Moratti Sympathises With Juventus
Inter President Massimo Moratti admits that he feels sympathy for Juventus after they were on the wrong end of some shocking refereeing decisions at the weekend.
The Bianconeri fell to a 3-1 defeat to Napoli on Saturday night, following the award of two non-existent penalties.
"Every year they say it's the worst year for referees,” said Moratti.
“There are some young referees and as such, they can make mistakes, but it's annoying when you're penalised so I can understand how Juventus feel."
Inter travel to Turin this weekend to face the Bianconeri but Moratti is not attaching any special importance to the game.
"It will be a normal championship match between two great clubs who have an important history behind them. This match will always be important," the President added.
Moratti also commented on the injury of Dejan Stankovic, who damaged his ankle ligaments in the game with Palermo yesterday.
"It looks like a sprain, as today's newspapers reported,” the oil tycoon noted.
“He will be out for a while and this will allow him to recover from the problem he had with his heel. These things happen and added to the injury to Vieira, it penalises us a bit. However, we have players who can compensate for this situation."
Serie A Matchday Preview: Round 10
Atalanta – Cagliari
Atalanta are having an excellent campaign and have lost just once in nine games this season.
Their 1-0 win at Empoli on Sunday has taken them to an excellent seventh position in the league, and with the evergreen Cristiano Doni in superb form, they should be confident of overcoming struggling Cagliari.
The Sardinians lost 2-0 at Torino at the weekend, their second defeat in three games, and are now fifth-from-bottom in the league.
Marco Giampaolo’s men were many people’s tip for relegation this season after the sale of star duo David Suazo and Mauro Esposito. Despite a surprisingly bright start, it looks like its going to be long, hard season for the Rossoblu.
Fiorentina – Napoli
A clash between two of Serie A’s high-flyers at the Stadio Franchi. Fiorentina preserved their magnificent unbeaten start to the season with a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Genoa on Sunday night.
The result means that the Viola have failed to lose in 12 competitive matches this campaign. They sit in third place in the league, just four points behind league-leaders Inter, and qualification for next season’s Champions League is looking very likely at this current time.
Napoli have also excelled since their promotion from Serie B. Saturday’s hugely controversial win over Juventus sees them rise to sixth in the table, just three points behind Fiorentina.
The Partenopei have shown they can mix it with the big teams and out of the matches played against the four other teams in the top six, Napoli have won twice, drawn once, and lost narrowly to Inter 2-1. Fiorentina - Napoli should be an interesting encounter.
Inter – Genoa
Another intriguing clash between two teams in superb form. Inter drew 0-0 at Palermo on Sunday, a result that may have ended their six-match winning-streak in all competitions but also extended their unbeaten run in Serie A to nine games.
The Nerazzurri are looking like a powerful machine at the moment, however after injuries to key midfielders Dejan Stankovic and Patrick Vieira, Genoa may believe they can spring a shock.
The Rossoblu were very unlucky against Fiorentina at the weekend and only a string of excellent Sebastien Frey saves prevented a victory.
The week before they had matched Juventus all the way in Turin and were only undone by Alessandro Del Piero. The Rossoblu are playing great at the moment and prior to the match with the Bianconeri, had gone six unbeaten, which included three successive victories.
Juventus – Empoli
The Bianconeri go into this match still fuming after the referee virtually single-handedly condemned them to defeat at Napoli on Saturday evening. Mauro Bergonzi awarded two non-existent penalties as Juve fell to only their second loss of the campaign.
If you exclude Saturday, it has been a wonderful return to Serie A life for Juventus, who still occupy fourth position in the table and are just four points behind leaders Inter.
They will be confident of getting back to winning ways against an Empoli side, who despite their recent win at Milan, are really struggling this season.
The Azzurri sit fourth-from-bottom in the league with just eight points, and have scored a meagre five goals in nine matches, the lowest total in the league.
Gigi Cagni’s men were also knocked out of the UEFA Cup in the first round after a comprehensive loss to FC Zurich, and a repeat of last year’s eight place finish is looking very unlikely.
Palermo – Parma
Palermo produced a resolute display on Sunday to end Inter’s six-match winning-streak. The 0-0 draw may have extended the Rosanero’s winless run to four games, but it was at least an improvement on what has been a miserable October for the club.
