[ITA] Serie A 2007/2008 (35 Viewers)
- Thread starter Rami
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2007-08 jerseys for each team...
http://www.gazzetta.it/gallery/Calcio/vuoto.shtml?2007/08_Agosto/Maglie/1&11
http://www.gazzetta.it/gallery/Calcio/vuoto.shtml?2007/08_Agosto/Maglie/1&11
I definately think Del Piero and Trezeguet need each other out there. Moreso, Trezeguet needs DP, but I have to be honest... I don't see DP having the ability to be effective for 90 minutes. I would like to start without him and bring him on after 60 minutes. He is very good in the clutch and we could keep his legs fresh and prolong his effectiveness throughout the season.
What are you on about? Fiorentina? Bahaha. No way. We have class and winners on our squad. Players that have won before and knows what it takes. Fiorentina have shit all, they don't even have Toni or a good defence anymore. We are most definitely the third strongest squad right now, and we will end up on one of the top 4 spots. Roma are always overrated aswell, no need to worry about them. It looks they have gotten weaker over the summer, too.
2007-08 jerseys for each team...
http://www.gazzetta.it/gallery/Calcio/vuoto.shtml?2007/08_Agosto/Maglie/1&11
http://www.gazzetta.it/gallery/Calcio/vuoto.shtml?2007/08_Agosto/Maglie/1&11
Torino's orange & black = :sick:Major powers set to battle in Serie A
ROME (AP) - Inter Milan is the favourite again. AC Milan starts as European champion and without a point penalty. Juventus is back from Serie B and AS Roma will be looking to improve its second-place finish from last season.
Add newly promoted Napoli and its passionate fans back into the mix, and this season's Italian league appears poised to regain the swagger it lost from the match-fixing scandal.
The season begins Aug. 25-26.
"(Inter) is a complete squad that is aware of its strength, although it's going too far to say that it will run away all alone with the title again this time," said Fabio Capello, the former Milan, Roma, Juventus and Real Madrid coach who will work as an Italian TV commentator this season.
"Last year (Inter) started with a 15-metre advantage in a 100-metre race," Capello added. "It could win again, although not with the same advantage."
Inter finished last season 22 points ahead of second-place AS Roma to successfully defend its title. The Nerazzurri were helped by Juventus' relegation and an eight-point penalty for Milan. Lazio, Fiorentina and Reggina were also penalized last season.
"Inter will still be the team to beat, because it reinforced itself with two great acquisitions: (David) Suazo and (Christian) Chivu," Capello said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport. "They've also recuperated a very important player in (Patrick) Vieira, and kept hold of (Luis) Figo - another precious element."
Suazo is a speedy striker from Honduras who should contrast well with Inter's physical forwards Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adriano. Chivu, who joined Inter from Roma, is coveted for his versatility and can play in central defence, left back or midfield.
Vieira, a physical presence in central midfield, missed half of last season through injury. Figo, the 2001 FIFA world player of the year, is back for one more season at Inter after a move to Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad fell through.
Milan, meanwhile, has nearly the same roster as last season. The Rossoneri's only significant addition is 17-year-old Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato, who can't play until January.
"We don't need to make any acquisitions," Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "The Champions League victory will give us a lot of spirit to start the season with."
One major difference from last season for Milan is its health. Defenders Alessandro Nesta, Serginho and Kakha Kaladze are back in form. Also, Ronaldo enters his first full season with the club after coming over from Real Madrid in January.
In sharp contrast from Milan, Juventus could feature as many as seven new players in its starting lineup: defenders Jorge Andrade (from Deportivo La Coruna), Zdenek Grygera (Ajax) and Domenico Criscito (Genoa); midfielders Tiago Mendes (Lyon), Sergio Almiron (Empoli) and Hasan Salihamidzic (Bayern Munich); and forward Vincenzo Iaquinta (Udinese).
Juventus also has a new coach in former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri.
"Ranieri is doing a great job but Juve is still in the workshop phase for now," Capello said. "It's certainly a good team, although it doesn't seem as strong to me as Inter and Milan.
"But looking down the road, the fact that they won't play in Europe shouldn't be underestimated. They'll have more time to train during the week and that's a big advantage."
Juventus can also still rely on the five core players who stayed during the scandal: goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, midfielders Pavel Nedved and Mauro Camoranesi, and forwards Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet.
"If I have to be realistic, I'd say placing in the Champions League zone (top four) would be a good result," Buffon said.
Besides its second-place finish in the league, Roma also reached the Champions League quarter-finals last season - its best showing in Europe in 23 years. What the club lacked was a bench deep enough to compete in both competitions.
The arrivals of Brazilian defender Juan (Bayer Leverkusen) and midfielders Ludovic Giuly (FC Barcelona) and Mauro Esposito (Cagliari) should solve that problem.
Also, Roma is expecting a bigger contribution in attack from Mirko Vucinic this season. He managed just two goals in the last campaign.
"Considering the quality of the players they gained, I would put them nearly on a par with Milan," Capello said. "Giuly and Juan are top quality."
Roma's city rival Lazio could be hard-pressed to duplicate its third-place finish from last season. The club has been relatively quiet on the transfer market.
Lazio's biggest move was bringing in Argentine goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo to replace the retired Angelo Peruzzi. Carrizo has had problems gaining European Union citizenship, leaving the starting job for now to 43-year-old Marco Ballotta.
Fiorentina could also have a hard time matching its performance from last season, when it would have finished third if not for a 15-point penalty. The main reason is the departure of high-scoring forward Luca Toni to Bayern Munich.
