It seems like Inter will win their fifth straight Scudetto after they defeated Atalanta and Roma fell at home to Sampdoria. Although the reality of the moment makes one see that Inter have a slightly tougher schedule than Roma, but there is one match that could be under the watchful eye of many in Italy.  Inter will visit relegation- compromised Lazio.  Will Lazio fight Inter tooth and nail?  Will they allow Inter to beat them in order to prevent their eternal city rivals to not win the Scudetto?

Simone Tiribocch's 11th goal of the season gave hopes to the giallorossi faithful with his goal in the fifth minute.  But Inter came back with a vengeance and scored three goals courtesy of Diego Milito, Cristian Chivu, and Sulley Muntari that helped propel them to the top of the standings.

Meanwhile Francesco Totti put Roma ahead the 14th minute with a venomous strike.  For Totti that was his 19th goal of the season and his team was ready to make it big.  But defensively the wheels came off as Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini shredded the romanista backline and came away with an impressive 2-1 result for La Samp's European dreams.  Pazzini scored a brace with an incredible header and then capped it off with the game-winner which propelled them into Champions League positions.

Siena and Livorno were officially relegated today.  Siena lost in convincing fashion to Udinese 4-1 and Livorno would beat Catania 3-1.  All of this  was for naught as Bologna would beat Parma 2-1 at the Renato Dell'Ara courtesy of a brace by Marco Di Vaio and assured the bottom two teams of having to play next season in Serie B.

Juventus handled Bari easily 3-0 while Palermo defeated AC Milan in Sicily 3-1.

Serie A week 35 wrap

Roma and Inter are neck a neck in te final stages of the Serie A season.

The neroazzurri provisionally went top when they defeated Juventus 2-0. The highlight of the match was one of the most incredible goals of the season.

Inter are poised to face Barcelona on Tuesday in the Champions League semis and they will have the extra day's rest as well as the advantage of seeing their opponents making a 500-mile bus ride to the European fashion capital because of the volcanic ash wreaking havoc.

Roma would come back after falling behind 1-0. Mirko Vucinic scored a brace and the giallorossi won the Eternal City derby against Lazio.

AC Milan continue to slide after being just one point away from the Serie A lead just a couple of weeks ago. The rossoneri lost to La Samp 2-1. Marco Boriello opened the scoring for Milan but Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini would give the blucerchiati the three points in the end.

Serie A week 34 wrap

Former Inter star Christian Vieri could cause his old team lose their 2005-06 scudetto (A Bola Na Bota)

Déja vu all over again in Serie A. What's a World Cup year without a scandal in Italy? That seems to have been the case the past few years there.

Some of the old scars of Calciopoli have been scraped and we could have a third champion in the 2005-06 season.

According to various sources, Christian Vieri has gone to the the federal prosecutors at the FIGC to report that his former club, Inter, spied on him during the 2005-06 season.

According to Goal.com, Vieri accused his former employer of espionage. The accusation reopens a topic that was never really solved after the final decision was made in the match-fixing scandal that rocked Italian football back in 2006. There were suspicions that Inter boss Massimo Moratti and Italia Telecom had some involvement in the scandal but were did not serve the punishment that Juventus and AC Milan had.

Vieri alongside attorney Daniele Buongiorno are stating that the neroazzurri tapped his phone line. This is in strict violation of article 18 of the code of sporting justice of Italy. The penalty for violating this rule is the "withdrawal of champion status".

The investigation is currently underway and if this inquiry finds Vieri's accusations to be true, Inter could be stripped of the Scudetto they won virtue of Juventus being relegated and AC Milan being docked 18 points after the appeals were made. The next one in line for the title would be AS Roma as they ended that season with 69 points after all the deductions were handed out.

Related Articles

• Gazzetta dello Sport: Christian Vieri attacks Inter (ITA)
  


• Calciomercato: AC Milan's future starts with Yepes?
  


• Sports Network: Unhappy Mourinho prepares inter for Bologna
  


• Soccernet: Drogba handed two-match ban for inter red card
• Goal.com: Serie A Preview: Atalanta-Siena
  

Vieri accusation could give title to Roma

Chum was thrown to the sharks on Friday night when Catania gave four-time Scudetto winners Inter Milan a Sicilian Surprise when they beat them 3-1. The big issue was that most of the teams chasing the neroazzurri did not take full advantage

When Clarence Seedorf scored what was going to be the game-winner for AC Milan, that was probably the biggest news coming out of Serie A of San Siro was David Beckham's injury.

His Achilles' heel rupture was the bitter taste left in the mouths of milanistas and England fans everywhere when he hobbled to the nearest exit. His face told the entire story. His anger, despair, and obviously pain.

Players like Ignazio Abate expressed their sorrow to missing a teammate who was fundamental in the dressing room as did England national team coach Fabio Cappello.


Scores
Friday
Catania 3-1 Inter

Saturday
Napoli 1-3 Fiorentina

Sunday
Bologna 1-1 Sampdoria
Livorno 3-3 AS Roma
Genoa 5-3 Cagliari
Parma 1-0 Atalanta
Juventus 3-3 Siena
Udinese 3-2 Palermo
Lazio 0-2 Bari
AC Milan 1-0 Chievo Verona


Standings

Serie A weekend wrap

Week 15 of the 2009-10 Serie A season featured two major derbies in Italian football.

