European football: Italy prepares for the Milan derby
The 2000s – or whatever the official term is for the previous decade - brought vastly contrasting fortunes for the two most famous Milanese clubs.
While Inter were busy racking up Scudetto after Scudetto, the Rossoneri struggled to make their presence felt in the league after 2004 – the year they last won the Serie A title. In fact, AC Milan haven’t finished in the top two for five years now, allowing their great rivals to storm to five consecutive league titles.
The infamous Calciopoli scandal in 2006 also affected Milan, as Inter went on to enjoy a golden period in their history, culminating in last season’s historic treble under José Mourinho.
However, with a new decade brings a fresh start, and as things stand in Italy’s premier division, Milan currently sit top of the league after their first 11 matches.
Under the leadership of new coach Massimiliano Allegri, and with several world-class players including Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho added to the ranks, Milan have rediscovered their zest this season. As for their neighbours, Inter, Mourinho’s exit paved the way for ex-Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez to take over, but too many draws has seen them fail to build on last season’s success – so far.
What better way, then, for Benitez to endear himself to the Inter faithful than a victory in the San Siro this Sunday over their co-tenants. Depending on other results, three points would lift the Nerazzurri to the top of Serie A, but Milan haven’t beaten their rivals since September 2008 and are certainly due a positive result.
If that wasn’t enough to whet the appetite then the second v third clash between Lazio and Napoli, and an intriguing fixture between Juventus and Roma, should soon sort that out.
Lazio were knocked off top spot on Wednesday after a second consecutive league defeat, this time against Cesena. Meanwhile, their opponents have been going great guns over recent weeks – winning three matches in a row and keeping clean sheets in each of those games.
But a day earlier there’s the small matter of Juventus v Roma: one to keep an eye on for those with a passion for veterans and goals. This fixture has produced 14 goals in the last four matches and will feature Allesandro del Piero and Francesco Totti – two legends of Serie A football now approaching the final stages of their respective careers.
The weekend’s most entertaining clash promises to take place in Spain, though, between Barcelona and Villarreal at the Nou Camp.
The Yellow Submarine have exceeded expectations this season and currently sit proudly in third place – three points behind league leaders Real Madrid and two behind Pep Guardiola’s side. Their impressive performances at the start of the campaign have led to flattering comparisons with their opponents, although with Lionel Messi, Barcelona always seem to have an unfair advantage. The Argentina international took his tally to a remarkable 64 goals in his last 64 matches after a Copa del Rey goal against Ceuta on Wednesday evening, and he will be the player Villarreal need to stop if they’re to record an unlikely away victory.
As for table-toppers, Real, they travel to El Molinón this Sunday evening to take on Sporting Gijon. Mourinho’s men are still unbeaten in the league, and have never lost against Gijon at home or away. Ominous signs indeed.
Away from Spain, there’s a bundle of mouth-watering fixtures in Germany’s Bundesliga.
Borussia Dortmund could extend their lead at the top of the table with a home win against sixth-placed Hamburg this evening, surprise package Mainz will aim to get back to winning ways against Hannover, Stuttgart plan to continue their revival away at Kaiserslautern, and below-par Wolfsburg take on Schalke, who finally recorded their second win of the campaign against St Pauli last weekend.
There’s also Bayern Munich v Nurnberg, a clash between Hoffenheim and Freiburg, not to mention Werder Bremen attempting to bounce back from their 6-0 humiliation against Stuttgart. They play Frankfurt on Saturday.
And for those with an unquenchable thirst for European football, there’s also a couple of tasty looking matches in France’s Ligue 1.
Lyon play Nice on Sunday, hoping to continue their revival. Claude Puel, who held on to his job by the skin of his teeth earlier this season, will see his team rise into the top half with a home victory. And Rennes could move back to the top of the league – but they’ll need to beat Auxerre away to do so. A task much easier said than done.
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