This may be the dive that finally puts the Alberto Gilardino ode to Greg Louganis to shame. This clown, Emerson Acuna, of Atletico National in Columbia, is lassoed by the imaginary cowboy without a defender in spitting distance. But to make a bad situation worse, Helen Keller was refereeing the match and someway, somehow managed [.

In lieu of a proper match review, I present you with this. Match highlights and photos at the end of the post.

1. When picking Brazilians, it's Ederson you want. Leave Fred behind with the rest of the garbage.

I don't mean to come off as a Fred hater, but did he accomplish ANYTHING in today's match - besides the countless times he squandered easy shots on goal?

AC Milan
In: Mathieu Flamini (free, Arsenal), Gianluca Zambrotta (€8.5 million, Barcelona), Marco Borriello (€10 + Davide Di Gennaro, Genoa), Christian Abbiati (loan return, Atletico Madrid), Ronaldinho (€25m, Barcelona), Andriy Shevchenko (loan, Chelsea), Philippe Senderos (loan, Arsenal)
Out: Alberto Gilardino (€13 million, Fiorentina), Yoann Gourcuff (loan, Bordeaux), Ricardo Oliveira (€10 mil, Real Zaragoza), Luca Antonelli (co-ownership, Parma), Davide Di Gennaro (part of Marco Borriello deal, Genoa), Cafu (released), Serginho (retired), Ibrahim Ba (retired), Valerio Flori (retired), Ignazio Abate (co-ownership, Torino), Dario Simic (undisclosed, Monaco), Alberto Paloschi (loan, Parma), Cristian Brocchi (undisclosed, Lazio), Massimo Oddo (loan, Bayern Munich)
Atalanta
In: Jaime Valdes (undisclosed, Lecce), Christian Vieri (free, Fiorentina), Luca Cigarini (co-ownership, Parma), Alessio Cerci (loan, Roma)
Out: Antonio Langella (undisclosed, Udinese), Fernando Tissone (undisclosed, Udinese), Andrea Lazzari (co-ownership, Cagliari), Zlatan Muslimovic (undisclosed, PAOK), George Forsyth (loan, Alianza Lima)
Bologna
In: Sergio Volpi (free, Sampdoria), Marco Bernacci (undisclosed, Ascoli), Christian Zenoni (undisclosed, Sampdoria), Diego Manuel Rodriguez (loan, Penarol), Coelho (loan, Corinthians), Gabi Mudingayi (€6m, Lazio), Davide Marchini (loan, Triestina)
Out: Riccardo Bonetto (loan, Livorno)
Cagliari
In: Federico Marchetti (undisclosed, Albinoleffe), Andrea Lazzari (co-ownership, Atalanta), Carlos Matheu (undisclosed, Independiente)
Out: Cristian Del Grosso (undisclosed, Siena)
Catania
In: Tomas Kosicky (undisclosed, Inter Bratislava), Julian Di Cosmo (undisclosed, Igea Virtus), Ezequiel Alejo Carboni (undisclosed, Red Bull Salzburg), Pablo Ledesma (undisclosed, Boca Juniors), Nicolae Dica (€2m, Steaua), Giuseppe Colucci (undisclosed, Verona)
Out: Juan Manuel Vargas (undisclosed, Fiorentina), Adriano Mezavilla (loan, Perugia), Mauro Minelli (loan, Triestina), Gianluca Pegolo (loan, Parma)
Chievo
In: Stefano Sorrentino (free, AEK Athens), Mauro Esposito (loan, Roma), Kerlon (undisclosed, Cruzeiro)
Out: Matteo Alberti (undisclosed, QPR), Giovanni Marchese (loan, Salernitana), Victor Obinna (undisclosed, Inter), Pablo Granoche (loan, Triestina), Mirco Gasparetto (loan, Pisa)
Fiorentina
In: Alberto Gilardino (€13 million, AC Milan), Stevan Jovetic (€8 million, Partizan Belgrade), Felipe Melo (€13m, Almeria), Gianluca Comotto (undisclosed, Torino), Juan Manuel Vargas (undisclosed, Catania), Jefferson (free, Parana), Luciano Zauri (loan, Lazio), Sergio Almiron (loan, Juventus)
Out: Tomas Ujfalusi (free, Atletico Madrid), Fabio Liverani (undisclosed, Palermo), Christian Vieri (released), Daniele Cacia (undisclosed, Piacenza)
Genoa
In: Abdelkader Ghezzal (undisclosed, Crotone), Davide Di Gennaro (part of Marco Borriello deal, AC Milan), Francesco Modesto (Reggina), Andrea Gasbarroni (undisclosed, Parma), Salvatore Bocchetti (co-ownership, Frosinone), Giuseppe Biava (undisclosed, Palermo), Steve Pinau (undisclosed, Monaco), Sokratis Papastathopoloulos (€4m, AEK Athens), Diego Milito (undisclosed, Real Zaragoza), Davide Brivio (loan, Vicenza)
Out: Marco Borriello (€10 million + Davide Di Gennaro, AC Milan), Abdoulay Konko (undisclosed, Sevilla), Leon (undisclosed, Parma), Alessandro Lucarelli (undisclosed, Parma), Fabiano (loan, Reggina), Silvano Garibaldi (loan, Pisa), Danilo (undisclosed, Celta Vigo), Steve Pinau (loan, Hibs)
Inter
In: Stefano Giacomelli (loan, Foligno), Luis Antonio Jimenez (permanent deal, Ternana), Mancini (€13m, Roma), Sulley Muntari (€16m, Portsmouth), Victor Obinna (undisclosed, Chievo), Ricardo Quaresma (€18.

