Serie A Matchday Preview: Islands in the Sun

Hip hip. It’s been a great start to the Serie A campaign for the clubs from the Islands.

I feel I’ve already spoken in some length about Palermo. They got knocked down a peg last week against a hungry Milan side, but the fact remains that they’ve done remarkably well for a club that lost so much talent.

Serie A: Where even the managers' WAGs are hot.

Less attention has been paid to their Sicilian neighbors Catania, who sit in eighth place and have drawn league leaders Juve and last weekend took down wounded Inter.

It’s usually not pretty with Catania, but they’ve been able to grind games out, failing to take at least a point only once so far. Oh, and check out coach Vincenzo Montella’s wife, Rachele Di Fiore.

But the biggest shock of this young season just might be Cagliari currently sitting in third place.

Roberto Donadoni guided them to safety last season after a very rough patch and the loss of leading scorer Matri (now with Juve) but was dismissed after clashing with administration in the offseason.

But so far his replacement, Massimo Ficcadenti, has fared pretty well. Come to think of it, the last place Donadoni was sacked from found a head coach to spur them to greater heights as well: Walter Mazzarri.

The Isolani have lost only to Palermo and have had strong results in beating Roma and drawing Udinese.

They’ve yet to find a true replacement for Matri, but with a squad that has at least 9 different players that have started every match, they’ve been quite conistent.

But they’ll need to be more than steady this weekend. They host Napoli on Sunday.

Zamparini is currently trying to breed three-legged footballers in a secret lab on Lampedusa.

Major Storylines: Champions League Fatigue

Notice that none of the Serie A sides currently playing in the Champions League are in the top 4 of Serie A right now? Coincidence?

Probably too early to tell.

Obviously Napoli are close in fifth, but their form in the league has been far less steady than their brave displays in Europe prove they can be.

Meanwhile, both Milan sides find themselves in the bottom half of the table 6 matches in. While I am confident that at least one, and ok… ok, probably both will climb up soon, it will surely be worth keeping an eye on the domestic form of these Italian squads after their midweek European nights.

I think all three sides will progress to the quarterfinals, so their depth and focus will continue to be tested.

Sticking with this line of thought for now, Udinese and Lazio are in the top 4.

Could it be possible that the Europa League isn’t as taxing?

Last Weekend: Ugly Football, Uglier Behavior

Last Sunday was every Serie A proponent’s worst nightmare. 5 out of 7 matches ended in 0-0 draws, with few being of the entertaining variety.

Worse still, those games saw a staggering 33 cards combined, including 3 reds.

Our old friend Mutu was up to his old tricks for Cesena, given his marching orders against former employers Fiorentina for striking a defender after a bit of shirt pulling. Hey, at least it wasn’t a busboy this time.

Losing the temperamental but skilled Romanian for three matches will be no help to the still winless Seahorses.

Meanwhile in Genoa, Georgian own-goal machine Kakha Kaladze went totally apeshit after receiving a second yellow card for dissent . In his defense, the second yellow was a bit harsh, but for his furious reaction he was banned for 4 games and fine 5,000 Euros for, in the words of the league’s disciplinary body, “having, when being sent off, adopted intimidatory behavior towards the referee and having used an offensive term towards him and uttered a blasphemous expression.”

So, overall not the greatest week for the league. I am perfectly confident this week will be better. It really couldn’t get much worse.

Player Spotlights

Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus)

The Juventus and Italy legend has won just about everything a footballer can win during his tenure with the Old Lady. Now 36, his role has diminished slowly but steadily, but he still has 5 appearances this year and is nothing less than the emotional heart of the Bianconeri.

But club president Andrea Agnelli recently confirmed this will indeed be Del Piero’s last season in Turin. Del Piero has stuck with the club through extreme highs and lows, and was one of the core group of players who refused to jump ship after the forced relegation resulting from Calciopoli.

Juventus’ all-time leader in both goals and appearances, Del Piero will be rightfully lauded by the Bianconeri faithful with every last appearance this year, and with Juve riding high so far, he just might go out on the perfect note come season’s end.

Gaetano D’Agostino (Siena)

I’m sure Siena could not believe their luck when the 29-year old D’Agostino came on the market and signed with the newly promoted club after apparently going unwanted at Fiorentina.

The playmaker was reported to be disappointed with the departure but for a club that has just risen to Serie A to acquire such an established professional in the league was a major coup for Robur.

Siena does owe a lot of its success to a stingy defense, but D’Agostino seems to be in the middle of nearly every one of their offensive forays. His experienced presence is just what they need to keep themselves floating safely above the bottom three.

Francesco Lodi (Catania)

While Catania do sit in a surprising 8^th place so far, and have played well against Italy’s big clubs, their offense has not taken off just yet.  I expect Maxi Lopez to get on track at some point, but until then the Elefanti’s best chances will come from dead ball situations.

Which is exactly where Lodi comes in.

It was his spot kick that sealed Inter’s fate last time out and he helped spare Catania’s blushes with a stunning free kick the round before against Novara.

His prowess in this area was integral to Catania’s safety last season as well and though he may not be as creative as you’d like a midfielder to be, several more opposing defenses this year will rue the day they fouled a Catania player within 30 yards of the box.

Pick of the Week: Cagliari v. Napoli

If I seem to choose Napoli’s match for my pick each week, I assure you it’s just out of pragmatism. It seems to be the only club any of you lot want to watch! Does someone have a knife to your butt?

Anyway, I think anyone tuning in to see a Napoli romp will be very disappointed on Sunday. But if you’re looking for a good Serie A match this weekend I have to believe this is your best bet.

Third place takes on fifth, with Napoli surprisingly being the latter in this affair. The Sardinians have a balanced attack and their defense has been every bit as solid as the visitors’.

They’re nowhere near evenly matched on paper, but it’s what happens on the pitch that matters. With Napoli suffering from another European hangover, I think the Azzurri will be lucky and quite content to escape with a 2-2 draw.

Have a good weekend. You and your chimp.