By Michael Ottolenghi

Another eventful week in Italian football, both on and off the pitch. Following the possibly season-defining Milan derby, both Milan teams faced midweek Coppa Italia quarterfinals at San Siro. Milan were humiliated by Udinese in a 1-0 loss, while Inter bounced back from a Francesco Toldo error to defeat Juventus 2-1, courtesy of goals by Lucio and Juve-killer Mario Balotelli. Juventus’ exit from the Coppa was the last game in charge for Ciro Ferrara, who was replaced by former Udinese, Milan, Inter and Torino manager Alberto Zaccheroni, after Juventus’ public courting of Guus Hiddink and Rafael Benitez proved fruitless.

Meanwhile, the January transfer market provided its usual drama. Milan added to their collection of over-30 players by signing Inter winger Amantino Mancini on loan, while Inter’s pursuit of Lazio midfielder Cristian Ledesma came to nothing, with Jose Mourinho being given the relatively unproven, but allegedly promising, Kenyan prospect McDonald Mariga from Parma instead. There were no other major moves last week, as big clubs had, perhaps wisely, made their moves before the transfer deadline, with Roma securing the services of Bundesliga reject Luca Toni and Juventus signing Antonia Candreva on loan from Udinese.

The biggest transfer talk surrounded a possible move to Fiorentina by Sampdoria playmaker Antonio Cassano.  Cassano is an enigma in Italian football:  once hailed as a boy genius and the saviour of Italian football when he was with Bari, he never quite fulfilled his promise in stints at Roma and Real Madrid. His return to Italy with Sampdoria two years ago was hailed as a new beginning for a player more famous for potential than actual achievements, as well as macho boasts about the number of women he has bedded (allegedly 1000, if his autobiography is to be believed).

Cassano’s status as one of the only Italian players with offensive creativity has led to an ongoing saga about whether national team coach Marcelo Lippi should bring him to South Africa, with Lippi steadfastly refusing to consider Cassano for “temperamental reasons.”  Cassano’s displays for Sampdoria have alternated between brilliant and anonymous. He was deeply involved in both Sampdoria’s impressive start to this season and their more recent fall to 7th place. His recent falling out with Luigi DelNeri led to speculation about his move to Fiorentina, but the deal fell through when Cassano decided to give Sampdoria another try.

On the pitch, last weekend’s Serie A games saw Inter’s game against Parma postponed due to snow, and Milan unable to capitalize. Milan could manage only a 1-1 draw at home against lowly Livorno to finish up Leonardo’s miserable week. Milan’s misery was matched by Roma’s continued resurgence, as the giallorossi’s 2-1 victory over Siena brought them to joint second place with Milan, 8 points behind Inter, who have a game in hand.  Of particular note was Roma’s second goal, scored in the 89th minute by their young Italian striker (of Nigerian descent) Stefano Okaka — a delicious left footed backheel that is a contender for goal of the season. Essential youtube material. Roma’s recent performances have prompted some commentators to see them as the most likely challengers to Inter’s hold on the Serie A title.  With Juventus falling by the wayside (they managed only a 1-1 draw against Lazio in their first game under Zaccheroni and remain in joint 5th place with Palermo), Roma and Milan do appear to be the likeliest contenders for second place.

Roma have rebounded well from their dreadful start to the season, and the transition from coach Luciano Spalletti’s unpredictable attacking formation to Claudio Ranieri’s more predictable, but more solid, 4-4-2 formation, has gone smoothly. Former Inter defender Nicolas Burdisso has slotted into central defense with ease, and John Arne Riise has also been decent in the back line.

But despite their loan signing of Luca Toni (who picked up an injury in his third game for Roma and has been out since), Roma’s main problem remains a dependence on the injury-prone Francesco Totti.  Roma have some quality players up front, particularly Mirko Vucinic, but when Totti is out injured, which he regularly is, Roma have no reference point and also lack character. Until they overcome that problem, they are unlikely to pose a real threat to either Milan side.