2006–07 Serie A

The Serie A 2006–2007 season (officially "Serie A TIM 2006–2007") began September 10, 2006. It was scheduled to begin on August 26 and 27, but was then postponed due to the Serie A scandal of 2006. It is the 104th Italian championship ever held, the first without the presence of Juventus, and the 75th Serie A league, the first being held in 1929. On April 22, 2007 Internazionale became the Serie A champions after beating Siena, as Roma's loss to Atalanta left Inter with a 16-point advantage with five games to play.

Contents

Events

Matchfixing scandal

Following the Serie A scandal of 2006, Juventus was relegated to Serie B and deducted 9 points. Fiorentina, Milan and Lazio, were deducted 15, 8 and 3 points respectively but were not relegated, and consequently Lecce, Messina and Treviso, originally slated for relegation to Serie B, were to have been retained in Serie A, thereby keeping the top table at 20 teams.

As part of another inquiry, Reggina was handed a 15-point penalty, but was allowed to remain in Serie A.[1] This penalty was reduced to 11 points on appeal.

League halting of February 2007

On February 2, 2007, police officer Filippo Raciti was killed outside the Stadio Angelo Massimino, Catania, in football-related violence during the Sicilian derby between rivals Catania and Palermo [2]. The match, originally scheduled for February 4 at 3pm, was exceptionally advanced on Friday at 6pm under request of Catania Calcio because of the simultaneity with the St. Agatha local celebrations.

The dramatic Sicilian derby events, which followed the murder of Ermanno Licursi, an amateur club manager, beaten to death during a riot in a Terza Categoria league match, led Commissioner Luca Pancalli to call a stop to all football matches in Italy, including Serie A fixtures. Pancalli noted how the league fixtures would not start again till a solution to the violence issue in Italian football is found. The week after, a special law by the government enforced the measures to be taken against violence in football stadia and forbade the presence of supporters inside stadia which didn't agree with mandatory security dispositions, thus enabling Italian football to go on with half of the matches played without audience.

Following the events, Catania was prohibited to play its home matches at Stadio Angelo Massimino for the remaining part of the season, and the club was also forced to play its home matches in neutral grounds without spectators (a porte chiuse, behind closed doors). Several other Italian stadia were closed too because of security reasons, and reopened only once they would have passed several safety requirements. All stadiums were successfully reopened for April, with Stadio Massimino's exception. Catania's home matches were successively allowed to be attended by spectators, yet on neutral ground, as from May 13.

Dominant Inter

With their victory over Siena on April 22, 2007, Internazionale captured the 2006-07 Serie A title (the 15th Scudetto in the team's history) by moving 16 points clear of second-place Roma with 5 matches to play. Internazionale's dominant effort marked the defense of the title they were awarded in the wake of the Calciopoli scandal, and their first Scudetto claimed on the field since May 28, 1989.[2] Clinching with five matches remaining, Internazionale tied the Serie A record for earliest title claim (alongside with Torino in the 1948). The team also broke the record for most consecutive wins with a 17 match winning streak.

Relegation battle

With Messina and Ascoli already relegated, there was only one relegation slot left to be decided in the last matchday, with Parma (39 points), Chievo (39), Catania (38), Siena (37) and Reggina (37) involved in the battle. The key match in the relegation battle was widely expected to be Catania vs Chievo, to be played in Bologna because of the forced closure of Stadio Angelo Massimino by the Italian Football Federation following the February 2007 infamous riots in the Sicilian derby. The match ended in a 2-0 win for the Sicilian side; due to the contemporary wins of Parma, Siena and Reggina, Chievo relegated to Serie B.

