⚽️🇮🇹 USMNT stars face off as Milan hosts Juventus + win a copy of FC25!
In this week’s Italian soccer digest, we're also looking at the Derby del Sole, Genoa's new coach, and much more!
🇺🇸 Milan’s battle with Juventus is the Derby d’America!
On Saturday, Milan will take on Juventus in a high-stakes match with a distinctly American flavor: USMNT stars Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, and Tim Weah should all be available for selection.
🗞️ This week, La Gazzetta dello Sport referred to the game as a ‘Sfida a stelle e strice’ (“Stars and Stripes battle”), highlighting the strong American influences on the field. Hence, we at Calcio Weekly like to refer to this fixture as the Derby d’America!
🇺🇸 Milan stars Pulisic and Musah, and their Juve counterparts McKennie and Weah, all started in the USMNT’s 4-2 victory over Jamaica on Monday, with coach Mauricio Pochettino praising the overall performance.
🤝 All four players had goal involvements: McKennie assisted Pulisic’s opener, while Musah set up Weah for the fourth of the evening.
👉 Juve go into the game in the sixth spot, with Milan one place (but six points) behind in seventh.
😮 Three of the last five league meetings between Milan and Juve have finished in a draw, while the visitor won both fixtures played in 2023.
📺 You can watch the Derby d’America at 12pm on Saturday on CBS Sports or FOX Deportes.
🗽 Or, you can watch it with us at Classic Football Shirts NY and potentially win a signed jersey! Keep reading for more info, including how you can win a copy of EA SPORTS FC™ 25…
👋 Claudio Ranieri to light up the Derby del Sole
The Derby d’America isn’t the only huge matchup this weekend: Napoli host Roma in the Derby del Sole on Sunday (12pm, CBS Sports and FOX Deportes), which will see Claudio Ranieri returning to the sidelines for the Giallorossi.
👨🎨 As you can see, Ranieri has been immortalized in mural form in Rome’s Testaccio district after taking the reins at the club for the third time last week.
🗣️ The Rome-born coach announced his retirement from club management at the end of last season, after securing safety for Cagliari. He has revealed that his new appointment was fate:
“In the last few months since I retired from coaching, I’ve received more offers than when I won the league with Leicester. I told someone: ‘There are only two cases in which I can return to coaching – for Roma or for Cagliari.’ Fate wanted me to come back home.”
🥳 Suffice it to say, that Raneiri’s return has been met with enthusiasm in the Eternal City.
👉Ranieri’s comeback match is a daunting one, with opponents Napoli sitting at the top of the table. The Giallorossi sit in 12th place in the Serie A standings after winning just three of their 12 league games.
😲 The most recent edition of the Derby del Sole was a thrilling 2-2 draw in Naples back in April.
🤔 Why is the match called the Derby del Sole? The two teams are considered the most popular outside of northern Italy, and the name that means ‘Derby of the Sun’ represents their sunny Mediterranean climates. The southerly cities are also tied by their respective rich histories, which have shaped Italian culture for centuries.
🆕 Patrick Vieira appointed head coach at Genoa
Serie A welcomed another legend back into the fold on Wednesday when Patrick Vieira was unveiled as Genoa’s new mister.
👉 The Frenchman succeeds ex-Italy striker Alberto Gilardino, who was relieved of his coaching duties on Tuesday.
📉 Genoa notched four points in the two games preceding the international break, but they currently sit in 17th position, one point above the relegation zone.
🙌 Vieira returns to Italy, where he commanded the midfield of both Milan sides, winning four consecutive scudetti and a famous treble with Inter.
👍 The French World Cup winner has previously held senior coaching roles in France with Strasbourg and Nice, and in England with Crystal Palace.
😲 The 48-year-old will be familiar with Genoa striker Mario Balotelli: they were teammates at Manchester City, and Vieira coached the striker at Nice.
Up next for Genoa 👉 Il Grifone host Cagliari on Sunday (6.30am ET, CBS Sports). The visitors are winless in their last four outings and sit above Genoa only on goal difference.
🇮🇹 Italy advances to UEFA Nations League quarterfinals
The Italy National Team booked a win in Belgium and a home defeat to France to round out the UEFA Nations League group stage with a quarterfinal berth.
🙌 Sunday’s loss to France at the San Siro denied the Azzurri the top spot in League A Group 2 by virtue of goal difference, but Luciano Spalletti’s side comfortably qualified for the final eight.
⚽️ No UEFA Nations League A team scored more than Italy (13 goals), but Spalletti will need to address set pieces at the other end: per IFTV, seven of the eight goals Italy have conceded in this Nations League season have come from dead ball situations.
👉 The quarterfinal draw takes place early on Friday, with Italy due to face the winner of one of the other three groups: Germany, Spain, or Portugal.
🌎 The result also means Italy will enjoy top-seed status at the 2026 World Cup qualification draw, which is taking place on Friday, December 13th, in Zurich.
