by Roberto Gotta
The calciomercato in its winter session is in full swing, and we've already been treated with the sight of a fur-collared, bling-bling decorated Antonio Cassano being given a hero's welcome at Madrid's Barajas Airport - by the media more than by the handful or so of fans who still believe Real Madrid's salvation is on the way in the shape of yet another striker.
The lengthy Christmas Break, at least it did seem long to me because one hour spent in the company of relatives feels like one week of regular time, is over but the status of 99% of the clubs - Roma are slightly richer and considerably better off for losing Cassano - is so far the same as it was, and for some of them, not a pretty sight.
Juventus, of course, belong to the category of mid-term winners. Their domination of Serie A so far has been just short of embarrassing, and the news that Mediaset purchased the rights to their matches until 2009 for every conceivable media (mobile phones, satellite TV, digital TV, perhaps even a tiny corner of your bathroom mirror) for a whopping 248 million euros has left them in an even better position to cash in on their strength and kill off all competition.
Odd, then, that Mediaset, who are owned by Milan supremo Silvio Berlusconi, may finance Juve's transfer activity for the next five years, but the move all but reiterates that those two, plus Inter, belong to a different planet and are not remotely interested in the well-being of Serie A as a whole. Though no self-respecting club administrator would reject 248 million euros if offered, of course. In a parallel universe Chievo and Catania would do the same, and they wouldn't care about the rest of the competition either.
So it's not Juve as the Evil Empire, they're just doing what's best for them in the short term.
Vieira's impact in the first part of the campaign, Trezeguet's exceptional goalscoring record, Abbiati's improvement in goal as a replacement for Buffon and resilience in the face of (rare) adversity all mean Milan and more likely Inter have a lot of catching up to do, although there does appear to be a chance for a dodgy result or two for Juve.
Mid-term winners also include Fiorentina, who have put last season's troubles behind them and have built one of the Serie A's more entertaining sides. Luca Toni has not scored since November 27 but the side has not skipped a beat. The defence has improved in the last month, with young left back Pasqual an emerging star, and the Viola are in a great position to keep fourth place and Champions League spot.
Inter-owned Nigerian striker Obinna is one of the season's best newcomers, and his celebratory cartwheels, albeit admittedly not a proper set of football skills, are a joy to watch (from a safe distance, as his teammates do, for fear of being kicked on the chin).
Inter are obviously another side that fits well into this higher class. Roberto Mancini has taken his time, just like last year, to find his best team, and they have lost a few points behind in the process, but have been a delight to watch in the last month and could be dark horses in the Champions League too. And Figo has more mileage left than originally thought while the defence has been rock solid.
They may not be able to catch Juventus by beating them at the San Siro on February 12 at the end of a month-long winning streak, as defender Ivan Cordoba boldly predicted on Tuesday, but look as the most serious contenders for the scudetto from now on.
Milan, so far, belong to a lesser category which we will call underachievers. It would be too much to call them losers, as they're third in the table, have been the only Italian side to beat Juventus so far and have reached the next stage of the Champions League, but too many question marks remain.
Cafu may be done with the club because of family problems back in Brazil, and his contribution had been down on last year anyway. The defence has let in too many goals and despite being arguably the Serie A's most entertaining side - no one has scored more - they have struggled too many times to finish opponents off. There may still be a spectacular second half of the season in store for Carlo Ancelotti's side, but their CL clashes with Bayern in February will already have a huge say in that. Among the underachievers, Udinese must be counted, too.
Champions League qualification last year was a milestone for the north-eastern side, but the campaign has so far been marred by in-fighting, inconsistency and a failure to deliver at crucial stages.
Home defeat against an under-strength (but obviously strong enough) Barcelona meant last place in the CL group, and surrender against all top sides, especially a 1-5 reversal at Milan which could qualify as Udinese's worst performance along with a 0-2 defeat at Reggina, is unlikely to be the fans' fondest memories of the first half of the campaign.
