⚽️🇮🇹 Which Serie A star is releasing an album?
In this week’s Italian soccer digest, we're looking at Atalanta and Lazio's terrific domestic form, we're enjoying Juve's big European triumph, and much more!
🔝 Atalanta leads Serie A standings with record-breaking start to season
After their win over Milan last Friday, Atalanta sits at the summit of the table. With 34 points after 15 games, La Dea is enjoying its best-ever start to a Serie A campaign.
⚽️ Ademola Lookman scored the winner against Milan for his eighth goal of the season, but the opener was converted by former Rossoneri star Charles De Ketelaere. Per Opta Paolo, the Belgian’s goal against his former side makes him one of just three players with 15+ goals and assists in the calendar year of 2024 (along with Mo Salah and Cole Palmer).
🗣️ At the final whistle, home fans at the Gewiss Stadium sang: “We’re going to win the league!” Coach Gian Piero Gasperini responded: "We've never been top of the table after 15 games, so let them sing!"
👏 For his incredible efforts, Gasp was named Philadelphia Coach of the Month for November.
9️⃣ The Milan victory marked Atalanta’s ninth win in a row, equaling a club record set in 2020. That streak ended on Tuesday night at the hands of reigning European champions Real Madrid.
🙋♂️ Want to know how Atalanta got their Dea nickname? Keep reading to check out our latest Calcio Conversations….
🦅 Lazio fly high after win in Naples
It’s shaping up to be a season to remember for Lazio, who helped dethrone Napoli from Serie A’s top spot on Sunday with an impressive 1-0 road win.
🦅 Sunday’s victory, settled by Gustav Isaksen’s curling effort, was actually Lazio’s second win over Napoli in a week: the Roman side eliminated Antonio Conte’s team from the Coppa Italia last Thursday, with Tijjani Noslin scoring his first career hattrick in the 3-1 win.
3️⃣ This marks the first time Lazio has ever won three consecutive Serie A games away to Napoli.
🗣️ “We are doing well, we know that, but we must not lose our humility or spirit of sacrifice,” said Lazio coach Marco Baroni. “There is a very long way to go.”
⏭️ The Biancocelesti have a pair of tough games ahead: they head to Amsterdam to take on Dutch giants Ajax in the Europa League today (3pm, CBS Sports) before a showdown with reigning champions Inter on Monday (2.45pm ET, CBS Sports and FOX Deportes).
👉 Inter is unbeaten in its last four meetings against Lazio (W3, D1), with the most recent meeting at the San Siro in May ending in a 1-1 draw that preceded the home side’s scudetto celebrations.
❤️ Edoardo Bove’s recovery continues after successful surgery
Fiorentina confirmed midfielder Edoardo Bove has successfully undergone surgery to have an internal defibrillator fitted, following his collapse on the field on December 1st.
👉 Per ESPN reporting, the 22-year-old has had an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) fitted. It’s a type of pacemaker that can prevent fatal cardiac arrest by delivering a shock to restore a normal heart rhythm.
👉 The device can eventually be removed, which would allow Bove to resume play in Serie A.
💪 Fiorentina is in incredible form on the field, notching a historic eighth consecutive win on Sunday via a 1-0 home victory over Cagliari. It’s La Viola’s longest winning streak since 1960.
🥹 After scoring the winner against Cagliari, Danilo Cataldi held up four fingers in tribute to Bove’s squad number. The midfielder says he texted Bove on the morning of the game to say he would score and shouted, “I told you!” at the camera at the pivotal moment!
👏 Moise Kean won The EA SPORTS FC Player of the Month award for November after bagging five league goals. Keep reading to learn how the forward will be on your next Spotify playlist….
🤯 ICYMI: Venezia’s Gaetano Oristanio scores an Olimpico!
Venezia picked up a crucial point on Sunday when dead ball specialist Gaetano Oristanio scored directly from a corner against visitors Como!
👉 Venezia remain bottom of the table after the draw, with Como sitting outside the drop zone in 17th place, by virtue of goal difference.
😰 Just four points separate the bottom five teams. Lecce v Monza (6.30am ET) and Parma v Verona (9am ET) on Sunday could have big repercussions in the survival battle.
🇺🇸 Christian Pulisic documentary debuts on Paramount+
USMNT star Christian Pulisic, who saw his brand-new documentary debut on Paramont+ this week.
🍿 Pulisic, the new Paramount+ original docuseries, provides unprecedented access to Pulisic’s life and growing celebrity in Italy as he competes in Serie A and the Champions League. Episodes two and three of the series will premiere in January.
