Serie A Matchday Review: Udinese Consistency With Third Win On The Trot is a post from: Serie A Weekly Serie A Matchday Review: Udinese Consistency With Third Win On The Trot is a post from: Serie A Weekly Udinese beat Lazio 1-0 at the Stadio Friuli with a sensational goal from captain Antonio Di Natale as the hosts moved level on points with their opponents in the Serie A table.
Andrea Lazzari (R) of Udinese with Arturo Vidal of Juventus-Photo by Dino Panato/Getty Images
2013 did not start well for the Old Lady of Italian soccer. Juventus have won just one point from a possible six in their last two matches. Coming off a loss to 15th seed Sampdoriaand a tie with 9th seed Parma,Juventus will face off against Udinese at home on Saturday, Jan.
We knew Serie A attendances were dwindling, but we had no idea it was quite this bad...
What you're looking at here is the entire travelling fanbase that Udinese took with them to Genoa last night. For reasons unknown, only one solitary guy made the 320-mile, four-hour journey across Italy from Udine to Genoa to watch his side's 0-2 victory.
We knew Serie A attendances were dwindling, but we had no idea it was quite this bad...
What you're looking at here is the entire travelling fanbase that Udinese took with them to Sampdoria last night. For reasons unknown, only one solitary guy made the 320-mile, four-hour journey across Italy from Udine to Genoa to watch his side's 0-2 victory.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers heaped praise on Jordan Henderson after his goal against Udinese sent them through to the knockout stages of the Europa League. The midfielder fired home his third Liverpool goal on 23 minutes to put the Reds top of Group A and into the last 32. "He is a great lad and works hard and has come in over the last month and made a good contribution to the team," said Rodgers.
Udinese 0-1 Liverpool Europa League 6th December 2012
Liverpool reached the last 32 of the Europa League on Thursday night after beating Udinese 1-0 in Italy. Jordan Henderson was the unlikely goalscorer for the Reds, netting on 23 minutes after a Stewart Downing corner.
Liverpool narrowly lost out to Udinese in their Europa League group-stage after second half goals from Antonio Di Natale, own goal by Sebastian Coates and a classy strike from Giovanni Pasquale put the visitors well ahead.
Liverpool lead before halftime after a well-worked Jonjo Shelvey goal, but the Italian side leveled straight after the interval.
Three second-half goals sent Liverpool spinning to defeat in their Europa League Group A match at Anfield. Brendan Rodgers' team led when Jonjo Shelvey headed them into a first-half lead from Stewart Downing's cross. However, Antonio Di Natale levelled the scores early in the second half and a Sebastian Coates own goal and Giovanni Pasquale effort made it 3-1 before substitute Luis Suarez concluded a burst of three goals in five minutes when he reduced the deficit.
Liverpool play Italian side Udinese at Anfield this Thursday and judging by their results this Season, we don't have too much to worry about.
The Bianconeri currently lie in 16th place in Italy's Seria A with 6 points from six games.
Under coach Francesco Guidolin, the Udinese have scored very few goals during this Campaign, indeed, veteran forward, Antonio Di Natale is their top-scorer with just two goals to date in La Liga.
It was another disappointing Sunday for AC Milan and Inter Milan as they both suffered defeats, while Lazio, Napoli and ampdoria all lost their 100% records.
Antonio Di Natale has been praised by Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, after the Udinese
forward scored in their Group C opener against Spain.
The veteran former Empoli man opened the scoring against the defending champions at the PGE
Arena in Gdansk and almost sealed a win with an audacious volley from Sebastian Giovinco's cross
late on.
In anyone's list, this will be a toss-up between Buffon and Iker Casillas of Spain—and
rightfully so, as both have convincing cases for a Best XI bid.
Fernando Torres has told Republic of Ireland that Spain are determined to win their remaining
games in Group C after being held by Italy.
