Soccer - Seria A 2006/07 Finale : Relegation Battle

It was another cruel day for another top flight football league season – Seria A, as with Inter having won the title a long time ago, there was only the ‘small’ matter of relegation to worry about for fans.

Can Ranieri rescue Parma?

Catania, Reggina, Parma and Siena were the main culprits this time round, but one club relatively safe in 14th place before the final week was unexpectedly relegated instead…



End of a fairytale

Chievo even with a defeat against Catania, could still avoid relegation if Siena failed to win against Lazio. Anxious faces on Chievo’s supporters appeared when Fausto Rossini headed past Lorenzo Squizzi emphatically into the left corner of the goal in the 65th minute. Fortunately then, Siena were only drawing with Lazio, with Massimo Maccarone (23rd min) and Tommasso Rochi (73rd min) each scoring a penalty for their side.


However, the nightmare came through when former Lazio defender Paulo Negro put one over his old side with a close range finish in the 85th minute. Chievo’s fate was sealed by Mauro Minelli’s goal 10 minutes from time. Siena remained in Seria A, Chievo went down.


At the start of the season, Chievo were even in the qualifying stages of the champions league after they were moved up to fourth place due to the match-fixing scandal punishments handed out to other clubs. Even when Luigi Del Neri was brought back, the man who steered Chievo to stand alongside the likes of AC Milan and Juventus a few seasons ago, he could not reverse Chievos’ fortunes.


Elsewhere..

Reginna retained their Seria A status with a 2-0 win against Champions League winner Ac Milan, who still looked indulged in their success over the week. Nicola Amoruso’s far post finish in the 8th minute and Daniele Amerini’s fierce strike in the 67th minute made sure of the points.


The well-travelled Claudio Ranieri ensured his experience helped Parma complete an amazing comeback after just taking over in February from Gialloblu, when they were destined to be relegated. They beat Empoli 3-1 with goals from Zlatan Muslimovic (8th min), Igor Budan (16th min) and Andrea Gasbarroni (88th min). Luca Saudati 28th min strike proved to be a consolation goal for empoli in the end.


Inter ended their remarkable season with a record-breaking 30th 3-0 victory against Torino, with penalties from Marco Materazzi and Luis Figo and a Maicon strike. It also meant that they maintained their huge lead of 22 points over second place Roma and surpassing Chelsea’s record of 95 points in a season with 97 points.


Roma themselves ended their season on a high note with a thrilling 4-3 win over Messina. Their influential captain, Francesco Totti secured his status as Capocannoniere with two goals, bring his season tally to 26 goals.

Italian Serie A 2006/07 Champions : Inter Milan !!!