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Italian Commentary and Serie A news
Mario Rimati
True, Italy was in the
so-called "Group of Death" last summer along with Germany, Brazil and Mexico
as Mrs. Levati added in an interview, and this for some people penalized Italy's
chances of being at Sydney (Italy placed 9th), but what still remains a mystery
is why the Italians skipped fourpractices (2 in L.A. before the opener against
Germany, 1 in Chicago and 1 in Boston)? Was seeing the "Hollywood" sign in L.A.
or where they shoot"Baywatch" in Santa Monica more important than filing in
behind Carlton Meyers (the Italian delegation flag bearer at the opening ceremonies
in Sydney)? Was buying those new Nike runners in downtown L.A. or seeing the
Italian district in Boston more important than having a (remote) chance of beating
Mia and Co.? Who authorized that the team take off to see downtown Chicago instead
of getting properly ready for that all-important match against Brazil? Was it
the head of delegation? Was it the head coach? Or was it perhaps the players
themselves (your correspondent was present as interpreter/pr of the national
team)? All the excuses in the world came out once the team was kicked out of
the World Cup: that head coach Carlo Facchinhad had little time to properly
prepare the team. That the head coach brought along the wrong players. That
there was little financial support from the FA and that the players were too
tired from the Serie A championship. Tired? But did some of them realize that
they were going to be heading towards THE most important soccer event in their
lives, not to mention THE most important sporting event in women's sports and
that unlike the men's World Cup, this one was going to determine who was going
to make it to Sydney and who was going to watch the event at home in front of
the television? Next to probably the Olympic Games, what event in the life of
a soccer player could be more important than a World Cup? Playing in front of
100 people perhaps (as often happens during the Serie A games in Italy)? Apparently,
for some people the qualification was not all that important.
The absence of Italy from
the Olympics is not only a pity because many of the teams are minus a worthy
opponent, but because there would have been something very important which is
presently missing from the daily reports coming out of Sydney: coverage of women's
soccer! Without Italy's
participation there is virtually no printed news, nor t.v. news coverage, on
women's soccer. The same situation was repeated four years ago in Atlanta.
Had Italy made it in the top eight teams, it would not only have given a further
boost to the sport in Italy but it would have certainly been
grandiose for someone like Carolina Morace to sit on the bench as head coach
privilege of being part of in her glorious soccer career (she was though
part of the Italian national team at the 1991 World Cup in China). The milk
was spilled back in the States last summer. There's now no use in any
longer crying over it. As a consolation prize, let us now sit back and try to
enjoy this year's Serie A championship (and perhaps also envy the teamwhich
will soon be wearing that gold medal around its neck).
The following are the teams that are participating in this year's Serie A championship:
Agliana
Bardolino
Fiammamonza
Foroni
Geas
Gravina Catania
Lazio
Milan
Oristano
Palermo
Picenum
Pisa
Sarzana
Torino
Torres
Tradate
Some important player changes have come about this season: Midfielder Manuela Tesse has gone from Picenum to Foroni, along with national team goalkeeper Giorgia Brenzan who left Milan. American Jill Rutten has left Pisa to play for the Sardinian team of Oristano. The 33 year-old former captain of the national team, Antonella Carta (5 championship titles and 130 caps), has left Picenum for Guarino's Torres. Lazio in the meantime hasbeen strengthened with the arrival of Anna Duo' of Milan who was part of the USA'99 expedition.
Italy Serie A officially kicks off with blessing of Italian FA President
September 14th saw the official
kick-off of the Italian women's Serie A and B (2nd division championship) at
Rome's Olympic Stadium (site of the 1990 World Cup final between W. Germany
and Argentina). Present at the official ceremony was none other than the president
of the Italian FA, Luciano Nizzola (a rarity in past editions), flanked by the
new head coach of the national team, Carolina Morace and the president of the
female soccer division, Natalina Ceraso Levati. Nizzola's presence was not only
important image-wise but also because the president pledged more support to
female soccer as well as pushing for more autonomy of the female soccer division
from the Italian Amateur League (of which it is presently part of). Levati lamented
the absence of the national team from the Sydney games but stated that she has
full confidence in what this team will do under Morace's leadership. For the
second time Italy has found itself left out of the Olympic Games (1996 was the
first time) and while the top 8 nations that qualified at USA'99 will be soon
battling it out for the gold medal in Australia, the players of the Serie A
will be quietly enjoying themselves on the various soccer fields of Italy.
Levati also spoke about the future plans of the women's Champions' League tournament slated for August 2001. There will be 8 groups made up of 3 teams each. Torres will be Italy's representative in this first-ever European competition for women's soccer. Morace also expressed her views on the upcoming championship as well as the many difficulties that she will face putting together a worthy national team: "There has to be much more work done at the club level. There's still a lot of amateurism going around which borders on what I would define as being "exasperating". There'll never be any progress made if we keep going on like this". Morace's first big international debut will be October 18th in Palermo against Portugal.
The official presentation of this year's championship which kicked of on September 16th for the Serie A (now at its 33rd edition having started back in 1968) also saw several awards being handed out to the winners of last year's championship (Torres), the Italian Cup final (Torres) and the Italian Super Cup final (again Torres). The leading goalscorer title went once again to the "Scorpion", Lazio's forward Patrizia Panico (41 goals).
Results of games played week 1 of the Italy Serie A
| Results of week 1 played on September 17, 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bardolino | 3 | Gravina 2 | |
| Oristano | 8 | Torino | 0 |
| Fiammamonza | 1 | Agliana | 1 |
| Foroni | 7 | Palermo | 0 |
| Geas | 3 | Pisa | 3 |
| Milan | 2 | Sarzana | 1 |
| Torres | 4 | Picenum | 2 |
| Tradate | 0 | Lazio | 3 |
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Game 2 will see the following teams:
Agliana Tradate
Palermo Milan
Pisa Oristano
Picenum Geas
Gravina Fiammamonza
Lazio Torres
Sarzana Barolino
Torino - Foroni
Torres wins Italian Super Cup beating Milan 4-3
The Italian Super Cup game
between 1st division clubs Torres and Milan took place on Aug. 30. Torres won
4-3 taking home not only this prestigious title but also the Italian Cup title
(played against Milan) as well as the recent "scudetto" (championship title
of the women's Serie A).
Torres
achieves the coveted soccer double by adding the Italian Cup to its Serie A
league championship
By Mario Rrimati
Exactly one week after Torres' championship title victory the Sardinian clubput its hands on yet another coveted prize, the 18th edition of the women'sItalian Cup final. The two finalists were in fact the two top teams of this year's Serie A championship--Torres and Milan. Torres won 2-0 thanks to national team striker Rita Guarino's 2 goals. The back-to-back victory should be a good omen for Guarino as she and her fellow national teammates face Iceland on June 7th for the all-important Euro qualifying match in Urbino, Italy.
Women's
Day celebration in Europe on March 8, 2000 and a new Italian women's sports
association called "Assist."
By Mario Rimati
March 8 was Women's day, a celebration closely observed in many European countries, especially Italy. This special day set aside for women was characterized in the sports papers by the news of the new women's sports association called "Assist", the terminology taken from basketball and hockey and used in the world of Italian soccer. What is special about this association is that its honorary president is former soccer legend Carolina Morace, a lawyer by profession. Its members include players from the national soccer, waterpolo, volleyball and beach volleyball teams. About one hundred people have already signed up for the association.
Assist is the brainchild of 30 year-old Luisa Rizzitelli, a volleyball player herself, who is also the association's acting president. The association made its debut a week ago in Rome because according to Rizzitelli, "Women who play sports in Italy are hopping mad‹-from the ones in the very last division to the first one". One of the contributing factors to the general discontent among many female athletes is the economic one (as evidenced just last week in the touch-and-go soccer strike). Another example of the general malaise in the world of female sports is Italy's national waterpolo team who are also European and World champions. Its players receive a mere $3.00 per diem wage during National Team practices.
The association's intent is to safeguard the rights of female athletes throughout Italy. Through a $50.00 annual fee athletes are entitled to free assistance from four lawyers, an accountant as well as medical doctors. For anyone interested in obtaining further information on this association they can contact Assist directly at the following e-mail address in Italy: info@assist-on-line.net
"Italian
machismo (still) reigns supreme"
Some observations
By Mario Rrimati
Yes, Italian machismo (and not only Italian) still reigns supreme in the hallways of international soccer: a slew of international friendly matches took place around Europe on February 23 in light of this summer's men's European championship. One of these was Holland-Germany. The match was highlighted by the presence of the "Old Man" of German soccer, 39 year-old Lothar Matthaeus (5 World Cups, 1990 World Cup champion and future Metro Stars player) who reached the enviable world record of 144 caps, one more than Sweden's goalkeeper Ravelli. In all this fanfare for the common man one important bit of information was left out: that the world record of caps goes to a woman and not a man, a woman very familiar to many during the final of USA'99, Kristine Lilly and her 190+ caps. Is the omission of her name just proof that many still don't regard women's soccer as a serious sport?
