Serie A Thread - 2014/15 Season

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

so u're basically saying Ernestito must be mental....


that's exactly what i thought, reading your post, buddy. the siena game (the one i posted weeeks ago) definitely was a stand out performance... but nesta has been in "nesta-mode" all season long so far.... so i went on utube and looked for nesta related videos uploaded in the last month....
and i found out that the same guy who made the siena game video, uploaded a specific video for each nesta game. exactly as for the video i posted before, theese videos aren't compilations, they don't show plays from multiple different matches.... each video shows what nesta did in that match only. ( ).
each vid is about 2 mins lenght, except the first one wich is 5 mins. knock yourself out Sina, u're gonna love this

nesta vs chievo (2 days ago)
YouTube - Nesta Vs. Chievo - 25/10/2009
nesta vs real madrid (6 days ago)
YouTube - Nesta Vs. Real Madrid - 21/10/2009
nesta vs. atalanta (2 weeks ago - last game before the national teams week)
YouTube - Nesta Vs. Atalanta - 4/10/2009
nesta vs bari (4 weeks ago)
YouTube - Nesta Vs. Bari - 27/9/2009
nesta vs udinese (5 weeks ago)
YouTube - Nesta Vs. Udinese - 23/9/2009
nesta vs bologna (5 weeks and a half ago - 3 days before the udinese game)
YouTube - Nesta Vs. Bologna - 20/9/2009
and finally nesta vs marseille (6 weeks ago)
YouTube - Nesta Vs. Marseille - 15/9/2009
i guess that'll do it

so, if buffon (as Sina established a few weeks ago) is superman and pirlo is michelangelo.... who the hell is nesta?

Thanks! I did love it!

Alessandro Nesta ​

He perfectly portrays what I like to call The Art of defending!

He's always 3 steps ahead of the game. His anticipation is crazy!! Must be a very smart man. Sometimes I wish we knew footballers' IQ levels lol. With some players, you just KNOW they're smart! He's one of them for sure. Of course it's about the training he received as a youngster and so many other factors but intelligence is definitely there! Very decisive! Great marking, tackling, covering, strong in the air, good speed, and in his case even good technique, vision and passing which is so many defenders' weak areas.

He humbled Karim Benzema lol and I think Niang got the better of him only once when he burst past him with speed which forced Nesta to bring him down and make a 'professional' foul.

Obviously, he's even been contributing to Milan's attack with the beautiful assist to Ronnie for the equalizer against Atalanta and scoring 2 late goals to break Chievo's hearts away from home!

But what I love most is how so many times, when he's cutting out those dangerous balls from the opposition with a cool confident decisive interception or tackle or header, Milan not only gain but RETAIN possession because his CLEARANCES go to a team-mate! So he not only reads the attack well and stops it which is the main part and more than good enough and a true blessing BUT a lot of times he flicks it with a header to a team-mate as a pass making it look SO EASY. He makes a pass out of it and then Milan start an attack where as 2 seconds before they looked in BIG trouble and were exposed at the back! lol

What a bastard!! If I were one of those strikers, I'd just kick him at the beginning of the game real hard hoping he gets injured and significantly increase my chances of getting on the score-sheet and our team winning.

-------------------------------

EDIT:

p.s. Totally unrelated but seeing Chievo game and Giampiero Pinzi scoring, I remembered how 6-7 years ago, when he was a very young player for Udinese in center of midfield, I always thought this kid has the potential to become very good. Now I don't know if I was wrong or if for one reason or another, he never improved to the levels I thought he could...

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

He's always 3 steps ahead of the game. His anticipation is crazy!!

yeah... what really cracks me up his the way he anticipates the game, the confidence he shows is just unreal. i mean every time u see a cb cutting in for a diagonal move, u can always clearely see their "uncertainty".... and that's obvious, because this is how u HAVE to feel when u make a diagonal cut on the line; u are leaving what IS the spot u're meant to be, because u believe that in 2/3 seconds the evolution of the play is gonna make u completely useless in that position..... so u head to another position wich is completely unrelated to the current state of the play (hence absolutely wrong for anyone who can't "see the future").... and yet u do it, coz u believe that in a couple of seconds that's gonna be the right place to be, and u know that if u don't obey to your instinct right now... in 2 seconds it'll be too late.
all the top cbs in europe have a good anticipation of the game.... but no one ever does a diagonal cut so quickly as nesta.... and that's because u just can't run at full throttle in such a situation.... u're doing something that, at the current state of the play is just completely wrong.... your cb partner is probably yelling at u "where the fuck are u going now?!!".... u still do it coz u have faith in your instinct.... but u can't just throw yourself into that spot... u'll never run as if u were absolutely sure of what u're doing.... still that's what nesta does....
he doesn't run as a man who "has a feeling"... he runs as a man "who knows" what's going to happen.... and he does it every fu**ing time. it's just ridiculous.
the only cb i've ever seen with such a tremendous anticipation sense is cannavaro..... yet cannavaro has not that "god-like" ability to read the play.... sometimes he makes a mistake and gets completely cut off the play.... he's "human" to make it simple.
besides, cannavaro, as any other world class cb, has some strenghts but also some weaknesses.... what's most unnatural about nesta is that his game has just no flaws...
positioning? world class.
timing? world class.
tackling technique? world class.
vision (reading the play)? world class.
heading? world class.
break at midfield? more than world class. legendary.
balance? world class.
reflexes? world class
pace? awesome for such a tall guy.
agility and ball control? well just watch the video of the bologna game (0:27 seconds) and tell me if u've ever seen a 187 cm tall centerback doing something like that.

and then he has something even more important than all theese features put together. he has the mental edge over the opponents... cbs never have this psicologic advantage.... they can't because they're not the ones in possession of the ball. a defender always begins his action at a disadvantage..... the opponent has the ball and he's going to look for a scoring chance.... if u're gonna get the ball from him... that will be seen as a scoring chance wasted... wich is a missed opportunity, but not a clear mistake..... if u don't manage to stop him instead, that'll be seen as a mistake. let me make it simple:
if the attacker doesn't manage to score.... then he didn't succeed.
if the defender doesn't stop him..... he fails.
there's a huge difference. the defender is the one who has everything to loose and this psicological state obviously effects his performance, undermine his confidence and gives the attacker a mental edge over him. and even if that defender has world class reflexes, that psicological state is gonna effect his decision making.... and that's gonna make him react with the wrong timing.
with nesta instead it's the opposite. it's the attacker the one who is worried... he just can't see himself going past nesta.... while alessandro is always absolutely, unnaturally confident. his decision making isn't effected at all by the situation. if he thinks it's worthy to take a risk, then he will literally throw himself into that risky situation, with no hesitations.

