And here we go, Serie A is back and it was quite an interesting first week especially for the debutants, some of them who made a stunning start for their new adventure like Pippo Inzaghi , while others got rather a harsh welcoming to Italian football like what Nemanja Vidic had! Let’s take a look at the very first team of the round:
Rafael Cabral (Napoli): Heroic first half performance that saw him deny Pinilla & co. on multiple occasions to keep his team alive & able to win eventually at the last gasp.
Kamil Glik (Torino): Won his fierce battle with Mauro Icardi and totally blocked any threat by the Inter attack, also came out winner in all the aerial duels with Vidic in set pieces.
Rafael Marquez (Verona): Good debut for the veteran Mexican in Calcio, put a rather calm and experienced performance in his team scoreless draw away to Atalanta.
Daniele Gastaldello (Sampdoria): The experienced captain came to the rescue for the Doriani with a last minute equalizer against a stubborn Palermo side. His defensive contributions were top notch too as he managed to deal well with the threat of the Scilians.
Radja Nainggolan (AS Roma): Scoring a goal and assisting the other with a delightful ball to Gervinho, you couldn’t ask for any more from him as he put in a perfect showing in an impressive night for the Giallorossi at the Olimpico.
Nigel De Jong (AC Milan): Continued from where he left in Brazil with the Dutch national team, marshaling the midfield well for Inzaghi’s team and leaving no space for any counterattacks for the Laziali.
Emanuelle Cascione (Cesena): The ex-Pescara midfield played a pivotal role in Cesena’s remarkable win against Parma, as he was all over the field for the “Sea horses” and contributed well in both ends of the pitch.
Kingsley Koman (Juventus): Another player who had an impressive debut, the 18 year old French looked comfortable in his first official showing for the Bianconerri & linked well with Tevez upfront. a new Pogba in the making?
Jeremy Menez (AC Milan): deployed in a “false nine” position, the ex-Roma winger gave all sorts of trouble to Lazio’s backline, making Stefan De Vrij look like an amateur all game long. Bentornato Jeremy!
Mauricio Pinilla (Genoa): Didn’t deserve to be on the losing side as he put quite an impressive performance in his debut for Genoa, despite scoring, it was still not enough to even earn a draw for the “Grifoni”.
Antonio Di Natale (Udinese): As wine, the older the better “Tuto” gets, opened his season with a double and showed he’s still got more to give to this new and improved Udinese side.
Honorable mentions :
Miralem Pjanic (AS Roma), Samir Handanovic & Hernanes (Inter), Darmian (Torino), Allan (Udinese) , Jonathan De Guzman (Napoli) & Pablo Dybala (Palermo).