Calcio's Coaching Carousel Continues

Mario Beretta Out at Lecce

In a not so surprising story, Mario Beretta got the sack today following four losses in the last five matches, and no goals scored in any of those games. Can't say I'm surprised as Lecce are the type of team who make you just think to yourself, "In mid-week training and in their wildest dreams, how do they even envision scoring a goal?" And even when they were able to get 3 in a home game against Torino earlier this month, they had to settle for a draw. Unreal. Admittedly, I'll actually give them credit where its due, as when I heard the news I assumed they had to be last in the league in goals scored but it turns out their 22 is one more than both Reggina and Chievo. Not coincidentally, it appears all three teams will be getting used to Saturday 16:00 kickoffs next season.

In retrospect, it was the Lazio game two weeks ago that did in the Milan native. Lecce created a few chances but could only find the woodwork, repeatedly. If they had picked up a win, they'd be in much better shape now but teams battling for salvation simply can't afford to be unlucky.

His replacement will be another former Siena boss and, Gigi De Canio, no stranger to the relegation zone himself. Ho-hum indeed. These bottom of the table coaching changes are pure guesswork. Sometimes, you find that guy (normally from the Usual Suspects bin) who clicks with a particular team in both mentality and tactics and they're able to scrape together just enough points to survive. Impossible to predict if this will be one of those times, but did anyone envision Zenga saving Catania last season?

Champions League Special

Part Two: Roma

We continue our look at what's at stake for Italy's Champions League sides....

…Roma 2009... For some of the game’s highest profile teams, it’s a potential destination, but for one group of players and their supporters it is potential destiny. After losing out on the 2008 Scudetto in heartbreaking fashion, Roma and the Romanisti saw 2008-09 as a chance to set their sights on club football’s biggest prize. The European final, for the fourth time in history will be played in the Italian capital and, should I Lupi get there, they would have the chance to become the first team since Inter in 1965 to lift the Cup in their own home stadium. What stands in the way, both in this round and any subsequent rounds, is the best England has to offer.

If the scenario gives the Roma faithful a bit of déjà vu, its understandable. The 1984 side was presented with exactly the same opportunity. After disposing of Gothenberg, CSKA Sofia, and Dundee United, it rolled into the final to meet a Liverpool side that had won 3 European Cups in the previous seven seasons. Nils Liedholm’s Roma side gave it their all, but lost a painful penalty kick shootout, the first side to be dealt such a loss in the history of the tournament. Adding insult to injury were the “spaghetti legs” antics of Liverpool keeper Bruce Grobbelaar.

Agostino Di Bartolomei, the Rome-born captain that night, would take his own life on March 30, 1994, ten years to the day, forever adding real tragedy to a sporting one.

Di Bartolomei, and other Roman players are, after all, the reason why this club so embodies the spirit of its city. Liedholm could count on Bruno Conti, while Spalletti has Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi. Though the pair might have other chances to win the Champions League, they will not have another chance to do so in the Eternal City.

Infectious is the city’s hold, however, and that is why on Wednesday night, in the absence of at least De Rossi, other “adopted” Romans will show a fighting spirit against Arsenal, and struggle to keep the dream alive. Roma supporters over the last several years have fallen in love with this group, believing wholeheartedly that it is fated to accomplish something important, be it in the league for Europe. Those who are veterans of 1984, however, realize that events do not always transpire as they should.

SuperPippo: The Missing Piece

Are Italy's CL Entrants in Need of His Furbizia?

Interesting little piece on Corriere Della Sera's website this morning in the wake of Pippo Inzaghi's hat trick against Atalanta. It made the case that he is one of the few remaining strikers in Serie A who can come off into the lineup and completely change the game. I completely agree in the sense that the "little things" that defenders have to be aware of when he's on the pitch add to their worry. Though they have many other great players, Milan miss that edge when he's on the bench.

