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2005/2006 Italian season thread [R]


zacRWE

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quote:Originally posted by zacRWE

hey everyone, just a question, whats going on with those promoted sides in Italy like Genoa and Torino? are they getting a licence? if they dont, will Serie A only have 18 or whatever number of teams?

thx:)

Torino: probably not.

Messina: they'll remain in serie "A"

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Summer of scandal

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=337953&cc=5901

Roberto Gotta

An Italian saying goes 'molta carne al fuoco'; meaning there are many issues deserving of attention at the same time.

In the classic era of football, whenever that was, July would be a month when sports dailies would scramble to find news other than the start of training camps.

Once the transfer market (which seems to attract the interest of more Italians than the actual sport does) was over, with rules preventing players being bought or sold for the rest of the season, you had to treasure every bit of soccer news as there was really nothing to talk about.

Of course, in those days you would also know by the first days of July which teams were in Serie A, Serie B etc - which is almost unbelievable now, as each of the last few summers has brought a string of failed registrations, invalid money guarantees, bankruptcies, gambling scandals and every sort of trouble you can imagine.

The lowest of the low being when the lawyer of Stefano Bettarini, last summer's biggest name among those accused of the alleged match-fixing, tried to use his client's addiction to mobile phone text messaging as an explanation of why some dodgy ones involving 'arranging' matches slipped among the hundreds he sent every day - which puts him on a par with most teenagers, of course.

With the new Serie A season starting on August 28 there are there are interesting tactical issues concerning the top teams which should be commanding the attention, sadly it is matters off the pitch that are grabbing the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The latest news, which drove the umpteenth nail into the coffin Italian football's reputation, involves Genoa's demotion to Serie C. The cause? Match-fixing of the most naïve variety.

“ Telephone recordings made by the Police how Preziosi made contact with Venezia's managing director Franco Dal Cin. The words they exchanged leave little doubt about what was going on. ”

Having topped Serie B all season Genoa hosted already-relegated Venezia in their last match. One week earlier thousands of Genoa fans had made the trip to Piacenza in the knowledge a win would have guaranteed promotion, but the game ended 2-2 and been marred by a brawl between a few players.

Given their abysmal overall talent, and the fact their relegation to the Serie C1 had been confirmed for weeks, Venezia were there for the taking, but Genoa president Enrico Preziosi decided to make sure of the win.

Telephone recordings made by the Police, who were investigating other non-football related matters and had put a few individual's cellphones under surveillance, show Preziosi made contact with Venezia's managing director Franco Dal Cin. The words they exchanged leave little doubt about what was going on.

When Venezia went ahead after 22 minutes through Vicente, Dal Cin phoned the player's agent, Mauro Paglioni, and said 'What the hell's going on? What are they doing? They scored... Are they out of their minds?', to which Paglioni replied 'You know Vicente, that's the way he is, but there's plenty of time for them to equalize'.

Genoa won 3-2, and only three days later Venezia's general manager and former FIFA-licensed agent, Giuseppe Pagliara, was caught leaving the offices of Preziosi's company, Italy's biggest toymaker, with a suitcase brimming with Euros, €250,000 to be exact.

Pagliara's explanation, that it was an advance payment on the sale of defender Ruben Maldonado, was probably one of the most outrageous statements in the history of football, and of course no one fell for it.

Subsequent investigations revealed the truth and it was only right, albeit sad for a historic club which had finally regained a place in the top flight after ten years downstairs, that the Disciplinary Committee of the Italian Federation came down hard on Genoa.

Preziosi was banned for five years, as were Dal Cin, Pagliara and Genoa director Stefano Capozucca. There were also lesser punishments for several Venezia players, Massimo Borgobello being hit harshest with a 6-month ban.

However, Genoa have taken their case to the Federal Court of Appeals, who are deliberating and should give its ruling on August 5. That's when we'll have a more complete picture of next season's Serie A.

