Serie A: 5 Things We Learnt from Week 9's Calcio

Jack Alexandros RathbornNov 1, 2011

Week 9 delivered some quality action in Serie A, with 29 goals in total.

A particularly shocking week in the sense that after a tremendous day's action on Saturday and an equally entertaining Sunday, it was soon forgotten.

Upon their return from Rome, AC Milan's arrived back in Milan and Antonio Cassano suffered what has now been described by a statement in the Italian media as a "mini-stroke."

Fantantonio was said to have had trouble moving and could barely speak and worried all of world football with uncertainty about his future.

Such contemporaries as Ronaldo and teammates Urby Emanuelson and Kevin-Prince Boateng publicised their concerns on their twitter accounts.

On behalf of all Calcio lovers out there, we hope Antonio can make a speedy recovery as this unfortunate event has come at a time when he is finding probably his best form of his career.

Despite the gloss taken off this week's action, there were some fascinating stories that developed throughout the round of games, so lets take a look.

AC Milan: Zlatan Ibrahimovic Is the Best All-Around Striker in World Football

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic showed exactly why he is considered world class by anybody who has spent the time watching him consistently over the last few years.

The Swedish international was brilliant again at the Stadio Olimpico and scored twice to lead the Rossoneri to a vital 3-2 victory.

At his best, it is hard to say if there is a defender who can deal with the mercurial talent. He possesses every attribute a center forward needs.

His pace and power allows him to dominate defenders when the ball is played over the top or in behind.

He is physically dominant and lethal in the air, as he proved on Saturday, meaning full backs like Ignazio Abate can hit Ibra from the flanks to pose a wide threat by Milan.

His touch is exquisite and he is now displaying terrific vision, which enable him to be interchangeable with any member of Milan's highly talented striker force, which includes Alexandre Pato, Robinho or Antonio Cassano.

This last trait is especially relevant to Ibrahimovic's ability to make those around him look better, something all great players should be able to do. This season, the Malmo produced talent has become a team player, a trait not always linked to him.

Ibrahimovic has now scored, at the time of writing, eight goals in 11 games after starting and finishing a splendid move in the early kick off Tuesday in the Champions League as Milan battled Bate Borisov.

With a player with the skill level of Ibrahimovic, Milan are capable of winning everything this season.

Juventus: Bianconeri's Big Game Pedigree Proves They Are Scudetto Challengers

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Juventus put on a marvellous display Saturday night to defeat a somewhat rejuvenated Inter Milan side and prove they are the closest team to reigning champions AC Milan.

Whenever they have been asked to prove their worth in the big encounters, they have done it this season. They dispatched the champions, 2-0, at home and now look forward to a probably fatigued Napoli side at the weekend in another intriguing battle.

There is a great balance to Juve now with creativity in abundance from Andrea Pirlo to orchestrate play and his options are plentiful.

Stephan Lichsteiner outshone Maicon, despite his goal, on Saturday with an energetic performance and was a constant outlet down the right.

Claudio Marchisio has added a reliable source of goals in recent times and to complete a superb midfield three, along with Pirlo and summer acquisition Arturo Vidal. Vidal adds bite and aggression to Juve's midfield.

Most importantly, Juventus have a coach who is not afraid to leave some of the expensive stars on the bench if it is to the benefit of the team.

Some of those players have reacted in the right manner, Alessandro Matri, while others, Milos Krasic are dangerously close to being shipped out. This policy is to the benefit of Juventus as it adds a hunger to the squad.

This point is further demonstrated by Mirko Vucinic, originally purchased with a central midfield role in mind, who has flattered to deceive in the opening weeks of the season.

Antonio Conte has shifted the Montenegrin out to the left and has got a reaction from the former Roma talisman. Vucinic scored the opener at the weekend, to go along with plenty of industry, although his manager will demand a more consistent display of quality.

There are areas of concern as Giorgio Chiellini looks uncomfortable at left back, who is just a short-term solution to a leaky defence, but this will be addressed in January. One would have thought and the project is in its preliminary stages, so expectations are not yet at the level pre-Calciopoli.

