Serie A champions Inter will open their title defence against newly-promoted Bari at the San Siro on August 23.
After weeks of anticipation, the fixtures for the 2009-10 season were released at a ceremony held at the Italian Olympic Comittee's (CONI) Foro Italico headquarters in Rome this afternoon.
New Milan coach Leonardo will make his Serie A debut at Siena, while last years runners-up Juventus welcome Chievo to Turin.
The pick of the other opening day fixtures sees Europa League rivals Genoa hosting Roma, Bologna welcoming Fiorentina and, two clubs heavily active in this summer's transfer market, Palermo and Napoli meeting in Sicily.
With Giampiero Ventura's Bari having the daunting task of travelling to the reigning champions, Parma return to the top-flight with a tricky trip to Udinese, while play-off winners Livorno, under new coach Vittorio Russo, entertain Cagliari.
Elsewhere, its the battle of the new coaches as Gianluca Atzori's Catania play Luigi Del Neri's Sampdoria and Davide Ballardini's Lazio face Angelo Gregucci's Atalanta.
Highlights of the season
The fixture computer has provided a spectacular start to the season with the Derby della Madonnina between Milan and Inter scheduled for only the second weekend of the season, on August 29. That same week will also see Juventus travelling to the capital to face Roma, while the return matches are in Week 21 on January 24.
To avoid the summer heat, matches on the first two weekends will all be played in the evenings with a decision due shortly on the exact dates and kick-off times for games in the early part of the campaign.
Another standout fixture will be Juve travelling to Milan on the final day of the season on May 16, with the first meeting scheduled for Week 19 on January 10.
The big Derby d'Italia rivalry between Juve and Inter and the Derby della Capitale between Roma and Lazio will take place on the same weekend in Week 15 on December 6 with the return fixtures in Week 34 on April 18 - just five rounds from the end of the season.
The Derby della Lanterna between Genoa and Sampdoria will take place in Week 14 on November 29 and in Week 33 on April 11, while the Sicilian rivalry between Walter Zenga's Palermo and Catania will be played out a week earlier.
In other key encounters Roma-Fiorentina is scheduled for Weeks 4 and 23; Fiorentina-Lazio and Roma-Napoli for Weeks 7 and 26; Juventus-Fiorentina and Milan-Roma for Weeks 8 and 27; Juventus-Napoli for Weeks 11 and 30; Inter-Roma and Lazio-Milan for Weeks 12 and 31; Inter-Fiorentina for Weeks 14 and 33; Parma-Bologna for Weeks 16 and 35; and finally Fiorentina-Milan and Inter-Lazio for Weeks 17 and 36.
As well as the Milan-Juve showdown at the San Siro, the final day on May 16 will see Siena-Inter, Chievo-Roma, Bari-Fiorentina, Catania-Genoa, Sampdoria-Napoli, Lazio-Udinese, Atalanta-Palermo, Parma-Livorno and Cagliari-Bologna.
Week 1 Fixtures
22/23 August 2009
Bologna v Fiorentina
Catania v Sampdoria
Genoa v Roma
Inter v Bari
Juventus v Chievo
Lazio v Atalanta
Livorno v Cagliari
Palermo v Napoli
Siena v Milan
Udinese v Parma
[http://italian-calcio.blogspot.com]
If anybody still had any doubt about the kind of coach Ciro Ferrara is he would have had a clear sign at the end of the match in Jerez. Just like so many illustrious predecessors, even the new Juventus coach is one that is never pleased enough.
Even after the 3-0 victory against Seongnam that saw the bianconeri through to the semi-final of the Peace Cup, Ferrara is still seeking to improve his team. «I am happy with the result but there is still room for improvement. At the end of the first half I was not happy and I even told the boys. In the second half, on the other hand, there was a good performance. Diego’s debut? I hoped it would be like this. His talents are known by all but even he has to improve further. He can give so much to this team. Now we’re through to the semi-final. Our objective is to win the Peace Cup even if we have to play against Real in the sem-final».[www.juventus.com]
The Bianconeri are through to Friday's semi-final following a convincing display against Seongnam.
Juventus 3-0 Seongnam
Goals from Iaquinta, Diego and Legrottaglie saw the Old Lady cruise past a Seongnam side who were never in the race in the Estadio Chapin in Jerez. Juve are through to the semi-final where they may face the Galacticos of Real Madrid.