One small controversy goes and another one comes. Yesterday's friendly match between Italy and Holland in women's soccer (0-0) near Naples in front of 5,000 fans drew criticism from Italy's head coach Ettore Recagni. Recagni appeared not only dissatisfied with the players' performance but also pointed the finger at the Italian F.A. for its support, or rather, lack of it. "I find it rather impossible to properly put together a competitive squad in a few hours. Ever since the 1st division clubs have put pressure on by canceling national team events we've been basically working on an experimental basis. It's about time that the F.A. look into rejuvenating the youth sector because some members of the old guard are nearing retirement" (regarding the question of the youth sector, outgoing Italian Female Division president Natalina Ceraso Levati expressed the same concern in a recent interview: "Female soccer clubs don't really give a good impression of themselves when they channel most of their funding and energy exclusively to their 1st division teams. By doing this they almost completely ignore the reality of the youth sector. Making it to the 1st division is fine but it isn't everything. New female clubs must concentrate on having more teams in their organization and not just the 1st division one. They must be more decisive in organizing their entire youth sector").
Recagni also appeared critical of the match itself. "I can't really say I enjoyed it much nor was I able to get any positive input from it". And as far as the qualification for Euro 2001 is concerned he had this to add: "If we don't beat Germany we'll have to play for the tie-off in mid-September and that's nothing really to look forward to considering that this year's Serie A championship began on October 2"
Torres takes home the Italy Serie A Championship
By Mario Rimati
National team forward Rita Guarino and her fellow teammates at Torres have finally taken home the Women's Serie A Championship title. Torres closed this year's championship 8 points ahead of 2nd place and defending National Champions Milan. The Sardinian club closed the long 30-match Championship by winning 3-0 in its away match against Geas. Milan trounced Tradate 7-0 while Lazio beat Torino 2-0 and Bologna caved in to Pisa 4-0. On the one hand, Jill Rutten's Pisa can be somewhat satisfied at this year's performance having placed in the top 4 of the league. On the other hand, Panico's Lazio felt the weight of having changed up to 4 different coaches this season as it finished in the middle of the standings. Three teams will be relegated to next year's 2nd division championship: Torino, A. Nuoro and Verona. And this year's leading goal scorer's title goes once again to the "Scorpion" herself, Lazio's Patrizia Panico (41 goals).
| Results of week 30 played on May 27, 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pisa 4 | Bologna | 0 | |
| A.Nuoro | 4 | Verona | 1 |
| Picenum | 0 | Bardolino | 3 |
| Foroni | 5 | Gravina | 2 |
| Geas | 0 | Torres | 3 |
| Lazio | 2 | Torino | 0 |
| Sarzana | 0 | Agliana | 0 |
| Tradate | 0 | Milan | 7 |
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Comments
By Mario Rimati
This year's Serie championship has not been void of the usual scandals or controversies that are common to this sport in Italy. The league picked up after the magnificent Women's World Cup held in the U.S. on a rather sour note as Italy did not qualify for the Sydney Olympics. Without a doubt this penalized further the growth of women's soccer in Italy (ample coverage was given by Italy's news media to the national team during its two-week stay in the U.S. as well as the event itself).
Shortly after the kick-off of the championship newly-appointed national team captain Federica D'Astolfo (who filled in for a retiring Antonella Carta) was excluded indefinitely from the national team for having voiced her concerns to the Secretary for Equal Opportunities of the Italian government (lack of funding and media attention in particular for the national team). Shortly afterwards, the teams of the Serie A also staged a strike demanding more funding and media attention for their sport. Last minute talks averted the strike and the usual promises were made to club presidents as well as to the players by the supreme powers of the Italian F.A.
The last big controversy which rocked the world of Italian female soccer was the recent case of a 3rd division coach who publically declared that many of the players he has coached are homosexual. The press took the scoop hook,line and sinker and reported extensively on the coach's allegations, drawing into the picture even former players such as Carolina Morace who fumed over the repeated negative media attacks against this sport. Add to all this the fact that the national team has changed 4 head coaches in the last 4 years and one can see that the Serie A has not been at all navigating in calm waters.
One can only hope that as a consolation prize for all this turmoil that Italy's senior national team will qualify for the European championships (the U-18 Team has been eliminated) thus giving the sector a small ray of light at the end of a rather dark, gloomy and endless tunnel. The other positive note will be next year's professional league in the U.S. which has already attracted the interest of a few top-notch Serie A players. It is hoped that the success of the WUSA will also have some positive repercussions in Italy: if the Americans will be able to successfully stage a professional women's soccer league, why not Italy which for the last 30 years has been staging a semi-pro league run along the same lines as the men's professional Serie A?
Torres one match away from title after Italy Serie A championship resumed on May 20, 2000
| Results of week 29 played on May 20, 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Milan | 3 | Pisa | 1 |
| Gravina | 6 | A.Nuoro | 2 |
| Geas | 1 | Picenum | 6 |
| Torino | 0 | Foroni | 2 |
| Bologna | 3 | Lazio | 2 |
| Bardolino | 5 | Sarzana | 0 |
| Agliana | 2 | Tradate | 0 |
| Torres | 3 | Verona | 0 |
Game 30, the final match of the 1999-2000 women's Serie A, will be played on May 27, 2000
Comments
By Mario Rimati
After a two-week break as a result of Italy's U-18 participation at the European qualifying rounds the penultimate matches saw Lazio lose to Bologna 3-2 and Rutten's Pisa bow to last year's champions Milan 3-1. Carta's Picenum swept away Geas 6-1. Torres in the meantime won 2-0 by default as Verona didn't show up for its match. Only 1 game now separates the first-place club from the coveted championship title.
Torres has championship title in the bag after the playing of Games 28 of Italy Serie A on May 6, 2000
| Results of week 28 played on May 6, 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| A.Nuoro | 2 | Torino | 3 |
| Picenum | 0 | Torres | 2 |
| Foroni | 3 | Bologna | 0 |
| Lazio | 1 | Milan | 1 |
| Pisa | 1 | Agliana | 2 |
| Sarzana | 0 | Geas | 2 |
| Tradate | 0 | Bardolino | 3 |
| Verona | 1 | Gravina | 7 |
Game 29 of the Serie A will be played on May 13, 2000
Comments
By Mario Rimati
"Torres has championship title in the bag"
Even though two games are still left in the Serie A Torres has anticipated popping open the champagne bottles to bring home this year's championship title. Its closest rival Milan needed to win its match against Lazio and Torres needed to lose against Picenum in order for the title race to be still wide open. Non of the two scenarios occured as Torres disposed of Antonella Carta's club 2-0 and Giorgia Brenzan's Milan only managed to tie 1-1 against Panico's Lazio. Torres' goals by the way were scored by Spanish national player Angel Parejo.
The Lazio-Milan match took place in front of about 500 spectators under summer-like conditions in Rome. Milan went ahead in the first half with a lob by Murelli over Lazio's 34 year-old gk/coach Alessandra Nappi. Lazio's goal came in the first minutes of the second half off of a beautiful swerving shot from outside the penalty area by Massimi. And the "Scorpion"? Her deadly sting could have been felt three times as Panico was left alone in front of the net with her shots unfortunately going over the crossbar each time. While the season is not yet officially over what still remains for Panico is the coveted leading goalscorer's title. In the meantime, Lazio's only foreign player, Tsuru Morimoto, will now be taking a one-way flight back to Japan at the end of the season as the 30 year-old plans to get married and open up a soccer school.
Lazio's position in the standings can also be attributed to the fact that like the Italian national team it has changed up to 4 head coaches since the start of the season this year. Hopefully, Lazio will do some cleaning up for next season. The Lazio-Milan match also saw seven USA'99 players on the field: Brenzan (a substitute this time for Lazio's former gk Silvia Colella who had an outstanding match), Frollani, Zorri, Panico, Zanni, Tagliacarne and Duo'.
In the other important match, Rutten's Pisa had to bow 2-1 to Agliana.
In other news, Italy's U-18 is off to Sweden on May 12th for the European qualifying matches.
Torres inches closer to title as Italy Serie A resumes action
| Results of week 27 played on April 29, 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agliana | 1 | Lazio | 1 |
| Picenum | 2 | Sarzana | 0 |
| Bardolino | 0 | Pisa | 4 |
| Bologna - A.Nuoro (no show for Bologna) | |||
| Geas | 0 | Tradate | 0 |
| Milan | 2 | Foroni | 1 |
| Torino | 4 | Verona | 0 |
| Torres | 7 | Gravina | 1 |
Comments
By Mario Rimati
Torres inches closer to title Games of week 28 of the Serie will be played on May 6, 2000
Torres' landslide 7-1 victory over Gravina propelled the Sardinian club closer to the championship title, otherwise known as "scudetto". Three games are left in this year's championship. Will Torres make it?
Second runner-up Milan, which had a hard time disposing of Foroni, is 6
points away from Torres. Panico's Lazio managed a 1-1 tie against Algiana. It has been a less-than brilliant season for the Roman club. Two interesting matches will take place next week: Lazio will host Milan while Torres will travel to play against Carta's Picenum. The latter match will be a keen face-off as Picenum is presently 4th, right after Rutten's Pisa who easily beat Bardolino 4-0. Bologna was a no-show in its match against Nuoro and will be penalized points.
