Euro Bites: Serie A

The latest from Italy ahead of the start the Serie A season.

ALESSIO ROMAGNOLI’S HOUSE VANDALISED FOLLOWING TRANSFER FROM AS ROMA TO AC MILAN

At the beginning of last week, AC Milan acquired the promising defender Alessio Romagnoli from AS Roma for €25 million (paid €5 million per year over the next five years). New AC Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has been keen to add Romagnoli to his squad having been impressed with the young defender when he was on loan to Sampdoria last year. Not everyone was happy about the transfer, however. Frustrated AS Roma fans vandalised Romagnoli’s house in Anzio, writing slogans suggesting that he was a traitor following his decision to head to Milan.

AC MILAN WIN TIM TROPHY 2015

AC Milan warmed up for the new season by lifting the TIM Trophy, a tournament sponsored by Italy’s leading mobile phone company. In three matches of 45 minutes each, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Sassuolo gave spectators a taste of what the coming season might bring when they contested the TIM Trophy in Reggio Emilia on Wednesday. Milan won, beating Inter 2-1 with goals from Andrea Bertolacci and Carlos Bacca, and Sassuolo 5-4 on penalties. New AC Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic’s method appear to have had a positive effect, but Inter coach Roberto Mancini called on fans to be patient despite his side lacking quality in both defence and attack in the tournament.

NAPOLI SIGN OFF PRE-SEASON WITH A 5-0 WIN

Napoli’s new coach, Maurizio Sarri, has put his players through a particularly intense physical pre-season, including a series of friendly matches with less competitive teams and one Friday they played the last of these friendlies against Latina. It was a one-sided affair with Napoli winning 5-0, particularly impressing in the second half. Belgian striker Dries Martens, newcomer Vlad Chiriches, who has joined from Tottenham, and Omar El Kaddouri, who scored two of the goals, all caught the eye but Sarri will have concerns over the form of star striker, Argentine Gonzalo Higuain, who missed several chances and look far from his best.

EDIN DZEKO MAKES AN INSTANT IMPACT AT AS ROMA

AS Roma enjoyed an impressive 6-4 friendly win over against Sevilla on Friday in which new signing Edin Dzeko caught the eye. The Spanish team came to Rome three days after losing the UEFA Super Cup Final against FC Barcelona, and played the first half of the match with only two of its first-team players. But that should not detract from Roma’s performance with new acquisition Dzeko, who has joined from Manchester City, scoring twice and demonstrating that after just one week of training with the team, he is well-integrated and in excellent shape ahead of his Serie A debut. Roma’s coach, Rudi Garcia, was enthusiastic not only about Dzeko’s goals, but also about his partnership and understanding with Roma’s other newcomer, Mohammed Salah.

INTER MILAN SELL XHERDAN SHAQIRI AND MATEO KOVACIC

Inter Milan’s had a busy week off the field with the club firstly selling Swiss forward Xherdan Shaqiri to Premier League Stoke City for €17.5 million. He will be followed out of the door at the San Siro by young star Mateo Kovacic, after discussions were finalised with Real Madrid for a transfer for over €35 million. Coach Roberto Mancini wants to sign Croatian Ivan Perisic and two other players (one midfielder and one defender) to fill gaps in his squad, which have been evident in pre-season.

A HIGH PRICE FOR GRADUATION FOR SIMONE SCUFFET

Two years ago, when he was only 17, Simone Scuffet was a player with enormous potential. He was the reserve goalkeeper for Udinese, and impressed many when given his chance in Serie A because of injuries. Many regarded him as a “baby Buffon” with Atletico Madrid subsequently offering €9 million for him. The problem was that Scuffet had yet to finish high school, and was in love with a girl in Udine. So he stayed with the Serie A club, only to lose his place in the team last year. Scuffet has now decided to play for Como, an intermediate team in Serie B. To make things worse, he has now broken up with his girlfriend. Will he be rueing the decisions he’s made now? In soccer, as in life, you never know what the future will bring.