First Half
Juventus started brightly knowing that a draw would take them through to a possible semi-final clash with Real Madrid. It was scrappy early on as Seongnam closed the spaces well. Diego made his debut after his summer move from Werder Bremen.
The first real chance fell to David Trezeguet. Vincenzo Iaquinta crossed in from the far side for the Frenchman who rose above the defence to head the ball towards goal. However, it was a weak effort and comfortable for Sung Jong Ryun. Minutes later it was Iaquinta who should have done better from close range. Mauro Camoranesi fed the Italian. He beat Hwan Kim for pace, but he failed to leave his mark as he fired wide with his left foot.
The Koreans showed their fitness compared to the Italian side. Molina fed Dong Won Han with a nice through pass, but Nicola Legrottaglie spared Jonathan Zebina blushes with a nice clearance. It was an open game as both teams attacked each other.
Iaquinta was once again at the centre of the action. Diego found Camoranesi with a delightful ball on the right. The Italian crossed in for Iaquinta but he failed to make contact with his head. Dong Won gave Gianluigi Buffon a scare moments later. Zebina who didn’t look confident, allowed his opponent to slip through, but the Italian goalkeeper was quick off his line to smother the danger.
Minutes later Zebina fouled Molina on the left and a free kick was awarded on the edge of the box. However, Molina’s effort was well cleared by Chiellini. The Chunma continued to attack and Cho should have given them the lead after 30 minutes, but he failed to connect to Kim's low cross from the right. Molina was the Korean side's dangerman, but his finishing was poor as he dragged his left-foot effort wide of Buffon's goal.
Down the other end Juve were awarded a free kick after Sasa fouled Iaquinta on the edge of the box. Diego stepped up to take it, but his curling effort deflected off the wall. At the back the Old Lady was well organised. Seongnam found it hard to breach Ciro Ferrara’s side and the didn’t create any chance worthy of mention.
Juventus finally took the lead following a comedy of errors from Jung in goal. Diego passed out wide to Camoranesi who crossed in with a first time effort. The Seongnam keeper came but never caught the ball and it deflected into the net via Iaquinta's head. It was a dreadful mistake from the Koreans as Jung lived his nightmare moment.
The Italian side were boosted by the goal and it showed as they continued to batter to Koreans' goal. Cristiano Zanetti should have done better when he was fed by Trezeguet. The Italian midfielder controlled well, but he blasted his right-foot effort over the crossbar.
Second Half
Juve got the second half underway and came close through Zebina. The defender made a good run down the right as he latched on to a pass from Diego, but he fizzed his shot wide of the mark. Felipe Melo came on for Zanetti as the Brazilian made his debut. The Brazilian showed his skills as he slowed the rhythm of the game down and linked up well with Diego. The number 28 played the ball out to Camoranesi on the right. He crossed well, but Iaquinta was late and Jung caught well.
Iaquinta continued to move well inside the box and he spotted Trezeguet's clever run in behind Ognenovski. However, the Frenchman incredibly missed from point-blank range as he fired high. It was easier to score than to miss.
Diego made it 2-0 to the Italians with an outstanding strike. He dribbled his way into the box before unleashing a powerful drive into the bottom right corner, leaving Jung with no chance. Juve were cruising by this stage. Sebastian Giovinco came on for Diego and he made an instant impact. 'La Formica Atomica' cut into the box following a short corner and he picked out Legrottaglie who headed home to seal the win.
The Korean side didn't give up though and Hack Yong Jang should have scored with his head, but the ball flew over the crossbar. The Bianconeri held on to make it through to the semi-final in style.
Teams
Juventus (4-3-1-2): Buffon (Chimenti); Zebina, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, Salihamidzic; Camoranesi, Zanetti (Melo), Tiago; Diego (Giovino); Trezeguet, Iaquinta.
Seongnam (4-4-2): Sung Ryong Jung; Sung Hwan Kim, Ognenovski Byung Kuk Cho, Hack Yong Jang; Dong Won, Han, Ho Lee, Jung, Woo Kim, Ban; Dong Geong, Cho, Radonzic.
