⚽️🇮🇹 Romelu Lukaku's goalscoring milestone
In this week’s Italian soccer digest, we're looking at the latest edition of the Derby della Madonnina, we're putting a spotlight on Bologna's in-form winger, and much more!
👋 Join us in Miami for ‘The Fashion of Calcio’!
Calcio Weekly readers in South Florida and beyond are welcome to join us at the Classic Football Shirts store in Miami for ‘The Fashion of Calcio’ - a Serie A watch party with some very special game-worn jerseys and giveaways!
⚽️ The event, which begins at 11.30 ET, will feature a watch party for Parma’s clash with Inter (more on that shortly), plus complimentary authentic Italian food from local suppliers.
👕 In addition to an exhibition of some of the most iconic game-worn Serie A jerseys in history from the Classic Football Shirts vault, there will be giveaways of signed Serie A shirts throughout the event. (Hint: wear a Serie A jersey of your own to the store to increase your chances of winning!)
👍 Attendees will get 20% off all new and vintage Serie A jerseys.
✉️ RSVP for the event here. See you there!
🍿 The race for the top four intensifies this weekend!
The battle for a top-four finish comes into focus on matchday 31, as Roma hosts Juventus (Sunday, 2.45pm ET, CBS Sports, FOX Deportes, and SiriusXM FC), Lazio travel to Atalanta (Sunday, 12pm ET, CBS Sports, and FOX Deportes) and Milan welcomes Fiorentina (Saturday, 2.45pm ET, CBS Sports).
👀 Juventus sits in fifth, a single point outside of top-four contention, with Roma on their heels, three points behind in sixth place.
🗣️ Igor Tudor made a winning start to life as Juve coach, with a 1-0 win over Genoa last weekend. “It was important to start with a victory, for everyone. Many players had a good game. This is positive,” said Tudor.
🐺 Roma, meanwhile, won its seventh league game in a row last week with a 1-0 victory over Lecce. When Claudio Ranieri took over after matchday 13, the Giallorossi were in 12th place - and now they stand on the precipice of Champions League qualification.
🟣 Fiorentina sits five points shy of the top four, after defeating third-place Atalanta last weekend. La Viola are in eighth, and will be gunning for European contention alongside this weekend’s opponents, Milan, who sit in ninth.
🦅 Lazio is also within reach of the top four and faces a tough task at Atalanta this weekend. When the teams last met in December in Rome, the match finished honors even.
📺 Parma’s battle with Inter will be shown on free-to-air CBS Network Television
If you’re not in Miami this Saturday for our event with Classic Football Shirts, you can see Inter’s trip to Parma on free-to-air network television at 12pm ET - marking another huge moment for Italian soccer broadcasting in North America.
🍿 In a bout between two American-owned teams, Inter can consolidate their lead at the top of the table, while the hosts can create more distance between themselves and the drop zone.
👍 This is the second consecutive weekend in which a Serie A game will be shown on US network television (after Juve’s win over Genoa on Saturday), and the fourth time in history.
👉 Serie A has made significant strides in increasing its visibility and access in North America this season, via broadcasts on CBS, FOX Deportes and SiriusXM. The league delivered over 1,000 hours of programming in the U.S. over the first half of this season alone.
🏆 Milan and Inter’s Coppa Italia semifinal battle remains delicately poised
The latest edition of the Derby della Madonnina on Wednesday evening saw Milan tie 1-1 with city rivals Inter in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals.
🔥 Tammy Abraham, who made a superb headed clearance early in the game, opened the scoring for Milan, for his eighth goal in all competitions on the season.
🚀 Former Rossoneri midfielder Hakan Çalhanoğlu almost got on the scoresheet with an outrageous long-range free kick, before eventually leveling proceedings with a first-time rocket.
🗓️ The tie will be settled in the second leg, which takes place on April 23rd. Before then, Inter will face German giants Bayern Munich twice in the Champions League.
🥊 Milan and Inter have already faced each other three times this season: twice in the league and in the Supercoppa Italiana Final, in which Milan picked up the trophy in dramatic fashion.
🇪🇺 The Coppa Italia may represent Milan’s best opportunity to return to European competition next season, as the winner earns a Europa League spot.
👉 Inter has won the Coppa Italia nine times, most recently in 2023. Milan is seeking its sixth Coppa Italia title and its first since 2003.
👀 The winner of this fixture will likely face Bologna in the final at the Stadio Olimpico - more on that below.
🏟️ Future editions of the Derby della Madonnina may take place at a brand-new shared stadium - more on that below, too!
📹 Riccardo Orsolini’s incredible form continues as Bologna near Coppa Italia Final
Bologna took a big step towards its first Coppa Italia Final since 1974 with a 3-0 win over Empoli in Tuesday’s first leg. Once again, Riccardo Orsolini was on the scoresheet.
🏟️ Orsolini scored the opener against Empoli, after netting the winner at Venezia last weekend and a goal in the rout over Lazio before the international break. The 28-year-old winger has scored in his last three matches, bringing his season tally to 13 goals in all competitions.
Italy coach Luciano Spalletti was in attendance for the Coppa Italia win. The Guardian’s Nicky Bandini is among those speculating that the prolific winger could be welcomed back into the national team fold.
Bologna has now won its last six matches in all competitions and is in the driver’s seat when the Coppa Italia semifinal second leg comes to Bologna on April 24th.
🥳 Romelu Lukaku hits huge career goal milestone
During Napoli’s win over Milan on Sunday, Romelu Lukaku scored what proved to be the winning goal that kept his club’s title hopes alive. It was also the 400th of his career for club and country.