just take a look at the chievo match video (1 min 20 secs). pelissier gets rid of his only marker and heads to the box. he's already running and already has a 1 meter advantage over nesta... it's not even worth trying, why bothering? even if u could catch up with him and put yourself in front of him before he will reach the box (wich would already be an amazing feat).... what then? after a 40 meters full throttle chase, u will be completely out of oxygen.... u will never have the coolness, the lucidity to take the right position.
well not only he catched up with him.... not only he was able to slow him down by taking the right position to close his shooting angle.... he tackled him!
in a 1 on 1 situation, inside the box, after a 40 meters run, he had the ability to "see" the window for a sliding tacke and the guts to perform it!!! and with the right timing too!!!
he's not afraid of pelissier, even though he knows that a sliding tackle is exactly the one very thing u don't have to do in such a situation (coz if u miss the timing..... wich is very likely after such a chase... u will find yourself with your butt on the grass and pelissier will be alone in front of the keeper)... he doesn't give a damn.
u already saved an almost unsaveable situation; u reached him before he could shot, u closed his shooting angle and slowed him down.... anybody else would have just hold the position waiting for backups (there's a teammate who is just about to come and help nesta)..... and yet he didn't... he focused on pelissier's legs movement, waited for the opening and reacted as soon as he saw it.
this is beyond "world class"... this is insane.

baggio once said something very appropriate. "when i'm attacking, i'm always confident i'm gonna get the scoring chance i'm looking for... it's always like that with attacking players... we have the ball, we are in control...it's up to the defenders to overturn the situation and get in control.. we always have an advantage over them..... but with baresi it's different. when u're about to face him, u don't feel confident, coz u feel he will most likely stop u, so u don't go for it thinking to yourself "ok try to stop me now if u can".... u think to yourself "please not this time... make a mistake this time".
i think that applies to nesta aswell

What a bastard!! If I were one of those strikers, I'd just kick him at the beginning of the game real hard hoping he gets injured and significantly increase my chances of getting on the score-sheet and our team winning.

lol! yesterday, during the game against napoli, he got injured... well as soon as he asked for the substitution, mazzarri (new napoli coach) rejoiced, as if napoli scored ... wich, btw, is exactly what happened once nesta was subbed
-----------------------------------------------------------------

i feel the same about pinzi, Sina.... i always had the feeling he would have eventually made it to the big stage... he never completely fulfilled his potential.... anyhow he still remains a good player.
----------------------------------------------------------------

absolutely stunning matchday yesterday. napoli-milan and fiorentina-genoa were simply awesome.... on the same level of that crazy genoa-napoli of a couple of weeks ago.
if u guys can get a re-run of the match on tv, don't miss them!
great performance by juve too

cigarini's goal
YouTube - Napoli 1-2 Milan:Cigarini
palladino's goal
YouTube - Waht a goal !!!! ( Palladino )

 

[Ernestito]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

livorno is getting better (at least at the table). the win yesterday against atalanta at home was of huge importance especially when you remind that inter is coming to armando picchi on sunday. thanks to atalanta's goalkeeper btw.

napoli-milan was great too, seeing denis get himself on the scoresheet made me happy. he is a great striker and would be a regular first-team player in every other serie a team (except the 4-5 top clubs). not to forget cigarinis volley, amazing.

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

phew!!

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

phew!!

that's what happens when 2 teams with absolutely no tactical discipline play each others.... it's like amateurs boxing. professionals check out their opponent, study each other moves to prevent their attacks and counter.... amateurs instead, just keep ruthlessly banging on each others until one of em falls on the ground unconscious.....

playing in san siro with a 3 men defensive line.... with a midfielder lined up as a defender... and a 20 years old rookie (that poor melinte kid), who never played a serie a match before, who was supposed to deal with the entire inter right flank (both maicon and balotelli) just by himself?!?!..... oh come on... even an amateur coach wouldn't make so many stupid mistakes in one single match.

i'm sorry, but like i said many times before, zenga is really a nice guy, but as a coach, he's just no serie a material (neither serie b material)....... and the same goes for mourinho... i mean did u hear his post match interview? "this was a nice match very entertaining, congrats to zenga for his guys performance.... too bad not many teams in serie a have the bravery to play such an offensive football".... and here i thought zenga and mourinho were the 2 only conservative coaches in serie a!!! what a clueless idiot i am
go back to england u fool, enjoy yourself (and boost your ego), measuring your "great coaching skills" against "genius" like moyes, redknapp, allardyce, megson, bruce, brown, coyle and maccarthy (no disrespect to our english regulars here )...... here in italy the quality of a match isn't measured by the amount of goals, but by the actual quality of the football. if entertainement were all about high scores we would all be basketball fans and not football fans...... and u wouldn't get 11 millions per year, u idiot overrated narcissist.

rant over. nice win rfu
edit; not being sarcastic here rfu. i really mean it. congrats

second edit:
and btw, where the hell did that pink shirt\pink shorts\pink socks kit came from!! they looked like drag queens in teens pyjamas FFS!!

Spoiler

 

[Dominic]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Juve's performance was the performance of the matchday for sure... Was a long time coming..

 

[Leo Bax]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

zio the bad news about pink kit is they already wore it another time (against Parma), so maybe in future they can do it again....

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

i'm sorry, but like i said many times before, zenga is really a nice guy, but as a coach, he's just no serie a material (neither serie b material)....... and the same goes for mourinho...