⚽️ Exclusive interview: CBS Sports star and IFTV Founder Marco Messina
If you’ve watched CBS Sports’ Serie A coverage, you’ll be a fan of on-air analyst Marco Messina, who sat down with us this week for an exclusive interview!
👉 Brooklyn-born Marco talks about his formative years watching Serie A, his favorite stadiums to visit, and much more. “I was five years old, and I remember my dad waking me up, bringing me downstairs, pulling the chair in the living room right in front of the TV, and being like, ‘This is what we do on Sundays’.”
📲 The CBS Sports analyst also discusses the formation and growth of IFTV, which he started during class in high school! “It sounds really bad - tweeting about Serie A in English class! But I quickly became more focused on that than I did on school.”
🗣️ Marco reveals that one of his favorite things about Serie A is the parity: “Anyone can beat anyone in Serie A across the league. I really feel like every single week, I see a match that's an upset. Every single week, I see a team that shouldn't be beating a team or shouldn't be grabbing points from a team, yet they do.
👏 Ademola Lookman nominated for African Footballer of the Year
Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman has been in sensational form since arriving in Bergamo in 2022 and has deservedly earned a nomination for African Footballer of the Year.
🎥 The 27-year-old was revealed on the five-man shortlist for the coveted prize awarded by Africa’s governing body CAF on Monday.
The other candidates are Simon Adingra (Brighton), Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund), Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain), and Ronwen Williams (Mamelodi Sundowns).
Lookman proved to be instrumental in Atalanta’s Europa League victory last season, scoring a hat-trick in the final against reigning German champions Bayer Leverkusen.
The wide forward scored 17 goals and 10 assists across all competitions last season, during which La Dea also reached the Coppa Italia final.
Lookman also finished 14th in last month’s Ballon d’Or awards.
The African Footballer of the Year prize will be awarded in Morocco on December 16th.
💬 Calcio Conversations
We have seen several coaching changes across Serie A this season, so now seems a fitting moment to explain one of Italian soccer’s most vivid phrases - what does it mean when a coach is called a traghettatore?
🤷♂️ What does it mean? Traghettatore is the Italian word for ‘ferryman’, and in the context of soccer, it is the term given to a coach who leads a club on a short-term basis to the end of a season, usually after their predecessor has been fired and before a long-term replacement is found. They are, therefore, ‘ferrying’ the team through the campaign.
🤔 Is it always short-term? A traghettatore is tasked with completing a season on a short-term basis, but if they perform well, there is nothing to stop them from getting the job permanently. For example, Inter’s Scudetto-winning coach Simone Inzaghi is now considered among Europe’s best coaches, but his first opportunity came as Lazio’s traghettatore for two months in 2016. He was eventually installed as permanent manager for the following season, and the rest is history.
🗽 Win a signed Pulisic shirt at Classic Football Shirts in NYC!
As noted above, we’ll be watching the Derby d’America and Parma vs Atalanta this Saturday at Classic Football Shirts’ store in New York City (323 Canal St). If you’re in the city, come and join us!
👕 In addition to perusing Serie A jerseys past and present, all attendees will have the opportunity to win some very special items: we’ll be raffling jerseys signed by Milan stars Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah, Juventus’ Weston McKennie and Tim Weah, and Parma’s Woyo Coulibaly and Adrián Bernabé.
🇮🇹 At the party, which we’re calling ‘Serie A Day: The Fashion of Calcio’, we’ll also have EA SPORTS FC™ 25 set up, Italian food and drink, and special deals on new and current kits.
👋 Plus, you can meet the Calcio Weekly team! Come and say hi!
🎮 Win a copy of EA SPORTS FC™ 25!
To celebrate our event in New York, we have copies of EA SPORTS FC™ 25 to give to three lucky Calcio Weekly readers!
💫 For a chance to win, simply email us at calcioweekly@legaseriea.it with the name of your favorite Serie A player! We’ll draw three lucky winners and announce them in next week’s newsletter!
👉 As a special offer for our readers, you can buy FC25 now at 50% off for a limited time.
🤯 Social Post of the Week: Zlatan still has it
During his highly celebrated playing career, which included no fewer than five scudetti wins, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored more than his fair share of outrageous acrobatic goals.
😱 The talismanic Swede, who now works at Milan as a senior advisor and operating partner, is clearly still finding unique ways to put the ball in the back of the net.
📺 Tonight and this weekend on CBS Sports, Paramount+, FOX Deportes, and SiriusXM
Saturday, November 23rd
Verona v Inter (9am ET)
Milan v Juventus (12pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Parma v Atalanta (2.45pm ET, also on SiriusXM FC and FOX Deportes)
Sunday, November 24th
Genoa v Cagliari (6.30am ET)
Como v Fiorentina (9am ET)
Torino v Monza (9am ET)
Napoli v Roma (12pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Lazio v Bologna (2.45pm ET)
Monday, November 25th
Empoli v Udinese (12.30pm ET)
Venezia v Lecce (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 🇺🇸
👋 Grazie e arrivederci!
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