It also mentioned that teams like Manchester United are also able to change pace by fielding guys like Tevez, and pointed out that Inter's shortcomings in this area hinder their European chances. Inter's depth of strikers, however, is nothing to sneeze at, behind Ibra, there is also Adriano, Cruz, Balotelli, Crespo, and Obinna. Maybe their ability to change the game reflects a limitation of their manager, Jose Mourinho. Whereas some teams are willing to switch styles up front, Mourinho has often said that he picks his forwards due to their technical characteristics, and asks them to play the way he wants. Cruz and Balotelli, both of whom have seen their output drop considerably under the Portuguese, did little to put their stamp on the game in the dying moments of the first leg with United. Mourinho has also buried the closest thing he has to his own Inzaghi, Hernan Crespo.

Its possible Mourinho is handcuffing his attackers, in service to his own managerial style. Late on Wednesday night, the Special One could be full of regret.

-Speaking of Inter, their Champions League hopes have survived at least another day. Walter Samuel boarded the plane to England, and though Inter have been tightlipped regarding his health you have to assume that if he's there, he'll try to go from the start. Without Samuel or Chivu, Inter had zero chance of getting a result at Old Trafford. If the Wall is healthy, though, they're right back in it...

3 Weekend Notes From Abroad

For Your Non-Calcio Pleasure

1. AZ Alkmaar won again in Holland. They're now 11 points up and close to notching only their second title ever, and first since 1981. Good, you can't help but feel for them after they kicked the title away in '07. Do yourself a favor and catch one of their matches on ESPN360 as the season winds down. Sometimes you can find them in a nice, early Sunday timeslot before you settle in to watch Serie A.

2. Former Roma man Giuly provided the goal that brought PSG to within a point of Lyon, whose loss to Lille I had on in the background at times on Saturday but not for long enough to have any idea what went wrong. As vulnerable as Lyon has looked all year long in Ligue 1, I'm still not entirely sure I'm a believer in PSG yet. Can't complain about an exciting title race though.

3. Valencia lost to Numancia and apparently their players aren't being paid. Even heard them linked with an appearance in the MLS All-Star Game, presumably because they need the money. Sad state of affairs at the Mestalla, hopefully they can get everything in order. It just takes me back to the early part of this decade and how much it set the Italian game back to have some of its most important teams go through financial woes- Cecchi Gori and Fiorentina, Parmalat, Cragnotti's Lazio, the Napoli mess, Roma bypassing the transfer market. Arguably, Serie A still has never recovered.

Champions League Special

Part One: Juventus


In the run-up to the Champions League Second Legs, I’ve decided to devote one post to each team. Not really previews, those will come, but just some thoughts ahead of these matches and their meaning. Since Juve steps to the plate on Tuesday, The Old Lady will get first treatment here.

The ironic thing here is that while I wanted these posts to largely cover what’s at stake for the teams involved, Juve, one would think, are the side with the least amount of pressure. Though they were favored by many when the draw occurred, a rash of injuries and Chelsea’s replacement of Scolari made the Blues, last year’s runners-up, the popular pick. The Italians are in the process of a full recovery from their Calciopoli demotion, finishing in third place last season, winning their Champions League group and making a Scudetto challenge this season. Its difficult to claim on any level that elimination at the hands of Chelsea would be a mark of shame. Ranieri’s men were the lone Italian side to win compliments from the press after a gritty first leg performance which many felt Juve could walk away from with heads held high. Though overturning the result is quite possible, and would represent a boon for the club and its fans, is anything really on the line?

The correct answer is, yes, there is a great deal hanging in the balance. The Italy vs. England storyline takes on added significance in this contest because of the clubs involved. The Bianconeri, though they lack Milan’s European Cup successes, are, and will always be, the standard bearers of Italian football. With either 27 or 29 Scudetti, depending on who you ask, La Vecchia Signora is the history of calcio, symbolizing both its pristine glory and tragic flaws. Its triumphs bridge generations and provide a comforting familiarity: Platini gave way to Zidane and Baggio to Del Piero.

