New Season Fixtures Released

The Italian Football League (Lega Calcio) have released the fixtures for the new Serie A and Serie B season in Rome tonight. The highlights of the opening round sees Scudetto holders Internazionale begin their 2006-07 campaign at Fiorentina, while Milan face Lazio as the season kicks off with a bang on September 9 and 10.

Here are the opening round of fixtures from the top flight, kick-off times are in UK time, unless stated:

Serie A - Round 1 (Sept 10, 2pm)
Roma v Livorno (Sept 9, 5pm)
Fiorentina v Inter (Sept 9, 7.30pm)
Atalanta v Ascoli
Cagliari v Catania
Chievo v Siena
Messina v Udinese
Milan v Lazio
Palermo v Reggina
Sampdoria v Empoli
Torino v Parma (7.30pm)

It’s set to be a blistering start to the season, as the Scudetto showdown between favourites Inter and Roma will be played in Week 3 at the Stadio Olimpico. It’s one of the midweek rounds and will be played on Wednesday September 20. The Milan derby will take place in Week 9 (October 29), while Lazio-Roma kicks off in Week 15 (December 10).

The top flight does not include demoted giants Juventus for the first time in its history and will see Fiorentina (-19), Reggina (-15), Lazio (-11) and Milan (-8) all start with points deductions due to their involvement in the match-fixing scandal.

Juventus will play their first ever Serie B game at Rimini’s Stadio Romeo Neri, while Napoli debut at the San Paolo against Treviso.

Serie B will include some of Italy's most illustrious clubs such as Genoa, Napoli, Juventus, Bologna, Lecce and Brescia, which promises that the race to promotion will go right to the wire. Triestina, Arezzo and Juve will set off with a one, six and 17-point handicaps respectively.

Here are the opening round of fixtures from the Second Division, kick-off times are in UK time, unless stated:

Serie B - Round 1 (Sept 9, 3pm)
Arezzo v Mantova (Sept 8, 7.45pm)
Brescia v Piacenza
Crotone v Bari
Lecce v Albinoleffe
Modena v Verona
Napoli v Treviso
Pescara v Bologna
Rimini v Juventus
Triestina v Frosinone
Vicenza v Genoa
Spezia v Cesena (Sept 11, 7.45pm)

The big game everyone is waiting for will be Napoli-Juventus at the Stadio San Paolo on November 4. The Week 10 clash will be a replay of the scintillating 3-3 Coppa Italia draw in the 3rd Round, the Azzurri eventually going through after a penalty shoot-out. Genoa-Juventus comes in Week 14 to begin December in Serie B, but fascinatingly the final match of the season will see Napoli and Genoa go head to head at Marassi on June 10.

The 2006-07 campaign will kick-off on the weekend of September 9 and 10 after it was initially set to start on August 26 and 27, but was delayed by the match-fixing scandal. This now means that the top flight season will come to an
end on May 27 2007, while the Serie B season concludes on June 10 2007.

Week-by-Week Fixtures:
Serie A Fixtures
Serie B Fixtures

Club-by-Club Fixtures:
Serie A: Ascoli, Atalanta, Cagliari, Catania, Chievo, Empoli, Fiorentina, Inter, Lazio, Livorno, Messina, Milan, Palermo, Parma, Reggina, Roma, Sampdoria, Siena, Torino, Udinese.
Serie B: Albinoleffe, Arezzo, Bari, Bologna, Brescia, Cesena, Crotone, Frosinone, Genoa, Juventus, Lecce, Mantova, Modena, Napoli, Pescara, Piacenza, Rimini, Spezia, Treviso, Triestina, Verona, Vicenza.

Coppa Italia - Last 16

Here are the results from the Last 16 of the Coppa Italia which took place over two legs in November and December.

The top eight seeds including holders Inter, Roma, Milan, Chievo, Palermo, Livorno, Parma and Empoli – entered the competition at this stage.


Last 16 Results (First Leg):
Matches took place on Wednesday 8th November 2006.
Empoli 1-0 Genoa
Sampdoria 1-0 Palermo
Reggina 2-2 Chievo
Milan 4-2 Brescia
Arezzo 2-1 Livorno
Triestina 1-2 Roma

Matches took place on Thursday 9th November 2006.
Messina 0-1 Inter
Napoli 1-0 Parma


Last 16 Results (Second Leg):
Match took place on Tuesday 28th November 2006.
Brescia 1-2 Milan (Milan win 6-3 on aggregate)

Matches took place on Wednesday 29th November 2006.
Roma 2-0 Triestina (Roma win 4-1 on aggregate)
Inter 4-0 Messina (Inter win 5-0 on aggregate)

Matches took place on Thursday 30th November 2006.
Chievo 1-1 Reggina (Chievo win on away goals rule, 3-3 on aggregate)
Palermo 2-3 Sampdoria (Sampdoria win 4-2 on aggregate)