Meanwhile, uncertainty also remains over the immediate future of several clubs with fiscal and financial problems: Torino, promoted to Serie A via the playoffs; and Messina, who had already been relegated because of huge debts - although Messina appeared to have put their house in order, but missed a couple of deadlines.

The Administrative Court of the region of Lazio, will review the two situations on August 2. If this fails Torino, a historic club who seem to come with all kinds of strings attached each time, and Messina, can state their case one last (and fifth!) time at the Consiglio di Stato, another non-sports related court.

“ Typical of the Italian mentality, too many fans seem to believe that the problems lie more with the authorities who dished out the rightful punishment than with the people who committed the crimes. ”

Messina reacted with dismay and outrage at the ruling aginst them; their young president Pietro Franza launched a raging attack on Bologna - who may replace Messina in Serie A, just as Treviso and Ascoli may take the places freed by Genoa and Torino - whom he accused of having far worse financial problems than their books show.

As is sadly customary, fans of the punished teams have taken to the streets to vent their anger. Torino fans are calling for a boycott of next year's Turin Winter Olympics - as if they had anything to do with the club's demotion; Genoa fans resorted to the tried, trusted and brainless tactic of setting trash bins on fire and hurling flares towards policemen who were discreetly following their movements; while Messina fans blocked access to the ferries transporting passengers and goods between Sicily and Calabria, some of them owned by Franza's own company.

Typical of the Italian mentality, too many fans seem to believe that the problems lie more with the authorities who dished out the rightful punishment than with the people who committed the crimes.

The judges who sentenced Genoa to relegation did what they had to do after being presented with seemingly unquestionable evidence of Preziosi's naive attempt at match-fixing.

The fans' anger should be directed at their former president, who by succumbing to the temptation of securing a result which might have come their way regardless of money exchanging hands runied a year's worth of hard work by the players and coach Serse Cosmi - who fell out with Preziosi at the end of the season and has now upgraded his CV by taking the reins of Udinese.

Unfortunately, there's no more room left this for those tactical matters involving Inter, Juve, Milan and other clubs which alluded to earlier. So, while I'm writing with my nostrils closed by a clothes peg to avoid succumbing to the stench of corruption, lowlife-ness and squalor emanating from another sad chapter in the administrative history of Italian football, let me add one final piece of bad news from this week.

The Guardia di Finanza, the police specializing in fiscal crime, seized the shares of Avellino and half of those of Salernitana, another club who was expelled from the Serie B because of their bad financial state.

The move came after an inquiry revealed that Pasquale Casillo, a businessman who's under investigation for a series of crimes, had been the actual owner of both clubs (before Avellino changed hands last year, and their current owners are free of any suspicion) but had managed to stay behind the scenes by appointing others and managing his shares through a variety of fictional companies.

Maybe now you can understand why I've been watching a lot of meaningless friendlies which I ordinarily wouldn't have even turned on the TV for in the past: anything to try to forget about all this, and go back to following the path of a football from the feet of Pirlo, Nedved or Pizarro and wonder what's next.

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since Gotta's article was written:

--------------------------------------------------------

Italian court lets Messina back into Serie A

ROME, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Messina earned a last-minute reprieve on Tuesday to remain in Serie A after an Italian appeals court overturned a decision by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) to throw it out of the top flight due to the poor state of its finances.

Torino, the other team denied a Serie A place by the FIGC decision, had its appeal rejected as did a handful of clubs in lower divisions.

A small crowd of Messina fans leapt for joy as the decision was read out by an official on the steps of a regional court in Rome. The official gave no details for the reasoning behind the verdicts.

Earlier in the day, angry Messina fans had blockaded the town's port to demonstrate in favour of their club, halting ferry traffic. Messina is the closest Sicilian town to mainland Italy.

Messina finished seventh last season in only their second campaign in Serie A, the first back in 1964-5.

Seven-times Italian champions Torino were promoted to Serie A after two years out of the top flight when they beat Perugia over two legs of their promotion playoff last month. However they were denied their place because of their parlous finances.

