The Tuesday Calcio Wrap-Up #4: Inter's title to lose, an underrated Bologna and thoughts to Cosenza

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.

Mar 18, 2025

Is it all but done, then? Have Simone Inzaghi’s men just confirmed their Scudetto win? I might be jumping the gun a bit but after breezing past Atalanta and now with a three point cushion on Napoli, it’s becoming increasingly likely that Inter will lift the trophy again at the end of the season. It’s theirs to lose, especially with Napoli’s form at the moment. Elsewhere in Italy, Empoli and Parma seem to be having a battle of who can get relegated, instead of who can survive and Cosenza are pretty much down (unless for a miracle). Calcio delivers more chaos, so sit down, pour your espresso and tuck into this week’s wrap-up.

Pending: Congratulations to Inter

Inter faced Atalanta at the weekend in what was a huge game for both teams, especially following Napoli’s failure to beat relegation bound Venezia. Antonio Conte’s men may rue their failure to overcome these small hurdles in their title race as Inter continue a great run of form, further proving themselves as one of the best teams in Europe. Carlos Augusto and Lautaro Martinez scored the Nerazzurri’s goals as they eased past Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, seemingly knocking them out of the title race entirely. Ederson’s silly sending off at 0-1 for sarcastic clapping and dissent was something that the Bergamo side didn’t need, and if I were his teammates I’d be fuming. Regardless, with 11-men on the pitch I still think Inter get the same result.

The one saving grace for Napoli, though, is Inter’s fixture list. Two legs against city rivals Milan in the Coppa Italia and two legs against Bayern Munich in the quarter-final of the Champions League will certainly take a toll on a side already struggling physically. Throw in tough games against Bologna, Roma and Lazio still to come and there are a lot of potential hiccups that Conte will be watching for like a hawk.

Bologna are (one of) the most underrated teams in Europe

I’ve already done a big piece on Vincenzo Italiano and Bologna post-Thiago Motta but I’ll say it again - the work he is doing there is fantastic. They battered a good Lazio team 5-0 at the weekend, playing some magical football in the process. The passing play for Fabbian’s goal is something that should be applauded and seems to have gone under the radar given how good I think it was. They’re now fully in the race for Champions League, sitting in fourth place - one above Motta’s Juventus. Everyone thought Bologna would struggle post-Motta, especially after losing Joshua Zirzkee and Riccardo Calafiori but Italiano is proving why he’s such a wonderful coach. If they can continue this, they’re in the driving seat for that fourth spot which would be the cherry on the top of some magnificent work done by Italiano. Not only that, but if they make it to the final of the Coppa Italia (or win it), then it’s an incredible season.

Empoli or Parma: who can get relegated quicker?

Venezia and Monza seem doomed, to be honest. Even if Venezia held Napoli to a draw at the weekend. I just don’t see Venezia saving themselves. So, when Parma faced up against bottom placed Monza, you’d think they’d jump at the chance to extend the gap between them and the bottom three further - especially with Empoli facing a tough Torino side. However, they failed to beat Alessandro Nesta’s side, drawing 1-1. Lucky for them, Empoli seem to do one worse and lose 1-0 at a time when they desperately need points. The gap currently sits at three points and both seem to be wanting to go down, especially when Empoli fail to beat the likes of Venezia, Lecce and Genoa and Parma can’t overcome Monza, Cagliari or Lecce.

A thought for Cosenza

It seems that the Lodi won’t survive this season. From what looked like a glimmer of hope after they beat Reggiana last week, they fall to a 4-0 loss against Catanzaro and firmly putting them back in their place - five points behind 19th Salernitana and six from 17th placed Brescia. And even if they did catch Brescia, that’d still put them in the play-offs. They’re a long, long way away from automatic survival and it seems increasingly likely they’ll go down to the third division of Italian football, adding to their tumultuous time since the turn of the millennium with multiple expulsions and numerous phoenix clubs.

I have a soft spot for Cosenza thanks to the brilliant ‘Ultras’ book by Tobias Jones and for my stint at them on Football Manager 2024 (I know, I am a proper romantic). So, seeing them in this position is somewhat sad and I am praying for a miracle to see them survive.

‘Juve Merda’? Absolutely

I loved this. It’s brilliant from Fiorentina ultras. What makes it even better is how upset Juventus are about it. They’ve complained to the FIGC, requesting further action to be taken. But it’s not entirely inaccurate from Fiorentina - Juventus are currently ‘shit’. Thiago Motta deserves to be sacked and Juventus need emergency CPR to save their season - especially with the financial implications of not qualifying for the Champions League. And it doesn’t stop there. The mess at Juventus runs deeper than the coach. Cristiano Giuntoli has failed. The running of the club is shoddy. They don’t even have a sponsor, which is commercially terrible. At this stage, they need to rescue their season and qualify for the Champions League and then hard reset in the summer, abandoning the Motta and Giuntoli saga and starting again. But will it happen? Who knows? For now, my prediction is they’ll stick with Motta and miss out on fourth place.