Back in December, a Brazilian known simply as Leonardo and once synonymous with the red half of Milan was unveiled as the new manager of Inter Milan. In a short statement from the club’s website, the Nerazurri chiefs asserted their belief that “Leonardo has the class and experience of a champion” with a mentality that would “get the team together to get results.”
Just over three months later and club owner Massimo Moratti’s faith in what was at the time something of a gamble, looks to have paid off. After all, it wasn’t so long ago that Leonardo was saying goodbye to Milan, after failing in his first season as manager of cross town rivals AC.
But having taken the Inter reigns with the defending Serie A and Champions League holders some 11 points off the top of the table and out of sorts in Europe, Leonardo’s side are now in contention for a Champions League semi-final place and more importantly still, are just two points of Milan at the top of the table. This weekend could yet prove to have been pivotal for Inter and co.
It began well enough; with Palermo claiming a surprise win over leaders Milan. The Aquile grabbed the only goal of an otherwise dour game after just ten minutes, through defender Dorin Goian. The result was a welcome tonic for the home side.
They recently had their manager Delio Rossi sacked, following a 7-0 defeat to Udinese, but here they got their pursuit of European football back on track. The win keeps them within two points of Juventus, who ended a run of four matches without a win with an equally important three points against lowly Brescia.
Milos Krasić had given the Old Lady an early lead but that advantage was soon cancelled out when Citadin Eder struck before half time for Brescia.
In the end, Juve had to rely on an old hand to get them out of trouble. With 22 minutes remaining, Alessandro Del Piero scored the winner, with the game soon petering out after the dismissal of Victor Mareco on 71 minutes.
After the match, under fire boss Luigi Del Neri reiterated his confidence that Juve could qualify for Europe. "We are missing four or five points and this is because of injury,” Del Neri explained, adding that “without injury we would have been able to match anyone."
One side that certainly looks a match for anyone are Udinese. The Little Zebras continued their impressive march to the upper reaches of the table with a 2-0 win over Catania at the Stadio Friuli.
Gokhan Inler and Antonio Di Natale scored the goals as Francesco Guidolin’s men moved two points above Lazio and more startlingly, six points off AC Milan. They will still have one eye over their shoulder though, with Lazio back to winning ways on Saturday after a welcome 1-0 victory over relegation threatened Cesena, following last weekend’s defeat to Roma.
If the Biancocelesti do harbour any hope of Champions League qualification, they’ll need star striker Mauro Zárate to be firing on all cylinders. The Argentine was the difference in Rome, with a goal after just eighty eight seconds, but more of the same will be needed over the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, it was their cross town rival’s talismanic front man that really grabbed all of the headlines. Facing off away against Fiorentina, Roma twice found themselves behind in the first half when Adrian Mutu and then Alessandro Gamberini put the Viola 1-0 and 2-1 up respectively.
However, it was not to be Fiorentina’s day as the iconic Francesco Totti levelled twice for the visitors. He both salvaged a point and reached 201 goals in Serie A, making Totti only the sixth player to do so.
Tenth-placed Bologna stayed within a point of the Viola following a draw of their own. Marco Di Vaio gave the perennial relegation battlers the lead after 28 minutes against Genoa. But the visitors were level two minutes before half time courtesy of defender Dario Dainelli, and the second half saw no further goals.
There was sweeter news for their bitter rivals Parma who claimed a 1-0 win over an increasingly fragile Sampdoria.
Cristian Zaccardo scored the only goal of the game as Samp fans had to endure a late missed penalty from Massimo Maccarone which consigned them to a defeat. This saw the visitors (who survived Blerim Dzemaili’s sending off) leapfrog them and leave the home side just three points off the relegation zone.
As Samp sinks further down, one side continuing to climb out of trouble is Chievo. The Flying Donkeys had goals from Sergio Pellissier and Davide Moscardeli to thank for their 2-1 victory over Bari.
Although Abdelkader Ghezzal had levelled for the home side late in the first half, Bari look a side resigned to relegation, with a gap of 12 points now between them and safety.
With the bottom sides losing, much of the weekend’s headlines undoubtedly focused on the newly enlivened race for the Scudetto. Following Milan’s loss, Napoli also had the chance to close the gap between them and top to just three points with a win over Cagliari.
The game was ultimately decided during a frenetic start to the second period, with Edinson Cavani opening the scoring for Napoli from the spot on 49 minutes. Roberto Acquafresca then levelled for Cagliari on 56 minutes, but Cavani was on hand once again to score on 62 minutes and seal a priceless victory for the home side.
For all that happened in Serie A this weekend, much of the focus remained on Inter and Leonardo. On paper, second bottom Lecce seemed to offer little resistance to the Brazilian’s side. But then this was a Nerazurri side coming off the back of an absorbing and no doubt exhausting encounter with Bayern Munich in mid week.
A tricky game was ultimately decided by a moment of fortune for one of Leonardo’s first signings, Giampaolo Pazzini. The former Samp man was on hand on 52 minutes, quite literally, to score a somewhat controversial winner as Inter closed the gap.
Leonardo admitted after the match that "this game arrived at the end of a tough period for us, and it was a very difficult match as Lecce did really well against us". But with Inter seemingly on top, next weekend offers up a treat: The Milan derby.
"Now there is the derby,” the Brazilian added “but all games are important and there are seven more to go. This result motivates us though and it launches us.”
There’s unlikely to be a Milan derby with more resting on it. And with Napoli hot on their heels, this really is a game neither side can afford to lose.