Serie A 38: Milan Wins 18th National Serie A Title

Final season summary and Highlights of 38th round of Serie A

Leader: Allegri’s Milan completed the season with a scoreless tie at Udinese. The team (photo) who had secured the 18th National title with 2 rounds to go to the end of the season, dominated Serie A this year, despite many injuries. The club built up the success with a smart transfer strategy which added to Milan’s roster valuable players such as Ibrahimovic, Robinho, Cassano, Van Bommel, etc. The key man was however coach Allegri, won the title at its first attempt on Milan’s bench, successfully managing all the talent and fending off tough late challenges from Inter and Napoli.

Contenders: Inter ended a disappointing season with a win (3-1) over Catania. Expectations after last year’s 4 titles were high but Benitez’s bad start and firing combined with Leonardo’s inexperience proved fatal for Inter in key Serie A and Champions matches, with Coppa Italia now the only remaining chance for a competition win this year. Napoli, closing in third place, settled for a tie at Juventus (2-2), crowning a great season led by coach Mazzarri and the goals scored by Cavani. An even bigger surprise was Udinese this year which secured an amazing 4th place, despite an awful start to the season, thanks to coach Guidolin and the goals scored by DiNatale, Serie A’s top goal scorer this season.

Disasters: Lazio improved over last year, closing with a win at Lecce (2-4) but Reja’s team proved inconsistent and because of that missed a coveted Champions spot. Roma (winning its last match with Sampdoria 3-1) managed to do worse, never becoming a contender for the title as in years past and little was accomplished by replacing Ranieri with Montella. The biggest disaster however was DelNeri’s Juventus, a team that consistently underperformed in the middle of the standings, missing even a spot in the Europa League, the minimum target for such a high profile club.

Laggards: Palermo’s performance season (ending with a home less to Chievo 1-3) was as mixed as it was for both Fiorentina and Genoa. All three clubs expected more but handed up with less as they alternated good & poor performances. In the battle to avoid relegation many teams struggled almost to the end of the season with Chievo, Parma, Catania, and Cagliari securing another season in Serie A earlier than Cesena, Bolgona and Lecce. Among the 3 teams relegated to Serie B, Sampdoria (alongside Brescia and Bari) shocked its fans with consistent losses especially after the departure in mid-season of its 2 key talents Cassano and Pazzini, a loss from which this once glorious team was not able to recover.

Results: Bologna – Bari 0-4; Brescia- Fiorentina 2-2; Cagliari- Parma 1-1; Genoa- Cesena 3-2; Inter- Catania 3-1; Palermo    - Chievo 1-3; Juventus – Napoli    2-2; Lecce- Lazio 2-4; Roma- Sampdoria 3-1; Udinese- Milan 0-0.

Final Serie A 2010-11 Standings:
- Milan 82; (National Champion)
- Inter 76; Napoli 70; Udinese 66; (Qualified for Champions League)
- Lazio 66; Roma 63; (Qualified for Europa League)
- Juventus 58; Palermo 56; Fiorentina, Genoa 51;
- Chievo, Parma, Catania 46; Cagliari 45;
- Cesena 43; Bologna 42; Lecce 41;
- Sampdoria 36; Brescia    32; Bari 24 (Relegated to Serie B)

Serie A 2010 38: Inter wins 18th title, dreams on

Italian Champion: Inter’s team (photo) celebrated its 18th national title winning at Siena (0-1) led especially by Milito’s goals and the both charismatic and controversial coach Mourinho. Inter dominated the season and, after the Coppa Italia win, it is set to play the Champions League final that can conclude an historic season.

- Champions League zone: Roma ended in 2nd place with coach Ranieri leading the team to complete an amazing season that had started as a disaster with the former coach Spalletti and ended with the win at Chievo (0-2). Actually Roma came close to winning the title and it would be celebrating today had it not lost at home to Sampdoria in a key match. Milan ended in 3rd placed a disappointing season defeating a disastrous Juventus (3-0) and saying goodbye to departing coach Leonardo. Besides Inter, Roma and Milan, also taking part in next year’s Champions League (assuming it qualifies through preliminaries), will be the surpring DelNeri’ Sampdoria which defeated at home Napoli (1-0) led by the usual Pazzini and Cassano.