Team details

Club City Stadium 2005/2006 Season Team season
Ascoli Calcio 1898 Ascoli Piceno Stadio Cino e Lillo Del Duca 10th in Serie A Season
Atalanta B.C. Bergamo Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Serie B Champions Season
Cagliari Calcio Cagliari Stadio Sant'Elia 14th in Serie A Season
Calcio Catania Catania Stadio Angelo Massimino Serie B Runners-up Season
A.C. ChievoVerona Verona Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi 4th in Serie A Season
Empoli F.C. Empoli Stadio Carlo Castellani 7th in Serie A Season
ACF Fiorentina Florence Stadio Artemio Franchi (Il Comunale) 9th in Serie A Season
F.C. Internazionale Milano Milan Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro) Serie A Champions Season
S.S. Lazio Rome Stadio Olimpico 16th in Serie A Season
A.S. Livorno Calcio Livorno Stadio Armando Picchi 6th in Serie A Season
F.C. Messina Peloro Messina Stadio San Filippo 17th in Serie A Season
A.C. Milan Milan Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro) 3rd in Serie A Season
U.S. Città di Palermo Palermo Stadio Renzo Barbera (La Favorita) 5th in Serie A Season
Parma F.C. Parma Stadio Ennio Tardini 8th in Serie A Season
Reggina Calcio Reggio Calabria Stadio Oreste Granillo 13th in Serie A Season
A.S. Roma Rome Stadio Olimpico 2nd in Serie A Season
U.C. Sampdoria Genoa Stadio Luigi Ferraris (Marassi) 12th in Serie A Season
A.C. Siena Siena Stadio Artemio Franchi 15th in Serie A Season
Torino F.C. Turin Stadio Olimpico di Torino (Stadio Comunale) Serie B Playoff Winners Season
Udinese Calcio Udine Stadio Friuli 11th in Serie A Season

Final classification

P
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Promotion or relegation
1. Internazionale (C) 38 30 7 1 80 34 +46 97 UEFA Champions League 2007-08
Group stage
2. Roma 38 22 9 7 74 34 +40 75
3. Lazio 38 18 11 9 59 33 +26 62[3] UEFA Champions League 2007-08
Third qualifying round
4. Milan 38 19 12 7 57 36 +21 61[3] UEFA Champions League 2007-08
Group stage
[4]
5. Palermo 38 16 10 12 58 51 +7 58 UEFA Cup 2007-08 First round
6. Fiorentina 38 21 10 7 62 31 +31 58[3]
7. Empoli 38 14 12 12 42 43 -1 54
8. Atalanta 38 12 14 12 56 54 +2 50
9. Sampdoria 38 13 10 15 44 48 -4 49 UEFA Intertoto Cup 2007 Third round[5]
10. Udinese 38 12 10 16 49 55 -6 46
11. Livorno 38 10 13 15 41 54 -13 43
12. Parma 38 10 12 16 41 56 -15 42
13. Catania 38 10 11 17 46 68 -22 41
14. Reggina 38 12 15 11 52 50 +2 40[3]
15. Siena 38 9 14 15 35 45 -10 40[3]
16. Torino 38 10 10 18 27 47 -20 40
17. Cagliari 38 9 13 16 35 46 -11 40
18. Chievo 38 9 12 17 38 48 -10 39 Relegation
to Serie B
19. Ascoli 38 5 12 21 36 67 -31 27
20. Messina 38 5 11 22 37 69 -32 26

Top goalscorers

Only players with at least 10 goals

26 goals
20 goals
19 goals
18 goals
17 goals
16 goals
15 goals
14 goals
13 goals
12 goals
11 goals
10 goals

Results

Home \ Away1 ASC ATA CAG CTN CHV EMP FIO INT LAZ LIV MES MIL PAL PAR REG ROM SAM SIE TOR UDI
Ascoli 1–3 2–1 2–2 3–0 0–1 1–1 1–2 2–2 0–2 1–1 2–5 3–2 0–0 2–3 1–1 1–1 0–1 0–2 2–2
Atalanta 3–1 3–3 1–1 1–0 0–0 2–2 1–1 0–0 5–1 3–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–2 3–1 1–2 1–2
Cagliari 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–2 0–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 2–2 2–0 2–2 1–0 0–0 0–2 3–2 1–0 2–2 0–0 2–1
Catania 3–3 0–0 0–1 2–0 2–1 0–1 2–5 3–1 3–2 2–2 1–1 1–2 2–0 1–4 0–2 4–2 1–1 1–1 1–0
Chievo 1–0 2–2 0–0 2–1 0–0 0–1 0–2 0–1 2–1 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 3–2 2–2 1–1 1–2 3–0 2–0
Empoli 4–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–2 0–3 1–1 2–2 3–1 0–0 2–0 2–0 3–3 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–1
Fiorentina 4–0 3–1 1–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–3 1–0 2–1 4–0 2–2 2–3 1–0 3–0 0–0 5–1 1–0 5–1 2–0
Internazionale 2–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 4–3 3–1 3–1 4–3 4–1 2–0 2–1 2–2 2–0 1–0 1–3 1–1 2–0 3–0 1–1
Lazio 3–1 1–0 0–0 3–1 0–0 3–1 0–1 0–2 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 0–0 0–0 3–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 5–0
Livorno 0–0 4–2 2–1 4–1 0–2 0–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–2 3–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–1 1–0
Messina 1–2 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 2–2 2–2 0–1 1–4 0–1 1–3 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 0–3 1–0
Milan 1–0 1–0 3–1 3–0 3–1 3–1 0–0 3–4 2–1 2–1 1–0 0–2 1–0 3–1 1–2 1–0 0–0 0–0 2–3
Palermo 4–0 2–3 1–3 5–3 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–2 0–3 3–0 2–1 0–0 3–4 4–3 1–2 2–0 2–1 3–0 2–0
Parma 1–0 3–1 2–1 1–1 2–2 3–1 2–0 1–2 1–3 1–0 4–1 0–2 0–0 2–2 0–4 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–3
Reggina 2–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–1 4–1 1–1 0–0 2–3 2–2 3–1 2–0 0–0 3–2 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 1–1
Roma 2–2 2–1 2–0 7–0 1–1 1–0 3–1 0–1 0–0 2–0 4–3 1–1 4–0 3–0 3–0 4–0 1–0 0–1 3–1
Sampdoria 2–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 3–0 1–2 0–0 0–2 2–0 4–1 3–1 1–1 1–1 3–2 0–0 2–4 0–0 1–0 3–3
Siena 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–2 2–1 0–0 3–1 3–4 1–1 2–2 0–1 1–3 0–2 1–0 2–2
Torino 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–3 0–4 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–2 1–2 1–0 1–2 2–3
Udinese 0–0 2–3 3–1 0–1 2–1 0–1 1–0 0–0 2–4 4–0 1–0 0–3 1–2 3–3 1–1 0–1 1–0 3–0 2–0

