Your Friday Goals for March 15, 2013

Barcelona proves that it's not dead yet, Galatasary fans try to tunnel into a stadium, the Charlie Stillitano rants about the EPL team bias of English language UEFA broadcasts, and Leonardo proposes to Anna Billo on tv, it's time for your Friday goals:

More after the jump:

Cavani Hat Trick Gives Napoli 4-3 Win Over Lazio - Highlights

Napoli fans on the West Coast in the United States had to get up by 4:30 a.m. to watch Sunday's early match between Napoli and Lazio at Satdio San Paolo, but it was well worth the early wake up as Napoli beat Lazio 4-3, on the back of a Edinson Cavani hat trick, and move into second place on the Serie A table.

First goal of the match came in the 29th minute when Stefano Mauri beat several Napoli defenders to score this beauty:


In the 56th minute, André Dias picked up Lazio's second goal of the first half:

[VIDEO] Lazio's Zárate Punches Referee After Lazio Loss to Bologna?

It hasn't been a good week for Lazio, on Wednesday they lost to Roma in the Coppa Italia and today they lost 3-1 to Bologna and fell below Roma on the Serie A table. To make matters worse, it appears that Lazio's Mauro Zárate managed to make contact with a referee when throwing a punch during a post match dispute with Bologna players.

Scenes from a Derby: It's Roma 2, Lazio 1 in Coppa Italia

It was the Derby della Capitale on Wednesday January 19, 2011 as Roma hosted Lazio in the Coppa Italia. Considered one of the biggest and fiercest derbies in Europe, if not the world, Wednesday's match lived up to its billing as 90 minutes of fierce play saw Roma win their fourth straight derby.

The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico along with Ray Hudson's take on the Derby della Capitale are captured in the following two videos:





Considering the atmosphere in the stands, it's not surprising that the first half saw each side pick up yellow cards. Lazio's Stefan Radu picked up the first yellow card when he kicked Roma's Nicolás Burdisso in the face in the 18th minute.



It didn't take long for Roma's Daniele De Rossi to pick up a yellow card for a hard challenge on Lazio's Alvaro Gonzalez in the 29th minute.



There were some uneasy minutes late in the first half when Lazio's Giuseppe Biava went over the back of Roma's Adriano and almost landed on his head and neck.



Lazio dominated the first half with a vigorous attacking style of play and while they came close to scoring, it never happened and the half ended without any goals. Roma's Coach Claudio Ranieri made two substitutions during the half, putting Jeremy Menez on for Leandro Greco and Mirko Vucinic on for Adriano. Whether these substitutions were game planned by Ranieri or made on the fly, the presence of Menez and Vucinic completely altered Roma's style of play. From the start of the second half, Roma attacked Lazio with a fury that was completely absent during the first half.

Ranieri's half time adjustments paid off when Lazio's Stephan Lichtsteiner was called for a handball in the 52nd minute, setting up a penalty kick that was converted by Marco Borriello.



Roma's lead didn't last long though because in the 57th minute Juan tripped up Zarate in the box, setting the stage for a Lazio penalty kick that was made by Hernanes.



With the score tied at 1-1, both sides turned up the pressure looking for that one goal that would give them the lead and a spot in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals. In the 77th minute, Roma's Fabio Simplicio scored a goal that is better seen than described:



Sadly, the match lived up to its billing in unfortunate ways too. Prior to the match when rocks were thrown at both teams' buses and fan was stabbed during fighting between the teams' respective ultras.

Wednesday's victory means that Roma will face Juventus in the Quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia. Roma and Lazio will next meet each other on March 13th.

Here's some post match reaction from Roma after the jump:

Derby della Capitale - The Coppa Italia Version

On Wednesday January 19, 2011, Lazio and Roma will meet at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome for a rare Coppa Italia version of the Derby della Capitale. While the match's result does not impact either club's standing in the 2010/2011 Serie A Scudetto campaign, a place in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals and capital city bragging rights are on the line.

The teams last met on November 7, 2010, when Roma won, not without some controversy, 2-0 thanks to penalty kicks by Marco Borriello and Mirko Vucinic.

Lazio had a stronger start to the 2010/2011 Serie A season and are currently tied with Napoli at second place on the table, each with 37 points. Roma, which had another slow start that saw them languish in the relegation zone for several weeks, sits right behind Napoli and Lazio with 35 points.