Fiorentina brought in Christian Vieri to replace Toni, although at 34 Vieri is far removed from the player that led Italy with five goals at the 1998 World Cup.
Palermo, which tied Fiorentina for fifth last season, also appears to have given up more than it gained. Captain Eugenio Corini and forward David Di Michele left for Torino and forward Fabrizio Miccoli was brought in from Benfica.
Udinese was the most active club on the market with 19 acquisitions and appears poised to rise from its 10th-place finish last season. Udinese outbid Sampdoria and gained the full rights to rising talent Fabio Quagliarella, who scored two goals in Italy's 2-0 win over Lithuania in June.
Sampdoria could also surprise with a renewed attack of Vincenzo Montella, Andrea Caracciolo and Antonio Cassano.
Livorno could struggle with captain Cristiano Lucarelli departed for Shakhtar Donetsk. Lucarelli scored 63 goals for Livorno over the past three seasons.
Torino is freshly stocked with Corini and Di Michele from Palermo, plus forwards Nicola Ventola and Sasa Bjelanovic, who scored eight goals for Ascoli last season. Former Sampdoria coach Walter Novellino is Torino's new manager.
Of the 20 Serie A clubs, 10 have new coaches.
Empoli gave up Almiron to Juventus but has kept intact its attack of Luca Saudati and Ighli Vannucchi and will compete in the UEFA Cup for the first time.
Ranieri and Giuseppe Rossi helped Parma avoid relegation last season. With both now gone, staying in Serie A could be even more challenging this time around.
Reggina would have contended for a UEFA Cup spot last season if not for an 11-point penalty. This season could be even tougher with Rolando Bianchi - who scored 18 goals last season - departed for Manchester City.
Siena, Atalanta, Cagliari and Catania could also struggle.
Napoli - Diego Maradona's old club - is back in Serie A after a six-season absence and will rely on Emanuele Calaio to extend the scoring form that saw him notch 18 goals in the third division two years ago and 14 in Serie B last season.
Genoa, Italy's first soccer club, returns to the top division after a 12-season absence.
All of Italy's big cities are represented this season, and all the big derbies: Milan-Inter, Roma-Lazio, Juventus-Torino, Genoa-Sampdoria; and the classic Sicilian rivalry Palermo-Catania.
Associated Press
ROME (AP) - Inter Milan is the favourite again. AC Milan starts as European champion and without a point penalty. Juventus is back from Serie B and AS Roma will be looking to improve its second-place finish from last season.
Add newly promoted Napoli and its passionate fans back into the mix, and this season's Italian league appears poised to regain the swagger it lost from the match-fixing scandal.
The season begins Aug. 25-26.
"(Inter) is a complete squad that is aware of its strength, although it's going too far to say that it will run away all alone with the title again this time," said Fabio Capello, the former Milan, Roma, Juventus and Real Madrid coach who will work as an Italian TV commentator this season.
"Last year (Inter) started with a 15-metre advantage in a 100-metre race,"
Capello added. "It could win again, although not with the same advantage." Inter finished last season 22 points ahead of second-place AS Roma to successfully defend its title. The Nerazzurri were helped by Juventus' relegation and an eight-point penalty for Milan. Lazio, Fiorentina and Reggina were also penalized last season.
"Inter will still be the team to beat, because it reinforced itself with two great acquisitions: (David) Suazo and (Christian) Chivu," Capello said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport. "They've also recuperated a very important player in (Patrick) Vieira, and kept hold of (Luis) Figo - another precious element."
Suazo is a speedy striker from Honduras who should contrast well with Inter's physical forwards Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adriano. Chivu, who joined Inter from Roma, is coveted for his versatility and can play in central defence, left back or midfield.
Vieira, a physical presence in central midfield, missed half of last season through injury. Figo, the 2001 FIFA world player of the year, is back for one more season at Inter after a move to Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad fell through.
Milan, meanwhile, has nearly the same roster as last season. The Rossoneri's only significant addition is 17-year-old Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato, who can't play until January.
"We don't need to make any acquisitions," Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "The Champions League victory will give us a lot of spirit to start the season with."
One major difference from last season for Milan is its health. Defenders Alessandro Nesta, Serginho and Kakha Kaladze are back in form. Also, Ronaldo enters his first full season with the club after coming over from Real Madrid in January.
In sharp contrast from Milan, Juventus could feature as many as seven new players in its starting lineup: defenders Jorge Andrade (from Deportivo La Coruna), Zdenek Grygera (Ajax) and Domenico Criscito (Genoa); midfielders Tiago Mendes (Lyon), Sergio Almiron (Empoli) and Hasan Salihamidzic (Bayern Munich); and forward Vincenzo Iaquinta (Udinese).
Juventus also has a new coach in former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri.
"Ranieri is doing a great job but Juve is still in the workshop phase for now," Capello said. "It's certainly a good team, although it doesn't seem as strong to me as Inter and Milan.
"But looking down the road, the fact that they won't play in Europe shouldn't be underestimated. They'll have more time to train during the week and that's a big advantage."
Juventus can also still rely on the five core players who stayed during the scandal: goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, midfielders Pavel Nedved and Mauro Camoranesi, and forwards Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet.
"If I have to be realistic, I'd say placing in the Champions League zone (top four) would be a good result," Buffon said.
Besides its second-place finish in the league, Roma also reached the Champions League quarter-finals last season - its best showing in Europe in 23 years. What the club lacked was a bench deep enough to compete in both competitions.
