June 20, 2012
Serie A
Palermo rode the best defense in Serie A all the way to the championship, finishing three points ahead of Genoa—a result that must be seen as harsh on I Rossoblu, who were probably the better overall side on the season. Those two will be joined by Juventus and Roma in the Champions League with Inter, Fiorentina and Napoli playing in the EURO Cup.
Livorno’s existence in Serie A will last at least another season but both Cesena and Brescia will return to Serie B next season, joined by Siena.
The shock of the year in Italy is the continued fall of AC Milan: seventh last year, Marco van Basten’s team fell all the way to thirteenth this season, bringing fans back to the misery of the mid-nineties.
Top Goalscorer: 28, Robert Acquafresca (Genoa)
Top Rated Player: 7.96, Juan Manuel Vargas (Fiorentina)
Mirko Vucinic—the top scorer in the league the past two seasons—moved from Roma to Juventus and put in a fine, if injury limited, season. Vargas had a great season, providing quality on Fiorentina’s left wing that managed to displace the incomparable Giorgio Chiellini as the league’s top-rated player.
Lazio’s Argentine playmaker, Mauro Zárate, was selected the Player of the Year, the Fans Player of the Year, and the Foreign Player of the Year—a deserved medal haul for a fantastic season. Most of the rest of the medals went to Juventus: Amauri was the Italian Player of the Year, Gianluigi Buffon was the Goalkeeper of the Year, and Ciro Ferrara was named Manager of the Year.
Elsewhere, Catania’s young Japanese striker Takayuki Morimoto was the Young Player of the Year, Napoli’s Simon Kjær was named Defender of the Year, and Nicola Rizzoli was the top referee in Italy.
Serie B
Regular season champions Atalanta will be joined by Regina and Ascoli in Serie A, while Rimini, Taranto, Gallipoli, and Lumezzane are all headed down a division.
Top Goalscorer: 25, Francesco Pittaresi (Padova)
Top Rated Player: 7.96, Federico Rizzi (Mantova)
Evidently the key to promotion in Serie B is to employ Milan Djuric: the young Italian was the best player in the league last season in helping Cesena to promotion; this year, he changed teams twice, ending the season by playing a key role for Reggina’s successful end of season charge.
Serie C1/A and C1/B
Frosinone, Modena, Valle del Giovenco, and Verona all gained promotion while Cittadella, Prato, Juve Stabia, Paganese, Portosummaga, and Viareggio are headed down.
Top Goalscorer: 25, Diogo Tavares (Frosinone); 19, Gionatha Spinesi (Pescina Valle del Giovenco)
Top Rated Player: 7.67, Giovanni Marchese (Modena); 7.62, Fabio Lauria (Crotone)
Tavares helped Frosinone not miss a beat from last season, even with top-rated Younès Belhanda being recalled to AS Roma from his successful loan last season.
Serie C2/A, C2/B, and C2/C
Reggiana, Rodengo (yes, Terry Langford’s old club), Foligno, Lucchese, Spezia, and Nocerina all escape from Italy’s third division while Carpenedolo, Itala, Rovigo, Sangiustese, Avellino, Nuovo Campobasso, Olbia, Cuneo, and Domegliara fall out and will vie in lower competitions like the Ethio-Italian Friendship Cup in 2012/13.
Top Goalscorer: 23, Mirko Gasparetto (Rodengo); 18, Federico Turienzo (Sporting Lucchese) & Luis Arcamone (Melfi); 23, Roberto Palumbo (Nocerina)
Top Rated Player: 7.63, Andrea Ardito (Como); 7.86, Andrea Milani (Foligno); 7.71, Francesco Stanzione (Nocerina)
Anderson, who dominated this level for two years, did well before blowing out his knee midway through ProVercelli’s run in Serie C1 last season. Nocerina’s Palumbo is a repeat performer on this list.
MKNN 