Many Milan fans are very excited that Galliani and Berluscni have finally heard their pleas and cries and signed players who could win them trophies. There is no doubt that the Rossoneri are looking very strong on all fronts this season, however, before writing off other teams, it is important to note that Inter Milan, Juventus, AS Roma and the chasing pack of Napoli, Palermo, Sampdoria Fiorentina, Genoa and Lazio won’t yield the title to Milan or any other team for that matter without a fight.
From the category archives:
Sampdoria
Sampdoria were knocked out off the Champions League tonight as they gave up a three goal lead.
Sampdoria had jumped to a 3-0 lead and appeared to be heading to the Champions League group stages when Werder Bremen’s Markus Rosenberg leveled the aggregate score at 4-4 with a low, angled shot from beyond the area three minutes into injury time.
Then in extra time Claudio Pizarro secured a famous comeback victory for the German side when his low shot beat Sampdoria’s outstretched goalkeeper, Gianluca Curci. It gave Bremen a 5-4 aggregate victory.
According to most people, Roma is still the only team that can challenge Inter for the scudetto. Sure,Inter are the favourites to defend the Serie A title again, however, Milan, Juventus, Fiorentina, Sampdoria Napoli and Genoa cannot be ruled out.
The Giallorosso threw away their comfortable lead in the dying stages of last season to see rivals Inter pip them to their record breaking 5th straight scudetto. The Romans have been largely quiet in the transfer market with only the signings of a few players and if reports emerging from the capital are to be believed, then Roma fans have reason to smile as their towering striker Julio Baptista has apparently turned down a 14 million Euro transfer to Turkish club Galatasary.
Werder Bremen gained the upper hand in their UEFA Champions League play-off against ten-man Sampdoria but the celebrations at the Weser-Stadion were tempered by a last-minute goal from Giampaolo Pazzini.
Thomas Schaaf’s home side seized control through second-half goals from Clemens Fritz, Torsten Frings – a penalty after Sampdoria defender Stefano Lucchini had earned a red card – and Claudio Pizarro. But Pazzini’s header from substitute Marius Stankevičius’s cross restored hope for the visitors ahead of next Tuesday’s return in Genoa.
AC Milan still hold onto 3rd place in the Serie A despite losing 1-0 to fierce rivals Genoa at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris yesterday. The Rossoneri were lucky that their nearest challenger Sampdoria played out a 1-1 draw with Palermo at the Renzo Barbera stadium to keep them 3 points clear in 3rd place with 1 game left to end the season.
Looking at Milan’s remaining fixtures, i had started to fear the worst for the Diavolo. Prior to their victory over Fiorentina at the San Siro yesterday, Milan had lost their last 2 matches to Sampdoria and Palermo effectively ending any dreams they had of lifting the scudetto this season.
With Fiorentina, Genoa and Juventus still left to play, i am sure i was not the only worried about the Rossoneri finishing the season in 3rd place. However, Last night’s victory eased my nerves ahead of crucial fixtures against Genoa and Juventus.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