Goals: Iaquinta (J), Diego (J), Legrottaglie (J).
www.Goal.com
The adventure of Juventus in the Peace Cup has begun. Ferrara fielded Del Piero and Amauri as attacking couple, assisted by Camoranesi in a more advanced position in comparison to the midfielders. The defence sees Cannavaro and Chiellini at the centre. Juventus are wearing the tradition black and white jersey, while Seville is sporting a white jersey and fielded in a 4-4-2 formation. In the first five minutes there are no shots on goal. The first shot came on the 9th minute with Zokora trying from a distance but the ball is cleared. On the 11th minute Perotti has a go from a free-kick on the left side of the area but it goes high over the bar. Juventus try to react on Palop’s side with a long ball by Tiago addressed to Amauri who is however anticipated by the Andalusia keeper. On the 19th minute it is Camoranesi who launches the Brazilian but the flag is up for an off-side.
With the passing of time Juventus start taking control of the field, press and remain compact. On the 23rd minute Del Piero takes a fee-kick from 25 metres but his shot hits the wall. Two minutes later it is Seville who are dangerous: Konè on the counter-attack opens up on the right for Renato who attempts to return the ball to his mate in the area but his cross is too long and the action is lost. On the 26th minute it is Juventus who score the opener: Del Piero shoots perfectly from the corner flag and Amauri chooses the right moment to jump anticipating the defender and heading the ball into the net behind Palop for the 1-0. Seville react immediately and Manninger is clever to close the space on Konè.
On the 30th minute there is the first substitution: Camoranesi leaves the field for Iaquinta and Juventus are now in a three-striker formation. The Italian international tries to be a protagonist immediately and on the 34th minute after receiving from Amauri, tries a right-footed shot from outside the area but the shot is blocked by Fernando Navarro. One minute later, Cannavro fouled Zokora who is running towards goal and was shown the yellow card. The subsequent free-kick sees Konko shooting hard and Manninger punching into corner. At the end of the half it is once again Juve on the attack: Zebina enters the area from the right and crosses, Palop waves the ball away, Iaquinta deviates slightly and Zanetti shoots high.
The last opportunity came from Perotti who once again from a set-piece saw the ball skim the post. The first half ended after one minute of stoppage time with the bianconeri leading.
The second half began with Luis Fabiano coming on for Duscher, while Ferrara did not make any substitutions keeping the forward line with Amauri, Del Piero and Iaquinta. Seville are immediately dangerous : on the 2nd minute Konè controlled the ball in the area and shot with his right foot with the ball going inches wide. A few seconds later it is Luis Fabiano who tries a hot from outside the area but Manninger blocked well. The match is lively: on the 5th minute Amauri tried a run on the left but was stopped before shooting at goal and shortly after did not manage to stop the ball in the area following an inviting pass by Tiago. On the 7th minute Diego Capel substituted Perotti and right after the substitution, Manninger made a great save on a powerful shot by Josè Navas. On the 11th minute it is the post to deny Juventus the second goal. Marchisio shoots with his right foot from outside the area hitting the post. A few seconds later the midfielder is shown a yellow card for a foul on Zokora in midfield.
On the 15th minute Luis Fabiano enters the area from an angled position but shoots directly at Manninger who performed a shor exit.
Seville press on but on the 20th minute it is Juventus to score a second thanks to Vincenzo Iaquinta who from outside the area dished out a low shot to the bottom left corner with Palop beaten (2-0). Right after Marchisio left the field for Salihamidzic while Adriano and Romaric came on for Fernando Navarro and Zokora.
Manninger continued with his show: on the 27th minute Luis Fabiano heads well but Alex flies and deviates and three minutes later he once agains saves over the bar after a powerful shot by Konko. On the 33rd minute Del Piero tests Palop from a free-kick and one minute later it is Jesus Navas who leaves the field for José Carlos. Seconds after the substitution Seville score thanks to Squillaci who headed the ball following a corner to beat Manninger. A few minutes later Konè went close to equalizing with the ball going wide from a difficult angle. On the 39th minute Del Piero is replaced by Molinaro. Seville are trying all they can and during stoppage time it is Romaric to keep Manninger busy but the keeper deviated into corner and blocked the ball a few seconds later following the last shot by renato. Juventus win by 2-1 and now they can start thinking of the match against Seongnam on Tuesday 28th in Jerez.