Don't let the above picture fool you. Despite the "friendly" intentions of Austria's nº16 on Gennaro Gattuso (sorry, couldn't resist...), Italy vs. Austria seemed, at times, anything but friendly. In fact as soon as they were up by two goals, the Austrians thought this could very well be exploit-day for them.

Italian referees could use some damage control PR today, after managing to royally fuck up two games. In Palermo-Fiorentina, Alberto Gilardino - who is quite hot at the moment so we can maybe forgive their assumptions he'd magically huffed and puffed the ball into the net - scored with what appeared to be his hand.

So this is the table so far at the end of the year I will post the final table so you can compare, not many English Premier League teams in it so far!
No. Player's Name Pos From To Fee
1. Daniel Alves (Bra) RB Sevilla (Spa) Barcelona (Spa) £25.

Fiorentina buscará ser el equipo sorpresa en la próxima Champions League y se ha reforzado en cada una de sus líneas con jugadores de experiencia y jóvenes promesas. En total son ocho los refuerzos que llega al conjunto "morado" donde destacan el delantero italiano, Alberto Gilardino y el capitán de la Lazio, Luciano Zauri, quienes buscaran [.

Which Serie A transfer has made the biggest impact at his new club so far this season? is the poll question for matchday 12. Serie A Poll Question Bookmark to:

Fiorentina had the French "Lion" almost tamed. In their nth rendez-vous with top European football (since the 2001-02 season, OL have won 7 consecutive Ligue 1 championships), Lyon started the match at ferocious pace, but after a couple whip-cracks by Alberto Gilardino (coupled with an almost flawless Viola defence) the beast had stopped roaring.

Ad un passo dall'inferno

L'errore più marchiano di Roberto Donadoni, nel disastroso esordio degli azzurri contro l'Olanda, è stato il difetto del coraggio.

Non se l'è sentita il tecnico della nazionale, di mandare in campo i calciatori più in forma, su tutti Gorsso e pare anche Del Piero.

For all those people that since June 22, 2008 have been anxiously waiting to see the Azzurri back in action, those weeks of anticipation are finally over. Granted, this isn't the Nazionale (we'll have to wait until August 20th for that), but the Azzurrini are always a fun bunch to watch, as we have so many talented young talents and this Beijing Olympics should be very interesting.

Despite the continuing string of injuries- that would have crippled a mere mortal team- Lyon are through to the knock-out stages of the CL. Doing much better than just picking-up the minimum one point needed before Tuesday's match in order to advance past the group stages, Lyon walked in and out of Stadio Artemio Franchi like they owned the place and took 3 points- and probably some Bistecca alla Fiorentina- with them.

Alberto Gilardino was once considered the next big thing in Italian football and for three years he did do enough to keep the flame of hope and optimism burning. But this is the second season running when a string of injuries married to poor form has raised questions on his class and Italian press rumours [.

The Serie A 2008/09 promises to me an exhilarating season as crap teams have become mediocre teams, mediocre teams have become good teams and good teams have become... very good teams. Milan has introduced a new regime by ousting Alberto Gilardino and a series of other players and bringing in the Brazilian army.

Here's a story from the Serie Aaaaargh! blog from Four Four Two magazine about Alberto Gilardino's move to Fiorentina. I agree with Riccardo Rossi in that I think we're going to see the truly qualities that Gilardino possesses this season. Teaming him up with Adrian Mutu will be a great addition for the club, which is suddenly becoming the new home for wayward forwards.