The arrivals of Brazilian defender Juan (Bayer Leverkusen) and midfielders Ludovic Giuly (FC Barcelona) and Mauro Esposito (Cagliari) should solve that problem.
Also, Roma is expecting a bigger contribution in attack from Mirko Vucinic this season. He managed just two goals in the last campaign.
"Considering the quality of the players they gained, I would put them nearly on a par with Milan," Capello said. "Giuly and Juan are top quality."
Roma's city rival Lazio could be hard-pressed to duplicate its third-place finish from last season. The club has been relatively quiet on the transfer market.
Lazio's biggest move was bringing in Argentine goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo to replace the retired Angelo Peruzzi. Carrizo has had problems gaining European Union citizenship, leaving the starting job for now to 43-year-old Marco Ballotta.
Fiorentina could also have a hard time matching its performance from last season, when it would have finished third if not for a 15-point penalty. The main reason is the departure of high-scoring forward Luca Toni to Bayern Munich.
Fiorentina brought in Christian Vieri to replace Toni, although at 34 Vieri is far removed from the player that led Italy with five goals at the 1998 World Cup.
Palermo, which tied Fiorentina for fifth last season, also appears to have given up more than it gained. Captain Eugenio Corini and forward David Di Michele left for Torino and forward Fabrizio Miccoli was brought in from Benfica.
Udinese was the most active club on the market with 19 acquisitions and appears poised to rise from its 10th-place finish last season. Udinese outbid Sampdoria and gained the full rights to rising talent Fabio Quagliarella, who scored two goals in Italy's 2-0 win over Lithuania in June.
Sampdoria could also surprise with a renewed attack of Vincenzo Montella, Andrea Caracciolo and Antonio Cassano.
Livorno could struggle with captain Cristiano Lucarelli departed for Shakhtar Donetsk. Lucarelli scored 63 goals for Livorno over the past three seasons.
Torino is freshly stocked with Corini and Di Michele from Palermo, plus forwards Nicola Ventola and Sasa Bjelanovic, who scored eight goals for Ascoli last season. Former Sampdoria coach Walter Novellino is Torino's new manager.
Of the 20 Serie A clubs, 10 have new coaches.
Empoli gave up Almiron to Juventus but has kept intact its attack of Luca Saudati and Ighli Vannucchi and will compete in the UEFA Cup for the first time.
Ranieri and Giuseppe Rossi helped Parma avoid relegation last season. With both now gone, staying in Serie A could be even more challenging this time around.
Reggina would have contended for a UEFA Cup spot last season if not for an 11-point penalty. This season could be even tougher with Rolando Bianchi - who scored 18 goals last season - departed for Manchester City.
Siena, Atalanta, Cagliari and Catania could also struggle.
Napoli - Diego Maradona's old club - is back in Serie A after a six-season absence and will rely on Emanuele Calaio to extend the scoring form that saw him notch 18 goals in the third division two years ago and 14 in Serie B last season.
Genoa, Italy's first soccer club, returns to the top division after a 12-season absence.
All of Italy's big cities are represented this season, and all the big derbies: Milan-Inter, Roma-Lazio, Juventus-Torino, Genoa-Sampdoria; and the classic Sicilian rivalry Palermo-Catania.
Associated Press
Serie A Team-by-Team Primer
MILAN, Italy (AP) - A glance at the 20 Serie A clubs ahead of the new Italian soccer season, which starts Aug. 25:
ATALANTA
Colours: Black and blue.
Stadium: Azzurri d'Italia, Bergamo (capacity 26,500).
Coach: Luigi Del Neri (new).
Honours: One Italian Cup (1963).
Last Season: Eighth.
Key Acquisitions: Ferdinando Coppola (Piacenza), Diego De Ascentis (Torino FC), Antonio Langella (Cagliari), Zlatan Muslimovic (Parma)
Significant Departures: Massimo Donati (Celtic), Nicola Ventola (Torino), Christian Vieri (Fiorentina).
Prospects: May slide into lower half of table.
CAGLIARI
Colours: Red and blue.
Stadium: Sant'Elia (40,000).
Coach: Marco Giampaolo (second season).
Honours: One league title (1970).
Last Season: 17th.
Key Acquisitions: Robert Acquafresca (Treviso), Michele Fini (Ascoli), Pasquale Foggia (Lazio), Alessandro Matri (Rimini), Andrea Parola (Sampdoria)
Significant Departures: Antonio Chimenti (Udinese), Mauro Esposito (AS Roma), David Suazo (Inter Milan).
Prospects: Likely to be involved in relegation struggle, again.
CATANIA
Colours: Red and blue.
Stadium: Angelo Massimino (30,000).
Coach: Silvio Baldini (new).
Honours: None.
Last Season: 13th.
Key Acquisitions: Albano Benjamin Bizzarri (Gimnastic Tarragona), Umberto Del Core (Cesena), Ezequiel Cristian Llama (Arsenal Sarandi), Giacomo Tedesco (Reggina), Christian Terlizzi (Sampdoria).
Significant Departures: Fausto Rossini (Livorno).
Prospects: Another mid-table finish.
EMPOLI
Colour: Blue.
Stadium: Carlo Castellani (20,000).
Coach: Luigi Cagni (second season).
Honours: None.
Last Season: Seventh..
Key Acquisitions: Luca Antonini (Siena), Guillermo Giacomazzi (Lecce), Sebastian Giovinco (Juventus), Felice Piccolo (Juventus), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus).
Significant Departures: Sergio Almiron (Juventus), Davide Matteini (Palermo), Stefano Lucchini (Sampdoria).