Perugia and Salernitana will be barred from Serie B under the FIGC decision.

Updated on Tuesday, Aug 2, 2005 4:40 pm EDT

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2005/2006 COPPA ITALIA</u>

[*]The Coppa Italia has taken on a new look for this season: an increase to 72 clubs and a single-match knockout format for the first three rounds. The 72 clubs are seeded 1 through 72, with the top 8 (Inter, Juventus, Milan, Udinese, Sampdoria, Palermo, Roma, Lazio) getting byes to the Fourth Round (where the usual two-leg knockout format begins) and all others starting in the First Round.

The 72 clubs were supposed to be comprised of 20 from Serie A, 22 from Serie B and 30 from Serie C. However, clubs that were not yet admitted into the league (due to financial problems) by the start of the Coppa were also not admitted into the Coppa, where they were replaced by more Serie C clubs, so the new breakdown is 18 from Serie A, 20 from Serie B and 34 from Serie C (26 from C1 and 8 from C2).

[*]I have listed the matches in such a way that the upcoming draw can be seen at each stage. For example: within each group of four First Round matches, the winner of the first match will play the winner of the second match and the winner of the third match will play the winner of the fourth match in the Second Round; then the winners of those Second Round matches will play against each other in the Third Round; then the winner of that Third Round match will play against the corresponding top-eight seed (appearing in italics above the group) in the Fourth Round; this continues in the Quarterfinals, with the winner of Inter's "group" playing against the winner of Lazio's "group", etc., and then similarly in the Semifinals.

[*]Each club's league and Coppa Italia seed are given in brackets. I have given the league in which each club is supposed to play based on where they finished last season (if there is a "p" next to the league then they were just promoted into that league and if there is an "r" then they were just relegated into that league), but this may yet change before the league season begins.

[*]Some matches, as identified in red with EDT times given, will be broadcast on RAI International:

RAI International soccer schedule here

[*]Some matches, as identified in green with EDT times given when live (see schedule when delayed and for repeats), will be streamed by RAI Sport Satellite:

RAI Sport Satellite stream here

RAI Sport Satellite schedule here

FIRST ROUND — AUGUST 6-7, 2005</u>

(A/1) Inter

(Ap/17) Empoli 2 (C1p/64) Pizzighettone 1

(C1/49) Sangiovannese 0 (B/32) Crotone 2

(C2/65) Cavese 0 (A/16) Parma 1

(C1/48) Padova 2 (B/33) Triestina 1 - AWARDED 3-0 (INELIGIBLE PLAYER)

(A/8) Lazio

(C1/57) Cittadella 3 (B/24) Modena 2

(C1/56) Lumezzane 1 (B/25) Ternana 2

(A/9) Livorno 3 (C2/72) Forlí 0

(Ap/41) Genoa vs. (C1r/40) Catanzaro (at Alessandria) - SUSPENDED (21', 0-0) - AWARDED 0-3 (CROWD TROUBLE)

(A/5) Sampdoria

(B/21) Treviso 0 (C1p/60) Manfredonia 1

(C1/53) Pro Patria 0 (B/28) Albinoleffe 1

(C2/69) San Marino 1 (A/12) Cagliari 3

(C1/44) Grosseto 2 (Bp/37) Mantova 0

(A/4) Udinese

(C1p/61) Massese 0 (Br/20) Atalanta 1

(C1/52) Pisa 1 (B/29) Catania 1 - PK 5-4

(C2/68) Juve Stabia 1 (A/13) Siena 2

(C1/45) Frosinone 0 (Bp/36) Avellino 0 - PK 5-3 - AWARDED 0-3 (INELIGIBLE PLAYER)

(A/3) Milan

(C1p/62) Pro Sesto 0 (Br/19) Brescia 1

(C1/51) Lanciano 0 (B/30) Arezzo 3

(C2/67) Valenzana 0 (A/14) Chievo 5

(C1/46) Sambenedettese 2 (Bp/35) Cremonese 4

(A/6) Palermo

(B/22) Ascoli 2 (C1/59) Acireale 0 [delayed]

