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Luca Toni of Verona FC celebrates after scoring his second team goal during the Serie A match between Hellas Verona FC and AC Milan at Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi on August 24, 2013 in Verona, Italy. Getty Images)
The veteran strikes again
It was quite a day for the debutants, especially Luca Toni. On Saturday, AC Milan visited Verona’s Bentegodi stadium to kick off the first weekend of the new Serie A season. The Bentegodi is the stadium where the seven-time champions of Europe have twice lost the championship on the last game of the season, back in 1973 and 1990 with Juventus and Napoli clinching top spot respectively on those occasions.
Hellas, fresh from Serie B, met their opponents for the first time in over a decade – the sides hadn’t played since April 2002 when Milan came out victorious with a 2-1 victory. The last time Hellas beat Milan was way back in 1997.
This time, it was a different scenario. It wasn’t the last game of the season, but the first. Stephan El Shaarawy and co came into the game on the back of a 1-1 draw over PSV in the Champions League playoff round, but the difference was made by 36-year-old Luca Toni on his debut; the man who had been a rival to Hellas in the 2000-01 season with his stint with nearby Vicenza.
He nodded in twice to clinch the win after an opener from Andrea Poli, who himself was making his debut after moving to Milan from Sampdoria in the summer. So once again, AC Milan are victim to the Bentegodi. At least they know they don’t have to travel there again in the league this season.
Fears of racism blow over
Ahead of that Milan game against Hellas, the Mayor of Verona Flavio Tosi stated that Mario Balotelli brings abuse upon himself because of his behaviour on the pitch, and not simply the colour of his skin. He appealed to the home supporters in the run up to the game to resist racist chanting. The game ended in the Hellas fans cheering Balotelli and even chanting him name in support.
Carlos Tevez 1 Roberto Mancini 0
In the evening game, there was another debut goal. Carlos Tevez scored on his first Serie A game for Juventus against Sampdoria with a certain Roberto Mancini watching on from the stands, a fan of the club as well as a former player and title winner with the home side in the 1990-91 season. He watched on as the Scudetto holders took all three points away from the Luigi Ferrari with a 1-0 win.
Day of the new managers
It wasn’t just the player debutants getting off to a good start though. Walter Mazzarri, the new manager of Inter Milan, led his side to a 2-0 win over nine time Scudetto winners Genoa at the San Siro. A goal by Yuto Nagatomo followed by a well taken finish from Argentinean forward Rodrigo Palacio sealed the three points for the Nerazzurri. A game for celebrations for the blue side of Milan then with Esteban Cambiasso making his 400th appearance and AC Milan’s bad start in Verona.
Rafa Benitez’s first Serie A game in charge of Napoli resulted in a 3-0 home win over Bologna, placing them top of the table. It is probably worth noting that the reception he received at the San Paolo stadium was better than his first home game at Stamford Bridge last season.
Rome and Turin clubs all win
It was a good day for both the Rome sides too as Roma won away at Livorno 2-0 under new manager Rudi Garcia, while Lazio won 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico against Udinese. A promising start for both teams searching for a European spot this season. Both have tough fixtures coming up though; Roma will take on Hellas Verona at home next week while Lazio are away to favourites for the Scudetto, Juventus.
Further north in Italy, Torino made sure both Turin sides started the Serie A campaign with maximum points, brushing newly promoted Sassuolo aside 2-0 at home after their city rivals Juve won the evening before.
Best of the rest
In the other games, former Scudetto winners Cagliari beat Atalanta 2-1. The Sardinians came from behind after the visitors opened the scoring with defender Guglielmo Stendardo. Belgian midfielder Radja Nainngolan equalised before Matias Cabrera scored the second winning goal.
The only goalless match and indeed, the only match that ended in a draw was between Parma and Chievo. Both will have to improve on the attacking front as they face Udinese away and Napoli at home respectively in their next games.
Monday saw Fiorentina face Catania at the Artemio Franchi stadium. Last season, Fiorentina beat Catania 2-0 at home before the visitors got their revenge with a 2-1 win in Sicily. It’s generally been close between the two, in the last five games Fiorentina have won two and Catania two. It proved the same again, with Guiseppe Rossi and David Pizarro scoring the Viola’s goals to give the home side a 2-1 victory.
Next week
Juventus vs. Lazio is the feature game on Saturday, while on Sunday, Roma take on Hellas Verona at the Olimpico. Losers from their opening games Bologna and Sampdoria face each other, while Genoa take on Fiorentina and AC Milan try to get off the mark against Cagliari at the San Siro.
