Gian Piero Gasperini has become the first coach to be sacked in Serie A this season. Genoa spent heavily in the summer bringing in the likes of Luca Toni and Miguel Veloso in an attempt to push for a top four finish and Champions League football. However, results and performances haven't lived up to expectations, and the club find themselves down in fourteenth position after defeat on Sunday night in Palermo.
Gasperini has been replaced by Davide Ballardini, the man sacked by Lazio last season after a less than successful time in the capital where his efforts were constantly hampered by the interference of owner Claudio Lotito. For his sake and Genoa's I hope he is given more freedom by the his new employers.
While I thought Gasperini would be given more time, and didn't expect Ballardini to be considered for another job so soon, maybe the biggest suprise is that it has taken ten rounds of the season to see the first managerial casualty. Club owners in Serie A are usually trigger happy and tend to get a twitchy finger after only a couple of early season defeats. Perhaps they are finally learning that stability and continuity can be key to building a successful team.
To be honest I'd be very suprised if this is the case, so don't be suprised if a few more coaches follow Gasperini into unemployment in the coming weeks.
Roma came out on top in the eagerly anticipated Rome derby as they defeated the run-away league leaders Lazio thanks to two penalties. Lazio will feel hard done by after an evenly contested game was settled by refereeing decisions. While Roma were awarded and converted their two penalties, Lazio were denied what appeared to be two clear shouts, one for a rugby tackle on Mauri and one for handball late on.
AC Milan closed the gap on Lazio to two points with a win in Bari while rivals Inter dropped to third as they could only draw at home with Brescia. Elsewhere wins for Napoli and Juventus keep them in touch with the leading group of teams.
Lazio remain clear at the top of Serie A after a fourth consecutive win, this time a 2-1 home victory over Cagliari. The biancocelesti, who are now undefeated since the opening weekend, have a more creative side to their team this year with the impressive Hernanes and Floccari catching the eye. It will be interesting to see if they can keep up this fine form and remain at the top for a while longer.
Milan were the other winners near the top of the league with a win away at Napoli, while Inter, Juventus and struggling Roma could only manage draws. Udinese continued their rise up the table with a win over Palermo and despite losing their first four games, now lie in eleventh place. Parma now occupy the bottom spot.
Good news for all fans of Italian football - the players strike scheduled for this coming weekend has been postponed to allow for further discussions between the two parties. While this news is not really a big suprise, it is still a relief that we will get to see the season carry on as normal for the time being.
Juventus had the stand out result of the weekend with a 4-0 win away at Udinese who remain rooted to the bottom of the table without a point. Goals from Bonucci, Quagliarella, Marchisio and Iaquinta gave Juventus their first win of the season and they will be hoping to kick on from this with a win at home to Palermo in mid-week.
Reigning champions Inter and Lazio both moved up the table as they secured impressive away wins, Inter at Palermo and Lazio at Fiorentina. Inter now sit second, level on points with suprise package Cesena who remain unbeaten after a 1-0 win over another promoted team, Lecce.
Two Marco Di Vaio goals helped Bologna to a draw at Roma, who are still without a win and Milan again failed to impress as they could only manage a draw at home to Catania.
After just two weeks of the season little Chievo are the early leaders of Serie A and boast the only 100% record in the division. The team from Verona travelled to Genoa and despite falling behind they came away with a 3-1 win, an impressive result considering Genoa's summer spending. With a home game against newly promoted Brescia to come next week, Chievo have every chance of staying top for a while longer.
Inter secured their first league win under Rafa Benitez as they scraped past Udinese 2-1 thanks to goals from Eto'o and Lucio, a result that leaves Udinese bottom of Serie A as the only team without a point. Roma, runners up last year got thumped 5-1 in Sardinia by Cagliari while Milan also suffered a suprise defeat as Serie A minnows Cesena got their first points with a 2-0 victory at home.
Elsewhere there were first wins of the season for Lazio, Catania, Lecce and Brescia while Juventus and remain winless after they played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Sampdoria.
Italy's love affair with strikes has spread to Serie A after the announcement that the players will go on strike for week 5 of the season (25th and 26th of September).
The reason for the strike is a dispute between the players and the Serie A club owners who broke away from the rest of the Italian league at the start of the season in an attempt to gain more control over revenues. As part of a new contract covering players rights, clubs want to be able to prevent players from running down their contracts and therefore leaving for free. They want to introduce a system whereby if a player is offered a deal equal to their current one from a club of similar standing, then the player has to accept the deal or renegotiate with their current club.
While I can understand the reasons behind this rule, and feel that players do seem to have too much power, imposing it would be very difficult. Should players really be treated purely as a commodity to be traded around between clubs without their agreement? I think the answer must be no.
While a strike would be disasterous for the league and for anyone who is planning a trip to see a game that weekend, I am sure the two sides will come to some sort of agreement which will mean our enjoyment of Serie A will continue uninterrupted. We will of course keep you informed of any updates.
The first weekend of the season has been completed with a scoreless draw between reigning champions Inter and a Bologna team who had to cope with losing their coach over the weekend when he was bizarrely sacked. In fact goals were in short supply with only two games producing three or ore goals.
AC Milan enjoyed a comfortable 4-0 win over promoted Lecce at the San Siro thanks to two goals from Pato and one a piece from Inzaghi and Thiago Silva. With the arrival of Ibrahimovic Milan Milan shouldn't struggle to score goals this season but how well they do this year will depend on how well their defence can cope when they come up against stronger teams than Lecce.
