Archive for the ‘Serie A’ Category

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In the pandemonium that followed Juventus’s home win over Palermo earlier this month, supporters twice invaded the pitch. The Bianconeri had just been crowned champions of Italy for the second year running, prompting over-eager fans to rush the field in the hopes of joining their heroes’ celebrations. But by the time they reached their destination, most of Juventus’s players had already fled, sprinting down the tunnel and taking refuge in the changing rooms.

One player, though, did not run. Gigi Buffon stayed on the field as long as the stewards would allow, accepting a T-shirt from one fan—a member of the Viking Juve group of Ultras—and hugs from many more before finally being dragged away by a posse of men in fluorescent orange jackets. It was a telling scene. Few players identify as closely with the fans as Buffon, a man who still considers himself to be one of them.

The only difference is, Buffon does not support Juve. He likes his employers very much, as you might expect for a player who has spent 12 such happy and successful years with a single club, even choosing to stick by them after they were dropped to Serie B as a result of the Calciopoli scandal in 2006. But Buffon’s true love remains Carrarese, the team he supported as a boy.

Growing up in Carrara, a coastal town in northern Tuscany, Buffon quickly became obsessed with his local team. As a child he would watch games from the Curva Nord of the Stadio dei Marmi, a small concrete bowl with space for 5,000 or so people. As he grew older, he began to stand among the Ultras, bare-chested in his preferred game-day attire of blue jeans and an open leather jacket with no shirt underneath.

At times he even fought for his side. Asked during a 1998 interview with La Repubblica if he had ever traded blows with an opposition supporter, Buffon confirmed that he had. “Every now and then, yes,” he said. “After a game between Carrarese and Bologna five years ago, which Bologna won through absolute robbery, we caused a bit of a scene outside with the opposition fans.

“I’m not saying it’s right, but if you limit yourself to fighting with fists then it doesn’t seem that tragic to me either. The tragedy is when someone brings a knife with them from home.”
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Ugliness at the San Siro

And I’m not talking about Milan’s third kit which is an affront to common decency. Sulley Muntari was shown a red card in the 41st minute for antics that can only be described as foolish. Muntari was trying to prevent the referee from giving Mario Balotelli a card. Holding the ref’s arm, losing his mind etc. obviously didn’t help things. Balotelli has been the target of racist taunts from Roma fans, chants so glaring the public address announcer has told them to stop or risk having the game suspended. It’s 0-0 at halftime.

Update

The game ended in a draw, but the stench of stupidity remains.


Video via James Dart

Cavani
Good on these Napoli fans for leaving the guy some food and water.

Image via Matt Barker

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The Lead

A cascade of first division clinched wins this weekend!

Well, two.

It’s easy to be cynical about Juve and Ajax earning their respective league wins in Italy and the Netherlands, seeing as they share 61 titles between them (no, not 63). But both Antonio Conte and Frank de Boer (the latter in particular) are no mere caretakers riding the crest of their clubs’ historical dominance.

In Conte’s case, it’s his second successive Scudetto, clinched with a 1-0 defeat of Palermo. The result reflected Juve’s strength’; while their 67 goals this season is among the lowest the big five European leagues and is tied with second place Napoli, they only conceded twenty goals. That’s only five more than Bayern conceded this season (which should underline how effing incredible Bayern have been). The likes of Chiellini and Bonucci have been integral in that defense, and certainly the presence of Pirlo, Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal in front of them hasn’t hurt either.

Ajax on the other hand faced an incredible challenge from PSV, Feyenoord and Vitesse almost to the very end of the Eredivisie. With a midfield steeped in Frank de Boer’s throwback Dutch principles, the veteran talent of 33-year-old Christian Poulsen complimented well the goal-scoring ability of Siem de Jong and the incredible season-long consistency of Christian Eriksen, whose talent, versatility and creativity will put his name in many a headline during this summer’s transfer grind.

For de Boer, it is an historic accomplishment. Three Ajax titles both as a player and a coach. Moreover, de Boer’s team can join Louis van Gaal and Rinus Michels with three consecutive wins, major company indeed.

Same old same old perhaps, but two champions very much of their time.
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Image via @Milanello

Image via @Milanello

Milan defeated Torino 1-0 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza thanks to Mario Balotelli’s goal in the 84th minute. The enigmatic striker is getting booked by his own teammates now.

Miroslav Klose scored five times in a span of 40 minutes as Lazio throttled Bologna 6-0 at Stadio Olimpico. Klose is the first person to score five in a single Serie A match since the 1984-85 season.

If you didn’t think sports is just a live TV show, watch this (HT Devang Desai of Devang Desai Industries).