- Europa League zone: 3 clubs will play in the Europa League starting with Rossi’s Palermo (victorious today at Atalanta 1-2) alongside Mazzarri’s Napoli and disappointing Zaccheroni’s Juventus despite their losses today away from home.

- Mid-table zone: In mid-table Parma (which won 4-1 over Livorno) and Bari (which won 2-0 over Fiorentina) completed the season with home wins ahead of disappointing Fiorentina and Lazio (which beat Udinese 3-1). Catania (which defeated Genoa 1-0) surprised everyone with a strong end to the season surging in the standing past Cagliari, Chievo, Udinese and Bologna.

- Relegation zone: Despite a late surge Atalanta joined Siena and Livorno at the bottom of the standings and will be relegated to Serie B.

Results: Atalanta-Palermo 1-2; Bari-Fiorentina 2-0; Cagliari-Bologna 1-1; Catania-Genoa 1-0; Chievo-Roma 0-2; Lazio-Udinese 3-1; Milan-Juventus 3-0; Parma-Livorno 4-1; Sampdoria-Napoli 1-0; Siena-Inter 0-1.

Serie A 2009-10 Final Standings
- Inter 82; Roma 80; Milan 70; Sampdoria 67; (All in Champions League)
- Palermo 65; Napoli 59; Juventus 55; (Qualified for Europa League )
- Parma 52; Genoa 51; Bari 50; Fiorentina 47; Lazio 46;
- Catania 45; Cagliari, Chievo, Udinese 44; Bologna 42;
- Atalanta 35; Siena 31; Livorno 29. (3 Teams relegated to Serie B)

Serie A 2009 38: Inter wins 17th title, change coming

Italian Champion: Inter’s team (photo) celebrated its 17th national title defeating Atalanta (4-3) and the first with Mourinho. Ibrahimovic which scored twice became the league’s top scorer but its future with Inter next season is uncertain as some older are leaving or retiring (Figo).

- Champions League zone: Juventus clinched 2nd place with new coach Ferrara defeating Lazio (2-0) led by retiring Nedved and with Iaquinta scoring twice. Milan which won on Fiorentina’s turf (0-2) led by Kaka (whose future is also uncertain) said goodbye to retiring Maldini and its coach Ancelotti. With the victories Juventus and Milan qualified for the Champions League along with Prandelli’s Fiorentina which will have to qualify from a preliminary round.

- Europa League (formerly Uefa Cup) zone: Genoa easily beat Lecce (4-1) with departing Milito scoring twice while Roma won its final match at home against Torino (3-2). Genoa (led by the surprising coach Gasperini) and Spalletti’s Roma (which disappointed this year) will qualify for the Europa Leauge competition alongside Lazio (as national cup – Coppa Italia winner).

- Mid-table zone: Udinese and Napoli completed the season with home wins but were disappointed to fail to qualify for the Europa League just as much as Palermo and Sampdoria (which settled for a tie). With a loss in their final matches Cagliari, Lazio, Atalanta, Catania, Chievo and Siena (which actually tied its last match) completed a season of ups and down. Finally Bologna which avoided relegation with a win today also looks forward to next year.

- Relegation zone: After a very disappointing season Torino with the loss at Roma will be relegated to Serie B alongside Reggina and Lecce.

