Serie A Thread - 2014/15 Season

[Jumbo_]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

About Javier Pastore... not only is he very talented, he also seems to have a good head on his shoulders. I heard he chose Palermo over 'the big guns' because he was more interested in growing as a player and getting plenty of game time than moving to a giant and sitting in the reserves with a higher pay packet. You gotta commend a decision like that, hopefully it will do him well in the long run.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

yep jumbo, there's hope

neoexodus, criscito is infact one hell of a youngster, but i guess the next cannavaro's label is a bit of a stretch at the moment. he played as a left back and as a cb, and handled both roles with the same class.
this season at genoa he was the left internal cb in the 3 cbs flat line gasperini lined up... and i believe this is the position that suits best his skills. it's gonna be hard for juve to get him back however, as genoa won't let him leave that easily... juve and genoa will probably find an agreement about his future next season, as, like stefano said, he's gonna stay in genova this year.

Alright ben how are you? been a while since i was on here. Glad to hear you have a ps3, if you start playing fifa add me, my tag is satty1993. cant wait to beat you

sure thing Satty, but i probably won't be much of a challenge for u... infact i'm pretty sure i'm the poorest videogame player in this forum.. u would easily kick the sh** out of me. however as soon as i'll figure out how the whole "online playing" thing works (yes, i'm actually that noob, concerning videogames ), i'll add u (can't see it happening very soon though, as my "ps3 time" is very very limited).

i do agree with u about the ibra-eto'o deal. i mean they're 2 monsters, so it's not like it was a bad deal... but i can't help thinking both teams (inter and barca) could use their current players (ibra for inter and eto'ò for barca) much more than their future players (ibra for barca and eto'ò for inter).
eto'o is absolutely perfect for barca, and even though ibra is one of the very best players in the world, i don't think he could absolve eto's duties better than eto'o himself (but then again, a few times during the season Pep took some weird decisions about eto'ò, like lining him up on the flank, to put messi in the middle... wich was an unforgivable waste of both players's skills).
the thing is barca was about to loose eto'o, as he wanted to wait this contract to expire and leave for free next season..... and ibra, on the other side, didn't wanna stay at inter any longer....
so, from a technical point of view, this deal is not really good, but from a financial point of view is a win-win situation.

oh and i completely agree with u on the maxwell transfer... i mean how stupid are branca and mourinho!?! they sold him for 4 millions!! a player like maxwell... that's even less than what roma payed to get riise, for crying out loud!!!
i'm sorry to repeat this, but the italian top teams have such a poor management. seriously i wouldn't trade branca (inter's team director) for sabatini (his palermo's counterpart).

Also, if ROma sell Aquilani i will personally find spalletti and have to chop that egg off. If one of our most talented players departs ROma are acknowledging that they cant compete at the top in the short term.

the thing is, mate, they actually can't compete at the top level. spalletti has been a wizard in the last few years, giving the fans the illusion roma was almost on par with the european top teams... but roma's balance sheet don't lie.. they're much closer to the likes of genoa and fiorentina than to barca and man utd.
while the top teams keep spending and spending each and every year, roma has to deal with smaller incomes and the sensi family debts. add to that the fact that roma won't even get any champions league related incomes this season, and the result is pretty obvious; they need cash. so they'll have to sell to valuable assets.

however i'm not sure aquilani will be sacrificed (i'd rather say mexes or vucinic). infact the timing couldn't be worse to sell alberto. last season real madrid offered 20 millions for him and roma said "no". while now his price target should be around 18 millions...why? because after another season troubled by injuries, many people are questioning aquilani's real value. yes, he's an amazing purest talent, but what's point in getting an amazing player who spends at least 3 months per season in the injured players list?

besides i'm not really sure about the liverpool speculation. aquilani is not a deep lying playmaker, so he couldn't take alonso's spot. his role is much more similar to gerrard's one.... but of course gerrard is untouchable in liverpool..... and alberto is just too good (and at 18 millions euros, i'd also say too expensive) to be a backup.... besides they also got benayoun, who is nowhere near as good as alberto... but he's already there (no need to pay for him) and he seems to be much more fit than alberto aswell.
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as promised to abou, here's a basic guideline to italians roles, with a brief explanation (just for those roles who don't have a specific english counterpart). i'm writing it in a rush, so our italians friends (stefano or gigi), feel free to fill the blanks that i might be leaving.