On Saturday, it was the seemingly always top of the table meeting of the Derby D'Italia. 1st place Inter Milan versus 3rd place Juventus. The game featured a couple of firsts. Juve defender Giorgio Chiellini scored his 1st goal of the season and Inter striker Samuel Eto'o scored his 1st Derby D'Italia goal. However it was Juve midfielder Claudio Marchisio that was the hero with his goal in the 58th minute to give La Vecchia Signora the win over the Nerazzurri 2-1 at home at the Delle Alpi. The result ended Inter's 8-game unbeaten streak while Juve has won 3 of their last 4 matches.

On Sunday, the other major derby was the Derby della Capitale as Roma defeated Lazio 1-0. Marco Cassetti's 78th minute goal was the difference as the midfielder gave the Giallorossi the points over its hated rival. Roma is unbeaten in their last 5 matches having won 4 in that stretch. Lazio continues towards relegation as they extended their winless streak to 13 games.

Here are the results & standings from Giornata 15:

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5TH

AC Milan 3 - 0 Sampdoria
ACM: Marco Borriello (2'), Clarence Seedorf (21'), Pato (23')

Juventus 2 - 1 Internazionale
JUV: Giorgio Chiellini (20') & Claudio Marchisio (58')
INT: Samuel Eto'o (26')

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6TH

Genoa 2 - 2 Parma
GEN: Rodrigo Palacio (14') & Raffaele Palladino (66')
PAR: Jonathan Ludovic Biabiany (36' & 59')

Bologna 2 - 1 Udinese
BOL: Adailton (27') & Marco Di Vaio (pen 65')
UDI: Antonio Di Natale (45')

Fiorentina 2 - 0 Atalanta
FIO: Juan Vargas (26') & Alberto Gilardino (89')

Napoli 3 - 2 Bari
NAP: Fabio Quagliarella (54' & 88'), Christian Maggio (72')
BAR: Paulo Vito Barreto (49') & Andrea Ranocchia (62')

Siena 3 - 2 Catania
SIE: Emanuele Calaio (51'), Claudio Terzi (56'), Michele Paolucci (62')
CAT: Jorge Andres Martinez (14' & 55')

Palermo 2 - 1 Cagliari
PAL: Igor Budan (55') & Simon Kjaer (65')
CAG: Alessandro Matri (24')

Livorno 0 - 2 Chievo Verona
CHI: Luca Rigoni (12') & Simone Bentivoglio (66')

AS Roma 1 - 0 Lazio
ASR: Marco Cassetti (79')

STANDINGS

09-10 Serie A Wrap - Round 15

The Serie A is back from the international break and the surprise start of Genoa to the season continued. Genoa defeated Napoli at home 4-1 on the strength of 2 penalty kicks in a game that ended with Genoa's 10 men and Napoli's 9. Ex-Inter forward Hernan Crespo scored his 1st for his new team as Genoa stayed in 1st place with a perfect record.

The city of Genoa's other team Sampdoria is also perfect on the season after their 1-0 road win over Atalanta. Daniele Mannini scored for Sampdoria as they recorded their 1st clean sheet of the season despite playing a man down for the last 38 minutes of the match.

Juventus kept pace with Genoa with their 2-0 road win against Lazio. Barca loanee Martin Caceres scored deep into the 2nd half & David Trezeguet added another in 2nd half injury time to seal the 3 points. Ciro Ferrara's team has allowed only 1 goal on the season to maintain their perfect start.

Roma got its 1st win of the season as Claudio Rainieri took the reins of the capital city side. 2 goals in the last 17 minutes of the game to beat Siena 2-1 on the road. John Arne Riise scored the game winner in the 89th minute to pull I Giallorossi out of the relegation zone.

Here are the results & standings from Giornata 3:

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

Livorno 0 - 0 AC Milan

Lazio 0 - 2 Juventus
JUV: Martín Cáceres (72') & David Trezeguet (90')

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

Atalanta 0 - 1 Sampdoria
SAM: Daniele Mannini (63')

Bologna 0 - 2 Chievo Verona
CHI: Giampiero Pinzi (18') & Sergio Pellissier (30')

Fiorentina 1 - 0 Cagliari
FIO: Alberto Gilardino (55')

Inter Milan 2 - 0 Parma
INT: Samuel Eto'o (71') & Diego Milito (88')

Udinese 4 - 2 Catania
UDI: Antonio Floro Flores (29'), Antonio Di Natale (55', pen 69', 79')
CAT: Takayuki Morimoto (12') & Guiseppe Mascara pen (34')

Siena 1 - 2 AS Roma
SIE: Massimo Maccarone (26')
ROM: Philippe Mexès (73') & John Arne Riise (89')

Palermo 1 - 1 Bari
PAL: Igor Budan (90')
BAR: Riccardo Allegretti (2')

Genoa 4 - 1 Napoli
GEN: Floccari (pen 45'), Mesto (55'), Hernan Crespo (75'), Houssine Kharja (pen 88')
NAP: Marek Hamsik (41')

STANDINGS

09-10 Serie A Wrap - Round 3

The guys will talk about the Champions League draw. They will also preview the European Supercup as well as recap opening week in Argentina and Serie A.

In our Miami segment, we will talk about the week that has been at Miami FC as well as other local topics of relevance.

Join us as guest Kartik Krishnaiyer, newbie Richard Farley, and a host of others come on to talk and do what they do best on the Mad About Futbol Show.

This Week On The Mad About Futbol Show

Parma FC's new kits for 2009-10 are in and the verdict vfrom El Negrini is an 7. The shirt on the left is the home jersey and is a reminiscent of Inter's 3rd kit from a couple of years ago. Although the black colored cross is much better looking than Inter's red.

The one in the middle is the alternate and I likes. I'm a big fan of stripes and Parma's colors make the stripes work, the only thing I don't like is the epaulets on the shoulders. Errea should have let the stripes ride up to the shoulder but overall its something I'd still wear.