I was expecting you to be full of praise for Zenga but oh well Didn't that 3-man defensive line work against Juve (and ever since then, if I'm not mistaken, Palermo only reverted to their usual 4-4-2 against Inter)? Problem was Giulio Migliaccio was played out wide of the 3 man defence, really there was no choice because if he played centrally Eto'o would have destroyed him also And let us not forget Migliaccio is hardly experienced as a CB (and wasn't this Melinte 4th or 5th professional game??). Balotelli had a great game, used his body well in dribbling shielding the ball and managed to outpace the Palermo defence on many occasions. Zenga can't be blamed for this, Balo on his day is usually a handful for any centerback. But I think Zenga did extremely well in the 2nd half, changing the shape of the team, moving Cavani further back (remember I said thank God for Cavani, he missed a sitter in 1st half ), bringing in Hernandez. Such an attacking stance wouldn't have worked in the 1st half because Inter would have carved Palermo open (ask Genoa ). And what was it Zenga said to his team during the half term break

Anyway, I think we just completely switched off in the 2nd half and Cordoba and then Santon had a game to forget really. All in all I don't think there was a total lack of tactical discipline, just a lot of individual mistakes. But I really think Zenga would've been kicking himself if Palermo managed a win. Inter fans applaud the guy before the game, why would he fuck us over like this and week before our must win champions league match vs Kiev. It was quite the game and Palermo really had us on the ropes. Really, its quite the rollercoaster ride with Inter, I don't think I've had a good nights sleep for quite a while.

go back to england u fool, enjoy yourself (and boost your ego), measuring your "great coaching skills" against "genius" like moyes, redknapp, allardyce, megson, bruce, brown, coyle and maccarthy (no disrespect to our english regulars here )......

ha ha, nice. But I think sometimes its more important to have good manager and strong communicator who can get through to the players. Depends on the team but look at Pellegrini. IMO Harry Redknapp has done a good jump at Spurs so far.

here in italy the quality of a match isn't measured by the amount of goals, but by the actual quality of the football. if entertainement were all about high scores we would all be basketball fans and not football fans...... and u wouldn't get 11 millions per year, u idiot overrated narcissist.

Mou might not be at his strongest in terms of coaching, call him overrated but he has quite the record. Don't forget, Mou is paid to win, not to coach Anyone catch his gun/syringe to the arm after Milito's goal? What was that about?

rant over. nice win rfu
edit; not being sarcastic here rfu. i really mean it. congrats

Yeah yeah My money is still on Palermo making a 5/6th place finish.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I was expecting you to be full of praise for Zenga but oh well

there was really nothing to praise zenga for, mate. absolutely nothing. obviously i was not expecting us to get a result against inter in san siro... and i'm perfectly aware the situation was very tricky for zenga, having to field a starting 11 without the likes of liverani, balzaretti and bovo........ but i did expect him not to mess up things even more with some very questionable calls (like lining up a rookie who had never played a match for palermo before.... against maicon!).
as for the second half adjustments... there's a saying in italy... "if they compliment u for the great adjustments u did in the half time.... that means u messed up the starting formation in the first place".
besides his tactical adjustments weren't the key factor in our "almost" comeback. those 3 goals of us were due to inter's switch off (as u correctly remarked) and to the fact that our players's pride couldn't stand such an humiliation.... it was a matter of indvidual effort\lack of effort.... not a tactical matter.

Mou might not be at his strongest in terms of coaching, call him overrated but he has quite the record. Don't forget, Mou is paid to win

i'm afraid, no. a coach is paid to "coach". the teams win the matches.... a coach's job is to guide the team.... but it's not the coach that wins matches with the help of his players... it's the opposite. the players are the ones who win matches with their coaches help (and sometimes even without, like in inter's case ).
and as for mourinho's remarkable record..... he coached porto in liga sagres, chelsea in premiership and inter in serie a.... even a monkey would have quite a record in theese conditions.
have him guiding a mid class team, or even a runner-up team.... actually, have him coach any possible team except the strongest team in the league (by far) for once....... and let's see how he delivers without plenty of world class players in every role!

But I think sometimes its more important to have good manager and strong communicator who can get through to the players.

sometimes it is indeed. infact i'm pretty sure someone already made this point in this thread (it was Gerd i believe) and i agreed with it.
but, once established u're a great comunicator with absolutely no clue about the game itself (zeman's words ), then u should at least avoid to lecture other coaches about tactics (coz to be brutally honest, EVERY coach in this league - except zenga - could educate mourinho about tactics).

besides is it too much to expect a bit of consistency? i mean, one day he keeps raving about the huge tactical sophistication of the league, about the enourmous gap between serie a and premiersip in terms of coaches quality....he keeps labelling as genious every single coach he faces, from mazzarri, to gasperini, from allegri to giampaolo... and then the day after, he pretends we all forgot what he said and says the very opposite? com'on!

Yeah yeah My money is still on Palermo making a 5/6th place finish.

in your dreams buddy..... actually not... in MY dreams .... anyway it's just not going to happen.... have u seen the fiorentina-genoa game 2 days ago? good Lord those are top notch coaches!! it was like watching "footballing porn". it was that good. a "football nerd" would masturbate in front on the tv, watching those teams playing.
there's just no way we can finish above those teams.... not without ballardini in charge at least

zio the bad news about pink kit is they already wore it another time (against Parma), so maybe in future they can do it again....

that pic just goes to show what a terrible supporter i am.... i didn't even notice that was not the first time we were wearing that kit (now that i think about it, i believe i didn't watch our match against parma)

The second one is Heavy Cross by the Gossip.

i guess u mean the first one (wich i don't know)... the second one is definitely "con te partirò"..... it's a cover of the original wonderful bocelli's song. and i still wonder how a bunch of kids did dare to make a cover of a bocelli's song it's not even good to listen.... the comparison with bocelli's performance is just embarassing.

 

[gerd]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I agree with you Ben, i would like to see Mourinho the likes of Hull, Stoke, Sienna, Atalanta, Livorno...
On the other hand, winning the CL with Porto was a big achievement.
I always had the same doubts about Johan Cruijff (and i lover Cruijff as a person), he was outstanding with one of the best ever barcelona teams...he never coached weak teams...

If i would be a coach (thank god i'm not)...i would prefer weaker sides, the challenge is bigger.

PS: come to think of it, i still coach my son's youth team...and i'm something of a success coach, they won all their matches. 'Worst' performance: a 0-9 win.

PPS: i will repete my question from a while ago, can somebody talk to me about Omar Milanetto...what kind of player is he ?

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

and yes, if zanetti will stay fit (wich to be honest is a huge "if"), for 2 million euros, he will definitely be the best market move of the season.... in europe.... and by a huge gap...... and when u add to that they also managed to sell melo for +20 millions....

Also Sneijder and Eto'o if he manages 18+ goals.

anyhow rfu, i wouldn't say he had no natural talent at the beginning of his carreer (at all). he began as a very promising metodista... and he ended up being one of the very best metodistas in the world.... problem is his recent injury record makes it hard to even call him a football player (and that's a real shame).

Still, a joy to watch.

really? coz it didn't make things clearer to me....

