Serie a 2011/12: 5 Things We Learnt from Week 10's Calcio

Jack Alexandros RathbornNov 10, 2011

Week 10 results

Palermo 3 1 Bologna

Zahavi, Silvestre, Ilicic- Ramirez

Novara 0 2 Roma

Bojan, Osvaldo

Udinese 2 1 Siena

Basta, Di Natale - Bolzoni

Atalanta 1 0 Cagliari

Denis

Chievo 1 0 Fiorentina

Rigoni

Milan 4 0 Catania

Ibrahimovic, Robinho, Lodi (OG), Zambrotta

Lazio 1 0 Parma

Sculli

Cesena 0 1 Lecce

Cuadrado

Genoa P P Inter

Napoli P P Juventus

Capocannoniere

Di Natale (Udinese): 8

Denis (Atalanta): 7

Giovinco (Parma): 6

Klose (Lazio): 6

Palacio (Genoa): 5

Jovetic (Fiorentina): 5

Calaio (Siena): 5

Ibrahimovic (Milan): 5

Osvaldo (Roma): 5

Fantasistas (Assists)

Cassano (Milan): 7

Aquilani (Milan): 5

Palacio (Genoa): 5

Pjanic (Roma): 5

Cisse (Lazio): 4

Marco Rigoni (Novara): 4

Ramirez (Bologna): 4

Mirko Vucinic (Juventus): 4

All statistics provided by Transfermarkt

Follow me on Twitter @jackalexandros and @FRcalcioJack

Ciao

Lazio: Reja Is Guiding the Biancocelesti Towards a Scudetto Push

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Lazio claimed a vital victory in the closing stages of Sunday's game against Parma to jump above Juventus, whose game was postponed, to move into a tie for top spot with Udinese.

Edy Reja has managed the side to a tremendous run of form with five wins in six games and it now feels unthinkable that rumours were rife, after just two games, that he tendered his resignation to president Claudio Lotito after losing at home to Genoa and throwing away a two goal lead at Milan in their opener.

There is a lovely balance to this Lazio side that has been carefully assembled with numerous summer signings.

Lazio possess some athletic full backs in Stefan Radu at left back and Abdoulay Konko at right back who are able to offer an outlet for the sturdy center midfield trio of Cristian Ledesma, Cristian Brocchi and Senad Lulic.

With Stefano Mauri and Francesco Matuzalem injured for spells this season, Lazio's midfield has coped admirably with Hernanes, handing the duties of crafting the chances for their newly formed attacking pair of Miroslav Klose and Djibril Cisse who wonderfully compliment each other.

There seems to be a real hunger in the side and a never-say-die attitude that was on show as they finally broke down a stubborn Parma side.

The qualities of a scudetto challenger is to be able to keep clean sheets on regular occasions. Andre Dias provides a no-nonsense approach to defending and has been complimented by the erratic Mobido Diakite while Giuseppe Biava has been sidelined.

To Diakite's credit, he was tremendous on Sunday as his athleticism is a real asset, as always, but the concentration was there too, at one point clearing a shot off the line and coping seamlessly with a slightly out of sorts Sebastian Giovinco.

Another example of squad player contributing was the charismatic Giuseppe Sculli who popped up with the winner after a great run from Klose who fed Libor Kozak, a highly talented young striker, whose shot struck a post and fell kindly for Sculli to convert from just inches.

Lazio may not have an abundance of stars like other likely challengers to Milan's crown, but they possess key intangibles that could see them win plenty more games than their rivals at times when they do not play their best.

Cagliari: Cellino Is Crazy to Sack Ficcadenti

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Massimo Cellino has fired Massimo Ficcadenti just months after handing the former Cesena coach the role after he succeeded Roberto Donadoni in controversial circumstances.

The news comes as Cagliari lost narrowly to Atalanta in Bergamo in a closely fought encounter which became their 5th game without a victory.

Despite this poor run of form, the news seems completely unjustified given that Ficcadenti was managing to do some things right.

He had formed a great continuity, working with a small squad and had formed one of the most solid defences in the league.

Cagliari were stubborn, not so pretty on the eye, but there was certainly a foundation to build a successful team which would be highly unlikely to be relegated.

Their Azzurri international defender Davide Astori has been injured for the last month which has coincided with this bad, all the more unfair on Ficcadenti, due to constraints put on him regarding transfer policy. It was ultimately the demise of Donadoni, who demanded reinforcements in attack.