portiere - goalkeeper (no explanation needed)
difensore centrale (or centrale difensivo) - cb. there are some internal classifications, according to the main features of the cb (anticipating or standing cb), but i'm quite sure i already talked about that.
terzino - fullback. there used to be another internal classification (terzino fluidificante) but it felt into disuse.
tornante - wingback
centrocampista di fascia - side midfielder

and now the central midfielders... the proper translation of central midfielder would be "centrocampista centrale" . but we don't really refer to central midfielders with that expression, wich is way too vague. so we tend to use a specific word for each type of central midfielder. here they are.
mediano - defensive midfielder. there are 3 types of mediani.
mediano di spinta, who also like to venture foward, from time to time (like diarra or sissoko, for instance)
mediano di rottura, who just take care of the defensive phase of the game and have a specific tackling skill (like gattuso)
and finally mediano di copertura (copertura means coverage), who have a particularly good sense of position (positioning).

regista - deep-lying playmakers... now this english expression is really awful... i'd rather translate it with "orchestra directors" (pirlo, xavi, xabi alonso, just to mention the 3 most famous).

metodista - ther's not a specific translation of this role... probably as there aren't many metodistas outside italy. a metodista is mainly a defensive midfielder (wich is why people often refer to them using the expression "mediano metodista", as if metodista was an adjective to clarify the specific kind of defensive midfielder), with a footballing brain.
the metodistas don't have the flair, the instinct, the vision of a regista, but yet they have an innate "sense of geometry" wich allows them to build the plays, to"create football" and, most important, to dictate the tempo of the plays.
sure u won't see a metodista performing a +30 meters long pass, neither a cracking through ball or a great assist.... but they don't even just sit back and protect the midfield, as a pure mediano.
example: gattuso; arguably the greatest mediano di rottura in his generation... he's pretty much like a "moving wall"... the opponent's attacks tend to bounce off him.
now let's consider cambiasso. fantastic mediano.... but actually he's something more than that; he's a mediano metodista. esteban plays with his "head up".... he doesn't look at the ball, he looks at his teammates (wich is something quite unusual for a pure mediano). he has not the creativity required to be defined as a regista, but still, his above average passing game, combined with his "sense of geometry" allows him to give some structure to the team. his plays, his passes aren't breathetaking, but tidy, neat.
a good metodista is a huge asset to any team, and they usually become the key players of their own team. in italy we have many good and great metodistas (cambiasso, thiago motta, de rossi, cristiano zanetti, palombo, donadel, barone, just to mention a few) but there are also a few great examples outside italy, like senna, toulalan, frings...

then there's the offensive mifielder role. u guys use this expression to refer to every kind of "offensive midfielder"... here in italy we split offensive midfielders into 2 subcategories: trequartista and mezz'ala.

unfortunately i ran out of time now. tomorrow i'll finish this glossary, talking about theese 2 roles and the pure attacking roles (prima punta, torre, seconda punta and ala).

little off topic:
http://forums.evo-web.co.uk/showthread.php?t=53843
any help is appreciated

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Yup very well said about Zamparini!! He is nuts but what he has accomplished also speaks for itself.

Congrats on the Ps3. I bought it a few months back and haven't looked back since. :p Great purchase and I prefer FIFA. So once you get going, I wouldn't mind having a game or two either. Palermo vs. Catania. haha

As for Criscito, I wouldn't personally compare him to Cannavaro either. And not just because that is a hugeeeeeeee tag/label and expectation to put on him.

If Inter have sold Maxwell for only $4M, I'm surprised and disappointed too. He should've cost Barca more.

 

[dutty_nose111]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Sina whats your tag? Bloody hell ben is your hand kiling after that essay

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I've never played online actually. Always with friends here or single player. Where do I find that out? I saw my friends play a few times online but it was a bit laggy.... so if its not like that. I'm down.