(C1/54) Martina 1 (B/27) Bari 2

(C2/70) Monza 1 (A/11) Lecce 1 - PK 4-2

(C1/43) Pavia 2 (C1r/38) Vicenza 1

(A/7) Roma

(B/23) Verona 2 (C1/58) Teramo 0

(C1/55) Lucchese 1 (B/26) Piacenza 2 AET

(C2/71) Giugliano 1 (A/10) Reggina 2 AET

(C1/42) Napoli 2 (C1r/39) Pescara 1 [Aug 7 @ 10:00 AM]

(A/2) Juventus

(C1p/63) Ravenna 0 (Br/18) Bologna 1

(C1/50) Spezia 0 (B/31) Cesena 1 [Aug 6 @ 12:25 PM]

(A/15) Fiorentina 4 (C2/66) Lodigiani 0 [Aug 7 @ 3:00 PM]

(C1/47) Pistoiese 0 (Bp/34) Rimini 1

SECOND ROUND - AUGUST 13-15, 2005</u>

(A/1) Inter

(B/32) Crotone 2 (Ap/17) Empoli 3 AET

(C1/48) Padova 0 (A/16) Parma 1 [Aug 14 @ 10:00 AM] [delayed]

(A/8) Lazio

(C1/57) Cittadella 0 (B/25) Ternana 0 - PK 7-6

(C1r/40) Catanzaro 0 (A/9) Livorno 0 - PK 2-4

(A/5) Sampdoria

(C1p/60) Manfredonia 3 (B/28) Albinoleffe 2 (at Bari)

(C1/44) Grosseto 1 (A/12) Cagliari 2

(A/4) Udinese

(C1/52) Pisa 0 (Br/20) Atalanta 1

(Bp/36) Avellino 0 (A/13) Siena 1

(A/3) Milan

(B/30) Arezzo 2 (Br/19) Brescia 2 - PK 4-5

(Bp/35) Cremonese 0 (A/14) Chievo 1

(A/6) Palermo

(B/27) Bari 2 (B/22) Ascoli 1

(C2/70) Monza 1 (C1/43) Pavia 1 - PK 4-5

(A/7) Roma

(B/26) Piacenza 2 (B/23) Verona 1

(C1/42) Napoli 1 (A/10) Reggina 0 [Aug 15 @ 3:00 PM] [delayed]

(A/2) Juventus

(B/31) Cesena 1 (Br/18) Bologna 0 [Aug 13 @ 3:00 PM]

(Bp/34) Rimini 1 (A/15) Fiorentina 2 AET [Aug 14 @ 3:00 PM]

THIRD ROUND - AUGUST 20-22, 2005</u>

(A/1) Inter

(Ap/17) Empoli 1 (A/16) Parma 1 - PK 6-7 [Aug 21 @ 11:00 AM] [delayed]

(A/8) Lazio

(C1/57) Cittadella 3 (A/9) Livorno 2

(A/5) Sampdoria

(C1p/60) Manfredonia 2 (A/12) Cagliari 2 - PK 2-4 (at Fasano)

(A/4) Udinese

(A/13) Siena 0 (Br/20) Atalanta 4 [Aug 21 @ 2:30 PM]

(A/3) Milan

(Br/19) Brescia 1 (A/14) Chievo 0 [Aug 22 @ 3:00 PM]

(A/6) Palermo

(C1/43) Pavia 0 (B/27) Bari 0 - PK 5-6

(A/7) Roma

(C1/42) Napoli 1 (B/26) Piacenza 0

(A/2) Juventus

(B/31) Cesena 0 (A/15) Fiorentina 1 [Aug 20 @ 8:00 PM] [delayed]

