On behalf of the Italy Offside, I'd like to congratulate Ronaldinho on his pregnancy. He looks about 4 months in. Can't wait to see him walking around the pitches of Serie A come August.

Various Serie A news from the day:

- Happy Birthday Antonio Cassano! Fantantonio turns 28 today.

If you've been watching Serie A this season, you may have noticed it by now. In many games across the peninsula, especially games at night, the mysterious green laser beam has been shot at various players and managers. The first appearance of the green laser is pictured, when during a Bari-Juventus game at the Stadio San Nicola, Diego stepped up to take a penalty kick and the laser was dancing on his face.

Preseason training is underway and with the preparations for the coming season there are always the presentation of the kits by each team. I remember years ago when you had to wait until at least mid-August to see the kits, now you have brands like Nike and Adidas unveiling next season's kits even months in advance.

So I thought maybe after the World Cup, there might be some new soccer fans that fell in love with the game in these past few weeks and are looking for a league to follow. Now I know many would probably go and choose the English Premier League because it has the most visibility and is English-speaking or they might choose La Liga because of Real Madrid and Barcelona or the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League (ok maybe not that one), but I decided to make a case for Serie A.

As you may know by now, starting this season Serie A and Serie B will be two separate leagues run by two different governing bodies, like in England with the Premier League and the Coca-Cola Championship. So to identify themselves both divisions have came up with different logos. The Serie B logo hasn't been released first, but Serie A revealed their logo today (pictured on the left).

There have always been nicknames in soccer. Most players have nicknames, whether the are created by the media, the fans, coaches, other players, there are nicknames everywhere. Then there are the nicknames you make for players you hate. Those are always the most fun. (Like last season with Klaas-Jan Junkelaar).

Mourinho hopes that Inter can carry their momentum into the final two Serie A games and hang on to their two-point lead over Roma. Inter face little threat in the final two Serie A games against Chievo on Sunday and Siena the following weekend.Roma play Cagliari and Chievo and would win the title if they finish even on points because they drew and beat Inter in the direct league clashes.

Serie A on Fox Soccer Channel: Siena - Inter Milan at 9am, Chievo - AS Roma at 11am, and to be determined at 1pm. On Fox Soccer Plus there are to be determined slots at 9am and 2pm. La Liga on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes: Valladolid - Barcelona at 1pm. GolTV has Malaga - Real Madrid at 1pm. Brazilian soccer on GolTV: Gremio - Corinthians at 3pm and Vasco da Gama - Palmeiras at 5:30pm.

Just like many university school years are coming to an end this month and sending out grades to all their students, it's time to grade all twenty Serie A teams on their 2009/2010 season. Who passed? Who failed? Who's going to summer school? Who's being held back? Who's transferring to another school (The Serie B School of Less Competitive Football)?

Inter striker, Samuel Eto'o, channels Zidane

Exciting stuff happening in Italy this weekend as Serie A's forwards continue to show us some interesting technique and skill. Last weekend, Milan's Ibrahimovic demonstrated that he could compete with De Jong in a karate contest.

EPL on ESPN2: Hull City - Chelsea at 7:30am. On Fox Soccer Channel: Wigan -Aston Villa at 10am, Birmingham City - Manchester United at 12:30pm. Championship on Setanta: Crystal Palace - Bristol at 10am. La Liga on ESPN Deportes: Valladolid - Atletico Madrid at noon. On GolTV: Sevilla - Racing Santander at 2pm.

Champions Inter Milan won a seven goal thriller over bottom side Siena to go further clear at the top, while Roma beat Chievo to move fourth.
Saturday
AC Milan moved four points clear in second place in Serie A after claiming a comprehensive 3-0 win at Juventus
Sunday

I don`t have to apologize I guess for not posting for soooo long. This season we suck. If you followed the team, you know what I mean. I came up with this piece while trying to summ up the first part of the season. Good read:
=============

My naivity might have gone as much as hoping for a champions league spot, or making a semi final in Europe League.