Now the road kit in the middle on the right side is where the overall presentation loses some points. My issue are the sleeves, the shirt template is based on the 89-90 Umbro shirt, worn by Parma in the year of its 1st promotion to Serie A. If the base of the shirt were white like in the picture below it could work.

However, in the picure in the very top the jersey's base is blue and its looks funny. Real talk, it looks like a circus shirt when the base of the jersey is blue. Overall I like the kits and give them an 7.

Parma's New Throwback Jerseys

Fiorentina had a summer full of speculation regarding their new kits. That all ended when it was announced that the Italian side would sign an extension with Lotto.


Apparently, the Italian outfitter did not put enough time into La Viola's kit as compared to Udinese's.

Status quo. That is what describes the kit that never changes. It at least seems that the team's jersey looks exactly the same from the time that Batistuta first arrived onto the scene. Not mouch has changed.

Fiorentina deserves better. A team with the history and a fanbase that is among the most passionate in Italian football deserves more than this by Lotto. Although they did a magnificent job with Udinese, the template failed them this time around with one of the more historic teams in Serie A. If there was more time and effort, Fiorentina would have been sensational, unfortunately they will have a dud of a kit for this coming season.

Did Fiorentina's Kit Change?

With the loss of Kaka to the second Galactico era of Real Madrid, AC Milan have a lot of rebuilding to do and a pot of gold to do it with.

It has been a summer of loss of the Rossoneri, Paolo Maldini has retired, Carlo Ancelotti has moved to Chelsea and Kaka has taken on a new challenge in Madrid. Together with the losses of David Beckham, who was a veritable hit during his short spell at the San Siro, although is seems he will be back. The ever ineffective Shevchenko, will depart for Chelsea once more, this time it is only the end of his loan spell and Phillipe Senderos will join his in London as he is returned with joy to Arsenal. Other players expected to leave are calamity keeper, Dida and walking corpse, Guiseppe Favalli.

With new coach Leonardo being brought in, some say on the cheap others say as a puppet for President Berlusconi. I am more optimistic as think Leonardo is a smart man, an intelligent man and a man that has been around the club for a number of years, thus know its workings inside out. It must also be noted that he was instrumental in bringing Brazilian starlet Alexandre Pato to Milan.

It is believed he will play a Brazil 1982 inspired 4-3-1-2, with the much maligned and often said dead trequartista role being resurrected. This position is seems is destined for former World Player of the Year, Ronaldinho. It is hoped he can rediscover the form that was so instrumental in Barcelona’s success of a few years back. Kaka is gone and Ronnie will have the team build around his deflated genius. Most hope he can rediscover his past form, especially those in and around Via Turati.

The summer has only just begun but Milan have already lined up a couple of young defenders. First to arrive was Thiago Silva, actually signed in January for around €10 million, although he couldn’t join due since his Milan already signed two non-EU nationals during the season. He has already played in Europe for Porto and Dymano Moscow, this spell was unsuccessful and he returned to his native Brazil to rebuild his career and reputuation. His good showing for Brazil in the Olympics and Fluminense earned him a return to Europe and the fortress that is the San Siro.

He has more recently been joined by Frenchman, Aly Cissokho who has just joined from FC Porto for around €15 million. He has had a rapid rise from French division 3 side Gueugnon two years ago, to the bright lights of Milan. He cemented his reputation in the Champions League against Manchester United where he dominated the left side of the park. He is mostly compared to Dani Alves; he can also play on both sides of the pitch and on the wing. It seems he will be a useful signing for the Rossoneri.

With both players being 24 and 21 respectively is seems youth will finally be given a chance.

Along with this newly found youth, Alessandro Nesta and Gennaro Gattuso should have recovered from long-term injuries adding a touch of class to the side.

The pursuit of a striker seems to be on the cards very much so. Emmanuel Adebayor linked repeatedly throughout the season, but of late it appears Edin Dzeko, German Footballer of the Year, is going to be moving across Europe. Plus being only 23 himself, a new transfer strategy is most definitely in place. Others linked include Phillipe Mexes and 23 year old, attacking midfielder, Hernanes of Sao Paulo, who is rated by some as the most promising young player in the world.

Leonardo is presiding over a revolution in Milan, and could well be leading a renaissance just as his namesake did over 500 years ago.

Check Out David Schiavone on Serie A Weekly.

Leonardo Leads Renaissance

Ladies & Gentlemen, the end of the Serie A season means that we have to choose a Best XI. The following 11 players and coach were our standout players from an exciting Serie A season. Here are the Mad About Fútbol Serie A Best XI for 2008-09:

Goalkeeper:
Julio Cesar (Inter Milan)

The Nerazzurri & Brazil #1 has become the best keeper in Italy and the 2nd best keeper in the world behind Real Madrid's Iker Casillas.

Defenders:
Maicon (Inter Milan)

Maicon Douglas Sisenando is arguably the best right back in the world and a huge piece of Inter's defense & offense in their multiple Scudetto run.

Alessandro Gamberini (Fiorentina)
,
The center back known as "Super Gambero" by the Viola faithful was the rock of a Fiorentina side that had 4th best defense in the Serie A and led I Viola in Serie A appearances.

Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)

The other center back in the MAF Best XI is seen as the best center back in Italy. The 24-year old will be the future rock in the middle of the Azzurri defense and helped Juve to the 2nd best defense in the Serie A.

