AC Milan
Milan started this season with the sole objective of regaining the Serie A title, which they had last won in the 2003-04 season. Summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been on song from the very first match of the season, and has notched up 9 goals so far in the league. Kevin Prince Boateng and Robinho have taken their time to get accustomed to the Rossoneri style of playing and their recent performances suggest that they will play a vital role this season. Two home and one away loss botches the perfect start so far for il Diavolo. Milan head into the Christmas break at the top of the table and is likely to continue their dominance this year.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Zlatan Ibrahimovic (9 goals)
Most assists : Zlatan Ibrahimovic (7 assists)
Napoli
The loan deal of Edinson Cavani from Palermo has been a masterstroke for Napoli as the Uruguayan striker has notched up as many as 10 goals this season so far. He has formed a commendable strike force with Marek Hamsik, and this in turn has led Napoli to be at the second position in the league table at the mid-year break. Napoli’s highlight so far this year has been their victory over AS Roma at Stadio San Paolo. They would aim to continue their form for the rest of the season and qualify for the UEFA Champions League, having already qualified for the UEFA Europa League this time around.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Edinson Cavani (10 goals)
Most assists : Ezequiel Lavezzi (6 assists)
Lazio
Mauro Zarate, Sergio Floccari and Hernanes have been the bright light for Lazio so far this season. Among them, they have notched up as many as 14 out of 23 goals that Lazio has scored. Since they finished 12th last season, they have been unable to get any European action this year. A third place could augur well for them and even if they fail to hold on to their current position, they should be able to qualify for the Europa league next year.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Sergio Floccari (5 goals)
Most assists : Stefano Mauri (7 assists)
Juventus
Juventus saw managerial as well as staff changes this season with Andrea Agnelli appointed the new president and Luigi Delneri becoming the new manager. A host of players came in the last transfer window, among them being Marco Storari from Milan, Milos Krasic from CSKA Moscow and Fabio Quagliarella from Napoli. Although Juventus started off with a disappointing loss against Bari, they have gradually turned themselves into title contenders with strong performances since late September. They can be seen as serious title contenders this season.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Fabio Quagliarella (9 goals)
Most assists : Milos Krasic (5 assists)
AS Roma
A second place finish in last year’s league has fuelled Roma to believe that they can capture their 4th Scudetto this season. The loan move of Borriello from Milan has been a blessing in disguise for the Giallorossi as he has turned into a prolific scorer for them, scoring in a recent match against Milan. Roma is currently in 5th position and can be seen as finishing inside the top 4 this season.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Marco Borriello (7 goals)
Most assists : Francesco Totti (3 assists)
Palermo
Palermo began this season hoping to improve on their 5th place finish last year. A bevy of new players arrived in the summer transfer window along with a new team manager. That helped them start the season in fantastic form as they got impressive away wins against Juventus and Fiorentina, and a home win over Roma. Javier Pastore has been grabbing the headlines for all the right reasons and in all probability will continue to do so for the remainder of the season.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Javier Pastore (7 goals)
Most assists : Federico Balzaretti (4 assists)
Internazionale
Last season’s triple winner started this season on an emphatic note by winning the Supercoppa Italiana by defeating Roma. But everything since that win has been downhill for them so far. Rafael Benitez was brought in to fill in the huge shoes of his predecessor Mourinho but he was sacked due to poor outcomes which resulted in Inter being as many as 13 points adrift from the current league leader, Milan. Long-term injury to Walter Samuels has not helped their cause also. The only silver lining for them has been the form of Eto’o, who with 9 goals is placed second in the goal-scorers list. Internazionale, at this point of time, cannot be seen as a serious contender for the Scudetto.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Samuel Eto’o (9 goals)
Most assists : Wesley Sneijder, Jonathan Ludovic Biabiany (3 assists)
Sampdoria
Sampdoria has had an impressive season so far having drawn their matches against Juventus, Inter and Milan. Their leading man, Pazzini has scored a hat trick against Lecce and has 6 goals against his name at the winter break. Even though they have been embroiled in the Antonio Cassano saga over disciplinary issues, Sampdoria could very well repeat their last year’s performance and once again qualify for the Champions League.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Giampaolo Pazzini (6 goals)
Most assists : Guido Marilungo (3 assists)
Genoa
Genoa started this season rather slowly with only one victory in their opening six encounters. Even though they have lost against all the four big teams, they have notched up victories elsewhere and presently they are in the tenth spot in the league. A Europa league spot definitely looks in the offing for them once the second half of the season commences.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Luca Toni (3 goals)
Most assists : Miguel Veloso (4 assists)
Udinese
Udinese is another team who had only one victory in their opening six games. Antonio Di Natale has been waging a lone battle so far and is currently leading the goal scorers’ table with 10 goals. The maximum number of assists from any player so far has been a mere 2, which does not augur well for a team which could play in the Europa league next year.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Antonio Di Natale (10 goals)
