A phone call between Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani and Catania President Massimo Cellino ended a protracted battle that almost saw Massimiliano Allegri’s eminent move to the Rossoneri collapse.

“Despite the disappointment left to us by Massimiliano Allegri following his behaviour towards the end of the season, president Massimo Cellino has released him following a request from Milan”.

The above statement was posted on Catania’s official website. This news is bound to be a breath of fresh air to the Rossoneri faithful who are desperately in need of some good news after a topsy turvy 2009/2010 campaign.

Milan’s problem has never arisen from their coaches. Ancelotti and Leonardo were effective in their own right and hopefully, Allegri can do what they both  failed to do in their tenures, sign young, talented players. Although Milan are yet to officially cement the deal, Catania’s actions demonstrate that progress is indeed being made and it is now only a matter of days until Milan close the deal.

The pressure is now on the club’s  administrative arm to ensure that Allegri has all the tools  he needs including the resources necessary to successfully build a winning team.

Photo credit: from alexrossi43

Well, according to his agent Gilmar Veloz, Milan starlet Alexander Pato is not going anywhere. Currently Milan’s top scorer, Pato’s contract with the Rossoneri runs out in 2014. Pato has attracted a lot of interest from Europe’s elite clubs with Chelsea and Real Madrid showing a keen interest in the Brazilian international

“Chelsea and Real? These are only market rumours,” Veloz told calciomercato. “There is nothing true. He has a deal with Milan and he feels good in Milan.”

These reports come ahead of a crucial weekend fixture against Catania at the San Siro. Milan are 3 points off the title race pace set by arch rivals Inter and they know that they have to avoid anymore slip ups if they are to win the scudetto.

However, Milan have a rather easy fixture in Catania and they will be keeping their fingers crossed hoping that Fiorentina can beat leaders Inter Milan at the Stadio Artemio Franchi tomorrow to significantly cut down their advantage.

Meanwhile, second Placed AS Roma welcome Atalanta to the Stadio Olimpico in a match that everyone expects them to win. Roma will also be hoping that the Viola can keep their end of the bargain and defeat Inter. If Inter lose and Roma win,the Nerazzurri will be pushed down to second place level on points with their rivals Milan (that is if Milan beat Catania).

Not since 2004 has the title race been so tight. That year, Milan and Juventus were neck and neck in the League and it all came down to the last day of the season. With 6 games remaining, all the three clubs have a shot at the title.

Photo credit: djsmaniak

Another bad result from Juventus on Sunday left their coach Ciro Ferrara with more questions than answers. The Turin outfit are now 9 points of the pace set by their rivals Inter Milan and their hopes of lifting the scudetto this season are getting dimmer with every game they play.

You would have thought that after losing their last fixture to Bari, Juventus would up their game and win against Catania who by the way are 2nd last in the league. To make matters worse for the Bianconerri, they were beaten in their own stadium. Juventus are no longer the dominant force in Italian  football even their fans are not happy with their performances.

The statistics may favour them but if they don’t get the points then it is worth nothing. On Sunday, not only did they have the bulk of the possession but they also had an impressive 19  shots on target. Catania on the hand made the most of their opportunities to come out with all the 3 points. No disrespect to Catania but this was a match that i expected Juventus to win without any hustles whatsoever.

Ferrara has earned the wrath of the Juventus faithful and am sure that by now the Juve management are keenly scrutinising the possibilty of replacing him. I don’t expect Ferrara to last for the rest of the season. If he does, then i can bet you that Juve will not do any better than their current position. It is a shame to see such a team with an amazing history experience a barren spate.

This can also be a learning opportunity for the juve management. The only problem is that the fans want results and they want them now! It is hard to see how Juve will pick themselves up from these poor results. Moreover, they can rest assured that things won’t get any easier when fixtures resume on January 6th.

Nickname(s): The Elephants

All-Time Ranking: 33rd

2007/2008 Finish: 17th

2008/2009 Position (as of 04/07): 13th

Coach: Walter Zenga

Key Players: Davide Baiocca, Albano Bizarri, Giuseppe Mascara

History:

Catania was founded way back in 1908, but it has spent most of the last century in Serie B, hence their poor overall ranking. In fact, Catania has never been above 8th place on the Serie A table, and it hasn’t even been that high up since the 1960s. To be bluntly honest, the team has never had any real success and never hoisted a major trophy.

However, the squad’s coach Walter Zenga, the legendary Italian goalkeeper and former MLS player with the New England Revolution, helped the team narrowly avoid relegation last season and now has the squad playing its best soccer in decades. Now it appears Catania will be in Serie A to stay as recent results have been very good. 

American Sports Doppleganger:

Because Catania has never really left its mark on Italian soccer and has failed to win a single major trophy, I will compare the team to the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. Both teams have never managed to overcome obstacles to rise to the top of their respective leagues, and neither team appears close to doing so anytime in the near future.