Two teams made giant strides this weekend, in opposite directions. One continues a march towards the top, now far ahead and likely to win its first scudetto in eight years. The other continues its awful slide and looks likely to be relegated. Fittingly, the former trounced the latter 3-0 in a game that summed up the season that each of the clubs is having.
AC Milan look increasingly likely to win the league this year, winning on a weekend that saw both potential challengers lose. Massimiliano Allegri’s side did all they needed to in demolishing Sampdoria, whereas Inter shockingly lost to Parma and Napoli were suspensefully defeated by Udinese. With only five rounds to go, Milan are six points clear at the top, with the second and third placed teams still have to face each other. Allegri’s side should be molto allegro come the end of the season.
Sampdoria fans, however, are anything but. The season that began so promisingly, with Champions’ League qualification, has quickly unraveled into a nightmare. The side are the worst in Serie A on recent form and have finally sank into a relegation position, on 18th. In fact, I hope they get relegated. There, I’ve said it.
Why? I’m glad you’ve asked. Here are four reasons.
- Plain and simply, they’re awful recently. Out of the last six games, Sampdoria have won none, tied once, and lost five times. They’ve scored a whopping three goals and conceded ten. They are the worst team in the league based on recent form- worse than Bari. Bari! That’s relegation standard stuff.
- Plain and simply, they’ve been awful all year. Since Serie A resumed after Christmas, the side have won twice. They beat Roma, which is hardly an achievement since they always do. Then they beat Bologna. That’s it. That was their 2011: 2 wins out of 17. It’s hard to argue that a side deserves to stay up when they can’t seem to beat
- President Garrone deserves to be fired. This is the man who froze out Antonio Cassano and sent him to Milan for nothing. Then he sold Giampaolo Pazzini to Inter. To replace them? He brought in Massimo Maccarone and Kiko Macheda, that amazingly prolific pair that has three goals between them. Their defense has actually been quite decent- they’ve only conceded 39 goals, two more than Inter: it’s their offense that is holding them back. At only 26 goals scored all season, they’re averaging .787 per game and have the second worst offense in the league.
- They’ve become the new Bari. Earlier this season, everyone wanted to play Bari. Nearly every game was a guaranteed win against the southern side, who have somewhat rightened the ship in recent weeks, no longer automatically losing but often drawing, and sometimes (read: almost never) even winning. Sampdoria is now Serie A’s punching bag.
As for the rest of the league, Serie A is quickly settling. Roma’s loss and Juventus’s tie means that it’s all but down to Udinese and Lazio for that fourth spot. The bottom of the table is still up for grabs however, with the exception of Bari’s spot. Lecce, Sampdoria, Brescia, Cesena, and Parma are all within three points of the drop zone, at best. The real race in Serie A is no longer for the title, but to stay in the league.