Giovanni Trapattoni's men need a positive result themselves in Gdansk on Thursday following a
loss to Croatia, but Torres is confident that Spain will come out on top.
Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa firmly believes that Spain's glorious Euro 2012 final win
should not undermine Italy's achievements as worthy finalists throughout the tournament.
Like the Spaniards, Cesare Prandelli's Italians arrived in Kiev unbeaten ahead of last night's
title decider.
Boring Spain? I don't think so. Spain took Italy apart today in the Euro 2012 final winning 4-0
and becoming the first side to win three successive major tournaments.
This was a record breaking performance by Spain as Iker Casillas became the first player to win
100 international games and Vicente del Bosque became the first coach to win the European
Championship, the World Cup and the Champions League.
With their emphatic 4-0 win over Italy in the Euro 2012 final, Spain shattered more records in
addition to lifting a third consecutive international trophy.
Goals from David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres, and Juan Mata demolished what was
ultimately a 10-men Italy side with no answer to Spain's vintage possession game.
Spain and Italy, the two Euro 2012 finalists, emerged from the same group, each dispatching the
two survivors from the fear-inspiring Group B, with Portugal and Germany falling by the wayside.
Now, they play for the second time this tournament with a chance to claim European bragging rights
ahead of the next World Cup qualifying cycle.
Good morning! Today we've got our last quarterfinal, England versus Italy.
Both teams traveled to Euro 2012 with somewhat muted expectations, having underachieved at the
last World Cup and feeling less than confident about their current squads.
England vs Italy
Quarterfinal 4
Kiev, Ukraine | 20:45
Italy's pride and joy - Mario Balotelli - has compared himself to
Peter Pan ("I could be Peter Pan I do things my own way, with freedom, but I'm
more of a man than Peter Pan") ahead of tonight's crucial quarter-final clash against
England.
In which Antonio Di Natale and Mario Balotelli join forces to pull a cheeky one on Antonio
Cassano as the Italy squad leave training. It's perhaps worth bearing in mind that there was a
point, a few years ago now, that this pair of pranksters would've probably met their grizzly demise
for trying this kind of thing on Fantantonio.
It's all fun and games in the Italy camp and unsurprisingly Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli
is heavily involved. Balotelli and strike partner/rival Antonio Di Natale hatched a plan to trip
team-mate Antonio Cassano. The pair each grabbed an ankle to send Cassano tumbling to the ground.
Perhaps this is part of Mario's new [.
It's all fun and games in the Italy camp and unsurprisingly Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli
is heavily involved. Balotelli and strike partner/rival Antonio Di Natale hatched a plan to trip
team-mate Antonio Cassano. The pair each grabbed an ankle to send Cassano tumbling to the ground.
Perhaps this is part of Mario's new [.
On the eve of EURO 2012, Italy was an ominous cloud, surrounded by stifling winds of a Serie A
match-fixing scandal and a base of supporters still disappointed from the country's performance in
the 2010 World Cup. Going into this summer's tournament, defensive stalwart Andrea Barzagli had a
calf injury, forcing him to miss at least the first two games of the tournament.
Italy Euro 2012 Puma Away Shirt - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
The Italian National Team have overcome injuries and pre-tournament scandals to
qualify from the Euro 2012 knockout stages, where they now wait to face their Group D quarter-final
opponents. The Azzuri last tasted success at the 2006 World Cup and are always one of the main
contenders for every major tournament.
In perhaps Euro 2012′s most intriguing match so far, European and world champions Spain were
held to a 1-1 draw by Italy. The Spaniards fielded a strange lineup void of a single true striker
as attacking midfielders David Silva and Andres Iniesta were joined by central midfielder Cesc
Fabregas in forward positions.
In perhaps Euro 2012′s most intriguing match so far, European and world champions Spain were held to a 1-1 draw by Italy. The Spaniards fielded a strange lineup void of a single true striker as attacking midfielders David Silva and Andres Iniesta were joined by central midfielder Cesc Fabregas in forward positions.
