Here's a round up of the winners and the losers from Week 2 of the Serie A season, including Ezequiel Lavezzi...
THE WINNERS
Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli): Any Argentine forward who has ever kicked a ball in Italy has been dubbed ‘the new Maradona’ at some stage, but this time it may be justified. The 22-year-old announced himself with a Coppa Italia hat-trick against Pisa and was inspired against Udinese with a maiden Serie A goal to show for his efforts.
Fabrizio Miccoli (Palermo): The ex-Juventus man demonstrated exactly how much he grew during his time in Portugal with two goals and two assists in Palermo’s demolition of Livorno. Alongside Amauri he will be half of one of Serie A’s most appetising strike partnerships this term.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter): The giant Swede reminded us why he was last season’s hero with his brace at Empoli. Trips to grounds like the Stadio Castellani are where titles are won and lost and Zlatan’s extra class made the difference between two points lost and three gained.
THE LOSERS
Fernando Orsi (Livorno): It’s not easy to win the Serie A sack race, but the Livorno boss has been very quick out of the blocks. Nine goals conceded in two games and an early exit from the Coppa Italia would anger most Presidents, but with the fiery Aldo Spinelli as your boss it’s time to get your CV typed up.
Jonathan Zebina (Juventus): The French stopper was a little fortunate to get the call to play against Cagliari and did his best to ensure Claudio Ranieri won’t make the same mistake again. Not only did he give away a potentially crucial penalty, he was dismissed for dissent and rounded off an afternoon of idiocy by starting a fight with a cameraman.
Cristian Zapata (Udinese): A disastrous afternoon for the highly-rated Colombian defender. Zebrette President Giampaolo Pozzo said his men played ‘as if they had cigarettes in their mouths’ and the pacy Lavezzi made Zapata look like a 40-a-day smoker as he struggled to keep up.
THE GOALS
Alberto Aquilani (Roma): Almost a challenge to those who thought last week's stunner was a fluke, he thumped a nearly identical thunderbolt from 40 yards that cannoned in off the underside of the Siena crossbar. The Italian international has surely created a style of goal called 'The Aquilani'.
Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli): The little Argentine set Neapolitan hearts aflutter with this wonderful individual effort. His first ever Serie A goal saw him hook down Walter Gargano's crossfield ball, cut back in to wrongfoot the defender and sweep the left-foot finish into the far corner. Pure class.
Fabrizio Miccoli (Palermo): His free kick at the Stadio Picchi was trademark Miccoli, but so was his second in an inspirational performance. The 'Pocket Striker' twice exchanged passes with Amauri inside the Livorno box before rolling a precise snooker shot into the bottom far corner. The Amaranto didn't know what hit them.
THE NUMBERS
Vesuviani erupt on the road: Napoli are back with a vengeance. With their 5-0 obliteration of Udinese, the Azzurri equalled their best Serie A away win recorded against Modena in the 1929-30 campaign. For Udinese it was the heaviest home defeat since 1960-61’s 6-0 savaging at the hands of Inter.
Invincible Orobici: Atalanta’s 2-0 win over Parma extended their unbeaten run in Bergamo to 11 games. La Dea have picked up five wins and six draws since losing to Milan on March 18.
Spot luck: Cagliari became the first side to be awarded two penalties against Juventus since the Turin derby in 2000. The Old Lady also triumphed 3-2 that day.
Source: Paul Watson (C4 Football Italia)
THE WINNERS
Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli): Any Argentine forward who has ever kicked a ball in Italy has been dubbed ‘the new Maradona’ at some stage, but this time it may be justified. The 22-year-old announced himself with a Coppa Italia hat-trick against Pisa and was inspired against Udinese with a maiden Serie A goal to show for his efforts.
Fabrizio Miccoli (Palermo): The ex-Juventus man demonstrated exactly how much he grew during his time in Portugal with two goals and two assists in Palermo’s demolition of Livorno. Alongside Amauri he will be half of one of Serie A’s most appetising strike partnerships this term.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter): The giant Swede reminded us why he was last season’s hero with his brace at Empoli. Trips to grounds like the Stadio Castellani are where titles are won and lost and Zlatan’s extra class made the difference between two points lost and three gained.
THE LOSERS
Fernando Orsi (Livorno): It’s not easy to win the Serie A sack race, but the Livorno boss has been very quick out of the blocks. Nine goals conceded in two games and an early exit from the Coppa Italia would anger most Presidents, but with the fiery Aldo Spinelli as your boss it’s time to get your CV typed up.
Jonathan Zebina (Juventus): The French stopper was a little fortunate to get the call to play against Cagliari and did his best to ensure Claudio Ranieri won’t make the same mistake again. Not only did he give away a potentially crucial penalty, he was dismissed for dissent and rounded off an afternoon of idiocy by starting a fight with a cameraman.
Cristian Zapata (Udinese): A disastrous afternoon for the highly-rated Colombian defender. Zebrette President Giampaolo Pozzo said his men played ‘as if they had cigarettes in their mouths’ and the pacy Lavezzi made Zapata look like a 40-a-day smoker as he struggled to keep up.
THE GOALS
Alberto Aquilani (Roma): Almost a challenge to those who thought last week's stunner was a fluke, he thumped a nearly identical thunderbolt from 40 yards that cannoned in off the underside of the Siena crossbar. The Italian international has surely created a style of goal called 'The Aquilani'.
Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli): The little Argentine set Neapolitan hearts aflutter with this wonderful individual effort. His first ever Serie A goal saw him hook down Walter Gargano's crossfield ball, cut back in to wrongfoot the defender and sweep the left-foot finish into the far corner. Pure class.
Fabrizio Miccoli (Palermo): His free kick at the Stadio Picchi was trademark Miccoli, but so was his second in an inspirational performance. The 'Pocket Striker' twice exchanged passes with Amauri inside the Livorno box before rolling a precise snooker shot into the bottom far corner. The Amaranto didn't know what hit them.
THE NUMBERS
Vesuviani erupt on the road: Napoli are back with a vengeance. With their 5-0 obliteration of Udinese, the Azzurri equalled their best Serie A away win recorded against Modena in the 1929-30 campaign. For Udinese it was the heaviest home defeat since 1960-61’s 6-0 savaging at the hands of Inter.
Invincible Orobici: Atalanta’s 2-0 win over Parma extended their unbeaten run in Bergamo to 11 games. La Dea have picked up five wins and six draws since losing to Milan on March 18.
Spot luck: Cagliari became the first side to be awarded two penalties against Juventus since the Turin derby in 2000. The Old Lady also triumphed 3-2 that day.
Source: Paul Watson (C4 Football Italia)
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