intERrUPTION: Ending the Streak

This past weekend Inter Milan defeated Juventus 3-1 in the Serie A ending Juventus' 49 match unbeaten streak. The match began in typical fashion with the referee allowing Juventus to score a goal in the first minute that was sparked by a pass to a Juventus player in an offside position. The referee, at this early stage of the game, thought he was getting a Maserati from the Agnelli family, a belief he held throughout the duration of the first half. If asked about the call, the referee would wisely tell the media that he was not offered a Maserati and that Juventus were unfairly demoted to the Serie B a few years ago on false information. He would cite the penalty he awarded Inter at the beginning of the second half as proof that he was not favoring Juventus, despite missing a blatant offsides call that directly led to a goal.

Offsides much?

Despite some suspect refereeing and roughhousing from Juventus defender, Inter, headed by a resurgent Diego Milito were able to turn the halftime deficit into a two goal by the late stages of the game. Not even Andrea Pirlo's beard could save Juventus from suffering defeat on this fateful day in November.

The Italian Serie A has come a long way in the past ten years or so. Once one of the very top leagues in Europe in the late 90s and early 2000s, the Serie A is now rated lower than the German Bundesliga. As a result the Serie A has seen reduced automatic spots in the Champions League and is now ranked closer to the French League. Now the Serie A is best known for it's match fixing scandals that present themselves at least once each season, usually involving a handful of teams.

Despite the praise that Juventus has been given over the past season continuing into the current campaign, the only teams from Italy that have found any success in Europe recently are both from Milan, Inter Milan and AC Milan. AC Milan won the Champions League a few years ago and Inter most recently lifted the coveted trophy in 2010, a campaign that included the Italian Cup and the Serie A title, too. Either referees throughout Europe aren't interested in Maseratis or other clubs are offering something better. What is Barcelona's secret? Whatever it is, Fernando Torres didn't care to stick around to figure it out.

Juventus' CEO, Giuseppe Marotta, claimed that Juventus' lack of a "clinical striker" was a major part of the undoing of his club. Apparently this was not a problem during the 49 game unbeaten streak. Alessandro Del Piero's 3 goals in 23 league appearances last season is sorely missed by the Italian giants. Inter could not have possibly won this game because they were the better team, they don't even give the referees presents. If there is one thing that is certain about this match, it is that the referee did not drive home in a brand new Maserati.

The floor is now open for bets on which teams will be involved in a match fixing scandal at the end of the 2012-2013 Italian Serie A season. Good luck and choose wisely.

What do you mean the beard wasn't enough?