 

[Leo Bax]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

If Inter have sold Maxwell for only $4M, I'm surprised and disappointed too. He should've cost Barca more.

yeah

 

[dutty_nose111]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

the thing is, mate, they actually can't compete at the top level. spalletti has been a wizard in the last few years

but the management seem intent on selling a player that i think roma should use to build a successful team around in the years where roma are financially bad. Roma will eventually come out of this finance problem, whether it be buy a takeover or some other means, and they should still have certain assets for when that happens. by that i mean a spine, and i think romas spine should consist of mexes, aquilani, de rossi and vucinic. totti wont be sold, so he is out of question. so if roma kept those four players, and sold good players but not as good - such as perrotta - roma would be able to buy players that aren't quite as good as perrotta yet when they play with de rossi etc, roma would still be competitive because they are still pretty good players - an example would be fiorentina who are buying a few fairly good players with melo's money.

I've never played online actually. Always with friends here or single player. Where do I find that out? I saw my friends play a few times online but it was a bit laggy.... so if its not like that. I'm down.

you create one, when you turn on your ps3 go to network and set up a ps3 account, then with fifa you need to create an ea account as well. it sounds long but it isnt really, and fifa doesnt really suffer much lag thankfully

EDIT: Ben, ive heard a lot about diamanti of livorno. i was wondering whether he was good, whats his potential like , what are his strengths and how does he play?

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

but the management seem intent on selling a player that i think roma should use to build a successful team around in the years where roma are financially bad.......
.....and sold good players but not as good - such as perrotta.....

i certainly see your point satty... but u see, it all depends by how much cash they need to make up for the missing champions league related incomes....
because if we're talking about 10 millions (i doubt it), then selling a player like perrotta would be perfect. u might get from 4 to 6 millions and save about 3 more millions in wages...
but if it's more than that, then the choice is, sell 1 big asset (like aquilani), or sell many players like perrotta (menez, taddei....).

however, as i said, i don't think aquilani will leave... u see his valutation right now is just not fair... because it's heavily effected by his injuries story.
a fit aquilani has the same value of hamsik (wich means nothing short of 25 millions).

as for diamanti, well his story is quite unusual, as he reached serie a a bit "unnoticed"... livorno bought him from some sort of an amateurs club... with all the clubs in europe sending their scouts everywhere around the globe to look for young talents and good bargains, u would tend to believe that's impossible for such a talented kid to slip off this huge global scouting network...
and yet, that's the case of diamanti.
he made a big splash in serie a 2 years ago.... definitely deserved to be mentioned among the rookies of the year (infact i seem to remember each of us regulars here put him into his top rookies ideal starting 11).
he was born as a trequartista, but recently changed his role and became a mezza punta (a mezza punta is something "in-between".... a bit of a supporting striker... a bit of a winger... they can play in a 2 men attack, right behind the cf, or in a 3 men setup moving from the wings).
really really talented, nice touch nice technique, a great shoot.. diamanti means "diamond" in italian... and infact this word kinda suits him, he's an uncut rough diamond... a bit raw, yes, but still much more polished than quaresma and much more consistant than silva... just to make two names everyone knows today.
mancini wanted him at inter... but then he left so the deal broke up.

Congrats on the Ps3. I bought it a few months back and haven't looked back since. :p Great purchase and I prefer FIFA. So once you get going, I wouldn't mind having a game or two either. Palermo vs. Catania. haha

it HAS to be a palermo-catania match!
btw i'm glad to see i'm not the only one who is totally new to the online gaming thing... it's kinda refreshing and makes me feel less "old".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

now, to continue that little italian football dictionary.....where were we

.....then there's the offensive mifielder role. u guys use this expression to refer to every kind of "offensive midfielder"... here in italy we split offensive midfielders into 2 subcategories: trequartista and mezz'ala.....

the trequartista is the typical nr. 10, it's quite easy to find some examples (maradona, zidane, rui costa, totti in his prime). the word trequartista is a bit like quarterback, as it defines the position of the player on the pitch. infact trequartista litterally means "the one who plays on the 3\4 (three quarters or "tre quarti" in italian) of the pitch.
imagine to divide a football pitch in 4 areas. the third one (the trequartista's area) is the one wich goes from right beyond the opponent's midfielders territory to right ahead of the opponent's defensive line.