Serie A 2008-09 Final Standings
- Inter 84; Juventus, Milan 74; Fiorentina 68; (All in Champions League)
- Genoa 68; Roma 63;  (Both Qualified for Europa League )
- Udinese 58; Palermo 57; Cagliari 53; Lazio 50 (Coppa Italia winner);
- Atalanta47; Napoli, Sampdoria46; Siena44; Catania43; Chievo38; Bologna37;
- Torino 34; Reggina 31; Lecce 30 (3 Teams relegated to Serie B)

Serie A 2008: Inter wins 16th title

In the 38th and last round of Serie A, Inter Milan (top photo) won at Parma (0-2) its 16th Italian Champion title only in the second half, after struggling for most of match, thanks to Ibrahimovic (bottom right photo) who scored 2 vital goals in the second half. The match reflected Inter’s whole season with Mancini’s team dominating for most of it but disappointing at times and unable to seal the result until the end. Roma which at half time was leading both its match and the league settled for a tie (1-1) against a tough Catania that avoided relegation only with a goal scored in the final minutes. Juventus led by DelPiero (the league’s top scorer this year with 21 goals) settled for a tie (3-3) with Sampdoria while Fiorentina clinched a win at Torino (0-1) and the vital 4th place, the last spot available for next year’s Champions League. Milan, despite it win on Udinese (4-1) finished a disappointing 5th and will participate in next year UEFA cup alongside Sampdoria and Udinese. In mid-table Atalanta beat Genoa (2-0), Lazio beat Napoli (2-1) while Siena – Palermo and Cagliari – Reggina ended with ties (2-2 both). Empoli despite beating Livorno (2-1) will be relegated to Serie B alongside Parma and Livorno which disappointed this year.

Serie A 2007-08 Final Standings
- Inter 85, Roma 82, (<- both qualified for Champions League)
- Juventus 72, Fiorentina 66, (<- both in Champions L. preliminaries)
- Milan 64, Sampdoria 60, Udinese 57, (<- teams in UEFA Cup)
- Napoli 50, Atalanta, Genoa 48, Palermo 47, Lazio 46,
- Siena 44, Cagliari 42, Torino e Reggina 40, Catania 37,
- Empoli 36, Parma 34, Livorno 30. (<- teams relegated to Serie B)

Inter Milan – Winning Squad – Manager: Mancini;
Main squad: Julio Cesar, Samuel, Cordoba, Chivu, Materazzi, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Vieira, Stankovic, Ibrahimovic, Cruz; ( Others: Toldo, Dacourt, Figo, Solari, Balotelli, Burdisso, Cesar, Jimenez, Maicon, Rivas, Maniche, Maxwell, Suazo, Crespo, Pele’)

Serie A 2007: Inter wins 15th title

In the final round of Serie A, Inter’ squad (photo) celebrated its 15th national title by easily beating Torino (3-0). Inter alongside the other top 3 clubs this season (Roma, Lazio and Milan) clinched a spot in next year’s Champions League. The next 3 clubs in the standings, Fiorentina (victorious over Sampdoria 5-1), Palermo (victorious at Udine 1-2) and Empoli (despite a loss at Parma 3-1) clinched a spot in next year’s UEFA Cup competition. The main battle in this last round was to avoid relegation alongside the last 2 clubs in the standings, Ascoli (victorious over Cagliari) and Messina (which lost at Roma 4-3). The home victories of Reggina (over Milan 2-0), Siena (over Lazio 2-1) and especially Catania over Chievo (2-0) meant that these 3 home teams had secured a spot in next year’ Serie A while Chievo Verona was the third club to be relegated to Serie B. Next year’ Serie A will be even more competitive with Juventus coming back (first placed in Serie B) and Genoa and Napoli close to clinching promotion.

Serie A Final Standings 2006-07
- (Champions League) Inter 97; Roma 75; Lazio 62; Milan 61;
- (UEFA Cup) Fiorentina, Palermo 58; Empoli 54;
- Atalanta 50; Sampdoria 49; Udinese 46; Livorno 43;
- Parma 42; Catania 41; Reggina, Siena, Cagliari, Torino 40;
- (Relegated to Serie B) Chievo 39; Ascoli 27; Messina 26
(Revised penalization: Siena -1; Lazio -3, Milan -8, Reggina -11, Fiorentina -15)