Prospects: Unlikely to repeat last season:'s high finish.
FIORENTINA
Colour: Violet.
Stadium: Artemio Franchi (47,000).
Coach: Cesare Prandelli (third season).
Honours: Two league titles (last 1969), 6 Italian Cups (last 2001), 1 Italian Supercup (1996), 1 Cup-Winners' Cup (1961)
Last Season: Sixth.
Key Acquisitions: Federico Balzaretti (Juventus), Arturo Lupoli (Arsenal), Pablo Daniel Osvaldo (Lecce), Franco Semioli (Chievo Verona), Christian Vieri (Atalanta).
Significant Departures: Manuele Blasi (Juventus), Reginaldo (Parma), Luca Toni (Bayern Munich).
Prospects: Strong contender for top-four spot.
GENOA
Colours: Red and blue.
Stadium: Luigi Ferraris (40,000).
Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (second season),
Honours: Nine league titles (last 1924), 1 Italian Cup (1937).
Last Season: Third in Serie B, promoted.
Key Acquisitions: Marco Borriello (AC Milan), Cesare Bovo (Palermo), Abdoulay Konko (Siena), Matteo Paro (Juventus), Ndiaye Papa Waigo (Cesena).
Significant Departures: Domenico Criscito (Juventus).
Prospects): Return to top division after 12-year absence could be short-lived, probable relegation candidate.
INTER MILAN
Colours: Black and blue.
Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza at San Siro (83,600).
Coach: Roberto Mancini (fourth season).
Honours: Fifteen league titles (last 2007), 5 Italian Cups (last 2006), 2 Italian Supercups (last 2006), 2 Champions Cups (last 1965), 3 UEFA Cups (last 1998), 2 Intercontinental Cups (last 1965).
Last Season: Champion.
Key Acquisitions: Cristian Chivu (Roma), Luis Jimenez (Lazio), Nelson Rivas (River Plate), David Suazo (Cagliari).
Significant Departures: Fabio Grosso (Lyon).
Prospects: Even stronger than last season, has great chance for third straight triumph.
JUVENTUS
Colours: Black and white.
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico, Turin (28,000).
Coach: Claudio Ranieri (new).
Honours: Twenty-seven league titles (last 2003), 9 Italian Cups (1995), 4 Italian Supercups (2003), 2 Champions Cups (last 1996), 1 Cup-Winners' Cup (1984), 3 UEFA Cups (last 1993), 2 European Supercups (last 1996), 2 Intercontinental Cups (last 1996)
Last Season: Serie B champion, promoted.
Key Acquisitions: Sergio Almiron (Empoli), Jorge Andrade (Deportivo La Coruna), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Zdenek Grygera (Ajax), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Udinese), Tiago Mendes (Lyon), Hasan Salihamidzic (Bayern Munich).
Significant Departures: Federico Balzaretti (Fiorentina), Giuliano Giannichedda (Livorno), Claudio Marchisio (Empoli).e
Prospects: Title pedigree but will probably finish just outside top four.
LAZIO
Colour: Sky blue.
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico, Rome (80,000).
Coach: Delio Rossi (third season).
Honours: Two league titles (last 2000), 4 Italian Cups (last 2004), 2 Italian Supercups (last 2000), 1 Cup-Winners' Cup (1999), 1 European Supercup (1999).
Last Season: Third.
Key Acquisitions: Simone Del Nero (Brescia), Aleksandar Kolarov (OFK Beograd), Mourad Meghni (Bologna), Lionel Sebastian Scaloni (Racing Santander), Massimo Zallocco (Lecco).
Significant Departures: Luis Jimenez (Inter), Massimo Oddo (Milan), Angelo Peruzzi (retired).
Prospects: May slip out of top four.
LIVORNO
Colour: Red.
Stadium: Armando Picchi (18,000).
Coach: Daniele Orsi (second season).
Honours: None.
Last Season: 11th.
Key Acquisitions: Vikash Dhorasoo (Paris Saint-Germain), Emanuele Filippini (Bologna), Giuliano Giannichedda (Juventus), Nico Pulzetti (Verona), Francesco Tavano (Valencia), Diego Tristan (Deportivo La Coruna).
Significant Departures: Samuel Kuffour (Roma), Cristiano Lucarelli (Shakhtar Donetsk).
Prospects: Should make top 10.
AC MILAN
Colours: Red and black.
Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza at San Siro (83,600)
Coach: Carlo Ancelotti (seventh season)
Honours: Seventeen league titles (last 2004), 5 Italian Cups (last 2003), 5 Italian Supercups (last 2004), 7 Champions Cups (last 2007), 2 Cup-Winners' Cups (last 1973), 4 European Supercups (last 2003), 3 Intercontinental Cups (last 1990)
Last Season: Fourth.
Key Acquisitions: Alexandre Pato (Internacional).
Significant Departures: Marco Borriello (Genoa), Alessandro Costacurta (retired), Leandro Grimi (Siena), Ricardo Oliveira (Real Zaragoza), Marco Storari (Levante).
Prospects: Strong title contender.
NAPOLI
Colour: Blue.
Stadium: San Paolo (78,200).
Coach: Edoardo Reja (fourth season).
Honours: Two league titles (last 1990), 3 Italian Cups (last 1987), 1 Italian Supercup (1991), 1 UEFA Cup (1989).
Last Season: Second in Serie B, promoted.
Key Acquisitions: Walter Gargano (Danubio), Marek Hamsik (Brescia), Ezequiel Ivan Lavezzi (San Lorenzo).
