Sampdoria set to retain lead as giants dither

Surprise Italian Serie A football tournament leaders Sampdoria have a good chance of remaining at the top, and could stretch their lead, when they welcome promoted side Parma in Genoa Sunday.

Although unused to inhabit the upper tiers, Samp's passionate fans are basking in the general praise for the sparkling game brought by new coach Luigi Delneri.

Strikers Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini provide goals and entertainment upfront and make supporters dream of the only title won in 1991, when Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini manned the attack.

Trailing one point adrift are Juventus, closing the weekend with a late game away to Palermo, while champions Inter Milan, lying a further point behind, are at home Saturday to in-form Udinese.

With Brazilian international defender Douglas Maicon suspended, Inter must beware of Udinese striker Antonio Di Natale, a veteran international who was eight times on target in six games.

Both Juve and Inter are going through bad spells, with the Turin giants twice held to draws after four straight wins and Inter beaten by Samp Sunday.

Things partly improved for Juve in the Champions League as they Wednesday took home a scoreless draw from Bayern Munich, while Inter, with 10 men, also drew 0-0, but expected more as they played away to Rubin Kazan a day earlier.

Facing real and seemingly endless troubles are AC Milan, who suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Zurich in the wake of a loss and a draw in Serie A.

"These are moments when everything goes wrong," coach Leonardo said. "This team is made to hurt the opponents. If it can't sting upfront, then it's not made to defend. We must find a balance."

As the Devils gear up for a Lombardy derby with Atalanta, club vice president Adriano Galliani said he had "little to say" and recalled the good years, 2003 and 2007, when his side won their sixth and seventh continental trophy.

The mid-week European round of play was memorable for Fiorentina as they beat five-time continental champions Liverpool 2-0 through a brace from young Montenegro star Stevan Jovetic.

French goalkeeper Sebastien Frey, in Italy since 1998, said he doubted that he will again have a chance to play "such a beautiful game. Almost perfect."

The Florence side lie level with Inter and hope to gain positions as they tackle guests Lazio.

The round opens Saturday afternoon with promoted Bari welcoming Catania after drawing at Milan, a feat they performed also against Inter as the season began in late August.

Genoa, who like Lazio and Roma play the Europa League Thursday, visit Bologna Sunday, when Roma and Napoli play a classic match, Cagliari entertain Chievo and Siena take on Livorno in a Tuscany derby.

--DPA

pt/jg

( 463 Words)

2009-10-01-14:45:07 (IANS)

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