The Tuesday Calcio Wrap-Up #18 🇮🇹⚽️: Sampdoria survive, the Azzurrini crash out and the Club World Cup
Welcome to this week's wrap-up, where I give my thoughts on all the ups, downs and round and rounds from a weekend of Calcio fun.
It’s supposed to be the off-season, but as you know, Calcio is permanent. Technically, the 24/25 season has only just finished, given that the Serie B relegation debacle has now been decided (with plenty of drama, of course). Alongside that, we’ve had Italy’s U21s at the European Championships and Inter and Juventus playing in the Club World Cup in America. So, in this week’s Tuesday Wrap-Up, we’re diving into the most important bits of Calcio from the past week so you don’t miss a beat. Dive in…
😨 Salernitana go back-to-back and Sampdoria somehow survive
Not the news you’d want as a Salernitana fan, that’s for sure. I Granata were relegated from Serie A last season and have now been relegated to Serie C straight after, giving them back-to-back drops - something no club wants to have on their record. Sampdoria survive, with a 4-0 aggregate win in the play-outs. The second leg at the Arrechi was abandoned due to crowd trouble as Salernitana tifosi threw chairs onto the pitch in sheer disgust at the state of the club. Financially, this could prove catastrophic to the Salerno-based club.
Sampdoria, though, will breathe a sigh of relief. From what seemed like doom, they now have light and a chance to rebuild. It all seemed to go Sampdoria’s way during this process, too. Brescia ceases to exist, given them another shot at survival. And then Salernitana were struck with food poisoning and then had a goal disallowed for a dubious handball before Sampdoria scored straight after. Time will tell if Sampdoria and their ownership make the most of this second (third? fourth?) chance they’ve been given.
🟥 Two red cards, a delightful free-kick and a bright future
Italy faced Germany in their quarter-final at the U21 European Championships with some hope of qualifying for the next round. That was before they had two players sent off, with many calling the referee’s performance an absolute disgrace. Despite the referee seemingly playing against the Azzurrini, they managed to take the game into extra-time versus Germany’s 11 thanks to a stunning free-kick from Frosinone’s (on loan from Napoli), Giuseppe Ambrosini. It wasn’t until the 117th minute that Germany managed to break down the 9-men of Italy, sending the Azzurrini crashing out. However, it certainly wasn’t down solely to the performance of the young Italians. Bright future for the national team? Quite possibly. The future will start to reveal if any of these players are the answer to Italy’s problems. Systemic change is needed for Italy to see this long-term change but on a national team front, they have some bright talents that could prove wonderful for the first team. Let’s see what happens…
💵 Inter’s last-minute heroics and Juventus’ 100% record - this is Calcio at the Club World Cup
The Club World Cup is currently ongoing, if you haven’t seen. Don’t worry, though, the attendance of the games seem to suggest not many others have either. It’s almost as if playing games in the middle of a workday in the US was a bad idea. Still, it’s been wonderful to see the impact it’s had on the likes of Boca, River, Urawa Reds and others‘ fans. After all, this tournament means something to people around the world - regardless of Europe’s attitude.
Inter needed a 92nd minute winner from Valentin Carboni to overcome Urawa in the group stage, and that was after a 1-1 draw to Monterrey in their first game. Juventus, however, are enjoying themselves so far, beating Al Ain 5-0 and Wydad AC 4-1. Their biggest test comes next, though, as they face Manchester City.