The Stadio Friuli was the party venue as the curtain closed on another Serie A season. A 0-0 draw with Champions AC Milan was enough to secure a place in the Champions League qualifiers for Udinese, a feat which coach Francesco Guidolin had come close to twice in the past but had never achieved. Guidolin carried out his promise to dance like Kevin Prince Boateng after the game, but it is unlikely that Boateng will have felt overly threatened by the 55-year-old’s moves!
Udinese appear destined to lose some of the players who helped win them a place in Europe’s biggest club competition – Alexis Sánchez and Gökhan Inler in particular are expected to move on - but as club owner Giampaolo Pozzo said afterwards, the Friuli club have a good track record as far as recruiting fresh talent is concerned. One player who played a huge part in Udinese’s success, and who is likely to stay, is Antonio Di Natale. The 34-year-old striker’s 28 league goals have won him the Golden Boot for the second year running, a fantastic achievement in a league where defences are notoriously stingy. Napoli’s Edinson Cavani scored 26, and Samuel Eto’o of Inter came third with 21 goals.
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| Di Natale celebrates another season of terrifying defences |
Di Natale was denied a 29th goal yesterday when second-choice Milan goalkeeper Marco Amelia pushed the striker's second-half penalty onto the post. Amelia had come in as a late replacement for Christian Abbiati, and a series of fine saves from the 29-year-old frustrated the Udinese attack time and time again. There was emotion for Milan fans also after the game when they said goodbye to Andrea Pirlo, who departs for Juventus after ten years in the red and black.
If Udinese achieved Champions League qualification the hard way, Lazio missed out the hard way. The Romans finished level on points with Udinese thanks to their 4-2 win at Lecce, but are one place lower in the rankings due to an inferior goal difference. Coach Edy Reja was clearly disappointed after yesterday's game: “It makes us very bitter, especially considering we lost the decisive match with Udinese, wasting a penalty.” Mauro Zarate converted in style from the spot at Lecce yesterday, but it was his missed effort at Udinese which Reja was referring to. Having refused to blame the Argentinian at the time, blaming him at the end of a game which saw Zarate score twice was a curious decision by Reja.
Lazio’s rivals Roma - who ended their season with a 3-1 home win over Sampdoria - will join the Biancoceleste in the Europa League. Roma are expected to have a new manager in charge by the start of the season, and captain Francesco Totti has expressed a preference for former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Juventus will definitely have a new manager by the start of next season, as Luigi Del Neri announced that he would be leaving before the weekend's round of games. The Juventus players were booed after their final home game at the Stadio Olimpico, a 2-2 draw with Napoli. The Bianconeri will move to the newly-built Juventus Arena next season, but their poor showing this term means that there will be no European football at the new stadium in the immediate future.
Inter’s 3-1 win over Catania was coach Leonardo’s 12th home win out of 12 home league games in charge of the Milan club. Their opponents in next Sunday’s Coppa Italia final, Palermo, lost 3-1 at home to Chievo yesterday despite having taken the lead in the fifteenth minute. The cup final will be previewed here on Friday, incidentally.
Francesco Grandolfo scored a hat-trick for Bari yesterday in what was his first ever start for the southern club. Bari have struggled in front of goal all season, so perhaps they will regret not having given the 18-year-old a chance before now. Their 4-0 win at Bologna was their last competitive game before a return to Serie B.
Elsewhere, Brescia drew 2-2 with Fiorentina, while Cagliari and Parma also discovered the joy of sharing. Genoa finished their season with a 3-2 home win over Cesena, before taking to the streets to celebrate the relegation of their rivals by carrying a coffin decorated with Sampdoria colours. Check the Football Blog Page for further details!
Til next time…
Serie A: week 38 results
Bologna 0-4 Bari
Brescia 2-2 Fiorentina
Cagliari 1-1 Parma
Genoa 3-2 Cesena
Inter 3-1 Catania
Juventus 2-2 Napoli
Lecce 2-4 Lazio
Palermo 1-3 Chievo
Roma 3-1 Sampdoria
Udinese 0-0 AC Milan