A.Nuoro and Torino relegated to 2nd division as games of week 26 of Italy Serie A are played
| Results of week 26 played on April 15, 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| A.Nuoro | 1 | Milan | 9 |
| Foroni | 3 | Agliana | 0 |
| Gravina | 3 | Torino | 1 |
| Lazio | 1 | Bardolino | 1 |
| Pisa | 1 | Geas | 2 |
| Sarzana | 2 | Torres | 5 |
| Tradate | 0 | Picenum | 1 |
| Verona | 1 | Bologna | 2 |
Other
By Mario Rimati
The Serie A picked up again after a two-week pause because of the Germany-Italy (3-0) Euro qualifying match in Frankfurt. This week's surprise was Silvia Tagliacarne's 6 goals for Milan against A. Nuoro. Tagliacarne was a member of the WWC '99 National Team. With this defeat Nuoro is now automatically relegated to the Serie B (2nd division) of the Italian championship. Joining it will be Torino who lost 3-1 against Gravina. League leader Torres had an easy time of disposing of Sarzana in a 5-2 victory (2 goals by Parejo). Lazio and Bardolino were drawn to a 1-1 tie. Lazio's goal came at the hands of Adele Frollani. After a positive string of wins Rutten's Pisa was stopped by Geas in its 2-1 home match loss and Antonella Carta, at the "tender" age of 33, scored Picenum's winning goal against Tradate.
Among some of the fans at the Lazio-Bardolino match were Carolina Morace and former Italian head coach Sergio Guenza (who lead Italy to the 2nd place at the 1997 European finals).
Morace's name has come up once again in the sports papers as a probable candidate for the position of head coach. This comes as a result of the defection of 7 key players (including Panico) from last week's loss against Germany. The absenteeism of many of these players isn't only due to work or academic reasons but because of the poor faith that many seem to have in the present head coach, Ettore Recagni.
The 2nd and 3rd division games, unlike the 1st division games, are regularly played on Sundays at the same time as the men's 1st division games.
Results of Games of week 25 of Italy Serie A played on April 1, 2000
| Results of week 25 played on April 1, 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Picenum | 1 | Pisa | 1 |
| Agliana | 3 | A.Nuoro | 1 |
| Bardolino | 0 Foroni | 0 | |
| Bologna | 0 | Gravina | 0 |
| Geas | 1 | Lazio | 1 |
| Milan | 8 | Verona | 0 |
| Sarzana | 1 | Tradate | 1 |
| Torres | 4 | Torino | 0 |
Commentary
By Mario Rimati
Nothing changed as Torres and Milan won respectively their matches 4-0 against Torino (2 goals by Parejo) and 8-0 against Verona. Panico went scoreless in her 1-1 game against Geas (Lazio's goal by Tatiana Zorri). The big match of the weekend also ended in a 1-1 tie: Carta's Picenum against Rutten's Pisa.
Torres is well on its way to steal the crown from last season's champion Milan as it buries Tradate 7-1 in week 24 of Italy Serie A
Commentary Expect no mercy from Torres
Torres is well on its way to steal the crown from last season's
champion Milan. Four of the 7 goals were scored by Spaniard Parejo. The other major upset was Lazio's 2-0 loss to Picenum and Italy's former national team captain Antonella Carta (the clash made even more interesting as Lazio's Patrizia Panico and Picenum's Manuela Tesse, Panico's former teammate last season at Lazio, also happen to be roommates in Rome). All matches of the Serie A were played at 3 pm with the exception of Lazio-Picenum which kicked off at 11 am. The reason was to enable players, managers and fans alike to take in the all-important afternoon derby match at Rome's Olympic Stadium between Lazio and Roma of the men's Serie A league.
Second place Milan won its away match against Gravina and Rutten's
Pisa continued its triumphant march up the Serie A ladder winning
against Sarzana. WWC '99 participant Patrizia Sberti managed a
hat-trick for Pisa. The highlight of next week's games will be the
Picenum-Pisa clash. Games of week 25 to be played on April 1, 2000
Financial problems
still reign supreme in Italy's Serie A as games of week 23 take place
Commentary After the touch-and-go strike of 2 weeks ago one team in week 23 of the
championship refused to show up to play its match. The only people of Verona present on Bardolino's field were the team president, the coach and a few managers. And the most importantelements of the team, the players themselves? Nowhere to be seen. The reason? Money. Or lack of it. The players refused to tie up their cleats as a sign of protest because of unpaid reimbursements, including "extras". In desperation the Verona managers tried recruiting the younger players of the second team (which plays in the 3rd division) but as a sign of solidarity towards their "older sisters" they too refused to enter the pitch. Verona's no-show will therefore give Bardolino a 2-0 victory on paper.
The rest of the Serie A was regularly played with the "Big 5" (Torres,
Milan, Picenum, Pisa and Lazio) all winning their matches. Torres
maintains its grip on 1st place as it squashed Bologna 8-3. Spaniard
Parejo managed two goals for Torres. Second place Milan won 4-1 in its
home match against Torino while Antonella Carta in the meantime scored
both goals for Picenum's 2-1 victory over Federica D'Astolfo's Foroni.
Jill Rutten's Pisa almost seems unstoppable as it managed a 5-1 victory
against Tradate in its away match. And the "Scorpion"? Patrizia Panico
stung again this time with 2 goals in Lazio's 3-2 away game victory
against Sarzana. Lazio's 3rd goal was scored by Panico's national
teammate Tatiana Zorri. Panico, now at 40 goals, inches closer to
beating her own all-time scoring record. Games of week 24 to be played on March 25th
Other
Italy Camp Roster Five
stings for the 'Scorpion as games of week 22 are completed in Italy Serie A Commentary Lazio's Patrizia Panico struck 5 times to demolish Tradate
in a 6-0 home victory. Panico has now hit number 38 in the race for leading
goalscorer. If she keeps up at this pace until the end of the season she will
no doubt surpass (again) Morace's record of a few seasons ago as well as her
own personal one. Panico's closest competitor still remains Rita Guarino. Even
though her club Torres managed to win against Rutten's Pisa (2-1) Guarino went
scoreless throughout the match. One of the two goals was scored by Spaniard
Parejo. Second place Milan had few problems handling Bologna in its 5-1 victory.
Tesse and Carta's Picenum also won their match against A. Nuoro. The Serie A was played regularly after the recent turmoil surrounding
a possible championship strike. Players and clubs met a few days ago in Rome
with F.A. president Nizzola to iron out problems. Nizzola has supposedly promised
the Female Soccer Division and the entire sector more exposure. Many will certainly
will wait and see if he'll keep his word. Coincidentally, elections for a new
F.A. president are just around the corner...
Games of week 23 to be played on March 18, 2000
Results
of some Italy Serie A League games played after scheduled strike
is avoided Lazio
shot down in flames in week 20 of Italy Serie A Commentary One of the key matches of the Serie A, Lazio-Torres, saw the
Roman club and its star forward Patrizia Panico virtually annihilated by the
tandem scoring machine of National Team forward Rita Guarino and her Spanish
teammate Angel Parejo. The Sardinian team trounced Lazio 5-0 with Guarino opening
up the onslaught of goals 5 minutes into the match with a shot from outside
the penalty area. USA'99 player and defender Daniela Tavalazzi gave little breathing
room to Panico and was one of the most outstanding players of the game. Parejo's
balls skills also paid off as she scored one of the 5 goals. Defender Damiana
Deiana, who was also part of the USA'99 contingent, managed to score a goal.
Torres still maintains a three-point lead over Milan which also won its match
against Agliana. The "rumble in the jungle" will take place next week as Torres
and Milan will square off in Sardinia for Game 21 of the Serie A. Rutten's Pisa
quietly yet successfully continues its triumphant march up the championship
ladder winning 4-1 in its away match against D'Astolfo's Foroni (who scored
on a penalty kick). Another interesting match to watch out for next week will
be Pisa-Lazio.
Games of week 21 to be played on March 4, 2000 Milan
takes a momentary dive in week 19 of Italy Serie A losing to Bardolino Commentary Defending Italian champions Milan lead by national team goalkeeper
Giorgia Brenzan succumbed 1-0 to Bardolino (whose goalkeeper is no. 2 on the
national team, Fabiana Comin). Milan momentarily lost its grip on 1st place
position as Torres flew ahead after its 3-0 victory over Agliana (one goal by
national forward Rita Guarino). Rutten's Pisa continued its winning streak as
it won 4-0 over A.Nuoro. The club with the famed Leaning Tower is now 3 points
ahead of Panico's Lazio which won 1-0 against Foroni in Rome. Lazio's goal came
off a header from national team member Frollani after a cross from her national
teammate Zorri. All three players have been called up for this week's friendly
match against Holland. Games of week 20 will be played on February 26 and will
include the big showdown between Lazio and Torres in Rome Who's
going to stop the Scorpion in Italy's Serie A? The Scorpion has once again injected its deadly venom. Patrizia
Panico came through with another hat-trick in Lazio's 5-0 victory against A.