Matches took place on Wednesday 6th December 2006.
Genoa 0-1 Empoli (Empoli win 2-0 on aggregate)
Livorno 1-1 Arezzo (Arezzo win 3-2 on aggregate)

Match took place on Thursday 7th December 2006.
Parma 3-1 Napoli (Parma win 3-2 on aggregate)


View the full Coppa Italia plan (Italian) >>>
View the Coppa Italia Dates (Italian) >>>

Coppa Italia , 3rd Round: Night of shocks as Juve go out

There were plenty of shocks in the Third Round of the Coppa Italia as Juventus, Lazio, Udinese, Cagliari and Atalanta were all knocked out.

Juventus went out after a dramatic 3-3 draw at Napoli, Gigi Buffon eventually missing a penalty in the shoot-out after Mauro Camoranesi’s dismissal.

Juve got off to a great start at the packed out Stadio San Paolo, where 60,000 fans crammed in, as after 27 minutes Giorgio Chiellini nodded in Federico Balzaretti’s cross. However, new signing Cristian Bucchi equalised just before the break with an acrobatic volley. Bucchi was Serie B’s top scorer last term with Modena and again went close with a header, so it was no real surprise when Napoli capitalised on their good play to take the lead. Emanuele Calaio ran on to a defence-splitting pass to waltz round goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Didier Deschamps had to reinforce the side and threw on Alessandro Del Piero for Valeri Bojinov. As against Cesena in the last round, Pinturicchio’s entrance made all the difference, as he unleashed a curling strike from the edge of the box that slammed in off the upright.

In extra time Mauro Camoranesi replaced Pavel Nedved and did little to endear himself to the Juventus fans, as he was sent off for elbowing Montervino soon after stepping on to the field. Napoli didn’t have an advantage for long, as moments later Grava also saw red for a second bookable offence.

The drama was most definitely not over yet in an incredible night. Del Piero thought he had secured victory for Juventus by turning in Balzaretti’s assist with 120 seconds to go. However, Paolo Cannavaro sent the home crowd wild with a spectacular overhead kick right at the death. The final score was 3-3 and only penalties could separate the two fallen giants of Italian football.

Ivano Trotta beat Buffon and the goalkeeper bizarrely took Juve’s first spot-kick himself, but fired it off target. Bucchi and Maurizio Domizzi also converted for Napoli, but Sam Dalla Bona’s effort was saved. Tomas Guzman and Alessandro Birindelli scored for the Bianconeri, then Marco Marchionni’s kick was blocked by Iezzo. Cannavaro had the decisive kick and this time Buffon kept him out, so Del Piero kept his cool to level the scores after five penalties each. The shoot-out continued with Montervino, Chiellini, Amodio scoring, but Balzaretti fired wide to hand victory to Napoli.

The Azzurri continue their Coppa Italia adventure and go on to face Parma in the next phase.

Lazio crashed out of the competition after a very entertaining 4-3 defeat at Messina. The Sicilians were out of the blocks and away with two goals in the opening four minutes scored by Ivica Iliev and Nicolas Cordova, the latter curling in straight from the corner flag. However, Goran Pandev proved decisive in a one-man comeback mission, scoring at the 6th and 69th minute to draw level with a right-foot finish and left-footed free kick. It inevitably went to extra time and Arturo Di Napoli snatched a memorable brace to send the Sicilians through. It was a tense finale, though, as Italian international Tommaso Rocchi scored on a Pandev assist to keep Lazio in it to the death. Messina nonetheless won to set up a meeting with holders Inter in the next round.

Udinese thought they had secured victory away to Arezzo with Sulley Ali Muntari’s first half strike and Morgan De Sanctis saved a late penalty from Antonio Floro Flores, but he could do nothing on Vigna’s follow-up. The goal took the game to extra time and it could only be decided in a penalty shoot-out, with Serie B outfit Arezzo triumphing 7-6 to set up their clash with Livorno.

The goalkeepers were the heroes when Cagliari visited Brescia at the Stadio Rigamonti. The Serie B side were awarded two penalties in the first half, but Antonio Chimenti saved from both Serafini and then Jadid 15 minutes later. The match went to extra time and, not to be outdone, Brescia shot-stopper Viviano parried a David Suazo spot-kick to keep the scoreline level. Chimenti was eventually beaten after 108 minutes by Serafini and Brescia go through to face Milan.

Serie A new boys Atalanta looked set for victory at Triestina with Carrozzieri’s early goal, but a red card proved costly. Summer signing Tissone was sent off on 87 minutes and deep into stoppages Kyriazis forced extra time. The dismissal made the difference, as Mattia Graffiedi and Eliakwu – plus Soncin’s last-gasp goal for the Orobici – gave Triestina an unexpected 3-2 victory that sets up a clash with Roma.