Significant Departures: Nicolas Amodio (Treviso), Ivano Trotta (Treviso).
Prospects: Will do well to avoid relegation struggle.
PALERMO
Colours: Pink and black.
Stadium: Renzo Barbera (37,000).
Coach: Stefano Colantuono (new).
Honours: None.
Last Season: Fifth.
Key Acquisitions: Bosko Jankovic (Mallorca), Davide Matteini (Empoli), Fabrizio Miccoli (Benfica), Giulio Migliaccio (Atalanta), Leandro Rinaudo (Siena).
Significant Departures: Andrea Caracciolo (Sampdoria), Eugenio Corini (Torino), David Di Michele (Torino).
Prospects: Unlikely to improve on last season, should secure top eight finish.
PARMA
Colours: Blue and yellow.
Stadium: Ennio Tardini (28,000).
Coach: Domenico Di Carlo (new).
Honours: Three Italian Cups (last 2002), 1 Italian Supercup (1999), 2 UEFA Cups (last 1999), 1 Cup-Winners' Cup (1993), 1 European Supercup (1993).
Last Season: 12th.
Key Acquisitions: Giulio Falcone (Sampdoria), Stefano Morrone (Livorno), Nicola Pavarini (Lecce), Reginaldo (Fiorentina), Damiano Zenoni (Udinese).
Significant Departures: Vincenzo Grella (Torino), Zlatan Muslimovic (Atalanta).
Prospects: Should avoid another relegation struggle and finish mid-table.
REGGINA
Colour: Burgundy.
Stadium: Oreste Granillo (27,000).
Coach: Massimo Ficcadenti (new).
Honours: None.
Last Season: 14th.
Key Acquisitions: Edgar Barreto (NEC Nijmegen), Emmanuel Cascione (Rimini), Francesco Cozza (Siena), Angelo Miguel Garcia (Sporting Lisbon), Joelson (Albinoleffe), Emil Hallfredsson (Lyn)
Departures: Rolando Bianchi (Manchester City), Giandomenico Mesto (Udinese), Alessandro Lucarelli (Siena), Giacomo Tedesco (Catania).
Prospects: Relegation looms.
AS ROMA
Colours: Yellow and red..
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico, Rome (80,000).
Coach: Luciano Spalletti (third season).
Honours: Three league titles (last 2001), 8 Italian Cups (last 2007), 1 Italian Supercup (2001).
Last Season: Second.
Key Acquisitions: Mauro Esposito (Cagliari), Ludovic Giuly (FC Barcelona), Juan (Bayer Leverkusen).
Significant Departures: Cristian Chivu (Inter), Vincenzo Montella (Sampdoria).
Prospects: Title contender although may slip to third.
SAMPDORIA
Colours: Blue with white, black and red stripes.
Stadium: Luigi Ferraris, Genoa (40,000).
Coach: Walter Mazzarri (new).
Honours: One league title (1991), 4 Italian Cups (1994), 1 Italian Supercup (1991), 1 Cup-Winners' Cup (1990).
Last Season: Ninth.
Key Acquisitions: Claudio Bellucci (Bologna), Andrea Caracciolo (Palermo), Stefano Lucchini (Empoli), Antonio Mirante (Juventus), Vincenzo Montella (Roma), Antonio Cassano (Real Madrid).
Significant Departures: Francesco Flachi (released), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese).
Prospects: Could push for top-eight finish.
SIENA
Colours: White and black.
Stadium: Artemio Franchi (13,500).
Coach: Andrea Mandorlini (new).
Honours: None.
Last Season: 15th.
Key acquisitions: Paolo De Ceglie (Juventus), Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos (Ascoli), Leandro Grimi (Milan), Simone Loria (Atalanta), Alessandro Lucarelli (Reggina), Ricardo Matias Veron (Reggina).
Significant Departures: Luca Antonini (Empoli), Francesco Cozza (Reggina), Cristian Molinaro (Juventus), Leandro Rinaudo (Palermo).
Prospects: Unlikely to move out of lower half of table.
TORINO FC
Colour: Burgundy.
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico, Turin (28,000).
Coach: Walter Novellino (new).
Honours: Seven league titles (last 1976), 5 Italian Cups (1993).
Last Season: 16th.
Key Acquisitions: Sasa Bjelanovic (Ascoli), Eugenio Corini (Palermo), David Di Michele (Palermo), Vincenzo Grella (Parma), Cesare Natali (Udinese), Matteo Rubin (Cittadella), Matteo Sereni (Lazio), Nicola Ventola (Atalanta).
Significant Departures: Cesare Bovo (Palermo), Diego De Ascentis (Atalanta), Massimo Taibi (Ascoli).
Prospects: Should improve on last season's finish. UDINESE
Colours: White and black.
Stadium: Stadio Friuli (41,000).
Coach: Pasquale Marino (new).
Honours: One Intertoto Cup (2000).
Last Season: 10th.
Key Acquisitions: Viktor Boudianski (Ascoli), Antonio Chimenti (Cagliari), Antonio Floro Flores (Arezzo), Samir Handanovic (Rimini), Giandomenico Mesto (Reggina), Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria).
Significant Departures: Morgan De Sanctis (Sevilla), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Sulley Muntari (Portsmouth), Cesare Natali (Torino).
Prospects: Top-10 finish likely, again.
Associated Press
MILAN, Italy (AP) - A glance at the 20 Serie A clubs ahead of the new Italian soccer season, which starts Aug. 25:
ATALANTA
Colours: Black and blue.
