SPECIAL FEATURES 16 REPLACING GIGI Much has been made of the lack of young Italian goalkeepers, but we look at two potential long-term candidates to replace Gigi Buffon 18 FIGHTING BACK (Exclusive) Battling defender Giorgio Chiellini tells us about forcing his way into the Juventus and Italy starting XIs after moving to centre-back 22 MILAN MASTERS The Rossoneri are back competing for the Scudetto and we take a closer look at the rejuvenated stars who have made it happen, including Ronaldinho and Gennaro Gattuso 32 END OF AN ERA With both Inter and Milan considering the possibility of building their own stadia, could we be seeing the final days of the iconic San Siro arena? 34 NINE FOR ‘09 We highlight the nine rising stars to keep an eye on over the next year… MARIO BALOTELLI (INTER) SEBASTIAN GIOVINCO (JUVENTUS) SIMONE PEPE (UDINESE) STEVAN JOVETIC (FIORENTINA) FABIANO SANTACROCE (NAPOLI) DANIELE GALLOPPA (SIENA) PAOLO DE CEGLIE (JUVENTUS) ZDRAVKO KUZMANOVIC (FIORENTINA) GAETANO D’AGOSTINO (UDINESE) 42 CRYSTAL BALL As we enter 2009, Susy Campanale casts an eye to the future and shares with us her view of the coming year 47 DIARY DATES Take in the major cities of calcio with our handy 2009 calendar, full of all the fixtures and dates you need 56 CALCIO QUIZ Bored without Serie A action over Christmas and New Year? Then pass the time by testing your calcio knowledge in our quiz 58 SUPER BOL (Exclusive) As Bologna continue their quest for Serie A survival, we chat to new Coach Sinisa Mihajlovic and President Francesca Menarini 68 CULT CLASSICS We take a closer look at some of calcio’s best loved teams, who made plenty of friends but always fell short when it came to trophies 82 MAGIC NUMBERS Whatever happened to teams lining up wearing 1-11 on their backs? Steve Wilson looks at some of the more unusual choices of digits and the reasons behind them

Juventus star Giorgio Chiellini talks about his amazing rise over the last year

Vol 15 Iss 1 (No 161) JANUARY 2009

RONALDINHO (MILAN)

Ron & Roll

22 January 2009

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Ronaldinho has started to regain his best form since joining Milan

Much was made of an ageing Milan side looking to Ronaldinho,

but Susy Campanale notes both the Brazilian trequartista and his team are reviving their careers

For years now the general consensus has been that Milan were living on past glories and doing nothing to rectify that by looking towards veteran stars on the transfer market. The likes

of Rivaldo, Ronaldo, the returning Andriy Shevchenko, David Beckham and £16.7m signing Ronaldinho seemed to exemplify that backward approach to strengthening their squad. While many in that list have arguably been flops, few expected Dinho to recapture his form quite so quickly. “Ronaldinho has done better than we thought he would,” noted Carlo Ancelotti. “He has given an important contribution to the side and yet he was the one we expected a long wait for. I don’t think we need to say we’re waiting

for him anymore – he has arrived.” A far from spectacular Olympic campaign not only robbed his new club of precious training time, it also

suggested there would be a very long wait for the former Barcelona star to truly make his mark on Serie A. The fears only increased after Milan began the season with two consecutive defeats against Bologna and Genoa, in which the 2004 and 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year seemed at first enthusiastic, but lacking sharpness and then positively anonymous. He disappeared from the starting XI for a few weeks to work on his fitness and it made all the difference,

starting with the memorable winning goal in the Derby della Madonnina. “Milan have stayed on their feet above all thanks to the will of the group,”

continued Ancelotti. “In the summer, there was a strong renewal with many new faces. The initial difficulties we had demonstrated just how hard it was to assemble the team. But in those difficult moments the squad could either destroy itself or come together. Kaka’s statement has been crucial, as he said that talent was not sufficient to win the game. Dinho is beginning to get to know Italian football and to understand how much physical preparation counts. After the Olympics he put himself to work

Milan and Ronaldinho shared a common objective this season – to prove they were not ‘past it’

really hard and you can see the results of his great talent.” It must be amazing for Barcelona supporters to see Ronaldinho grafting

away, as one of the reasons for his unpopularity at the Nou Camp was a perceived laziness and tendency to attend only half the training sessions. There’s no room for that sort of attitude among the Rossoneri in a year when they must recapture their fans after missing out on Champions League qualification. It’s galling to think that Week 10 was the first time the side have topped the

