Another re-scheduling apparently happened again for Serie A match between As Roma against Inter Milan as after only being relocated from 20.45 kick off into 15.00 on Saturday, the Lega Serie A have to move the day into Sunday as well.

This situation arrived because the snow problem apparently still can’t be solved on Saturday despite having the match being pushed forward into an evening kick off, as at the moment the weather already showed some serious situation.

There’s a fear that the match won’t be played at all this weekend but apparently according to the latest news from Italy, things can be sorted out on Sunday, which is a good news for football fans considering Roma v Inter is one of the most anticipated match this week. Obviously, the fans around the globe that watch from television must be content with the fact that they can’t enjoy the comfort of watching two, three big games in a different day but having the games being played is obviously more important.

Aside from the Roma against Inter, there are also another important match which was being re-scheduled due to bad weather issue, that game is Ac Milan’s encounter against Napoli. That tie was supposedly set for 20.45 kick off on Sunday but got pushed up to 15.00 on the same day, despite the Rossoneri was actually asking for a postponing instead.

The bad weather in Serie A this winter have really been disturbing the competition as until now there have been several matches that got postponed because of this situation. A condition that raises the worries of many people, hoping that a solution can be found immediately not only for this current month but for next season, so there will be no more canceled match as of today.

 
photo credit: batrax

Lazio’s main winter target, Keisuke Honda, admitted his disappointment in failing to join the Biancocelesti as the player revealed that Serie A has become his preference compared to other competitions.

Despite already failing to play in Italy this winter, Honda hasn’t close his dream yet in moving to the Pizza land especially when the transfer market opens again next summer, but at the moment his focus remains with CSKA Moskow.

Speaking to the Japanese media, Honda hinted that although there’s been linked with clubs such as Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the midfielder promises that he would still chose Serie A. The free kick specialist apparently also won’t limit his option on Lazio as should other Italian clubs are interested, the Japanese international would likely accept especially if other big teams also showed seriousness in approaching him.

I was waiting for a better future during this transfer session and hoped to the end that I’d arrive in Serie A. I now have only CSKA in my mind, but my contract is set to expire and I am honored that my name has been linked with the likes of PSG or Manchester City. My objectives have not changed and I have no intention of changing them,” Honda revealed.

Honda apparently is a keen admirer of the Italian league, which he claimed as one of the most difficult in the world mainly because the strong tactical battle that would improve any players’ quality. That’s why he was very excited after understanding Lazio’s serious interest on him, but unfortunately the deal collapsed after the Biancocelesti failed to reach an agreement with CSKA.

Honda has been attracting many interest from many clubs after performing excellently in the World Cup for his country and also at CSKA, mainly in the Japanese international earlier season. Apparently the interest has been dropping recently as the midfielder picked up a bad knee injury last summer, which forced him out for quite some time and probably become one of the reasons why the Russian team is willing to depart with the left footed midfielder.

photo credit: Vincent Teeuwen

Thiago Motta’s departure from Inter Milan apparently leaves an interesting facts which was revealed by his agent, Alessandro Canovi, stating that there’s actually some conflict of interest going on regarding the player’s future before finally moving to Paris Saint-Germain.

Canovi hinted that the Nerazzurri’s management, lead by Massimo Moratti and Marco Branca are very eager to sell the player, while coach, Claudio Ranieri actually isn’t that keen in losing Motta, who has been an important figure for Inter until this season.

Canovi further explained that Moratti and Branca’s decision to let Motta leave for Paris was because they understand that the player already lost his appetite in playing for the Nerazzurri. However, Ranieri still believes that the Italian international is still very much needed by his team especially since this season Inter’s record when playing without the ex-Barcelona man has been pretty poor.

“Massimo Moratti and Marco Branca understood the player’s state of mind, as he could no longer find the motivation to play with the Nerazzurri until June. Staying to the end of the season would’ve been a difficult situation. Claudio Ranieri wanted him to stay, because there are few players like Thiago Motta and it’s only normal a Coach would not be eager to let him go,” Canovi stated.

Many expert believes that losing Motta is a big loss for Inter, especially now their starting to lose another grip in the league, although the investment being made looks pretty promising indeed. After the
ex-Barcelona player’s departure, the Nerazzurri picked up two interesting players, Angelo Palombo from Sampdoria along with Porto’s Freddy Guarin, who have been catching many eyes of talent scouts from big teams.