Source: lega-calcio.it (Italian)
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Attendances

Serie A attendances have dropped marginally. Higher attendances in the last couple of weeks increased the final season average for Serie A to 19,720. These are the average Serie A team attendances for the 2006-07 season[6]:

Club Average
Attendance
Highest
Attendance
Game
Ascoli 7,209 15,000 vs Milan
Atalanta 12,246 24,000 vs Milan
Cagliari No official attendance
Catania 16,185 20,000 vs Palermo
Chievo 6,719 13,000 vs Ascoli
Empoli 5,351 12,000 vs. Fiorentina
Fiorentina 30,000 41,000 vs. Milan
Internazionale 48,000 64,000 vs. Torino
Lazio 25,000 61,000 vs. Roma
Livorno 8,500 13,000 vs Sampdoria
Messina 11,500 17,500 vs. Milan
Milan 47,000 79,000 vs Internazionale
Palermo 24,000 35,000 vs Catania
Parma 15,000 20,000 vs Internazionale
Reggina 12,500 21,000 vs Milan
Roma 38,689 61,292 vs Lazio
Sampdoria 19,000 27,000 vs Internazionale
Siena 8,000 14,000 vs Internazionale
Torino 20,500 24,000 vs Internazionale
Udinese 14,500 20,000 vs Internazionale

Catania hosted Ascoli, Fiorentina, Inter, Lazio, Reggina, Roma, Siena and Torino at neutral venues without fans, and Milan and Chievo in Bologna, but with fans welcome.

Milan outnumbered every other team for the highest number of season ticket holders with 37,000, with Inter not far behind with 35,000 season ticket holders.

The lowest attendance for the season was recorded in the Ascoli vs Cagliari match, in the final day of the league, that attracted a mere 2,800 people.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Reggina to stay in Serie A", The World Game, 18 August 2006.
  2. ^ "Inter-Roma match recap", Channel 4, 18 April 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d e Denotes teams who began the season with the following points deductions:
    Team Points Deduction
    Siena
    1 point
    Lazio
    3 points
    Milan
    8 points
    Reggina
    11 points
    Fiorentina
    15 points
  4. ^ Milan gained entry directly to the 2007-08 Champions League group stage as defending champions.
  5. ^ Since both Coppa Italia finalists (Roma and Internazionale) were guaranteed a UEFA Champions League spot, the UEFA Cup spot awarded to the Coppa Italia winner or Coppa Italia runner-up will instead be awarded to the 7th-positioned team, and the 8th-positioned team will be awarded entry to the UEFA Intertoto Cup. However Atalanta could not enter the competition due to not being granted a European licence. Because of this, the 9th placed team, Sampdoria was granted entry to the Intertoto Cup [1]. Sampdoria later gained entry to the 2007–2008 UEFA Cup after winning the Intertoto Cup.
  6. ^ Serie A attendances - Season 2006-07

External links