⚽️🇮🇹 Who will triumph in the Derby della Capitale?
In this week’s Italian soccer digest, we're looking at Inter's European triumph, we're proposing an incredible Goal of the Month contender, and much more!
🍿 Lazio and Roma battle with Europe on the line
The latest installment of the Rome Derby - this Sunday at 2.45pm ET (CBS Sports and SiriusXM FC) - comes at a truly decisive moment for Lazio and Roma, both of whom sit on the precipice of European qualification for next season.
🐺 Roma sits in seventh spot and is unbeaten in 15 games - they haven’t lost a league match in 2025. It’s been nine years since they enjoyed such a successful streak in the league.
🦅 Lazio sits two points above their Rome rivals in sixth spot after securing an impressive win at high-flying Atalanta last weekend.
👉 Reminder: a sixth-place finish qualifies for the Europa Conference League, fifth place earns a Europa League spot, and the top four qualify for the Champions League. All competitions are in play for both teams.
🗣️ “The Derby is the most special game of the year for our fans. It will be 50-50, but we can’t wait to get on the pitch,” said Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar about the delicately poised matchup.
👉 Roma won the last two editions of the Derby della Capitale - but they haven’t won this fixture in the league as the designated ‘away’ team since December 2016. (Lazio is the ‘home’ team on Sunday)
🇪🇺 Before the Derby, Lazio has the important matter of a Europa League quarterfinal first leg at Bodø / Glimt, which kicked off at 12.45pm ET today (CBS Sports).
🙏 This will likely be the final Derby della Capitale for legendary German defender Mats Hummels, who announced he will be retiring at the end of the season.
🙌 Inter keep the Italian flag flying in Europe with win at Bayern Munich
Inter secured an incredible victory on the road in Bavaria on Tuesday, giving them a 2-1 advantage going into the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal with Bayern Munich.
👏 Lautaro Martínez was at his magnificent best and opened the scoring with the outside of his right cleat, for his seventh goal in the competition this season.
🫡 The finish was as stunning as the incredible flicked assist from Marcus Thuram.
💪 After veteran sub Thomas Müller equalized, Davide Frattesi ensured the Nerazzurri would return to Milan with the advantage.
😲 In an uncanny display of symmetry, Fratessi’s 88th-minute winner came in the exact same minute as Goran Pandev’s winner against Bayern in 2010-11.
🥺 Our friends at CBS noted that Fratessi dedicated the goal to his late grandmother.
👉 This fixture, of course, was also a replay of the 2010 Champions League Final, which Jose Mourinho’s Inter won to complete a historic treble.
Up next for Inter 👉 The league leaders host Cagliari on Saturday (12pm ET, CBS Sports and FOX Deportes) before Bayern Munich come to San Siro for the second leg on Wednesday (3pm ET, CBS Sports).
🟣 Can Moise Kean continue his scoring streak?
Fiorentina striker Moise Kean is currently one of the most prolific forwards in Europe and will be looking to score in his third consecutive league match on Sunday, when La Viola hosts Parma (9am ET, CBS Sports).
👏 The 25-year-old forward has now scored 22 goals across all competitions. He is the first Fiorentina player to score that many in a single season since Alberto Gilardino in 2008-09.
👉 Gazzetta dello Sport noted that Kean has matched his goal-scoring tally across five seasons with Juventus in a single campaign in Florence.
😄 Kean has 17 league goals so far in this campaign - only Mateo Retegui is ahead of him in the capocannoniere race with 22.
🇪🇺 Kean and Fiorentina host Parma this weekend but are in Slovenia today to take on Celje in their Europa Conference League quarterfinal first leg (3pm ET, CBS Sports). La Viola has reached the final of the competition in the last two seasons.
🔥 ICYMI: Bologna’s Dan Ndoye scores a sensational backheel goal!
Bologna earned a point against title-chasing Napoli on Monday, which may prove crucial in their quest for Champions League soccer next season. The equalizer came courtesy of an exquisite backheeled finish from Dan Ndoye.
🎯 The Swiss forward has now notched eight Serie A goals in this campaign.
🏆 This goal is a strong contender for Goal of the Month in April - the March edition of the award was deservedly handed to Verona’s Ondrej Duda for this beauty of a free kick.
🙏 Could this weekend be key to Venezia’s Serie A survival?
Venezia sits in 19th position in the league table and has the opportunity to improve their survival hopes on Saturday when they host bottom-place Monza (9am ET, CBS Sports).