Stadium: Azzurri d'Italia, Bergamo (capacity 26,500).
Coach: Luigi Del Neri (new).
Honours: One Italian Cup (1963).
Last Season: Eighth.
Key Acquisitions: Ferdinando Coppola (Piacenza), Diego De Ascentis (Torino FC), Antonio Langella (Cagliari), Zlatan Muslimovic (Parma)
Significant Departures: Massimo Donati (Celtic), Nicola Ventola (Torino), Christian Vieri (Fiorentina).
Prospects: May slide into lower half of table.
CAGLIARI
Colours: Red and blue.
Stadium: Sant'Elia (40,000).
Coach: Marco Giampaolo (second season).
Honours: One league title (1970).
Last Season: 17th.
Key Acquisitions: Robert Acquafresca (Treviso), Michele Fini (Ascoli), Pasquale Foggia (Lazio), Alessandro Matri (Rimini), Andrea Parola (Sampdoria)
Significant Departures: Antonio Chimenti (Udinese), Mauro Esposito (AS Roma), David Suazo (Inter Milan).
Prospects: Likely to be involved in relegation struggle, again.
CATANIA
Colours: Red and blue.
Stadium: Angelo Massimino (30,000).
Coach: Silvio Baldini (new).
Honours: None.
Last Season: 13th.
Key Acquisitions: Albano Benjamin Bizzarri (Gimnastic Tarragona), Umberto Del Core (Cesena), Ezequiel Cristian Llama (Arsenal Sarandi), Giacomo Tedesco (Reggina), Christian Terlizzi (Sampdoria).
Significant Departures: Fausto Rossini (Livorno).
Prospects: Another mid-table finish.
EMPOLI
Colour: Blue.
Stadium: Carlo Castellani (20,000).
Coach: Luigi Cagni (second season).
Honours: None.
Last Season: Seventh..
Key Acquisitions: Luca Antonini (Siena), Guillermo Giacomazzi (Lecce), Sebastian Giovinco (Juventus), Felice Piccolo (Juventus), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus).
Significant Departures: Sergio Almiron (Juventus), Davide Matteini (Palermo), Stefano Lucchini (Sampdoria).
Prospects: Unlikely to repeat last season:'s high finish.
FIORENTINA
Colour: Violet.
Stadium: Artemio Franchi (47,000).
Coach: Cesare Prandelli (third season).
Honours: Two league titles (last 1969), 6 Italian Cups (last 2001), 1 Italian Supercup (1996), 1 Cup-Winners' Cup (1961)
Last Season: Sixth.
Key Acquisitions: Federico Balzaretti (Juventus), Arturo Lupoli (Arsenal), Pablo Daniel Osvaldo (Lecce), Franco Semioli (Chievo Verona), Christian Vieri (Atalanta).
Significant Departures: Manuele Blasi (Juventus), Reginaldo (Parma), Luca Toni (Bayern Munich).
Prospects: Strong contender for top-four spot.
GENOA
Colours: Red and blue.
Stadium: Luigi Ferraris (40,000).
Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (second season),
Honours: Nine league titles (last 1924), 1 Italian Cup (1937).
Last Season: Third in Serie B, promoted.
Key Acquisitions: Marco Borriello (AC Milan), Cesare Bovo (Palermo), Abdoulay Konko (Siena), Matteo Paro (Juventus), Ndiaye Papa Waigo (Cesena).
Significant Departures: Domenico Criscito (Juventus).
Prospects): Return to top division after 12-year absence could be short-lived, probable relegation candidate.
INTER MILAN
Colours: Black and blue.
Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza at San Siro (83,600).
Coach: Roberto Mancini (fourth season).
Honours: Fifteen league titles (last 2007), 5 Italian Cups (last 2006), 2 Italian Supercups (last 2006), 2 Champions Cups (last 1965), 3 UEFA Cups (last 1998), 2 Intercontinental Cups (last 1965).
Last Season: Champion.
Key Acquisitions: Cristian Chivu (Roma), Luis Jimenez (Lazio), Nelson Rivas (River Plate), David Suazo (Cagliari).
Significant Departures: Fabio Grosso (Lyon).
Prospects: Even stronger than last season, has great chance for third straight triumph.
JUVENTUS
Colours: Black and white.
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico, Turin (28,000).
Coach: Claudio Ranieri (new).
Honours: Twenty-seven league titles (last 2003), 9 Italian Cups (1995), 4 Italian Supercups (2003), 2 Champions Cups (last 1996), 1 Cup-Winners' Cup (1984), 3 UEFA Cups (last 1993), 2 European Supercups (last 1996), 2 Intercontinental Cups (last 1996)
Last Season: Serie B champion, promoted.
Key Acquisitions: Sergio Almiron (Empoli), Jorge Andrade (Deportivo La Coruna), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Zdenek Grygera (Ajax), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Udinese), Tiago Mendes (Lyon), Hasan Salihamidzic (Bayern Munich).
Significant Departures: Federico Balzaretti (Fiorentina), Giuliano Giannichedda (Livorno), Claudio Marchisio (Empoli).e
Prospects: Title pedigree but will probably finish just outside top four.
LAZIO
Colour: Sky blue.
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico, Rome (80,000).
Coach: Delio Rossi (third season).
Honours: Two league titles (last 2000), 4 Italian Cups (last 2004), 2 Italian Supercups (last 2000), 1 Cup-Winners' Cup (1999), 1 European Supercup (1999).
Last Season: Third.
