A stroll through Italy and the Serie A
by Paul Visca, SerieA.tv
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Giorgio Chiellini will miss the start of the Serie A campaign after injuring the ligaments to his left knee in a pre-season friendly against AC Milan.
The Juventus defender was stretchered-off the pitch in agony after 34 minutes of the Luigi Berlusconi Trophy on Sunday, which the Turin side lost 4-1.
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The 24-year-old said: "My knee twisted, I heard a snap and I fell to the ground in pain. I was afraid, but above all I was in great pain."
The Italy international will sit out the opening match of Marcello Lippi's second spell in charge of the national side in a friendly against Austria on Wednesday.
The Tuscan player has been replaced by Juve team-mate Nicola Legrottaglie in the Azzurri squad for the match to be played in the French city of Nice, marking a return to the international set up after a four year absence for the 31-year-old.
However the former Chievo player, where he was playing when he made his Italy debut against Turkey in 2002, admitted he would have rather have teamed-up alongside Chiellini than taken his place.
He said: "This call-up opens a new cycle for me, it's much better than the first one, but I would have preferred to play alongside Giorgio."
Milan on the up
Carlo Ancelotti has declared his satisfaction following AC Milan's convincing 4-1 win over Juventus in the Luigi Berlusconi Trophy on Sunday.
Coach admitted the performance went some way to cancelling out the Rossoneri's disappointing pre-season, which has included a five-goal thrashing from Chelsea.
He said: "It was a good match. We needed a reaction to wipe out the previous performances and we produced it.
"The team has improved from a fitness point of view and although we were dealing with a summer friendly it was interpreted in the right manner with the right spirit."
Another boost for the 49-year-old trainer was the return of fan favourite Filippo Inzaghi who at the start of the second half replaced teenage striker Alberto Paloschi, until that moment the only striker available to Ancelotti.
He said: "Inzaghi's return was positive and very important because we can breathe more easily and allow Paloschi the chance to catch his breath. Slowly but surely we'll get everybody back.
"We must not rush, but simply take advantage of the fact that we don't have any official matches to allow the injured players to recover in time for the start of the championship."
Super Pippo required seven minutes to find the net despite the 35-year-old still lacking match fitness after revealing he had trained only once since his return from injury.
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He said: "I prepared well for this match even if I'm still of the pace of the game. I had taken part in only one training session but I felt the wish of many people who wanted to see me on the pitch - I'm happy as I should have played only half an hour instead I played forty-five minutes."
"My aim is to prepare well for the first match of the season at home against Bologna as it's important for me to get off to a good start at the San Siro in front of my fans."
Roma mourns Sensi loss
AS Roma president Franco Sensi has passed away at the age of 82.
Sensi took over the club from the capital 15 years ago and under his control the Giallorossi have enjoyed a steady period of improvement to take them back amongst the elite of Italian football, winning the league title in 2001, two Italian Cups, in 2007 and 2008 and the Italian Super Cup in 2001 and 2007.
Messages of condolence have arrived from both the political and sporting world for Sensi, including a call by the mayor of the Italian capital to have a stadium built in honour of the man who was awarded the Ethics in Sport achievement in May 2008 for his sporting endeavours with Roma.
Gianni Alemanno said: "Franco Sensi struggled not only to achieve great results for Roma but also so that sport didn't lose its soul and true values to the economic interests that now surround it.
"We'll help Rosella Sensi and all at the club to build a new stadium which I think can only be named after Franco Sensi."
The president of the Italian football authority, Giancarlo Abete, also paid his respect focusing on the sporting qualities of Sensi.
He said: "With the passing away of Franco Sensi we lose a great director, but moreover a great man, a man of football, who dedicated his entire life to AS Roma and football and who will be remembered for the manner with which he achieved success with the Giallorossi."
Serie A on FSC
Sat., Dec. 6, 2.30 p.m. (LIVE) -
Lazio vs. Inter Milan
Sat., Dec. 6, 4.30 p.m. -
Chievo vs. AS Roma
Sun., Dec. 7, 9 a.m. (LIVE) -
AC Milan vs. Catania
Sun., Dec. 7, 2.30 p.m. (LIVE) -
Sampdoria vs. Genoa
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Lippi eyes winning return
Marcello Lippi has set himself the task of making the Italy team winners once again.
The coach of the World Cup winning side in Germany 2006 is preparing for the first match since his return in charge of the Azzurri and admitted the squad needs to rediscover the winning mentality.
He said: "Two years ago a team had to be built from scratch. This time the team is already built, it just needs taking forward.
"We need to reintroduce the qualities which allowed us to win and although I admit the squad is getting on in years, I am sure they still have plenty to offer."
The 60-year-old, who replaced Roberto Donadoni after Italy's Euro 2008 exit at the quarter-finals against eventual champions Spain, faces his 40th match as national coach in a friendly on Wednesday in Nice, France against Austria and defended his squad selection which includes 13 World Cup winners from two years ago.
He said: "I am free to call up who I want and to make my own valuation. The world champions are not here as a reward, even if I'll always nourish this feeling towards them.
"Whoever arrives in the national team does so on merit. Also players like Del Piero are playing well and that is the only reason they are here."
The former Juventus boss added that no player must expect special treatment and underlined that everyone should strive for the benefit of the team.
He continued: "I want to clear up one more thing: I'll ask all the players to sacrifice themselves for the team — this is the most important thing, tactics and game plans come after."
Paul Visca is a writer and match commentator for SerieA.TV and contributes Italian soccer news for FoxSoccer.com.
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