As Milan look to be back to their old self, it is vital for the league's competition in the long term this season that we have a competitive Juventus, and Conte, for the time being, is delivering a worthy contender.

Fiorentina: Mihajlović Slowly Silencing the Disgruntled Viola Fans

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Siniša Mihajlović guided Fiorentina to a crucial victory on Sunday against the in form Genoa side.

It was a 1-0 victory that failed to show the true disparity between the two sides as the Viola put in a brilliant display in front of the Artemio Franchi faithful.

The fans have been less than impressed by the Serbian's spell in charge. He took over following the tenure of the highly successful Cesare Prandelli, who's currently doing a marvellous job with the Azzurri.

Robbed of his fantasista last season as Stevan Jovetic was cruelly ruled out for the season after suffering a cruciate ligament injury, Mihajlović thought he had suffered that same fate this year. Early predictions suggested that Alberto Gilardino would be ruled out long term.

The former Milan predator is now back and Jovetic is flourishing in to the top-class player we all knew he would become when given time on the pitch.

The football is not too shabby either, as Sunday showed, with some scintillating one-touch moves that swept a very good Genoa team aside. Perhaps Fiorentina should have even humiliated their opponents were it not for a combination of wasteful finishing and miraculous saves from the former Viola stopper Sebastian Frey.

Andrea Lazzari's goal typified a Fiorentina that is highly capable of rising up the table and challenging for European spots as the pace of Jovetic, Juan Manuel Vargas and the valuable work rate of Valon Behrami provide a decent foundation to supply a proven goalscorer in Gilardino.

This highly competitive league continues to add more protagonists to the fascinating plot in the race for the Scudetto each week and Fiorentina are a worthy addition.

In time, perhaps their fans will warm to Mihajlović's ways or at least learn to endure them while their team continue to showcase some of the most entertaining football in the league.

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Siena: Mattia Destro Flourishes for Bianconeri as Inter Milan, Genoa Watch on

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Mattia Destro is creating some noise this season in his loan spell with Tuscan side Siena.

The highly talented striker, who was brought through the Inter Milan academy, made his way to Genoa as part of the deal that took Andrea Ranocchia to the Nerazzurri.

The Italy U21 striker played just 16 times for Genoa, scoring twice, before being shipped out on loan to Siena this season, where he is on fire.

Destro has scored three times in four games and the 20 year old will be attracting watchful eyes from his two parent clubs.

It appears that the youngster is destined for a big future after graduating through Italy's youth teams from U16 all the way to U21. Of particular note are his 16 goals in 14 games for the U19s.

His great upper body strength and explosive pace once he has manoeuvred the ball were on show Sunday as well as pinpoint finishing.

Destro is one to keep an eye in the coming weeks as he looks set to prosper from regular game time at his loan club.

Udinese: Antonio Di Natale Continues to Prove He Deserved Ballon D'Or Nomination

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What more can you say about this man?

Antonio Di Natale is the model professional who has shown remarkable consistency in the twilight of his career, proving to be an ageless wonder.

Udinese's talisman has captained them to Champions League qualification while finishing as the Capocannoniere in back-to-back seasons. He is aiming to become only the third player in Serie A history to win this award three-straight seasons after Gunnar Nordahl for Milan from 1953-55 and Michel Platini 1983-85.

It would be nice if this great Italian striker was rewarded for his phenomenal achievements as one of the nominees on this year's shortlist.

The strikers voted on to the shortlist are Karim Benzema, Samuel Eto'o, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Aguero, Diego Forlan, Luis Suarez, David Villa, Neymar, Thomas Muller and Wayne Rooney.

There would only be perhaps two names on that list who you could justifiably say have had better years than Toto.

In fact, statistics released this weekend have shown that just Ronaldo, Robin Van Persie, Mario Gomez and Messi score at a more prolific rate and it is fair to say all of those have a much better supply line.

Di Natale has scored throughout 2011 at a ratio of 0.89 goals per game, helping Udinese to a fourth-place finish last season and currently sit second place in Serie A this season.

Toto would not have it any other way, spurning the overtures of Juventus on several occasions to stay with the Friulani after promises made to the hierarchy.

Di Natale is a phenomenon it is about time he was recognised as one.