the whole point of the trequartista is: u try to take advantage of having an extremely talented guy lined up between the lines, so that he can slip off the direct markings.... the midfielders can't take care of him (as he's behind their shoulders) and the cbs can't either, as they have to take care of the fowards\wingers.
so the whole thing works when u have enough space between the 2 lines (midfield and defense) to put someone in between.

now, one of the very best things about british football is that the distance between defence and midfield is always extremely short...the shortest in europe... wich is great. if the italian midfields are all about creativity and positioning, the english midfields are different, they're some sort of a "spring", continuously moving up and down to keep the team compact... this is imo the absolute best feature in english footie.

however since there's no space between midfield and defense, there's no room for a trequartista. Plus the british game is way too fast (and that is not a good feature) to afford a trequartista.
and that's why there's not a single trequartista in the epl... actually there are a few (like deco) but since they're in england, they don't play as trequartistas anymore, so..
you certainly have a lot of offensive midfielders (lampard, gerrard, anderson, nasri, ireland...), but they're all mezz'ali, rather than pure trequartistas.

now the point that guy made in the article neoexodus posted....

The rigid approach of BPL managers over the years has meant that most line-ups have not had a place for a trequartista

...is just completely wrong. it's not like the approach of the managers didn't leave place for trequartistas.... it's the british game itself that demands that rigid approach (and that disallow any sort ot tactical big variation from the 4-4-2).
because the 4-4-2, being the most basic and also balanced (in terms of space coverage) formation, is the only formation that can handle the british game. the more the pace of the game gets faster, the more u need "to keep it simple, basic" (to be fair we witness each year more and more tactical variations from many epl teams... but despite the numbers and formations, as soon as the players start to play, watching the game from the tv from a bird's eye point of view, u can notice those aren't really different formations, but just variation on the main theme: 4-4-2). and that also explains why capello is displaying such a different football from his usual... because (unlike that dude) he's smart and realised that's the best way to pull the best out of england.

so that is why england doesn't like trequartistas and vice versa. i mean, england has a poorest coaches traditions.... and to be brutally honest, compared to an average italian coach, an average english coach is just an amateur... and i'm serious here.....
but we just can't blame english coaches for the lack of tactical sophistication of the british game, as that would be absolutely unfair and wrong.
all in all, that article is FULL of wrong assessments and there's no need to remark them all... i'll just say this:
baggio, iniesta, snejder, banayoun, gerrard... the dude defined them as trequartista...... well, no one of theese players is, was, or will ever be a trequartista... baggio was a supporting striker (seconda punta), while the others are mezz'ali.

mezz'ali: ok this is not gonna be easy to explain, as most of u won't even know this role existed. let's try to make it simple: if u can spot the difference between, say, riquelme and iniesta, then u know what a mezz'ala is.

while a trequartista is an offensive player (something in the middle, between an attacker and a midfielder), the mezz'ala (mezz'ali is the plural) is a proper midfielder. to be precise both kind of players start their actions from the same area (3\4 of the pitch), but the mezz'ali track back much more than the trequartisti (trequartisti is the italian plural of trequartista)... they get involved in the midfield action much more than a pure trequartista.

however, even though, they're more "midfielders" than a trequartista, they're usually much more of an offensive threat than a trequartista itself.
infact, while u can have some great trequartisti who don't really score that often (rui costa was an assistman, rather than a goal scorer), every mezz'ala has in scoring goals one of his main duties.
trequartista's main features are dribbling and first touch passing (not necessarily shooting), while a mezz'ala's main features are timing (for the cut ins and the diagonal moves) positioning and shooting.
they too have usually a great dribbling and passing technique, but they're not as good as a proper trequartista in this department.

they're usually more "practical" and less creative kind of players, compared to proper trequartisti.... and they also don't suffer the high tempo of today's football. and that's why u see much more mezz'ali than trequartisti today in europe (while 20 years ago the situation was very different).
examples of mezz'ali: aquilani, simplicio, lampard, hamsik, iniesta, hleb, anderson, benayoun...... they're all pretty different, but they all have something in common... and that something makes them mezz'ali.

ok enough for today, as i ran out of time... next time i'll finish this dictionary by talking about the proper attacking roles.