Sporting Kansas City will be welcoming the Ligue 1 champions to Livestrong Sporting Park this
summer.
Sporting KC announced they will be hosting French side Montpellier in a friendly on July 24,
the first of two matches Montpellier will play in the United States this summer.
Italy vs Croatia
Matchday 2 Group C
Poznan | 18:00Â
We're going to be honest with you : we did not expect Antonio Di Natale (of
all Italian strikers... si può credere?!) to score in their opening game against
Spain on Sunday, but he did!
A 1-1 draw against the reigning world champions can be counted as a good result for the Azzurri
despite the injuries and off field distractions. Cesare Prandelli utilized the much talked about
3-5-2 after experimenting with the unorthodox formation in training last week, with the back three
comprised of Juventus duo of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, plus Daniele De Rossi making
his.
Antonio Cassano built up quite a bit of goodwill after undergoing heart surgery and recovering
from a stroke last season to even make it back on the pitch for Italy's Euro 2012 campaign, but his
latest comments will probably damage that positive spirit. During a press conference on Tuesday,
the filterless Cassano added to the already large pile of regrettable comments he's made over his
career with his response to questions about reports that there are two homosexual players in the
Italian squad.
Another intriguing day at Euro 2012, with a well-played first match and at least by the
standards of the first three days -a high-scoring nightcap to round things off. We'll get our first
look at England and its contingent of Liverpool players, which means we'll also be encouraged to
collectively lower our expectations because that's the best way forward for the pride of a
nation.
Euro 2012 News: Fab to the rescue for Spain and England ready for France test - originally
posted on Soccerlens.com
England enter the Euro 2012 tournament on Match Day 4, with a mouth-watering clash against old
enemies France sure to enthral, whilst co-hosts Ukraine are the last to feature as they entertain
Sweden to complete a full round of fixtures.
Spain's title defense is off to an underwhelming start.
The reigning Euro champions were held to a 1-1 draw with Italy on Sunday in a Euro 2012 Group C
opener that was full of frustration for the Spanish side. Italy scored first through a finish from
Antonio Di Natale in the 61st minute, but Spain leveled the scored when Cesc Fabregas netted three
minutes later.
In a move that would have rather irked the likes of Fernandos Llorente and Torres, Spain boss
Vicente Del Bosque decided to eschew a natural centre-forward in his line-up against Italy, instead
opting to allow attacking midfielders Cesc Fabregas and David Silva to float between attack and
midfield.
Mario Balotelli started for Italy in their Euro 2012 opener against Spain and even in a match
filled with brilliant talents playing for the last two World Cup winners, he was still largely the
center of attention. He earned a yellow card in the 37th minute, seeming to forget his vow to keep
himself under control during the tournament, and in the 53rd minute he squandered his excellent
move to strip the ball off of Sergio Ramos to give himself a one v one against Iker Casillas by
simply not shooting before Ramos chased him down and stripped him from behind.
Serie A leader Juventus was upset 2-1 at home by 10-man Sampdoria and two other title contenders also fell Sunday, as the big Italian clubs struggled to get back into full gear after the holiday break.
Italy forward Antonio Di Natale scored twice to help Udinese beat 10-man Inter Milan 3-0, and Fiorentina lost 2-0 to Pescara for its first home defeat of the season.
Mais um jogo da Eurocopa foi realizado no dia 10/06/2012, na cidade de Gdansk-POL, onde jogaram as
seleções da Espanha (1º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção da Itália (12º no ranking da
FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram: Copa do Mundo
Two brilliant goals from Mario Balotelli destroyed Germany on Thursday and set up a final
showdown with Spain in Kiev on Sunday.
This was the best we have ever seen of Balotelli — and the Germans could not handle him.
Much was made of the fact the Germans had two extra days rest following their quarter-final win
over Greece while Italy had to go on extra time and penalties to beat England.