To me it shows that the regista holds on to the ball for a moment while his team mates move around him. So he dictates the tempo of the game either by releasing the ball early or dawdling on the ball a moment and waiting for spraying a pass. At least thats my interpretation.

but i did expect him not to mess up things even more with some very questionable calls (like lining up a rookie who had never played a match for palermo before....against maicon!).

what was the alternative? It's not like he had the likes of Bochetti, Criscito or Modesto to choose from. It's Balzaretti or no one. But I agree with you when you say "if they compliment u for the great adjustments u did in the half time.... that means u messed up the starting formation in the first place"... but still Palermo were 4-0 down after 45 minutes and Zenga acted. It's not like when were 3-1 down vs Roma in the Coppa after 45 minutes (won 4-3 after extra time), or when we were down 2-0 vs Samp with less 10 minutes left (went on to win 3-2, what a game .). Those were down to individual effort and pride. With yesterdays game, things immediately changed once the Palermo players stepped on the field for the 2nd half, and Zenga deserves a lot of credit for that, for instilling that belief and fight in his players. We saw what happened when Genoa pushed forward against us, we punished them on the counter. Palermo managed to push forward, press and not leave gaping holes in the back.

have him guiding a mid class team, or even a runner-up team....

Porto were a mid class team in the champions league and Chelsea were a runner up team when he was appointed. In anycase, you make it sound like its easy coaching/managing a group of superstars. I admire Spalletti, Prandelli and Gasperini, but I doubt they would last long at Inter with our cry-baby players.

there's just no way we can finish above those teams.... not without ballardini in charge at least

Ha, I bet Ballardini would love to jump ship and return to Palermo right about now what a torrid time he's having. I wasn't counting on Fiorentina or Genoa finishing below Palermo, but Roma, Udinese and Milan (I'm not expecting Nesta to last much longer, in fact isn't he injured right now?).

If i would be a coach (thank god i'm not)...i would prefer weaker sides, the challenge is bigger.

Depends on what you're playing for. Cagliari are playing for a top 10 finish, Inter 1st place, champions league and coppa.

PS: come to think of it, i still coach my son's youth team...and i'm something of a success coach, they won all their matches. 'Worst' performance: a 0-9 win.

Ha, our worst performance was 15-1 LOSS what age do you coach? how many a side? Maybe you can give me a few pointers.

PPS: i will repete my question from a while ago, can somebody talk to me about Omar Milanetto...what kind of player is he ?

He's an all rounder, defends and attacks in equal measure, he's full of effort and energy, has good passing (both in the ground air) and decent vision. Scored a great goal vs Inter that was disallowed. He ran onto a through ball and back heeled in the air with his back to goal. He's not particularly quick, or strong on the ball, dribbling is so-so, heading is non-existent. He's very similar to Juric, in fact he would be a starter in any other mid-table club.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

what was the alternative? It's not like he had the likes of Bochetti, Criscito or Modesto to choose from

true. but he could still swap cassani and melinte's position (cassani can handle the left side too) and put morganella on the right instead of melinte. this way u would have morganella playing on his natural side and a much better opposition to maicon. bottom line, any possible solution would have been better than lining up a first timer against maicon. the only way to contain maicon is to put him on the defensive. have him playing against an offensive fullback or a wingback, and hope he will be too busy in his own midfield to push.

Porto were a mid class team in the champions league and Chelsea were a runner up team when he was appointed. In anycase, you make it sound like its easy coaching/managing a group of superstars.

every time mourinho is topic of conversation, the "porto were a mid class team" point eventually pops up.
truth is that was everything but a mid class team.... even by champions league standards (ricardo carvalho, costinha, bosingwa, deco, maniche, alenicev, paulo ferreira, luis fabiano....).
and there's another important factor to take into account, a factor wich helped a lot porto (and mourinho) that season. they came unnoticed; as nobody those days knew how good they were... nobody knew what an amazing striker luis fabiano was, what a great cb carvalho was, what a fine footballer deco was..... they were constantly underestimated by their opponents, and this gave mourinho a huge advantage.
and as for chelsea, that team was not a runner-up. that was the very favourite for the title. arsenal golden era was about to end and manchester utd was still a "work in progress". abramovich filled a vacuum by building a team that was the strongest in the league.

anyhow i'm not trying to "make it sound easy to coach a top team".... nothing is easy; coaching top clubs implies different kind of challenges from coaching a mid class club, but it's definitely not easy.....
what i'm saying (and that's pretty much undenyable) is we can't judge mourinho's skills by his results, as he always guided the favourites (in portugal, in england and in italy).
as a matter of fact, when u guide the best team, u're most likely to achieve something.... regardless your skills....
if u would ask me my opinion about mancini, i would tell u he's a brilliant coach (although not world class).... but i base my opinion on mancini, not on his inter days, as they prove nothing. he didn't do anything special for inter. he guided them to victory, as he was SUPPOSED to. i respect mancini for his awesome job at lazio and fiorentina. there he proved to be a brilliant coach.
so bottom line, i'm not saying mourinho's job is easy, but sure we can't judge him by his record.... let's take ferrara as example. he probably has one of the very best records among serie a rookie coaches..... but that's because he began his coachin carreer by guiding juventus (and not a serie b team, like most rookies do), so obviously he will have much more chances to deliver.

I admire Spalletti, Prandelli and Gasperini, but I doubt they would last long at Inter with our cry-baby players.

quite the opposite, i'd say. prandelli's man management ability is stunning and his job at roma was beyond any doubt the toughest challenge possible on this concern. when he first came in roma, the main problem of the team was the total lack of discipline.... in 2 months he turned that bunch of spoiled egos into a boy scout club
and concerning gasperini, his main feature his joungsters raising.... almost the whole current genoa team is formed by ex juventus primavera players that gasperini himself raised during his juventus primavera experience. he's right now considered the best youth team coach of the last 20 years in italy.... and he's probably the best one when it comes to raise and handle young talents....

as for mourinho on the other side.... i have to say i'm not even sure about this "great dressing room manager" thing anymore..... they say he has great men management abilities..... yet, i can't help noticing that, when mancini was in charge, balotelli was very calm.... maybe it's just a coincidence..... but anyhow, all this story mourinho is coming out with lately, about how hard it is to handle and help young talents, to keep them focused, regardless the hype that surrounds them...... well i have to say this seems to be just an inter problem... other serie a teams don't seem to have such problems in handling young talents... just take juve as example (marchisio and giovinco are as talented and as hyped as santon and balotelli, yet they never caused any problem to juve's coaches)... and the same could be said about milan (pato, abate, silva behave very professionally).