Bologna and Sampdoria have long shared a rivalry and the 3-2 away victory was a heated affair at the Stadio Dall’Ara. Francesco Flachi put Samp ahead within the opening 120 seconds, but ex-Juventus midfielder Ruben Olivera saw red before the half-hour mark and moments later Massimo Marazzina equalised with a header. Despite playing in 10 men, Sampdoria took a commanding 3-1 lead through a Flachi penalty and deflected Cristian Zenoni effort, holding on even after Mourad Meghni converted from the spot on 67 minutes. The 3-2 result sends Sampdoria through to the last 16, where they’ll take on Francesco Guidolin’s Palermo.

Genoa and Modena will be two of the toughest teams to beat in Serie B this season and were locked in a 1-1 draw at the final whistle. Nicola Campedelli had given the Canarini the lead, but Martins Adailton popped up with a crucial goal in the final minute and the Brazilian completed his brace in extra time. Greco put the final seal on the 3-1 victory at the Stadio Marassi and Juri Tamburini saw red for Modena. Genoa, who eliminated Fiorentina in the last round, continue their march and will take on Empoli next.

Crotone held local rivals Reggina to a 0-0 draw despite Gaetano De Rosa's red card on the hour mark. This tie also went all the way to decide a winner, when Alessandro Lucarelli’s header from a Leon corner kick hit the back of the net. The Amaranto book their appointment with Chievo.

The Last 16 round of matches will be played over two legs in November. The first legs will be played on 8 November, followed by the returns on 29 November and 6 December.


View all the Third Round results here >>>
View the Coppa Italia plan >>>

Inter retain SuperCoppa

Internazionale 4-3 Roma (AET)
Inter came back from three goals down to beat Roma 4-3 after extra time and lift the SuperCoppa for the second season running. Patrick Vieira scored twice with Hernan Crespo and Luis Figo adding the others as Roberto Mancini's men staged an incredible fightback to seal their third triumph in the competition's 19-year history.

Luciano Spalletti's side ran rings around the Nerazzurri in the first half with Alberto Aquilani scoring twice after Mancini's opener to put Roma 3-0 up after just 34 minutes.

Roma took a 13th-minute lead through Amantino Mancini who nodded in after Zanetti and Toldo failed to clear Panucci's cross. Aquilani added his team's second goal twelve minutes later, sliding past Toldo and into the bottom left-hand corner after a defence-splitting one-two with Francesco Totti. The Giallorossi capitalised on Inter's indecision at the back, Aquilani finishing off a well-worked move to score his second and give the visitors a seemingly unassailable lead.

But it wasn't to be. Vieira opened his scoring account for Inter on the stroke of half time to give the Nerazzurri a lifeline. The France captain rose in the box and powered a header from Figo's cross past goalkeeper Doni. Mancini made two early changes in the second half, bringing on Maicon for Fabio Grosso and Hernan Crespo for Adriano. The Argentine forward obliged with Inter's second goal four minutes later, stealing in at the near post to meet Stankovic's pin-point cross and direct his header over the line. Playing with renewed belief, Inter continued to produce chances coming forward and drew level when Vieira slid Ibrahimovic's cross-shot into the roof of the net and lift the roof off the Meazza.

Figo completed the comeback in the first period of extra time, finding the top left corner with a well taken free kick to make it a good end to a bad start. It was the opposite for Roma, who finished the match with ten men after Cristian Chivu was shown a straight red card for sarcastically applauding the referee following a challenge on Cambiasso.

Coppa Italia - Third Round

Here are the fixtures from the Third Round of the Coppa Italia which take place on 27 August.

The top eight seeds – Internazionale, Roma, Milan, Chievo, Palermo, Livorno, Parma and Empoli – will enter the competition at the next stage.


Third Round Results:
Matches tookk place on Sunday 27th August 2006.

Messina 4 - 3 Lazio AET
Genoa 3 - 1 Modena AET
Bologna 2 - 3 Sampdoria
Crotone 0 - 1 Reggina AET
Brescia 1 - 0 Cagliari AET
Arezzo 7 - 6 Udinese AET & PENS
Napoli 7 - 6 Juventus AET & PENS
Triestina 3 - 2 Atalanta AET



View the full Coppa Italia plan (Italian) >>>
View the Coppa Italia Dates (Italian) >>>

Draw: Champions' League & UEFA Cup

Milan, Internazionale and Roma have been told of their Champions' League fate. Milan and Roma will be relatively happy with this evening’s draw in Monaco, but Inter have a more complicated route to the Last 16.

The Rossoneri, who only qualified via the back door after the match-fixing scandal, should comfortably finish in the top two after being grouped with Lille, AEK Athens and Anderlecht.