 

[Aboutreika18]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Thanks for putting your time and effort into this, Ben.

I heard that Genoa signed Palacio. He could be the perfect foil for Crespo.

 

[Leo Bax]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

nah, Palacio will play WF, IMO they now have very good attackers: Palacio, Crespo, Jankovic, Sculli, Floccari, Palladino and Figueroa

 

[juveboy]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

nah, Palacio will play WF, IMO they now have very good attackers: Palacio, Crespo, Jankovic, Sculli, Floccari, Palladino and Figueroa

That is a very impressive attacking line to say the least, I especially wish Crespo all the best as he was shackled under Mou.

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

you create one, when you turn on your ps3 go to network and set up a ps3 account, then with fifa you need to create an ea account as well. it sounds long but it isnt really, and fifa doesnt really suffer much lag thankfully

Dairyman87 is my ID.

 

[dutty_nose111]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

cool ive added you, just check your messages and accept my request

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

i do agree with u about the ibra-eto'o deal. i mean they're 2 monsters, so it's not like it was a bad deal... but i can't help thinking both teams (inter and barca) could use their current players (ibra for inter and eto'ò for barca) much more than their future players (ibra for barca and eto'ò for inter).
eto'o is absolutely perfect for barca, and even though ibra is one of the very best players in the world, i don't think he could absolve eto's duties better than eto'o himself (but then again, a few times during the season Pep took some weird decisions about eto'ò, like lining him up on the flank, to put messi in the middle... wich was an unforgivable waste of both players's skills).
the thing is barca was about to loose eto'o, as he wanted to wait this contract to expire and leave for free next season..... and ibra, on the other side, didn't wanna stay at inter any longer....
so, from a technical point of view, this deal is not really good, but from a financial point of view is a win-win situation.

I think by playing Messi in the middle and Eto'o on the flanks, Pep was trying to pit Evra vs Eto'o who has similar if not better pace, and Messi against slower defenders who he can out run and out dribble with his amazing agility and feigning skills. You can't really argue with Pep, however amateurish his ideas were, seeing as it was both players who won the game for Barcelona with their goals.

As for the Eto'o/Ibra saga, I think we need a lead striker capable of banging in goals consistently, while Barca needed a lead/towering forward to hold up the ball and pose a threat following crosses and set pieces. Another plus is that Ibra will suite Barca's passing game more so than Eto'o, and Eto'o will bring to Inter much needed pace and penetrative movement in the final 1/3. The only negative is that we lose out on Ibra's creatvity, skill and dribbling. Yet we have both Hleb on loan (maybe) and 40+ million Euros to invest (Cassano perhaps). The only prooblem IMO is that we once again have too many forwards in our squad. Maybe we could send a couple on loan to Milan

oh and i completely agree with u on the maxwell transfer... i mean how stupid are branca and mourinho!?! they sold him for 4 millions!! a player like maxwell... that's even less than what roma payed to get riise, for crying out loud!!!
i'm sorry to repeat this, but the italian top teams have such a poor management. seriously i wouldn't trade branca (inter's team director) for sabatini (his palermo's counterpart).

Don't even get started on Branca and Moratti. I think because they have money they don't have to worry about making cents (sense... get it ). They don;t have to be as careful or cautious with spending compared too more cash-strapped teams, if one player flops, they can always replace him. But to be fair, we did get Maxwell on a free

the thing is, mate, they actually can't compete at the top level. spalletti has been a wizard in the last few years, giving the fans the illusion roma was almost on par with the european top teams... but roma's balance sheet don't lie.. they're much closer to the likes of genoa and fiorentina than to barca and man utd.
while the top teams keep spending and spending each and every year, roma has to deal with smaller incomes and the sensi family debts. add to that the fact that roma won't even get any champions league related incomes this season, and the result is pretty obvious; they need cash. so they'll have to sell to valuable assets.

however i'm not sure aquilani will be sacrificed (i'd rather say mexes or vucinic). infact the timing couldn't be worse to sell alberto. last season real madrid offered 20 millions for him and roma said "no". while now his price target should be around 18 millions...why? because after another season troubled by injuries, many people are questioning aquilani's real value. yes, he's an amazing purest talent, but what's point in getting an amazing player who spends at least 3 months per season in the injured players list?

Good points Lo Zio. When you consider mega-rich clubs like Tottenham, Man City and West Ham struggle to qualify for the Uefa Cup, what Roma has achieved over the last decade is incredible.

But like you said, is it better to sell an injury prone but talented player, or 3/4 fringe players? IMO Roma face a bigger risk by keeping Aquilani because if he were to get injured what would Spalletti do?

I have a question for anyone who will care to answer... where are Napoli and Genoa getting all this money from to spend on transfers??

Oh, and for Milan fans... apparently Dinho is back...

YouTube - Ronaldinho vs Club America Skills 2009-2010

... lets hope so, because even as an Inter fan, a strong and competitive serie a is good for everyone

 

[dutty_nose111]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Was that every one of Ronaldinhos actions in the match? i ask because the vid could be missing some of the bad stuff he may have done. If that was ronnie all match i think milan fans should be happy, in that first minute alone it is clear how good ronaldinho can be. Very exciting if he returns to form

keep watching that 1st free kick - it was just ridiculous!

 

[Neoexodus]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

How many games as AC Milan been conceding goals? They eventually score, yet they always concede goals. Are Milan fans worried about this?

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

From what I've seen in pre-season, Milan are very very slow. The only players that can offer pace are Abate and Pato and they are not playing now.

Starting line-up wise, Still very aging squad. And we haven't solved our defence problem yet.

As Leonardo said a defender and an attacker are needed. It would also be a shame if we let Hernanes slip for our hands. Hope Galliani is planning to spend some cash in August.

 

[bebo]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

oooo http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/jul25p.html

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

oooo http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/jul25p.html

What? This is our 10'th striker target this summer.

I guess Arsenal fans want him out like Adebayor?

 

[juveboy]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I'm really looking forward to the derby this eve, forza milan ;-)

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I'm really looking forward to the derby this eve, forza milan ;-)

Juveboy, are you Milan fan or just an Inter hater? Has to be the latter because I don't any one fan who supports both Milan and Juve (or Inter and Juve for that matter).

Good result in the derby game but our midfield looked slow and predicatable. For ONCE I would like to play for possession. Players like Stankovic should only come on to seal a result... he's a very good counter attacking player. Nevertheless he had a good game. Quaresma actually played decent for once, combining well with Mancini and the midfield, but I would still like to see him leave along with Mancini, Suazo, Obinha and the list goes on. Surprise, surprise we looked more comfortable playing 4-3-1-2... for some reason Mourinho refuses to see this. Good to have alternative formations, thought. Regarding Motta and Milito, the former hasn't impressed me too much, but atleast he passes better than Muntari. Milito has brought much needed forward off-the-ball movement that we have been sorely lacking for many years. Its funny seeing how easily upset he gets when he doesn't get adequate service I think I heard him curse out Balotelli at one point By the way, does anyone have any information on Slovenian midfielder Rene Krhin? It's always good to see youth players come through the ranks and develop. I read an interview he did not long ago and its interesting what he has to say about Ibra: He's very nice but a little different. He doesn't bond with other players. He's a little above them.

I've always had this impression about Ibra. I'm not sure if it's arrogance or aloofness but even when another player would score, he never seemed bothered enough to celebrate or even congratulate the goal scorer. I can't say I'm glad to see the back of him but then I'm not all that bothered. I'd rather have a 'past-his-prime' Zamarano with his 10 goals a season than Ibra with all his tricks and flicks... but then that's just the the type Interesti I am