Only a measly 17 goals scored this weekend in Serie A, with three games finishing 0-0 (Roma-Milan, Atalanta-Udinese, Inter-Genoa). Both Antonio Di Natale and Diego Milito were involved in goalless draws, so nothing changes at the top of the top scoring chart. With his goal this weekend, Giampaolo Pazzini closed in on Milito and now has 13 goals, 2 away from Milito's 15.

David Beckham, of infinite stardom, has unfortunately ruptured his Achilles. He limped off in a league game today against Chievo, though it wasn't because of a challenge, he appeared to injure himself midstride. The current verdict is 5 to six months out, which puts him firmly out of World Cup standings, though this is of course an early prediction.

All the action from Italian Serie A match day 28. AC Milan defeat Chievo and pull within 1pt of leaders Inter but at a cost, losing David Beckham to serious injuryCatania pull off 3-1 winner against...
Want to send us your comments? or looking to advertise on our site? contact us at, owngoalnetwork[at]live[dot]ca

Saturday, April 10, 2010 Napoli vs. Parma 12:00 PM Fiorentina vs. Inter Milan 2:45PM Sunday, April 11, 2010 Bologna vs. Lazio 9:00 AM Juventus vs. Cagliari 9:00 AM AC Milan vs. Catania 9:00 AM AS Roma vs. Atalanta 9:00 AM Siena vs. Bari 9:00 AM Palermo vs. Chievo 9:00 AM Livorno vs.

Sorry for the lack of posts last week, I was a little under the weather and didn't get to the computer much. But everything will be back in full force this week. The 33rd giornata was a big day, as we saw Roma reach first place for the first time since 2004, and Inter sitting in a place they haven't been familiar with the past 5 years: second.

I thought I'd skip over Tactics Wednesday this week and post this. Serie A has always been known to have some crazy president and owners. In fact, I think you'll find that Italy is home to the craziest owners and presidents in all of world football. I feel like Italy is the only place you hear about all these crazy antics by owners, in the EPL you don't even know who some of these people are.

Only 90 minutes (plus stoppage time) remain in the 2009/2010 Serie A season. For a while on Sunday, the whole season was decided, but then a couple of goals changed all that. Inter still remain on top, and Roma are still a point behind hoping in a miracle from Siena next Sunday. The end is near.

The 2010/2011 Serie A season seemed so far away and it felt like 2009/2010 just ended, but the new season is upon us. With today's calendar drawing, it officially means the season is upon us. Tomorrow will be officially one month until kickoff. The season will run from August 29th to May 22nd.

So you may of noticed that in the past few days the Italy Offside hasn't really been updated. And some of you may have disappointed, while others were probably saying "yes that stupid blog isn't being updated! finally!". But the fact of the matter is, I haven't been updating because I've been working on this season preview.

Ok, just an update on how the standings look like after 3 match days. Considering that no team has won 3 matches, we are currently 4th with same number of points with Chievo and Brescia! Serie A Italy Fixtures & Results

Like most soccer fans, I am a soccer league polygamist. Because I live less than 20 minutes from an MLS club, I root for and follow Major League Soccer in the U.S. However, I am also a passionate Arsenal fan who lives and dies in every match they play throughout the year. And of course, I love Serie A best of all and have my favorite club, whose scarf I wore proudly this past Sunday.

Lazio: Avanti tutta! Di Danilo Bonanno La festa dopo il buon pareggio in casa col Milan è stata archiviata,i ragazzi di Reja adesso hanno messo nel mirino la rivelazione Chievo. Sar una trasferta dura ed insidiosa quella di Verona:infatti la squadra allenata da Pioli si sta rivelando un mix di concretezza e calcio spettacolo;sono reduci dalla strepitosa vittoria fuori casa col Napoli.

So the weekend that was originally supposed to be suspended because of the strike was played and it was a pretty good weekend overall. It's proving to be an even Serie A campaign so far, in fact it's the first time since the 1971/72 season that no team is unbeaten. Every team has lost at least once, and every team at least has one point.