However, despite already acquiring Palombo and Guarin, there’s still some doubts about Inter’s ability in coping with Motta’s departure since the latter does have different characteristic compared with the previous two names. Obviously the proves on whether the Nerazzurri can really cope well with the departure of an important act in midfield especially since Wesley Sneijder hasn’t been himself this season.

photo credit: fenderjaguar

Having already “lose” several matches in the past few weeks due to bad weather, Lega Serie A commissioner decided to make a change for some matches for this upcoming week in order to avoid another forced postponing.

The rescheduled games are, As Roma v Inter Milan, Cesena v Catania and Ac Milan v Napoli, who will now be played in the afternoon instead of their previous evening schedule, hoping that the cold weather won’t be troubling yet at an early hour.

Two matches, Roma v Inter and Cesena v Catania will still be played on Saturday, while Milan v Napoli also isn’t changing any dates despite previous request from the Rossoneri vice president, Adriano Galliani, asking to change the game into different dates. This decision seems to be welcomed well by the clubs as no objections been filed following the fixtures changes, although it remains to be seen whether changing hours would be an effective decisions for those teams.

The weather have been a problematic situation in Serie A for the last few seasons, mainly because the quality of many stadiums in the league that hasn’t been updated, giving difficulties for both players and also supporters. Moreover, there have also been some ideas of changing the schedule especially in winter time by expanding the holiday, so when the fixtures starts, the cold weather won’t be much of an issue anymore.

However, improving stadiums or expanding the holiday would also bring problems, as for the first idea, it would take sometime before teams managed to get their home base updated with the latest technology. Meanwhile, giving extra time off for players, eventually will make the competition gets longer, something that probably isn’t something profitable for television, which is the main financial support for Serie A teams.

photo credit: mitsurinho

They have been the two best teams in Italy all season, and AC Milan and Juventus will continue their battle in the Coppa Italia semi-finals.

AC Milan recovered from an early deficit to boo their place in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia with a 3-1 win over Lazio at the San Siro.

Lazio had won four of their five previous ties with Milan in the Coppa and it looked like being another good night for the Rome side when Djibril Cisse put them ahead inside the opening five minutes.

However, within 13 minutes of that goal Lazio were trailing as Robinho (15) and Clarence Seedorf (18) netted in quick succession for the hosts.

Milan substitute Zlatan Ibrahimovic then added a third goal six minutes from time to seal the win and earn his side a mouthwatering semi-final showdown with Serie A title rivals Juventus.

Juventus kept up their quest for a league and cup double by easing past Roma 3-0 in their Coppa Italia quarter-final match.

The Bianconeri, the unbeaten leaders of Serie A, were in control from the first whistle as Emanuele Giaccherini followed up his first league goal for the club at the weekend by bursting on to Andrea Barzagli’s through ball and finishing calmly six minutes in.

Alessandro Del Piero added a stunning second on the half-hour mark by thumping in from 20 metres off the underside of the bar. Roma’s quest ended as Erik Lamela was sent off before Simon Kjær diverted Fabio Quagliarella’s cross into his own net. AC Milan or S.S. Lazio await Antonio Conte’s men in the last four.

The other semi-final pits Napoli against Siena.

Coppa Italia Semi-Finals
08 Feb: AC v Juventus – Buy AC Milan v Juventus Tickets
09 Feb: Siena v Napoli – Buy Siena v Napoli Tickets
21 Mar: Juventus v AC Milan – Buy Juventus v AC Milan Tickets
21 Mar: Napoli v Siena

Not many surprises arrives on week 20 in Serie A beside Inter Milan’s seven winning streak end in the hands of Lecce after Guillermo Giacomazzi netted the only goal that clinched the victory.

The Nerazzurri did actually put the ball in the net twice in the second half but all of those goals were correctly disallowed by the referee because of offside.

Claudio Ranieri didn’t really commented much about the disallowed goals as he was more concerned with his team’s performance against Lecce, something that should’ve been seen earlier since Inter last couple of games were pretty poor despite getting the three point. The defeat brought the Nerazzurri back to fifth place as Lazio dethroned Ranieri’s team previous fourth spot, making things much more interesting in the coming weeks.