Roma will also be smiling. Despite being in the second seed of pots, the Giallorossi will face Valencia, Shakhtar Donetsk and Olympiakos.

The Nerazzurri, representing Italy as champions, will come up against German champions Bayern Munich. They will also confront Sporting Lisbon, who they drew with 0-0 in a recent friendly, and Spartak Moscow.

Elsewhere, Barcelona and Chelsea will renew their rivalry, while Manchester United and Celtic will clash in a real Battle of Britain.

Group A: FC Barcelona, Chelsea, Werder Bremen & Levski Sofia.
Group B: Internazionale, Bayern Munich, Sporting Lisbon & Spartak Moscow.
Group C: Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Bordeaux & Galatasaray.
Group D: Valencia, AS Roma, Olympiakos & Shakhtar Donetsk.
Group E: Real Madrid, Olympique Lyonnais, Steaua Bucharest & Dynamo Kiev.
Group F: Manchester United, Celtic, Benfica & Copenhagen.
Group G: Arsenal, FC Porto, CSKA Moscow & Hamburg.
Group H: AC Milan, Lille, AEK Athens & Anderlecht.


Meanwhile, Italy’s four UEFA Cup entrants have been told of their first round opponents in this season’s competition, with Palermo netting West Ham United.

The Rosanero’s second consecutive UEFA Cup bid will begin with an away tie against the Premiership side. Chievo, who failed to win entry into the Champions' League after losing to Levski Sofia, face a tricky test against Portuguese side Braga. Parma will have to face the Russian winter after they were paired with Rubin during Friday afternoon’s draw in Monaco. European virgins Livorno were the last Serie A side to be plucked out of the hat and they’ll meet Pasching of Austria. The first round ties will be two-legged affairs which will take place on September 14 and 28.

This season’s Final will take place on May 16 at Hampden Park, Glasgow.

Selected Fixtures:
Sporting Braga (Por) v Chievo
Rubin (Rus) v Parma
West Ham (Eng) v Palermo
Livorno v Pasching (Aus)


UEFA Champions' League Website >>>
UEFA Cup Website >>>

Coppa Italia, Second Round: Juve roll on, Viola & Toro out

Alessandro Del Piero’s strike saw Juventus safely through to the Third Round, but Fiorentina, Torino and Siena crash out of the Coppa Italia. Napoli and Lazio both progressed after narrow victories.

Juve travelled to Cesena and were stunned when Federico Balzaretti put Luigi Pagliuca’s free kick into his own net past Gianluigi Buffon. David Trezeguet lined up for the Bianconeri and Pavel Nedved had several chances before Valeri Bojinov spun round between two defenders to net the equaliser. Cesena were no sacrificial lambs and rattled the crossbar with another Pagliuca set-piece. Alessandro Del Piero was on the bench, but made an immediate impact, diving on to a parried Trezeguet header to give the giants the lead for the first time. World Cup winning goalkeeper Buffon had to work for this qualification, performing a great last-minute save on Piccoli’s close-range header to secure the 2-1 result.

The Stadio San Paolo is gearing up for an enthusiastic new campaign in which Napoli will try to regain promotion to Serie A, but in the meanwhile they have progressed in the Cup. Ascoli were held to a 0-0 draw at the end of 90 minutes before Inacio Pia popped up with the winner in extra time. Napoli will now go on to face a fascinating Third Round clash with Juventus in an early taster for the promotion showdown in Serie B this term.

Fiorentina suffered an upset at the Stadio Marassi against Genoa in a clash of the fallen titans. Fabio Liverani wasted a lucky ricochet, while Giampaolo Pazzini also went close, but Genoa took control after the break. Martins Adailton went close before Giuseppe Greco (pictured) finalised a well-worked team move on 77 minutes. Barasso performed a crucial late save on Adrian Mutu’s free kick, as Genoa send the Viola out of the Coppa Italia with a 1-0 victory.

Lazio were held to a 1-1 draw at lowly Monza. It had started well for Delio Rossi’s men, Luciano Zauri curling in from the edge of the area after just nine minutes. However, deep into stoppages came the shock equaliser with Beretta’s shot deflected off Cristian Ledesma. Extra time couldn’t separate the two teams and it went down to a penalty shoot-out, where goal hero Beretta proved the villain in a 4-3 defeat.

Torino had taken the lead against little Crotone with Alessandro Rosina’s delightful lob, but Giampaolo’s equaliser and a stoppage-time stunner from Sedivec left the giants reeling 2-1.

Siena are one of the Serie A sides stunned in this Second Round, losing 2-1 to Triestina. Allegretti converted an early penalty quickly cancelled out by Enrico Chiesa, but Eliakwu ran on to Allegretti’s through ball to beat Alex Manninger. Triestina’s next opponents will be Atalanta, who crushed Pescara 3-0. Riccardo Zampagna scored twice from close range before Nicola Ventola’s finish.