Palermo’s last victory came on September 26 against Milan, and they were also embarrassingly knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Czech minnows Mlada Boleslav.
Parma ended their own poor run on Sunday with a crucial 3-2 win over Livorno. The Rossoblu had been sitting inside the relegation zone before the game and it is rumoured that boss Domenico Di Carlo would have lost his job, had they failed to win.
Domenico Morfeo scored a controversial winner at the Tardini with a diving header, and the Ducali will be hoping their good fortune can continue in Sicily on Wednesday evening.
Reggina – Livorno
The bottom two in Serie A meet in a wooden-spoon face-off at the Stadio Granillo.
Both squads have been simply dreadful this season and are looking like sure bets for relegation. Livorno have earned just two points from nine games and have conceded a whopping 21 goals.
Reggina are also yet to win and have scored just five goals this campaign, which along with Empoli, is by far the lowest total in Serie A.
With no wins between them, all logic points to a draw in this game, however this is a result which will do no favours for either team. Livorno are already seven points adrift of safety, and with Reggina just three points above them, it is a game both teams need to win.
Roma – Lazio
The game of the night sees Roma take on Lazio in the explosive Derby della Capitale.
The whole of Rome lives for this game and fans of either side often take the next day off work if their team loses.
Roma have well and truly recovered from their recent sticky patch after the weekend victory over Milan. Before the game at San Siro, the Giallorossi had won just one game in five in Serie A, and had conceded an unacceptable 12 goals.
However Mirko Vucinic’s header earned Luciano Spalleti’s men a superb 1-0 win and took them to within three points of league-leaders Inter.
Lazio on the other hand continue to struggle and their 1-0 home defeat to Udinese on Sunday means they are now just two points off the relegation zone in 14th place in the table.
The Biancocelesti are also bottom of their group in the Champions League and all in all have won just three out of their 14 competitive games this season. A defeat in the derby could spell the beginning of the end for Coach Delio Rossi.
Sampdoria – Milan
Things are not going according to plan for either team in Serie A this season.
Sampdoria fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Catania on Sunday, a game in which Antonio Cassano stormed off down the tunnel and swore at team-mate Vincenzo Montella after picking up an injury.
Cassano has failed to get going with the Blucerchiati and with the club out of the UEFA Cup as well, after losing to Danish-outfit Aalborg, things are looking rather bleak all round for the club.
Milan are also having a miserable time of things just now. The 1-0 home reverse to Roma at the weekend was their second successive loss in Serie A and they have now dropped to 13th in the table, just two points above the relegation zone.
The Rossoneri have made their worst start to a league season in 24 years and their chances of winning their first Scudetto since 2004 seem over already as they are now 11 points behind league-leaders Inter.
Siena – Catania
The Stadio Artemio Franchi hosts a clash between two teams expected to be fighting against relegation this season.
While Siena seem to be adhering to this philosophy, Catania have ripped up the rule-book and are flying high in eighth position.
The Sicilians’ 2-0 success over Sampdoria on Sunday was their third win during a five-game unbeaten run in the league. The basis of this excellent form has been in defence and they have the second best defensive record in the league, having conceded just seven goals in nine games.
Siena currently sit third-from-bottom in the league and are really struggling. Their big problem this season has been hitting the back of the net, and with just seven goals to their name, they are the third-lowest scorers in Serie A.
Udinese – Torino
Following an inconsistent start to the season, Udinese have shed themselves of their Jekyll and Hyde tag in recent weeks.
The Zebrette are looking good in sixth position, following a four-game unbeaten run. On Sunday, Pasquale Marino’s men earned another noticeable scalp by winning 1-0 in Rome against Lazio. This follows earlier successes against the big teams this campaign, including a win at Juventus and a draw at Inter.
Torino seem to have turned the corner after going the first six games of the season without winning. However two victories in their last three matches, including Saturday’s 2-0 win over Cagliari, has pushed them up to 11th in the table.
The Granata have real ambitions of qualifying for Europe and with the outstanding Alessandro Rosina in their line-up anything is possible. Rosinaldo is one of the most promising youngsters in Italy currently and his dribbling and creativity is sure to give Udinese something to think about on Wednesday.
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i think Collina has a disease though...