⚽️🇮🇹 Why always him?
In this week’s Italian soccer digest, we're heralding the long-awaited return of a Serie A superstar striker, we're celebrating the form of Napoli and Fiorentina, and much more!
🔝 Napoli in the driver’s seat for Serie A glory
We’re a quarter of the way through the season and Napoli has emerged as a key contender in the scudetto race. Antonio Conte’s side sit four points clear of defending champions Inter after 10 games.
😮 After Tuesday’s 2-0 win at Milan, Napoli is on a five-game winning streak. Their last defeat came on the opening day of the season at Verona.
👀 The last time the Partenopei won five in a row was in 2022-23, when they won the title for the first time since 1990.
"Scudetto? No one is hiding. We see realistically what we are doing this year,” said Conte after the win at the San Siro. "We know what our goal is, which is to return to Europe. But there are five or six teams that have the same idea.”
🗣️ Napoli will have their work cut out to stay above the chasing pack, which currently includes Inter, Juventus, Atalanta, and Fiorentina. Milan coach Paulo Fonseca also puts his side among the contenders: "No team has won the league after nine games and none has lost it after nine games. For this reason we must continue on the path of growth. Clearly we will need results to enter this fight."
Up next for Napoli 👉 Conte’s side host fellow high-flyers Atalanta on Sunday (6.30am ET, CBS Sports). Gian Piero Gasperini’s charges were 3-0 winners when they last visited Naples in March.
🇮🇹 Mario Balotelli returns to Serie A!
He’s back! Former Italy National Team striker Mario Balotelli has signed for Genoa as a free agent.
🔙 Balotelli returns to Serie A after a spell with Turkish side Adana Demirspor. “I am pumped. I don’t want to talk much. I just want to get started,” the 34-year-old said at his unveiling.
🇮🇹 The striker won three scudetti with Inter, and was part of the iconic squad that won the treble in 2009-10. Balotelli has also played in Serie A for Milan and Brescia, and spent a season with Monza in Serie B.
👋 Genoa coach Alberto Gilardino is actually a former teammate of Mario’s.
😲 Is it possible that Balotelli works his way back into the National Team, having starred in the Azzurri’s Euro 2012 campaign? “We don’t close the doors to anyone,” said coach Luciano Spalletti.
👕 Il Grifone launched its new third kit in time for Balotelli’s arrival. It’s the club’s first-ever black kit and was produced to celebrate cultural diversity and music within the region.
⏭️ Balotelli won’t be selected for Genoa’s match with Fiorentina today (1.30pm ET, CBS Sports - more on that game later), but might be considered for the trip to Parma on Monday (12.20pm, CBS Sports).
🇺🇸 Weah and McKennie star in INCREDIBLE Derby d’Italia!
We were treated to a Derby d’Italia for the ages on Sunday, as Juventus came from two goals down at the San Siro to secure a 4-4 draw with title rivals Inter.
👏 Juve’s USMNT stars were pivotal in the eight-goal thriller, with Tim Weah giving the visitors a 2-1 lead after 26 minutes and Weston McKennie registering two assists.
🗣️ “We have players in form, like on the left wing with Conceicao and Cambiaso, but also McKennie, who did very well today,” said Bianconeri manager Thiago Motta after the game, in quotes picked up by The Athletic as part of their most-recent US player tracker.
🤓 Opta noted that this Derby d’Italia featured more goals than any edition since 1961, and it’s the first time that five goals have been scored in the first half of the fixture.
😮 Nineteen-year-old Kenan Yildiz, who scored the two goals to even up the scoreline, is the youngest-ever player to score multiple goals in this derby.
🗣️ Inter scored four times against a defense that had only conceded a single league goal before the weekend, but coach Simone Inzaghi lamented giving up the 4-2 lead: "It’s frustrating, as we were facing a Juventus side whose greatest strength is defense and we created so many scoring opportunities without winning.”
💜 Fiorentina can’t stop scoring!
It’s a great time to be a Fiorentina fan: La Viola has won its last five matches in all competitions and has scored 15 goals in its last three games!
😀 Raffaele Palladino’s side stormed to a 5-1 win over Roma at the weekend, having trounced Lecce by six unanswered goals on the road in the previous game week. Between those two results, they put four past Swiss side St Gallen in the UEFA Conference League.
😲 It’s quite a turnaround for the Florentine side, who didn’t register a win in their opening four matches of the campaign.
🗣️ “I tried working for two months with a certain tactic, but then understood these lads needed something different,” said coach Palladino after switching away from a three-man defense to a back four, more in line with the tactics of former Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano.