Two games aside, Lazio at home and Palermo away, Cagliari just do not concede more than one goal under Ficcadenti, collecting three clean sheets in the process.

Their problem has been in attack where their strikers have been, to put it mildly, plain blunt.

Thiago Ribeiro, Nene and Joaquin Larrivey have not provided the goals needed and Moestafa El Kabir, who made a lively cameo on his debut against Roma, has succumbed to an injury.

One criticism could have been the lack of starts afforded to live wire Victor Ibarbo who would have perhaps given Cagliari a different option with his explosive pace.

The timing seems wrong here considering Ficcadenti's ability to compete with the best of the league, drawing with Udinese, Napoli and beating Roma.

Cagliari are positioned 10th, hardly a crisis. The attack needed work of course, but this decision is baffling.

Former Genoa manager Davide Ballardini will now take the reigns.

Palermo: Zamparini Needs to Give Mangia a Full Season

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Palermo seem to be moving in the right direction as caretaker manager Devis Mangia has steered the Rosanero to 5th place.

President Maurizio Zamparini is a curious individual who is notorious for his bizarre behaviour and lack of patience.

It would be no surprise should Mangia be sacked given that Zamparini has gone through 14 managers in the last five seasons.

But common sense should prevail if Palermo are to continue to develop with the talented young coach Mangia, who is extra keen to experiment with his managerial philosophy.

Mangia has conjured up a creative side which displays plenty of flair and the Rosanero. Despite overseeing 39 departures and 25 purchases, the team has strangely gelled together nicely.

Mangia has an imperious home record with five wins out of five, scoring 14 goals.

Their away form is atrocious though, with a solitary point away to Lazio and no goals scored.

Evidently this must change, which means if the home form can be sustained to an extent, Palermo can find themselves in the running for a European spot come the end of the season.

The next away trip comes at Juventus, not exactly the ideal place to change this pattern.

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Roma: Argentina, Sabella Will Rue the Day They Did Not Call Up Osvaldo

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Pablo Daniel Osvaldo has been called up for a second time by Cesare Prandelli and will presumably hand the Argentine-born striker a 2nd cap for the Azzurri.

Argentina are blessed with wonderful talent throughout their attack but the majority do not possess the qualities that Osvaldo possesses.

German Denis, at 30 years old, is not a long-term solution, especially when you consider his form. He has come from nowhere and there is no guarantee it will be sustained for the foreseeable future. There is no attacking option like Osvaldo.

The Roma marksman has started his career with the Giallorossi superbly scoring five already.

He has a physical presence but is also dynamic and athletic enough to fit in to a fast-flowing attacking style.

Osvaldo is a threat in the air, too, with a remarkable leap and neck power to be able to thrust the ball towards goal from all angles as shown last weekend against Novara.

At only 25 years old, Osvaldo has a great future ahead of him and Alejandro Sabella and the AFA may well rue allowing one of their own to walk into the Azzurri set up without much of a fight.

Udinese: Prandelli Must Recall Di Natale for the Azzurri

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Once again, Cesare Prandelli has resisted calls for Antonio Di Natale to be recalled to the Italian national team.

At first glance, it seems ludicrous when you consider that Di Natale is among the most prolific strikers in Europe for the calendar year.

Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Robin Van Persie, Mario Gomez and Lionel Messi have a better goal scoring ratio for the year. Toto has scored at a rate of 0.89 per game, as of November 1st, but is now 0.90 per game after scoring his 26th goal in 29 games against Siena at the weekend.

Prandelli insists that he does not need to hand Di Natale a "trial" as he knows what he can do, but I would suggest he does, given that Di Natale admittedly has not been able to replicate his Udinese form for the Azzurri.

Di Natale can feel unfortunate given that Prandelli is determined to develop a new generation, so his age counts against him. Also the likes of Osvaldo, brilliant as he is, seems to be selected for the time being in order to keep him happy after he dedicated himself to a future with the Azzurri.

I am not suggesting Osvaldo should be dropped, as he is in superb form, but Di Natale is just in better form than anybody in Serie A, period.

It is odd that Prandelli has only called up four strikers given that it is certainly arguable that attack remains Italy's strongest department.

The outrageously gifted Mario Balotelli is a must and Osvaldo offers something different, but despite by no means being off form, Alessandro Matri and Giampaolo Pazzini just don't stand up when directly compared to Di Natale.

Come on, Cesare, give Toto one last chance.