and if i have to be completely honest i'm not even sure about his "comunicating skills". everybody says he's a great comunicator.... but why?... he's definitely rubbish in his treating with the media...he says he tends to attract the pressure over him to give some relief to his players..... but that just doesn't makes sense.... ferrara doesn't do the same, yet his players don't seem to feel such a terrific pressure. do u think that all his "dramas" make inter players feel less stress than, say, barca or man utd, or juve players?
my opinion? he just likes to hear the sound of his voice, he's an egocentric and that's the real reason why he likes to attract the attention of the media over himself..... yeah he's a cool person.... but that doesn't make him a great comunicator.
when i think to great comunicators my mind goes to guardiola, to hodgson, to ancelotti, to trapattoni. trap is infact the best of the lot in terms of media management... a journalist comes to express all his doubts about his decisions and to criticise him.... and 1 minute after he's laughing at his jokes. trap is great at handling criticism and has a stunning ability to hijack the conversation (when he doesn't like the topics the journalist bring up).... mourinho instead just can't face any sort of criticisms. as soon as someone contraddicts him, he goes on the defensive like a 10 years old child "that's not right, you clearely have an hidden agenda to put theese questions, u're an inter hater, you're a mourinho hater, u act as u were a coach and not a journalist, do u wanna take my place and see what it feels like?". i've been hearing this shit for 2 years now, and honestly that's the worst way to react to criticisms. how does that show great comunication skills?

Ha, I bet Ballardini would love to jump ship and return to Palermo right about now what a torrid time he's having.

that'll teach him!

PPS: i will repete my question from a while ago, can somebody talk to me about Omar Milanetto...what kind of player is he ?

sorry Gerd, i forgot to reply. rfu's description is pretty exaustive anyhow, so i guess that'll do it.
i can add he's one of those players who aren't extremely talented, but who are very versatile and useful for any coach. in genoa he does a lot of hard work, as genoa's football develops mostly along the sidelines.
having said that, i don't think he would make the starting formation in any other mid-table club, rfu. he sure wouldn't make it in palermo (simplicio, liverani, bresciano, pastore... there's enough to keep him on the bench)..... and in fiorentina (zanetti, montolivo, vargas and marchionni) and in cagliari (dessena, conti, cossu, biondini) and in napoli (hamsik, cigarini and gargano) and in parma (dzemaili, galloppa), and in udinese (inler, lodi, d'agostino, asamoah).

Gerd, i thought your coaching carreer was over...how come u're not posting in your thread anymore? that was a brilliant read!

 

[S0ulmirr0r]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

go milan go !

 

[gerd]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Gerd, i thought your coaching carreer was over...how come u're not posting in your thread anymore? that was a brilliant read!

No, Ben that thread was long enough, i strated it when my son played his first match, never knowing that i would become his coach and that his team would do that good.

In their second season they are even better. They put them against teams of boys who are 7 and 8 years old. My son and his teammates are all 6 year old (born in 2003).
Like i already mentioned: they win al their matches. My son is the least talented of the team, but it's strange occasionally you see young players who are really talented and there isn't a single palyer in that team (8 players) who is really talented. They are all decent players but what makes them outstanding is their team spirit and their football intelligence. In his last match my son (for once) was the star player, he scored 4 goals not because he's technically good, but because he has vista and very good placement... The beautifull thing is that all 8 of them are in the same school and the same class and that they live in the same neighbourhood, within distance of less than 500 metres.

PS: sorry to be off-topic.

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Luis Fabiano wasn't in that Porto CL winning team Ben. In fact his spell in Portugal like his short spell in Rennes with France wasn't very fruitful and could be called a failure. But of course he had fully shown his ability as an effective striker during his Sao Paulo days and Sevilla could see that and snapped him up despite a few 'European flops' in even less competitive leagues like Portugal and France and of course although it wasn't always smooth sailing for him, as we all know now, he started repaying them for their faith and their fees in paying for his 'anger-management' services. lol

If I recall correctly, Porto's strikers that year consisted of Benni McCarthy, the Brazilian (later turned Portuguese) Derlei and a young Helder Postiga whom at the time many touted for big things and Tottenham eventually bought where he flopped.

In the AMC position, they had the young prodigy Carlos Alberto (Shitty attitude and not surprised to see 5 years later, he still hasn't improved much as a player) and of course Deco.

In midfield, they had an amazing DMF in Costinha, Maniche's great play and shots and guys like Pedro Mendes as backup.

Paulo Ferreira as RB and Bosingwa as a backup utility player capable of filling in for other positions as well as full-back. Nuno Valente on the left and a veteran Jorge Costa alongside a very promising young CB, Ricardo Carvalho.

Other great but under-rated players in the team like the Russian Alenichev as well.

Anyway my point being, I agree with you. I've seen this whole Mourinho won the CL with Porto team argument a lot and although he DOES deserve some credit for it because there certainly were teams with stronger squads in the CL that year, it's not really all that correct because Porto did have an amazing team that year. It was the prefect balanced mixture of great individual talent and unity/team which Mourinho of course deserves credit for as well.

In fact the other CL finalist that year was Monaco and although Deschamp did a very a good job as well, you can't really compare that Monaco to the same one we've seen over the past few years. Because they too had great players like:

Jerome Rothen and Ludovic Giuly in their prime. Morientes again arguably in his prime and definitely before he goes way downhill. Saviola. Patrice Evra. Hugo Ibarra (and then Maicon came of course), etc. etc.

So these 2 supposedly 'under-dogs' had squads that were a LOT better than most people thought. But sure, their respective managers, Jose and Didier do still deserve a lot of credit. Perhaps just not as much as some gave them.

------------------------------------------------------

But I also understand the point rtfU makes about how MANY of these talented coaches wouldn't do so well with a club like Inter. I think we can sing praises for a lot of these guys all we want, but the truth is, at a club like Inter or Real Madrid with such lofty expectations, pressure and players of huge egos, it takes a different type of manager to be successful. It takes someone who has a big ego himself! Someone who exudes natural authority and belief.

I love Prandelli but he seems like a very nice guy. A true gentleman. Do I think he would be a huge success at Inter?! I think he definitely has the ability for it but truth be told, I think someone like Mourinho was more made for dealing with Moratti, the fans and those players than Cesare.

