Category: This Week

Who’s the star of Serie A so far this season?

We head into Matchday 10 of Serie A this weekend and so far, it’s fair to say the Italian top flight hasn’t disappointed. This week alone we had penalty controversy in a battle between the top two, Juventus sacked their manager at the earliest point since the 60s and small provincial teams keep tearing up the form book. So has there been a star of the season so far?

Christian Chivu was building a strong case until his side lost 3-1 in Naples at the weekend in the aforementioned battle at the top. After a little blip in September, Inter had managed to win 7 on the bounce in all competitions before McTominay, De Bruyne and Anguissa put them back in their box. Their housemates silent but strong start has been sandwiched by two awful results against promoted teams, losing at home to Cremonese on Matchday 1 and then drawing with Pisa on Friday at the San Siro.

Bonazzoli scored a ridiculous opening day goal at the San Siro.

Milan had slowly been building some momentum under the radar including a credible draw at Juve, only prevented a great win with Pulisic’s missed penalty. He had been their star of the season until that point, scoring and assisting in a superb home win over champions Napoli. The two Milan clubs aren’t the only Lombardy clubs enjoying their start to the season (overall)… Como and Cremonese are surprising everyone.

Alright, Como might not be a particular surprise, everyone tipped them to improve on last season’s impressive showing by challenging for Europe. Cesc’s team appear to be pushing the envelope though and sit 5th going into Matchday 10, five points off the top of the league and one point ahead of the Old Lady. Yes, more on Juventus later, but Como and their star boy Nico Paz have been wowing audiences across Italy and Hollywood and are right in the hunt for Champions League football.

Nico Paz is this season’s star boy, no doubt

Two points behind them and having a party is everyone’s favourite to be relegated, Cremonese. The Lombardy side came up in the play off last season and were widely tipped to be enjoying Serie B again next season. The side from the home of violins were playing the World’s smallest ones when they won 2-1 at Milan on their first outing, then promptly beat fellow newboys Sassuolo in Matchday 2. Just when things couldn’t get any better, they signed former Premier League winner Jamie Vardy.

Cremonese have only lost once this season, a 4-1 hiding at the San Siro against Inter, but Jamie Vardy scored his first goal recently and they sit in 8th place above Lazio and Atalanta.

Atalanta, the other Lombardy side in this year’s Serie A, have started slowly. They dominate games as you’ve come to expect of the side from Bergamo but having lost Retegui to Saudi Arabia, had a Lookman who was on strike all summer and with Scamacca perenially injured, they’ve struggled to convert their dominance in matches into goals. In fact Atalanta are the only side still undefeated in the league, but 7 draws and 2 wins tells its own story.

Speaking of steady, a team steadily getting the job done every week is Bologna. Unspectacular, unnoticed and unsurprising – 4 wins and 3 draws have propelled the side from the home of Spag Bol up into 6th and flirting with a return to Europe’s top table. As long as Orsolini stays fit that is. The Bear is joint top scorer in Serie A with Hakan Calhanoglu and has scored more than a third of Bologna’s goals himself.

Not far up the road in Emilia Romagna, Parma have picked up exactly where they left off last season. Superb kits, but unconvincing performances have left them sitting just above the drop zone. For that description, we can bunch in Cagliari and Pisa too. Take away the great kits and we can also class Lecce and Torino in that bracket.

Lazio have been in turmoil. Absolutely skint and banned from signing players by the league as a result things threatened to get away from them this season. Maurizio Sarri returned to the club and very nearly quit within a week, instead choosing to do a press conference moaning about how he wasn’t given the full picture. He steadied the ship, however, and Lazio are delightfully average with 3 wins, 3 draws and 3 defeats.

Lazio put the final nail in Igor Tudor’s coffin. The Croatian who made over 100 first team appearances for Juventus was their interim manager last year and got them into the Champions League at the last moment. He then got the gig permanently. Well, for about 3 months. For the first time since 1969 Juventus sacked a manager before November. After a thrilling Derby D’Italia win over Inter, Juve embarked on an 8 game winless run which the rest of Italy found hilarious. Those in Turin were more stoney faced.

Igor Tudor was the first Serie A manager sacked this season

Tudor was sacked, replaced by former national team coach Luciano Spalletti. Spalletti left Napoli as a champion 3 years ago and proclaimed he’d never manage another club side in Italy. He didn’t address this at his unveiling. The Ultras made their feelings perfectly clear after Tudor was given the boot, a banner at the stadium read, “Tudor one of us always, the fish rots from the head”. A cleverly disguised dig at the board in Turin and a sign that there are deeper issues at Juventus.

Joining Tudor in the Job Centre soon could be Genoa’s Patrick Viera and Fiorentina’s Stefano Pioli. Both are winless and according to the fans of each club, massively outstaying their welcome. The San Siro was echoing with cries of “Pioli’s on Fire” on Wednesday night, but not the Milan fans who once sang his name, it was Inter fans mocking their old adversary as they ran riot, winning 3-0.

Roma, by the way, are behind Napoli on just goal difference. Their quietly studious start has been underlined by Gasperini taking over from Ranieri in the summer. Gasperini, a famously defensive coach, master of catenaccio. Wait. No he isn’t. He’s famously gung-ho and defensively irresponsible. In their nine matches so far, Roma have conceded just 4 goals. Five clean sheets in these games underline Roma’s strength despite boasting a forward line that includes Evan Ferguson, Artem Dovbyk, Leon Bailey and Paulo Dybala. In fact, for a team with those players and Gasperini as coach, 10 goals in 9 matches can be considered a poor return. Or will they ominously kick into gear and get better?

