Sunday was Genoa striker Rodrigo Palacio's 30th birthday, so to mark the occasion, he scored a tremendous backheel goal to begin his side's 3-2 win over Lazio that day. In the 10th minute, the Argentine floated a backheel volley off a corner kick while running away from the goal, landing the ball gently in the far corner of the net.

Atalanta Guglielmo Stendardo joined Atalanta on loan from Lazio until the end of the season. The 30-year-old defender has spent most of past two seasons on the bench at the Rome club, and will be delighted to get the chance to feature for the first team in Bergamo. (+ve) Another experienced arrival is midfielder Alessandro Carrozza from Serie B outfit Varese.

None of the top five won at the weekend which meant Roma's impressive home win over Inter was all the more sweeter as they are moved to joint sixth with Napoli and just five points behind Inter with a game in hand. AC Milan were unable to overcome a plucky Napoli side in a match where Zlatan Ibrahimovic disgraced himself by earning a red card for fighting.

The following table shows the average age of player that each of the competing nations fielded during the group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations 2012 in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea. As expected Cote D'Ivoire's fading golden generation who are attempting to win their nation their first major trophy since 1992 is one of the oldest squads at the tournament.

Photo by Rick Osentoski/ISIphotos.com

With Thursday night's official announcement that the U.S. men's national team will be taking on Canada in a pre-World Cup qualifying friendly at BMO Field in Toronto on June 3, another piece to the team's 2012 puzzle is in place.

Inter and Palermo shared eight goals in a 4-4 thriller where Diego Milito netted all four for Inter at the San Siro. Roma's defence needs to be looked at as they were humiliated away at Cagliari. Lazio overcame AC Milan at the Stadio Olimpico and the weather managed to play its part as four games were called off due to the big freeze.

Serie A returned at the weekend after midweek Coppa Italia action and there was some compelling matches played, and goals scored. Here is our pick of the bunch. Here are the top five goals of the week 5. Alessandro Matri Juventus – Udinese A cracking winner by Matri as he scored his second goal of the game and the one that proved to be the winner.

Michael Bradley is currently the only American international playing in Italy's Serie A
U.S. Soccer announced today that a limited number of tickets are available for purchase for the USA-Italy friendly on Feb. 29 in Genoa. This is only the USA's second friendly on Italian soil, and the first since 2002.

Lecce managed the shock of the round by stunning Inter Milan 1-0, the defeat bringing to an end the Nerazzurri's six-game winning. Juventus kept their undefeated record intact by defeating highflying Udinese by two goals to nil in very wet conditions in Turin on Saturday. Alessandro Matri was the hero on the night as he claimed both strikes.

Lecce managed the shock of the round by stunning Inter Milan 1-0, the defeat bringing to an end the Nerazzurri's six-game winning. Juventus kept their undefeated record intact by defeating highflying Udinese by two goals to nil in very wet conditions in Turin on Saturday. Alessandro Matri was the hero on the night as he claimed both strikes.

I stumbled across this story when catching up on all the latest football news and thought i would highlight here not because it is one of the biggest transfer stories on this last day of the transfer window, but rather because of its almost near obscurity.

Frankly, speaking , i thought Toni had retired from the game so imagine my shock when i read that he had actually been with Juventus all this time.

With our next fixture coming up February 29th in Genoa against the United States, I realized what a shame it is that Giuseppe Rossi is injured right now. Certainly, he likes to score against his native country, he scored a brace when we met in 2009 in the Confederations Cup. But more important than delightfully watching him punish the American team in a friendly, I wonder whether or not he'll be able to make it back to full fitness in time for the Euros this summer?

Genoa – Napoli 3-2: disastro azzurro Di Paolo Esposito GENOVA – Il Genoa ritrova Palacio, rilancia Gilardino e accoglie per la seconda volta il figliol prodigo Sculli. I rossoblu rifilano tre gol al Napoli e sono devastanti per tre quarti di gara, poi subiscono una rimonta che dura giusto un minuto, il tempo di subire due gol.

AC Milan vs Cagliari 3-0 Highlights Video 2012 Goals Ibrahimovic Nocerino Ambrosini is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

AC Milan vs Cagliari 3-0 Highlights Video 2012 Goals Ibrahimovic Nocerino Ambrosini is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter AC Milan vs Cagliari 2012 ( Milan Cagliari video below) Final score and result:- Milan vs Cagliari 3-0 ( Ibrahimovic, Nocerino, Ambrosini) San Siro, Milan- 29 January, 2012- Sunday Goals from Zlatan [.