Udinese narrowly avoided a shock, going to extra time before they could dispose of Albinoleffe with a 2-1 scoreline. Tiboni, Rabito and Giampaolo Pinzi were on target. They’ll take on Arezzo who needed extra time to eliminate Venezia 1-0 at the Stadio Penzo. Gennari, Corradi and Antonio Floro Flores hit the woodwork before the ex-Napoli striker snatched the winner from a free kick.

Reggina again struggled and only eliminated Serie C side Cremonese thanks to Modesto’s strike from a deflected Leon corner kick.

Bologna look confident and swept Cavese aside 2-0 with a brace from Claudio Bellucci, netting through a tap-in and free kick. The Rossoblu will go on to face Sampdoria, who won 2-1 away to Rimini. Emiliano Bonazzoli nodded in Ruben Olivera’s cross and Jeda equalised from the spot, but in the final minutes Gennaro Del Vecchio volleyed in the winner.

Messina got the better of Piacenza in a 2-0 victory after Nocerino’s own goal and an Arturo Di Napoli solo effort. Brescia scraped through with a 1-0 victory away to Taranto – the side that eliminated Serie A’s Catania in the First Round - Serafini converting from the spot. Modena and Mantova drew 1-1 at the Stadio Braglia thanks to goals from Tisci and Caridi. Eventually only penalties could separate them with the Canarini coming out on top.

The Second Round was concluded on Thursday evening when Cagliari beat Verona 2-1 at the Stadio Bentegodi. The Sardinian side qualified with the assistance of goals from Mauro Esposito and Andrea Cocco. Da Silva netted a consolation strike for the Veneti.The tie was also a testing affair for the fans after the game was postponed for over half an hour after a massive rainstorm hit the game just 12 minutes into the tie.


View all the Second Round results here >>>
View the Third Round fixtures here >>>

Coppa Italia - Second Round

Here are the fixtures from the Second Round of the Coppa Italia which take place on 23 August.

The key highlights of the Round were Juventus hosting Cesena, Lazio taking on Monza and an intriguing tie between Fiorentina and Genoa.

The top eight seeds – Internazionale, Roma, Milan, Chievo, Palermo, Livorno, Parma and Empoli – will enter the competition at the Last 16 stage in November.


Second Round Results:
Matches took place on Wednesday 23rd August 2006.

Messina 2 - 0 Piacenza (played in Rome)
Monza 3 - 4 Lazio AET & PENS
Modena 5 - 4 Mantova AET & PENS
Genoa 1 - 0 Fiorentina
Cavese 0 - 2 Bologna
Rimini 1 - 2 Sampdoria
Crotone 2 - 1 Torino
Cremonese 0 - 1 Reggina
Taranto 0 - 1 Brescia
Venezia 0 - 1 Arezzo AET
Albinoleffe 1 - 2 Udinese AET
Cesena 1 - 2 Juventus
Napoli 1 - 0 Ascoli AET
Pescara 0 - 3 Atalanta
Triestina 2 - 1 Siena


Second Round Result:
Match tookk place on Thursday 24th August 2006.

Verona 1 - 2 Cagliari



View the full Coppa Italia plan (Italian) >>>
View the Coppa Italia Dates (Italian) >>>

Coppa Italia, First Round: Juve stroll through

Juventus began their season with a comfortable 3-0 victory over minnows Martina. City rivals Torino also progressed through into the Second Round along with Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Udinese, Genoa and Napoli.

Juve fielded World Cup winning goalkeeper Gigi Buffon against Martina in Bari’s Stadio San Nicola, while Marco Marchionni, Pavel Nedved and Giuliano Giannichedda also started. They broke through after just seven minutes, when Nedved and Valeri Bojinov combined for Marchionni to thump a volley into the top corner. The chances came thick and fast for Bojinov, Nicola Legrottaglie, Matteo Paro and Marchionni again before ex-Fiorentina striker Bojinov rifled in his shot from distance. The Bulgarian had several more efforts and Tomas Guzman’s attempt was tipped out from under the crossbar before Nedved scored another splendid goal from 30 metres.

Torino also strolled through to the Second Round with a 3-0 away victory at Ivrea, inspired by Under-21 international Alessandro Rosina. He dribbled past three players to set up Elvis Abbruscato’s wayward header, but the striker was more accurate soon after to open the scoring. Christian Abbiati was made to work in goal with a great save on Ghizzani’s deflected effort, while he was rescued by the woodwork on Bertani, as Toro’s offside trap failed regularly. Rosina was the key, though, and volleyed in a fine finish held up by Roberto Stellone. In the final minutes, the midfielder completed his brace with a wonderful solo run dribbling past three defenders and lobbing the helpless goalkeeper.

