The2007–08 Serie A (known as theSerie ATIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 106th season of top-tier Italianfootball, the 76th in around-robin tournament. It started on 25 August 2007 and ended on 18 May 2008.[1]Internazionale Milano successfully defended the championship on the final day of the season, finishing first with 85 points, three ahead ofRoma.
Inquiries are being conducted by theCO.VI.SOC. (Italian football's financial watchdogs) into the finances of four Serie A clubs (Internazionale,Milan,Sampdoria, andReggina) who stand accused of falsely inflating player values — a practice known asplusvalenze in Italian — in order to qualify financially for the2005–06 Serie A. If the allegations prove true, penalties could range from fines to point deductions, relegation to Serie B, and even the stripping of Internazionale's 2005-06scudetto, which was stripped fromJuventus as a result of theCalciopoli scandal before being awarded to Internazionale.[2]
On the morning of 11 November 2007 26-year-oldLazio fanGabriele Sandri, aDJ from Rome, was killed by a shot in his neck while sitting inside a car,[3] by a policeman, after some other fans of Lazio violently assaulted a group ofJuventus ultras with stones on theA1 Motorway service station of Badia al Pino inArezzo.[4] Early reports suggested that astray bullet from a gun, set to distract the group ofultras, hit the Lazio fan in the neck as he sat in a car and killed him.[4] An emergency meeting set up betweenLega Calcio presidentAntonio Matarrese and police chief Antonio Manganelli decided that the game betweenInter and Lazio would be called off, but the rest of the fixtures would go ahead that day, starting at a slightly later time (about 10 minutes later).[5] The Atalanta–Milan game was eventually suspended following unrest caused by local ultras attempting to break off the protection glass in order to invade the pitch and stop the match. Later in the afternoon, the Italian Football Federation chose to postpone also the game between AS Roma and Cagliari, whose kick off was scheduled for 8:30 pm atStadio Olimpico, Rome. However, this did not prevent violent riots, as hundreds of armed hooligans attacked a police barracks and the CONI (Italian Olympic National Committee) headquarters in Rome.[6]
Though Sandri's death was later held by some to have been caused by a tragic error by a policeman who claimed his gun went off as he was running.[7] Prosecutors then opted initially to open an inquiry into manslaughter against the policeman,[8] nevertheless the initial hearing held that Sandri's death was culpable homicide, and the policeman involved (Luigi Spaccarotella) was condemned to 6 years imprisonment. On appeal, the higher court not only confirmed this judgment, but increased the punishment to 9 years and 4 months as an element of intentionality was found.[9]
The championship was decided in the final week, asInter, who managed to secure even an 11-point advantage to rivalsRoma in mid-season, lost almost all of it in the final weeks, maintaining only a one-point advantage with only one match to play. In the final week, both Inter and Roma were scheduled to play away matches opposed to relegation-battling sides, respectivelyParma andCatania. Both matches were successively forbidden to be attended by Inter and Roma fans. In the end, Inter secured thescudetto with a 2–0 win, with both goals being scored in the second half byZlatan Ibrahimović, who recovered from a long-term injury in time to play the game, whereas Roma only managed to achieve a 1–1 draw atStadio Angelo Massimino againstWalter Zenga's Catania, a result which allowed the Sicilian side to escape relegation at the expense ofEmpoli and Parma.
