Spring Intramural

As the players go into a well-earned Christmas break, managers and agents now begin a hectic round of negotiations that will culminate in January's transfer market.
Deals will be finalised on Wednesday January 8th, when the captains gather to finalise their strategies.
Big money transfers are likely to involve Cristian and Dylan, Ameli and Flavia - all winners of the top scorer or best player prizes in December.
But shrewd captains will also be looking for bargains from lower down the points table to complete their squads with a balance of muscle and talent and the right mix of defence and attack.

As usual, a seventh team joins the Boys league in Spring and this seventh team - Fiorentina - will be a team of girls who are looking for extra practice as the Med Cup looms in early May.
Matches involving Fiorentina will be 8 girls versus 6 boys, with the boys limited to three touches.

BOYS CAPTAINS
Ludovico, Manuel, Taki, Joel, Cesare, Saverio 

GIRLS CAPTAINS
Sofia, Linh, Lucy,  Carolina F

TRANSFER MARKET - Boys

Dylan S

Cristian

Paul

Sam

Alex

Giacomo

Pietro

Augusto

Tommaso G

Nikos

Guillermo

Valerio

Massimo S

Dylan M

Theo

Santiago

Edo

Massimo M

Tommaso S

Andrea

Giorgio

Francesco

Mateo

Alberto T

TRANSFER MARKET - Girls

Ameli

Alice M

Naomi

Eleonora

Yutong

Liva

Allegra

Agata

Flavia

Chanel

Carolina S.

Gala

Palermo 6 - 5 Verona

Una bellissima finale conclude il primo Intramural femminile di quest'anno, con pareggio 1-1, concluso vittoriosamente dal Palermo ai rigori. Una partita vibrante e combattuta, aperta dalla rete di Flavia, brava nell'insistere sul pressing e capace di scavalcare il difensore e battere a rete; la risposta di Alice non si è fatta attendere molto: lanciata a rete da una rimessa laterale di Sofia, Alice ha scavalcato Rose e ha concluso a rete, trovando però la respinta di Allegra, molto reattiva tra i pali. Il rimpallo ha favorito la stessa Alice, che da due passi ha pareggiato i conti. Nel finale qualche brivido su una conclusione dalla distanza di Naomi.
Ottima prestazione di molte giocatrici, soprattutto nella zona di centrocampo, brave a gestire la palla.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Flavia 4, Liva 4, Naomi 4, Alice 3, Carolina F 2, Carolina S 2, Myla 1, Allegra 1.

BOYS FINAL: Real Madrid 2-1 Liverpool

A nervous and frenetic final match saw Real overcome Liverpool to spark christmas celebrations in Madrid.
Thrown by the absence of Santiago in goal, Liverpool started uncertainly and Massimo M capitalised quickly with an early goal. Dylan added a second after 6' and Liverpool now had to chase the game. Klopp's men were unable to impose any pattern however and Cristian's free-kick goal was one of very few chances. Real held on for a deserved victory.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Guillermo 4, Alex 4, Massimo M 3, Augusto 3, Cristian 3, Dylan M 2, Valerio 1, Bernardo 1

Boys' Third Place Final: Milan 1-0 Ajax

This match started late but the teams packed a lot of action into their 10' on the pitch.
Massimo S made two extraordinary saves to deny Nikos and Pietro shot wide more than once. Milan lost Andrea when he was red-carded for a reckless challenge on Sam and Milan finally made teh breakthrough when Paul pounced on William's assist.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Paul 6, Dylan S 5,  Massimo S 4, Pietro 3, Sam 2, Nikos 1

3rd PLACE FINAL: Empoli 2-0 Perugia

L'Empoli batte il Perugia nella finale per il terzo posto dell'Intramural femminile grazie a un gol di Ameli e al raddoppio, allo scadere, di Agata. Entrambi i gol sono scaturiti da incertezze difensive, sulle quali nulla ha potuto Millie tra i pali.
La partita è stata giocata a viso aperto dalle due formazioni, in maniera piuttosto confusionaria, senza grande strategia. Inizialmente il Perugia sembrava poter gestire la partita, con il suo centrocampo solido e fisico, ma il vantaggio siglato da Ameli ha cambiato l'inerzia del gioco, costringendo Giorgia e compagne a recuperare, schiantandosi contro il muro di Yutong, oggi insuperabile a centro difesa.
All'ultimo minuto è arrivata anche la rete di Agata, giunta velocissima su un pallone vagante davanti alla porta e mal gestito dalla retroguardia perugina.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Yutong 4, Ameli 4, Lucy 4, Agata 3, Atena 2, Isabel 1, Giorgia 1, Chanel 1, Linh 1.

