Monday 6th February 2012

Italian Serie A Team of the Week
None of the top five sides managed a win in a freezing week where Juventus and AC Milan were both held to goalless draws against Siena and Napoli respectively.
Third-placed Udinese failed to capitalise on the slip after falling to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Fiorentina while Genoa recorded a 3-2 win over fourth-places Lazio before Inter Milan continued their slump with a 4-0 loss at Roma.
Juventus still hold the advantage at the top of the Serie A table with a point and a game over AC Milan.
This week, we go with a 3-5-2 formation with two wide wing-backs.
GK: Gianluca Pegolo (Siena)
Juventus were held down to a 0-0 draw by Siena despite having 70% possession and it's partly due to the heroics of Pegolo.
The 30-year-old handled everything the Turin side threw at him, pushing over Stephan Lichsteiner's dangerous volley, Alessandro Matri's header and Giorgio Chiellini's injury-time powerful shot on the turn.

CB: Luca Rossettini (Siena)
Siena also have Rossettini to thank for coordinating the defensive effort in keeping the Serie A leaders at bay. The away side played majority of the game with all 11 men hemmed into their own half of the pitch and it takes a massive effort to keep everyone on their toes against Juventus' lethal attack.
CB: Paolo Cannavaro (Napoli)
The less famous of the Cannavaro brothers delivered a solid performance in the 0-0 draw against AC Milan, putting in several key well-timed tackle to deny Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibra was so frustrated that he chose to slap Salvadore Aronica at the hour mark and was sent off for it.
CB: Juan (Roma)
Juan had an easy game in Roma's 4-0 win against Inter Milan, heading home to open the floodgates with the first goal of the game. He had an excellent game defenssively as well, covering for teammate Gabriel Heinze, who was dragged out of position on a few ocassions.
LWB: Pablo Armero (Udinese)
The Colombian international was shuttling up and down the flank in Udinese's 3-2 loss against Fiorentina and was unlucky to be on the losing side after teammate Medhi Menatia was penalised for two penalties. Armero was dangerous on the attack down th flank and provided Antonio Di Natale's opening goal on the break.
RWB: Juan Cuadrado (Lecce)
Armero's Colombia teammate is by far Lecce's best player at the moment with his creativity down the right flank. Lecce always looked threatening whenever Cuadrado was leading their attack with the ball but was unlucky to be denied by Jean Francois Gillet ultimately.
CM: Andrea Pirlo (Juventus)
He was Juventus' brightest spark in a dour 0-0 draw against Siena, controlling the ball from deep and dictating play with ease in the crowded Siena half. It was unfortunate for Pirlo that his teammates can't seem to catch onto his many through passes which worried the Siena defense.
CM: Daniele De Rossi (Roma)
The in-demand De Rossi celebrated his five-year contract with his boyhood club by returning frmo injury to turni in a neat performance in their 4-0 win over Inter Milan.
De Rossi's presence in front of defence was sorely missed during his recent absence due to injury and Il Capitano marked his return by leading the team from the middle, controlling the game with an amazing 93% pass completion rate.
CM: Miralem Pjanic (Roma)
Pjanic's combination play with De Rossi accounted for much of Roma's dominance and the former Lyon midfielder took advantage of the space afforded by the Inter midfield to orchestrate the magnificent win. The 21-year-old even managed to outdo De Rossi, accruing a 96% completed passes throughout the match.

CF: Sebastian Giovinco (Parma)
The former Juventus striker looks primed to book his spot to lead Italy's front line at the Euros this season with his mercurial performances at Parma this season.
The 25-year-old single-handedly gave his side the 2-1 win at Chievo, forcing Stefano Sorrentino into a wonder save before beating him in the second half with a left-footed finish in the second half.
Giovinco then sealed the win after his shot was deflected by Siqueira Luciano into the Chievo goal.
CF: Fabio Borini (Roma)
The fourth Roma player in this week's team probably deserves it most.
Once a bright spark in Italy's under-21 set-up, he was deemed surplus at Chelsea,shunted to Swansea on loan before leaving for Parma and then farmed out to Roma, where he played second fiddle to Pablo Osvaldo.
Only given a spot in the starting lineup recently, Borini made use of it by pulling apart the Inter defence to score two goals. His first saw him beat Maicon and Walter Samuel before finishing into the bottom corner while his second was a well-timed break to beat the offside trap.
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