Nuoro. This now puts the national team forward at 32 goals in the race for the
goalscoring title. Tatiana Zorri also managed to score for Lazio. Panico's closest
competitor, Rita Guarino, scored her 26th goal in Torres' win against Foroni.
Spaniard Parejo scored Torres' other goal. Things remain unchanged for the moment
in the standings as both Milan and Torres won their matches. Pisa quietly continues
its uphill climb right behind Milan and Torres as it came through with a 4-1
victory over Verona. Jill Rutten also managed to score in that game along with
USA'99 participant Patrizia Sberti. Other news “...and the Scorpion
keeps on stinging...” in week 17 of Italy Serie A Commentary Lazio continues its upward climb in the Serie A thanks to Panico's
goal against Verona. The "Scorpion" has now scored 29 goals, 4 ahead of its
nearest rival Rita Guarino of Torres who also managed a goal in her match against
Bardolino. Lazio's narrow victory was a result of Panico missing an all-important
penalty kick. Milan and Torres continue to keep their grip on the first-place
position as they both won their matches. Milan won 2-1 in its away match against
Tesse and Carta's Picenum. Fiorini's Agliana was momentarily stopped in its
tracks as it lost 2-1 to Geas. Rutten's Pisa which is among the top 5 teams
did not play its match as Gravina did not show up for its match in Pisa.
The "Scorpion" strikes
again...in week 16 of Italy Serie A Commentary The "Scorpion" has raised its deadly tail to sting once again: Patrizia Panico
almost single-handedly demolished Gravina 7-1 by scoring 4 times for the Roman
club. The match at one point had to be suspended as Gravina was left with only
6 players due to injuries and red-carded players. The leading goalscorer of
the Serie A is now at number 28 in the race for the coveted title (which she
won last year). Not too far in the distance lurks her rival Rita Guarino who
managed 2 goals in Torres' 5-0 victory over A. Nuoro. The other 3 goals were
scored by Spaniard Parejo. Quietly behind the top guns of the Serie A's teams
is Rutten's Pisa which won 1-0 in its away match against Torino. USA'99 national
team member Silvia Fiorini (who got a couple of minutes in against Brazil in
Chicago) scored Agliana's both goals in its 2-1 victory over Antonella Carta's
Picenum (who got her team's only goal). Giorgia Brenzan's Milan managed to squeeze
by Sarzana 3-2 to maintain a first-place tie with Torres.
Games of week17 will be played on Febuary 2, 2000
Results of week 15 of Italy
Serie A played on January 22, 2000 Commentary Serie A team, Geas, refused to take to the field in its match against Torres
because the club's president is momentarily at war because of poor refereeing
and because of the way the female soccer division "irrationally" draws up the
championship calendar. Torres therefore has been awarded 3 points without ever
having played its match. Milan trounced Tradate 5-0 in its home match while
the other match of the day was Lazio's 1-0 loss to Torino.
After a hat-trick victory in last week's match Panico's luck has momentarily
run out as she missed an all-important penalty kick. While Lazio went down Rutten's
Pisa went up winning 2-1 in its away match against Bologna. The Bardolino-Picenum
tie saw Italy's former captain Antonella Carta score for her club (Picenum)
on a penalty kick. Week 16 games will be played on January 29th:
"Machine-gun" Panico kills
Bologna with another hat-trick in week 14 of Italy Serie A Commentary Italy's leading goalscorer Patrizia Panico maintained her firm grip on the
coveted title as she led Lazio to a 4-0 home victory over Bologna. The match
was highlighted by another of her hat-tricks. Her closest competitor Rita Guarino
managed 2 goals in Torres' 6-1 victory over Verona. The race for the title heats
up as Torres and Milan are presently tied at 36 points each. Panico was not
the only one who scored 3 goals. Her new national teammate Gazzoli (see below)
of Milan also came through with her own personal hat-trick in the 3-0 victory
match against Rutten's Pisa. Picenum's Antonella Carta, the former captain of
the national team, scored one goal in her team's 6-0 victory over Geas. Carta
has now been flanked by national team member Manuela Tesse who played last season
for Lazio. Panico's Lazio kicks off
3rd Millennium with a bang in week 13 of Italy Serie A Commentary As Lazio's male professional soccer club celebrated on January 9 its 100th
year of existence its female team began the year 2000 positively by beating
1st place Milan 2-1 in its away match. Panico's national teammate Tatiana Zorri
tied Milan's first goal which was scored just after two minutes of play. The
icing on the cake for the Roman club came fifteen minutes into the 2nd half
as the leading goalscorer of the women's Serie A, Patrizia Panico, came through
with the winning goal. Lazio managed to hang on for dear life until the end
of the game with only ten players due to a red-carded player. In the other important
match Torres beat Carta's Picenum 2-0 thus tying the Sardinian club for first
place with Milan. Torres' Rita Guarino follows closely behind Panico for the
goalscoring title with 20 goals. Rutten's Pisa in the meantime managed to block
third place Agliana with a 0-0 result.
Week14 will be played on January 15 and will see the following match-ups:
Results of week12 Italy
Serie A played on December 18, 1999 Commentary Things remain basically unchanged in the Serie A standings. One exception is
Agliana as it inches closer to the group of the big three. Lazio's victory is
due in part to Panico's last minute goal while Jill Rutten's goal also helped
club Pisa to win its match against Bardolino. Milan in the meantime can thank
a Foroni player's own goal for its narrow 2-1 victory.
The Serie A now takes its Christmas and New Year's break so
from your Italian correspondent it's "Buon Natale and Buon Anno a tutti"!
Results of the games ofweek
11 of Italy Serie A played on December 11, 1999 Commentary Lazio paid a price for Panico's disqualification as it lost its away match
2-0 to Bardolino (whose goalkeeper, Comin, was the no. 2 gk at USA'99). Milan
and Torres both had an easy time in their matches as they scored a total of
10 goals. Rutten's Pisa is in a bit of a slump as it lost once again in an away
match. Antonella Carta's Picenum is slowly inching closer to the top 3 of the
championship as it won its home match while Federica D'Astolfo's Foroni (part
of the USA'99 squad) fell to Agliana.
Week 12 games will be played on December 18, 1999
Results of week10 of Italy
Serie A games played on December 4,1999 Commentary All things are quiet on the western front as Milan and Torres easily won their
matches, including Panico's Lazio. Rutten's Pisa in the meantime falls to Carta's
Picenum 2-3.
Week 11 games will be played on December 11, 1999
Results of week 9 of the
Italy Serie A played on November 27, 1999 Commentary After their catch up game match played during the week Milan and Torres continued
winning in their quest for the coveted "scudetto" championship title. Both teams
won their respective matches with a cavalcade of goals (a total of 16 to be
exact). Torres' Rita Guarino passed fellow national teammate Patrizia Panico
in the race for leading goalscorer. Panico managed once again to save Lazio's
face as her club (at the moment without a permanent head coach) tied against
Antonella Carta's Picenum. Rutten's Pisa in the meantime won 2-0 in its away
match. Bologna - Torino was has been postponed to December 8.
Schedule of matches of Week 10 to be played on December 4, 1999
Milan beats Torres 2-0
in its Serie A recovery match on November 24, 1999
Results of week 8 of Italy
Serie A played on November 20, 1999
Commentary The women's championship took place on November 20. Torres and Milan, who
are still missing one match (it will be played November 24), have taken over
the helm of the Serie A, winning both their respective matches by landslide
victories. Rutten's Pisa was blocked in a 0-0 tie while former national team
captain Antonella Carta's Picenum steam-rolled former national teammate Federica
D'Astolfo's Foroni 7-0. And Lazio? Once again, Italy's scoring queen Patrizia
Panico saved her club from further disgrace by scoring both goals and tying
the game against Sarzana (Lazio's head coach walked out a few weeks ago. Red-tape
bureaucracy is at the moment preventing the new coach from taking over the team).
Panico is still at the top of the leading goalscorer race with national teammate
Rita Guarino not too far behind.
Another small positive step has been taken in the aftermath of USA'99: Out
of the eight matches played, five were refereed by women.
In other news, Italy's U-18 won 1-0 against Wales on November 19. Italy has
now passed the 2nd phase of the Euro championship with 7 points. Nuoro's Sodini,
who tied the match against Geas, was one of the main protagonists in the U-18
tournament held in northern Italy.
Week 9 will be played November 27
Results of Week 7 of Italy
Seria A played on November 13, 1999 Commentary After an incredible comeback against 1997 European champions
Germany, thanks in part to Patrizia Panico's scoring in Thursday's Euro 2001
qualifying match, the Lazio forward came through again with a hat-trick in game
7 of the Italian Serie A. Her hat-trick performance was not enough though as
Lazio lost 4-3 in its away match, a match which included 4 penalty kicks (two
of them by Panico). A total of 40 goals were scored on the weekend including
five hat-tricks. One hat-trick was also by Antonella Carta, the former national
team captain who lead Italy during USA'99, in Picenum's 6-0 victory. Rutten's
Pisa fell to Torres 3-0 while Milan, one of the three first-place teams, won
3-0 against Bologna (Milan and Torres still have to make up one match).