 

[Ernestito]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

saviola wasnt in that team PLF, he played for monaco the following season.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Luis Fabiano wasn't in that Porto CL winning team Ben

saviola wasnt in that team PLF, he played for monaco the following season.

LOL! looks like we both have too much faith in our memory, Sina
anyhow yeah, both those 2 CL finalist were great teams.

also i completely forgot about carlos alberto! where did he end up? i remember being pretty impressed by him that season. i know he had a bundi experience with werder, but it must have gone pretty bad, as i never saw him playing with werder shirt.

But I also understand the point rtfU makes about how MANY of these talented coaches wouldn't do so well with a club like Inter. I think we can sing praises for a lot of these guys all we want, but the truth is, at a club like Inter or Real Madrid with such lofty expectations, pressure and players of huge egos, it takes a different type of manager to be successful. It takes someone who has a big ego himself! Someone who exudes natural authority and belief.

i dunno bro. i think we're mixing ego up with charisma. natural authority and belief are what charisma is about. ego is about being a narcissist tit who overestimate his qualities beyond any understanding and who likes to be the main star on the stage.... i can't think of any club who could use such a coach. point is, usually coaches with a big ego, also have charisma (wich makes up for their hideous character).

i believe to handle the big egos of a top club dressing room, charisma is what u need, not ego..... and the 2 things aren't necessarily related. there are some coaches with a big ego and no charisma whatsoever (like van gaal or like good old sven, who still remains a very good coach though), coaches with huge charisma and a very big ego (like capello, lippi and mourinho... no need to say charisma and ego are the only things mourinho has in common with those 2 top notch coaches) and also others with great charisma and no ego at all (like spalletti, prandelli, gasperini, ancelotti and del bosque).
infact del bosque gives us the best example of how a coach with 0 ego, but charisma and human touch can hold a dressing room of top stars.

i agree with u Sina, there are indeed lots of great coaches who couldn't keep a top team dressing room in control coz of their lacks in the men management department (guidolin, mazzarri, giampaolo, probably allegri too, and that's just sticking to the italian ones), but prandelli, spalletti and gasperini have the complete package. yeah they seem to be a little "too nice" (especially prandelli and gasperini)... but then again the same could be said about ancelotti
besides cesare already coached some "stars" with a tricky attitude.... both mutu and adriano were quiet as boyscout with him in charge... and both of em today keep describing cesare as the best coach they ever had....

oh i also have another question; what's that story about "luis fabiano's anger management services"?... i don't know what u're referring to but it does sound like an interesting story to read
--------------------------------------------------------------
another fantastic week.... that juve-napoli match must have been awesome. borriello scored a doppietta (the second one was really nice), and the palermo-genoa match was pretty good too

edi: i forgot to put the highlights of the fiorentina-genoa match last week.
YouTube - genoa fiorentina SERIE A TIM 10 GIORNATA
top notch performance by montolivo and palladino

and this is borriello's second goal (yesterday against parma)
now that he's finally fit, he looks like he's getting back to his "genoa days form"
YouTube - Milan Parma 2-0 31-10-09 goal di Borriello molto bello! HQ
the voice u hear is from borriello's post match interview. he says that his last series of injuries was so serious that, before his last surgery, he was close to retire

 

[Abhishek]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

How is Huntelaar doing at Milan? Wasn't sure about his purchase, given that Milan have Borriello.

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Not so good! He is still not adapting well. Still to play a full match and doubt he will start or even enter in the Real game. I think he desperately needs a goal to get things going. I heard that he is not doing well in training also. Kinda sad.

Borriello is awesome. Very strong in the air and on the ground and he can actually dribble some defenders. Exactly what Milan needed especially in the new formation where Pato is just exploding and starting to show amazing runs.

 

[Chenghis.Khan]

juve - napoli

that juve-napoli match must have been awesome.

It wasn't a great game, although certainly watchable. if you liked the napoli vs milan you'll like this one, too.
napoli showed their fighting spirit again.

the result was totally deserved as I wasn't impressed by juve at all.
their performance was really poor, they couldn't create proper football, except for 2 occasions: trez' goal and giovinco's 1-on-1 in the first minute.
losing camoranesi was huge blow, they lacked link-up play, diego had to get the ball off the defenders' feet, pirlo style.

speaking of camoranesi, that must have hurt like hell. contini hit him pretty bad. bloody mess that was. should have been red.
one who got his deserved red card was amauri, totally stupid to kick de sanctis in the head like that.

napoli was the much better side, at least for stretches they were working the ball around and into the box or hitting juve on the break.
in contrast to juve, you can say they were CREATING chances, especially after datólo entered the pitch.
mazzari easily made the substitution of the year, as that kid basically won his side the game.
he came on when napoli where 2-0 down, (away, against juve) and then he scored/created 3 goals to turn the game around.
the second key for napoli was getting hamsik involved.
in the first half, he was non-existent offensively, played like ambrosini rather than gerrard and after the break he was suddenly roaming around energetically, actively building play and showing off quality finishing with 2 out of 2 chances converted (I think), while still playing defense.
Maybe I am totally wrong but I think playing him in that 3 man midfield with gargano and cigarini limits him too much.
I feel he is sitting too deep and has to much defensive work and covering to worry about to be an effective fantasista.
shouldn't he be playing in that no. 10 position?
Or does he have that stamina to always play like he did in the second half (almost playing box-to-box) and is just in need of the right tactical instructions or a kick now and then?

The play of the day came from napoli defender contini.
his assist for giovinco's goal was brilliant. he displayed real pin-point heading accuracy, most impressive.

and this is borriello's second goal (yesterday against parma)
now that he's finally fit, he looks like he's getting back to his "genoa days form"

indeed, borriello was great that day, deserved his goals.
what i don't like though is the idea of pato playing on the wing, he was a ghost.
i can understand where leonardo is coming from, needing width to open up the defense and all that.
but against a more competitive side (parma were impressive, though) who attack more aggressively,
i would like to see him next to borriello in a two-man strike force (and ronaldinho on the bench).

can anybody enlighten me about pirlo (3rd captain) getting the captaincy after gattusso (vice captain) has been subbed off for ambrosini (captain)?
​

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Ernestito, you're right. My mistake.

Ben, Luis Fabiano is a bit of a psycho as we all know. He has incredible temper/anger problems which many of his team-mates/coaches have complained about throughout his career.

When signing for Sevilla, I remember reading that apart from all the services/facilities that the regular players get to use, 2 Sevilla players in particular get even more attention and have been provided 'extra' help/services.