A picture of a brick wall

So who’s been the star of Serie A so far this season? It’s hard to choose. And that’s the beauty of the league this season, it’s imperfections. Even the best team has something wrong with it, has a ventilation duct on their Death Star, has a minor flaw. That has left the league wide open and at the (almost) quarter way through stage leaves us with a top 4 separated by only 5 points. The title race in Italy is wide open, and it’s because no one’s perfect.

31st Oct 2025
The Derby D’Italia: Serie A’s great advert

In October 2024 I walked out of the San Siro after Inter had surrendered a 4-2 lead against Juventus to draw the Derby D’Italia. What had I just witnessed? The match was insane, two of the top teams in a top 5 league going hammer and tongs to win a game of football. And so early in the season. A stark contrast from the recent Premier League “big matches” we’ve seen, cagey 0-0 draws or scrappy 1-0 wins. The best league in the World doesn’t always deliver where its headline matches are concerned.

As I settled down after that match, I settled my mind on the opinion that this was just a great game. A one-off spectacular. We wouldn’t see it again would we?

Going into this first international break of the season as an Inter fan I was dreading the derby. Inter were too unpredictable, too fragile, they were playing a Juve team who seemed to start with a steely determination. The only thought in my head was meek defeat. A 2-0 or 3-0 had already been accepted in my head and the mood at Inter Club London – where I took in the game – was not much different.

And so it was in the 14th minute of the game when Lloyd Kelly – much maligned in his short Juve career – expertly steered home a half volley into the bottom of Sommer’s goal. Here we go again, Inter just aren’t up to it this season, is Chivu the wrong choice? But the fickleness of football fans – myself included – was exposed when Inter fought back into the game. Inter were looking for redemption and they found it through a man looking for his own redemption story in an Inter shirt. Hakan Calhanoglu had left the club in the summer. “Injured” throughout the Club World Cup in the summer while his agent touted him around Turkey looking for a return, he was the subject of Lautaro’s ire after defeat to Fluminense. He responded with his own angry statement, Milan fans said “I told you so” and he was to leave.

But after Galatasaray couldn’t agree a fee since signing Osimhen, Calha was going to have to stay put. Cue a statement professing his desire to work hard for Inter, some staged photos with Lautaro and he was integrated back into the squad. To his credit, there was no Isak or Wissa behaviour, he showed a willingness to play at Inter – now he was stuck here.

And so to the 30th minute on Saturday evening, he swept home decisively on his left foot, Di Gregorio probably could’ve done better but Hakan was back. Inter fans were in delirium and the summer antics were forgotten. This was suddenly a contest.

For a few minutes anyway. Kenan Yildiz is in my FantaCalcio team and he justified his selection with yet another outrageous goal. Smashing home into the bottom corner from around 25-30 yards out. Again, there’s a question mark over the goalkeeping, but wouldn’t that just be a bit of bitterness? Let’s take nothing away from a World Class strike from the young Turk, surely now on the radar of Europe’s top clubs.

When the half time whistle went, the fans at Inter Club London were breathless, but optimistic. “We’re playing well, it just needs to be better in both boxes” was the prevailing opinion. With the beers restocked for the second half, Inter drew first blood, the man on a mission Hakan Calhanoglu went and bettered his first strike with a stunning chest and volley into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Absolute pandemonium in the Inter Club. Not one mention of summer transfer sagas. I guess it goes to show, if you show up and do your job, most transgressions can be forgiven. Maybe when the dust settles there’ll be a conversation to be had, but at that moment, he was a god amongst men.

With Juve reeling, Inter stepped on the accelerator. A dominant spell had resulted in a goal, and they weren’t done. They could smell blood. Like the biscione that adorned their badge during the late 80s they bit back at Juve again.

Marcus Thuram rose highest from a corner and nodded into the net. Let me tell you, if Thuram’s own celebration was muted, the supporters at Inter Club London were not. This was the closest I’ve ever seen to a match atmosphere in a pub. Legs and arms were flying everywhere. Inter led their most bitter rival 3-2, there was only 15 minutes to play. Surely the most improbable of victories was beckoning. Surely?

Expectation is the enemy of joy isn’t it. It took 6 minutes for Marcus Thuram’s younger brother to equalise for Juve. A silly foul given away by Bastoni, an unmarked player in the box and Inter had handed the momentum back to their arch rivals. “Merda” cries all over the pub. What was an expectation of victory became the hope of a draw. Fingernails were being chewed to the bone. Hair being pulled out. Eyes covered.

As we entered stoppage time you can’t help but think, “well a draw isn’t so bad actually”. Sure it’s annoying to blow a 3-2 lead but a point away to Juventus, it’s alright. That is until teenager Adzic announced himself to Italy and the world with a remarkable strike from some 30-35 yards out. What on Earth he was doing shooting remains a mystery, the easy ball was out to the right to build a move. But for some reason the young lad, with next to no backlift, decided to send a powerful effort towards Yann Sommer’s goal. There’s a few questions for Inter stopper to answer given he gets a big hand to the ball, but again, you should just be applauding the spectacular strike. I’ve never been in a room as full as the one I was in Saturday night that was completely stoney silent. Not a sound. A single “Merda” broke the silence eventually.

There’s all kinds of analysis that can be done after a game like that. You can look again at both sides mentality, Worlds apart, you can study the decisions made in the Inter Milan defence. I’ll leave that to the football experts, I deal in emotion. Once I’d picked myself up from the floor, downed three more pints and then thought about the match I had one overriding thought. What a game.