Domenico Criscito (Genoa)

The youngest member of the MAF Serie A Best XI is well known in Italy as the one of the best young defensive talents. He is on loan from Juventus and helped Genoa surprise the Serie A with their 5th place finish and a place in the Europa League.

Defensive Midfielders:
Felipe Melo (Fiorentina)

The hard tackling, often fouling Brazilian midfielder gave Cesare Pirandelli's men and edge & toughness that helped Fiorentina get a Champions League spot. Felipe Melo led Serie A in red cards & was in the Top 10 in yellow cards.

Esteban Cambiasso (Inter Milan)

The Argentine midfielder is arguably the most under appreciated midfielder in the Serie A. He is a fixture in Inter's lineup, has a knack of scoring timely goals, and a massive contributor for The Nerazzurri.

Attacking Midfielders:
Kaká (AC Milan)

The new Real Madrid midfielder was AC Milan's leading scorer and the face of The Rossoneri. Kaká's influence on & off the pitch was essential to Milan returning to the Champions League.

Gaetano D'Agostino (Udinese)

The Udinese playmaker was 2nd leading goalscorer among midfielders and was the key to Udinese finishing with the 5th best attack in the Serie A and a surprise 7th place finish.

Forwards:
Marco Di Vaio (Bologna)

The well traveled 32-year old striker finished tied for 2nd in the Capocannoniere race with 24 goals and helped Bologna avoid relegation.

Diego Milito (Genoa)

The man known as El Principe tied Di Vaio for 2nd in the Capocannoniere race with 24 goals and was the face of Genoa's amazing 5th place finish. The Argentine hitman will now take his goal scoring touch to Inter.

DT:
Gian Piero Gasperini (Genoa)

2 seasons ago Genoa was in the Serie B, since then Gasperini has led Genoa to a Top 5 finish and into a European competition. The former Juventus midfielder has received praise for Genoa's attacking style of play as I Rossoblu was the clear positive surprise team in the 08-09 season.

Bench:
GK: Gigi Buffon (Juventus)
DEF: Paolo Maldini (AC Milan) & Javier Zanetti (Inter Milan)
MID: Michele Fini (Cagliari) & Simone Vergassola (Siena)
ATT: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan) & Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina)

What do you think about the Mad About Fútbol Serie A Best XI? Let us know.

2008-09 MAF Serie A Best XI

The last week of an exciting Serie A season has passed and with Inter already capturing its 17th Scudetto, one storyline involved the relegation fight between Bologna and Torino. Marco Di Vaio scored his 24th goal of the season as Bologna defeated Catania 3-1 at home and will remain in the Serie A. Torino FC however will be relegated after they fell 3-2 to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. Francesco Totti's PK in the 83rd minute proved to be goal that sent Torino to the Serie B.

The marquee matchup featured a Top 4 meeting between AC Milan v. Fiorentinawith Champions League positioning at stake. The Brazilian duo of Kaka & Pato scored in the 2nd half as Il Rossoneri defeated I Viola 2-0 in Florence. The result did not change the standings for either squad. Milan finished 3rd despite being level on points with Juventus because Milan lost the head to head tiebreaker.

Fiorentina held on to the last Champions League spot despite Genoa pulling level on points after their 4-1 home win against Lecce. Diego Milito scored twice in his final match with Genoa to solidify 5th place. Genoa lost the head to head tiebreaker with Fiorentina to just miss the last Champions League spot and secure a Europa League spot along with Roma.

The final week of the Serie A was action packed as every match had at least two goals and 7 of the 10 matches had at least 3 goals. No one can say that Italian Serie A doesn't play an attacking, attractive style of football.

Here are the Week 38 results and final standings:

SUNDAY, MAY 31st

Bologna 3 - 1 Catania
BOL: Nicola Mingazzini (5'), Claudio Terzi (26'), Marco Di Vaio (68')
CAT: Takayuki Morimoto (50')

Fiorentina 0 - 2 AC Milan
ACM: Kaká (55') & Pato (76')

Inter Milan 4 - 3 Atalanta
INT: Sulley Muntari (6'), Ibrahimovic (12' & 81'), Cambiasso (80')
ATL: Cristiano Doni (10' & 53') & Luca Cigarini (25')

Juventus 2 - 0 Lazio
JUV: Vincenzo Iaquinta (3' & 59')

Napoli 3 - 0 Chievo
NAP: Francesco Montervino (4'), Mariano Bogliacino (7'), Piá (18')

Reggina 1 - 1 Siena
REG: Christian Stuani (pen 45')
SIE: Massimo Maccarone (76')

AS Roma 3 - 2 Torino
ROM: Jeremy Menez (35'), Mirko Vucinic (74'), Francesco Totti (pen 83')
TOR: Tommaso Vailatti (9') & Nicola Ventola (88')

Udinese 6 - 2 Cagliari
UDI: Asamoah (10'), Pepe (11'), Flores (15'), Pasquale (58'), Quagliarella (81'),
Ighalo (89')
CAG: Robert Acquafresca (pen 55') & Andrea Parola (57')

Genoa 4 - 1 Lecce
GEN: Bosko Jankovic (22'), Domenico Criscito (52'), Diego Milito (56' & 67')
LEC: Simone Tiribocchi (32')

Palermo 2 - 2 Sampdoria
PAL: Fabrizio Miccoli (8') & Davide Succi (42')
SAM: Giampaolo Pazzini (45') & Marius Stankevicius (59')

STANDINGS


Inter Milan, Juventus, & AC Milan straight into 09-10 Champions League Group Stage
Fiorentina into Champions League playoff round

Genoa & Lazio into 09-10 Europa League playoff round
AS Roma into Europa League 3rd qualifying round

Torino, Reggina, and Lecce relegated into Serie B

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 38

June signifies the end of the busiest part of the football season, we at Mad About Fútbol would like to salute & list some of the newly crowned champions from recently ended tournaments. Congratulations to you that support these great clubs.