Inter looked like a typical Benitez team, too concerned with not losing that they lacked enough ambition to win a game that lacked many clear openings. Juventus lost by one goal in Bari but this was far from a shock as Bari are a strong team at home and with so many new players it may take a few weeks for the Turin team to gel.
Elsewhere there wins for both Genoa based teams along with Parma and Chievo. With Internationals next weekend it is a fortnight until Serie A resumes and hopefully the coaches will spend the time focussing on improvng their teams goal threat.
Top Four As highlighted in our preview below, the title race could involve as many as four teams this year as Juventus strengthen and Inter start life without Mourinho. As a result the top four will predictably be made up of the two Milan teams, Juventus and Roma. The stability at Roma could help them steal a march their rivals and weigh in their favour but I am going to go for another Inter win, largely due to their superior squad.
European Qualification The race for Europa League will be more open however. Lazio should improve drastically on last year and could finish fifth but they will pushed hard by Napoli, Sampdoria and Genoa.
Relegation Lower down the league, the fight for Serie A survival will probably involve the three promoted sides along with Bologna and Cagliari. Of the promoted teams, Brescia look certainties for relegation while Cesena could be the suprise package and stay up at the expense of Bologna who look most vulnerable.
After years of Inter domination, this season promises to be a little less predictable with more teams capable of challenging the Nerazzurri. Here is a look at how some of the bigger teams are shaping up this season.
Inter Jose Mourinho has left and to replace the 'special one' Inter have opted for Rafa Benitez. Given his record at Liverpool where the team's increasingly poor results were coupled with a negative and defensive style of play, Inter supporters could be forgiven for fearing the worst. Inheriting a strong winning squad, they will continue to be very hard to beat but thanks to Benitez's low risk approach, may draw too many games this season.
Roma With new coaches at both Milan teams and Juventus, maybe the stability at Roma will help them go one better than last year when they pushed Inter all the way to the end of the season. Although their only major signing is Brazilian striker Adriano, it is perhaps the lack of departures that could prove more important, with De Rossi and Totti set to shine again.
Milan Massimiliano Allegri takes the reigns and will work with an ageing squad that has under-achieved in recent years. The most significant move in the transfer window could be the arrival of goalkeeper Marco Amelia to replace the often poor Dida. A lot will also depend on the fitness of striker Pato and the ability of Allegri to integrate some younger players into the team.
Juventus Luigi Del Neri has a difficult job in bringing success back to the sleeping giant but has been helped by some big spending this summer. Millions have been spent bringing exciting winger Milos Krasic, attacker Jorge Martínez and defender Leonardo Bonucci to the club and along with some other arrivals should help the Turin club break back into the top four and maybe even challenge for the title.
Lazio After a difficult season where they dramatically under-achieved they have backed coach Edy Reja with the signing of Hernanes and more significantly have renewed deals for key players like Muslera and Ledesma. Ledesma was one of the players suspended by the club a year ago for wanting to leave so his new deal may indicate a happier squad and could bode well for the season ahead where they could challenge for European qualification again.
Genoa A very busy transfer window has seen lots of comings and goings with Miguel Veloso, Luca Toni and Rafinha the major arrivals. A lot will depend on how quickly the team can gel - if they do quickly then they can improve on last years ninth place.
Fiorentina Another team with a new coach. Sinisa Mihajlovic has undoubted potential but may find it a difficult first year in Florence after a quiet summer in the transfer market. He has also been dealt a significant blow as young star Stevan Jovetic has been sidelined for six months by injury.
Sampdoria In finishing fourth last year, they over-achieved and with few summer arrivals they will have to do the same again to even finish in the top six this season. That said they have a young mainly Italian team and will give most teams a hard game, especially at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Napoli Having finished in sixth last year they have held onto star player Marek Hamsik, who could form a dangerous partnership with Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani who has joined from Palermo. Another top ten finish and a challenge for European qualification beckons.
Palermo An attacking team, they narrowly missed out on the top four last year due to a poor away record but they could find this season a lot tougher after the departures of a host of first teamers. They will still be a tough prospect in Sicily but the top half may be the best they can hope for.
Parma Last season was their best for some time and although they have swapped coaches with Udinese, some shrewd work in the transfer market could help keep them out of trouble. Valeri Bojinov has been secured on a permanent contract while the signing of young winger Sebastian Giovinco on a season long loan from Juventus is surely one of the deals of the summer.
The close season in Italy has once again seen a host of managerial changes as clubs look to improve on last year's performances. For me, this is some what short sighted - club owners seem to get so caught up in the search for instant success that they end up damaging their teams chances of building long term success by constantly hiring and firing coaches.
New head coach appointments in Serie A so far are;
Fiorentina - Sinisa Mihajlovic (from Catania)
Catania - Marco Giampaolo
Inter Milan - Rafa Benitez
AC Milan - Massimiliano Allegri (from Cagliari)
Cagliari - Pierpaolo Bisoli (from Cesena)
Cesena - Massimo Ficcadenti
Juventus - Luigi Del Neri (from Sampdoria)
Sampdoria - Domenico Di Carlo (from Chievo)
Chievo - Stefano Pioli
Parma - Pasquale Marino (from Udinese)
Udinese - Francesco Guidolin (from Parma)