👏 The 31-year-old Belgian has now scored 312 club goals, with a further 88 for his national team.
🗣️ Lukaku recognized the milestone but is focused on the task at hand: "400 goals is a lot, [but this] win was very important. We prepared for the match in one way, but this morning, the coach changed the plans. We suffered a little too much in the second half, but we got the win, and that’s good. Ours was a good response. We have to fight until the end.”
🔝 Napoli may have the opportunity to draw even on 67 points with Inter at the summit of Serie A, with a win at Bologna on Monday (2.45pm ET, CBS Sports).
😲 Did you know? If Napoli and Inter finish the season on the same number of points, the tiebreaker isn’t goal differential or head-to-head: it will be a single-leg playoff match between the two sides!
🧐 Who will survive the relegation battle?
It’s not just the top of the table where there’s plenty of action this weekend: there are several key survival battles taking place.
👉 17th-place Lecce hosts 19th-place Venezia on Sunday (6.30am ET, CBS Sports), in a match that could be crucial to the relegation race.
💫 A win for Gianluca Busio’s Venezia could see them leapfrog Empoli into 18th spot. The Venetians are winless in their last 14 games.
😮 Lecce has the opportunity to put a greater distance between themselves and the drop than their current two-point cushion, but have lost their last five games.
🤞 Empoli, meanwhile, may have the opportunity to escape the relegation zone if they can register a victory over 15th-place Cagliari (Sunday, 9am ET, CBS Sports).
💪 Cagliari is not yet safe, but turned their fortunes around with a huge 3-0 win over Monza on Saturday. Clearly, their beach training session last week was a success.
💬 Calcio Conversations
Sunday’s crucial relegation battle between two sides from opposite ends of the peninsula, Lecce and Venezia (6.30am ET, CBS Sports), also marks a meeting of two of the most evocatively nicknamed teams in Serie A.
🤷♂️ What is Venezia known as? It has a few nicknames. The leoni alati (Winged Lions) is a nod to the historic symbol of the city, the lagunari (Lagooners) highlights a unique location, and arancioneroverdi (Orange, Black, and Greens) represents its iconic kit colors!
🧐 What about Lecce? The side from Puglia is known as the Salentini, as they represent the capital of Salento, the southernmost region on the heel of the Italian boot. They are also called the Giallorossi (Yellow and Reds) for their colorful striped shirts, and sometimes the Lupi (Wolves) after the animal that features on their crest.
🫡 Become a Calcio Weekly Capitano and win a Serie A jersey!
We’re looking for some help in spreading the word about calcio in North America.
Share this newsletter with 15 friends using the button above, and we’ll send you a new Serie A jersey of your choice!
🏟️ San Siro redevelopment plans could see new stadium by 2030
The fate of the aforementioned Giuseppe Meazza Stadium - also known as San Siro - has been frequently discussed over the years, with both Inter and Milan investigating the possibility of moving away from the site. Now, Inter President Beppe Marotta suggests a new shared stadium could be ready by 2030.
🆕 The proposal would see a shared stadium built in the existing parking lot of San Siro, in place of the current structure.
🗣️ “Circa 15 days ago, we and Milan presented our offer to purchase San Siro and the areas around it from the local authorities, so now there will be a public tender to see if others are also interested in the project,” said Marotta.
👉 Marotta explained that current timescales could see the new stadium inaugurated in 2030. “We have to think about the future now, and that means a modern stadium,” he said, in reference to the emotional attachment many fans have to the iconic existing structure.
🇺🇸 McKennie: “I am happy, the team is happy, and we are ready.”
Weston McKennie has shown incredible positional versatility during his time at Juventus, and started as a wing-back in Igor Tudor’s new-look 3-4-2-1 formation.
🔥 The USMNT star noted that Tudor has brought a new lease of life to the Bianconeri: “Tudor brought experience, because he knows full well what Juventus is like as a club, because he played here, and was also assistant manager under Pirlo.”
💫 McKennie has notched five goals and three assists in all competitions for Juve this season, and notes that the team is in a good place: “I am happy, the team is happy, and we are ready.”
📺 This weekend on CBS Sports, Paramount+, FOX Deportes, and SiriusXM
Friday, April 4th
Genoa v Udinese (2.45pm ET)
Saturday, April 5th
Monza v Como (9am ET)
Parma v Inter (12pm ET, CBS Television Network and FOX Deportes)
Milan v Fiorentina (2.45pm ET)
Sunday, April 6th
Lecce v Venezia (6.30am ET)
Empoli v Cagliari (9am ET)
Torino v Verona (9am ET)
Atalanta v Lazio (12pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Roma v Juventus (2.45pm ET, also on FOX Deportes and SiriusXM FC)
Monday, April 7th
Bologna v Napoli (2.45pm ET)
🇨🇦 Watch ALL Serie A games live on Fubo and select games with Italian-language commentary on TLN 🇨🇦
🇺🇸 Watch select games with Spanish-language commentary on FOX Deportes and English-language commentary on SiriusXM 🇺🇸
👏 Thank you for supporting Calcio Weekly!
If you like this newsletter, you may also enjoy the great work of our friends at Total Italian Football, who bring you daily calcio content, podcasts from Serie A stadiums, Women’s Serie A coverage, and much more.
We’d also like to spotlight Destination Calcio, an essential hub for English-language Serie A news and exclusives, which is now streaming live Serie B games, too.
Please share Calcio Weekly - there’s a Serie A jersey in it for you if you share with 15 friends - and send us any feedback at calcioweekly@legaseriea.it.
Ciao ciao!