For the moment the Scudetto race leaves Juventus and Ac Milan getting toe to toe as the one point margin stands until this upcoming midweek where the league starts again. This weekend, the Turin giant successfully defeated Udinese 2-1 with goals from Alessandro Matri, while Milan destroyed their visitor, Cagliari 3-0 at San Siro, thanks to the contribution of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Antonio Nocerino and also Massimo Ambrosini.

Week 20 also seen Lazio and Genoa being successful as the Biancocelesti stormed Chievo 3-0 with goals coming from Hernanes and also Miroslav Klose’s double in the final minutes of the match. Meanwhile, the Marassi outfit managed to stun Napoli, beating Walter Mazzarri’s team 3-2 with Rodrigo Palacio’s brace and Alberto Gilardino’s strike. The Partenopei did made things interesting though after Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi scoring within just two minutes, giving the last 10 minutes a difficult time for Genoa.

Complete Serie A result for Week 20:
Catani a v Parma 1-1; Juventus v Udinese 2-1; Fiorentina v Siena 2-1; Cesena v Atalanta 0-1; Chievo v Lazio 0-3; Genoa v Napoli 3-2; Lecce v Inter 1-0; Palermo v Novara 2-0; Roma v Bologna 1-1; Ac Milan v Cagliari 3-0

photo credit: .a_dit.

Getting into the final days of January transfer window, Inter Milan reportedly are getting really busy as they’re currently looming on their plan to release Thiago Motta and search for his replacement immediately.

Reports revealed that at the moment the Nerazzurri are working on sealing former Juventus’ target, Freddy Guarin, as the potential new player to replace Motta, who is very keen on leaving if Claudio Ranieri’s team doesn’t want to extend the former Barcelona man’s contract as soon as possible.

Confirmation about Inter’s interest on Guarin has been revealed by the Colombian international’s agent himself, who has been in Milan to work out the potential deal between Nerazzurri and FC Porto. The representative revealed that nothing is concrete at the moment but there’s a strong will to make the deal come through considering Juventus have already pulled out their interest in bringing the midfielder this winter.

“I am working on getting him to Inter. There is nothing official yet, but I hope the deadlock can be broken,” Guarin’s agent revealed.

The latest devolepment about Guarin’s future is very interesting since not long ago the player himself stated that he only wants a move to Juventus this winter, rulling out other options. However, since the Turin giant apparently chose to sign Martin Caceres instead, the Kolombian seemingly willing to take other options instead.

Meanwhile, Inter themselves are also considering other options should their approach on Guarin fails, as reports suggested that the likes of Antonio Candreva and Kevin Constant as possible candidates . Aside from Juve and the Nerazzurri, reports in Italy also suggested that Ac Milan could also be on therunning for the Colombian international, who have been attrackting many eyes since performing well for Porto last season.

photo credit: batrax

Juventus’ director general, Beppe Marotta confirmed recent rumors about their interest on Cagliari’s midfielder, Radja Nainggolan, revealing that the Turin giant are working on a way to bring the player this January.

However, the director isn’t promissing anything to the fans since negotiation in acquiring the Belgium international is still at an every early stage and they are yet to figure out whether Cagliari are set to sell or not.

Marotta also revealed that Juventus will have to consider lots of things before adding more reinforcement this January, including in bringing Nainggolan as if the deal isn’t profitable, they might not do it. The former Sampdoria director stated that at the moment they already have a pretty strong squad which is good enough to challenge for domestic glory especially with the arrival of Marco Borriello and also Martin Caceres.

“Nainggolan is a player who interests us. We have talked with their President Massimo Cellino, but there isn’t what I’d call a real negotiation.We will try to bring Nainggolan to Turin in January, but there are many things to consider and above all whether Cagliari want to sell,” Marotta stated. “We’ll look to take any good opportunities that arise, but at the moment I don’t see any, especially as we strengthened an already excellent squad with the arrival of Martin Caceres and Marco Borriello.”

Nainggolan has been one of the hot stuffs in Serie A at the moment as aside from Juventus, there are also strong interest from other big clubs such as Ac Milan and Manchester City. The Turin giant however, reportedly have been the one taking things seriously as they are willing to give an interesting proposal to Cagliari which is giving some players along with cash for the Sardinian outfit.

Meanwhile, aside from confirming Juve’s interest on Nainggolan, Marotta also revealed the future of their unwanted striker, Luca Toni, who according to director would be leaving the club this winter. The former Sampdoria director said that Toni is very close to accept UAE’s club, Al Nasr’s offer, although nothing official has been made but it’s just a matter of time before the veteran striker depart.