Roma head into Sunday's derby with Lazio in the unfamiliar position of watching their local rivals flying high at the top of Serie A. Inter Milan host strugglers Brescia on Saturday on the back of a midweek 3-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League.

AC Milan lie one point behind Inter and visit bottom-side Bari eager to return to winning ways after a 2-1 defeat to Juventus was followed by a 2-2 Champions League draw against Real Madrid, who equalised in injury time.

Etoo headbutted Chievo's Bostjan Cesar right in the chest just like Zidane did in the World Cup final.

Another weekend of Serie A as we inch closer to that winter break, which is only 4 weekends away. It was another interesting weekend, Milan confirmed themselves at the top, Lazio and Napoli are still high-flying, Juventus and Roma are making up for lost time, and Inter are in crisis mode and 9 points away from Milan (when's the last time that happened?

Another weekend of Serie A as we inch closer to that winter break, which is only 4 weekends away. It was another interesting weekend, Milan confirmed themselves at the top, Lazio and Napoli are still high-flying, Juventus and Roma are making up for lost time, and Inter are in crisis mode and 9 points away from Milan (when's the last time that happened?

We have reached the midway point of Serie A 2010/2011. Unofficially the winter break has always been the midway point, as teams go on vacation and start planning their transfer strategy for the January market. Officially the real midway point is after the 19th giornata, but the winter break always feels like the real midway point.

Monday 4th January
19:45 Partick Thistle v Greenock Morton, Irn Bru Scottish Football League First Division, BBC AlbaGreenock make the relatively short trip down the M8 in a bid to avoid being sucked further into the relegation zone. Warning: Commentary likely to be in Gaelic.
Tuesday 5th January
20:00 Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa, Carling Cup Semi-Final First Leg, Sky Sports 1/HD1Sound familiar?

-
- QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!
- Check out the cutting-edge/continually-updated/football-only, quasi-blog/quasi-board QPR Report Messageboard!
BBC - QPR look to offload Italian pair
- QPR have told Italian duo Matteo Alberti and Alessandro Pellicori they have no future at Loftus Road.

Chievo-Inter apre le danze in quest'epifania di Serie A. Alle 12 e 30, in pieno orario di pranzo, al Bentegodi di Verona, Di Carlo prover a combinare lo scherzetto alla corazzata di Mourinho. Le due squadre sono reduci da risultati diversi. Una sconfitta, nell'ultima fatica del 2009, per Pellissier e compagni, che hanno ceduto per 0 a 2 al San Paolo contro il Napoli; risultato pieno, invece, per i nerazzurri, ma a fatica, contro la Lazio di Ballardini (1 a 0, gol di Eto'o).

Inter Milan edged past Chievo in this bad tempered Serie A match that saw nine players cautioned.

Join Our Facebook Fan Page for the Latest News/Rumours/Forums/Videos/WAGS/Funny Stuff/Features!

Don't forget to check out Online Football Manager!

(0-1. Balotelli)
(highlights)

The winter transfer market is here, and unlike years past, this may actually be an interesting one. There have already been some moves made, but we are just getting started and there should be plenty of rumors swirling around in the coming days and weeks. Here's a team by team guide of what you can expect each club will spend this month (if anything at all).

The Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira has played his last game for Inter Milan, and is nearly certain to be rejoining his old boss Roberto Mancini at Manchester City. Jose Mourinho saw Vieira play the whole 90 minutes against Chievo before the Portugese manager gave Vieira a special mention in his post-match comments.

After 4 months in charge, Antonio Conte's first stint as a Serie A manager is already over. This morning the former Juventus and Italy midfielder handed in his resignation after a string of poor results, loads of protests from fans, and sitting second from bottom of the table with only 13 points.

Well when your side is screaming out for a centre half, why not simply go out and sign a centre midfielder who's lost his pace and has struggled with injuries for 3 seasons. Yes, Roberto Mancini seems to think that by signing a creaky Patrick Vieira, it'll help shore up a leaky defence.