Week 8 will be played on November 20, 1999
Panico's Lazio caves in
to Rutten's Pisa in Round 6 of Italy Serie A played November 6, 1999 Commentary American Jill Rutten's Pisa trounced Patrizia Panico's Lazio 3-1 in its away
match against the Roman team. Rutten and USA'99 substitute Patrizia Sberti scored
1 and 2 goals respectively for the club (also famous for its Leaning Tower).
Pisa now commands the Serie A with 15 points. The two runners-up, Milan and
Torres, had to suspend their showdown due to poor field conditions.
Serie A national team players will now try to focus all their
energies on the all-important match against Germany this week in Isernia, Italy.
This is the first encounter between the two nations since their 1-1 tie at the
Rose Bowl on June 20. Round 7 will be played on November 11, 1999
Guarino's Torres sinks
Panico's Lazio in week 5 of Italy Serie A on October 30, 1999 Commentary Lazio has lost two in a row as it came out the loser against
Rita Guarino's Torres 4-2. Panico and Lattanzi scored both goals in the first
half as Guarino not only scored the 1-1 equalizer but also went ahead with a
second goal, thus propelling her to the top of the goalscorers' list with 9.
Torres' other two goals were scored by Masia. Rutten's Pisa came from behind
to win 2-1 and Milan's Tagliacarne (who played during Italy's last match against
Mexico at USA'99) scored twice in its away match against Agliana. Three teams,
Torres, Pisa and Milan, are now tied for 1st place. Italy will now get geared
up for its all-important European qualifier against Germany in less than two
weeks' time in Isernia, Italy.
Guarino's Torres and Panico's
Lazio take a tumble in round 4 of Italy Serie played on October 23, 1999 Commentary National team players Rita Guarino and Patrizia Panico, the forwards of Torres
and Lazio respectively, both lost in their away matches in Game 4 of the Serie
A. Torres scored first with Guarino but was quickly beaten 2-1 by Algiana whereas
Lazio's opponent Foroni scored the one and only goal of the match at the 90th
minute. Jill Rutten's Pisa in the meantime is tied for 1st place along with
Milan, Torres and Lazio, winning 5-3 in its away match against A.Nuoro. Two
of Pisa's goals were scored by Patrizia Sberti, one of Italy's substitute players
during USA'99. Round 5 will be played on October 30, 1999:
Results of the 3rd round
of Italy's Serie A League Game review
Defending Italian champs Milan took a tumble as they lost 2-0 in their away
match against Geas. Rita Guarino's Torres slipped into the pole position as
it beat Foroni 7-1. Both Guarino and teammate Parejo scored a hat-trick. In
the meantime, Rutten's Pisa won 2-0.
October 17, 1999 Lazio trounced A. Nuoro 6-0 in the only Sunday match of the Serie A. Lazio's
goals included two from team captain Adele Frollani, two from Patrizia Panico
and one from Tatiana Zorri, all USA'99 members. The other goal was scored
by Lattanzi. Lazio is now tied for first place with Torres.
News
from Italy and results of the 1st week of Serie A Game review
The season opened with Lazio trouncing Gravina 10-1 with national
team player Panico scoring 5 goals. Pisa's American player Jill Rutten scored
3 goals in her game. Last season's champions Milan breezed by with a 3-0 victory
in its away match. Lazio also trounced 2nd division team Roma last week 8-0
in the Italian Cup tournament. The Serie B (2nd division) also officially kicked
off its season on October 3. This year there'll be 3 groups of 14 teams each
as opposed to last year's 4 groups and 12 teams (some teams have pulled out
of the championship due to financial problems). Week 2 schedule for October 9:
"All's
well that ends well"? Through divine providence
the scheduled strike of both the 1st and 2nd division games was avoided at
the very last minute thanks in part to the direct intervention of the president
of the Italian F.A., Mr. Luciano Nizzola (also present at the Rose Bowl during
the USA-China final). The representatives of many Serie A and B clubs informed
the president of the Female Division, Mrs. Natalina Ceraso Levati, of their
intention to regularly play their matches. The decision was based in part
on the promise kept by Mr. Nizzola to meet a delegation comprised of the many
clubs on March 9 in order to further discuss more funding and more exposure
to female soccer, especially the national team. The peace process between
the F.A., Division and clubs is not at the moment signed, sealed nor delivered.
Club representatives have still vowed to go ahead with a strike in the future
the minute their demands (more funding, more televised coverage of the national
team, etc.) are not respected. The club presidents feel that the F.A. is underestimating
their requests. The lack of funding could also be tied to the drop in sales
of state-run soccer lotteries which are fundamental to the growth of Italian
soccer in general (of the many lotteries played in Italy, the most famous
one is tied to the men's professional championship. Funding derived from the
sale of sports lottery tickets goes to support all sports in Italy, including
female soccer). National team player Patrizia Panico and her "mentor" Carolina
Morace also appeared on television on March 3 voicing their displeasure with
the lack of support given to female soccer as a whole. In the meantime, the
Serie A was regularly played, albeit with some "defections" from a few clubs
who at the last moment had not booked in time their transportation plans in
light of the impeding strike. Of the 4 matches that were played, 2 were major
upsets: the first was Milan's 2-0 away loss to Torres. The other saw "America's
victory over Italy": Rutten's Pisa beat Panico's Lazio 4-2. In the former
match Spaniard Parejo beat national goalkeeper Giorgia Brenzan. Rita Guarino
followed suit with her goal in the 2nd half (both players also scored last
week against Lazio). The Pisa-Lazio match was characterized by two goals by
USA'99 participant Patrizia Berti (Pisa) and one goal by the "Scorpion" herself,
Lazio's Patrizia Panico. Panico is now just 4 goals ahead of her nearest rival
Guarino for the goalscoring title. Manuela Tesse and Antonella Carta's Picenum
beat Verona 3-1 propelling the club to 4th place just behind Pisa, Milan and
Torres Italia
Serie A and B women players finally say "basta" (enough), and go on
strike The players of Italy's
Serie A and B (respectively the 1st and 2nd divisions) have said "basta" (enough)
to the pathetic situation surrounding their sport. The weekend matches of
March 4 and 5 (the Serie B plays on Sundays) will be canceled throughout the
country as the players, together with the support of many coaches and managers,
will be striking for their rights. This unusual bit of news made most of the
Italian dailies simply because it is the first time in the history of Italian
soccer, both male and female, that this type of strike has taken place. The
only precedent similar to this was a few years ago when the men's professional
league stopped for one weekend in a sign of protest over a young fan who was
knifed to death during a match. The situation with regards
to female soccer seems to be like a tunnel only that the light at the end
of it is rarely there. This historic decision comes after the clubs' demands
apparently fell again on the deaf ears of the Italian F.A. and the National
Amateur League which female soccer falls under. Players met with Female Soccer
Division president Natalina Ceraso Levati as well as with the president of
the Amateur League last week but their demands went unanswered. Club managers
also confronted league officials with three important issues: One the lack of attention
given to female soccer unlike that given for decades now to other teams under
the Amateur League (ie. men's amateur soccer). Two the lack of attention
given to the entire sector as well as to the National Team which is supposed
to be the guiding light for women's soccer in Italy (correspondent's note:
much of the blame here should also go to the Italian media which often ignores
this sport rather than the F.A. or the A.L. itself); Three the lack of financial
support from the A.L. for the clubs which presently only takes the form of
reimbursements for referees' costs. A meeting will be held
March 3rd. by Mrs. Levati and her councilors followed by a press conference
in which the clubs who have decided to strike will voice their opinions. The
president of one Serie A club, Foroni, has summed up the situation in the
following manner: "The F.A. is under estimating what we're trying to do. They
think that the strike will simply blow away. It has to realize that we've
reached a saturation point". The strike also comes
on the same day as the birth of a new players' union headed by National Team
player and USA'99 participant Manuela Tesse. The all-woman union wants to
give more credibility and respect to women's soccer. Many athletes from other
national women's teams such as water polo (currently reigning World and European
champions), volleyball and beach volleyball have given their support to this
trade union. The strike comes shortly
after the comments expressed by National Team Head Coach Ettore Recagni after
Italy's less-than shining performance against Holland in a friendly match
last week (see previous commentary). On that
occasion, Recagni voiced his frustration with the lack of support and attention
from the F.A. If a similar strike in
the Italian men's professional league were to occur it would almost be akin
to Nixon's impeachment in the early 70's considering that soccer is the 10th
industry in Italy in terms of turnover. Unfortunately, it is very doubtful
that the women's strike will have serious repercussions on the entire Italian
economy nor will the average Italian even be aware of it. Nevertheless, will
the people in the F.A. Ivory Towers finally sit up and take notice and try
to rectify an absurd situation or will the strike and the players' demands
go largely unnoticed (as female soccer usually does every weekend it is played
in Italy)?
