Most Italian soccer fans should be familiar with the name of Andrea Russotto. As a youngster he was dubbed as "the next Roberto Baggio" and "Antonio Cassano with a level head" but up until now he has not even been close to living up to those names. His story is a bit particular, and for those of you that don't know it here it is.

The latest Serie A season is now three games in and although it is of course too early to make any firm predictions, some clear markers have already been laid down. Before the close of the window it was Juventus who took the lead as the big spenders in Italy, bringing in a number of players to strengthen the squad, not least of all the Brazilian Diego from Werder Bremen for £21.

As the Calciopoli scandal fades from memory, Livorno are bluntly calling into question the advantage larger clubs seem to have in the wake of their 1-0 loss to Fiorentina on Saturday.

Said club president Aldo Spinelli:

"It is not possible that we have to be the sacrificial lamb in football.

It all started on September 19th in the year 2000. David Trezeguet, a high profile 40 billion lira signing from the then French champions AS Monaco, scored his first goal for Juventus an 83rd minute winner against Panathinaikos in the Champions League.

Nine years later, the 32-year-old Frenchman, who spent his formative years in Argentina watching his father finish his own playing career, celebrated his 167th goal for the Bianconeri, making him the most prolific foreign goalscorer in the club's history.

This season one of the greatest servants to Juventus has hung up his boots and retired from football – Pavel Nedved. The marauding midfielder has been one of the best players in Serie A for over a decade (bar the one season Juve spent in Serie B) and I thought I'd pay homage to the Czech maestro now his career is over.

Fabio Cannavaro's return to Juventus hasn't exactly been meant with overwhelming joy from the club's more hardcore divisions. Still harboring resentment for the former Juve captain over his departure in the wake of the Calciopoli scandal in 2006, ultras have called him a "false champion" and verbally harassed him at training sessions since his return.

The 30 name shortlist for the 2009 Ballon d'Or nominees has been announced, a formality they may well have dispensed with as we all know Lionel Messi will walk away with the trophy. I did note however, one glaring fact when scrolling down the list of the largely usual suspects – not a single Italian is to be found.

The last time Napoli won at the Olimpico in Turin against Juventus was on a cold November day in 1988. Diego Maradona and Ciro Ferrara were wearing Azzurro, as Napoli romped their way to a famous 5-3 victory that is still spoken about today in the unofficial capital of southern Italy.

Fabio Cannavaro, another of Napoli's favourite sons, wasn't yet old enough to play for the first team then.

Alberto Cerruti, La Gazzetta dello Sport's chief football writer, was unsparing in his analysis of Saturday evening's much-anticipated Derby d'Italia.

"Juventus win with a splendid goal and Inter lose, seeing their lead reduced to four points over Milan and five over the Bianconeri.

It was probably unsurprising that Manchester City should choose one of the most extraordinary weekends of the season to trump everybody else. While Liverpool supporters finally seemed to be turning on Rafael Benitez after Liverpool lost at Portsmouth, Manchester United were being given a masterclass in ecomonical football by Fulham and Chelsea were scratching and scrambling their way to a draw at West Ham United, City were playing out another mini-drama at The City of Manchester Stadium against Sunderland and then sacking their manager.