Giampaolo Pazzini’s double sent Fiorentina through and set up an intriguing Coppa Italia clash with Genoa. Cesare Prandelli’s men pushed past Giarre 3-0 with all the goals coming in the second half. Mario Alberto Santana broke through with a volley before Pazzini’s brace, meeting Manuel Pasqual’s cross and turning in a corner kick with his header.

The Viola face Genoa in what is set to be a very intriguing encounter. The Grifoni stuttered in their 3-2 win over Spezia, a fiery match with four red cards. Spezia took the lead through Varricchio before a Greco header, Adailton penalty and new spot-kick for Greco turned the game around. Grieco’s goal put Spezia back into the game, but then saw red along with Fusco, Coppola and Ponzo.

Udinese swept through to the Second Round with an impressive 4-0 victory win over Melfi. Italian international Antonio Di Natale bagged a brace, then his effort came off the crossbar and into the path of Christian Obodo. Cesare Natali opened the scoring with a header after just four minutes. They’ll next face Albinoleffe, who repeated their Serie B play-off win by eliminating Avellino from the Coppa Italia. Rabito scored both goals, including the free-kick in extra time, and Evacuo converted a penalty.

Sampdoria have shown disappointing form throughout pre-season and left it late to knock out Benevento with a 2-0 away win. Italian international Gennaro Del Vecchio’s shot came off the crossbar seven minutes from time and into the path of Emiliano Bonazzoli. Fabio Quagliarella then made the result secure.

Ascoli ran riot against poor Cervia with an extraordinary 6-0 scoreline. Attilio Tesser’s men were always in control and Paolo Foglio’s free kick was followed by a Sasa Bjelanovic strike, but it was in the second half they really let loose. Giampa’ converted a penalty and Paolucci netted a brace around Pezzi’s unfortunate own goal. Ascoli will take on Napoli in the next phase. The Azzurri made short work of Frosinone, securing a 3-1 victory thanks to Maurizio Domizzi’s header, Cristian Bucchi and an Emanuele Calaiò penalty. Ginestra’s late strike was mere consolation for the visitors at the Stadio San Paolo.

Cagliari needed a penalty to see off Cuneo in their away match. Glauda brought down Simone Pepe and David Suazo converted from the spot to set up a clash with Verona - who won 1-0 at Gallipoli.

Serie B outfit Bologna scraped a 2-1 home win over Cittadella in extra time. Giacobbo’s free kick had put the visitors ahead, but Iori saw red on the stroke of half-time for an elbow on Mingazzini. Massimo Marazzina equalised, but it still took until the 94th minute for Claudio Bellucci to nod in a winner. Costa was also sent off for the Rossoblu, who will now face Cavese after they shocked Lecce, winning 2-1.

Treviso are out of the Coppa at the first hurdle following their 1-0 defeat to Serie C side Venezia. Collauto curled in a free kick in the final minute to send the Lagunari through to take on Arezzo who knocked out Perugia on penalties following a 3-3 draw.

In other key results from Saturday's games, newly promoted Serie A side Atalanta eased their way through after beating Sassuolo 3-0, while Taranto knocked out Catania 2-0. Reggina beat Pro Vasto 3-1 after extra time, Sansovino were beaten 1-0 by Messina and Brescia won 3-2 at Salernitana.

On Sunday, Lazio swept through to the Second Round with a confidence-boosting 4-0 victory over Serie C2 side Rende. Tommaso Rocchi was the hero at the Stadio Flaminio bagging a brace of goals around the half-time break. Goran Pandev had opened the scoring after 21 minutes and youngster De Silvestri rounded out the 4-0 result.

In today's other game Siena needed extra time to get the better of Serie C2 outfit Carpenedolo, eventually qualifying with a 2-1 win. The Tuscans went behind to the minnows after 47 minutes with Galuppi’s goal and seemed to be on their way to a shock First Round exit. Defender Daniele Portanova took advantage of a lucky ricochet in the final stages to force extra time and Erjon Bogdani popped up with the winning header on Davide Molinaro’s cross.

View all the First Round results here >>>
View the Second Round fixtures here >>>

Serie A's new boys

Atalanta
Bergamo’s finest have made some 46 appearances in the top flight and their best ever finish came in 1948 when they took fifth spot. Their trophy cabinet also contains the 1963 Coppa Italia when they beat Torino 3-1 in the Final. These were the days of Angelo Domenghini who went on to greater fame with Inter and Italy.

Despite their regular appearances in Serie A, the team has rarely supplied players to the national team and only the likes of their great goalscorer Adriano Bassetto and Italian-Argentine Humberto Maschio have featured for the Azzurri. Their ‘golden age’ was probably at the end of the 1980s and early ‘90s when they were regulars in the top half of Serie A and the likes of Claudio Caniggia and Evair sent them into the UEFA Cup.