👉 While Monza’s fate is all but sealed with seven games remaining (they are currently nine points clear of safety), Venezia can climb above Empoli into 18th place with a win this weekend.
😮 Empoli, Lecce, Cagliari, and Parma - the four teams directly above Venezia - are all facing European and title hopefuls this weekend. Hence, Venezia will know how valuable a win can be.
🇺🇸 The American-owned team also boasts North Carolina’s very own Gianluca Busio (pictured above), who has featured in 27 matches this season. The 22-year-old scored in Venezia’s 2-0 win over Genoa earlier this season.
🙌 Brazilian legend Ronaldinho praises Rafael Leão
As one of the most talented humans ever to touch a soccer ball, Ronaldinho is well-placed to judge the current crop of Serie A talent. The former Rossoneri star had very good things to say about the player who currently occupies his preferred position on the field: Rafael Leão.
🗣️ “He is a great player,” said Ronaldinho, who spent three seasons at Milan, including the scudetto-winning campaign of 2010-11. “He is one of the players I most enjoy watching.”
🙌 The 45-year-old was also optimistic about Milan’s prospects next season: “There are great players at Milan and it is a good team, so I think they can do great things next season.”
🇵🇹 Leão has notched 10 goals and nine assists across 43 games in all competitions this season.
Next up for Milan and Leão 👉 The Rossoneri are in action tomorrow on the road at Udinese (2.45pm ET, CBS Sports and FOX Deportes). Milan has won its last two meetings with the Friulani.
💬 Calcio Conversations
It’s tight at both ends of the Serie A table, so there has been a lot of talk recently of a potential ‘spareggio scudetto’ at the end of the season. And, we could see ‘spareggio salvezza’ make an appearance in the weeks to come as well.
🧐 What is the spareggio scudetto? This relatively new concept is a single-game playoff to decide which of two teams will finish higher in the event of an equal-points finish.
Across the majority of the league, the tie-breaker in place is the head-to-head record from the games between the two sides who finish on equal points, but as of the 2022-23 season, that cannot be used to separate teams in the event of a tie in first or second place.
🤷♂️ And how about the spareggio salvezza? The Serie A title cannot be decided on head-to-head, and neither can a relegation place, so there is also a single-game playoff if the teams in 17th and 18th place finish on equal points.
😮 Have these playoffs happened before? Yes, we saw a spareggio salvezza in 2022-23, when Hellas Verona stayed up after beating Spezia at the Mapei Stadium.
🫡 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!
🙌 Supporters’ Club of the Week: Inter Club Miami
Last weekend, Serie A staged a special event at the Classic Football Shirts store in Miami, which celebrated ‘The Fashion of Calcio’ with a display of iconic game-worn jerseys and a watch party of Parma’s 2-2 draw with Inter. Nearly a thousand fans were in attendance, including members of Inter Club Miami, whose President Tomasso Cardana spoke to Calcio Weekly about the passion for the Nerazzurri in South Florida.
🦩 Inter Club Miami, which usually meets for games at The Canvas Bar, has been active since 2006. They currently have over 100 members.
🗣️ “The community is really growing and we have a huge supporter base of Latin American fans,” says Cardana. “Every week we have new membership requests and the majority are from Latin American countries like Colombia, Venezuela, and Argentina.”
🏟️ In addition to watching games in Miami, the supporters’ club also organizes trips to see Simone Inzaghi’s side in the flesh. Several members traveled to Bavaria to see Inter’s triumph on Tuesday night, while 10 members visited Istanbul to see the 2023 Champions League Final.
📲 Visit the Inter Club Miami Instagram page for more info.
🏀 Jimmy Butler rocks a classic Serie A jersey
Six-time NBA All-Star and Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler showed his love for calcio this week by wearing a classic Inter shirt, with Ronaldo’s name on the back (that’s the Brazilian ‘O Fenômeno’ Ronaldo, rather than the Portuguese one).
👀 Looks like you can get yourself something similar at Classic Football Shirts.
📺 This weekend on CBS Sports, Paramount+, FOX Deportes, and SiriusXM
Friday, April 11th
Udinese v Milan (2.45pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Saturday, April 12th
Venezia v Monza (9am ET)
Inter v Cagliari (12pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Juventus v Lecce (2.45pm ET)
Sunday, April 13th
Atalanta v Bologna (6.30am ET)
Fiorentina v Parma (9am ET)
Verona v Genoa (9am ET)
Como v Torino (12pm ET)
Lazio v Roma (2.45pm ET, also on SiriusXM FC)
Monday, April 14th
Napoli v Empoli (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, 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!