🗣️ Moise Kean came to Florence from Juventus this summer, and is leading the charge with seven goals in all competitions. Spalletti, now manager of the Italy National Team, praised the striker while speaking on DAZN: “He can hold up the ball and run on to long passes, but he is also a hitman who can feel the goal. He has courage and quite rightly a little bit of arrogance, because you need that mentality and character.”
Up next for Fiorentina 👉 Kean and his cohorts are in action shortly after this newsletter hits your inbox, with their aforementioned visit to Genoa (1.30pm ET, CBS Sports). Palladino’s team could climb to third place with a win.
🦅 Lazio defender Nuno Tavares leads Europe for assists
Portuguese left-back Nuno Tavares is enjoying an incredible debut season in Serie A. The Lazio star has registered seven assists in seven league games - no one has managed more in Europe’s top five leagues this season.
👏 Tavares picked up the Man of the Match in Lazio’s 3-0 home win over Genoa on Sunday, after providing a brace of assists.
👉 The 24-year-old is on loan from Arsenal, with an obligation to buy at the end of this season. And it seems they are very happy to fulfill that obligation!
🔒 Indeed, the Biancocelesti have made their intentions to keep Tavares in Rome quite clear. “I won’t sell Tavares, not even for €70 million,” said Lazio owner and president Claudio Lotito.
Up next for Lazio and Tavares 👉 The Roman side travel north today to face Como (3.45pm ET, CBS Sports). Lazio is in terrific form, having won six of its last seven games in all competitions.
💬 Calcio Conversations
Last week we explained what a Eurogol is, but we also alluded to another interestingly-named way of scoring: the Olimpico.
🤷♂️ What is an Olimpico? Watch highlights of Milan’s Champions League win over Club Brugge last week and you’ll quickly find out, as Christian Pulisic rustled up one of his own. An Olimpico is the name given to a goal scored directly from a corner kick… which is no easy feat!
🧐 Where does the name come from? Although Olimpico is the Italian word for ‘Olympic’ and the term is used in Italian, the term actually comes from outside the peninsula. It originates from the 1924 Olympic Games, when Argentina’s Cesareo Onzari scored directly from a corner against reigning champions Uruguay. Olimpico - the same word in Spanish - became the term used for this spectacular type of goal from that point onwards.
🏆 Serie A stars shine at Ballon d’Or ceremony
Monday’s Ballon d‘Or ceremony in Paris saw the biggest stars in the beautiful game gather to see their efforts celebrated. Inter forward Lautaro Martínez was the highest-ranking Serie A player in the main category, earning a seventh-placed finish for the big prize.
👉 Lautaro’s teammate Hakan Çalhanoğlu finished in 20th place, while their teammate Yann Sommer finished sixth in the Yashin Award rankings, which recognize the world’s best goalkeeper. All three flew in style to the ceremony.
👉 Roma’s Artem Dovbik and Mats Hummels finished in joint 29th place, and Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman ranked 14th.
😂 Atalanta star Lookman was clearly delighted by the reaction of fans on the red carpet!
👏 The Ballon d’Or prize was scooped up by Spain and Manchester City midfielder Rodri.
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💍 Atalanta players handed championship rings for Europa League run
Championship rings are a common fixture for sports teams on this side of the pond, but medals are more commonplace spoils for the victors of European soccer. Atalanta’s players, however, will supplement their Europa League winners’ medals with some spectacular hand bling…
✨ La Dea’s players were gifted championship rings to celebrate their 2024 Europa League triumph over German champions Bayer Leverkusen, in which the aforementioned Ballon d’Or nominee Ademola Lookman scored a hattrick.
💫 The rings are made from white gold, and feature the Atalanta crest, the Europa League silhouette, and each player’s name and squad number.
🟣 Coincidentally, Fiorentina also revealed a collection of rings this week - but they will adorn the fingers of fans, rather than players.
📺 Tonight and this weekend on CBS Sports, Paramount+, FOX Deportes, and SiriusXM
Thursday, October 31st
Genoa v Fiorentina (1.30pm ET)
Como v Lazio (3.45pm ET)
Roma v Torino (3.45pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Saturday, November 2nd
Bologna v Lecce (10am ET)
Udinese v Juventus (1pm ET)
Monza v Milan (3.45pm ET, also on SiriusXM FC)
Sunday, November 3rd
Napoli v Atalanta (6.30am ET)
Torino v Fiorentina (9am ET)
Verona v Roma (12pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Inter v Venezia (2.45pm ET, also on FOX Deportes and SiriusXM FC)
Monday, November 4th
Empoli v Como (12.30pm ET)
Parma v Genoa (12.30pm ET)
Lazio v Cagliari (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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