Serie A standings since winning the Scudetto in 2004. “We are Milan and it shouldn’t surprise us to find ourselves in the upper echelons of the table,” mused Vice-President Adriano Galliani. “We gave the club and the players a very clear priority in June. Milan must challenge for the title and they are to be bombarded by this every day. The team

now has a ferocious concentration to reach that objective.” They also have the added advantage of not participating in the rigorous Champions League, as Carletto’s assistant Mauro Tassotti admits: “The challenges of the UEFA Cup are not as psychologically stressful.” Italy Coach Marcello Lippi shares Tassotti’s opinion of how important midweek strains can be on a squad. “The Rossoneri are half a step in front of their rivals. Not so much

in the League, but because their rivals will be worn out in the Champions League. Milan are ruthless when they focus on an objective.” For all the talk of professionalism and marching orders, the Diavolo

probably has the most laid-back atmosphere of Serie A’s big clubs and a great deal of that is down to Ancelotti himself. A midfielder at the centre of Arrigo Sacchi’s ‘Grande Milan’ of the 1980s, he has never quite put that mentality behind him. “Ancelotti is a friendly commander, which is the perfect thing for a Coach to be,” smiled Ronaldinho, who had a notoriously fractious relationship at the Nou Camp with one of Carletto’s ex-teammates, Frank Rijkaard. “If he makes you work, he is great because he is able to explain exactly what he wants. The real

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REGULAR FEATURES 44 AROUND THE PENINSULA Our popular feature highlighting the humorous and the off-beat lurking behind the headlines 64 MY CITY, MY CLUB Our fan’s guide to the best cities for watching the beautiful game. This month Sarah Lane takes us to the more peaceful environment of Bologna 66 TERZO TEMPO Welcome to the Third Half, where anything goes. Featuring lookalikes, the calcio alphabet, curva idols explained and much, much more 72 HALL OF FAME Giampiero Boniperti was the original Mr Juventus, both as a player and President. Giancarlo Rinaldi puts the latest plaque on our wall of legends 77 ITALY INDEX Our nation-by-nation guide to the history of the Azzurri continues as we delve into the archives of the Nazionale’s history, bringing us to, amongst others, France 79 FLORENCE POSTCARD John Pitonzo wonders if everyone should just give up and hand the Scudetto to Inter now 97 LAST WORD Are fans too demanding these days? Susy Campanale wonders where clubs like Roma and Fiorentina would be now if they had listened to their angry tifosi in the bad times

RESULTS SERVICE 84 SERIE A REVIEW Who will find themselves at the top of the table going into the winter break? Susy Campanale reports on all the latest action from Serie A 86 SERIE A RESULTS All the stats, including results, scorers, tables, attendances, red & yellow cards and referees 90 SERIE B REVIEW It’s still as tight as ever in calcio’s second tier. Paul Watson passes his judgement on another exciting month in the Cadetti 92 SERIE B RESULTS Your complete guide to every result and fixture plus tables and scorers

NEWS 6 LA GAZZETTA Up-to-date news including more Antonio Cassano controversy and Inter’s warning to teen sensation Mario Balotelli 10 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE One down, but three of the Italian contenders have made it to the last 16. James Sugrue reports 12 UEFA CUP All of Italy’s representatives can still make the knock-out stages, but some teams will have it a lot easier than others 13 COPPA ITALIA The latest Coppa Italia clash saw Lazio travelling north to take on Milan. Serafino Ingardia reports on all the action from San Siro 14 INTERNATIONAL SCENE As the Azzurri’s preparations for South Africa 2010 continue, Marcello Lippi took his Italy team hunting for records in Greece

GREAT OFFERS 8 CHRISTMAS CRACKER Take advantage of one of our great subscription deals 29 EXACT EDITIONS Calcio Italia goes digital! Find out how you can get a virtual subscription to Calcio Italia on your PC or Mac 46 ITALIA WEB Your pointer on where to get the most comprehensive minute-by-minute information on Serie A and all that’s best in Italian football 76 BACK ISSUES Your chance to go back in time and catch up with those missing copies 80 SUBSCRIPTIONS Great new offers. Save money, get copies delivered straight to your door

PLUS – Opinion, gossip, competitions and the very best action pictures

CONTENTS

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