It has everything. Redemption for Calha, world class strikes, brothers in opposing sides, two fairly novice managers battling with big clubs, end to end football, young players announcing themselves in the best way possible and one man’s march towards a definite future Ballon D’Or. This was the advert Serie A needed. Derided by some as a “has been league”, this game showcased the exact opposite. It was exciting, it swung both ways, the lead changed hands and it was the younger stars on the pitch who shone the brightest.

I haven’t seen a La Liga or Premier League that exciting in years. The next day I watched Man City easily despatch their city rivals United in a no contest. A week before I barely stayed awake as Liverpool edged past Arsenal 1-0. I know there’s more money at stake in England, it makes those games much tighter. I know they’re probably better “tactical battles”. But I’m not after that, I’m looking to be excited. I’m after Pazza Inter. And they’re back.

16th Sep 2025
StradiVardy is here to play, not just earn.

When Jamie Vardy arrived in Cremona, he probably had no idea of the Stradivari family and the musical instrument that bares their name. The Stradivarius violins are famous the World over for the quality of sound they produce but I would imagine the only Stradivarius that Vardy is familiar with is the racehorse that won three Ascot Gold Cups.

Maybe I’m doing Vardy a disservice, but the bemused way he posed next to a violin in his new Cremonese shirt leads me to believe I’m right. But Vardy isn’t here to sell violins, he’s here to score goals and save Cremonese from relegation. That statement might seem like an odd one to anyone looking at the current Serie A standings. Cremonese sit third with two wins from two, including a spectacular 2-1 win away to Milan at the San Siro.

Among the celebratory scenes and wild celebrations from the fans when Vardy arrived, there is one man not so keen for his arrival. Manuel De Luca wore the number 9 shirt for the first two games this season and despite his 93rd minute winning penalty against Sassuolo, he’s been cut from the Cremonese squad to make way for Vardy. There’s no suggestion this has caused any sort of rift behind the scenes at the Lombardy club, but it adds to the pressure to perform that Vardy will feel from the moment he takes to the pitch.

Pressure that he’s sure he can deal with. In his unveiling press conference (in the violin museum) he was defiant when asked about being just a marketing ploy, “It is up to me to disprove the predictions. Age is just a number. I always listen to my legs. At the moment I still feel great. During the summer I wanted to show on social media that I was keeping myself in the best possible shape and coming back to training with the team was incredible. Training is going very well.”

For the time being nothing can dampen the enthusiasm of the Grigiorossi fans, excited to see their new man in action. Expectation is high in Cremona for a striker capped 26 times by England and who scored 200 goals in 500 games, winning the Premier League and FA Cup. One thing I noticed watching Cremonese beat Sassuolo two weeks ago was the speed in which they got the ball forward in transition. Going from absorbing pressure to the other end of the pitch very quickly, they should have held more than a 2-0 lead when Sassuolo eventually started fighting back.

Vardy will provide the pace at the top end of the pitch that suits this counter attacking stance, but he’ll also provide clinical finishing that will be key if Cremonese are going to take more points off the big boys. They were wasteful against Sassuolo but got away with it thanks to facing another wasteful relegation candidate. They won’t get the chance to be so profligate in front of goal against the likes of Inter, Juventus or Napoli. Even the next block of teams like Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina will punish their profligacy.

Jamie Vardy is no stranger to the need for efficiency, last year Leicester were woeful, abject and well beaten every week. But the 38 year old still managed to bag 9 times during this disaster of a season for the Foxes. Whatever Serie A can throw at him, Vardy will think he’s seen it all before, this is a player that was playing in English football’s 5th tier at semi-professional level only 3 years before making his England debut.

The only “new one” on him will likely be lining up alongside a player who is the Great Grandson of the country’s former Fascist Dictator from World War Two. Yes, Vardy’s team mate on the right wing (yes, really) is Romano Floriani Mussolini. He goes by Floriani and insists that his name is only a distraction for other people and not himself, but the young winger on loan from Lazio is highly rated in Italy. His direct running and pace caused problems for Sassuolo when he was introduced and he won the penalty that De Luca tucked away before being promptly withdrawn from the squad to make way for Vardy.

Manuel De Luca isn’t the only thing gone from Cremonese though, season tickets have now sold out since Vardy signed with over 10% of the population of Cremona now having one. And don’t even try and get a Cremonese shirt for a few months, they’ve sold out too. You can still buy them online, but there’s no sign of a delivery date.

Vardy is a man known for his controversial and provocative celebrations and in this small corner of the Po Valley they’ll be hoping he can hit the right notes and play the World’s smallest violin to Cremonese’s opponents this season…

11th Sep 2025
A Fragile Mind: Inter’s Munich Hangover

Last Monday as I walked out of the San Siro, I was relaxed about Inter’s season ahead. They’d just stuffed Torino 5-0, could’ve had many more and it looked as though the title race might actually be a race this season. Inter were dynamic, aggressive, purposeful and every player on the pitch wanted to be out there doing their best. Last night it all changed.

It seemed strange that Calhanoglu was instantly back in the team given his and his agent’s performance over the summer. There was a line drawn under all that apparently and he wanted to be here and fight for the team. Now, I should preface this with the disclosure that I’m not, in fact, a top level European Elite Coach. But one thing I do know about football, is that you don’t change a team that won 5-0 if you can avoid it.

The decision to drop Mkhitaryan – looking much rejuvenated last week – was an odd one, especially to shoehorn in a player who hasn’t had much of a pre-season (if any). It showed last night, from the off Inter were slower, much more passive in possession, lethargic and predictable. It brought back sudden memories of the Roma and Lazio matches at the end of last season.