DOMESTIC LEAGUES

FRENCH LIGUE 1
Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux

ENGLAND PREMIERSHIP
Manchester United Football Club

ITALIAN SERIE A
Football Club Internazionale Milano

SPANISH LA LIGA
Futbol Club Barcelona

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH

DUTCH EREDIVISIE
Alkmaar Zaanstreek

SCOTLAND PREMIER LEAGUE
Rangers Football Club

PORTUGUESE LIGA
Futebol Clube do Porto

TURKISH SUPER LIG
Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü

GREEK SUPER LEAGUE
Olympiacos F.C.

MEXICAN TORNEO CLAUSURA
Club Universidad Nacional Pumas

INTERNATIONAL CLUB TOURNAMENTS

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Futbol Club Barcelona (ESP)

UEFA CUP
FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)

UEFA SUPER CUP
Football Club Zenit Saint Petersburg (RUS)

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Atlante Fútbol Club (MEX)

CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Al-Ahly Sporting Club (EGY)

AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Gamba Osaka (JPN)

COPA LIBERTADORES
Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito (ECU)

COPA SUDAMERICANA
Sport Club Internacional (BRA)

RECOPA SUDAMERICANA
Club Atlético Boca Juniors (ARG)

FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP
Manchester United Football Club (ENG)

While the summer isnt the busiest time of the footballing calendar its still loaded with action from MLS, Brazilian Championship, World Cup Qualifiers, Copa Libertadores, Confederations Cup, CONCACAF Gold Cup and some exciting local tournaments from some of the lesser known footballing nations. Keep logging on to Mad About Fútbol to get latest info.

Roll Call Of Champions: 2008-09

The penultimate round of calcio italiano was action packed as only 2 matches had less than 2 goals combined from both teams. At this point the only drama will be what team will finish 2nd and what team will be the last to be relegated.

Juventus snapped a 7-game winless streak with their 3-0 road win against Siena. Juve icon Alessandro Del Piero scored twice to give La Vecchia Signora the 3 points and pull even with AC Milan on points. Il Rossoneri fell to AS Roma 3-2 at home in Paolo Maldini's last home game. Massimo Ambrosini's double wasn't enough to take down Il Giallorossi. Roma's iconic captain Francesco Totti scored in the 85th minute to give Roma the win. Totti's goal secured Roma's place in next season's Europa League.

Torino fell back into the relegation zone after their 3-2 loss at home to Genoa. Future Inter Milan striker Diego Milito scored twice including the game winner in the 89th minute to secure their place in next season's Europa League and put Torino in a precarious position for relegation.

Bologna moved out of relegation despite their 0-0 draw at Chievo, Marco Di Vaio failed to improve his chance to be named Capocannoniere as Serie A's leading goal scorer. Inter's Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in Inter 2-1 road loss to Cagliari to move into a tie with Di Vaio at 23 goals for the season.

Here are the results & standings for Week 37:

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20nd

Lazio 1 - 0 Reggina
LAZ: Mauro Zárate (26')

SUNDAY, MAY 24th

Atalanta 2 - 2 Palermo
ATL: Gianvito Plasmati (50' & 67')
PAL: Davide Succi (32') & Fabrizio Miccoli (75')

Lecce 1 - 1 Fiorentina
LEC: Simone Tiribocchi (50')
FIO: Martin Jørgensen (90')

AC Milan 2 - 3 AS Roma
ACM: Massimo Ambrosini (75' & 81')
ROM: John Arne Riise (36'), Jérémy Menez (80'), Francesco Totti (85')

Chievo Verona 0 - 0 Bologna

Torino 2 - 3 Genoa
TOR: Ivan Franceschini (40') & Rolando Bianchi (49')
GEN: Diego Milito (pen 32' & 89') & Ruben Olivera (48')

Sampdoria 2 - 2 Udinese
SAM: Mauricio Isla (og 32') & Antonio Cassano (pen 44')
UDI: Gaetano D'Agostino (pen 13') & Felipe (61')

Siena 0 - 3 Juventus
JUV: Alessandro Del Piero (18' & 89') & Claudio Marchisio (37')

Cagliari 2 - 1 Internazionale
CAG: Andrea Cossu (34') & Robert Acquafresca (71')
INT: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (8')

Catania 3 - 1 Napoli
CAT: T. Morimoto (42'), Guiseppe Mascara (pen 88'), Vito Falconieri (90')
NAP: Mariano Bogliacino (28')

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 37

After 36 weeks & a New Years/Christmas break, Italy has its champions. Congratulations to FC Internazionale Milano for clinching their 17th Scudetto. The Nerazzurri won the title after arch-rivals AC Milan lost on Saturday 2-1 on the road to Udinese. For good measure, Inter gave their home fans a show by trouncing Siena 3-0 at home to solidify their place as Italy's best team. Goals by Esteban Cambiasso, Mario Balotelli, & Zlatan Ibrahimovic put everyone in an even better mood for their 4th straight Serie A Championship. Even sweeter is the fact that Inter has equalled AC Milan for the 2nd most Scudetto titles in history.

Some other notable action in the Serie A for Giornata 36 is the slide of 3rd place Juventus who extend their winless streak to 7 matches as they drew 2-2 at home to Atalanta in an empty Olimpico Di Torino stadium. Maximilano Pellegrino scored the equalizer in the 44th minute for Atalanta to share the points as Juventus couldn't breakthrough in the 2nd half. The result is Juve's 5th straight draw and cost Claudio Raineri his job.