Cagliari: on November 13 Cagliari chairmanMassimo Cellino sackedMarco Giampaolo and replaced him with veteran coachNedo Sonetti, who already served twice with therossoblu before this new appointment.[14][15] On December 19 Sonetti tendered his resignation, after he managed to achieve only one point in three matches in charge, and Cellino called Giampaolo to serve again asrossoblu head coach.[51] However, Giampaolo, still linked to Cagliari by a contract, turned down the opportunity to return.[52] The next day, the club announced that it had rejected Sonetti's resignation.[53] Sonetti was ultimately sacked only a few days later, on December 27, following a crushing 5–1 loss to Fiorentina, and replaced byDavide Ballardini, who served as Cagliari head coach in the early weeks of the2005–06 season.[16]
Catania: on June 3, 2007Silvio Baldini was announced as new head coach.[17] The team initially enjoyed a good shape, notably gaining a spot in theCoppa Italia semi-finals, but lost position with time, being in 16th place as of Week 31, only three points ahead of last-placed Empoli, convincing Baldini to leave the club with mutual consent on March 31, 2008.[18] He was replaced the next day byWalter Zenga, former head coach ofRed Star Belgrade andSteaua București, at his first coaching experience with a Serie A team.[19]
Empoli: on November 26, 2007 the Tuscan side chose to sackLuigi Cagni, who achieved only ten points in fourteen matches (18th place in the league table) and failed to win the2007–08 UEFA Cup first round, replacing him withAlberto Malesani.[21] On March 31, 2008, after a 2–0 home loss toSampdoria which left Empoli alone in last place, the board decided to sack Malesani, reinstalling Cagni in charge.[22]
Livorno: on October 9, 2007Fernando Orsi was sacked following a string of poor results that brought the team down to bottom place in the league with two points and no win after seven games.[28] The position was then filled byGiancarlo Camolese the next day.[29] Camolese initially managed to improve Livorno's performances; however in the final part of the season Livorno entered into a deep result crisis that led them down to the league bottom, with three matches remaining, and Camolese being ultimately sacked on April 28, 2008, with Orsi re-appointed back at the helm of theamaranto.[30]
Palermo: on June 7, 2007Stefano Colantuono ofAtalanta was announced to be the nextrosanero boss for the 2007-08 season.[33] However, on November 26 Colantuono was sacked following a 5–0 defeat toJuventus, and club chairmanMaurizio Zamparini appointedFrancesco Guidolin as his replacement, inaugurating a fourth spell with Palermo for the tactician.[34] However, results did not improve under Guidolin, and three consecutive losses, followed by some controversial post-match comments in a 2–3 home loss toGenoa on March 22, 2008 led Zamparini to re-appoint Colantuono at the helm of therosanero on March 24.[35]
Parma: on June 12, 2007Domenico Di Carlo was announced as new boss following the departure ofClaudio Ranieri.[36] However, as Parma struggled to keep themselves off the relegation battle, Di Carlo was sacked on March 10, 2008 following a 1–2 home defeat toSampdoria.[37] The next day the club announced to have appointedHéctor Cúper as new head coach.[38] TheArgentine boss did not manage to improve results, with Parma finding themselves in 18th place with only one remaining match to be played at home against first-placed Internazionale, only two points behind the last Serie A spot. On May 12 Parma chairmanTommaso Ghirardi then surprisingly announced to have sacked Cúper, replacing him with youth team coachAndrea Manzo for the final league matchday in a desperate attempt to escape relegation.[39]
Reggina: on June 23, 2007 news reports announcedMassimo Ficcadenti as new boss following the departure ofWalter Mazzarri.[54] However, on June 27 Verona announced they were not giving Ficcadenti permission to leave the club and move to Reggina.[55][56] On July 1, Reggina finally announced on their website to have appointed Ficcadenti as coach, after he successfully rescinded his contract with Verona.[40] Ficcadenti was however sacked on November 1, following a 3–1 home loss to last-placedLivorno and no wins in the first ten league days,[41] and veteran coachRenzo Ulivieri was appointed to replace him.[42] However, on March 3, 2008 the club management decided to dismiss Ulivieri from his post following a 0–0 home draw to Palermo, as Reggina was filling the 19th place with 22 points, and replaced him with team scout and former youth team coachNevio Orlandi.[43]
Siena: on June 12, 2007Andrea Mandorlini was confirmed new head coach following separation by mutual consent between the club and its bossMario Beretta.[46][57] However Mandorlini was sacked on November 12, after a 2–3 home loss toLivorno which left the team in last place, and Beretta accepted to return at Siena.[47]
Torino: on June 6, 2007 formerSampdoria bossWalter Novellino was announced head coach for the new season, replacingGianni De Biasi.[48] On April 16, 2008, following a string of disappointing results that left thegranata only four points ahead the relegation zone, leading to heavy criticisms from the supporting fanbase, Torino presidentUrbano Cairo chose to sack Novellino and reappoint De Biasi, a fan favourite, as head coach.[49]
Udinese: on June 5, 2007 formerCatania bossPasquale Marino was officially unveiled as new head coach.[50]