Opinion: New season predictions
Its that time of the year when pundits look into their crystal ball to
see what lies ahead. The Football Italia team gives you its predictions
for the new season
Serie A winners: Milan
Inter may have spent big and Milan will start the season with an
eight-point handicap, but the Rossoneri top our championship contenders
section. Carlo Ancelottis boys raked in 42 per cent, Inter netted 33 and
Roma won the faith of 25 per cent of our pundits.
Serie A top scorer: Alberto Gilardino (Milan)
The decision to sell Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea will benefit the young
Italian hitman, as he topped our chart in the Capocannoniere category. The
former Parma youngster received a massive 45 per cent of votes, well clear
of Luca Toni. The Fiorentina man, last seasons top scorer, only polled 18
per cent. Other mentions were for Vincenzo Iaquinta of Udinese, Roma new
boy Mirko Vucinic, Cagliaris David Suazo, Hernan Crespo of Inter and
Romas Francesco Totti.
Serie B winners: Napoli
Juventus point penalty went against them in the Serie B race, as Napoli
netted 58 per cent of the vote. Although the Bianconeri were selected by
some, they recorded a relatively low percentage backing of 17, just ahead
of Bologna, Genoa and Brescia.
Serie B top scorer: Alex Del Piero (Juventus) :toast:
Juventus dominated the Serie B goalscoring category with Alex Del Piero
pipping David Trezeguet and Valeri Bojinov. The captain, and penalty
taker, took 33 per cent against the 25 per cent of Trez and Napoli hitman
Cristian Bucchi last seasons top man. Bojinov was a clear fourth.
Coppa Italia winners: Roma (don't care)
After losing to Inter in the last two editions, Roma will succeed this
year. The capital club earned almost 60 per cent of our faith, with Inter
netting half that amount. Sampdoria and Palermo also merited
consideration.
Champions League: Chelsea
Weve gone with the money and Premiership champions Chelsea. They recorded
more than double the votes accumulated individually for Real Madrid, Milan
and holders Barcelona. Inter also got a mention.
UEFA Cup: West Ham
It took the signings of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez to convince 25
per cent of us that West Ham would be UEFA Cup kings even if theyll
play Palermo in round one. Ajax are second favourites, while the Rosanero
were also backed along with Spurs, Feyenoord, Schalke, Lens, plus possible
Champions League chokers Werder Bremen and even Inter!
First Coach to be axed: Gianni De Biasi (Torino) done
Rumours of pre-season tension between De Biasi and the Granata were just
too tempting for over 35 per cent of our writers to ignore. He was
favourite to be shown the door first and that was the case on the eve of
the big Serie A kick-off. Livornos Daniele Arrigoni, Bruno Giordano of
Messina, Gigi Cagni of Empoli, Lazios Delio Rossi and Cagliaris Marco
Giampaolo are also being tipped for the chop.
Golden Ball winner: Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid)
Having been robbed of the Golden Ball at the World Cup, Fabio Cannavaro is
our favourite for the France Football prize. The former Juve stopper won
50 per cent of our backing, double the votes netted by Milan star Kaka.
Thierry Henry, Andriy Shevchenko and Steven Gerrard were also considered.
Number of Materazzi Serie A red cards: None
He may be one of the toughest defenders on the planet, but expect Marco
Materazzi to be an angel this term. A massive 59 per cent believe he will
end the campaign without a red card. Just under 20 per cent think he will
be sent-off twice, while other guesses registered were three, four and
one.
Its that time of the year when pundits look into their crystal ball to
see what lies ahead. The Football Italia team gives you its predictions
for the new season
Serie A winners: Milan
Inter may have spent big and Milan will start the season with an
eight-point handicap, but the Rossoneri top our championship contenders
section. Carlo Ancelottis boys raked in 42 per cent, Inter netted 33 and
Roma won the faith of 25 per cent of our pundits.
Serie A top scorer: Alberto Gilardino (Milan)
The decision to sell Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea will benefit the young
Italian hitman, as he topped our chart in the Capocannoniere category. The
former Parma youngster received a massive 45 per cent of votes, well clear
of Luca Toni. The Fiorentina man, last seasons top scorer, only polled 18
per cent. Other mentions were for Vincenzo Iaquinta of Udinese, Roma new
boy Mirko Vucinic, Cagliaris David Suazo, Hernan Crespo of Inter and
Romas Francesco Totti.
Serie B winners: Napoli
Juventus point penalty went against them in the Serie B race, as Napoli
netted 58 per cent of the vote. Although the Bianconeri were selected by
some, they recorded a relatively low percentage backing of 17, just ahead
of Bologna, Genoa and Brescia.
Serie B top scorer: Alex Del Piero (Juventus) :toast:
Juventus dominated the Serie B goalscoring category with Alex Del Piero
pipping David Trezeguet and Valeri Bojinov. The captain, and penalty
taker, took 33 per cent against the 25 per cent of Trez and Napoli hitman
Cristian Bucchi last seasons top man. Bojinov was a clear fourth.
Coppa Italia winners: Roma (don't care)
After losing to Inter in the last two editions, Roma will succeed this
year. The capital club earned almost 60 per cent of our faith, with Inter
netting half that amount. Sampdoria and Palermo also merited
consideration.
Champions League: Chelsea
Weve gone with the money and Premiership champions Chelsea. They recorded
more than double the votes accumulated individually for Real Madrid, Milan
and holders Barcelona. Inter also got a mention.
UEFA Cup: West Ham
It took the signings of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez to convince 25
per cent of us that West Ham would be UEFA Cup kings even if theyll
play Palermo in round one. Ajax are second favourites, while the Rosanero
were also backed along with Spurs, Feyenoord, Schalke, Lens, plus possible
Champions League chokers Werder Bremen and even Inter!
First Coach to be axed: Gianni De Biasi (Torino) done
Rumours of pre-season tension between De Biasi and the Granata were just
too tempting for over 35 per cent of our writers to ignore. He was
favourite to be shown the door first and that was the case on the eve of
the big Serie A kick-off. Livornos Daniele Arrigoni, Bruno Giordano of
Messina, Gigi Cagni of Empoli, Lazios Delio Rossi and Cagliaris Marco
Giampaolo are also being tipped for the chop.
Golden Ball winner: Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid)
Having been robbed of the Golden Ball at the World Cup, Fabio Cannavaro is
our favourite for the France Football prize. The former Juve stopper won
50 per cent of our backing, double the votes netted by Milan star Kaka.
Thierry Henry, Andriy Shevchenko and Steven Gerrard were also considered.
Number of Materazzi Serie A red cards: None
He may be one of the toughest defenders on the planet, but expect Marco
Materazzi to be an angel this term. A massive 59 per cent believe he will
end the campaign without a red card. Just under 20 per cent think he will
be sent-off twice, while other guesses registered were three, four and
one.
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