A stroll through Italy's Serie A
by Richard Whittle, SerieA.tv
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Marco Materazzi has no doubts that Inter will be celebrating the Serie A title this Sunday.
The Nerazzurri need to take three points from the visit of Siena to the San Siro to secure their 16th championship and the hard-hitting defender expects to be dancing on the pitch at the end of the game.
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He said: "I am calm, there is nothing to worry about. I am not afraid of anyone but we have respect for any opponent we come up against."
Victory would go some way to making-up for the disappointment of having to sit out the Italian Cup final due to suspension after the 34-year-old was sent off in the semifinal victory at Lazio on Wednesday.
However, the flamboyantly-tattooed center-back was pretty unrepentant about his lunge on former Inter player Goran Pandev which led to his dismissal, claiming that the striker had insulted him and that the tackle merited a mere yellow card.
He said: "I was very disappointed with Pandev, he's playing in Italy thanks to Inter and he should show some respect towards these colours.
"I definitely made a mistake and I shouldn't fall into trap of being provoked. Fortunately, my team-mates closed out the game so that takes some of the bitterness away."
Looking back at the season as a whole, the Inter international felt that Roberto Mancini's men are deserving of the title of Italian champions and have proved once again their strength and determination over the course of the last nine months.
The former Perugia and Everton man added: "We have shown that we are a mature side and we have never given in on any front.
"I am not concerned what anyone else has to say because we are heading to another title and we are in the Italian Cup final for the fourth year running so we have made a great impression."
Spalletti on right path
Luciano Spalletti has hailed AS Roma for reaching the Italian Cup final and maintained it was further evidence that the club was heading in the right direction.
The holders drew 1-1 at Catania on Thursday to progress to the final on a 2-1 aggregate scoreline where they will now meet Inter for the fourth consecutive season on home turf at the Olympic stadium.
The coach said: "It's great satisfaction to take on Inter again and reaching the final reconfirms just what good work we have been putting in this year.
"We are in another final and it's going to be in front of our own fans so that is an extra incentive."
By the time the final comes around on May 24th the destination of this year's Serie A title will have been decided and the 49-year-old is still dreaming of the miracle of the Giallorossi overhauling the San Siro giants in the final two games of the campaign.
Roberto Mancini's men need a victory from one of those fixtures, starting with Siena at home on Sunday while the Romans are also at home, against Atalanta.
The former Udinese tactician said: "We just have to go out and win against Atalanta although we know that it all depends on how Inter get on."
Iaquinta doubt for Euro 2008
Vincenzo Iaquinta is a major doubt for Italy's Euro 2008 squad.
The striker has been suffering with a thigh problem and the club released a statement confirming that the 29-year-old would not play again this season and would only return to training with coach Claudio Ranieri's team in July.
Juve will leave it up to the Italy medical staff to decide whether the form Udinese forward is fit enough for the trip to Austria and Switzerland, but the final word will of course come from Azzurri coach Roberto Donadoni.
Serie A on FSC
Sun., May 18, 9 a.m. (LIVE) -
Parma vs. Inter Milan
Sun., May 18, 11 a.m. -
Catania vs. AS Roma
Sun., May 18, 1 p.m. -
AC Milan vs. Udinese
| All times ET, subject to change. | Full Schedule > |
Iaquinta joined the Turin giants at the start of the season but has found it difficult to displace Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet for one of the attacking positions, and has scored eight goals from 24 appearances.
There have been reports of a move away in the summer but this latest blow will certainly increase Del Piero's chances of a return to the international set-up.
Montolivo seeks just desserts
Riccardo Montolivo believes that Fiorentina deserve to finish fourth just as much as AC Milan.
The Tuscans fell two points behind the Rossoneri in the race for the final Champions League place following their 2-1 defeat at Cagliari last week.
With just two games remaining the Viola have to rediscover the form that has made them one of the most eye-catching teams in Serie A throughout the campaign.
The elegant midfielder maintained: "Of course, [AC] Milan are a great side but we have won the same type of matches they have.
"We reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and only went out on penalties, then we have kept [AC] Milan behind us for most the season but due to some misfortune and our own fault they have overtaken us."
Montolivo and his team-mates have a chance to return to winning ways when they meet struggling Parma at the weekend before ending the year with a fixture at Torino.
The 23-year-old, who broke into the Italy squad this year, said: "We still believe we can reach fourth and we will be preparing for these final matches with total concentration to demonstrate we are a great team."
Richard Whittle is the chief writer and match commentator for SerieA.TV and contributes Italian soccer news for FoxSoccer.com.
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