FOURTH ROUND - NOVEMBER 30/DECEMBER 8, 2005 & JANUARY 5, 2006</u>

(A/1) Inter vs. (A/16) Parma

(A/8) Lazio vs. (C1/57) Cittadella

(A/5) Sampdoria vs. (A/12) Cagliari

(A/4) Udinese vs. (Br/20) Atalanta

(A/3) Milan vs. (Br/19) Brescia

(A/6) Palermo vs. (B/27) Bari

(A/7) Roma vs. (C1/42) Napoli

(A/2) Juventus vs. (A/15) Fiorentina

QUARTERFINALS - JANUARY 25 & FEBRUARY 1, 2006</u>

SEMIFINALS - MARCH 22 & APRIL 12, 2006</u>

FINAL - MAY 3 & 11, 2006</u>

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I have added the Coppa Italia First Round results and filled in the Second Round matches and broadcast schedule in the post above.

There are early-round Coppa Italia matches on RAI International. I was not aware of this last week because nothing was listed on their site, but my neighbour told me that he watched Napoli vs. Pescara. In any case, their site does list two matches for this weekend (see post above).

Last weekend the RAI Sport Satellite stream was not working. However, it is working now so hopefully it will continue to work over the weekend.

First Round high/lowlights:

[*]Genoa fielded an U21 squad against Catanzaro in protest of their relegation to Serie C1 as punishment for match fixing. Their fans bombarded the field with flares and other flammables in protest of the same, resulting in the match being suspended halfway through the first half and Catanzaro eventually given the win by default. (Meanwhile, Genoa's appeals to be re-admitted into Serie A are ongoing.)

[*]The biggest upset and only Serie A team to be eliminated:

(C2/70) Monza 1 (A/11) Lecce 1 PK 4-2

Monza tied the match in the 86th minute.

[*]Other big upsets:

(B/21) Treviso 0 (C1p/60) Manfredonia 1

(C1/57) Cittadella 3 (B/24) Modena 2

(C1/52) Pisa 1 (B/29) Catania 1 PK 5-4

(C1/48) Padova 2 (B/33) Triestina 1 - AWARDED 3-0 (INELIGIBLE PLAYER)

[*]Other upsets (based on seeds, anyway, as in reality these should be expected to go either way):

(C1/44) Grosseto 2 (Bp/37) Mantova 0

(C1/43) Pavia 2 (C1r/38) Vicenza 1

(C1/42) Napoli 2 (C1r/39) Pescara 1

[*]An upset on the field, but result overturned off the field (I cheer against Frosinone, but I don't like seeing clubs lose this way):

(C1/45) Frosinone 0 (Bp/36) Avellino 0 PK 5-3 - AWARDED 0-3 (INELIGIBLE PLAYER)

[*]Close calls for Serie A clubs:

(C2/71) Giugliano 1 (A/10) Reggina 2 AET

(C2/68) Juve Stabia 1 (A/13) Siena 2

The winners were scored in the 107th and 85th minutes, respectively.

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So we finally know all 20 clubs that will compete in Serie "A" next season. Ascoli and Treviso will join Empoli as the sides promoted from Serie "B". For Treviso its their first ever season in the top flight and they will start-out against Inter in Milan.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Serie A on TV in Canada...

Saturday, August 27

12pm: Livorno-Lecce(RAI, Italian comm)

2:30pm: Fiorentina-Sampdoria(RAI, Italian comm)

2:30pm: Fiorentina-Sampdoria(TLN, English comm)

Sunday, August 28

9am: Ascoli-Milan(RAI, Italian comm)

9am: Ascoli-Milan(TLN, English comm)

11am: Fiorentina-Sampdoria[tape delay](English comm)

2:30pm: Juventus-Chievo(RAI, Italian comm)

2:30pm: Juventus-Chievo(TLN, English comm)

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Originally posted by Metro - 08/27/2005 : 15:08:59</u>

By any chance, does anyone know why TLN isn't showing Fiorentina-Sampdoria even though the match is listed on their website? They haven't lost their Saturday rights, have they?

