Tuesday 8th December 2009

Serie A Team of the Week 07
It was the week of the derby, as Juventus took on Inter Milan in the Derby d'Italia, and AS Roma hosted Lazio in the Derby della Capitale.
By Vincent Lai
Juve managed to overcome a superior Inter side 2-1 thanks to a magical Claudio Marchiso goal, while Marco Cassetti earned bragging rights for the Giallorossi fans.
Julio Sergio - AS Roma
The Brazilian veteran goalkeeper may have sealed his place in the starting XI after a cracker of a performance. Sergio made multiple saves from Aleksandar Kolarov, Matuzalem, Mauro Zarate and saved the best for last as he lunged full-stretch to make a clearance to prevent Stefano Mauri from having a easy tap-in.
Martin Caceres - Juventus
The on-loan defender was solid for the Old Lady, bombing forward to support the midfield and attacker, and falling back to help Fabio Cannavaro and Giorgio Chiellini in defence. The Uruguayan defender covered a mountain of ground in his time on the pitch.
Giorgio Chiellini - Juventus
The Italian international is so good consistently that we often feature him on the Serie A TOTW. This week, against league leaders Inter Milan, Chiellini produced another masterful performance, hounding the likes of Diego Milito, Dejan Stankovic, and Samuel Eto'o into submission.
Simon Kjaer - Palermo
Expect to see Simon Kjaer at a major European club, or Palermo win the Serie A or a European competition if the Dane pulls displays like this consistently. The highly-rated 20-year-old put an end to Cagliari's good form by elevating above everyone to head home a Giulio Migliaccio corner in the 65th minute.
Marco Cassetti - AS Roma
Veteran right-back Cassetti came off the bench and proceeded to show the young'uns how it's done. The former Italian international scored the only goal of the game to win the Derby della Capitale for the Lupi, rifling a right-foot volley past a helpless Fernando Muslera.
Andrea Pirlo - AC Milan
Pirlo was the perfect deep-lying playmaker for the Rossoneri on Saturday as he kept the ball well, made every single one of his passes count, displayed his vision by completing a host of long-range passes, and won the ball back whenever his team lost it. Milan's 3-0 win was neither a fluke nor an accident, but a clinic in precision play by the 30-year-old.
Claudio Marchisio - Juventus
The Bianconeri midfielder did the only thing Pirlo didn't in his own match against Inter Milan - score. Marchisio pulled a rabbit out of the hat for Juventus against the Nerazzurri, as he pounced on Mohamed Sissoko's parried shot and danced around Walter Samuel before lifting the ball over Julio Cesar for his winner in the 58th minute.
Ronaldinho - AC Milan
The Brazilian maestro has steadily regained his form in the last few weeks, becoming a fixture on this list like Chiellini. 'Dinho was at the heart of every meaningful attack for Milan in his 35 minutes on the field, and fashioned two goal opportunities for Marco Borriello and Clarence Seedorf as both scored with ease.
Clarence Seedorf - AC Milan
The Dutchman was once again everywhere for Milan, running into every nook and cranny of free space as his 33-year-old legs left many defenders in the dust. In the match against Sampdoria, Seedorf provided an emphatic finish off a Ronaldinho assist to leave Luca Castellazzi with no chance as the ball flashed past him.
Fabio Quagliarella - Napoli
The 26-year-old Italian striker showed a little of his former brilliance in Napoli's 3-2 win over Bari. Quagliarella scored twice in the Sunday fixture, and assisted Cristian Maggio as the Azzurri came from behind to win the shootout and all three, glorious points.
Alberto Gilardino - Fiorentina
"Gila" displayed an impressive work ethic against Atalanta, getting on chance after chance as La Viola poured forward looking for the second goal after Juan Manuel Vargas' opener to seal all three points. Gilardino didn't disappoint Cesare Prandelli, his team-mates and the Stadio Artemio Franchi faithful as he got behind Martin Jorgensen's pass to lob the ball over Andrea Consigli in the 88th minute.