Fiorentina is the complete opposite as I Viola won their 4th straight match with their 1-0 home win over beaten '09 Coppa Italia finalists Sampdoria. Alberto Gilardino scored his 19th goal of the season to get the 3 points. 4th place Fiorentina have won 7 of their last 8 matches and now trail Juve by 1 point in the standings.

While the championship race is over, the relegation battle is still fierce. Torino kept themselves out of the relegation zone with a big 2-1 road victory versus Napoli. Alessandro Rosina's 72nd minute goal gave Torino the points and kept them 1 point from relegation. Reggina moved off the bottom of the table with a 2-1 home win over Cagliari as Lecce fell to Bologna in a bottom 3 matchup. Sergio Volpi's dramatic 2nd half injury time goal gave Bologna a massive 2-1 home win against Lecce. The win keeps Bologna in 18th just 1 point back of still-safe Torino.

Here are the results & standings for Week 36:

SATURDAY, MAY 16th

AS Roma 4 - 3 Catania
ASR: Perrotta (13' & 31'), Vucinic (17'), Panucci (91')
CAT: Tedesco (15'), Mascara (47'), Morimoto (72')

Udinese 2 - 1 AC Milan
UDI: Gaetano D'Agostino (pen 31') & Cristian Zapata (49')
ACM: Massimo Ambrosini (93')

SUNDAY, MAY 17th

Bologna 2 - 1 Lecce
BOL: Marco Di Vaio (37') & Sergio Volpi (94')
LEC: Simone Tiribocchi (30')

Fiorentina 1 - 0 Sampdoria
FIO: Alberto Gilardino (21')

Juventus 2 - 2 Atalanta
JUV: Vincenzo Iaquinta (26') & Cristiano Zanetti (36')
ATA: Luca Cigarini (2') & Maximiliano Pellegrino (44')

Napoli 1 - 2 Torino
NAP: Joao Batista Inacio Pia (42')
TOR: Rolando Bianchi (51') & Alessandro Rosina (72')

Reggina 2 - 1 Cagliari
REG: Fabio Ceravolo (26') & Franco Brienza (49')
CAG: Andrea Lazzari (18')

Genoa 2 - 2 Chievo
GEN: Diego Milito (pen 58')& Ruben Olivera (71')
CHI: Giampiero Pinzi (35') & Sergio Pellissier (85')

Palermo 2 - 0 Lazio
PAL: Fabrizio Miccoli (pen 6') & Giulio Migliaccio (87')

Inter Milan 3 - 0 Siena
INT: Esteban Cambiasso (45'), Mario Balotelli (52'), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (76')

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 36

Week 35 of the Serie A was full of tight matches showing the competitive balance of Italy's 1st Division of Football. Only one match had a goal differential of more than 2 goals and there were 6 draws over the weekend. One of those draws delayed a Scudetto celebration for Inter Milan. Chievo battled Il Nerazzurri to a 2-2 draw in Verona. Luciano's 73rd minute goal delayed Inter 's celebration of a 4th consecutive Scudetto.

The marquee match featured the two winningest clubs in Serie A history as Milan hosted Juventus at the San Siro. Vincenzo Iaquinta's goal in the 60th was a quick response to Clarence Seedorf's goal in the 57th minute as the game eventually ended in a 1-1 draw. The draw ended Milan's 5-game winning streak but extended their unbeaten streak to 9 matches. Juventus has now drawn in 4 straight games and are now winless in their last 6 matches.

Fiorentina tightened their grip on the last Champions League spot by defeating Catania on the road 2-0. I Viola have won 6 of their last 7 matches while their main competition for that last UCL spot needed a late goal to salvage a point. Genoa drew 1-1 at Atalanta with Domenico Criscito scoring in 2nd half injury to get the point.

In the relegation battle, Torino took on Bologna with the winner jumping out of the relegation zone for this week. Both sides split the points with a 1-1 draw. Torino's Alessandro Rosina buried a PK to give them a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute but refs returned the favor to Bologna in the 86th minute. Il Capo Cannoniere leader Marco Di Vaio sank a PK in the 86th minute to secure the draw. Torino remains in 17th place just one point out of the relegation zone.

Here are the results & standings from Week 35:

SATURDAY, MAY 9th

Sampdoria 5 - 0 Reggina
SAM: Daniele Dessena (1'& 31'), Delvecchio (37'), Marilungo (46'), Pazzini (52')

Lazio 1 - 3 Udinese
LAZ: Tommaso Rocchi (56')
UDI: Floro Flores (60'), D'Agostino (69'), Quagliarella (86')

SUNDAY, MAY 10th

Atalanta 1 - 1 Genoa
ATL: Jaime Andrés Valdés (9')
GEN: Domenico Criscito (90')

Lecce 1 - 1 Napoli
LEC: Andrea Zanchetta (pen 43')
NAP: Joao Batista Inacio Piá (33')

Chievo 2 - 2 Inter Milan
CHI: Michele Marcolini (27') & Luciano (73')
INT: Hernán Crespo (3') & Mario Balotelli (65')

Torino 1 -1 Bologna
TOR: Alessandro Rosina (pen 37')
BOL: Marco Di Vaio (pen 86')

Siena 1 - 0 Palermo
SIE: Emanuele Calaiò (60')

Cagliari 2 - 2 AS Roma
CAG: Alessandro Matri (34') & Robert Acquafresca (58')
ROM: Francesco Totti (63') & Simone Perrotta (69')

Catania 0 - 2 Fiorentina
FIO: Stevan Jovetic (11') & Luciano Zauri (93')

AC Milan 1 - 1 Juventus
ACM: Clarence Seedorf (57')
JUV: Vincenzo Iaquinta (60')

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 35

4 matches remain in the 2008-09 Serie A season and after week 34 the only thing that was settled was the participants dueling for the last Champions League spot. Fiorentina kept 4th place with a 1-0 home win over relegation threatened Torino. Peruvian midfielder Juan Vargas scored to keep i Viola 1 point ahead of Genoa for the last Champions League spot.