Originally posted by masster - 08/27/2005 : 19:27:28</u>

I don't know why it wasen't on but that was pretty upsetting. I went over to a friend's house just to watch the game and wasted an hour as the PLEASE STAND BY caption rolled across the bottom of the screen.

Originally posted by dbailey62 - 08/27/2005 : 22:13:51</u>

It's obviously not a rights issue if they had the game in their listings. Probably some sort of satellite technical difficulty somewhere between the Italian uplink and the TLN receiving dish.

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I wasn't able to tune in on Saturday and I screwed up the program on my VCR. Did TLN show some other, non-Serie A match instead? That's what I heard. Did anyone see it?

Anyway, as littleD posted, Fiorentina vs. Sampdoria was always scheduled to be repeated after the first match on Sunday morning, so, depending on what the problem was, maybe we'll see it then. But have we permanently lost the second of the two Sunday morning matches that we used to get?

And what's with FSWC not picking up the Serie A matches that FSC picked up (which happen to include all Lazio home matches [:P])? Instead they will once again show repeats of TLN's matches later in the week. [xx(]

In case you didn't notice, I filled in all the Coppa Italia Second and Third Round results and Fourth Round schedule in the post above (no more updates to that post; when the Fourth Round comes around we'll use new posts). There were more upsets in the Second and Third Rounds to go along with those I listed for the First Round, notably including:

Second Round

(C1/57) Cittadella 0 (B/25) Ternana 0 - PK 7-6

(C1p/60) Manfredonia 3 (B/28) Albinoleffe 2

(C1/42) Napoli 1 (A/10) Reggina 0

Third Round

(C1/57) Cittadella 3 (A/9) Livorno 2

(A/13) Siena 0 (Br/20) Atalanta 4

(Br/19) Brescia 1 (A/14) Chievo 0

(C1/42) Napoli 1 (B/26) Piacenza 0

In addition, where upsets did not occur the underdogs generally performed very well, some even going all the way to PKs. (Bp/34) Rimini 1 (A/15) Fiorentina 2 - AET, which I watched on the RAI Sport stream, was a great match all around, with Fiorentina winning it on literally the last play of extra time when PKs looked certain; Fiorentina then went on to win (B/31) Cesena 0 (A/15) Fiorentina 1 on the last play before extra time. It's a shame that so many people are more interested in those meaningless pre-season friendly tournaments (ie. "Trofeo Berlusconi", etc.), but those who were at the Coppa matches, including the players (more first-stringers than usual), were really into them.

Anyway, I really like this new format. We now have three Serie B teams and even two Serie C1 teams in the final 16, something which we've never come close to before, including a juicy (A/7) Roma vs. (C1/42) Napoli matchup (plus Lazio have what are surely the easiest opponents despite being the lowest of the top 8 seeds [:P]).

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quote:Originally posted by DJT

I wasn't able to tune in on Saturday and I screwed up the program on my VCR. Did TLN show some other, non-Serie A match instead? That's what I heard. Did anyone see it?

Anyway, as littleD posted, Fiorentina vs. Sampdoria was always scheduled to be repeated after the first match on Sunday morning, so, depending on what the problem was, maybe we'll see it then. But have we permanently lost the second of the two Sunday morning matches that we used to get?

And what's with FSWC not picking up the Serie A matches that FSC picked up (which happen to include all Lazio home matches [:P])? Instead they will once again show repeats of TLN's matches later in the week. [xx(]

TLN showed the Shevchenko XI v. Ronaldhinio XI match from last year. I did get to see Fiorentina-Sampdoria live but over the web. A decent picture quality but it doesn't beat watching it on TV.

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quote:Originally posted by nedved9

I am glad that TLN is showing the Azzurri games like next week v Scotland. are they gonna show more Champions league games.

Yeah, does anyone know what's going with that? They can't be showing the Rai feed, can they?

Actually, I just checked Rai's schedule for September 3, and they aren't showing Scotland-Italy. Maybe because it's an away game?

