The match of the week is obviously the Lazio v. Roma derby. The third best referee in Italy will be in the middle: Daniele Orsato (above). Personally, I like Orsato. Good man manager, solid positioning, all around nice guy. (I actually don’t know that; he could be completely insufferable, for all I know.) I mean, he’s no Nicola Rizzoli, but then,
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The big game this week is undoubtedly Juventus v. Inter on Sunday. Gianluca Rocchi, Italy’s second highest rated ref behind Nicola Rizzoli, will take the helm for that one. Speaking of Rizzoli (above), the band’s back together for Atalanta v. Napoli, with Renato Faverani and Andrea Stefani – his favored assistants and World Cup team – joining him on Sunday.
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Here are the officials for this weekend’s TIM Cup second round of returns. Saturday LAZIO – JUVENTUS MASSA BARBIRATI – MARZALONI IV: DI LIBERATORE ADD1: BERGONZI ADD2: GERVASONI NAPOLI – CHIEVO IRRATI STALLONE – GHIANDAI IV: PETRELLA ADD1: GIACOMELLI ADD2: LA PENNA Sunday CAGLIARI – MILAN DOVERI DE PINTO – SCHENONE IV: GRILLI ADD1: RIZZOLI ADD2: DI BELLO FIORENTINA –
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Here are the referee appointments for January 18 and 19 in Serie A. Nothing terribly exciting. Of the Elite referees, Daniele Orsato takes Chievo-Parma, and Gianluca Rocchi (above) will oversee Udinese-Lazio. Fresh off his not-at-all surprising appointment to the World Cup, Nicola Rizzoli will manage Genoa-Inter. One slightly interesting item, Rizzoli has a new assistant referee team this week. World
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Here are the referee appointments for the weekend of January 11 in the Serie A. Of note: None of Serie A’s “big cats” (Rocchi, Rizzoli, Orsato, Tagliavento, etc.) have a match. They’re all serving as additional officials for other teams. On the other hand, the delicious Marco Guida (above) is officiating (Cagliari v. Juventus), so that’s always a treat. ATALANTA –
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In case you still don’t believe that referees are celebrities in Italy, here’s a 12-photo spread of Nicola Rizzoli getting papped while skiing in Courmayeur. These pictures were taken just a few days before the big Juventus-Roma match on January 5, but he looks as cool as usual. I particularly love the casually opened jacket and stylin’ red boots. If
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PLAY THE ADVANTAGE 