| In the match of leaders, Shevchenko did not reach a hundred Eight rounds were played in the Italian football championship. Quite a short distance, not even a quarter of the way has been covered. Nevertheless, some conclusions can be drawn. And the first of them: two clubs are vying for the Scudetto - a small brooch, a symbol of champion power. The most titled participants in Serie A are Juventus from Turin, which has 27 championship victories, and Milan, which has 16 of the mentioned jewelry items in its museum.
On Saturday, the favorites played each other at Milan's San Siro stadium. Both the Rossoneri and the Old Lady came to this match with an equal number of points, and therefore this meeting could reveal the sole leader. Don't forget that the Milan-Juventus match is a kind of remake of the last Champions League final, in which the Milanese celebrated success. The protagonist of that memorable match at Old Trafford, Andriy Shevchenko, is having a wonderful season, leading the list of snipers. Sheva, as the Ukrainian forward is commonly called, scored 99 goals for Milan and, naturally, wanted to reach the height of one hundred goals in the match against Juventus itself. At the same time, the Turin team was thirsty for revenge, especially their leader and contender for the 2003 Ballon d'Or, Pavel Nedved. The Czech midfielder is still kicking himself for the yellow card that kept him out of the Champions League final.
The meeting, tense and nervous, ended in a draw - 1:1. No one managed to achieve what they wanted. The Milanese were still closer to success; Jon Dahl Thomason's goal remained the only one for quite some time, but a magnificent strike from Turin's Marco Di Vaio restored the balance. Shevchenko scored his goal, but from an offside position. The anniversary will have to wait. And the dual power continues. However, the draw at the San Siro brought some dividends for the defending champions, who are playing the second round match at the Delle Alpi home arena.
Will anyone intervene in the dispute between the two titans? It’s unlikely, although neither the capital clubs Roma and Lazio, nor Parma announced the cancellation of their plans for the championship. Roma, led by the famous Fabio Capello, and Lazio, led by one of the most promising coaches in Italy, Roberto Mancini, are playing simply great. But the Romans’ squads are still weaker than those of Juventus and Milan, and the financial problems of their neighbors are no secret. Most likely, the capital's football players will fight for four tickets to the Champions League.
Parma deserves kind words, currently occupying fourth place, just between Roma and Lazio. This is a unique team after all. Not having a lot of money, annually paying tribute to the powers that be with the best players, Parma shows a very worthy, beautiful and, most importantly, effective game. All Parmesan players deserve praise this season, but the young but experienced goalkeeper Sebastian Frei and Brazilian forward Adriano must be highlighted. Already ready-made stars, following in the footsteps of famous predecessors - Buffon, Thuram, Di Vaio, Mutsu. But will they leave after the mentioned players? In the meantime, the Parma fairy tale continues.
What about Inter, Lokomotiv Moscow's Champions League rival? He doesn’t have a squad, but a squad (though he’s missing a player named Playmaker), but there are no problems with money. Apparently, for the umpteenth time, the “blue-blacks” will have to put aside their dreams of the treasured brooch. An extremely unconvincing start, a timid and sometimes stupid game - all this forced the owner and president of the club, Massimo Moratti, to dismiss the Argentinean Hector Cooper. Alberto Zaccheroni, who replaced him, needs time to lubricate the rusted parts of the car with oil and start them up. We are no longer talking about the Scudetto, the gap from the leaders is already seven points, but the Milanese will still compete for a ticket to the Champions League. In the last round, Internazionale looked quite decent, defeating Chievo, a traditionally inconvenient opponent, in Verona - 2:0.
The Italian Championship opens up new names every year. This season has already given us many discoveries. And if the excellent performance of the young Brazilian Kaka for Milan was not a revelation (that’s why they acquired the world champion), then who could have expected such a good performance from Andrea Caracciolo from Brescia or Dino Fava Passaro, who came to Udinise from the series “ IN". Englishman Jay Bothroyd, written off by Arsenal for being unpromising, unexpectedly blossomed in Perugia, refuting the stereotype that the British have no place in the Apennines. And how did Mancini manage to revive the remarkable talent of Simone Inzaghi, the main character in the Lazio attack? And this is only after eight rounds. About how many wonderful discoveries the remaining 26 will prepare for us.
And Juventus will be the champion. Or Milan.
Series "A" I V N P M O | 1. Milan | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 16--4 | 20 | | 2. Juventus | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 19--8 | 20 | | 3. Roma | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 16--3 | 18 | | 4. Parma | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 16--9 | 17 | | 5. Lazio | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 15--10 | 16 | | 6. Inter | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8--5 | 13 | | 7. Modena | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9--7 | 13 | | 8. Udinese | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11--9 | 11 | | 9. Chievo | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10--9 | 11 | | 10. "Siena" | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 10--7 | 10 | | 11. Sampdoria | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7--10 | 9 | | 12. "Regina" | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 9--12 | 8 | | 13. Brescia | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 14--20 | 6 | | 14. "Lecce" | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9--19 | 6 | | 15. "Bologna" | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9--13 | 5 | | 16. "Perugia" | 8 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 9--16 | 5 | | 17. "Ancona" | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 4--15 | 3 | | 18. "Empoli" | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5--20 | 2 |
Oleg TIMOFEEV
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