This past weekend saw Lazio pick up a 1-0 victory over Sampdoria, Lazio's first win since the winter break, and this coming weekend Lazio travels to Bologna. Lazio's depth is not as great as Roma's depth, and Lazio coach Edoardo Reja will have to choose between resting key players like Hernanes and Brocchi for Sunday's match with Bologna and trying to appease Lazio fans hoping for redemption against their bitter rivals.

Going into this past Sunday's match at Cesena, troubles were brewing behind the scenes at Roma, troubles linked to the team's most famous player, Francesco Totti. The aging Totti has been unhappy with his playing time this season and what he perceives as a marginalized role under coach Claudio Ranieri's recent roster and substitution decisions. Possibly at the bequest of club president, Rosella Sensi, Ranieri started Totti this past Sunday and chose to leave Totti on the pitch while substituting out Mirko Vucinic and Jérémy Menez, who were both having better matches than Totti. Vucinic, visibly upset by being subbed off, headed straight for the team's dressing room, but soon emerged as a bizarre sequence led to an own goal by Maximiliano Pellegrino, giving Roma a shocking victory over a team that troubled them so back in the season opener. It's hard to say if Sunday's victory has healed all wounds at Roma, but the news from Trigoria has been upbeat and positive.

Most of the predictions I have seen say Roma will win 1-0.

The match starts at 1:45 pm central time and will be broadcast live in the United States on GolTV.

Maybe Big Soccer is Useful: Message Board Meltdowns

I wish I had come up with this idea on my own, but I didn't. Instead, I'm stealing this idea from RollBamaRoll over at SBNation - and I learned about it from Sean & John on 1560 The Game in Houston.

On Sunday, Lazio lost the Derby della Capitale to Roma, 0-2. Here's what Lazio fans were saying:

I love Reja but fuck him for playing for the tie in the first half... Fuck Baptista for unfairly continuing play after 2 Lazio players got hurt.... and FUCK FUCK FUCK to HELL the ref for fucking up on 2 merda handballs, 1 missed penalty for dragging down Mauri, and for giving a second penalty to merda after he saw 2 lazio players get hurt and merda unfairly continue play... I seriously hope he dies a very very painful death.

I watched this BS for the last time! It just makes me mad, it just seems as if those cunts always get the refs on their side! Lets get our revenge by winning the Scudetto! Keep positive rega we're still prima in la classifica!

We were owned by referees!!! these bastards need to go to the hell asap

If you believe in fate, or karma, then I am not surprised at all. We had some moments of luck earlier in the season, we all know the strange goals we scored or whatever the fuck. It came back to haunt us TODAY. It was always the chance it could happen TODAY and it has.

This referee is a fucking shitass

Things didn't go much better for Lazio, who lost to Cesena 1-0 on Wednesday:

Zarate once aggain was playing like he is alone in the pitch and is shooting a comercial about dribling, no collective game!!!

What a fucking disgrace. Reja must be fucking stupid for resting basically everyone. I knew we wouldn't score as soon as I saw the starting lineup. I never want to see that piece of shit diakite and gonzalez on the field again. I don't understand how most of our starters needed rest. They play once a week and the first time they get a wednesday game they are too tired to play? Fuck that. I guess if we make Europe then we are going to have a shitty ass season because our players have no stamina. To play 2 games a week. What a joke.

This past weekend, Columbus Crew were knocked out of the MLS Cup Playoffs by Colorado Rapids:

bahhh! terrible! i'm sick of my team

Lenhart with the touch of a rapist. Unbelievable.

remind me again of why Jason Garey is on the field?

Hold the ball up top? no

Keep possession? no

Finishing? no

a shootout with greenbaum, oh god, what sort of a sick joke is this? threw this game away

Meanwhile, the Seattle Sounders were again knocked out of the MLS Cup Playoffs, this time by the Los Angeles Galaxy:

This is awful. I've gone from thinking we wouldn't make the playoffs at the beginning of the season, to being excited that we turned it around, to right now wishing we hadn't.

A goal would be nice, just to pop that cherry.

I don't understand this team. We've got the players to play great attacking soccer, yet we suck at attacking. Anyone know when Jason Kreis's contract is up?

Speaking of Kreis, his Real Salt Lake won't be defending their 2010 MLS Cup Championship since they were eliminated by Dallas this weekend:

AND BORCHERS WITH A YELLOW! this is ********ing bullshit, that was NOT a yellow worthy foul at all.

