to push forward by crossing in high balls for Ibrahimovic and the substitute Inzaghi to reach. The big Swede got on the end of one of them, and imitated Quagliarella’s goal to bring the score to 2-1. But AC Milan weren’t able to create much more, and Delneri’s side held out to grab three vital points.

What are your thoughts on this match? Did anyone expect Juventus to win? Share your thoughts below by commenting!

Cesare Prandelli has revitalized the Azzurri. He won the first two qualifiers of the European Championships of 2012, and he looks ready to win even more. While Italy only faced Estonia and the Faroe Islands, the two wins were important nonetheless. And now, as Prandelli looks to call up another set of Italians to face Northern Ireland and Serbia in the next two qualifiers, he’s thrown in some new names.

The ex-Fiorentina coach has revealed that among the players he is looking at, there’s the Roma captain Francesco Totti. At 34 years-old, the experienced forward won the 2006 World Cup under Lippi, and Prandelli is looking to bring back the Totti-Cassano partnership. Here’s what the coach said regarding Totti:

We are looking for quality, and Totti has shown to have the technical qualities, but also great personality. The idea to see Totti and Cassano together in the national team together is a specific desire. There was talk about friendship, the relationship that exists between the two: we want to create a chance which would be an example for kids to come watch the match.

So it’s very possible that you’ll see Totti and Cassano playing together against Northern Ireland, or Serbia. But Prandelli hasn’t forgotten about his other star striker, Mario Balotelli. In fact, the coach is very eager to restart using the Manchester City forward. Prandelli here commenting about Mario:

I miss him, because I really have the desire and intention to try an attack with players of his caliber. He presented himself wonderfully in the national team, and I wish him now only to recover from his injury the best he can.

After these comments, could we be seeing a front three of Cassano, Totti, and Balotelli? The best way that trident would work would be to have Cassano and Totti both playing right behind Balotelli. But for now, Balotelli is injured, and his return is set around November or December, depending how the recovery goes.

Prandelli also commented on the general state of the Italian national team, and where he wants to take them in the future:

My national team is one which is growing little by little. Our intention is to have youngsters grow, and I’m convinced that we’ll find some soon of quality. I don’t know when we’ll realize this project of mine. At the moment, we’re thinking about unifying the two things: playing good games and reaching the objective of qualification.

Prandelli will be revealing his squad on Sunday, October 3rd. This squad will face Northern Ireland away from home, and then Serbia in Italy, both matches which have the potential to be difficult. So lets hope that Prandelli knows what he’s doing regarding Totti, and we might see the Azzurri grab another pair of wins.

To fans of Calcio it’s still as vivid as ever: The vision of Fabio Cannavaro lifting the World Cup aloft remains the proudest of Italian memories in a difficult recent history. But with one year to go before the 19th World Cup Final, Cannavaro and his Azzurri have a lot of hard work to do if the national team are to avoid an embarrassing fate in their defence of the trophy.

A shameful defeat to Egypt and a straightforward thumping by Brazil in the recent Confederations Cup have highlighted Italy’s fall from grace since that golden night in Berlin. Their attempts to evolve into a younger, fresher, more future-friendly outfit have been tempered by a sense of loyalty to the experienced campaigners who tasted glory three years ago.

So with 365 days left in Italy’s fourth reign at football’s summit, just how much catching up does Marcello Lippi’s squad have to do in order to launch a serious challenge for number five? How do the 23 involved in the Confederations Cup match up to the medal winners before them?

GOALKEEPERS:

What was most stark about Gigi Buffon’s recent claim that Julio Cesar is the best No.1 in Serie A was its widespread acceptance. In 2006 Buffon was the best goalkeeper in the world marshaling one of the world’s best defences. These days he’s suffering from playing behind a weaker back fours at both club and international levels. He’s still clearly the best Italy has to offer – and arguably remains in the world’s top 5 – but he now has flaws that weren’t as evident in ’06.

Behind him Marco Amelia has improved immensely, though he is still prone to errors (see New Zealand) but Massimo De Sanctis seems likely to be usurped by Federico Marchetti or even Andrea Consigli before next June rolls around.

