Champions League and UEFA Cup Roundup

September 18th, 2008 | by: Julian | View Comments

Terribly sorry that I didn’t post yesterday, but I’ve been uber busy. Anyway, since there’s no national news, let’s turn our attention to club news.

Champions League

Fiorentina tied 2-2 in their CL Group Stage opener with Lyonnais. The game was full of controversy, and you can debate until you’re bluer than Tobias Funke over whether Lyonnais’ first goal was valid or not. But the more important thing- Fior were up 2 goals (thanks to Gila, no less) and then took their foot off the pedal. A 2-2 draw isn’t the end of the world and earns them a solid point, but in such a tough group this result almost feels like a loss. Especially considering they had a 2 goal cushion.

Juve on the other hand didn’t play greatly against Zenit. Or should I say, didn’t play greatly in open play. They had 3 amazing chances from set pieces, one of which Del Piero turned into one of the most beautiful free kicks I’ve ever seen (vid below). Form is fleeting but class is permanent, as they say, and Del P proved that yesterday.

UEFA Cup

Big news here- Milan won! They beat FC Zurich 3-1, with Jank, Pato, and Borriello all scoring for the Italian side. In fact, it was a great day for all Italian sides in the UEFA Cup. Sampdoria demolished FBK Kaunas 5-0, thanks to a brace by Cassano, another one from Bonazzoli, and a single goal from Fornaroli. Udinese won 2-0 against Borussia Dortmund with Floro Flores and Inler scoring in the first half. And finally, Napoli won 3-2 over Benfica, with goals from Denis, Maggio, and Vitale.

I kinda breezed through these results for a few reasons. One, this isn’t even the full UEFA Cup yet- this is still qualifying and there’s a return leg yet to be played. Two, since this blog’s primary focus is on the national teams and not clubs, if you want fuller reports, be sure to check out the respective club’s sites on TheOffside.

What I find really interesting is how the Italian players have been doing. Cassano and Maggio especially have been doing great recently, and I think Lippi will keep them in mind for our next qualifiers. Del Piero is proving critics wrong year after year, and if a guy as old as him can produce a goal like that in the freaking Champions League, then he’s good enough to stay on the Azzurri as far as I’m concerned.

But the biggest surprise so far has been Gila. I’ve been amongst his biggest critics, and I’m not still fully convinced that he’s back to his top. But he has been improving greatly, so if he’s in the next call up I wouldn’t be too pissed. As long as Rossi and Quags get a chance to prove themselves, too.