If anyone from our side would like to begin playing like it was the playoffs - now would be the time...

this has turned into one of the worst Utah sports days i can remember. down 1-0 on a ridiculous against the run of play goal for dallas. utes get absolutely embarrassed at home. ugh.

ferreira dives more than a $2 hooker in the cat house. absolute bullshit.

im going to drink myself into a straight stupor, i absolutely cannot believe this. we DOMINATED the second half, all 45 minutes. what a waste of a season, the greatest RSL team will go down in the first half. ******** you MLS for setting up the WORST playoff structure.

ugh, im so pissed right now i could punch a baby. see you in february.

Despite being the only MLS team with three Designated Players, RedBull New York was eliminated from the MLS Cup Playoffs by San Jose:

Backe is shiting in his pant and is afraid to take out Angel....

I stayed up for that?

Complete and utter bollox!

That was a ********ing embarassment. ******** Angel. Hasn't won shit in his entire career.

Marquez: If you wanna retire ******** off and do it cos your moving on the pitch like you have

Angel: Goodbye and Good riddance

Henry: Go ******** off and watch the Nick you cheating, handballing frog

On Wednesday, Newcastle lost, 1-2, to Blackburn Rovers:

Hey, look, it's like we remembered we're supposed to suck at defense.

Type of match Hatem Ben Arfa could have won on his own. Instead, we have Kevin ********ing nolan

Ultras Tutto in un giorno il derby della Capitale - All in a Day

Tutto in un Giorno is an Italian television series that focuses on a certain event on one particular day through the eyes of four persons involved or connected to the event. On April 28, 2002, Tutto in un Giorno broadcast an episode centering on the Derby della Capitale, the entire episode is contained in the videos below.

The first leg of the 2010/2011 Derby della Capitale takes place on Sunday November 7, 2010, it will be aired in the United States on Fox Soccer Channel at 8:00 a.m. central time.

Derby della Capitale - Fall 2010

One of the biggest matches in the world will take place in the Eternal City at 8:00 a.m. central time on Sunday morning when S.S. Lazio and A.S. Roma play each other at the Stadio Olimpico. This weekend's match will feature a Lazio side sitting atop the Serie A table with 22 points hosting a struggling Roma side that has only racked up 12 points after 9 match days in the race for the 2010-2011 Scudetto.

The match will be aired live on Fox Soccer Channel and, most likely, ESPN3.

Here's some video to help you get ready for the match:

Episode 12 of the Zygo Soccer Report: Houston Dynamo 3-0 Kansas City Wizards

Despite the rough loss at Chicago Fire last weekend and the PCL rupture suffered by Dynamo Midfielder Geoff Cameron, Coach Dominic Kinnear manages to field a side that picked up a strong victory over the Kansas City Wizards here in Houston on Saturday night. Meanwhile, in Italy, Inter maintains a 2 point lead over Roma in the Scudetto race with only two match days left in the season.

This week's episode features music from Baustelle, Jovanotti, Ligabue, and Shakira.

Zygo Soccer Report Episode 12: Houston Houston 3 - 0 Kans...

The Zygo Soccer Report

Serie A Report for January 13, 2008

Serie A returned to this pitch this weekend, and the big question was could Milan finally win a game at the San Siro and make a second half run at a table position that would return them to the Champions League next season. Milan came out strong this evening, with a convincing 5 - 2 win over Napoli. A game which included a goal from Alexandro Pato, the 18 year old Brazilian who made his competitive debut today.

The winter break clearly didn’t slow down Inter Milan, who survived a tough battle against Siena, a team that will spend the second half of the season fighting to avoid relegation, with a 3 - 2 victory, two of Inter’s goals coming off the foot of Ibrahimovic.

Inter’s victory keeps it well ahead of the pack with 46 points, but Roma’s 2-1 victory over Atalanta, a side that has given Roma trouble in the past, enabled them to secure second place and 36 points. Juventus on the other hand was lucky to walk away with one point after Saturday’s rain soddened 1-1 draw at Catania. Meanwhile both Udinese and Fiorentina won their matches this weekend, firmly holding onto fourth and fifth places, respectively.

The Eternal City’s other side came into this season with high hopes, but a string of injuries and some bad luck on the pitch has pushed Lazio into relegation territory. The second half of the season appeared promising when Lazio scored a goal in the 23rd minute of today’s match against Genoa. But the second half belonged to Genoa’s Marco Boriello who scored off a penalty kick in the 51st minute and then quickly scored a second goal in the 55th minute.