VERDICT:

Buffon ’06 > ’09

Amelia ’09 > ’06

Peruzzi ’06 > De Sanctis ’09

DEFENCE:

Lippi’s biggest headache. Only three of the eight World Champion back line remain in the squad. All three are first-choice and all three are facing questions over their form. Skipper Cannavaro is no longer – and will never again be – the Berlin Wall. His two title-winning years at Real Madrid were laregly impressive, but his error-strewn final year in Spain came as a surprise to few. Fellow golden boys Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Grosso both struggled after post-World Cup moves and have been unconvincing since their subsequent transfers to Milan and Lyon respectively.

The remaining full-back slots have been passed from Cristian Zaccardo and Massimo Oddo to Davide Santon and Andrea Dossena. Santon is already being touted as the next Beppe Bergomi whereas Doseena has looked completely out of his depth since his surprise capture by Liverpool.

Other than Cannavaro, the centre of defence has changed markedly. The supreme Nesta, surprise package Materazzi and sturdy stand-in Barzagli are fallen heroes due to a combination of injury, retirement, old age and poor form. Of their replacements only Giorgio Chiellini has the look of a true international, but even he had a rocky time in South Africa last month.

VERDICT:

Cannavaro ’06 > ’09

Nesta ’06 > Chiellini ’09

Materazzi ’06 > Legrottaglie ’09

Barzagli ’06 > Gamberini ’09

Zambrotta ’06 > ’09

Grosso ’06 > ’09

Santon ’09 > Zaccardo ’06

Oddo ’06 > Dossena ’09

MIDFIELD:

Of the 23 heroes in Germany nobody has improved more noticeably than Daniele De Rossi. Talented but tainted in 2006, the Roma midfielder is now an Azzurri skipper-in-the-making. Fellow champs Mauro Camoranesi, Reno Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo have struggled to recapture their world-conquering form. Gattuso continues to battle hard and Pirlo is looking at new ways to reform his game and thus prolong his career, but Camoranesi looks about ready for the reject bin.

Elsewhere the durable Angelo Palombo is a step up from one-season wonder Simone Barone whilst Riccardo Montolivo has started to impress in an Italy midfield still searching for someone to make the impact Simone Perrotta made at the Mondiali.

VERDICT:

De Rossi ’09 > ’06

Gattuso ’06 > ’09

Pirlo ’06 > ’09

Camoranesi ’06 > ’09

Perrotta ’06 > Montolivo ’09

Palombo ’09 > Barone ’06

FORWARDS

Italy’s change of formation over the last 36 months can be solely attributed to the lack of a No.10. Until Seba Giovinco turns potential into potency Lippi will be forced to look for other answers. Target men Luca Toni, Alberto Gilardino and Vincenzo Iaquinta remain regulars, with only Toni regressing since he reached the heady heights of a 31-goal season in Florence. But the notable names of Totti, Del Piero and Inzaghi have been replaced by Simone Pepe, Giuseppe Rossi and Fabio Quagliarella. Whilst Rossi and Quagliarella in particular have shown flashes of quality, none can claim to be adequate replacements for their predecessors just yet.

VERDICT:

Toni ’06 > ’09

Gilardino ’09 > ’06

Iaquinta ’09 > ’06

Inzaghi ’06 > Quagliarella ’09

Totti ’06 > Pepe ’09

Del Piero ’06 > Rossi ’09

So it would appear that the Azzurri are stronger in only six of the 23 spots available. Yes, there are 38 rounds of Serie A ahead which will give players time to improve. Yes, a few of the Under-21 squad which performed well in Sweden this summer may be included. But right now the players which Lippi trusts most are largely players who have already peaked. A year of intrigue lies ahead in the battle for a spot on the plane to South Africa.

Roma given a byweek with the suspended match against Sampdoria, didn’t help the least as Juventus handed the Giallorossi a 0 – 2 loss yesterday.

All focus now is on Champions League success for the capital side as their scudetto run is done and dusted.  The club sits 17th on 7 points, one point above the relegation zone and Francesco Totti is again injured not fully recovered from a previous injury which was the main reason Spalletti didn’t trot out the marquee player for the full 90 minutes. 

Tomorrow evening Roma will face Chelsea for the return leg of Champions League Group play and the Giallorossi definitely have to play above themselves if they hope to get anything against last year’s runners-up finalists.  Here’s hoping Mr. Spalletti isn’t evolving into a caretaker-manager. 

After the last meeting between these two both Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi , and manager Luciano Spalletti spoke with UEFA.com Magazine.

UEFA.com Magazine Interview with Roma

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