Key Acquisitions: Simone Del Nero (Brescia), Aleksandar Kolarov (OFK Beograd), Mourad Meghni (Bologna), Lionel Sebastian Scaloni (Racing Santander), Massimo Zallocco (Lecco).
Significant Departures: Luis Jimenez (Inter), Massimo Oddo (Milan), Angelo Peruzzi (retired).
Prospects: May slip out of top four.
LIVORNO
Colour: Red.
Stadium: Armando Picchi (18,000).
Coach: Daniele Orsi (second season).
Honours: None.
Last Season: 11th.
Key Acquisitions: Vikash Dhorasoo (Paris Saint-Germain), Emanuele Filippini (Bologna), Giuliano Giannichedda (Juventus), Nico Pulzetti (Verona), Francesco Tavano (Valencia), Diego Tristan (Deportivo La Coruna).
Significant Departures: Samuel Kuffour (Roma), Cristiano Lucarelli (Shakhtar Donetsk).
Prospects: Should make top 10.
AC MILAN
Colours: Red and black.
Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza at San Siro (83,600)
Coach: Carlo Ancelotti (seventh season)
Honours: Seventeen league titles (last 2004), 5 Italian Cups (last 2003), 5 Italian Supercups (last 2004), 7 Champions Cups (last 2007), 2 Cup-Winners' Cups (last 1973), 4 European Supercups (last 2003), 3 Intercontinental Cups (last 1990)
Last Season: Fourth.
Key Acquisitions: Alexandre Pato (Internacional).
Significant Departures: Marco Borriello (Genoa), Alessandro Costacurta (retired), Leandro Grimi (Siena), Ricardo Oliveira (Real Zaragoza), Marco Storari (Levante).
Prospects: Strong title contender.
NAPOLI
Colour: Blue.
Stadium: San Paolo (78,200).
Coach: Edoardo Reja (fourth season).
Honours: Two league titles (last 1990), 3 Italian Cups (last 1987), 1 Italian Supercup (1991), 1 UEFA Cup (1989).
Last Season: Second in Serie B, promoted.
Key Acquisitions: Walter Gargano (Danubio), Marek Hamsik (Brescia), Ezequiel Ivan Lavezzi (San Lorenzo).
Significant Departures: Nicolas Amodio (Treviso), Ivano Trotta (Treviso).
Prospects: Will do well to avoid relegation struggle.
PALERMO
Colours: Pink and black.
Stadium: Renzo Barbera (37,000).
Coach: Stefano Colantuono (new).
Honours: None.
Last Season: Fifth.
Key Acquisitions: Bosko Jankovic (Mallorca), Davide Matteini (Empoli), Fabrizio Miccoli (Benfica), Giulio Migliaccio (Atalanta), Leandro Rinaudo (Siena).
Significant Departures: Andrea Caracciolo (Sampdoria), Eugenio Corini (Torino), David Di Michele (Torino).
Prospects: Unlikely to improve on last season, should secure top eight finish.
PARMA
Colours: Blue and yellow.
Stadium: Ennio Tardini (28,000).
Coach: Domenico Di Carlo (new).
Honours: Three Italian Cups (last 2002), 1 Italian Supercup (1999), 2 UEFA Cups (last 1999), 1 Cup-Winners' Cup (1993), 1 European Supercup (1993).
Last Season: 12th.
Key Acquisitions: Giulio Falcone (Sampdoria), Stefano Morrone (Livorno), Nicola Pavarini (Lecce), Reginaldo (Fiorentina), Damiano Zenoni (Udinese).
Significant Departures: Vincenzo Grella (Torino), Zlatan Muslimovic (Atalanta).
Prospects: Should avoid another relegation struggle and finish mid-table.
REGGINA
Colour: Burgundy.
Stadium: Oreste Granillo (27,000).
Coach: Massimo Ficcadenti (new).
Honours: None.
Last Season: 14th.
Key Acquisitions: Edgar Barreto (NEC Nijmegen), Emmanuel Cascione (Rimini), Francesco Cozza (Siena), Angelo Miguel Garcia (Sporting Lisbon), Joelson (Albinoleffe), Emil Hallfredsson (Lyn)
Departures: Rolando Bianchi (Manchester City), Giandomenico Mesto (Udinese), Alessandro Lucarelli (Siena), Giacomo Tedesco (Catania).
Prospects: Relegation looms.
AS ROMA
Colours: Yellow and red..
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico, Rome (80,000).
Coach: Luciano Spalletti (third season).
Honours: Three league titles (last 2001), 8 Italian Cups (last 2007), 1 Italian Supercup (2001).
Last Season: Second.
Key Acquisitions: Mauro Esposito (Cagliari), Ludovic Giuly (FC Barcelona), Juan (Bayer Leverkusen).
Significant Departures: Cristian Chivu (Inter), Vincenzo Montella (Sampdoria).
Prospects: Title contender although may slip to third.
SAMPDORIA
Colours: Blue with white, black and red stripes.
Stadium: Luigi Ferraris, Genoa (40,000).
Coach: Walter Mazzarri (new).
Honours: One league title (1991), 4 Italian Cups (1994), 1 Italian Supercup (1991), 1 Cup-Winners' Cup (1990).
Last Season: Ninth.
Key Acquisitions: Claudio Bellucci (Bologna), Andrea Caracciolo (Palermo), Stefano Lucchini (Empoli), Antonio Mirante (Juventus), Vincenzo Montella (Roma), Antonio Cassano (Real Madrid).
Significant Departures: Francesco Flachi (released), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese).
