Can Totti's dog save Serie A?

 

Francesco Totti just can't do anything wrong - a skill that appears to have translated to his pets, past and present.

Ariel, a labrador whom Totti donated at a young age to be trained as a professional sea rescue dog, made headlines on Sunday when it emerged that she had saved an eight-year-old girl and 64-year-old man from drowning in the Sant'Agosto area.
With the animal's life-saving abilities now proven, the young mutt may now want to help by bailing out some of Italy's biggest clubs to help make a real game of it in Serie A...

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Alessandro flying the Nesta from AC Milan to the MLS

 

After 223 appearances and 10 titles with AC Milan, Alessandro Nesta has called an end to his time in Serie A.

The 36-year-old, who will depart San Siro at the end of the season, claimed the pace of European football was too fast for him but revealed he is likely to continue his career in the MLS.
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Juventus emerge from dark days of 2006

 

Juventus finally secured the Serie A title on Sunday with a victory over Cagliari, as AC Milan stuttered to defeat against rivals Inter.
The championship is the Turin side's first since their demotion to Serie B in 2006, owing to their involvement in the Calciopoli scandal.

It has been a long road back for the Old Lady, who can finally claim to be among Italy's finest once again, if they manage to avoid defeat in their final game of the season, they will have gone the entire league season unbeaten.

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Let's get ready to rumble!

 

With a thrilling Serie A title race between AC Milan and Juventus set to draw to a close, hostilities between the two Italian giants have not been contained to the pitch in recent months. A particularly contentious meeting between the two sides took place at San Siro at the end of February when Milan midfielder Sulley Muntari had a perfectly legitimate goal disallowed by the match officials, an error that Massimiliano Allegri simply refuses to forget.

The Ghanaian himself has an inventive solution for the rivalry between the two sides: "Allegri always talks about my disallowed goal against Juventus. When the season is over, I suggest a boxing contest between Allegri and Conte."

Well, if all else fails ...

 

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Plain sailing in Madrid and Turin ...

 

As the season enters its crucial period, individuals can become heroes in key moments.

That was the story in the Spanish capital on Wednesday night when Cristiano Ronaldo netted yet another hat-trick to guide Real Madrid past city rivals Atletico, and in Turin where Alessandro Del Piero came off the bench to seal a vital win for Juventus over Lazio to send his side to the top of the Serie A table.

However, in Germany it was a different state of affairs when Arjen Robben sunk his Bayern Munich side in the defeat at Borussia Dortmund. 

First the Dutchman played Robert Lewandowski onside for the only goal of the game, before he twice cost his team a point when he failed to convert a penalty and then missed from close range. It's sink-or-swim time for Bayern in the title race, but it looks like Arjen is doing both.

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Conte snatches Scudetto shield from Allegri's grasp

 

After AC Milan suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Fiorentina on Saturday, Juventus took the initiative in the race for the Scudetto by reclaiming top spot with a 2-0 win over Palermo in the early evening fixture.

With just seven games left to play, the unbeaten Bianconeri now lead the sprint for the Serie A title, and coach Antonio Conte will be hoping his side can hold on to their advantage and see off Massimiliano Allegri's reigning champions.

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Lost for ideas!

 

It has been a season to forget for Alexandre Pato. The AC Milan striker has scored just four times in nine starts this season, but for a moment it appeared his campaign had turned a corner after reportedly declining a big-money transfer to French giants Paris Saint-Germain, in what was hailed as a refreshing display of commitment to the Rossoneri cause.

However, a recurring muscle problem has thrown a spanner in the works and on Thursday, AC Milan announced Pato will miss the rest of the season following yet another knock, sustained during his brief cameo against Barcelona in the Champions League. Club doctor Jean-Pierre Meersseman admitted the forward's injuries have baffled him and his staff, but they now have a few more months to devise a new treatment!

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Ranieri the clown is fired from the Inter circus

 

After a string of sub-standard results, Claudio Ranieri was sacked as Inter coach on Monday night and was replaced by Primavera trainer Andrea Stramaccioni.

The final straw came when the Nerazzurri suffered a 2-0 loss against Juventus in the Derby d'Italia at the weekend.

Ranieri leaves Inter in eighth place in Serie A, eliminated from the Champions League and 10 points away from a qualification spot for next year's tournament. 'The Tinkerman' joins a list of 17 different coaches Massimo Moratti has gone through in the 17 years since he bought the club.


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Del Piero cements his place as the King of Turin

 

Alessandro Del Piero confirmed his place as the 'King of Turin' on Sunday as he scored his first league goal of the season in a 2-0 win for Juventus in the Derby d'Italia against Inter.

The 37-year-old forward will leave the Bianconeri at the end of the season after the club confirmed in October that the iconic No.10 will not be offered a new contract , but with his side now in the Coppa Italia final and chasing down AC Milan at the top of Serie A, could it be the perfect end to an illustrious career with 'The Old Lady' for His Royal Highness?

 

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Chelsea come back from the dead

 

Since taking over at Chelsea on an interim basis, Roberto Di Matteo has lead the Blues to a three-match winning streak, including a miraculous comeback victory against Napoli in the Champions League to make the quarter-finals of Europe's premier club competition.
The Italian coach's faith in the club's old guard seems to be paying dividends, as goalscorers Didier Drogba, skipper John Terry and Frank Lampard all showed they are not dead yet on Wednesday night, whilst Napoli star trio Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik appeared to let the occasion get to their heads.

