“Before a ball was kicked in the Serie A season, the national coach, Marcello Lippi, expressed the wish that the Italian league would make the world sit up and notice its quality before the World Cup in 2010. Maybe it will. But it might not be the Italians doing it. The eye-catching performances in AC Milan’s 2-1 victory in Siena on Saturday night were Alexandre Pato and Ronaldinho in the attack and Alessandro Nesta and Thiago Silva in defense. Three of the four are Brazilians who are hoping the Italian league makes their national coach, Carlos Dunga, sit up and notice them.” (NYT)