🇮🇹⚽ The Tuesday Calcio Wrap-Up #9: HUGE moves at the top, neck-and-neck at the bottom and an Antonio Conte tantrum
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.
Remember last week when I said I’d not go back to the title race for a bit and let it play out? Well, I lied. Riccardo Oroslini has made me come back to it this week as his goal against Inter has HUGE implications on the race for the Scudetto. That, and it’s a massive moment for Bologna’s bid to qualify for the Champions League. At the other end of the table, Venezia were minutes away from jumping out of the bottom three as Parma edged closer to the relegation zone. The Emilio-Romagna club are yet to play this week due to fixture postponement following the death of Pope Francis. All that and more in this week’s Tuesday Calcio Wrap-Up from the FORZA CALCIO newsletter…
✂️ Inter slip-up in Bologna and Naples celebrates
Inter are currently facing three separate competitions with one (Club World Cup) on the horizon, and the cracks are starting to show. They were three points going into this weekend with a very tough match away to a fantastic Bologna side - a match that Napoli had a couple of weeks back and drew. Fast forward to full-time at Stadio Dal’Arra and the tide has turned thanks to an incredible Riccardo Orsolini scissor kick worthy of Goal of the Season. Napoli now level on points with them after they scraped past a terrible Monza side 1-0 and when that Orsolini goal went in, Naples celebrated in Naples fashion with horns galore. What we have now is a title race where many think it’s Napoli’s to lose, which was something no one thought back in February and March. Inter’s squad is struggling to cope with the fixture demands after they are in the semi-finals of both the Coppa Italia and the Champions League. That’s a problem incurred from a lackadaisical summer window where they failed to prepare properly. Napoli fans, though, will not be bothered as they are now tied for top spot. If you ask any of them, they’ll not tell you what they think thanks to their deeply ingrained superstitious attitude. Five games left in the Serie A for both, with Napoli having the favourable run in and depending on how they go, we may have a Scudetto play-off on our hands. I’m sure both sets of fans want to avoid that stress at all costs…
😡 Will Antonio Conte be Napoli manager next season?
One simple answer: Only God himself knows. I’m not even sure Antonio Conte knows. Everyone predicted that Conte at Napoli would explode at the start of the season, leading to him walking out of the job. Well, despite being top of Serie A and on course to win the club’s fourth Scudetto - one that would be his absolute masterpiece as a coach - he’s adding fuel to the flames. “I have to calculate everything, I am not stupid. I put big pressure on myself, but I also need the right weapons to fight with, otherwise it’s a massacre and I don’t want to be massacred,” he said. Evidently, he's not happy at the winter transfer window (and I can’t blame him for that), but he’s starting to see certain true colours at the club. This was also after the win against Monza. In his pre-match press conference, he had already sparked controversy by stating, “there are some things you cannot do [at Napoli]” in regards to his comments earlier in the season about not seeing the club as a 'stepping stone’. Time to see how this one plays out. Warning: expect fireworks.
👇 Who’ll be playing Serie B football next season?
Gianluca Busio scored for Venezia in the 85th minute against Empoli and many believed that it’d be the winner. If it were, Venezia would have moved out of the drop zone in what would have been a monumental moment in their fight for Serie A survival. That dream lasted two minutes, though, as Emoli’s Tino Anjorin equalised in the 87th to draw the game. Points shared. Both clubs are still in the bottom three. Five points separate 15th and 19th, with Cagliari being the outsiders on slipping into the bottom three. Parma still have Juventus to play this week, and Lecce were battered by Como 3-0, furthering their woes. It’s a very tight relegation battle to call, with (mainly) four teams fighting it out. Lecce’s next two games are against Atalanta and Napoli and Parma’s against Juventus and Lazio, and Venezia and Empoli will be licking their lips at that. Roberto D'Aversa’s men have the favourable run-in of the four with Lecce themselves left to play as well as Verona and Monza.
Keeping an eye away from the Serie A, here are this week’s headlines from the lower divisions of calcio:
Serie B
🤦♂️ Nothing new to report from Serie B as all games this weekend were postponed following the Pope’s passing. They are now set to play M34 on 13th May, four days after the last matchweek of the season. Of course they are…
🍖 Following their game’s postponement, Mantova and Catanzaro Ultras decided to join each other for a barbecue and a kick-around. Wholesome moment!
Serie C
💚 Avellino were promoted back to Serie B, a huge moment for the club. They were excluded from Serie B in 2018 due to financial issues, restarting as a phoenix club in Serie D. They, of course, celebrated in style. Also, it turns out that whenever they are promoted, a death occurs at the Vatican…
Rest in peace, Pope Francis.
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Reminder: All games this Saturday have been moved to Sunday due to the Pope’s funeral. It is TBC at the time of writing this newsletter whether or not the Coppa Italia semi-final fixtures will go ahead
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