Most assists : Antonio Di Natale, Antonio Floro Flores, Alexis Sánchez, Mauricio Isla, Kwadwo Asamoah (2 assists)
Chievo Verona
Chievo has so far registered 5 victories out of 17 matches. Their highlight of the season so far has been their victory over Internazionale and their home draws against Roma and Juventus. Sergio Pellissier and Davide Moscardelli have been the prominent scorers for Chievo and between them, they have notched up as many as 10 goals. The Gialloblu is expected to hold on to their status of being a mid-table team in the second half of the season.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Sergio Pellissier (6 goals)
Most assists : Sergio Pellissier (4 assists)
Bologna
Bologna is starting to look more and more like a one man team with Marco Di Vaio leading the charge. Even though they have been successful in the Coppa Italia so far, they have failed to replicate their form in the Serie A. They have performed exceptionally at home, managing to remain unbeaten till Milan thrashed them 0-3 on 12th Dec. Commendable draws against Internazionale and Juventus have boosted their morale in the season in which they have only registered 2 victories on the road.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Marco Di Vaio (9 goals)
Most assists : Marco Di Vaio (2 assists)
Cagliari
Cagliari started this season with an emphatic 5-1 victory over AS Roma, but their form went south after that as they failed to register a single victory in 6 successive matches. Head coach Pierpaolo Bisoli was sacked in November with former Italy boss Roberto Donadoni replacing him at the Rossoblu helm. Even though they went into the winter break with a loss against Cesena, Cagliari is looking like a team which could possibly end up inside the top 10 this season.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Alessandro Matri (8 goals)
Most assists : Andrea Cossu (9 assists)
Catania
Catania is a team like Bologna, whose success in the Coppa Italia was not mirrored in their league performance. Although Maxi Lopez has garnered interest from Juventus, the rest of the team has been appalling so far which is reflected in their current position in the league. They are most likely to finish outside the top ten when this season is done and dusted with.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Gaston Maxi Lopez (3 goals)
Most assists : Giuseppe Mascara, Cristian Llama (2 assists)
Fiorentina
It has been an up-and-down season so far for the Viola, who started this season on the wrong note with two losses and two draws in their first four games. Long-term injury to goalkeeper Sebastian Frey has not augured well for them, which has made summer signing Artur Boruc stand between the posts. The highest number of assists so far has been a mere two, which suggests the lack of cohesion upfront. Fiorentina have to play out of their skin if they intend to become a mid-table team in the second half of the season.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Alberto Gilardino (5 goals)
Most assists : Adem Ljajic (2 assists)
Parma
Parma started this season with a new head coach and despite their initial success, went rock-bottom in Serie A after their 7th league game. However they rallied back and reached as high as the 14th position to ease pressure on Pasquale Marino, who earlier came under heavy criticism. But their victories were interleaved with poor losses and draws, which made their performance, go from bad to worse. Parma have it in them to be a mid-table team for this season, but only if they can put in consistent performances over a period.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Hernán Crespo (6 goals)
Most assists : Mariano de Almeida Angelo (3 assists)
Cesena
Promotion into Serie A has been tough for Cavallucci Marini so far and more often than not they have languished near the relegation zone. The only shocker came when they beat AC Milan 2-0 in their very second match in the league. They can only expect to stay in this league only if they can grind out victories in the second half of the season. Only five players in their entire roster have been able to get on the score sheet till now.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Erjon Bogdani (4 goals)
Most assists : Emanuele Giaccherini, Matias Schelotto (2 assists)
Lecce
Lecce qualified for this year’s Serie A after they won the Serie B title last year. However, their journey so far does not suggest that they will last in the topmost tier till the end of the season. Confidence has been low after they lost by a scoreline of 4-0 on three occasions. Among the big clubs, they have only managed to overcome Fiorentina. If their current form continues then they can be soon seen back in Serie B.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : David Di Michele (4 goals)
Most assists : David Di Michele, Rubén Olivera (2 assists)
Brescia
Another club which earned their promotion to Serie A this year is Brescia. But for most of the season, they have hovered in the relegation zone of the topmost football league in Italy. In their desperation, Serie A strugglers Brescia, who have not won a league game since September 22, sacked coach Giuseppe Iachini and appointed Mario Beretta, with the hope that he will be able to steer them away from relegation.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Andrea Caracciolo (5 goals)
Most assists : Alessandro Diamanti, Nicolas Cordova (2 assists)
Bari
It has been a disaster season for Bari and they have been able to register only two wins so far this season. Their performance has meandered from mediocre to simply abysmal and if the performance in the second half of the season mirrors their performance so far, they can very well look into playing in the Serie B the coming year.
Facts and Figures:
Most goals : Paulo Vito Barreto (4 goals)
Most assists : Emmanuel Rivas, Sergio Almiron (2 assists)
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