More recent times have seen them confirm their reputation as an ‘elevator’ club between the First and Second Divisions. Having strolled to the Serie B title last term, the Nerazzurri now need to prove that they belong in Serie A.

Catania
The club formed in 1946 but came to prominence in the 1950s when the Rossoazzurri secured promotion to Serie A in 1953-54. The Sicilians’ golden years came during the 1960s when they spent six seasons in the top flight, even finishing eighth twice.

Since relegation in 1966, the Elefanti have made two short-lived returns to the big-time – the 1970-71 season and the 1983-84 campaign. The latter proved a spectacular false dawn as the minnows could only register 12 points, despite the presence of Claudio Ranieri in their defence.

In 1993, Catania suffered financial irregularities but were readmitted to the Eccellenza [Italy’s sixth Division] and quickly pulled themselves back into Serie B by 2001. Antonino Pulvirenti – founder and President of Italian low-cost airline Windjet – took over the club in 2004 and his investment allowed the outfit to finish as 2005-06 Serie B runners-up.


Torino
Despite a recent stay in Serie B, extended by financial problems that denied them promotion last summer, the Granata are amongst Italy’s most celebrated clubs.

Founded in 1906 it took them a little over a couple of decades to grab the first of no fewer than seven League crowns. The next one came in 1943 and it heralded the opening of an era of unprecedented success for the Turin side. They won five Scudetti on the trot to match the performance of city rivals Juventus back in the 1930s.

The ‘Grande Torino’ side ran riot, rarely scoring less than 100 goals a season and containing most of the great players of the era including Valentino Mazzola, Ezio Loik, Romeo Menti and Mario Rigamonti. But on May 4, 1949, disaster struck as the team was on its way back from a friendly in Lisbon. The plane they were flying in struck the hills above Turin at Superga and everyone on board was killed. There were still four games left to play in the season but, after a 0-0 draw with closest rivals Inter, the Italian Federation awarded them their fifth Scudetto in a row and let them conclude the season with their youth team.

It took over a quarter century for the championship to return to Torino and it was an emotionally charged moment when they secured that title once more in 1976. Since then the club has known a dip in fortunes and bobbed up and down between Serie A and B although they did memorably reach the UEFA Cup Final in 1992 only to lose out to Ajax.

This summer’s promotion came in dramatic fashion with a thrilling 5-5 aggregate score-line in the play-off Final giving them victory over Mantova as a result of a higher League finish. Toro will now look to settle once more amongst the elite.

Source: C4 Football Italia

Fixtures date finally set

The Serie A and Serie B fixtures for the new season will finally be drawn up in Rome on Wednesday August 30.

The new Italian Football League chief Antonio Matarrese (pictured) confirmed the news this evening following a Lega Calcio meeting.The divisional calendars were delayed by the match-fixing scandal which also subsequently led to a postponement to the start of the season. The 2006-07 campaign was set to start on August 26/27, but will now kick off on the weekend of September 9/10.

Reja: Let Napoli entertain you!

Napoli coach Edy Reja is hoping to not only achieve Serie A promotion this season, but also to do so in style. The tactician announced that he intends to play with a 4-3-1-2 formation in Serie B in an attempt to entertain the San Paolo faithful.

“I am very happy with what has been done by us up until now,” the former Vicenza and Torino boss told Napolimagazine.com. “The team is not yet on top form, but this is normal after undergoing such heavy training sessions. We chose to schedule summer friendlies against some very good teams, in order to assess our condition, and the results were very important for me,” noted the 61-year-old. “I am confident that our supporters will appreciate the 4-3-1-2 formation. We want to win, but we also want our fans to have fun when they come to watch our games.”

The Azzurri maestro, who masterminded Serie C promotion last term (pictured), confirmed that he considers the transfer market closed after the numerous summer signings. “Cristian Bucchi, Maurizio Domizzi and Paolo Cannavaro are very good players,” he continued. “Roberto De Zerbi is unpredictable in front of goal and Samuele Dalla Bona is the midfielder we were missing.”

Reja is aware that Juventus will be one of Napoli’s main opponents in the race to earn a spot in the top flight, but believes their match-fixing sentence will be a disadvantage. “Juventus are a good team, although a 17-point deduction makes their challenge very difficult,” he underlined. “I also think that Lecce, Reggina, Bologna, Rimini and Genoa are competitive sides and we will have to bear that in mind.”

Napoli made a good impression in the Trofeo Birra Moretti this summer. After the opening game of the competition between Internazionale and Juventus (0-1), the Azzurri defeated the Scudetto holders 1-0 and only lost to Juve after an American-style penalty shoot-out. This is where players start running with the ball from 30 metres out and have six seconds to beat the goalkeeper.