The calciomercato in its winter session is in full swing, and we've already been treated with the sight of a fur-collared, bling-bling decorated Antonio Cassano being given a hero's welcome at Madrid's Barajas Airport - by the media more than by the handful or so of fans who still believe Real Madrid's salvation is on the way in the shape of yet another striker.
The lengthy Christmas Break, at least it did seem long to me because one hour spent in the company of relatives feels like one week of regular time, is over but the status of 99% of the clubs - Roma are slightly richer and considerably better off for losing Cassano - is so far the same as it was, and for some of them, not a pretty sight.
Juventus, of course, belong to the category of mid-term winners. Their domination of Serie A so far has been just short of embarrassing, and the news that Mediaset purchased the rights to their matches until 2009 for every conceivable media (mobile phones, satellite TV, digital TV, perhaps even a tiny corner of your bathroom mirror) for a whopping 248 million euros has left them in an even better position to cash in on their strength and kill off all competition.
Odd, then, that Mediaset, who are owned by Milan supremo Silvio Berlusconi, may finance Juve's transfer activity for the next five years, but the move all but reiterates that those two, plus Inter, belong to a different planet and are not remotely interested in the well-being of Serie A as a whole. Though no self-respecting club administrator would reject 248 million euros if offered, of course. In a parallel universe Chievo and Catania would do the same, and they wouldn't care about the rest of the competition either.
So it's not Juve as the Evil Empire, they're just doing what's best for them in the short term.
Vieira's impact in the first part of the campaign, Trezeguet's exceptional goalscoring record, Abbiati's improvement in goal as a replacement for Buffon and resilience in the face of (rare) adversity all mean Milan and more likely Inter have a lot of catching up to do, although there does appear to be a chance for a dodgy result or two for Juve.
Mid-term winners also include Fiorentina, who have put last season's troubles behind them and have built one of the Serie A's more entertaining sides. Luca Toni has not scored since November 27 but the side has not skipped a beat. The defence has improved in the last month, with young left back Pasqual an emerging star, and the Viola are in a great position to keep fourth place and Champions League spot.
Inter-owned Nigerian striker Obinna is one of the season's best newcomers, and his celebratory cartwheels, albeit admittedly not a proper set of football skills, are a joy to watch (from a safe distance, as his teammates do, for fear of being kicked on the chin).
Inter are obviously another side that fits well into this higher class. Roberto Mancini has taken his time, just like last year, to find his best team, and they have lost a few points behind in the process, but have been a delight to watch in the last month and could be dark horses in the Champions League too. And Figo has more mileage left than originally thought while the defence has been rock solid.
They may not be able to catch Juventus by beating them at the San Siro on February 12 at the end of a month-long winning streak, as defender Ivan Cordoba boldly predicted on Tuesday, but look as the most serious contenders for the scudetto from now on.
Milan, so far, belong to a lesser category which we will call underachievers. It would be too much to call them losers, as they're third in the table, have been the only Italian side to beat Juventus so far and have reached the next stage of the Champions League, but too many question marks remain.
Cafu may be done with the club because of family problems back in Brazil, and his contribution had been down on last year anyway. The defence has let in too many goals and despite being arguably the Serie A's most entertaining side - no one has scored more - they have struggled too many times to finish opponents off. There may still be a spectacular second half of the season in store for Carlo Ancelotti's side, but their CL clashes with Bayern in February will already have a huge say in that. Among the underachievers, Udinese must be counted, too.
Champions League qualification last year was a milestone for the north-eastern side, but the campaign has so far been marred by in-fighting, inconsistency and a failure to deliver at crucial stages.
Home defeat against an under-strength (but obviously strong enough) Barcelona meant last place in the CL group, and surrender against all top sides, especially a 1-5 reversal at Milan which could qualify as Udinese's worst performance along with a 0-2 defeat at Reggina, is unlikely to be the fans' fondest memories of the first half of the campaign.
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