Genoa got a hat trick from their superstar goal scorer Diego Milito in their 3-1 home win over Sampdoria in an intense Derby della Lanterna. Italy's oldest club snapped a 2-game losing skid and swept the season series from their city rivals. Roma's 0-0 home draw against Chievo sees I Giallorossi 7 points back of Genoa and virtually out of the Champions League spot race.

Juventus continued their head scratching slide with their 2-2 draw at home against Lecce. Argentina born forward José Castillo scored the equalizer in 2nd half injury time to extend La Vecchia Signora's ill-timed winless streak to 5 games.

The Milan sides continued their winning ways with 2-0 victories. 1st place Inter moved closer to their 17th Scudetto with goals from Ibrahimovic & Muntari to beat Lazio. While Il Rossoneri kept pressure on Inter with goals from Kakà & Pippo Inzaghi to get 3 points against Catania.

Here are the results and standings from Week 34:

SATURDAY, MAY 2nd

Bologna 1 - 2 Reggina
BOL: Vaggelis Moras (87')
REG: Franco Brienza (40') & Edgar Barreto (46')

Inter Milan 2 - 0 Lazio
INT: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (58') & Sulley Ali Muntari (70')

SUNDAY, MAY 3rd

Genoa 3 - 1 Sampdoria
GEN: Diego Milito (30', 73', 93')
SAM: Hugo Campagnaro (45'+3')

Catania 0 - 2 AC Milan
ACM: Kakà (51') & Pippo Inzaghi (27')

Palermo 5 - 1 Cagliari
PAL: Migliaccio (29'), Miccoli (38'), Tedesco (50'), Cavani (57'), Succi (87')
CAG: Jeda (48')

Siena 2 - 1 Napoli
SIE: Houssine Kharja (11') & Massimo Maccarone (25')
NAP: Inacio Pia' (80')

Udinese 3 - 0 Atalanta
UDI: Fabio Quagliarella (43' & 74)' & Giovanni Pasquale (91)

AS Roma 0 - 0 Chievo

Juventus 2 - 2 Lecce
JUV: Pavel Nedved (54' & 66')
LEC: Axel Konan (11') & José Castillo (93')

Fiorentina 1 - 0 Torino
FIO: Juan Manuel Vargas (57')

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 34

Whomever said that the race for the Scudetto was over, spoke too soon. Inter Milan suffered a stunning 1-0 loss on the road to Napoli. Ex-Juve striker Marcelo Zalayeta scored in the 73rd minute to give Napoli the win and extend Inter’s winless streak to 3 games. The loss was the Nerazzurri’s 3rd of the season and may have opened the door to 2nd place AC Milan to challenge Inter for the Scudetto.

AC Milan continues its fierce late season charge with a 3-0 win at the San Siro over Palermo. 2 PK goals from Kaká and another score from Super Pippo Inzaghi gave Il Rossoneri the win. Milan extended their unbeaten streak to 7, having won 6 in that span. AC Milan has pulled 2 points ahead of Juventus and moved to within 7 points of their league leading arch rivals.

Fiorentina moved into 4th place and the last Champions League spot with an impressive 4-1 win at home versus fellow Champions League spot contender, Roma. A double by Alberto Gilardino helped I Viola to the 3 points. Fiorentina leaped over Genoa after Genoa lost 2-0 to Bologna on the road. Marco Di Vaio scored his league leading 21st goal for Bologna in the victory.

Here are the results and standings from Week 33:

SATURDAY, APRIL 25th
Chievo 1 - 2 Udinese
CHI: Sergio Pellissier (71′)
UDI: Gaetano D’Agostino (pen 35′ & 93′)

Fiorentina 4 - 1 AS Roma
FIO: Juan Manuel Vargas (6′), Alberto Gilardino (47′ & 67′), Massimo Gobbi (73′)
ROM: Julio Baptista (86′)

SUNDAY, APRIL 26th
Bologna 2 - 0 Genoa
BOL: Marco Di Vaio (pen 15′) & Claudio Terzi (25′)

Lazio 0 - 1 Atalanta
ATL: Leonardo Talamonti (24′)

Lecce 2 - 1 Catania
LEC: Gianni Munari (11′) & Simone Tiribocchi (25′)
CAT: Jorge Martínez (47′)

AC Milan 3 - 0 Palermo
ACM: Kaká (pen 10′ & pen 56′) & Filippo Inzaghi (19′)

Reggina 2 - 2 Juventus
REG: Antonino Barillá (26′) & Emil Hallfreðsson (69′)
JUV: Alessandro Del Piero (pen 48′) & Cristiano Zanetti (73′)

Torino 1 - 0 Siena
TOR: Rolando Bianchi (10′)

Sampdoria 3 - 3 Cagliari
SAM: Guido Marilungo (26′ & 43′) & Antonio Cassano (86′)
CAG: Alessandro Matri (47′), Robert Acquafresca (pen 68′), Daniele Conti (80′)

Napoli 1 - 0 Inter Milan
NAP: Marcelo Zalayeta (73′)

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 33

All those that thought that the Serie A wasn’t explosive need to look at Week 32 to see that it is. Let’s begin with the Derby D’Italia. Juventus and Inter played to a 1-1 draw in Turin that saw the drama intensify in the 2nd half. Mario Balotelli scored to give Inter the lead in the 64th minute and after Juve’s Tiago was sent off in the 76th minute it seemed as though the Nerazzurri would get the 3 points. However, conserevative substitutions by Jose Mourinho and the insertion of Sebastian Giovinco by Juve coach Claudio Rainieri eventually led to Zdenek Grygera’s goal in the 91st minute and a share of the points.

