Milan fought back from a goal down with Andrea Pirlo's late winner on Ronaldo's debut after Kaka had seen his penalty saved.
Il Fenomeno had not played a competitive match since May, but was finally ready to lead the line, especially as Clarence Seedorf, Pippo Inzaghi, Kakha Kaladze and Marek Jankulovski were sidelined. Cagliari had their own debut, as Coach Nedo Sonetti took over from Marco Giampaolo. The Rossoneri were undefeated here in Serie A since a 1-0 result on October 18, 1998, although last season they were held to a 2-2 draw.
There was a minute's silence ahead of every game this weekend for Italian soldier Daniele Paladino, who was killed in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan.
MILAN - This is the list of called-up players for Cagliari announced by Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the training session: GOALKEEPERS: Dida, Fiori, Kalac DEFENDERS: Bonera, Cafu, Digao, Favalli, Maldini, Nesta, Oddo, Serginho MIDFIELDERS: Ambrosini, Brocchi, Gattuso, Gourcuff, Pirlo ATTACKERS: Aubameyang, Gilardino, Kakà, Inzaghi, Ronaldo
The nominees for the Italian Association of Footballers’ Calcio Oscars 2006-07 have been announced.
The awards are voted for by the players of Serie A and will be presented at a ceremony in Milan on January 28, 2008.
World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro won Best Overall Player, Best Italian Footballer and Best Defender last year, but this time around no one player is set to dominate.
Milan’s Andrea Pirlo will battle Roma duo Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi for the Best Italian Player prize, while Ballon d’Or favourites Kaka and Zlatan Ibrahimovic compete for Best Foreign Player along with Fiorentina’s Adrian Mutu.
Gigi Buffon isn’t eligible for Best Goalkeeper as he was banished to Serie B with Juventus.
The Azzurri shot-stopper has won for five of the last six seasons and Fiorentina’s Sebastien Frey, Inter’s Julio Cesar and ex-Lazio veteran Angelo Peruzzi will look to take advantage.
Fiorentina’s Riccardo Montolivo and Giampaolo Pazzini are up for Bes
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Roberto Donadoni insists that he hasn’t shut out Francesco Totti and Alessandro Nesta, but veteran boss Carlo Mazzone remains cynical.
Italy secured their place at Euro 2008 with a dramatic win over Scotland on Saturday and Coach Donadoni breathed an enormous sigh of relief.
The ex-Livorno tactician pinned his hopes on a new-look side without Totti and Nesta, but he is adamant that he never closed the door on either star.
“I did everything possible,” Donadoni told Radio Radio TV.
“How can I force them to return to the national side if they aren’t motivated? It would be counterproductive.
“If they change their minds I would listen to them, but certain choices deserve to be respected.”
However, Mazzone believes that Donadoni wouldn’t pick Totti for the wrong reasons and hit out at the Press’ role in Er Pupone’s retirement from international football.
“What do I think when people say that Donadoni wouldn’t call up Totti because he owes something to the n
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Luca Toni and Christian Panucci earned Italy's dramatic first ever victory in Scotland to qualify for Euro 2008!
This was Italy's fourth visit to Scottish soil and they had never won, managing just two draws and a defeat. The first encounter was a 1-0 result on November 9, 1965, followed by a 0-0 in November 1992 and a 1-1 on September 3, 2005.
Group B hung in the balance in Glasgow, as a win would automatically qualify Scotland, while defeat would see Italy and France through to Euro 2008. A draw would put the Azzurri in the driving seat ahead of their final game against the Faroe Islands on Wednesday,
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'We're sad about what happened, these things hurt football.' THE WORDS OF GALLIANI, ANCELOTTI, AND NESTA
TURIN - Here are the words of Adriano Galliani, Carlo Ancelotti, and Sandro Nesta from Bergamo:
ADRIANO GALLIANI
'There isn't much to say right now. The decision was made by the Chief of Police, it's clearly his decision to make. It's sad, these things certainly hurt football. I don't know what happened to this poor Lazio fan, I don't know the facts so I can't say anything. I don't want to draw any conclusions, I will comment when I know the facts.'
CARLO ANCELOTTI
'It's unfortunate what happened. The Chief of Police took this decision and we accepted it. We stood by his decision, which was communicated to us by the referee. We feel bitterness, disappointment. When we came on the pitch, we thought things would go the right way. That's not what happened.'
