⚽️🇮🇹 Inter and Juve go to battle in the Derby d'Italia!
⚽️🇮🇹 Inter and Juve go to battle in the Derby d'Italia!
👋 Ciao a tutti!
Welcome to Calcio Weekly, your comprehensive weekly digest of Italian soccer.
This week, we’re previewing one of the biggest games of the season, when league leaders Inter host second-place derby rivals Juventus. We’re also learning the identity of Weston McKennie’s soccer idol, and finding out what a “bandiera” is!
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🇮🇹 Inter and Juve go to battle in the Derby d’Italia
The stakes couldn’t be any higher for this weekend’s edition of the Derby d’Italia, with Inter hosting Juventus in a meeting that could define the Scudetto race.
🥊 The rivalry between Inter and Juventus - who represent the two biggest cities in northern Italy - was named the Derby d’Italia by sports journalist Gianni Brera in 1967, and the name has stuck ever since. This will be their 248th meeting.
🥇 It is considered by many to be the biggest fixture in Serie A, and the equivalent of El Clasico in Spain or Der Klassiker in Germany.
🔢 Hosts and league leaders Inter sit one-point ahead of second-place Juve, with a game in hand. A win for Juve would bring them back to the top of Serie A, setting up a fierce title race for the remainder of the season.
💫 Inter enters the tie in imperious form, with five straight wins (including two impressive games at the Supercoppa Italiana). Juve are also in excellent form, with seven wins in their last eight in all competitions - but they dropped points in a 1-1 home draw with Empoli in the most-recent game day.
🤬 The war of words between the two clubs is well underway. Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri started the mind games by hailing Inter as Scudetto favorites, before comparing his side to Australian Open champion (and new Italian hero) Jannik Sinner, who defeated Novak Djokovic in Melbourne last weekend…
😂 On the subject of tennis, World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz posted a cheeky reply on Wednesday, when Juventus signed Argentine midfielder… Carlos Alcaraz!
📺 Watch The Derby D’Italia this Sunday at 2.45pm ET on Paramount+.
🐺 A perfect start for Daniele De Rossi
Daniele De Rossi’s return to Roma as interim manager is going pretty well, with a 100% record in three matches played.
🙌 After winning his first match in charge at home to Verona, the Giallorossi legend followed up with a friendly win over Al Shabab in Riyadh, and a road victory at Salernitana on Monday. All wins have been by a 2-1 scoreline.
🗣️ Roma were in ninth place in Serie A when De Rossi took charge, and they now sit in fifth, just one point outside of the Champions League qualification berths.
⏭️ Up next for Roma: De Rossi’s side are back at the Stadio Olimpico on Monday (2.45pm ET on Paramount+), where they host relegation-threatened Cagliari. And speaking of Cagliari….
❤️ Cagliari says goodbye to Gigi Riva
Italian soccer legend Gigi Riva, who passed away at age 79 last week, was remembered by teams across Serie A over the weekend. Cagliari, with whom he won a Serie A title in 1969-70, led the tributes, with all players warming up wearing his iconic No. 11 jersey.
⚽️ When Nicolas Viola scored in Cagliari’s subsequent match against Torino, he celebrated with a reference to Riva’s shirt number.
🏆 Riva was Cagliari’s honorary club president at the time of his passing. With 35 goals in 42 official international appearances, he remains the Italian national team’s all-time top scorer.
Clubs across the league paid their respects with minute-long silences at their respective games.
🚲 Genoa climbing the table one bicycle kick at a time
Genoa earned a 2-1 win over Lecce on Sunday, with the winner coming via a stupendous bicycle kick from substitute Caleb Ekuban.
⏭️ Up next for Genoa: Gilardino’s charges head to Empoli on Saturday (9am ET on Paramount+), with whom they have tied in their last three meetings.
⏸️ AC Milan pause game to support Mike Maignan following racial abuse
AC Milan’s 2-2 draw with Bologna was halted in the 16th minute to show support for the Rossoneri’s No. 16 Mike Maignan, who suffered racial abuse in the previous game week.
🛑 Milan’s 3-2 win at Udinese in game week 21 was marred by racial abuse directed at Maignan. The game was temporarily suspended when the Rossoneri left the field.
⚽️ Following the incident, Udinese have been ordered to play a game behind closed doors, while Italian police confirmed four Udinese fans have been banned from attending the club’s games for life, and banned from attending all Italian stadiums for five years.
🗣️ During the pause in the Bolgona clash, a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. was displayed on the screens at the San Siro: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.”
🫶 Maignan’s teammate, USMNT star Yunus Musah, spoke with CNN about the situation:
“It was very intense for Mike to be receiving all that abuse from so many fans.
“So it was really, really important that when we saw that, the whole team reacted great. We all stuck by our friend.
“We’re people before athletes and we just forgot about the game and focused on our friend.”
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🇮🇹 Discovering Bologna with Stefan Posch
Stefan Posch arrived in Bologna in 2022, and is well acquainted enough with the beautiful city to give a tour for our Champions of Made in Italy series. As a fan of motorsport, the Austrian defender is well placed in the home of Lamborghini…
💨 ICYMI: Tim Weah turns on the jets
Juventus’ aforementioned draw against Empoli may have turned into a loss, if not for USMNT star Tim Weah, who showed very impressive pace and timing to make a goal-saving tackle…
💬 Calcio Conversations
Ahead of the big meeting between two of Italian football’s most storied clubs, it’s a good time to learn what Italians mean when they call a player a “bandiera”.
🤷♂️ What does it mean? The word literally means “flag bearer,” and refers to a player who is considered symbolic of a club, and who has typically represented them for a long time. Think Paolo Maldini at AC Milan, Francesco Totti at Roma or Alessandro Del Piero at Juventus.
😮 Social Post of the Week: Weston McKennie’s soccer idol revealed!
Juventus’ squad were asked to name their soccer idols during a recent training session, and Weston McKennie nominated a Serie A legend… who might be a little more popular in the Italian capital than Turin.
📺 This weekend on CBS Sports and Paramount+
Friday February 2nd
Lecce v Fiorentina (2.45pm ET)
Saturday February 3rd
Empoli v Genoa (9am ET)
Udinese v Monza (9am ET)
Frosinone v AC Milan (12pm ET)
Bologna v Sassuolo (2.45pm ET)
Sunday February 4th
Torino v Salernitana (6.30am ET)
Napoli v Verona (9am ET)
Atalanta v Lazio (12pm ET)
Inter v Juventus (2.45pm ET)
Monday February 5th
Roma v Cagliari (2.45pm ET)
🇨🇦 Reading this in Canada? Watch ALL Serie A games LIVE on Fubo - and try it for free! 🇨🇦
Grazie e arrivederci!
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