Despite this they made the breakthrough, Denzel Dumfries firing home from a yard out after some good work by Marcus Thuram. Udinese to this point hadn’t offered much at all and it seemed like Inter may get away with it and slink into the international break with 6 points. Then Udinese woke up. They were very quickly awarded a VAR intervened penalty. For what it’s worth, for me, it seemed a harsh award. Dumfries’ arm is tucked in to his body and the ball comes from less than a yard away, I’m not sure what he’s supposed to do there, he’s not gaining an advantage. That said, the penalty is given and you have to deal with it.

Englishman Keinan Davis tucked it away and Inter immediately melted. They were outplayed, out thought and out fought for the rest of the first half that saw Davis assist a quite magnificent Atta goal. Inter looked shell shocked when the half time whistle went, they looked like the team that trudged off the pitch in Munich after a 5-0 whalloping by PSG.

Inter were better in the second half last night, but they didn’t do enough. Too many sideways passes, not enough movement in forward areas. Chivu tried to fix the issue with numbers, chucking players on the pitch in forward positions that seemed to just complicate things. Lautaro was quiet, both in his performance but also his voice. There was no rallying call issued on the pitch. In a stadium without the support and driving force of the Curva Nord, Inter needed leaders on the pitch, they were lacking.

The truth is, offside goals aside, they never looked like equalising let alone winning this match. They exposed their weaknesses for all to see, it’s their mindset. A supremely talented group of players, there’s no doubt about this. When things are going well, they go very well, but when they go wrong, they go very wrong.

There’s clearly a lot of trauma from that night in Munich, but also from the way they threw away an almost certain Scudetto. After Napoli limped towards the finish line, Inter only had to beat Lazio at home and Como away and they were over the line. Pedro’s late equaliser at the San Siro for Lazio handed Napoli an advantage that they clung on to.

During their 2024 title win they were “mentality monsters”. The Champions League Round of 16 defeat to Atleti seemed to galvanise the team, it hardened their focus as they went on a spectacular run in Serie A. They won 6 straight Milan derbies, they beat Juventus in a tense and tough battle at the San Siro and they only lost two games all season – both to Sassuolo – with an unbelievable defensive record to boot.

Where is that mindset now? PSG battered them 5-0 a mere week after they lost the Scudetto to Napoli and within a couple of days the Father of this Inter, Simone Inzaghi packed his bags and went to earn €30m a year in Saudi Arabia. Inter then scrambled for a coach and Chivu stepped in to the role of Step Dad to this team.

And that’s what Inter look like, a group of players who are still a little dazed. A little unsure. Are they able to trust again, do they want to allow themselves to love this new person in their life or will they be hurt again? They looked leggy and confused in the Club World Cup this summer, but it all seemed to go away last week.

Against Torino, Inter were exorcising their demons it seemed. Brilliantly passionate on the pitch, everything was going to be ok. One swallow doesn’t make a summer, however, and the win against Torino was swiftly followed by that massively disappointing second album against Udinese.

In the same way Inter fans shouldn’t have got too high after one game, this defeat shouldn’t get them too low, but we football fans are a fickle bunch and it’s easier to see the negatives than the positives in your own team.

These players will now travel the World for two weeks playing for their various national teams, before returning to Serie A action next Saturday against Juventus in Turin. Inter need to find some mental strength before that game, or it could be another blood bath…

1st Sep 2025
Three Games to Follow on Matchday 2

The games come thick and fast at the start of the season, the last matchday was complete on Monday at 11pm and today at 5:30pm Matchday 2 gets underway. An international break follows this weekend so all the teams will be looking to go into the gap with points on the board. All twenty teams play before Monday and while there’s a lot going on, we’ve picked out three matches to keep an eye on…

Cremonese v Sassuolo – Friday 17:30 BST

After Bonazzoli’s spectacular winner at the San Siro last week, Cremonese are rightly buzzing right now. I don’t think anyone tipped them to stay up, despite the presence of survival expert and Italian Big Sam, Davide Nicola. However, they potentially can be sitting on 6 points from 6 by the time you tuck into your pasta tonight. Considering that from 2022 onwards, 31-36 points keeps you up, they’d have taken a big stride towards safety going into the international break.

Sassuolo on the other hand were the pick of the pundits (including myself) to stay up from the promoted sides. They were poor against Napoli, barely laying a glove on the Champions. Now, granted, Napoli were good – but they weren’t spectacular, barely getting out of second gear. Sassuolo will feel disappointed they couldn’t do more with home advantage in that game and suddenly the pressure is on this match. They don’t want to hit that break on zero points and an away match against a fellow promoted team might seem ideal on the face of it, but Cremonese will be pumped here.

You never can tell with Serie A, this one could end up a tense, nervy 0-0 – or it could be an all out punching match and finish 2-2. Either way, I’m predicting a fascinating, if not overwhelmingly brilliant affair.

Fancy a bet? I like both teams to score here at 4/5, I think there’s good value in that given Sassuolo have a strong attack but holes at the back.

Parma v Atalanta – Saturday 17:30 BST

This may seem like an odd choice on the face of it, but I’m still fascinated to see how these two new manager get on as the season goes on. Carlos Cuesta joined Parma this summer after spending some time as Mikel Arteta’s assistant at Arsenal. However, he didn’t demonstrate that controlled attacking game in Parma’s first outing. Ok, they were away at Juve but they were so negative it prompted Juve boss Igor Tudor to say, “Parma were quite old-fashioned in their tactics, almost Catenaccio defending”.

You’d expect them to be more open at home, especially against a side not considered as strong as Juventus. It’s going to be fascinating to see how they cope having lost Giovanni Leoni to Liverpool, Ange-Yoan Bonny to Inter, Dennis Man to PSV and Simon Sohm to Fiorentina.

Atalanta on the other hand, were dominant in their game against Pisa last week, attacking almost from the first whistle to the last, but ultimately failed to win thanks to an avoidable own goal and a combination of the woodwork and Pisa’s goalkeeper. They themselves lost big attacking talent this summer with last season’s Capocannoniere Mateo Retegui heading to Saudi Arabia and Ademola Lookman still on strike somewhere after trying to force a move to Inter.

They’ll be pleased, then, that Gianluca Scamacca (once of West Ham) is back fit and scoring. He took his goal well Sunday and was unlucky not to add more, Atalanta certainly suffered when he was withdrawn. Their own new man in the dugout Ivan Juric will be judged quickly after his last two jobs at Roma and Southampton were disasters, but he has proved himself previously with Verona and Torino.

If we see a winner in this game, that coach will be going into the break fairly content with the other already fearing the worst. A draw helps neither team.

Fancy a bet? I like Atalanta to win at evens, think they should have enough to overcome Parma.

@thecalcioblog
Three matches to keep your eye on this weekend in @Lega Serie A! We’ve picked out the matches we’ll be following along with on Matchday 2. All are available on @DAZNFootball #calcio #cremonese #parmacalcio #pisa
♬ original sound – The Calcio Blog

Pisa SC v AS Roma – Saturday 19:45 BST

Serie A football is back at Pisa after a short 34 year absence. The Garibaldi will be buzzing on Saturday night and if Pisa score it might just bring that tower down. Their fans need to make home matches a problem for any visiting teams if they’re to stand any chance of being in Serie A next season.

They were lucky to get away from Atalanta on Sunday with a point, although they worked hard and did have moments on the break. They’ll need to be significantly more clinical in future matches, including this one where they’ll come under sustained pressure from Roma.

Roma were fairly dominant last week in their opening day win over Bologna. Evan Ferguson impressed on his debut that some fans on X were suggesting they’d uncovered a Batistuta like forward. Perhaps a bit early for that, but he was a handful and would feel he should’ve score at least once with the chances he created. Leon Bailey is still injured, but with Dovbyk, Dybala, Soule and Kone all available they should have enough to see off a stubborn Pisa on Saturday night.

Watch this game for the atmosphere Pisa will create, it might just inspire the team to do something unpredictable, but it’s hard to see past a Roma win.

Fancy a bet? I fancy Evan Ferguson to get his first in Serie A and at 6/4 anytime scorer he has a bit of value too.

29th Aug 2025
Matchday One: What did we learn?

Matchday one is over, and frankly I’m exhausted. Around 11pm last night Torino were put out of their misery by the referee and Inter went top of Serie A thanks to their 5-0 win. The first games back on Saturday night feel like a million years ago already. So, what have we learned so far?

Don’t sleep on the promoted teams

As Milan learned to their cost on Saturday evening, you can’t just rock up and expect to beat the newly promoted sides. Baschirotto scored a lovely header and despite the Milan equaliser, goal of the weekend went to Cremonese’s Bonazzoli with that athletic finish. Cremonese beating Milan 2-1 at the San Siro was definitely story of the weekend, but another promoted side caused problems for their opponents too.

Pisa took a shock lead in Bergamo and although Atalanta were well on top in the second half, they couldn’t get the job done. Scamacca scored their equaliser in the 51st minute and it seemed as if they’d go on to win comfortably, but it wasn’t to be. Pisa dug in and held on for a valuable point.

Sassuolo offered up the least resistance out of the new boys. Ok, they were up against a very good Napoli, but there wasn’t the same level of stubborn determinism that Pisa and Cremonese showed.

Inter are BACK

One swallow doesn’t make a summer but this was a statement win from Inter. There didn’t seem to be any Champions League hangover for them, Chivu kept the 3-5-2 but implemented a much more aggressive pressing style in there. The amount of times Inter won the ball back high up to create chances was madness, Lautaro scored from pressing the keeper and Bonny’s debut goal came from Torino messing about too much with the ball.

ThuLa are back with a bang

Torino were poor but Inter were very good. Sucic had a game to remember, dominating the midfield and creating as many chances as he prevented Torino from having.

Inter need to reduce the average age still, especially in defence, if this aggressive pressing style is to work, but it was a great start. Only downside, the late subs saw them change the shape to this 4-3-2-1 and it allowed Torino to get a foothold on this game, Inter seemed a bit confused by their roles in it. If Chivu eventually wants to switch to this, it should be done gradually and carefully.

Roma have the new Batistuta

Or at least that’s what the Roma Argentina fan club declared about Evan Ferguson. Gazzetta picked it up and sensationally ran with the comparison. However, Ferguson didn’t even score on his Serie A debut.

It was a confident performance, providing both chances and good link and hold up play, but he didn’t score. And he probably should have in at least one scenario.

I think he’ll work out and I’ve said as much before, it was a confident debut, but maybe we all need to calm down a bit… Wesley got the goal that would beat Bologna, on his debut and Roma started with a fairly comfortable win.

Ferguson celebrates, but not his goal

Ominous Como

Nico Paz will probably be back at Real Madrid next year and based on his performance Sunday alone it’ll be well deserved. A truly magnificent free kick goal put the gloss on a comfortable win over Lazio after he had already provided the assist for Tavos Douvikas.

Lazio’s one bright moment was a goal disallowed for offside that didn’t really require the VAR intervention it got.