Juventus kept up their Serie A title push with a hard fought 2-1 win over title challengers Udinese at the Juventus Arena thanks to a brace by Alessandro Matri. Alessandro Matri was the man of the hour and having given the hosts a 42nd minute lead, the in-form striker then responded by shooting Antonio Conte's [.

Genoa – Napoli: trent'anni di fratellanza e una goleada da vendicare Di Paolo Esposito GENOVA – 1982 – 2012, sono passati trent'anni ormai. Tre decadi in cui i fratelli parteno-genoani hanno vissuto gioie, dolori, lotte gomito a gomito e solidariet a distanza. Come tutte le volte che gli azzurri giocano contro chi non gradisce particolarmente i tifosi del grifone.

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U.S. national team stars Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey have not shared a field together since the CONCACAF Gold Cup final, but Friday they are slated to do so -- as opponents.

Everton and Fulham meet in a fourth-round FA Cup match at Goodison Park, and Fox Soccer Channel has picked up the 3 p.

We are now half way through the Serie A season and the main performance of the week 19 weekend was Roma's 5-1 win over Cesena on Saturday evening. The Luis Enrique project now seems to be taking shape. Later that night Juventus won away at Atalanta and with that win were crowned winter champions. Inter Milan now have won eight games in a row in all competitions after beating Lazio 2-1 in.

Quest'Inter di Ranieri non si ferma più. Inarrestabile in campionato, la squadra nerazzurra si dimostra travolgente anche in Coppa Italia, dove si sbarazza del Genoa per 2 a 1 negli ottavi e conquista l'accesso al turno successivo (il 25 prossimo supersfida contro il Napoli, al San Paolo). Di Maicon e Poli le reti del 2Continua a leggere .

Inter vs Genoa Coppa Italia 2012 Highlights 2-1 Goals Video Maicon Poli Birsa Tim Cup January is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Inter vs Genoa Coppa Italia 2012 Highlights 2-1 Goals Video Maicon Poli Birsa Tim Cup January is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Inter vs Genoa 2012 ( Inter Genoa Coppa Italia Video below) Final score and result:- Inter vs Genoa 2-1 ( Maicon, Poli/ Birsa) San Siro, Milan- 19 Jan, [.

Chasing the Big Leagues Torino (Serie B) is a post from: Just Football

Tales from Tier Two is a new series on Just Football in partnership with @tiertwofooty, in which we assess the promotion chances of the clubs in tier two of Europe's major leagues at the midway point of 2011/12.

When Pasquale Sensibile arrived in Genoa following a triumphant two years as Sports Director of Novara, Sampdoria seemed to have invested wisely as it sought to wake from a nightmarish nine months. Sensibile's CV was fat with success after presiding over the arrival of coach Attilio Tesser and a number of productive signings including Samir Ujkani, Michel Morganella, Marco Rigoni and Francesco.

guest writer Juan Arango Peruvian side Universitario de Deportes announced that 17-year-old Andy Polo has packed his bags and will take a huge step in his career. Polo was recommended by Fiorentina man Juan Vargas and Genoa president Enrico Preziosi said he was willing to pay the money for the Peruvian phenom.

guest writer Juan Arango Peruvian side Universitario de Deportes announced that 17-year-old Andy Polo has packed his bags and will take a huge step in his career. Polo was recommended by Fiorentina man Juan Vargas and Genoa president Enrico Preziosi said he was willing to pay the money for the Peruvian phenom.

Inter Milan - Genoa 3pm ET - GolTV The day's lone European game takes us to the San Siro for the Coppa Italia for the last game in the Round of 16. This is Inter's first game in the tournament, with the top eight Serie A clubs entering in this round. Genoa entered in the third round of Section 7, beating Nocerina and Bari to advance.

Image: Leo Pix.

We've come across some potentially juicy stuff relating to the new coupling of Kevin-Prince Boateng and Melissa Satta, most of which you'll want to read and judge for yourselves.

There's both facts and falsehoods to sift through here, so a bulleted list it is.

The Backstory

- K-P married his long term girlfriend, Jennifer, two days after signing with Tottenham Hotspur in '07.

