Final Pythagorean for 2009-2010 Italian Serie A
Categories: Soccer Pythagorean: Tables
And now, to complete the Pythagorean tables for the top five European leagues. Here is the final table for Serie A:
| Team | GP | GF | GA | Pts | Pythag | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internazionale | 38 | 75 | 34 | 82 | 77 | +5 |
| Roma | 38 | 68 | 41 | 80 | 69 | +11 |
| Milan | 38 | 60 | 39 | 70 | 66 | +4 |
| Sampdoria | 38 | 49 | 41 | 67 | 57 | +10 |
| Palermo | 38 | 59 | 47 | 65 | 60 | +5 |
| Napoli | 38 | 50 | 43 | 59 | 57 | +2 |
| Juventus | 38 | 55 | 56 | 55 | 52 | +3 |
| Parma | 38 | 46 | 51 | 52 | 49 | +3 |
| Genoa | 38 | 57 | 61 | 51 | 50 | +1 |
| Bari | 38 | 49 | 49 | 50 | 52 | -2 |
| Fiorentina | 38 | 48 | 47 | 47 | 52 | -5 |
| Lazio | 38 | 39 | 43 | 46 | 48 | -2 |
| Catania | 38 | 44 | 45 | 45 | 51 | -6 |
| Chievo | 38 | 37 | 42 | 44 | 47 | -3 |
| Udinese | 38 | 54 | 59 | 44 | 49 | -5 |
| Cagliari | 38 | 56 | 58 | 44 | 51 | -7 |
| Bologna | 38 | 42 | 55 | 42 | 43 | -1 |
| Atalanta | 38 | 37 | 53 | 35 | 41 | -6 |
| Siena | 38 | 40 | 67 | 31 | 36 | -5 |
| Livorno | 38 | 27 | 61 | 29 | 29 | 0 |
What an interesting Pythagorean table — the top half of the league is overachieving, and the bottom half is underachieving except for Livorno!
Roma and Sampdoria played well above their statistical expectations, especially Sampdoria when you look at their goals record. When you look at the matches that Sampdoria played, they were a lot of 1-1 draws and 1-0 or 2-1 wins. They scored three goals or more just four times in the season and allowed three goals or more four times. Samp didn't score a lot of goals compared to their peers at the top of the table, but they scored enough at crucial times to win games. At least that's how it appears from their expectations. In the end, Inter were so good that they were able to withstand a strong challenge by Roma this season.
At the other side of the table, Cagliari, Catania, and Atalanta had underachieving seasons. Atalanta would probably have been relegated regardless, but Cagliari's season put them into a lot of trouble near the end. Livorno had the worst scoring offense and the second-worst defense in Serie A, and it's difficult to remain in Serie A with those kinds of statistics.