One is their own youth academy product and prodigy, Jesus Navas who has severe anxiety problem when being away from home/city/family and why he's one player very unlikely to leave Sevilla ever or go abroad or on away travels, who the team brought psychological help for to improve his situation. Can't say they've succeeded and it's one of the big reasons, despite his huge talent, he hasn't featured for Spain much.

And the 2nd player being Luis Fabiano whom the club paid for anger management psychological services/help for so he can be a little more calm, peaceful and not such a cunt all the time! lol
And that seems to have worked as he's a little more 'stable' these days and not AS crazy!

About the coaches thing, I know what you're saying. I agree for the most part and after all guys like Spaletti and Prandelli have even worked with bad boys and big ego and star players and succeeded in many cases. Credit to them. Didn't mean to take anything away from them.

But I think one reason guys like Mourinho are successful with big clubs and star players is because they probably have even more ego than the star players themselves. Alex Ferguson also though in so many ways different than Jose, also has the biggest ego in all of Manchester I'd say. More so than any of the even so called 'Ego-maniacs' he's managed throughout his career. His players. He's of course great for so many reasons but my point is, an ego that big is usually bad but in situations like managing huge clubs like this, it can be a positive tool. It could be your downfall but it can also be beneficial. And this 'lack' of ego (generally a very good thing), is why many very good coaches will never get to manage truly top clubs or if they do, fail.

It's the same with certain players. For me, Karim Benzema and C. Ronaldo as two examples, are not/would not be AS great as they are if they had lesser egos. Obviously you don't need a huge ego to succeed. Kaka didn't have it when he was the best player in the world, Messi doesn't and many throughout history haven't. But everyone's different. And a guy like Cristiano Ronaldo, half of his greatness seems to be in his huge ego. I get the same impression from Benzema. They would still be great players without it, but not AS deadly. Not AS hungry. Not AS motivated, dangerous or daring. There are many other examples but these are 2 of the more famous ones.

------------------------------------------------

Carlos Alberto has never lived up to the hype really. The talent and potential was obvious for everyone to see, that's why big money was spent on him throughout his career and he almost always let his clubs down. He'd show glimpses of his talent here and there but too rarely and not consistently enough. Some injury problems as well.

He was bought by Corinthians after failing to secure a regular spot in Porto and inconsistencies in that era where they also bought Tevez, Mascherano and other stars. Then was sent on loan to a few other Brazilian clubs. Werder attempted to give him another chance at European football which he didn't take either impressing rarely and showing bad attitude which has always been his main problem for me. Right now I think he's on loan again to a Brazilian club probably showing great skills one week and ineffective and out of the game the next and causing some sort of trouble.

----------------------------------------------------------

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I read that Carlos Alberto plays in the second division in Brazil for Vasco de Gama.... and is an idol there. Good for him - happy again.

 

[Leo Bax]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

pazza Inter amala........

incredible win, I still don't believe it...

 

[gerd]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

About Jesus Navas, Spain are playing some friendly matches and the rumour is that they will try Navas...
I've heard on the Guardian podcast that before the season Sevilla is in some sort of training camp a good 150 km's away from the city of Sevilla and that Navas can go home every other day.

 

[DeFrenZ]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Amauri's card wasn't deserved at all. He did try to kick the ball, he didn't even got De Sanctis in the face, and the kick wasn't so strong (as little was needed to put it in from there)...

and I'm even more amazed as how no one complains about the second Inter goal in CL that was in offside °-° usually there's riots for things like that, and now I've heard it only one time in tv and talking about it was completely irrelevant... if it was the opposite we would still be hearing it... the win was fully deserved, though. look at all the goals they wasted in the 2nd half XD

 

[Chenghis.Khan]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Amauri's card wasn't deserved at all. He did try to kick the ball, he didn't even got De Sanctis in the face, and the kick wasn't so strong (as little was needed to put it in from there)...

maybe the rather poor visual quality of downloaded games can lead to false conclusions, but I really think it was frustration on amauri's part (and that he hit him).

'bout milan-real: it's a shame pato's goal didn't stand, such a beauty.
was nesta being rushed back from injury? he certainly didn't look like nesta, not only that he didn't dominate, he even commited obvious mistakes.
dida saved the day (imo), even if he didn't pull off any miracles.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

was nesta being rushed back from injury? he certainly didn't look like nesta, not only that he didn't dominate, he even commited obvious mistakes.

quite likely. he got injured last week against napoli, so probably wasn't at his best at all... i noticed some mistakes too.... at least now we got proof he's "human"
also thanks for your report about the juve-napoli game pal. it was a nice read
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Sina...Wow! i gotta say i didn't know about luis fabiano's temper issues....and i also didn't know about jesus navas. that explains why such a talented player never caught the attention of any european top club.

concerning the mourinho conversation, i perfectly understand your point. a very strong ego can indeed be useful in some circumstances and the example u took about the players (ronaldo and benzema) is definitely spot on. in theese circumstances a strong ego can support your self confidence and act as some sort of "autogenic training".
i notice this in my line of work too. some of my colleagues have an encyclopedic law knowledge, yet, anytime they step into the courtroom, they don't "perform" as they could, coz the pressure and the stress have a killer effect on their confidence. some other colleagues instead, despite having a weaker law knowledge, a poor creativity and understanding, still turn out to be much more succesful, as their huge ego, their enourmous (and undeserved, sometimes) consideration of their onw qualities allows them to perform at their best.

but the ego factor becomes important just for those who have to perform. u see montolivo stepping into the pitch and u can almost read his thoughts (it must be something along the lines of "let's hope i won't screw this up"), while when u see the likes of giovinco or balotelli entering into the pitch u can feel their "i'm gonna kick you ass" attitude.

but a coach doesn't have to "perform". his job is to put other people in the best conditions to perform.... hence i still believe charisma is a much more important factor than ego for them.... and infact, if u look at ferguson, yeah, sure he has a huge ego.... but that huge ego is supported by his charisma.... and i think that is what makes his players listening to him.
and the same goes for lippi and capello (huge ego but also a great charisma).
and that also explains how some really "nice guys" with a very low profile attitude (like ancelotti or del bosque) can get the same kind of "grip" over their players.