SEVILLE-JUVENTUS 1-2
Scorers: 26th Amauri, 65th Iaquinta, 80th Squillaci
SEVILLE
Palop; Konko, Escudè, Squillaci, Fernando Navarro ( 69th Adriano) ; Jesus Navas 79th José Navas), Duscher (45th Luis Fabiano), Zokora (69th Romaric), Perotti (52nd Diego Capel); Konè Renato
Reserves: Dragutinovic, Luis Fabiano, Javi Varas, Alfaro, David Prieto, Diego Capel, Acosta, Romaric, Lolo, Josè Carlos
Coach: Manuel Jimenez
JUVENTUS
Manninger; Zebina, Cannavaro, Chiellini, Grygera; Marchisio (65th Salihamidzic), Zanetti, Tiago; Camoranesi (30th Iaquinta) Amauri (92nd Marrone), Del Piero (84th Molinaro).
Reserves: Buffon, Chimenti, Felipe Melo, Salihamidzic, Trezeguet, Molinaro, Giovinco, Sissoko, Ariaudo, Diego, Legrottaglie, Marrone
Coach: Ciro Ferrara
Referee: Stephan Johannesson (Sweden)
Assistants: Magnus Sjoblom (Sweden), Joakim Flink (Sweden)
Fourth Official: Kevin Blom (Holland)
Yellow Cards: 34th Cannavaro, 39th Zebina, 57th Marchisio, 78th Zanetti
[www.juventus.com]
Arguably the most ambitious friendly tournament ever organised gets underway on the 24th July when the Peace Cup 2009 starts with LDU Quito against Al-Ittihad...
History
This will be the first season that the Peace Cup has involved 12 participants, and also the first time it has been hosted in Europe. As a biennial tournament it was initially hosted in South Korea, and in 2007 brought together eight teams. With the tournament expanded to include four more teams and relocated to Europe, the 2009 entry list surpasses anything previously attempted as the organisers look to make the Peace Cup a permanent fixture on the pre-season calendar.
The line-up is certainly an ambitious one - some of the world's biggest global names assembled to compete in this year's competition. With 142 League titles shared amongst the twelve participants, including a record 31 La Liga titles for Real Madrid and 27 Serie A wins for Juventus, 89 domestic cup honours and 34 continental prizes, practically every title worth winning at club level has been won by at least one of the teams at the competition.
In it to win it?
Attention is certain to be dominated by several key teams, but every team has its reason for participating in the Peace Cup 2009.
Real Madrid will be keen to assert themselves on the competition and vindicate their intense summer of transfer activity. Fans and pundits alike will assess the virtue of record breaking purchases such as Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, who both should get some opportunity to impress. For some of the fringe members at Real Madrid, it may be a chance to re-establish their credentials under new coach Manuel Pellegrini.
For the likes of Juventus, Porto, Sevilla and Malaga the Peace Cup will be a chance to get some initial pre-season football in. As their leagues don't start until relatively late in August, the majority of these sides haven't played a great deal of pre-season football thus far. Nevertheless the pressure will be on Sevilla and Malaga as hosts of the Peace Cup, playing in front of their own fans, to impress.
Coaches will be keen to get their players back into the routine of playing regular football after a summer off, so the touch is bound to be slightly rusty and timing not quite right yet. It will also be a chance to run the rule over the new signings such as Diego, who arrived at Juventus from Werder Bremen, or Fernando Belluschi, the former River Plate midfielder, who was snapped up by Porto from Greek football.
Lyon, Besiktas and Aston Villa will all be looking at the Peace Cup more seriously, as their leagues kick-off much sooner. With a good deal of pre-season football behind them already, the Peace Cup 2009 is one of the final chances to fine tune the team. Therefore, the starting line-ups from the likes of Claude Puel at Lyon or Mustafa Dinizli at Besiktas may well come close to what they consider their first choice starting XI.
The Americas contingent of Atlante and LDU Quito are also on the verge of restarting their national championships. Atlante will be using the tournament as good practice before their first ever appearance at the FIFA World Club Championship late in the year, a reward for winning the North American Champions League in 2008.
The 2008 winners of the Copa Libertadores, LDU Quito, may have been succeeded recently by Estudiantes, but they have kept their squad largely intact and will be hopeful of springing a surprise on Real Madrid in their group. They are also midway through their league campaign, and are well positioned to take their tenth Ecuadorian league title.