Dopo il nubifragio del Massimino, in Catania-Roma, è stata pioggia di goals ed emozioni anche nella 18/a giornata di Serie A, per quanto riguarda le gare pomeridiane. La Lazio supera in casa l'Atalanta, alle 12 e 30, con il punteggio di 2 a 0 (Hernanes su rigore e Klose i marcatori), mentre l'Udinese cade aContinua a leggere .

This week saw some serious Coppa Italia action as the Serie A was put on hold. On Tuesday, Lazio fielded a side culled from both their first team and reserves against Serie B side Hellas Verona – a gamble for which they almost paid dearly. After securing a 2-0 lead, Lazio seemingly fell asleep, and Hellas got back into the game with two goals in the second half.

ESPN2 has the first round of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft at noon. Napoli - Cesena 3pm - GolTV The Coppa Italia takes us to the Stadio San Paolo in Naples for game one of a two-game Round of 16 series. These two Serie A clubs are separated by 13 places, with Napoli 6th and Cesena in the relegation zone at 19th.

U.S. Soccer announced this afternoon that the Men's National Team will play Italy on Feb. 29 in Genoa. The game will be carried on ESPN2 and is set for a 1:45 p.m. CT kickoff. The Italy match will be a stiff challenge for the U.S. as they prepare of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers which this [...]

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The long-rumored friendly between the United States and Italy appears to have come to fruition.

The Italian soccer federation announced that the Azzurri will host the United States at Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa on Feb. 29, the first FIFA international fixture date of the new year.

8 milioni alla Fiorentina, 1, 6 a stagione (per 4 anni) al centravanti. Il 29enne bomber biellese Alberto Gilardino (campione del mondo nel 2006) lascia la Fiorentina dopo 3 stagioni (era in Toscana dal 2008, 118 presenze e 48 reti con i gigliati), e passa al Genoa del presidente Preziosi. Il Calciomercato di Serie A,Continua a leggere .

In the last midweek action before the holiday break there was a plethora of goals in Serie A. Napoli hit six past Genoa, Atalanta hit four against Cesena and Inter Milan also notched four this time at home to Lecce. AC Milan ended the year as winter champions after Juventus were held 0-0 away at Udinese.

As the Serie A season enters the winter break, Lazio sit firmly in fourth position on 30 points after an encouraging start to the season. They have only lost two games in the league (against Juventus and, once high-flying, Genoa) and they have qualified from the Europa League group stages. The additions made to the squad in the summer have been incredibly influential in helping carry the squad.

Remember back at the start of November when I wrote that the USMNT will be visiting Genoa to play Italy at the end of February?That remains so, but I've been told by an Azzurri birdie to expect that game's announcement in early January. Expect my travel menu to include items such as this...- Greg Seltzer

Napoli – Genoa 6-1: ESAGENAPOLI! Di Paolo Esposito Nell'ultima partita del 2011, che poi è il recupero della prima, un uragano con la maglia azzurra spazza via il Genoa a suon di gol. Il dato numerico è impressionante, con il Napoli che nella prima mezz'ora è gi avanti di tre e a fine primo tempo ha gi archiviato la pratica con un perentorio 4-1.

Napoli vs Genoa 6-1 Highlights Video Goals Cavani Hamsik Pandev is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Napoli vs Genoa 6-1 Highlights Video Goals Cavani Hamsik Pandev is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Napoli vs Genoa 2011 ( Video Napoli Genoa below) Final score and result:- Napoli vs Genoa 6-1 ( Cavani*2, Hamsik, Zuniga, Pandev/ Jorquera) Stadio San Paolo, Naples- 21 December, 2011- Serie A- Wednesday Napoli [.

Genoa vs Inter Milan 2011 Highlights 0-1 Video Goal Yuri Nagatomo is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Genoa vs Inter Milan 2011 Highlights 0-1 Video Goal Yuri Nagatomo is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Genoa vs Inter Milan 2011 ( Genoa CFC vs Inter 2011 video below) Score and result:- Genoa vs Inter 0-1 ( Yuri Nagatomo) Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris- 13 December, 2011- 19.

As one unbeaten run came to a close in England, another ws sustained in Italy as the magic hands of Italy and Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon earned the Bianconeri a 1-1 draw with Roma.

It's been interesting to see how the Italian Serie A is playing out these past couples of weeks.

Copa del Rey on ESPN Deportes: Ponferradina - Real Madrid at 2pm and San Roque - Sevilla at 4pm. Serie A on Fox Soccer: Genoa - Inter Milan at 2:30pm. All Times Eastern