⚽️🇮🇹 Serie A's best midfielder is crowned!
In this week’s Italian soccer digest, we're also looking at Torino's tributes on the anniversary of the Superga Disaster, a tense relegation battle and much more!
💜 Fiorentina return to Europa Conference League final
Congratulations are due to Fiorentina, which reached its second consecutive Europa Conference League final on Wednesday night when a 1-1 draw away to Club Brugge sealed a 4-3 aggregate semi-final victory.
💪 Fiorentina beat the 10-man Belgians 3-2 in Florence last week thanks to a last-minute M’Bala Nzola winner and Lucas Beltran’s equalizer from the penalty spot proved enough to finish the job in Brugge.
🐺 In the Europa League, Roma is looking to return to the final by overturning a deficit at the BayArena in Leverkusen tonight.
🇩🇪 Daniele De Rossi’s side lost the first leg 2-0 at home to German Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, who are unbeaten in 47 games this season in all competitions.
🔥 Atalanta claimed a 1-1 draw away to Olympique de Marseille last week, Gianluca Scamacca continuing his hot streak with yet another goal, and will look to make history by reaching their first-ever European final with victory tonight in Bergamo.
🇺🇸 McKennie praised as Pulisic provides
The USMNT’s biggest Serie A stars were involved in goal-filled draws in Game Week 35 as Timothy Weah and Weston McKennie’s Juventus were held 1-1 by AS Roma, while Christian Pulisic provided a glorious assist in AC Milan’s 3-3 tie with Genoa.
🇪🇺 Juve have now tied four games in a row in Serie A, but will be mathematically assured of a place in next season’s Champions League if they beat relegated Salernitana on Sunday (12pm ET on Paramount+).
👏 Allegri picked out McKennie and his fellow midfielders for praise after the trip to Rome, where Romelu Lukaku’s opener was cancelled out by a Gleison Bremer header in the first half.
✅ “Our midfield is what makes the team tick,” Allegri said. “Our midfielders have had a good season, we played with McKennie, [Manuel] Locatelli, [Adrien] Rabiot and [Fabio] Miretti…They never backed down.”
😮 Pulisic’s Milan has already qualified for Europe’s top competition for next season and were held in a six-goal thriller with Genoa. The USMNT captain set up Olivier Giroud in style for his side’s third goal, marking his 10th league assist of the season.
🤫 The final 10 minutes of the game was played out in an eerie atmosphere after the Curva Sud section of the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza was left empty as part of a fan protest.
❤️ Torino commemorates 75th anniversary of Superga disaster
This week Torino players, staff and fans commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Superga air disaster, when a plane carrying the fabled ‘Grande Torino’ side crashed into the Basilica of Superga overlooking Turin.
All 31 people on board were killed in the tragedy on May 4, 1949, including almost all of the Torino squad, staff, journalists and crew.
The ‘Grande Torino’ side of the 1940s is regarded as one of the greatest in Italian soccer history, winning five Serie A titles in a row and forming the backbone of the Italy national team in that period.
Torino wore special edition shirts for their draw with Bologna on Friday night in tribute.
On Saturday, the current squad joined fans at the Basilica of Superga for a commemorative service, where captain Alessandro Buongiorno read out the names of the fallen, while Turin’s iconic ‘Mole Antonelliana’ was lit up in Granata colors.
👏 Sassuolo make history as relegation battle heats up
Sassuolo completed a remarkable double against newly-crowned champions Inter to boost their survival hopes as a thrilling relegation battle takes shape.
🔥 Armand Lauriente’s goal earned the Neroverdi a 1-0 win at the Mapei Stadium.
🤯 Incredibly, Sassuolo have now been responsible for the champions’ only two league defeats this season, having beaten them 2-1 at San Siro in September too.
🗣️ “It is a huge achievement, because for a team like ours to beat Inter is an extraordinary event, especially considering the current situation,” Sassuolo coach Davide Ballardini said. The result came at the perfect time for his side, who currently sit on 29 points in 19th place, three points adrift of safety.
😲 It was an eventful weekend in the relegation battle; following Sassuolo’s shock win, Hellas Verona stunned Fiorentina 2-1 and Udinese snatched a late 1-1 draw against Napoli in two more surprise results.
😬 There are only five points between Verona in 14th and Sassuolo in 19th with three games to go, as six teams – Cagliari, Frosinone, Empoli and Udinese included – battle to avoid finishing alongside relegated Salernitana in the remaining two demotion spots.
🏆 Lewis Ferguson scoops Bulgarelli award for best Serie A midfielder
We told you last week about how Bologna sealed their return to European competition for the first time in 22 years, and their Scottish midfielder Lewis Ferguson has been at the heart of that success.
🏴 Ferguson was this week awarded the Bulgarelli award, named after Bologna legend Giacomo Bulgarelli and handed out annually to the best midfielder in Serie A. Previous winners include Andrea Pirlo, Nicolò Barella and Daniele De Rossi.
