Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Another guest article now and Filippo Festuccia returns with an extensive review of all the action in Week 32 of Serie A. You can follow Filippo on Twitter here @FilippoFest. Over to you Filippo
There is a weird sense of accomplishment after this Serie A weekend, almost like everything is now set in stone and the final games will be played to honor the commitment. This couldn’t be farther from the truth of course, since there’s a few big matchups coming next.
Juventus won, as usual, and in the usual unconvincing manner that is almost a lifestyle. It’s a strong team with great players lighting up every once in a while, but you just need a flash from Pogba to win a game. Juve’s victory against Milan prompted Silvio Berlusconi to a kneejerk reaction, sacking Mihajlovic and appointing Brocchi as manager. Milan keeps changing, but the squad isn’t up to the president’s expectations and the only one who doesn’t see that is the president himself. Sinisa Mihajlovic will find another team: he has margins for improvement but he’s a good motivator.
Juventus, Napoli, Roma and Inter are all separated by six points between each other: a false sense of stability that will immediately change next saturday, as Inter and Napoli face off. The Higuain-less Napoli needs a win not only in the remote hope that Juventus might slip, but mostly to keep Roma at bay and secure second place (which awards a direct qualification to the Champions League group stage). Inter, on the other hand, would love to snatch third place away from Roma and leave the longtime rivals in the Europa League group stage. Actually, one could argue that Champions League qualification is a matter of life or death for Inter, considering their financial situation.
Roma drew ever-dangerous Bologna in a tough game, where Bologna upped their aggressiveness and Roma was amazingly wasteful in front of the goal. If the giallorossi want to catch Napoli they need a winning streak, but they lack the cynical offense that makes a top team. The same could be said about Napoli itself, but Gabbiadini (overshadowed so far by Higuain’s monstrous season) is stepping up to the plate looking for a National Team call up.
The usual drama unfolds in the battle to avoid relegation. Palermo changed manager – again. It’s the ninth change this year, and it already looked like a revolving door in January: Iachini, Ballardini, Schelotto, Viviani, Tedesco, Bosi, Iachini, Novellino and now Ballardini. One has to wonder whether team owner Zamparini intends to stay in Serie A or is trying to tank. Did anyone tell him there’s no draft lottery? Palermo’s contenders, Carpi and Frosinone, keep struggling and losing, so that the bunch of teams sitting at 36 points can already relax, being eight points clear of relegation. Frosinone played an intense game against Inter, but it’s not the kind of match they’re required to win. Meanwhile, Carpi lost to 8th-placed Chievo. Next week, Palermo will face Juventus, as Carpi plays Genoa and Frosinone has a great chance against last-placed Verona.
Thanks Filippo, make sure to keep an eye out for his review for Week 33 next week and also subsequent articles between now and the end of the season.
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