Serie A special: What we learnt from round 18 matches (Part 2)
Leonardo off to a winning start
Former AC Milan manager Leonardo - now with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan - made a perfect start to his latest managerial assignment in ideal fashion. The Brazilian has only been in management for a year, and many questioned his ability to manage a top level team. In spite
of Leonardo doing a credible job with Rossoneri, there were question marks still. Well, not any more.
Granted, it was a single game and conclusions should not be drawn just yet. The way Inter approached the second best team in the league – according to rankings at least – was refreshing to say the least. The hunger to win and desire to play attacking football
was back in the squad. Leonardo now must aim for bigger and better things.
The Nerazzurri are currently 13 points off the pace with two games in hand. Should Leonardo manage to win the two games, Inter will be back in contention for a Champions League berth. However, nothing should be taken for granted, since there is still a long
way to go in the season.
AS http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roma-c31603 in title contention
Who would have expected such a turnaround from AS Roma? - Everyone who follows Serie A, that’s who. Gilarossi started the season in the worst possible manner, as they failed to register a victory until match day five. Things though, have changed dramatically
ever since.
Claudio Ranieri has done tremendously well with the squad, and he must be credited with the resurgence of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jeremy-Menez-c18345.
Last night, Gilarossi displayed their newly acquired winning mentality, by registering a come-from-behind-victory against Catania. Gilarossi were trailing 2–1 at half time at Stadio Olimpico in Rome. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mirko-Vucinic-c26024 was introduced in the second half and the
move paid rich dividends.
Gilarossi have fared extremely well against big teams. Ranieri’s men have taken points off the traditional Italian big three; AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus. It is against smaller teams where Lupi have dropped the most points. Should Ranieri manage to
eke out results against smaller opposition, Roma will give AC Milan a real run for their money.
Serie A must not lose http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alexis-Sánchez-c4979
Udinese, just like the Romans, had a less than ideal start to their season. Zebrette registered their first point on match day five. The likes of Gokhan Inler, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Antonio-Di-Natale-c6306 and Alexis Sanchez failed to perform up to their potential and that reflected
in the results.
Upon his arrival, Francesco Guidolin changed his tactics. Alexis Sanchez was reinstated as a traditional trequartista; an inspired piece of tactical genius. Sanchez had been playing as a winger with the team until then. With Sanchez playing in the hole,
Di Natale’s form also picked up and Zebrette started their climb up the league ladder.
As it so happens, Alexis is now touted to be the next big transfer. Manchester United and Inter Milan have been linked with the player in recent days. Serie A has lost a lot of star players in the last couple of seasons, and should Sanchez move away from
Italy, it will be a big loss for Serie A. Calcio is in a rebuilding phase and losing potential stars would be a step in the wrong direction.
Tags: