And so another season came to a close in Serie A in what turned out to be an exciting campaign in Italy despite all the controversy in recent years. Let’s recall that the Renaissance was born into and bequeathed a brilliant cultural and historical legacy amidst much political chaos. It’s the Italian way.

While the Scudetto won by Internazionale for the fourth straight season was already settled, the battle for Champions League and UEFA spots was still up in the air.

Perennial powers Juventus and AC Milan secured their trip to Champions League with 2-0 victories over Lazio and Fiorentina respectively on the final day. The loss for the Viola meant they were knocked out of a Champions League spot as Genoa slipped into that position with a 4-1 win over last place and now-relegated Lecce. Fiorentina will join AS Roma in UEFA cup play next season.

Udinese, who finished seventh thus just outside a tournament spot, and Fiorentina closed off their respective seasons as the hottest clubs in Italy going 7-1-2 in their last 10 games. Juve hung on to second spot in the Scudetto race despite stumbling with a 3-6-1 record down the stretch.

It's all over

It wasn’t just at the top of the table things had to be figured out. With Torino having lost to AS Roma 3-2, Bologna avoided relegation with a 3-1 win over Catania.  Joining Lecce and Torino is Reggina whose valiant stay in Serie A comes to an end after spending eight on and off seasons in top flight soccer since 1999. Serie B now awaits the Calabrian side.

The season also marked the retirement of one of the all-time great players when Paolo Maldini played in his final game for Milan in Florence. Maldini is easily one of the most admired and respected players to ever come out of Italy. As soccer fans already know, once upon a time he and Franco Baresi were the most impenetrable duo in world soccer whether playing for Milan’s ‘Dream Team’ of the late 1980s and early 1990s, or the Italian national side.

Maldini’s career is a championship marvel  at the club level having won seven Scudettos, five Champions League titles (including a stunning eight final appearances), five Super Cups, five Intercontinental/FIFA Club cups, and was the first defender to ever win World Soccer Magazine’s World Player of the Year.

The story is a little different in national play. Despite being the most capped Italian player in history with 126, Maldini never won a World Cup or Euro although he did reach the finals in each at the 1994 World Cup and 2000 Euro.

I think ISW is safe to speak on behalf of all soccer fans: Ciao, Paolo and Grazie!

He wasn’t the only one. It was an emotional day for Juve fans as Pavel Nedved called it quits as well. A powerful mainstay in the Juventus midfield since 2001, the Czech international won the Ballon d’Or and World Magazine’s Player of the Year in 2003. He led the bianconeri to two Scudetto’s scoring 53 goals in 244 appearances. Nedved began his career in 1996 with Lazio and scored 33 goals in 138 games. In 2003, Juventus lost to AC Milan on penalties in an all-Italian Champions League final. In case you haven’t noticed, 2003 was an excellent year for Nedved.

Finally, Inter’s Portuguese stand out midfielder Luis Figo tied up his laces for the last time. Figo won a total of an amazing eight titles for Real Madrid (2), Barcelona (2) and Internazionale (4).  Along the way, he was part of Real Madrid’s Champions League and Super Cup titles in 2002 and a Cup Winners’ Cup and Super Cup with Barca in 1997.  Figo also won the Ballon d’Or and European Footballer of the Year in 2000 and FIFA World Player of the year in 2001.

Like Maldini and Nedved, he’s listed in FIFA 100.

Goals per game statistics per selected leagues:

Bundesliga 3.0
Liga 2.9
Eredivisie 2.8
Serie A 2.6
Premier League 2.5

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2009 – ROMA

Barcelona’s victory over Manchester United in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico accomplished two things. One, it slowed down the Premier League’s recent dominance and two, it gave La Liga its 12th Champions League trophy. This has moved Spain past its rivals from England as well as Italy’s Serie A.

Here’s a quick look at how the leagues rank in terms of titles:

La Liga 12
Serie A 11
EPL     11
Bundesliga 6
Eredivisie 6
Liga Sagres 4

And how they rank when appearances in finals are considered:

Serie A 25
La Liga 21
EPL     17
Bundesliga 13
Liga Sagres 9
Eredivisie 8

Iniesta: Lethally Brilliant

As for the game itself, it all came down to Barcelona playing as a unit while Manchester United resorting to individual play. Which may explain why United never really found any consistent form throughout the game. This also had to do, as far as I can tell, with the fact that Barcelona outclassed them in the middle of the pitch. The Iniesta/Xavi tandem proved too much for Anderson or anyone else United offered in the midfield for that matter. That would be Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick.

Moreover, Barcelona showed they weren’t a one-dimensional machine bent on offensive prowess by employing a realistic defensive aspect to their game. We often hear in pro sports “defense wins championships” and more often than not, this is true. It wasn’t just pure offense that helped earn Barcelona’s third Champions League title, it was the willingness to fight for every inch of the field.

More impressively, even without Eric Abidal, Daniel Alves, Rafael Marquez and a less than fit Carlos Puyol (who did a masterful job of covering and frustrating the chippy Cristiano Ronaldo), the Barca back-line though understandably wobbly, proved durable and crucial to the outcome.

Manchester United, comparatively speaking, had few injuries with only Darren Fletcher having been ruled out. It didn’t make much of a difference. The Red Devils defense was unheralded all year and performed decently well in the game but when faced with a brilliant offensive group like Barca, you have to be perfect.

And they weren’t on this day in Roma.