Asia is represented by two of the biggest names from that continent. Al-Ittihad are winners of the Asian Champions League on two occasions in the last decade, and the Saudi team will be looking to get their new season off to a flying start with a good performance at the Peace Cup. Seongnam are midway through their league season and struggling to meet expectations; the seven-time winners of the K-League are languishing mid-table so they'll be using the Peace Cup as a chance to spark a run of form.
Pre-season pressure
With only one team progressing from each three-team group, the pressure will certainly be on from the outset to get a result and bag a semi-final berth. With all four groups containing big names, picking out winners is going to be tricky.
Although at heart a pre-season friendly tournament, the fact remains that such an exciting range of continental teams has seldom been assembled for such a competition. It will he fascinating to see how teams cope with the adjustment of playing a team from a different continent. With little opportunity for pre-match scouting, how the management and players evolve to tackle their opposition will be an interesting element. This is seldom required over the course of usual league and cup football.
Join Goal.com for the Peace Cup 2009
Goal.com are official online content partners for the Peace Cup 2009, so be certain to visit the site regularly to get updates on all the news and scores as some of the world's biggest sides clash in this prestigious tournament.
[Walter Townsend, Goal.com]
Juventus are starting to get down to serious work. In fact on Friday the bianconeri will make their debut in the Peace Cup in a match against Seville, a top Spanish Liga team: «We have been taking things seriously since the 9th of July – clarifies Ciro Ferrara in the press conference launching the tournament – It is clearly an important appointment which will see us playing against teams of a certain level. It is however since the 9th of July that we have been working on becoming a team».
For the Peace Cup, Ferrara will finally have the complete squad at his disposal. «It will be a useful test to evaluate the team’s conditions. The internationals joined a short while ago and yesterday three important players, Legrottaglie, Giovinco and Melo, joined the team».
Attention is obviously on the new signings: «Melo must work to get back into shape, seeing that he finished with the Confederations Cup rather late. Expectations in his regard are very high just like the ones for Diego and Cannavaro but I expect more from all at Juventus. The first year in black and white can be tough and therefore it is my intention not to put too much responsibility on the new signings. I am not referring to Cannavaro who know the environment well but definitely to Diego and Melo. Diego will today begin working with the ball. We do not ant to rush things and him playing will depend on how far we go in the tournament and therefore we hope to advance and be able to utilize him».
Christian Poulsen’s absence attracted much attention: «He was not called-up for this tournament – explained Ferrara -. We spoke to him and he behaved very professionally during training. He must also think of the opportunity of playing in the world cup. It is a technical choice. He will now train in Turin and when we get back he will join the group again».
The Spanish journalists asked him about the deal regarding Caceres of Barcellona. «At the moment Caceres is not a Juventus player. Contract? “Jo no lo se” » answered Ferrara in Spanish, while smiling. The Juventus coach got back to seriousness speaking of the next opponents: «Seville is a very good team. Up to a few days ago a dear friend of mine, Maresca, played for them.I know certain individualities well and it will be an important test even if they will be missing Luis Fabiano and Kanoutè. I have not yet decided with regards to the formation I will field. We will try to allow all the players to get match practice. There will space for everybody».
Talk shifts to the possibility of meeting Real Madrid in the semi-final: «I’d like to because it would mean that we won our group. Before getting to that match, however, we have two more to play. I would not like to read: “Bring on Real Madrid” in tomorrow’s papers. They spent a lot of money but if they could afford it then they did the right thing. Lately however, I think, even Platini is intended to regulate the situation to make sure clubs have a reasonable balance».
After the last two draws against Nancy and Vicenza, it would be important to get back to winning, even to help convince the team: «The attempt to improve physical condition must also come through positive results, but at this time of the season it is not fundamental. They help you work more tranquilly but they must not distract us from the idea of team work and the type of game we want to propose».
With regards to work, it will be hard to work in the 40 degree temperatures of Seville: The important period was the one in Pinzolo. Now we will have to adapt to the climatic conditions. We will train early in the morning to avoid the heat. We must not pull back. The work will continue as planned».
After Seville, Juventus will play against the Korean side of Seongnam: «It will be a new experience – commented Ferrara -. I am not a connoisseur of Korean football but it is stimulating to play against it. They will give us a tough nut to crack because nowadays there are high level teams all over the world».[www.juventus.com]