Prospects: Could push for top-eight finish.
SIENA
Colours: White and black.
Stadium: Artemio Franchi (13,500).
Coach: Andrea Mandorlini (new).
Honours: None.
Last Season: 15th.
Key acquisitions: Paolo De Ceglie (Juventus), Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos (Ascoli), Leandro Grimi (Milan), Simone Loria (Atalanta), Alessandro Lucarelli (Reggina), Ricardo Matias Veron (Reggina).
Significant Departures: Luca Antonini (Empoli), Francesco Cozza (Reggina), Cristian Molinaro (Juventus), Leandro Rinaudo (Palermo).
Prospects: Unlikely to move out of lower half of table.
TORINO FC
Colour: Burgundy.
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico, Turin (28,000).
Coach: Walter Novellino (new).
Honours: Seven league titles (last 1976), 5 Italian Cups (1993).
Last Season: 16th.
Key Acquisitions: Sasa Bjelanovic (Ascoli), Eugenio Corini (Palermo), David Di Michele (Palermo), Vincenzo Grella (Parma), Cesare Natali (Udinese), Matteo Rubin (Cittadella), Matteo Sereni (Lazio), Nicola Ventola (Atalanta).
Significant Departures: Cesare Bovo (Palermo), Diego De Ascentis (Atalanta), Massimo Taibi (Ascoli).
Prospects: Should improve on last season's finish. UDINESE
Colours: White and black.
Stadium: Stadio Friuli (41,000).
Coach: Pasquale Marino (new).
Honours: One Intertoto Cup (2000).
Last Season: 10th.
Key Acquisitions: Viktor Boudianski (Ascoli), Antonio Chimenti (Cagliari), Antonio Floro Flores (Arezzo), Samir Handanovic (Rimini), Giandomenico Mesto (Reggina), Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria).
Significant Departures: Morgan De Sanctis (Sevilla), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Sulley Muntari (Portsmouth), Cesare Natali (Torino).
Prospects: Top-10 finish likely, again.
Associated Press
going back onto how stupid prem fans are, i accidently stubbled across this comment on sky sports from a sunderland fan discussing about chiellini
hmm maybe but it is juventus hes not getting a game for and hes a def prospect. So 9.5million mite be steep but youve got to think...if we dont get him someone else will....so really the extra money is to stop other teams gettin him. I think he will be good in the premier his physical and will get stuck in. As i said tho...its all ifs, but
not getting a game at juve?
D'OH
hmm maybe but it is juventus hes not getting a game for and hes a def prospect. So 9.5million mite be steep but youve got to think...if we dont get him someone else will....so really the extra money is to stop other teams gettin him. I think he will be good in the premier his physical and will get stuck in. As i said tho...its all ifs, but
not getting a game at juve?
D'OH
Rolando Bianchi looks forward to the Manchester derby, but insists, “Serie A is the best League in the world.”
The former Reggina hitman has had a splendid start to his career at Eastlands, scoring on his Premier League debut in a 2-0 victory away to West Ham United.
This afternoon he hopes to continue that run against rivals Manchester United, even if he is already noticing major differences between playing in Italy and England.
“It is the derby, but the atmosphere is different compared to Italy. The people don’t stop you in the street, as they live and let live, so the passion and rivalry is only felt inside the stadium. Here the pressure comes from the media, who really talk up the clash with United,” he told the ‘Corriere dello Sport.’
“It is wonderful to score on my debut, but that is not enough. I don’t want to be a flash in the pan in England, I am eager to leave my mark.
“Clearly I miss Serie A, which remains the best League in the world, but the Premiership is a great stage for me to show my worth.”
By Bianchi’s own admission, he only accepted the £8.8m move to Manchester City because “I was disappointed by the kind of offers I received from Italian clubs.”
Despite scoring 18 goals in Serie A last season and having a good start in Sven Goran Eriksson’s side, Bianchi has still not received a call for the senior Italy squad.
“It is a great dream of mine. I have a lot of work to do and the competition for places upfront is incredible.
"It is good for the Nazionale that we have so many talented forwards, so I believe it will be motivating for everyone. I want to leave my mark at Manchester City so I can earn a spot in the Azzurri.”
channel4
The former Reggina hitman has had a splendid start to his career at Eastlands, scoring on his Premier League debut in a 2-0 victory away to West Ham United.
This afternoon he hopes to continue that run against rivals Manchester United, even if he is already noticing major differences between playing in Italy and England.
“It is the derby, but the atmosphere is different compared to Italy. The people don’t stop you in the street, as they live and let live, so the passion and rivalry is only felt inside the stadium. Here the pressure comes from the media, who really talk up the clash with United,” he told the ‘Corriere dello Sport.’
“It is wonderful to score on my debut, but that is not enough. I don’t want to be a flash in the pan in England, I am eager to leave my mark.
“Clearly I miss Serie A, which remains the best League in the world, but the Premiership is a great stage for me to show my worth.”
By Bianchi’s own admission, he only accepted the £8.8m move to Manchester City because “I was disappointed by the kind of offers I received from Italian clubs.”
Despite scoring 18 goals in Serie A last season and having a good start in Sven Goran Eriksson’s side, Bianchi has still not received a call for the senior Italy squad.
“It is a great dream of mine. I have a lot of work to do and the competition for places upfront is incredible.
"It is good for the Nazionale that we have so many talented forwards, so I believe it will be motivating for everyone. I want to leave my mark at Manchester City so I can earn a spot in the Azzurri.”
channel4
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