Coppa Italia - First Round

This season’s Coppa Italia kicked off with the First Round on 19 August with Italian giants Juventus facing little Martina in Bari's Stadio San Nicola. The Bianconeri slipped to 23rd in the Coppa Italia rankings following demotion and had to now start the 72-team tournament right from the start.

The other key highlights of the First Round draw were Lazio's visit to Rende, Giarre visiting Fiorentina and Napoli hosting Frosinone.

The top eight seeds – Inter Milan, Roma, Milan, Chievo, Palermo, Livorno, Parma and Empoli – will enter the competition at the last 16 stage in November.


First Round Results:
Matches took place on Saturday 19th August 2006.

Sansovino 0 - 1 Messina
Grosseto 3 - 4 Piacenza
Monza 1 - 0 Bari
Novara 1 - 2 Mantova
Modena 3 - 0 Teramo
Giarre 0 - 3 Fiorentina
Genoa 3 - 2 Spezia
Cavese 2 - 1 Lecce
Bologna 2 - 1 Cittadella AET
Benevento 0 - 2 Sampdoria
Rimini 2 - 0 Ternana AET
Ivrea 0 - 3 Torino
Sangiovannese 1 - 3 Crotone AET
Reggina 3 - 1 Pro Vasto AET
Cremonese 1 - 0 Vicenza
Taranto 2 - 0 Catania
Salernitana 2 - 3 Brescia
Cuneo 0 - 1 Cagliari
Gallipoli 0 - 1 Verona (played in Lecce)
Venezia 1 - 0 Treviso
Perugia 3 - 4 Arezzo AET & PENS
Melfi 0 - 4 Udinese
Avellino 1 - 2 Albinoleffe AET (played in Giugliano)
Martina 0 - 3 Juventus (played in Bari)
Lucchese 0 - 1 Cesena AET
Cervia 0 - 6 Ascoli
Napoli 3 - 1 Frosinone
Atalanta 3 - 0 Sassuolo
Pavia 0 - 4 Pescara
Sanremese 0 - 1 Triestina AET


Matches took place on Sunday 20th August 2006.

Carpenedolo 1 - 2 Siena AET
Rende 0 - 4 Lazio



First Round: Juve stroll through >>>
View the full Coppa Italia plan (Italian) >>>
View the Coppa Italia Dates (Italian) >>>

Kick-off is delayed

The Italian Football League have decided to delay the start of the new season. It was originally scheduled to start on August 26/27, but that date has been deemed as unrealistic given another summer of controversy off the field. The Lega Calcio confirmed that the new campaign will now kick-off two-weeks late, on the weekend of September 9/10.

Due to the various appeals with regard to the match-fixing scandal and the threat of another tribunal hearing involving more clubs, the new season’s start date has been moved. Serie A will start with matches on Saturday 9 September and then come to a conclusion on Sunday 27 May 2007. The new Serie B season will also begin on the same weekend, but end on Sunday 10 June 2007.

There will be four midweek round of fixtures in the top flight and four weekend breaks in the schedule as a result of international commitments and the Christmas/New Year break.

The Coppa Italia will kick-off on Saturday 19 August, with the two legged Finals set for Wednesday 18 April and Wednesday 9 May 2007. The Italian Super Cup Final, which will officialy open the new season, between newly crowned Italian champions Inter Milan and Roma, last season’s Coppa Italia runners-up, will be played on Saturday 26 August in Milan.

The Commissioner of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) Guido Rossi had guaranteed there would be no delay, but the appeals of the teams involved in the match-mixing scandal and the evolving second phase inquiries will now disrupt the new season.


View the Lega Calcio Press Release (Italian) >>>

Inter Milan - Campioni d'Italia 2006

The 2005/06 Scudetto that was stripped from Juventus following the match-fixing verdicts, has now been assigned to Coppa Italia winners Internazionale by the Italian Footnall Federation (FIGC).

The title is Inter's first since 1989 and was awarded to them after a three-man panel of Gerhard Aigner, Massimo Coccia and Roberto Pardolesi, working on behalf of the FIGC, agreed to assign last season's title. "In the event of a title merely being revoked without modifying the classification, the title must necessarily remain unassigned," explained the report written by the three-man commission. "On the contrary, in the event of sanctions that imply changes to the league table (such as point deductions or enforced relegation), article 49 imposes the automatic assignment of the title to the team which are then first in the table after considering the sanctions."

"I am fully satisfied by the awarding of the title to a club and team that behaved correctly," said Inter owner Massimo Moratti, who finally gets his hands on the 'Scudetto' after 11 years in charge of the club. Coach Roberto Mancini said: "I'm happy. Regardless of how it arrived, it is right to reward those who have given their best and have always been honest. It is strange to win like this but we played fair."

The 2004/05 title, which Juve were also stripped of, has been made void.