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Wenger's side give AC Milan an almighty scare

 

AC Milan survived a major scare against a spirited Arsenal side on Tuesday night, despite conceding three goals in the first half of their Champions League round-of-16, second-leg clash at the Emirates.

The Rossoneri had a hefty four-goal advantage from the game in Italy three weeks ago, but had their backs against the wall after first-half goals from Laurent Koscielny, Tomas Rosicky and Robin van Persie. AC Milan managed to wake up from their nightmare to emerge winners in the tie - but the likes of Massimiliano Allegri, Adriano Galliani and Silvio Berlusconi were given one hell of a fright along the way.

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Pick on someone your own size!

 

Goalkeeper Joe Hart might be England's last man standing by the time Wednesday night's international friendly against Netherlands at Wembley kicks off, given the rate of withdrawals from the Three Lions' squad.  

Glen Johnson became the fifth player to pull out, joining Darren Bent, Wayne Rooney, Tom Cleverley and Kyle Walker on the injured list..... 

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Could 'The Tinkerman' soon be out in the cold at Inter?

 

Inter president Massimo Moratti has admitted that he is considering the future of current coach Claudio Ranieri but insisted there is a chance the 60-year-old could remain at San Siro. 

With the Nerazzurri on a run of five straight defeats in all competitions, Ranieri's position has come under intense scrutiny of late. 

Moratti will evaluate the current state of affairs at Inter before making a decision as to whether Ranieri will suffer a similar fate to previous trainers Rafael Benitez, Leonardo and Gian Piero Gasperini.

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Conte and Allegri in linesman tug-of-war

 

Controversial decisions from the officials in the clash between Serie A's top two, AC Milan and Juventus, contributed to the game ending in a 1-1 draw, as Sulley Muntari's header and an incorrect offside decision against Alessandro Matri saw the spoils shared.

The officiating was much to the dislike of both Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri, who were ready to do all in their power to influence the linesmen's decisions  

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Reja's Rome departure plan left in ruins

 

News broke on Wednesday that Lazio coach Edy Reja had handed in his resignation at the Rome-based outfit, despite his side sitting in fourth spot in Serie A, only for president Claudio Lotito to reject his offer - the second time the club's supremo has done so already this season. Surely the experienced trainer will be asking himself if he will ever be allowed to leave the Italian capital ...

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AVB's facing the chop

 

Andre Villas-Boas is walking the proverbial tightrope after goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani condemned his error-prone Chelsea side to a damaging defeat at Napoli that leaves their Champions League hopes hanging in the balance. The former Porto coach, whose tactics and team selection in Naples have come under intense criticism, now looks to have exactly 90 minutes of the return leg at Stamford Bridge to salvage his "project" and avoid getting the sack from notoriously impatient owner Roman Abramovich.

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yearn for a return of Mourinho

 

Jose Mourinho was the subject of boos from the Santiago Bernabeu faithful earlier this season, but for two of his former clubs, Chelsea and Inter, the Portuguese's reign is remembered fondly. Chants for the 49-year-old rang out at both San Siro and Stamford Bridge at the weekend, and with Real Madrid enjoying a 10-point cushion at the top of La Liga, Los Blancos president Florentino Perez must be anxious that Mourinho doesn't yearn for pastures old ...

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Capello's managerial merry-go-round

 

Following Fabio Capello's shock departure as England manager on Wednesday, Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has immediately been installed as the favourite to take over from the Italian. And consequently, a managerial merry-go-round may well be set in motion, with Jose Mourinho now being linked with replacing Redknapp at White Hart Lane, Arsenal's Arsene Wenger being courted by Real Madrid and Capello rumoured to be whetting Inter's appetite. Football aye ...

And here are a few of your suggestions for #merrygoroundmanagers...

@amarjourno... "Redknapp to England, Moyes to Tottenham, Kean to Everton, Capello to Blackburn... #merrygoroundmanagers"

@aahmadaqib... "Avram Grant to England, Pulis to Afc, Guardiola to Stoke, Pope to mcfc."

@MVWXIV... "Redknapp to England. Mourinho to Spurs. Hiddink to Madrid. Steve Kean still at Blackburn."

@bunzez... "Redknapp to England, Wenger to Madrid, Mourinho to Spurs, Guardiola to Arsenal, Capello to Juventus, AVB will stay."

@Dami_0620... "Fergie to stay, AVB to leave, Mourinho back to Chelsea, Guardiola to AFC, Wenger jobless for a year, Redknapp to stay at THFC."
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Deadline day and it's all quiet on the western front

 

While the end of a transfer window usually heralds a scramble for new players, it became apparent there neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona would make that critical signing to give their club the upper hand in the title race, Arsene Wenger (slightly less surprisingly) would not bring in the enforcements Arsenal needed, and Inter's shock defeat to Lecce did not prompt them to dip into the market. Instead, the deadline day fanatics had to make do with a few questionable loan deals ...

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Massimiliano Benassi

 

It seemed like a foregone conclusion. Inter had been on fire, winning their previous seven Serie A matches. 

Lecce found themselves at the other end of the table, but managed to exact revenge for their 4-1 trouncing at San Siro earlier in the season with a surprise 1-0 win over Claudio Ranieri's men. 

Serse Cosmi will have Massimiliano Benassi to thank, with the 30-year-old keeping Inter's all-star cast at bay for 90 minutes. 

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