Juve’s draw makes them winless in their last 3 matches and with Milan’s 5-1 destruction of Torino. Il Rossoneri moved into a 2nd place tie with Juventus. Pippo Inzaghi scored a hat trick to extend Milan’s unbeaten streak to 6.

Roma improved its chances at a Champions League spot with a 3-2 home win versus Lecce. Francesco Totti scored twice to give Roma the victory. Roma’s win was good timing as the other Champions League contenders lost. Genoa lost 1-0 at home to Lazio and Fiorentina lost 3-1 on the road to Udinese.

Here are the results and standings from Week 32:

SATURDAY, APRIL 18th

Genoa 0 - 1 Lazio
LAZ: Mauro Zárate (65)

Juventus 1 - 1 Inter
JUV: Zdenek Grygera (91′)
INT: Mario Balotelli (64′)

SUNDAY, APRIL 19th

Atalanta 0 - 1 Reggina
REG: Fabio Ceravalo (40′)

Cagliari 2 - 0 Napoli
CAG: Jeda (5′) & Andrea Lazzari (92′)

Catania 2 - 0 Sampdoria
CAT: Giuseppe Mascara (pen 39′) & Jorge Martínez (48′)

Palermo 4 - 1 Bologna
PAL: Belleri (og 6′), Kjær (44′), Succi (63′), Cavani (92′)
BOL: Marco Di Vaio (84′)

Roma 3 - 2 Lecce
ROM: Francesco Totti (3′ & pen 59′), Matteo Brighi (13)
LEC: Munari (31′) & Papadopoulos (55′)

Siena 0 - 2 Chievo
CHI: Sergio Pellissier (23′ & 48′)

Udinese 3 - 1 Fiorentina
UDI: Kwadwo Asamoah (10′), Gaetano D’Agostino (pen 47′ & 69′)
FIO: Dario Dainelli (67′)

Milan 5 - 1 Torino
MIL: Filippo Inzaghi (13′, 37′, 60′), Kaká (pen 68′), Ambrosini (90′)
TOR: Ivan Franceschini (80′)

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Week 32

The matches of Week 31 of the Serie A were overshadowed by the tragedy of devastating earthquakes that killed around 230 people and injured many more in Central Italy. Matches across the country held a moment of silence out of respect for those that were affected by the quakes. All but 1 match was played on Saturday as Easter Sunday ceremonies took hold of the predominantly Catholic nation. That match was Udinese's 2-0 road win over Reggina and it took place on Sunday because Udinese played a UEFA Cup quarterfinal match on Thursday.

The marquee match of the week featured 4th place Genoa and 2nd place Juventus. Genoa defeated Juve 3-2 as the home side got a brace from Ex-Barcelona midfielder Thiago Motta. However, the game winner was scored in the 88th minute by Raffaele Palladino as Genoa dropped La Vecchia Signora 10 points behind Inter for the Scudetto.

The Derby della Capitale was another heated affair with goals early & often and red cards late & often. 3 goals were scored in the 1st 10 minutes with Lazio's Goran Pandev and Mauro Zarate scoring in the 1st 4 minutes to give Lazio an insurmountable lead that ultimately lead to a 4-2 victory. The victory snapped Lazio's 3-game losing streak and pretty much ended Roma's chances at a Champions League spot.

Here are the results and standings from Week 31:

Genoa 3 - 2 Juventus
GEN: Thiago Motta (29' & 45') & Raffaele Palladino (88')
JUV: Alessandro Del Piero (pen 45') & Vincenzo Iaquinta (84')

Lazio 4 - 2 AS Roma
LAZ: Goran Pandev (2'), Mauro Zarate (4'), Lichtsteiner (57'), Kolarov (85')
ROM: Philippe Mexès (10') & Daniele De Rossi (81')

Bologna 1 - 4 Siena
BOL: Massimo Marazzina (20')
SIE: Emanuele Calaio (6'), Daniele Portanova (11'), Ghezzal (62'), Kharja (81')

Fiorentina 2 - 1 Cagliari
FIO: Manuel Pasqual (53') & Juan Manuel Vargas (85')
CAG: Daniele Ragatzu (86')

Inter Milan 2 - 2 Palermo
INT: Mario Balotelli (15') & Zlatan Ibrahimovic (pen 39')
PAL: Edison Cavani (73') & Davide Succi (76')

Lecce 1 - 3 Sampdoria
LEC: Fabio Caserta (pen 59')
SAM: Giampaolo Pazzini (11') & Antonio Cassano (pen 30' & pen 88')

Napoli 0 - 0 Atalanta

Chievo 0 - 1 AC Milan
ACM: Clarence Seedorf (53')

Torino 2 - 1 Catania
TOR: Rolando Bianchi (82') & Cesare Natali (88')
CAT: Jorge Martínez (85')

Reggina 0 - 2 Udinese
UDI: (85') Antonio Floro Flores (85' & 90'+1)

STANDINGS

Serie A Weekly Wrap - Giornata 31