Jonathan David dream debut

Strikers at Juve over recent years haven’t always had it their own way so the Canadian will have been pleased to start with a goal. Dusan Vlahovic went from maligned sideline player to important addition as he completed the scoring.

Both goals were assisted by probably future Real Madrid star Kenan Yildiz. Sorry for putting that out into the universe Juve fans, but they always come knocking for any remotely creative player. Yildiz was once again magnificent, a bright spark in what might be a potential glum season for Juventus fans. Parma offered very little resistance here so the big tests are still to come for Juve.

The only downside was a late red card for Cambiaso.

And breathe…

So there we have it, week one done and sewn up. Three days to go until it begins again when Cremonese take on Sassuolo Friday evening.

26th Aug 2025
Our Hot Takes for Serie A in 2025/26

Fed up of trying to be sensible and predict some actual things that could happen, I’m allowing myself a bit of fun. Get ready, because it’s time for some HOT TAKES! The only issue is, this is Italy and it very well could end up happening anyway…

Roma and Milan in Scudetto tussle

Yes that’s right folks, these two have probably had the best window going this summer and I’m calling it now. Boniface and Ferguson will battle it out for the Capocannoniere while the two teams fight it out for the Scudetto. It’s happening, get on board, a titanic struggle between two teams determined to outscore each other. Both to score 80+ goals.

Conte doesn’t make it to November

He very nearly didn’t make it to June as Napoli manager and with his known history of tanking in European competition it’s going to take a poor start in Europe and Lukaku’s injury to see him combust. The inevitable clash of heads happens with De Laurentiis in mid-October and by November he’s gone. Might even back him as first to be sacked…

Inter finish 8th with three manager this season

I think Inter are slightly more fragile than most pundits expect. Everyone has us challenging the title again, but based on the last two months of last season and the inexperienced Chivu I don’t expect that. They’ll start poorly, Chivu goes, replaced by another cheap option “just to get through the next two months” and then guess what? They get worse and Mourinho is in place by the end of the season. A late derby win sees him shushing the whole stadium as Inter storm to 8th.

All three promoted teams stay up

Let’s face it, Cagliari, Udinese, Lecce and Verona are all in trouble and the grit and determination the promoted sides will show will see them ok. Then it’s a 4 way battle to see who goes down out of existing Serie A teams. I can’t call it, but I reckon we’ll see all three stay up, this isn’t England after all.

The rest of the Scottish national team sign for Serie A teams

Speaking of Britain, there’s now more Scots in Italy than there are in Glasgow. The remaining members of the national team start popping up in Serie A teams between now and the end of the window and during January. Remember at school when that one kid got his ear pierced and then everyone suddenly had a piercing? That’s what Scott McTominay has done to Serie A Presidents.

Calciopoli II breaks

Let’s face it, we’re only ever weeks away from some other form of scandal breaking, but this time it’s the FIGC colluding with all other Italian teams to make sure that Inter can’t buy anyone from other Serie A sides. How else can we explain the ridiculous pursuits of Lookman, Kone and Leoni and then the relative speed in which a deal was done with a French team. Can’t wait for the Netflix documentary.

Conclusion

Get ready for another bizarre and surreal season of Calcio in Italy. It’s why we’re all here, for the chaos. I’m sure that everything here sounded ridiculous when I wrote it, but when I reflect on it for next season I’ll be amazed by how much was correct!

21st Aug 2025
The Three Serie A Matches You Should Watch This Weekend and Why…

Serie A returns this weekend and for a full preview of all the games going ahead, you should probably just get a Gazzetta subscription or head over to Football Italia. However, on this blog we’re going to zoom in on three standout fixtures on the opening weekend and why we think you should be watching these games…

Game 1: Roma v Bologna

When: Saturday 23rd August – 20:45 (IT), 19:45 (UK), 14:45 (NYC)

Gasperini is the new man in charge at a Roma side that finished last season under Claudio Ranieri losing just once in the last 25 matches. An extraordinary run that if they can repeat will see them as Scudetto outsiders.

Roma have done some smart business over the summer, bolstering their defence with Italian prospect Daniele Gilhardi and Brazilian Wesley from Flamengo after an impressive Club World Cup. Up top they’ve added Brighton starlet Evan Ferguson – initially on loan – and he’s hit the ground running in pre-season. Gasperini’s tactics are not quite “Gung-Ho” but they are positively reckless in a league famed for defensive stability.

They open their campaign against Coppa Italia champions Bologna, who defeated Milan 1-0 in last years Rome showpiece. A strong post-Christmas run was negated by a stumbling over the finish line at the end of the Serie A season, but they did have a cup final on their minds then.

Bologna’s summer business has been a little tamer than Roma’s, but they have brought Bernardeschi and Immobile back to Italy. However, it’s in defence where they’ve made the biggest moves splashing €11m on 22 year old Martin Vitik from Sparta Prague as well as two other centre backs – Torbjorn Heggem from West Brom and Nicolo Casale from Lazio.

The match sees renewed defensive pragmatism going up against Roma’s revamped forward line. It looks like Leon Bailey has also been added at Roma from Aston Villa although this game might come too early for him. I would expect to see goals in this match which is why on Saturday night after I’ve finished my dinner, I’ll be finding a bar in Bergamo to tune into this.

Fancy a Bet? – Roma to win and both teams to score is currently at 16/5 with Coral in the UK.

Game 2: Milan v Cremonese

This should present a fairly straightforward start to the season for Max Allegri in his second spell at Milan. I’ve already tipped Milan to surprise a few people this season and the additions of Ricci and Modric to their midfield as well as Brighton’s Pervis Estupinian going forward are the main reasons why.