Now for Milan... what a sorry sorry sight. How the mighty have fallen... and fallen hard and quickly, at that. I should be rejoicing but its so painful to watch . Good news is we're in preseason so Milan can figure out what needs to be done, what areas need addressing and act accordingly. Unfortunately for them, Milan more or less need a complete overhaul, new keeper (IMO Milan deserve better than Abbiati -- either that or they invest in velcro gloves for Abbiati), new RB and LB, 1 one world class midfielder and striker (who can guarantee 20+ goals a season). I am simply baffled as to how Berlusconi can sit where while Milan spiral... he can afford more mistresses but not on younger, upcoming players... ridiculous

Now on to other serie A sides... It looks like D'Ago is staying put, I only hope Di Natale and Inler also remain, Udinese were a very solid team last season, only lacking depth and a quality CF. Napoli and Genoa can't seem to stop signing new players... where do they get the money Boj is back in serie A with Parma, I remember wanting him to join with Inter during his days with Lecce. He was considered more promising than Vucinic at that point... funny how things turn out. Palermo look to have done well with the signing of Pastore... interesting that he opted to sign with Palermo and not a top team (no offence Lo Zio ). He looks like a pure trequartista, always demanding the ball and passing intelligently. Hopefully he will grow and develop fully with Palermo, it would be a shame to see his talent go to waste or die on the bench. Roma haven't made any moves in the transfer market thus far, in fact, they seem more eager to sell rather than strengthen. Hopefully they won't do a 'wenger' and sell their best players to their rivals.

 

[kouroux]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Ronaldinho was horrible against Bayern as was the entire AC Milan team, worrying times ahead for them even if it's still pre-season.They just cannot play with Ronnie and Pato up front, it just won't work

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Now for Milan... what a sorry sorry sight. How the mighty have fallen... and fallen hard and quickly, at that. I should be rejoicing but its so painful to watch . Good news is we're in preseason so Milan can figure out what needs to be done, what areas need addressing and act accordingly. Unfortunately for them, Milan more or less need a complete overhaul, new keeper (IMO Milan deserve better than Abbiati -- either that or they invest in velcro gloves for Abbiati), new RB and LB, 1 one world class midfielder and striker (who can guarantee 20+ goals a season). I am simply baffled as to how Berlusconi can sit where while Milan spiral... he can afford more mistresses but not on younger, upcoming players... ridiculous

NO need to sign new players, we are great as we are and a team of champions Rivaldo is a champion mind as well get him back.

This all will go in the coach's behind. I am starting to realize Ancelotti did the best in what he had, but at least Leo is saying his mind. Also Gattuso said so.

 

[Jumbo_]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

What do you guys think of the chances Zola has of getting Balotelli on loan for next season? Would Inter be prepared to let him go?

I think it could be a good move for him, he'd definitely get game time as Zola has no problem playing youngsters and West Ham are low on forwards right now anyway.

 

[YoungGun_UK]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Would be a great coup for West Ham, Are you sure its a loan deal Jumbo? on the Sky Sports site it sounds like their trying to buy him.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Now for Milan... what a sorry sorry sight. How the mighty have fallen... and fallen hard and quickly, at that. I should be rejoicing but its so painful to watch . Good news is we're in preseason so Milan can figure out what needs to be done, what areas need addressing and act accordingly. Unfortunately for them, Milan more or less need a complete overhaul

i don't think milan needs this right now. i believe the best thing for milan, long term, is to go through a humiliating season.... and when i say "humiliating" i don't mean "not reaching the champions league spot"... i mean "not reaching a europa league qualification spot (wich, comparing milan to the likes of genoa, napoli, roma, samp, udinese, fiorentina and lazio, isn't that unlikely).
after a tragic season, with an empty stadium week in week out, maybe berlusconi will eventually sell.
a new ownership and a new management (there's no point in having a new owner, if galliani stays, of course).
theese are the real weak points of this club.
this ownership already costed milan fans ancelotti, pirlo is now the next on the departures list..... seriously the longer berlusconi stays in charge, the worst it will be for milan fans ...... actually it's kinda funny, u could use this line in a political context (swapping "milan fans" with "italians") and it still makes sense!

however i'm saying this, considering what milan did in the last 3 seasons.... i'm not considering this preseason, as milan's last friendlies results don't mean anything. it's quite evident the rossoneri's legs are way too heavy right now. they still weren't able to begin the athletic preparation program properly, with all theese flights and international (useless but very profitable) friendlies.

milan fans shouldn't concern about theese results... instead they should be worried about the fact that milan is wasting the entire preseason period without going through a real fitness preparation.... if they don't stop travelling and playing and start training as soon as possible (they're already damn late) injuries will rain down this winter.

and once again, who is the one to blame for this?