Italy
names roster for February 23rd. game against Holland near Naples, Italy The following national team players have been called up by
head coach Ettore Recagni for a friendly match against Holland on February 23
near the city of Naples:
Goalkeepers: Brenzan (Milan) Comin (Bardolino)
Defenders: Stefanelli (Bardolino), Miniati (Picenum),
Perelli (Pisa), Deiana (Torres), Tavalazzi (Torres)
Mid-fielders: Donghi (F.Monza 2nd div. team), Boccagni
(Bardolino), Frollani (Lazio), Zorri (Lazio), Pallotti (Pisa), Ceroni (Milan),
Masia (Torres)
Forwards: Panico (Lazio), Guarino (Torres), Ulivi (Picenum),
Gazzoli (Milan)
More Women Attending Men's Soccer Matches A report coming out of Great Britain shows that more women
are attending men's soccer matches. According to a survey conducted by the Premier
League, one fan out of seven is a woman. Perhaps many are also aspiring players
and coaches of female soccer. There has been a rise of 16% in female attendance
since the last survey done in 1997. This comes as a result of British authorities
clamping down on the odious phenomenon of hooliganism in British stadia. Can
the British model one day be exportable to other countries in Europe and other
parts of the world where hooliganism still raises its deadly head?
FIFA World Player Gala" Awards In other news, the "FIFA World Player Gala" awards which will be held in the
Congress Palace in Brussels on January 24th will not only see 1999's top male
players and teams being awarded prizes. There will also be the women's category
with the Golden, Silver and Bronze ball awards going to China's Sun Wen, Brazil's
Sissi and America's Michelle Akers respectively for last year's Women's World
Cup
National
head coach Ettore Recagni has called for a training camp with the national team
from January 17 to 18. The following players, some of whom are first-timers from 2nd division teams,
have been called up:
Goalkeepers: Brenzan (Milan), Comin (Bardolino)
The
land of the Rising Sun in Rome! The spin-off effects of Italy's participation at USA'99 and Carolina Morace's
(short) stint as the first woman in Europe to coach a men's professional club
appears to be paying dividends. There is a small yet increasing coverage of
female soccer in Italy's major dailies (and not only national sports papers)
as a result. The latest news concerns the arrival of Japanese player Tsuru Morimoto.*
Morimoto, a 29 year-old defender, has signed on with 1st division club Lazio.
One of the reasons for this choice is that Lazio has been in her heart for quite
awhile as she is a die-hard fan of Englishman Paul "Gazza" Gascoigne (Gazza
played years ago, albeit rather unsuccessfully, for Lazio's 1st division male
club). In her native homeland, Morimoto won three consecutive national championships
with club Nikko Securities. She has been in Italy for one month now and finds
the "Eternal City" somewhat chaotic. Her next all-important match will be November
6th in Rome against Jill Rutten's Pisa, presently one of the 1st place contenders
of the women's Serie A.
* Italian 1st division female teams are currently limited to 1 foreign player
each.
Women
on the sidelines in Italy Another small step for women in the world of men's soccer in Italy. Tonight's
UEFA Cup match between Italy's Bologna and Belgium's Anderlecht will be refereed
by a man but one of his linespeople will be a woman. She's Ghislaine Peron-Labb
from France. This is the second time for her in Italy, having already been a
lineswoman last year.
Peron-Labbe's dream has always been that of refereeing. Her other great passion
is sports and in particular soccer which was passed down to her from her father
and brothers, all amateur players. The news made the front page of one of Italy's
major sports papers (including also a color picture of Peron-Labb!) as well
as noon-time news telecasts. Her 37 year-old compatriot Nelly Viennot will also
be on the sidelines tomorrow in the Champions' Cup game between Norway's Molde
and Spain's Real Madrid. Viennot's past experience included being a lineswoman
at the 1996 Olympics.
It looks like the Morace affair has had some positive effects in Italy, at
least when it comes to coverage of women and soccer in the sports papers. The
question now remains if the 21st century will eventually bring a woman to also
referee a top professional men's game in Italy.
(Editors Note: On February 8, 1997, Referee Sonia Denoncourt
and assistants Claudia V. Guedes and Maria Edilene Siqueira officiated the Palmeiras
versus Sao Jose game that opened the Sao Paulo professional men's soccer championship.
Women's Soccer World May/ June 1997 issue.)
UEFA
Qualifying Match News Italy is now tied with Iceland at 4 points in 2 matches followed by Germany
at 3 points (in 1 match) and the Ukraine at 0 points in 3 matches. Italy's next
game will be November 11th in Isernia, Italy, against Germany. The last time
both teams met was at the Rose Bowl during their opening match of the recent
World Cup.
Italy's new team captain, 33 year-old Federica D'Astolfo (who has taken over
the role from Antonella Carta), was missing from the Ukraine match. D'Astolfo
believes she was "ousted" from the team by the powers-that-be because as captain
she took the initiative in September along with some fellow teammates to write
a letter to the Secretary of Equal Opportunity complaining about the poor "working"
conditions that many players face (working and juggling together championship
and national team commitments). Italy's new/old head coach Ettore Recagni (he
coached the national team 10 years ago) denies that the letter is a result of
the captain's momentary exclusion from the team but rather it's because of D'Astolfo
taking on a new job.
The
Italian scene The Italian Serie A kicked off its 33rd season on October 2 amid the usual
polemics that surround this sport in Italy. For example, the title of the sports
section of Italy's most important daily, the "Corriere della Sera", included
a caustic title which read "Women's soccer starts again but the after-World
Cup is the usual chaos". And chaos it is as Italy is now headed by its fourth
national team head coach in two years. World Cup coach Carlo Facchin was replaced
by Ettore Recagni who coached the national team 10 years ago. He's another 60+
year-old coach. Would some fresh blood ever to the trick? Perhaps Morace is
lurking around the corner just ready to jump at the occasion (she's 35). The
change in coaches came about virtually on the eve of the European qualifier
between Iceland and Italy. The 0-0 could be a result of the abrupt change in
the Italian camp. Few players knew ahead of time that the coach had indeed been
changed. Analysts point the blame of this "helter skelter" environment directly
to the Italian F.A. which apparently cannot seem to get its act together (note
also the failed qualification of the national team to the Sydney games).
In the meantime, Italy has a new captain: veteran player and World Cup member
Federica D'Astolfo who replaces Antonella Carta. At the official presentation
of the new season last week at Rome's Olympic stadium Lazio's Patrizia Panico
was awarded a prize as last year's leading scorer: 51 goals surpassing Morace's
record of 47. Panico's comment on the start of the new season? "To go from 50,000
people during the World Cup to 100 on the pitches of city outskirts is a little
bit hard to take". To say the least.
In other news, Betty Bavagnoli, Morace's assistant coach at the men's 3rd division
pro team Viterbese, followed suit and quit the team just 10 days after that
the former national female team captain resigned on September 13. The main reason
given by Bavagnoli was that after Morace's departure she was still trying to
understand the intentions of the team's management and, finding herself rather
isolated, decided that working in those conditions were not acceptable.
Will the real Morace please stand up? Could Morace's brief but historic stint
as a coach of a men's professional team have contaminated other aspiring female
coaches of men's teams? Apparently yes. A small men's amateur team located in
northern Italy is being coached by 26 year-old Maura Galliano. The team also
includes her husband who plays forward. Galliano's assistant is also a woman.
Comment The trio's endeavors might certainly be "giants steps for women" but in a country
such as Italy where the no. 1 sport is male soccer, their services and expertise
could be put to better use in a country where women's soccer ranks way at the
bottom of the list of Italians' favorite sports.
Morace
on Italian television talk show gives "inside story of her resignation" to host
Maurizo Costanzo. After having made most of the major front-page covers of the
Italian dailies and the prime-time news programs this week, Morace landed last
night (September 15) on the "Maurizio Costanzo Show", a sort of Mike Douglas
of Italian talk shows. She basically "spilled the beans" on what happened between
her and Viterbese's volcanic owner Luciano Gaucci in front of a TV audience.