SF2 Penalties: Liverpool 5-4 Ajax

Boys' Semi-final 2: Liverpool 1-1 Ajax

Favourites Liverpool were held to a draw by an in-form Ajax and will face a penalty competition tomorrow to decide who will face Real Madrid in next week's final.
A poor game with few clear-cut chances. Valerio confirmed his recent form with another good game in midfield and his was the assist to Cameron for the opening goal.
Patriot played well and his super-long throw-in found Nikos in space for the equaliser.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Cristian 4, Giacomo 3, Pietro 3, Valerio 3, Joel 2, Nikos 2, Sam 2, Cameron 1, Giorgio 1

Boys' Semi-Final 1: Real Madrid 4-2 Milan

Galvanised by the return from injury of Captain Guillermo, Real beat Milan today in the early kick-off and progress to next week's final.
It was Milan who took an early lead when Paul played a lovely one-two with Dylan S before shooting home. Guillermo equalised very quickly and brother Miguel shot Real into a 2-1 lead with a opportunistic strike from inside the penalty area.
Andrea was unlucky to see his shot rebound off the post before Guillermo scored from a free kick to make it 3-1. Dylan S's determination was rewarded with a goal soon after and Milan still had a chance... but Guillermo spotted Massimo S off his line and completed his hat-trick with a fantastic goal, shooting from the edge of his own penalty area!
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Guillermo 5, Paul 3, Dylan S 2, Alex 2, Augusto 2, Francesco 1, Miguel 1, Raffaele 1, Dylan M 1, Massimo S 1, Massimo M 1, Andrea 1

Ajax 2-0 Bayern

Bayern exit the tournament; Ajax march on to the semi-finals where they will face Liverpool.
Nikos scored a good goal early on; Alberto scored a second and they both combined in a beautiful move that saw Alberto's shot rebound off the bar. Giorgio should have added a third and Matia had a good chance at the other end.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Sam 4, Alberto 3, Pietro 3, Giorgio 3, Nikos 2, Joel 2, Ludo 1, Saverio 1, Jonah 1, Cesare 1

Palermo 1-0 Verona

An absorbing contest at Ambrit Stadium today as Palermo's possession-based game was challenged by Verona's quick-breaking style.
Palermo created lots of chances but shots from Alice, Eleonora and Liva were consistently saved by an excellent Allegra. Verona broke frequently and they too got some shots on target, notably from Naomi and Carolina but Myla too was in form: Carolina almost gave Verona the lead when Myla fumbled the ball before recovering to keep it out.
Palermo's winner arrived near the end of the game. Alice dribbled through the Verona defence and squared the ball towards Liva. Allegra got a hand to it but the ball slipped past her and Liva helped it over the line!
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Alice 5, Allegra 3, Naomi 3, Eleonora 3, Liva 2, Sofia 1, Marisa 1, Camila 1, Flavia 1, Carolina S 1


VERONA sill qualify for the final; the finished on equal points with EMPOLI but, in their head-to-head match, Verona were the winners.

GIRLS 3rd place play off: EMPOLI versus PERUGIA
GIRLS FINAL: PALERMO vs VERONA

Milan 4-0 Real Madrid

Despite a fantastic goalkeeping performance from Bernardo, an out-of-form Real was destroyed today by a majestic Milan who race into the semi-finals with confidence.
Dylan's opening and closing goals sandwiched two from captain Paul but both goalkeepers played well too; Massimo S made one great save to stop his namesake from scoring but Bernardo made at least three excellent stops, including one spectacular dive to his right to foil Dylan.
These two teams will meet again in the semi-finals: will Guillermo be fit??
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Dylan S 4, Bernardo 3, Augusto 3, Paul 3, Andrea 2, Adriano 2, Francesco 2, Massimo M 1, Alex 1, Massimo S 1