🗣️ One of the themes of the first episode is the perceived bias against American players in Europe. “If it comes down to me or [a non-American player] and it’s a 50/50 for the call from the coach who’s going to play, or something like that, I think it exists.”
🤕 The 26-year-old, who has logged five goals and five assists in Serie A this season, will reportedly face a few weeks on the sidelines after tearing a muscle in his right calf. He may return to action for January’s Supercoppa Italiana in Saudi Arabia, according to reports.
🙌 Juventus triumphs over Manchester City with American super subs Weah and McKennie
Juventus handed perennial English champions a 2-0 loss when they came to Turin on Tuesday, with American Tim Weah assisting his countryman Weston McKennie for the acrobatic second goal.
🗣️ "The whole team played an excellent match. We prepared well and did everything that we had to do,” said Dušan Vlahović, who scored Juve’s opener.
👍 Going into 2025, Juve sits comfortably in the Champions League playoff spots, with three wins and a draw from their six outings.
👉 Elsewhere on Tuesday, Atalanta suffered their aforementioned defeat to Real Madrid, while Inter were defeated 1-0 at reigning German champions Bayer Leverkusen.
👀 On Wednesday, Milan recorded a 2-1 victory over Red Star for their fourth win of the Champions League campaign, while Bologna earned their second Champions League point of the season with a tie at Benfica.
⏭️ Today in the Europa League, Roma are hosting Braga (12.45pm ET, CBS Sports) and Lazio head to Ajax (3pm ET, CBS Sports), while Fiorentina hosts Austrian side LASK in the Europa Conference League.
💬 Calcio Conversations
With Atalanta fans feeling like they are in heaven at the moment, now seems as good a time as any to explain how they got their divine nickname.
🤷♂️ What is it? Atalanta are known as La Dea, meaning ‘The Goddess.’ That’s because, as our Greek mythology-loving readers will know, the club is named after the Goddess Atalanta, a courageous huntress renowned for her speed who is depicted on the club’s crest.
😲 Do they have any other nicknames? You might also hear the Bergamo-based club being referred to as Bergamaschi after their home city, the Nerazzurri (Black and Blues) after their shirt colors, or the stranger Orobici or ‘Orobics,’ a reference to a tribe of that name that once inhabited the region.
🇺🇸 Inter and Juventus learn their FIFA Club World Cup fate
Next summer, the biggest domestic soccer clubs in the world will be in the United States to compete in the brand-new 32-team FIFA Club World Cup.
🇮🇹 Serie A’s two representatives, Inter and Juventus, were both in Pot Two for the draw, which took place in Miami last week.
💫 In one of the standout ties of the group stage, Juventus will play (recently defeated foes) Manchester City at Camping World Stadium, Orlando.
😮 The Turin side will also face Al Ain of Abu Dhabi at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, and Wydad from Morocco at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia.
😲 In another of the biggest group stage draws, Inter will face Argentine giants River Plate at Lumen Field, Seattle.
👍 They will also play Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds in Seattle and Mexican side Monterrey at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles.
👉 The tournament will be played across 12 U.S. stadiums next June and July, in a similar group-stage-and-knockout-rounds format to the World Cup.
🎤 Moise Kean drops an album!
Fiorentina striker Moise Kean has nine Serie A goals to his name already this season, and is ready to prove that he is just as capable with a microphone as he is with a ball.
🎶 The 24-year-old, who has hinted at his musical prowess in the past, announced that he will drop an eleven-track album this coming Monday. It’s called Chosen.
👟 Kean showed us his musical icons this past weekend, when he sported images of Bob Marley and Tupac on his cleats.
📺 This weekend on CBS Sports, Paramount+, FOX Deportes, and SiriusXM
Friday, December 13th
Empoli v Torino (2.45pm ET)
Saturday, December 14th
Cagliari v Atalanta (9am ET)
Udinese v Napoli (12pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Juventus v Venezia (2.45pm ET, also on Sirius XM FC)
Sunday, December 15th
Lecce v Monza (6.30am ET)
Bologna v Fiorentina (9am ET)
Parma v Verona (9am ET)
Como v Roma (12pm ET)
Milan v Genoa (2.45pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Monday, December 16th
Lazio v Inter (2.45pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
🇨🇦 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!
Please share Calcio Weekly with your friends - and send us any feedback at calcioweekly@legaseriea.it.
Ciao ciao!