besides there's also another big factor to consider imo. ferguson, lippi, capello, hiddink, ancelotti, they're all great coaches, but not just because of their ego or charisma. they all have charismatic characters.... but if u would have to describe them.... their strong personality wouldn't be the first feature that comes into your mind.
ferguson has a charismatic personality, but what made him a world class manager is his ability to raise a football team. and i don't mean "building a team" (like ranieri or mourinho), i really mean "raising the team". getting a bunch of young talented players, having them grow together, finding the most appropriate tactical formula (according to their skills) and teach them a way to play football. in the last 23 years sir alex basically raised 2 teams; two generations of very promising youngsters, who grew up together and became a great team under his direction. and those 2 teams couldn't be more different, speaking ot tactical formula. he "studied" his guys and found the best way to have them playing together. that's his main ability. if he just had a huge ego, that alone wouldn't have brought him where he sits today.

the same goes for lippi and capello. both have a strong personality but that's not their main feature. lippi has a great ability in building teams (not raising teams this time) and the most impressive vision u will ever witness. no one reads the game as marcello does. no one has the ability to make adjustments during the match, in real time, according to the flow of the game, that marcello has.
as for capello, he has probably the best tactical understanding among the top coaches. he has an unbelievabe ability to give balance to his teams. u could give him a bunch of amateurs, and he would still find a way to have them playing as a competitive team.

so, bottom line, yes, ego (or charisma, as i prefere) is definitely important... but it can't be "the main feature" of a coach. because charisma (or ego) is a "tool", an instrument. a strong personality is what makes people listen to u...... but if u ain't got anyhting to say, then you just don't know how to put your charisma to good use.
lippi, ferguson, capello, hiddink, they all use their charisma, to spread, to convey their own football ideas.
but u need some ideas.... u need some knowledge.
which are mourinho's ideas?

the champions league game gave us the perfect example. his team wasn't delivering.... despite several scoring chances, they just couldn't score.... so what did he do? he took out cambiasso (wich was the only one who was trying to link inter's midfield and attack) and put stankovic in his place! he put balotelli in (wich was his only smart move) and moved maicon almost on the midfield line. he took out chivu and put zanetti on the left side of the defensive line .... and then (and that's arguably the funniest and dumbest move of them all), with 10 mintes remaining he took off samuel (wich is the one player u really need in such a situation, coz a that time of the match, having a tall guy with a good header can be a key factor in set pieces situations) and subbed him for muntari!!!
at that point, inter had no more defensive line (just lucio and zanetti) and no midfield anymore; 3 strikers, 2 advanced midfielders and a wingback playing as a winger.... this is not football FFS!!! this is just a desperate try of a man who has no idea how change the flow of the match.

and actually this is exactly what mourinho does everytime he's loosing.... they say coaches can "speak" with their moves... and indeed that's true..... and everytime mourinho goes berserk like that he's saying something very obvious; "ok guys i just can't read this game, i have no idea how to sort this out, so let's just throw all our attacking players on the pitch, and lets foolishly push.... hoping something will eventually happen.

i'm afraid this is not "coaching".... this might be good for a guy playing on football manager in front of his computer..... but sure that's not what u expect from a man who is labelled as one of the best coaches out there....
----------------------------------------------------------------

on a completely different note, i've been asked to help the guys in this thread http://forums.evo-web.co.uk/showthread.php?p=1784891#post1784891 to provide some tactical formulas for serie a teams (so they can make the gaming experience more enjoyable). unfortunately i know nothing about fifa tactical dynamics, so i couldn't be much helpful... i could try to write a review for each serie a team (so they can translate it afterwards in "fifa language") , but obviously i don't have enough free time to do that for every serie a team.
so i thought maybe u guys could provide a brief report about the gamestyle of the teams u follow more often (jmg might do it for fiorentina, rfu for inter, stefano or zeem for milan and so on).
this might help the fifa editing guys and also provide us interesting prompt of conversation.

 

[TikTikTikTikTik]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

on a completely different note, i've been asked to help the guys in this thread http://forums.evo-web.co.uk/showthre...91#post1784891 to provide some tactical formulas for serie a teams (so they can make the gaming experience more enjoyable). unfortunately i know nothing about fifa tactical dynamics, so i couldn't be much helpful... i could try to write a review for each serie a team (so they can translate it afterwards in "fifa language") , but obviously i don't have enough free time to do that for every serie a team.
so i thought maybe u guys could provide a brief report about the gamestyle of the teams u follow more often (jmg might do it for fiorentina, rfu for inter, stefano or zeem for milan and so on).
this might help the fifa editing guys and also provide us interesting prompt of conversation.

Yeah to follow Lo Zio's post up, as I made the request.

Over in the FIFA customtactics page we are getting pretty good at recreating teams styles by editing and creating a number of "generic" styles/formations. However for most of us in there the knowledge is restricted to the EPL en maybe a division or two below. Foreign teams for the most part are unknown. So I/we was/were hoping some of you could help us out by describing which style the serieA teams have.

As an example we have:
- Bolton: Longball,Agressive,Deep defense
- Aston Villa: Wingplay, Longball, Agressive, Medium defense
- ManUtd: Possesion, mixed passing, wingplay.
- etc.....

So really we are looking for short descriptions on how the teams play to be able to recreate a certain nr. of tactics/styles, say about 6, that we can then assign to them for a decent singleplayer experience. It doens't have to be an extensive assessment, more a description to get an idea to play the teams in the correct generic style.

Hopefully you guys can help us out.

 

[sauce]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Sina I remember we discussing Luis Fabiano years ago at your thread, I thought he was a great talent back there and turned out that when he cool off he did improve, but to be honest he did not reach my expectations, he was spectacular at São Paulo really a hungry goalscorer, he was a mad dog back then but that made him a really fantastic poacher,at least when he didn't get in a fight.
Nowadays he is doing great don't get me wrong, but I never saw that passion he had back in the days, on some games the good side of that spirit does shows up, like some important Seleção games.
Dunga and most of Brazil is expecting a lot of him in World Cup, lets see how he does there, maybe the old LF spirit will show up? I hope the good one.

Milanista is right Carlos Alberto is at Vasco, and they just came back to first division yesterday, but to be honest Carlos Alberto looks like the same troubled player for me. But he is kinda of a leader there, and the club seemed to have accepted it, lets see what happens when he play at 1st division again.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

thanks for the contribution sauce. u should really pop in this thread more often pal... i always enjoy reading your posts


Gerd.... is that phrase in your signature what i think it is?... and if it's what i think it is... where the hell did u hear about it ?!?

i would expect an italian napoli fan to know about it.... but i believe even some italians (non napoli fans) don't know what that phrase refers to.