4 Storylines to Follow in Serie A for Weekend of Jan. 24-26
There are plenty of big games in store this weekend in Serie A.
Roma travel to Fiorentina in need of a win to keep the gap to league leaders Juventus at a minimum, while the Bianconeri are at home to Chievo Verona.
Napoli will be hoping to tighten their grip on third place with a home win over Genoa as Lazio and Sampdoria need to beat Milan and Palermo, respectively, to stay within touching distance of Champions League qualification.
It's a crucial weekend for manager Pippo Inzaghi on the Rossoneri bench, while his counterpart on the blue-and-black side of the San Siro looks to continue the rebuilding work at Inter against Torino.
Read on for the weekend's biggest storylines.
Pippo Inzaghi Under Fire
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What do Massimiliano Allegri, Clarence Seedorf and Inzaghi have in common? They've all been unfairly blamed for the sorry mess that AC Milan have become in recent seasons.
At Sassuolo and Cagliari, Allegri had proven himself capable of achieving measures of success with limited resources—something that should have put him in good stead for the Milan job. He's already won the Panchina d'Oro, the award for the best coach in Serie A, and he was considered to be one of Italian football's rising managerial talents.
But while at Milan, his squad was weakened by sales while his authority was constantly undermined by Silvio Berlusconi. Now that he has quality, settled players and the support he needs from behind the scenes, he's shining again.
Maybe Seedorf and Inzaghi are too inexperienced for the Rossoneri bench. More likely, even the best managers in the world wouldn't be able to do much with a mediocre squad full of mismatched players and little real talent.
According to Italian daily La Repubblica (via Football Italia), Berlusconi has lost patience with his latest scapegoat, and he is ready to meet with former Roma boss Luciano Spalletti. Cesare Prandelli was also linked, though it's debatable that any top-class manager would be interested as things stand.
Seedorf was a club legend. He played 431 games for the Rossoneri, winning two Serie A titles and a pair of Champions League medals. He'd been there for a decade and called time on his playing career in Brazil to take the manager job. Whatever his shortcomings as a manager, after being convinced to take over a club in crisis, he deserved more time to prove himself.
Now, Inzaghi's in a similar position. After just six months in charge, his job and his reputation are on the line—and without the experience elsewhere on his CV, he won't find another job as easy as Allegri.
Milan's game with Lazio is a must-win for Pippo. Victory at the Olimpico would put the Rossoneri just two points behind Lazio, who are currently in fifth. Beating the Aquile at home will be no easy task, but it would give the club some reason to believe that Champions League qualification is still possible—which should buy Inzaghi some time. For the former striker, the alternative isn't worth thinking about.
Lazio's Push for 3rd
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After a controversial loss to Napoli that ended Lazio's unbeaten run, manager Stefano Pioli will be hoping his side can pick up the pieces and resume their assault on the Champions League places this weekend against Milan.
The Aquile could climb back into third place if Genoa beat the Partenopei at the San Paolo on Sunday, but regardless of the result in Naples, a win in Rome is imperative to keep up the pressure on Rafa Benitez's side. Sampdoria also have eyes on the Serie A's final podium spot, and they host Palermo at the Luigi Ferraris.
Unfortunately for Lazio, they are still without Felipe Anderson. The Brazilian has been one of the league's best performers in the first half of the season, but a training injury put a halt to the fine form that saw him score five and create another five in his previous five games.
The good news for Pioli is that key defender Stefan de Vrij could return to action, shoring up the Lazio back line.
The Battle at the Bottom
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Roberto Donadoni's Parma host Cesena this weekend at the Stadio Ennio Tardini and will be desperately hoping to pick up a rare three points against fellow relegation strugglers.
Both sides are currently on nine points and will almost certainly be playing in Serie B next season unless things change quickly. It's an incredible fall from grace for the Crociati, who finished sixth in the league last year and only missed out on a Europa League place because of financial problems.
Donadoni's men have shown some signs of life in recent games, earning a shock victory against Fiorentina earlier this month and beating Cagliari in the Coppa Italia. Those wins were both followed by losses, however, so it's hard to say if they were genuine signs of improvement.
As for Cesena, it looks as if Domenico Di Carlo's side have already been condemned to return to whence they came. The Cavallucci Marini have won just one game all season—against Parma, on the opening day.
Inter to Go All-Out in a Bid for European Football?
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After beating Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia midweek, Nerazzurri boss Roberto Mancini told the Gazzetta dello Sport: "This is the Inter I want."
Speaking to the paper after the game, here in Italian, Mancini insisted that once a team stays compact, it can sacrifice players in defensive positions to accommodate more attacking talent.
The 50-year-old went as far as to suggest that he could fit Mateo Kovacic, Lukas Podolski, Xherdan Shaqiri and Mauro Icardi into the same lineup.
Starting with what the pink paper dubbed "The Fab Four" will mean that Inter need to be on top of their game at the back unless they want to end up as a Zdenek Zeman-style free for all.
At the start of the season, that kind of approach would have rightly filled the Interisti with feelings of dread. But Samir Handanovic's consistency in goal, coupled with a marked improvement in Nemanja Vidic at centre-back, might be enough defensive solidity for Mancini to gamble on—especially with Fredy Guarin and Gary Medel in the midfield to lend a hand under pressure.
The weekend's game at home to Torino—one of the league's least potent sides in front of goal—is the ideal proving ground.