Anyways, I hope the coverage of the Italy game is good on TLN. No satellite troubles hopefully. :)

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Tho i'm happy about Serie A being back, i hope the mixup in games isn't something we should be getting used to with tln/goltv, It just doesn't look very good. And whats with the announcers, everything was FANTASTIC, MARVELLOUS and PEACHY KEEN. It seems like they've never watched a high level game before, they were so awed with the players; It pains me to say it, but i kinda miss the other idiots from last year, tho they are doing the fiorentina game now..

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  • 5 months later...

I figured that amacpher's post, originally in a new thread, was a good reason to finally bump this thread after five months of inactivity (!!!)...

Originally posted by amacpher - 02/13/2006 : 22:17:45</u>

Is "calcio" Italian for "wrestling"??

I'm just wondering since calcio is clearly fixed at all levels in Italy.

Also do you think they should continue to "fix" EVERY Juventus match this season, or should they let the players decide one or two before the end of the season in an attempt to fool the younger viewers like America does with WWE?

Anybody speak Italian here??

Originally posted by Franky - 02/13/2006 : 23:18:54</u>

you gotta be a Inter Milan Fan. I hear this every effin year. Inter sucks, period. Juve! Juve! Juve! [:P][}:)]:D

Originally posted by MegasAlexandros - 02/13/2006 : 23:54:50</u>

If anything, shouldn't AC Milan be the ones the conspiracy theories revolve around. I mean their owner is onle the prime minister of Italy and controls the largest telecommunications company in the country... but that's doesn't really mean anything. :D

Originally posted by Franky - 02/14/2006 : 00:23:40</u>

yah, you would think that. but there is something about Inter, year after year, they have a claim on something thats against them.

sounds like leafs fans??? $h!t, that would be me, ahhh, leafs suck anyways, get rid of the teachers' union!!! and the old farts in the lineup too!!! [:P][:P]

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quote:Originally posted by MegasAlexandros

If anything, shouldn't AC Milan be the ones the conspiracy theories revolve around. I mean their owner is onle the prime minister of Italy and controls the largest telecommunications company in the country... but that's doesn't really mean anything. :D

Juve and Milan are in on it together!!! Juve recently signed a huge (>25% of the whole Bundesliga) television agreement with Berlusconi's company. Some members of the Italian government proposed league-wide television agreements and revenue sharing as occurs in other big leagues. But the proposal was shot down by Berlusconi's cronies. Conflict of interest??? Hmmmmm........

Well, I hate all of Juventus, Milan, Inter, Fiorentina and Roma, but I'll take a Juve or Milan championship over any of the others...

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quote:Originally posted by Franky

you gotta be a Inter Milan Fan. I hear this every effin year. Inter sucks, period. Juve! Juve! Juve! [:P][}:)]:D

yah, you would think that. but there is something about Inter, year after year, they have a claim on something thats against them.

sounds like leafs fans??? $h!t, that would be me, ahhh, leafs suck anyways, get rid of the teachers' union!!! and the old farts in the lineup too!!! [:P][:P]

Unfortunately, its not just the Inter game (altho that was especially bad since the ref not only gave Juve a goal, but also took one away from Inter -- in other words handed Juventus SIX points!!!)

- The previous match, Juve were gifted an 89th minute penalty against Parma with the game tied 1-1.

- The match before that, Juve "won" 1-nil on a goal that was offside.

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I will just be thrilled if Reggina manages to stay up. To them, that is like winning the Scudetto. I grew up just outside of Reggio, and it gives me goosebumps to see highlights from the "Granillo", whether it's in a winning or losing cause. The exposure for the city is incredible, and it makes people worldwide proud to have ties to the area. To me, that is football, not the multimillion dollar deals that are today's reality.

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  • 2 months later...

Not much interest in this thread this season. That includes not much interest from me, as I have followed the season from a much greater distance compared to the last few years.