Milan have done smart business and while the changes haven’t quite been wholesale, there should be enough change to wipe away the memories of a mess of a season in Serie A last time out. Milan finished 8th to miss out on European football and lost the Coppa Italia final, going through two underwhelming Portuguese coaches on the way.

They actually outscored the champions but conceded far too many and this is where they’ll hope to tighten up, keeping hold of Maignan despite Chelsea’s advances will go a long way to making them happy in this respect.

Cremonese on the other hand, finished 4th in Serie B – 15 points off automatic promotion – and were promoted by beating Spezia 3-2 in the play off final. This despite being 3-0 up with ten minutes to play. Their preparation for life in Serie A was to add 12 new players this window with none of those players costing as much as €3.5m.

Most notable is Romano Mussolini on loan from Lazio. The right sided player (of course) is actually fairly highly rated but unfortunately is more well known for his family history at this moment. That shirt sales of his name have spiked is an indictment of the World we’re living in. But this isn’t a political blog, it’s a football one…

So why should you watch this game? One reason, goals. While Milan will be fairly pragmatic under Allegri, he’ll want a good start in his first competitive game and smashing a promoted side will go a long way to doing that. I fancy Cremonese to make a fair battle of staying up under Davide Nicola, but opening day won’t be where they lay down their marker. Tune in for goals, goals and more goals.

Fancy a Bet? – Milan to win and over 3.5 goals in the game is 2/1 with Coral

Game 3: Inter v Torino

A fairly fascinating affair as far as I’m concerned. History isn’t on my side with this, but hear me out (Inter have won 29/45 against Torino).

Inter are a wounded animal, their season ended disastrously losing 3-0 in the Coppa Italia semi final to Milan, losing the Scudetto at their own cost with silly mistakes against Lazio and then getting truly embarrassed in the Champions League final. They had a chance to make amends fairly quickly though in the Club World Cup – which they exited in the Round of 16 against Fluminense sparking an internal soap opera between Lautaro Martinez and Hakan Calhanoglu.

Calha stayed and everything was swept under the rug, but since then the Mercato has been a nightmare. Public pursuits of Leoni, Lookman and Kone have all so far ended in failure and despite the early additions of Sucic and Bonny looking like smart business they’ve done nothing to raise hopes in Milan. The obvious need to strengthen in defence has been largely ignored and for a third season you can easily predict their starting line up…

Torino finished 11th last season, losing 4 of their last 5 matches. Their answer? 8 new signings. Giovanni Simeone from Napoli up front looks a smart addition, as does Zakaria Aboukhlal on the wing. The Moroccan scored 7 and set up 4 in 26 Ligue 1 appearances for Toulouse last time out.

Premier League fans will be intrigued to see Cesare Casadei lining up having joined Torino from Chelsea this summer – proving he does exist and is a real player. A fairly underwhelming season last year can’t be entirely pinned on his shoulders, his loan to Leicester couldn’t have come at a worst time, since they were beyond awful.

So why watch this one? Call it professional curiosity. Chivu’s Inter didn’t overwhelm at the Club World Cup, but he’d only been in the job 9 days. He’s had a full pre-season to stamp his mark on a team who are another year older without any solid reinforcements added. Torino have refreshed a side that threatened Europe briefly before absolutely tanking last time out. I still fancy Inter to just about get through this one with three points, but it could easily be the upset of the weekend…

Fancy a Bet? – Torino or Draw Double Chance is 9/5 with Coral

20th Aug 2025
Meet Lennon Miller, the new Scot in Italy

Italy’s love affair with Scotland is showing no signs of slowing down. Graham Souness rocked up at Sampdoria in 1984 to great fanfare and since then Scots have turned up in Mediterranean Europe on the regular with Lewis Ferguson being the first in what we’d call “modern day” football. Ferguson, so admired, won the Serie A MVP in 2024 and was followed last year by another Scot, literally. McTominay was a revelation last season, shedding the weight of trauma that Manchester United brings to earn himself a Scudetto and Ballon D’Or nomination at the same time.

He did so alongside Ayshire’s own Billy Gilmour in Napoli’s midfield and at the same time last season Che Adams contributed 9 goals and Josh Doig was contributing to Sassuolo’s Serie B title. But there’s a new Scot in town, arriving in Udine on the 12th August with no groundbreaking presentations or crowds rushing to meet him at the airport.

If Lennon Miller makes his debut against Hellas Verona on matchday one, he will have only just blown out the 19 candles on his birthday cake that morning. For such a young player, his career has taken off fairly quickly – and yet you probably don’t know much about him at all…

Lennon was born on 25th August 2006 in Wishaw, Scotland, son of former Scotland striker Lee Miller, he lost his mother at a young age. He joined Motherwell’s academy at age 7 and made his senior debut aged just 16 in a Scottish League Cup match – a club record for youngest player.

In December 2022, Lennon made his first senior league appearance against Rangers and would go on to make 32 appearances in the 2023/24 season. He contributed 8 assists and 2 goals across this season. This was a season during which he suffered a fractured patella and missed three months of action. The fractured patella isn’t the only injury issue Lennon has suffered, last season he also a hairline fracture to his ankle in December 2024.

This came only a month after he became the youngest captain in Motherwell’s history in a League Cup semi final against Rangers. Motherwell took the lead in this game but would go on to lose 2-1. The same season saw Lennon step up from his regular role in Scotland’s youth system to their first team, making his National Team debut against Iceland in June 2025 as a substitute and providing an assist a few days later in his first start against Liechtenstein.