“Toni’s move to Al Nasr is not yet official, but we believe it will be completed tomorrow,” Marotta added

photo credit: _bianconero

Unwanted Juventus winger, Milos Krasic, has not hidden his intention in leaving the Turin giant since he is not being considered as part of the first team since pretty much the early part of this season.

Despite admitting his willingness to leave, Krasic apparently is being pretty picky in his decision as according to the player’s agent, the Serbian international will only consider another top club as his next destination, scrapping the recent strong interest from Lazio.

According to Football-Italia, Krasic’s agent revealed that his client most likely would be choosing top premier league clubs such as Manchester United or Chelsea instead of answering to Lazio’s call, who have been reportedly interested on the winger. Seeing the current situation, the Serbian might ends up staying with the Turin giant until the season ends considering there haven’t been any serious proposals coming from teams that the winger preferred.

“There is no news to report, Milos wants a change of team, but will only move to a top club, preferably in England. With all due respect for Lazio, they are not a side in Milos’ thoughts,” Krasic agent’s was quoted saying.

This answer would probably makes Lazio focus their transfer plan in bringing in Keisuke Honda from CSKA Moskow, since the Japanese was actually their main target this January but the negotiation with the Russian club is still ongoing. Krasic himself was actually being touted as an alternative target for the Biancocelesti as they think that getting the winger could be easier and cheaper, but apparently if what his agent said is true, the capital club would rather forget their idea.

Krasic himself has really been suffering this season as he fails to grab Conte’s trust despite being one of Juventus’ top performers in previous seasons. The Bianconeri’s new coach seems more interested in fielding work horse type of players instead of a technical speed runner such as the Serbian international.

Juventus succesfully widen the point margin with one of their close title rival, Udinese, after beating Francesco Guidolin’s side 2-1, in the direct clash on Saturday evening, which saw the Turin giant gather a six points lead.

Antonio Conte’s team must be thanking their Italian international striker, Alessandro Matri, who bagged all of the “Old Lady” goals on the match, edging the game as the visitor only managed to pull one back from Antonio Floro Flores’ strike.

Playing in a heavy snow, Juventus didn’t stop their usual game plan in providing a high pressure to search for a first goal, which would give them comfort on the pitch. However, it wasn’t that easy in breaking down Guidolin’s boys, who despite losing several important players for the African Cup still manage to perform bravely against the yet to be beaten league leader.

After series of intense pressure, Juventus finally managed to brake the away team’s resistence as Matri pounced on Fabio Quagliarella blocked header, beating Samir Handanovic on Udinese’s goal without much trouble. The 1-0 scoreline closed the first period, forcing the visitor to change their game plan a bit in the second half by putting in Floro Flores as they were chasing the game and eying for the equalizer.

Guidolin’s offensive strategy worked out well early in the second period as it was the substitue forward, Flor Flores , who got the highly anticipated equalizer after recieving a fine pass from Mauricio Isla. The goal lifted Udinese’s confidence as they started to take the attacking inniative more than the home side, looking for the second goal that would give a rare victory against the current league leader.

However, it was Juventus instead who proved their worth once again after Matri managed to snooke his shot passed Handanovic for the second time in the match. The goal made things became difficult again for the visitor as they have to chase ball around since the Turin giant decided to keep hold of the ball longer, only making occasional attacking moves as Conte’s team doesn’t want to lose their lead again.

The Turin giant’s tactics worked out well as their opponent simply got tired out in the last few minutes since they don’t really have more quality substitutes players with their limited resources. Juventus extended their unbeaten record this season an obviously mantained their lead in the table for another Serie A week since whatever happens on Sunday, Juventus would still maintain at least a point lead from their closest rival.

Match Reports:
Juventus v Udinese 2-1
Goals: Matri 42, 62 (Juventus); Floro Flores 56 (Udinese)
Juventus: Buffon; Bonucci, Barzagli, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner (De Ceglie 82), Vidal, Pirlo, Giaccherini, Estigarribia (Pepe 64); Matri, Quagliarella (Marchisio 61)
Udinese: Handanovic; Ferronetti, Danilo, Domizzi (Battocchio 73); Basta, Isla (Pereyra 85), Fernandes, Armero, Pasquale; Abdi (Floro Flores 46), Di Natale

photo credit: _bianconero