[*]Who would have guessed, halfway through the season, that we'd still be talking about the championship race on the last matchday? Combined with the scandal that's broken out in the final week that includes both Juventus and Milan (covered in this thread so I won't say more here), the final weekend is way more interesting at the top of the table than I would have expected.

Juve just seem to be running on fumes, still with only 1 loss in the season but "only" 9-9-0 in the second half after 17-1-1 in the first half. Even most of their wins, from what I've seen, aren't impressive, but I guess that's normal for them. Meanwhile, Milan have been fairly consistent in both halves, 13-1-5 and 14-3-1, with the slight improvement in the second half allowing them to close the gap.

Of course the conclusion will likely be anticlimactic, with Milan having to host Roma (who are battling for a Champions League spot; more below) while Juventus travel to Reggina with a 3-point lead (a tie in the table would give Milan the championship based on head-to-head results). On the other hand, Reggina can be tough at home, and I'm sure they'll want to play hard for this match. On the other hand again, Juve need only a draw and you know they'll play for that as opposed to push for the win. So I can see the draw happening, but a Reggina win? I can only hope.

HEADS UP TO TV VIEWERS: It appears that while Telelatino will be showing Juve live and Milan on tape in the afternoon, both RAI International and GolTV Canada will be covering both matches live. I'm not sure exactly how they'll handle that, but both matches are listed in that timeslot on their schedules. For me, some sort of split screen or cutting back and forth is the way to watch the final matchday when something is at stake (like, who cares about following the details of each match at this point). I've always hated how TLN and their source try to hide the results of other matches when it's plain to see based on fan and player reactions in the match being shown.

[*]So as for the Champions League, Roma are in the race only because of their record-breaking 11-match win streak earlier (a record set in the derby, of all matches, uggghhh [xx(]), and have not clinched it already only because they have gone just 3-6-1 since then. Prior to the streak they were 5-6-5, so it has been a tale of three seasons for Roma. In the end, having to travel to Milan while Fiorentina are at Chievo with a 2-point lead over Roma points towards Roma in the UEFA Cup. I can live with that. [:P]

[*]I can certainly live with Lazio in the UEFA Cup as well, and in 6th place. They have exceeded my expectations. Unfortunately they could not beat Roma, but they are the only team other than Milan not to lose to Juve, managed a draw against both Inter and Milan, and beat Fiorentina twice. Not too bad. After a mediocre 6-4-5 to start the season, they are an excellent 9-10-3 since. [8D]

[*]Chievo, in 7th, are also in the UEFA Cup, thanks to the two Coppa Italia finalists (more below) having qualified for Europe through the table. Another good season for the Flying Donkeys (while Verona languish in mid-Serie B!).

[*]Palermo and Livorno are battling for the single Intertoto Cup berth, with Palermo holding a 1-point lead and hosting lowly Messina in a Sicilian derby on the final matchday while Livorno travel to Siena. This spot means a lot more than in previous years, because the Italian representative has to win just one round of the Intertoto in order to qualify for the Second Qualifying Round of the UEFA Cup. This makes the Intertoto berth, for all intents and purposes, a UEFA Cup First Qualifying Round berth (which makes me wonder why there is an Intertoto at all anymore; just expand the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Cup instead; it was one thing when three trophies were awarded in previous years (even though that seemed strange enough), but now what is the point of having 11 winners?).

[*]Further down the table, Messina, Lecce and Treviso have long been relegated, which is a new thing for Serie A because most of the time there are a bunch of teams still in danger on the last matchday.

[*]Inter have won their second-consecutive Coppa Italia over Roma, 4-2 on aggregate. Roberto "Mr. Coppa" Mancini has now won this a remarkable 10 times as player and coach; consider that the club with the most wins (Juventus) has only 9. Of course, this isn't exactly good enough for Inter fans, who displayed a banner reading "enjoy your meaningless cup, it won’t bring back your dignity". Hah, Inter fail to achieve yet again! :D

Phew. So, am I just talking to myself here? That's okay, it was helpful to summarize things for myself. :)

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