This weekend’s round of fixtures proved to be a mouth-watering affair. On Saturday night Juventus played host to Inter Milan who they eventually beat 2-1 to cut down the champions lead over them to just 5 points.
Earlier on, Ac milan beat Sampdoria 3-0 at the San Siro. Their star player Ronaldinho was once again at the heart of every Milan attack and he showed just why he is an integral part of Leonardo’s long term plans. The Brazilian maestro supplied two crosses that eventually led to 2 of Milan’s goals. Read more... (346 words, 3 images, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)
Saturday proved to be an important day for local rivals Genoa and Sampdoria in the Serie A. After the final whistle, the score line was 3-0 in favor of Genoa and yet this was not to be a precise reflection of the match. Three red cards and two penalties later, Genoa gained the victory that propelled them into position 5 in the table standings.
Although Genoa beat Sampdoria, they are still trailing their rivals albeit with a slim margin. Sampdoria are currently in 4th place just a point above Genoa. You can now understand just how important this game was to both these teams. Read more... (344 words, 2 images, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)
Sampdoria sporting director Beppe Marotta has said that his club would consider making a move for former Internazionale striker Adriano if he was interested in returning to Serie A.
Adriano is currently playing in his native Brazil with Flamengo, but Sampdoria would be interested in speaking to the striker who went AWOL from Inter.
“We are pleased with our squad at present. However, we are missing some important pieces, which hopefully we can fix in time,” Marotta told the Corriere dello Sport. ”Our preferred policy is youth, but we also need to focus on filling the holes in our line-up. Adriano? He would be a player who could do exactly this. It’s a pity that he has decided to remain in Brazil for now, but we would certainly consider taking him on if he were to return to Italy.” Read more... (384 words, 3 images, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)
Lazio and Sampdoria have flattered to deceive in Serie A this term despite their attacking potential but Wednesday’s Coppa Italia final offers a chance to end the season on a high and qualify for Europe.
Lazio, 10th in the league, lost 3-1 at home to Udinese on Saturday with their eyes firmly fixed on the Cup final which will be played at their Stadio Olimpico base in Rome.
Fans hoped the club would be pushing for a Champions League berth this season with strikers Tommaso Rocchi, Goran Pandev and Mauro Zarate among the most dangerous in Serie A. Read more... (286 words, 2 images, estimated 1:09 mins reading time)
Nickname(s): The Blue-Ringed
All-Time Ranking: 10th
2007/2008 Finish: 6th
2008/2009 Position (as of 04/07): 12th
Coach: Walter Mazzarri
Key Players: Antonio Cassano, Paolo Sammarco, Giampaolo Pazzini
History:
Sampdoria was founded in 1946 when two historic squads merged to form one “supersquad”. But, other than their 90/91 league title and four Coppa Italia victories between 1984 and 1994, they haven’t had much of an impact on Italian soccer. In fact, they have been labeled as “underachievers” because they seemingly waste their talent. Read more... (196 words, 3 images, estimated 47 secs reading time)
The final of the 2009 Coppa Italia will be between Lazio and Sampdoria. After four finals in a row between Inter and Roma: the first two won by the Nerazzurri, the last two by the Giallorossi. Samp made it through to the final by holding on at San Siro against Inter, limiting the damage following their sensational 3-0 win at Marassi. It ended 1-0, with a goal from the outstanding Ibrahimovic. Thus the Blucerchiati won the tie and are in the final, despite the 34 point difference between the two teams in Serie A. Inter at least gave themselves a chance, turning a near mission impossible into a possibility. They played with pride and determination, but it wasn’t enough, despite the fact that Mourinho fielded a side seemingly very close to his best. A very good spell at the end of the first half was only partly capitalised on by the Nerazzurri, and in the second half Samp were better organised in defence, and counter-attacked through an inspired Cassano. Read more... (586 words, 3 images, estimated 2:21 mins reading time)