I have absolutely no evidence to back this up, but I'm guessing a second honeymoon lacks a bit of the zest and flair of the first edition. Certainly was the case for Marcello Lippi today in his second debut as head coach of the Azzurri because it, uh, didn't go so well. Austria, the team [...]

Here we go with the second installment. In this preview we'll look at Fiorentina, Genoa, Inter, Juventus, Lazio, and Lecce.

FIORENTINA

2007/2008 was a good year for Viola fans. Well, it wasn't just a good year, it was a great year. Fiorentina, led by great performances from key players like Frey, Gamberini, Montolivo, and Mutu, ended the season in 4th place, gaining Champions League qualification for the first time since the days of Batistuta and reaching the semi-final of the UEFA Cup.

A good Juventus and a very resolute Fiorentina side gave life to an entertaining and exciting contest for fans in attendance at the Artemio Franchi stadium, with the game's final result never certain until the referee's final whistle. In the end it finished 1-1, courtesy of goals by Nedved and Gilardino.

Mourinho holds his tongue after Milan show talk is cheap.
Alberto Gilardino came up with one of the goals of the weekend to help Fiorentina beat Genoa 1-0 on Saturday. He now has three Serie A goals in five games, as well as a Champions League brace against Lyon.

Week-End Reviews Sure was a busy week-end in Serie A this week. The Derby della Madonnina may not have provided a lot of goals, but excitement definitely wasn't absent from San Siro on Sunday. . Italian Calcio Blog week 5 review . Gazzetta in English week 5 review . Serie A started with Bianconeri and Viola involved on Saturday, on account of [.

Those of us who paid attention in high school know the Renaissance began in Italy and spread across the West causing a change in art, music, and thought.  Its affects have greatly shaped the modern world.  The center of the Renaissance began in Florence or as it is known in Italy: Firenze.  Talented people like Leonardo Da Vinci, [.

Perhaps it is fitting that on Diego Maradona's 48th birthday, his old club Napoli (which he led to two Serie A titles) is currently second in the Italian top flight, only behind Udinese on goal differential. At the same time the Argentina legend, who led his country to the 1986 World Cup title, has also been named the new national team coach.

The perfect example of "a match of two halves", Saturday's Fiorentina vs. Udinese also delighted Serie A fans with a big deluge of goals, courtesy of some often shaky defending (on both sides) but more so of the great prideful reaction by Cesare Prandelli's boys. One goal down early in the game, La Viola looked [.

Italy's Fiorentina won it's first Champions League qualifying matchup 2-0 against Slavia Prague.  The two players who should lead Fiorentina this upcoming season, Adrian Mutu and Alberto Gilardino, both scored in the game. The second leg of the match will be played on August 27th in the Czech Republic.

The paintbrush of Adrian Mutu and the violin solo of Alberto Gilardino. Tuscany is well-known as the homeland of many Italian artists, and Fiorentina are certainly no exception to that trend. The two Viola strikers were main protagonists Tuesday night, as their team obtained a key 2-0 home win against Slavia Prague and slammed the [.

As each week passes Serie A gets closer and closer. This was basically the final week of the preseason, as this week there are National Team games on Wednesday and then the SuperCoppa on Sunday, and teams start there normal preparation for the start of Serie A, which will kick-off with Udinese-Palermo and Sampdoria-Inter on Saturday, August 30th.

Arrival of Match Day Two for Serie A fans provides several entertaining pairings including, Palermo vs. Roma, Juventus vs. Udinese and Napoli vs. Fiorentina. I've provided a recap of My predictions from Match Day One below. Juventus was absolutely a let down after holding Fiorentina for almost the entire match to a scoreline of 1 - 0, immediately after a [.

Reverse engines, full 180º, nitro boost. After his team's brutal mid-week loss to Lazio, Cesare Prandelli must have found the right words to remotivate his men Saturday. A battling and determined Fiorentina side, led by the continued moment of form of a reborn Alberto Gilardino, brushed their Genoa visitors aside and went on to take [.

Chalk up the third consecutive Serie A win for Fiorentina. There was nothing earth-shattering in La Viola's performance against Reggina tonight, but on day of mourning for the upper management (Maria Della Valle, mother of Diego & Andrea, passed away earlier this week) the brother-presidents will be satisfied to see their team is steadily [.

Less fancy playing, better defending, more cynical finishing. This will be Fiorentina's lesson tonight after their elimination from the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League. And it sounds like an awfully familiar one. The kind that spectacular but inexperienced teams are forced to learn, as indeed La Viola's return to Europe's top competition demonstrated.