Opposing one of European football’s stalwarts will be one of its new boys. Londoners are quick to discuss Chelsea’s colorful past over a pint, but the club is a newcomer to the highest levels of competition. Going 50 years without a national title, they are the polar opposite of Juve and on Tuesday night, they will be a reminder of the “new” English game: foreign ownership, foreign management, and a foreign identity. This is not at all a slight. Abramovich’s side is a bona fide European power. What took clubs like Juventus a century to craft, though, can now readily be purchased.

Perhaps its fitting that this match takes place not in the cavernous Delle Alpi, the shrine to calcio’s modern mismanagement, but in Juventus’ traditional home, the (albeit remodled) Stadio Comunale. For the hosts, it’s a golden opportunity to show the world that while Juve, and calcio, have a history, they should not be relegated to the past, and Chelsea, and the Premiership, should not, so quickly, be branded the future.

Becks: The Deed is Done

Beckham Will Finish Season With Milan

Well I guess this had to be posted in some form or another. David Beckham, who at 33 years of age has brought an injection of youthful exuberance to Milan, will be permitted to finish out the Serie A season. He'll then return to MLS, finish the American season and then, in all probability, buy out the remainder of his contract.

This has been covered to death all over the internet, but all sides did what they had to do. MLS and the Galaxy look bad, but there was no way to avoid it. They were caught between a rock and a hard place and at least secured Beckham for 13 games or so which, while appearing to be a slap in the face to the league and its fans, was absolutely necessary in dealing with sponsors.

Beckham keeps his 2010 chances, Milan keep their man, MLS keeps at least a piece of its biggest star, and the Galaxy keeps its status as a traveling carnival masquerading as a football team. Seriously, at this point why even have L.A. compete in the league? Just have them travel the country playing the Washington Generals.

Milan, as part of the deal, will play the Galaxy in a mid-July friendly. Before you get too excited, remember that Italy and Brazil seem poised to bring full strength sides to the Confederations Cup in South Africa so there's a chance that the Rossoneri will show up in Hollywood without Kaka, Pato, Ronaldinho, or Pirlo. Should be a real cracker...

Serie B Snapshot

Week 29 Quick-Notes: Bari Goes Top

*Didn't have the opportunity to see much of Serie B this weekend, as it was another one of these pre-Champions League "SuperSabato" tripleheaders with Roma-Udinese in the Saturday 16:00 spot and Sassuolo-Bari wasn't televised here in the States. Bari went top of the table however with a 3-1 win and now have a two-point lead over Livorno, who drew 1-1 at Frosinone. Grossetto also got a 71st minute goal to see off Ascoli at home and put themselves in playoff position.

*Parma missed an opportunity to pull level with Livorno on points in the second and final automatic promotion spot. They were held to a nil-nil at the Tardini by hapless, bottom of the table Treviso, who apparently put forth a respectable showing. Paloschi had two goals disallowed for Parma, one for offsides, one for a foul, haven't seen either of them. If you're Parma, however, you absolutely, have to win this game. Terrible, terrible result. With the firepower at their disposal- Paloschi, Lucarelli, Reginaldo, Vataggiato- they should have just overwhelmed Treviso. There are mid-to-lower table teams in Serie A and other European leagues that wouldn't mind having that strike force, but you have to deliver the goods.

*Brescia, meanwhile, went down to Rimini at home in the type of unexpected loss that has been all too common during their current time in Serie B. They've been sniffing around promotion for a couple seasons now and they're the one team I keep thinking will put it together, but this is a good example of why this might not be their year either.

*Avellino-Mantova tomorrow in the Monday night match is as unwatchable as it sounds with very little talent playing on one of the worst-kept pitches in all of Italy. RAI International has spared us here in the States by not televising it and be forewarned that should you try to find a stream, your computer may crash...