Napoli and Genoa can't seem to stop signing new players... where do they get the money

well de laurentis (napoli) and preziosi (genoa) are both very rich. and genoa is still using the money they got from inter for milito and motta.
however the most impressive thing is not how much money they're spending (if u compare their money movements to some epl teams, it looks like table scraps). what's really remarkable is how good they are spending their money..... talking about quality managements

Palermo look to have done well with the signing of Pastore... interesting that he opted to sign with Palermo and not a top team (no offence Lo Zio ).

none taken, mate
however i don't think he'll make the starting formation straight away...(even though zenga is quite unpredictable at times).... with simplicio and bresciano already fighting for a spot, it won't be easy for him.... and don't forget that other south american kid we signed last season (hernandez) wich proved to be damn impressive with the primavera (youth team) last season.

as for the balotelli--->west ham move.... a loan seems extremely unlikely to happen to me, let alone a transfer. if i were zola, i wouldn't hold my breathe waiting for balotelli, as i really can't see him going anywhere....
besides, even if mourinho would send mario away on a loan to get more playtime, dozens of serie a clubs (better than west ham) would knock on moratti's door.

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

and once again, who is the one to blame for this?

Leonardo

Rosina to Zenit on the other hand.

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Yah Rosina's gone to Russia and Dick Advocaat is not happy about it saying he's NOT the player Zenit needed and he did everything in his power to prevent it from happening.

He's stepping down as manager soon!

 

[Anis]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

What do you guys think of the chances Zola has of getting Balotelli on loan for next season? Would Inter be prepared to let him go?

I think it could be a good move for him, he'd definitely get game time as Zola has no problem playing youngsters and West Ham are low on forwards right now anyway.
__________________

I don't think so. Inter still needs Mario, the guy would form a great pair with Eto'O. Inter sold/released 3 strikers : Julio Cruz, Crespo and Zlatan but recruited only two : Milito and Eto'O. You can't play a whole season with two strikers. - Supposing that Suazo won't be kept - Even if you play only on the domestic level. Eto'O's is leaving Inter for few weeks (at least 3) in winter to play the African Cup Of Nations, a very sensitive period for European clubs.

Zola is also very interested to bring his former teammate Gudjohnsen to Westham. He knows him very well and appreciates his qualities. The Icelandic guy is looking forward to move back to the PL (where he spent the best of his footballing career) and Westham United sounds like a good option. (PS : The club is owned by an Icelandic company : CB Holdings).

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Leonardo

to be fair it's the club (namely berlusca and galliani) that sets up the club's friendlies schedule.... while the coach is usually the one who moans with the club and asks the president to let him do his preseason training.........
that's quite normal, money are very important in football today, infact most of the clubs have this issue during august.... but what milan is doing this season is just ridiculous..... 25.000 kilometers in 1 week?!! 5 matches already played and we're not talking about silly matches against amateurs team as sparring partners, we're talking about top class teams like bayern and chelsea, wich are even way more fit (epl and bundi start much earlier than serie a so those teams are already close to the end of their fitness programs).... and all of this for a few millions more (5/10)... for fuck sake they already got 65 millions euros for kakà.... and they didn't even spend a cent of those momey, as they didn't buy anyone yet!!! isn't that enough money?.... can't u let your NEW coach spend some time with the team, trying to figure out how he should make them play and allow him to follow a fitness\stamina building schedule?

Yah Rosina's gone to Russia and Dick Advocaat is not happy about it saying he's NOT the player Zenit needed and he did everything in his power to prevent it from happening.

He's stepping down as manager soon!

holy crap! he didn't even face yet a single training session with his new team.... and he's already causing troubles! LOL!

poor rosina, not the best way to begin a new adventure in such a different country... talking about feeling rejected!