Costanzo is no newcomer to the show biz world, and neither is Morace who has
been for several years now involved in sports journalism (she'll be probably
heading back to the TV network Telemontecarlo as a soccer analyst for the Sunday
evening program "Goleada"). Moved by her story, Costanzo at one point looked
into the cameras and said "Women in the second half of this century have made
tremendous progress. It would be fitting if Nizzola (the president of the Italian
F.A.) would spare a thought or two and as a gesture of goodwill close this century
by giving Carolina the bench of the women's national team." Morace's resignation startled many Viterbese fans. Out of 5
matches (including Italian Cup games), her record was 3 wins, 1 tie and 1 loss. Not bad for a woman who was on the bench of a men's pro team
for the first time. Her resignation came about on September 13. Just one or
two days before the sports papers reported that Carlo Facchin, the head coach
of the unsuccessful national team at the recent Women's World Cup was officially
stepping down. His place would be taken over by 62 year-old Ettore Recagni who
10 years ago coached the national team from 1984-89. Morace played 20 years
for the national team and definitively hung up her cleats from all playing activity
in 19 Some quick calculations would indicate that Morace also played for Recagni
and, as she mentioned to Costanzo, she had a "good relationship with the new
coach". It is rumored that Morace would have liked to have been the head coach
of the Italian team at the U.S. World Cup. The decision though was vetoed by
F.A. officials. The choice to take Facchin and not Morace was probably driven
by the fact that she has had very little experience coaching teams. She was
the head coach of a 3rd division women's all-star team in Rome but hat experience
lasted only a short time. She was then the head coach of Lazio's 1st division
women's team (where national team players Patrizia Panico and Manuela Tesse
have played--her former teammates by the way). She lasted a mere 3 months and
walked out because of contractual problems. Facchin came from coaching various
clubs as well as being the head coach of the men's national 5-a-side team (as
well as a federal coaching instructor for the last 15 years). Never having had
any experience coaching women, he at least had considerably more experience
than Morace in the field of coaching. Natalina Ceraso Levati's contract as president of the Italian
female soccer division comes to an end next year. Levati herself is no newcomer
either to the business of female soccer as she's been involved in this sector
for close to 30 years (she managed a 1st division female club for years along
with her husband, the team's head coach). She knows Morace rather well and knows
her forcefulness. There hasn't been one Italian paper or journalist who has mentioned
the issue of Facchin's resignation (with the exception of Costanzo). What went
on behind closed doors in Gaucci's office before the two "Tasmanian Devils"
of soccer diplomatically parted ways will be probably known to no one except
Gaucci, Morace and possibly Betty Bavagnoli (her assistant) and Luigi Perrone
(her physical trainer). Both were with her at Lazio by the way. I suspect that
Morace's antennas were already tuned into what was going on over at the female
division. Many things have been said about Gaucci, in the last 15 years he's
sacked 8 coaches, but in front of a lady Italian gallantry still prevails. A
compromise was reached with Bavagnoli and Perrone probably becoming the scapegoats
since reporters have indicated that Gaucci wanted them removed because he "didn't
like the way they worked." Morace has now consolidated her position even more in Italian
society and to a certain degree also around the world (even "Time" magazine
recently spoke favorably of her appointment as head coach). Someone with her
stature can't possibly be fired, so the next honorable thing to do is for her
to hand in her resignation. Gaucci probably agreed to accept it. Morace had
a two-year contract worth approximately US$55,000. That might be the same amount
that the F.A. could offer her to take on the women's team. Nearly everyone comes out looking good, Gaucci because he hasn't
fired a woman and therefore doesn't come across as the ugly "ogre" of Italian
soccer. By taking on Morace as head coach he also pulled off an interesting
marketing maneuver. Season tickets at Viterbese trebled from 100 to 367 with
Morace's arrival, not bad for a 3rd division team of a small Italian town. Morace
comes out clean because her integrity and professionalism remains intact (her
brief coaching record can attest to that). She's also gotten even more publicity
out of the entire affair which is always good for her seeing that Italian soccer
usually only gravitates around men and rarely around women. And Bavagnoli and
Perrone? No one so far has asked their opinion about the situation, nor will
they probably ever. I personally think that it will only be a question of time
until we see the dynamic trio on the bench of the Italian national women's team.
Morace is not the type to sit still with her hands in her lap, when she wants
something she wants it NOW. No ifs or buts about it. With all the publicity
surrounding this episode she has become a hot potato for Nizzola since she has
been plastered in nearly every magazine, newspaper and TV screen in Italy (CNN
even spoke about her). Recagni will probably lead the squad through the preliminary
stages of the European championship and then who knows? What Morace could accomplish, if the women's national team
were in her hands, remains to be seen. In the last year or so Italy has gone
through three national team coaches (Sergio Guenza who coached Morace for years,
Sergio Vatta who lasted for 9 months and qualified Italy to USA'99 and Carlo
Facchin). Unless the F.A. has roughly a million or so dollars to convince
former Roma men's 1st division team coach Zdenek Zeman to coach the women, there's
probably no one in Italy at the moment who is more qualified and who has more
experience than Carolina Morace. She will no doubt be unemployed for a very
short period. Finally, one thing is certain: with all the
commotion that has surrounded Morace this time round we can be sure that her
eventual appointment as head coach of the women should bring the much needed
media attention and funding that this sector of Italian sports desperately needs.
Italy's failed qualification for the Sydney Olympic games is evidence of just
how much work lies ahead if Morace is given the opportunity to lead her "sisters"
into the 21 century. Post script
Back
to the drawing board for Italy again? The topsy-turvy world of Italian female soccer has struck
once again. 60 year-old Carlo Facchin, Italy's head coach at the recent Women's
World Cup, has called it quits after a mere 8 months (he took over from Sergio
Vatta who had lasted a whopping 9 months). Facchin's less-than brilliant guidance
of the team at the tournament (9th place and a failed qualification to the Sydney
Olympics) could be one of the factors behind his decision to leave (or was he
gently "persuaded" to pack his bags by the Italian F.A.?). His successor will
be another "young" coach, 62 year-old Ettore Recagni who 10 years ago coached
the national team from 1984-89. Recagni is already at work as the team is training
for its departure September 22 for Reykjavik as Italy plays its first European
qualifying match against Iceland. The bets are now on to see if Recagni will
outlast his predecessors. Who'll be next on the coaches podium, perhaps Carolina
Morace?
Morace
si', Morace no"? After a successful victory in the Italian Cup a few weeks ago
and a positive start last week during the men's 3rd division professional league,
Carolina Morace has resigned as the head coach of Viterbese. A catalyst behind
her resignation could be the 5-2 loss yesterday against Crotone. When interviewed
on prime-time national news September 13, Morace justified her abandonment of
the team as a result of Viterbese's mercurial owner Gaucci wanting Morace's
assistants Betty Bavagnoli and physical trainer Luigi Perrone removed from the
team's coaching staff. Loyal to her troops (Morace has known Bavagnoli for 15
years and has also worked closely with Perrone as a player and as a coach of
Lazio's 1st division female team), the sometimes "volatile" coach decided to
quit rather than to go on without them. Her saga as Europe's first woman to
coach a men's professional squad ends after just 53 days. The ongoing saga of
the "Commedia all'italiana" continues...
Italian
Super Cup kicks off new 1999-2000 season of Serie A The women of the Italian "Serie A" championship (1st division)
inaugurated the new 1999-2000 season with the Italian Super Cup which was played
on September 4th between Milan and Lazio. National goalkeeper Giorgia Brenzan's
Milan took the cup home defeating fellow national team player Patrizia Panico's
Lazio 2-1 in front of approximately 1,000 spectators, including head coach Carlo
Facchin. A total of 7 national team players were on the field (Brenzan, Duo',
Zanni and Tagliacarne for Milan and Frollani, Zorri and Panico for Lazio). Panico
opened the match in the second half, only to be outscored by Milan's two goals
shortly after. This match comes 4 weeks before the kick-off of the new season
on October 2. The following are the teams which will be taking part in this
year's championship:
* 1998-99 Italian national champions
Modena and Lugo which were relegated to the 2nd division will
not be fielding teams this year. A total of eleven teams from the 2nd division
will also not be participating this year due to financial and organizational
problems.
The first game of the Serie A will involve the following match-ups
July 22, 1999
Carolina Morace not only has become the first woman to be the head coach
of a 3rd division men's professional club in Italy, Viterbese (the news came
about as the Italian national team was in the U.S. for the World Cup), a team
located about 60 miles from Rome, but she has also successfully just passed
all her examinations to become the first woman in Italy to hold the 2nd level
national coaching license (the top level in Italy is 1st which allows one
to coach 1st division male professional clubs). All Italian clubs have already
begun their pre-season training so we'll wait and see how coach Morace will
perform in the "big boys' league". Italy News and Results
1998-99
Results of week 24 played on March 25, 2000
A.Nuoro 0 Bardolino 5
Foroni 2 Geas 1
Gravina 1 Milan 2
Lazio 0 Picenum 2
Pisa 4 Sarzana 1
Torino 2 Bologna 3
Tradate 1 Torres 7
Verona 0 Agliana 3 (match suspended due to Verona having played with less than 7 players)
By Mario Rimati
Results of week 23 played on March 18, 2000
Agliana 3 Gravina 1
Picenum 2 Foroni 1
Bardolino - Verona (no show for Verona)
Geas 3 A. Nuoro 1
Milan 4 Torino 1
Sarzana 2 Lazio 3
Torres 8 Bologna 3
Tradate 1 Pisa 5
By Mario Rimati
Panico, Zorri and the other national players are presently in a training
camp with head coach Ettore Recagni for Italy's friendly match
against Yugoslavia in Trani, Italy, on March 22nd. The match will be used
to prepare for the all-important European qualifying match against
Germany on April 6th. These are the players called up by Recagni.
