⚽️🇮🇹 Which Hollywood superstar is a Roma fan?
👋 Ciao a tutti!
Welcome to Calcio Weekly, your comprehensive weekly digest of Italian soccer. This week, we’re talking about:
🇺🇸 The fantastic form of Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie
🦅 Maurizio Sarri’s exit at Lazio
🎬 The Hollywood star who is a huge Roma fan
…and much more!
💪 Christian Pulisic producing “best form” of his career
After scoring the winner in Milan’s 1-0 win over Empoli in the most recent game week, Christian Pulisic believes he is hitting top gear.
🗣️ “I feel it’s some of the best form in my career, for sure,” said Pulisic to DAZN. “I’ve been given a lot of confidence and trust here from the staff, my teammates, the city and the fans, so I feel really, really good here.”
👏 The 25-year-old has eight goals and six assists on the Serie A season, with 10 goals and seven assists across all competitions.
🤓 Opta Paolo notes that Pulisic’s 14 goal involvements in his freshman Serie A season is a better tally than he managed at any time in the Bundesliga or Premier League.
🆙 Pulisic’s game-winning goal last weekend allowed the Rossoneri to climb above Juventus into second spot in the Serie A table.
👉 Up next for Pulisic and Milan: After a Europa League visit to Slavia Prague tonight, Milan will be the guests of Hellas Verona on Sunday (10am ET on Paramount+). Milan have won their last six fixtures against the Gialloblu.
👑 Weston McKennie can’t stop assisting!
Christian Pulisic isn’t the only USMNT star enjoying an annus mirabilis in Italy this season: Weston McKennie notched his eighth and ninth assists in all competitions in Juventus’ 2-2 draw with Atalanta, on his return to action following a shoulder injury.
👏 After his beautiful through-ball to set up Andrea Cambiaso for Juve’s equalizer, McKennie’s incredible instinctive chest pass set up Arkadiusz Milik to put the hosts ahead.
🗣️ “He’s become one of Juventus’ best players,” said CBS analyst Matteo Bonetti, before comparing his distribution to that of Andrea Pirlo.
👉 Up next for McKennie and Juventus: The Old Lady hosts Genoa on Sunday (7am ET on Paramount+), knowing they can leap back into second place if they can better Milan’s result at Verona.
🦅 Maurizio Sarri resigns from Lazio
Maurizio Sarri has stepped down from his role as Lazio coach, following a home defeat to Udinese on Monday evening.
😕 The Rome club are on a four-game losing streak, having been eliminated from the Champions League by Bayern Munich last week.
📈 Sarri arrived at the Stadio Olimpico at the start of the 2021-22 campaign. Last season, he led Lazio to a second-place finish - their best result since winning the league in 1999-00.
🆕 Sarri’s long-time assistant manager Giovanni Martusciello has been placed in interim charge.
😰 After a trip to nearby Frosinone this weekend, Lazio face a doubleheader against Juventus (in the league and the Coppa Italia) before taking on bitter rivals Roma in the Derby della Capitale.
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🏟️ Could Inter and Milan purchase the San Siro?
The San Siro has been home to both Inter and Milan since 1947, and is owned by the Municipality of Milan. However, there is now an opportunity for the two clubs to co-purchase and refurbish the iconic stadium.
🗣️ According to Football Italia, Milan Mayor Beppe Sala met with leadership from each club to discuss a takeover of the property: “For the good of the clubs and the city council, we could find a formula to immediately sell [the stadium] to the clubs through a permanent sale or a building lease.”
💶 If the Milan teams were to take control of the stadium, they would need to spend around €300m on its refurbishment. The stadium’s last major refurbishment came in preparation for its role in the 1990 World Cup.
👋 Both teams have previously explored plans to leave the San Siro to build their own respective stadiums: Inter are looking at the commune of Rozzano, while Milan have identified the San Donato neighborhood.
🤓 The stadium is actually called the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza - named for the player who represented both teams in the 1930s and 1940s, and who won two World Cups with Italy. It is more widely known by the name of the San Siro district of Milan in which it is located.
🏟️ The majority of Serie A teams do not own their own stadiums, as they tend to rent them from their respective local municipalities. Juventus, Sassuolo, Udinese, Atalanta and Frosinone own their own stadiums.
🇮🇹 Matheus Henrique explores Sassuolo
In the latest episode of our Champions of Made in Italy series, Sassuolo defender Matheus Henrique takes us on a tour of the charming town of Sassuolo, which he has called home since arriving from Brazil in 2021.
🇮🇹 Serie A is partnering with the Italian government for the Champions of Made in Italy documentary series, which is bringing insight into the cities and cultures that surround every club in the league. More episodes below…
🚲 ICYMI: Dany Mota’s Goal of the Season contender!
Monza notched a 3-2 victory at Genoa in the most recent game week, thanks in part to this outrageous bicycle from Portuguese forward Dany Mota
😮 Fun fact: Monza’s winner in this game was scored by 22-year-old Daniel Maldini, son of Milan legend Paolo Maldini and grandson of Milan legend Cesare Maldini. Maldini Jr. is currently on loan from the Rossoneri.
💬 Calcio Conversations
Italian soccer might be famous for having some of the most ferocious rivalries in the European game, but there are also sets of fans who celebrate their friendship with a “gemellaggio.”
🤷♂️ What does it mean? The word describes two supporter groups that are “twins,” meaning they are allies who are friendly with one another. Some of the oldest allegiances in Serie A are between Inter and Lazio, and Fiorentina and Torino.
🎬 Timothée Chalamet is a Roma fan!
While on the promotional tour for Dune: Part Two, Academy Award-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet discussed his love for AS Roma with a local Italian journalist…
🐺 Chalamet has made no secret of his love for the Giallorossi: he has been pictured wearing their colors and spoke of his admiration for Jose Mourinho during his tenure with the Rome club.
🆕 Luca Gotti named as Lecce coach
Luca Gotti has been announced as coach of Lecce, following the departure of Roberto D’Aversa.
👍 Gotti, who was Maurizio Sarri’s assistant at Chelsea, has held coaching roles with Spezia, Udinese, Parma and Bolgona.
👊 According to AP, Gotti has been handed a contract until the end of the season, which will be extended if Lecce can avoid relegation. His new charges currently sit in 16th position, one point clear of the relegation zone.
😮 D’Aversa was fired on Monday, after he appeared to head butt a Verona player in Sunday’s 1-0 home loss.
👉 Gotti’s first game in charge sees Lecce travel to bottom-of-the-table Salernitana on Saturday (1pm ET on Paramount+).
📺 This weekend on CBS Sports and Paramount+
Friday March 15th
Empoli v Bologna (3.45pm ET)
Saturday March 16th
Monza v Cagliari (10am ET)
Udinese v Torino(10am ET)
Salernitana v Lecce (1pm ET)
Frosinone v Lazio (3.45pm ET)
Sunday March 17th
Juventus v Genoa (7.30am ET)
Verona v Milan (10am ET)
Atalanta v Fiorentina (1pm ET)
Roma v Sassuolo (1pm ET)
Inter v Napoli (3.45pm 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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