⚽ The Scot has had a sensational season, scoring six goals and providing four assists while captaining Thiago Motta’s side to help them close in on a Champions League spot.
🚑 Ferguson’s season is sadly now over after an ACL injury sustained in a 0-0 draw with Monza on April 13 ended his campaign prematurely.
“An honor to receive the Bulgarelli Award 23/24,” Ferguson said. “Bulgarelli is such an important person in the history of Bologna and to be recognized with this award is a proud moment for me”
🏆 Roma’s Giada Greggi scooped the award for the best midfielder in Serie A Femminile after helping the capital club win their second title.
👏 Social Post of the Week: Dimarco keeps his promise!
After vowing to get a tattoo to celebrate if Inter won the scudetto, Nerazzurri wing-back Federico Dimarco saw through his promise this week – and posted the results.
🐍 If you’re wondering, the Milanese club’s nickname is the Biscione or ‘grass snake’… which explains why there is a serpent coming out of the Serie A trophy!
🗓️ The date 22-04-2024 was, of course, when Inter defeated rivals Milan to seal their 20th title.
🫡 Become a Calcio Weekly Capitano
Share this newsletter with 10 friends, and we’ll send you a genuine Serie A captain’s armband (as seen below, expertly modeled by the Coppa Italia trophy in our NYC offices)…
🇮🇹 Juventus and Atalanta set to face off in Coppa Italia final
Next Wednesday, Juventus and Atalanta will lock horns for the Coppa Italia trophy at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico (3pm ET on Paramount+).
🏆 Juventus, who knocked out Salernitana, Frosinone and Lazio to reach the final, are record 14-time winners of the competition and last triumphed in 2021.
🟦⬛ Atalanta is looking to lift the trophy for just the second time, ending a wait stretching back to 1963, and have defeated Sassuolo, Milan and Fiorentina to reach the showpiece game.
🤞 For La Dea, it would be their first piece of silverware under legendary coach Gian Piero Gasperini, who has led the club for eight years and twice finished as a runner-up in that time.
😬 Atalanta haven’t generally had much luck in Coppa finals, losing four in total since their sole success in the sixties.
⚔️ There was no separating these sides in Serie A this season, as they played out a 0-0 stalemate in Bergamo in October before a 2-2 draw in Turin in March.
⚖️ Third-placed Juve are currently six points ahead of Atalanta in fifth in the standings, but the Bergamaschi have a game in hand.
💬 Calcio Conversations
Around this time of the season, you might start hearing more and more about the scontri diretti.
🤷♂️ What does it mean? The term translates to ‘direct clashes’ and refers to games that are of crucial importance between two teams vying for the same spots in the league.
🤔 Why is it important? If two teams finish level on points in Serie A, the scontri diretti will decide the final rankings. The team with the better head-to-head record across the two games played that season will finish on top, regardless of goal difference.
❓Are there exceptions? Yes. Head-to-head isn’t used as a tiebreaker when deciding the title or relegation. If two teams are locked on the same points at the top or for the final relegation spot, a one-off playoff at a neutral venue decides the outcome. This happened last season, when Verona defeated Spezia in a playoff to stay in Serie A.
⬆️ Como and Venezia face final day shootout
Last week we brought you news of Parma’s return to Serie A, and on Friday night Como or Venezia will claim the second automatic promotion spot.
↗️ Going into the final round of fixtures, Como is in the driving seat, sitting in second place and two points ahead of Venezia.
🔜 On the final day, Como host 10th-placed Cosenza, who are unable to reach the playoff spots. Venezia are away at Spezia, who are 15th and looking to avoid dropping into the relegation playoff spots.
🤝 The team that finishes second will join Parma in being automatically promoted to Serie A, while the third-placed team will go into the playoffs.
😬 Cremonese, Catanzaro, Palermo, Sampdoria and Brescia are already guaranteed to be in the playoffs, but the latter three are still jostling for positions going into the final round.
📺 This weekend on CBS Sports and Paramount+
Friday May 10th
Frosinone v Inter Milan (2.45pm ET)
Saturday May 11th
Napoli v Bologna (12pm ET)
Milan v Cagliari (2.45pm ET)
Sunday May 12th
Lazio v Empoli (6.30am ET)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9am ET)
Verona v Torino (9am ET)
Juventus v Salernitana (12pm ET)
Atalanta v Roma (2.45pm ET)
Monday May 13th
Lecce v Udinese (12pm ET)
Fiorentina v Monza (2.45pm ET)
🇨🇦 Reading this in Canada? 🇨🇦
Watch ALL Serie A games LIVE on Fubo - Try it for free!
👋 Grazie e arrivederci!
We hope you enjoyed this edition of Calcio Weekly! Feel free to share it with your friends - and send us any feedback at calcioweekly@legaseriea.it.
Ciao ciao!