Goalkeepers Brenzan (Milan), Comin (Bardolino)
Defenders Miniati (Picenum), Stefanelli (Bardolino), Perelli (Pisa),
Tavalazzi e Deiana (Torres)
Midfielders Boccagni (Bardolino), Russo (Tradate), Zorri and Frollani
(Lazio), Ceroni (Milan), Pallotti (Pisa), Masia (Torres)
Forwards Ulivi (Picenum), Panico (Lazio), Gazzoli (Pisa), Guarino
(Torres)
Results of week 22
played on March 11, 2000
A. Nuoro
2
Picenum
4
Bologna
1
Milan
5
Foroni
5
Sarzana
0
Gravina
1
Bardolino
0
Lazio
6
Tradate
0
Pisa
1
Torres
2
Torino
1
Agliana
2
Verona
0
Geas
1
By Mario Rimati
Results of week 21
played on March 4, 2000
Sarzana - A. Nuoro *
Agliana - Bologna *
Tradate
0
Foroni
2
Geas - Gravina *
Pisa
4
Lazio
2
Bardolino - Torino *
Torres
2
Milan
0
A. Picenum
3
Verona
1
* not played
Games of week 22 to be played on March 11, 2000
Results of week 20
played on February 26, 2000
A. Nuoro
1
Tradate
2
Bologna
0
Bardolino
1
Foroni
1
Pisa
4
Gravina
2
Picenum
2
Lazio
0
Torres
5
Milan
2
Agliana
1
Torino
0
Geas
2
Verona
1
Sarzana
1
By Mario Rimati
Results of week 19
played on February 19, 2000
Torres
3
Agliana
0
Pisa
4
A. Nuoro
0
Geas
2
Bologna
0
Lazio
1
Foroni
0
Sarzana - Gravina *
Bardolino
1
Milan
0
Picenum
2
Torino
0
Tradate
0
Verona
0
* no show for Gravina due to a transportation strike
By Mario Rimati
Commentary
Results of week 18
played on February 12, 2000
Agliana
0
Bardolino
0
A. Nuoro
0
Lazio
5
Bologna
1
Picenum
1
Foroni
0
Torres
2
Gravina
2
Tradate
1
Milan
1
Geas
0
Torino
0
Sarzana
3
Verona
1
Pisa
4
By Mario Rimati
Games of week 19 to be played on February 19, 2000
Results of week 17
played on February 5, 2000
Picenum
1
Milan
2
Foroni
1
A.Nuoro
0
Geas
2
Agliana
1
Lazio
1
Verona
0
Pisa - Gravina (no show)
Sarzana
2
Bologna
3
Torres
2
Bardolino
0
Tradate
3
Torino
1
By Mario Rimati
Results of Week16
played on January 29, 2000
Agliana
2
Picenum
1
A.Nuoro
0
Torres
5
Bardolino
3
Geas
1
Gravina
1
Lazio
7
Bologna
9
Tradate (postponed)
2
Milan
3
Sarzana
2
Torino
0
Pisa
1
Verona
0
Foroni
2
By Mario Rimati
Results of Week 15
Agliana
1
Sarzana
1
Bologna
1
Pisa
2
Bardolino
1
Picenum
1
Gravina
0
Foroni
4
Milan
5
Tradate
0
Torino
1
Lazio
0
Verona
1
A. Nuoro
1
Torres 2-0 Geas (no show for Geas.
Torres will be automatically awarded 3 points)
By Mario Rimati
Other news
Results of Week14
played on January 15, 2000
Pisa
0
Milan
3
A. Nuoro
5
Gravina
2
Picenum
6
Geas
0
Foroni
4
Torino
1
Lazio
4
Bologna
0
Sarzana
1
Bardolino
-
Tradate
0
Agliana
4
Verona
1
Torres
6
By Mario Rimati
Other news.
Results of Week 13
played on January 8, 2000
Agliana
0
Pisa
0
Bologna
1
Foroni
4
Bardolino
7
Tradate
1
Geas
0
Sarzana
1
Gravina
6
Verona
1
Milan
1
Lazio
2
Torino
1
A. Nuoro
1
Torres
2
Picenum
0
By Mario Rimati
Results - December
18, 1999
Pisa
2
Bardolino
1
Bologna
4
A. Nuoro
0
Foroni
1
Milan
2
Gravina
0
Torres
3
Lazio
2
Agliana
1
Sarzana
4
Picenum
1
Tradate
2
Geas
2
Verona
3
Torino
2
By Mario Rimati
Results - December
11, 1999
Agliana
3
Foroni
0
Picenum
3
Tradate
0
Bardolino
2
Lazio
1
Bologna
2
Verona
1
Geas
3
Pisa
1
Milan
4
A. Nuoro
1
Torino
1
Gravina
3
Torres
6
Sarzana
0
By Mario Rimati
Results - December
4, 1999
A. Nuoro
2
Agliana
3
Foroni
0
Bardolino
0
Gravina
5
Bologna
1
Lazio
4
Geas
1
Torino
1
Torres
4
Tradate
2
Sarzana
1
Verona
0
Milan
3
Pisa
2
Picenum
3
By Mario Rimati
Results - November
27, 1999
Agliana
2
Verona
0
Picenum
2
Lazio
2
Bardolino
3
A. Nuoro
0
Bologna - Torino postponed
Geas
0
Foroni
0
Milan
6
Gravina
0
Sarzana
0
Pisa
2
Torres
10
Tradate
0
By Mario Rimati
Results - November
20, 1999
Pisa
0
Tradate
0
A. Nuoro
1
Geas
1
Bologna
0
Torres
6
Foroni
0
Picenum
7
Gravina
0
Agliana
2
Lazio
2
Sarzana
2
Torino
1
Milan
6
Verona
0
Bardolino
2
By Mario Rimati
RESULTS
- November 13, 1999
Agliana
7
Torino
0
Picenum
6
A. Nuoro
0
Bardolino
5
Gravina
1
Geas
2
Verona
2
Milan
3
Bologna
0
Sarzana
3
Foroni
2
Torres
3
Pisa
0
Tradate
4
Lazio
3
By Mario Rimati
RESULTS
- November 6, 1999
A.Nuoro
0
Sarzana
1
Foroni
2
Tradate
0
Gravina
2
Geas
1
Lazio
1
Pisa
3
Milan - Torres (suspended)
Verona
1
Picenum
1
Bologna
0
Agliana
3
Torino
0
Bardolino
1
By Mario Rimati
RESULTS
- October 30, 1999
Agliana
0
Milan
2
Pisa
2
Foroni
1
Picenum
4
Gravina
1
Bardolino
0
Bologna
0
Geas
3
Torino
0
Sarzana
1
Verona
1
Torres
4
Lazio
2
Tradate
3
A.Nuoro
3
By Mario Rimati
RESULTS
- October 23, 1999
Algiana
2
Torres
1
A. Nuoro
3
Pisa
5
Bologna
1
Geas
2
Foroni
1
Lazio
0
Gravina
5
Sarzana
1
Milan
1
Bardolino
0
Torino
1
Picenum
3
Verona
5
Tradate
2
By Mario Rimati
By Mario Rimati
RESULTS
- October 16, 1999
Pisa
2
Verona
0
A.Picenum
6
Bologna
0
Bardolino
3
Agliana
0
Geas
2
Milan
0
Sarzana
1
Torino
1
Torres
7
Foroni
1
T.Abbiate
2
Gravina
1
Lazio 6 - Attilia Nuoro 0
By Mario Rimati
RESULTS
Pisa
8
Torino
0
Autolelli Picenum
1
Agliana
1
Foroni
0
Verona
1
Geas
1
Bardolino
1
Ruco Line Lazio
10
Gravina Catania
1
Sarzana
0
Milan
3
Torres
8
Attilia Nuoro
0
Tradate Abbiate
2
Bologna
3
News
By Mario Rimati
By Mario Rimati
By Mario Rimati
By Mario Rimati
By Mario Rimati
By Mario Rimati
Defenders: Stefanelli (Bardolino), Miniati (Picenum), Zanni (Milan),
Tavalazzi (Torres), Perelli (Pisa)
Mid-fielders:Donghi (F. Monza), Boccagni (Bardolino), Zorri (Lazio),
Ceroni (Milan), Frollani (Lazio), Pallotti (Pisa), D'Allesio (Torres), Masia
(Torres)
Forwards: Panico (Lazio), Gazzoli (Milan), Ulivi (Picenum)
By Mario Rimati
By Mario Rimati
By Mario Rimati
By Mario Rimati
No doubt many feminists and people involved in female soccer will certainly
rejoice at Galliano, Morace and Bavagnoli's brave choice to coach men. This
could certainly be seen as a breakthrough in women's rights in Italy but qualified
coaches involved in the men's game are around every Italian "piazza" and corner.
There are so many of them that some male coaches are even temporarily "unemployed"
as they anxiously await calls to coach male clubs. Many would prefer to stay
that way rather than dwell into the world of women's soccer for errus preconceptions
that they have concerning women soccer players. The scenario is completely the
opposite regarding women's soccer as highly qualified coaches with a true passion
for the game are far and in between.
By Mario Rimati
Gaucci has wasted little time in finding the after Morace. Viterbese's new head
coach is Mr. Giorgio Roselli. It looks like he too has his work cut out for
him: Viterbese lost 2-1 yesterday against Ancona in the Italian Cup tournament...
By Mario Rimati
By Mario Rimati
By Mario Rimati
MORACE "Graduates" with her 2nd level ian
National Coaching License
By Mario Rimati
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