Motherwell fans we spoke to raved about Lennon’s range of passing and his vision – on and off the ball. The dead ball ability of the player and his ability in ground duels is “the best we’ve ever seen at Motherwell”. Lennon can – and has – played as a Defensive Midfielder, a Central Midfielder and an Attacking Midfielder, showing his versatility through the centre of the pitch.

Last season Lennon made the second most forward passes of any Under 19 player in Europe ahead of the likes of Jobe Bellingham, Warren Zaire-Emery and Desire Doue. He also ranked first in Europe for Under 19 players in assists, expected assists and through passes completed as well as second in long passes completed, progressive passes and shot assists.

This is a progressive player, always looking to get forward and create. This sort of aggressive, attacking play will endear him to the locals in Udine. Being accepted by the crowds will help him to settle – always the biggest issue for “Brits Abroad”. The different languages and cultures as well as the style of play often leaves Brits underwhelming in Europe. Something about this doesn’t seem to apply to the Scottish, however, and Udinese fans will hope that Lennon Miller is the next in a long line of success stories.

15th Aug 2025
Giovanni Leoni: What Can Liverpool Expect

The news broke yesterday that Liverpool were continuing their PSR approved prolific spending spree and they’d aimed their cross hairs at Parma’s teenage centre half Giovanni Leoni. The 19 year old defender has risen quickly to prominence in Italy and while the top Serie A clubs were circling like sharks, none can match Liverpool’s spending power or the pull of the Premier League and we fully expect him to end up on Merseyside.

So the big question is for Liverpool fans: who is this kid and what can we expect from him? Well look no further, we’ve got all the information required for you to sound like you know your stuff down the pub this weekend.

Giovanni Leoni

Date of birth: 21st December 2006

Height: 6ft 2in

Position: Right sided centre back, right footed

Clubs: Padova (youth), Sampdoria, Parma (current)

International: Italy U19: 7 appearances

Overview

In winter 2024, the boy from Rome was loaned from Padova to Sampdoria in Serie B with an option to buy. His coach Andrea Pirlo quickly recognised his talent there commenting that he was “Sure he’d reach Serie A, he deserves it”.

In one of the more peculiar Italian transfer quirks, he was transferred to Sampdoria where he signed a three year contract on 25th June 2024. He then moved to Parma on 27th August 2024 following their promotion to Serie A.

Parma initially struggled in Serie A but when renowned former Inter centre back Christian Chivu came to the helm, they stepped up their survival fight and Leoni was named man of the match in hard fought 1-0 over the mighty Juventus. He was also widely acclaimed during a 2-2 against Inter where he ably defended Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram.

Come this summer, Inter appointed Chivu as manager and they immediately began circling Leoni, as well as Juventus and Milan. Italian football being what it is, Parma wanted more than the three could afford, they wanted to make a deal and yet again the English Premier League has some money to throw at the deal and another young promising Italian talent appears to be heading to England. Maybe he can open an Italian restaurant with Calafiori.

Giovanni Leoni, Strengths

Leoni is cool under siege, it was his performance against Juventus that showed this. He has great concentration, his positioning is fantastic and he reads the game well, as per every single Italian defender ever.

Paolo Maldini once said, “if I need to make a tackle then I’ve already made a mistake” and Leoni embodies this. He rarely dives in, he’ll stay touch tight to his man and tracks cut-backs very well.

Leoni doesn’t turn the ball over cheaply. It’s often simple and safe distribution, he’ll help the team build through the defensive midfield and he has an average of 87.7% pass completion rate in Serie A last season.

He has a high volume of blocks and emergency actions, showing his appetite for reading danger, how he recognises situations arising and can snuff them out. He’s a typical “Italian Centre Half” in that he reads the game, snuffs out attacks and plays simply out of defence.

He has a great temperament, making his Serie B debut at 16 years of age and Serie A at 17. He remains a set piece threat with two goals from corners to his name so far.

Areas to Improve

Of course, no defender is perfect – no matter how Italian – and a teenager will obviously have areas to improve. Leoni isn’t slow by any stretch of the imagination, but at Premier League tempo he’ll be stressed by runners across his shoulder. His improvement will be required in his angles and first step acceleration.

Despite his height (over 6 foot), Leoni’s aerial win rate lags behind his peers. It isn’t a lack of willing, however, it’s his strength and timing in the air that needs work. He couldn’t wish for a better mentor than he would find at Liverpool with van Dijk.

Finally, his distribution is short and safe. His stats show very low progressive passes and carries – at Liverpool he would need to add line-breaking passes or carries to suit Liverpool’s possession game.

What can Liverpool expect?

In the short term, if the move is completed, Leoni would initially suit Liverpool as a depth or rotation centre back. There would be immediate competence in deep-block defending, set piece value and low-risk distribution. Working alongside a dominant aerial partner and a ball progressing number 6 he would learn quickly and adapt well in the Premier League.

In the medium to long term, I would expect his progression to make him one of the better defenders in England. If he can work well on his ball progression and his aerial ability in addition to his existing defensive anticipation he could be the next big Italian centre half, in the Cannavaro mould.

Summary

So there you have it, Reds fans, you’re going to be getting (it seems) a very able and promising centre back. He’s capable and still has room to improve in his game. Italians don’t always settle in the UK, they find it tough, so that mental aspect will be interesting to see. It looks on the face of it that he would be resilient enough to cope, given he made his professional debut at 16 and his Serie A debut at 17.

You can never predict the future, but Leoni certainly has a bright future in the game, hopefully he can succeed in England.

13th Aug 2025