Serie A Thread - 2014/15 Season

[YoungGun_UK]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

It won't be as entertaining or anywhere near as open but Inter will give Barcelona are much harder test than Arsenal. Inter have the best "raw materials" IMO to beat Barcelona other than Chelsea but they shown their better than them this season.

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Yep, Inter will be a much tougher test than Arsenal. I still think Barca will come through as they just seem in a different class than all the other teams but if there is ONE team that could give them the most trouble and make it the hardest for them, I think it would be Mourinho's Inter, so I'm looking forward to it.

oh no please, enough talking about messi. Jesus, the whole world is going nuts about this guy. don't get me wrong, he's unbelievably good, absolutely amazing... but good Lord it's not like he plays alone, for crying out loud. i'm not surprised by the fans reaction... it's always been like that. it's a natural tendency for fans to turn a collective effort into an individual action, coz they feel the urge to find a hero, and heroes are always alone, individualists.
what drives me nuts is the pundits reaction.... the italian post-match analisys yesterday looked like an "english post-match analisys" or a "spanish post-match analisys". not a single word about the match, not a single word about arsenal good moves and mistakes; not a single word about barcelona. not a single word about xavi, who yesterday came out with probably one of the greatests performances in his carreer... (wich is something when u consider how ridiculously good is the average xavi's performance). xavi has been as important as messi to barca yesterday, but i can honestly say i haven't heard anyone mentioning him. it's was all "messimessimessimessi".

I'm all for collective play and team work and always against one player taking the spot-light. Those of you who know me like you, Ben, know that. Football is a team-sport and I'm the first when it comes to reminding everyone of that fact.

But if there IS someone who actually deserves THAT much attention, THAT much spot-light and that much praise, it IS Lionel Messi! He's just THAT damn good! He was already GREAT before but now he's just gotten RIDICULOUSLY good! I can honestly say he's right now on par with the BEST players I've EVER seen. And if he maintains this for a few years longer or god forbid, somehow even manages to up his level by a notch or two , he'll be one of if the not the greatest player the world has ever seen or at least the best I've ever seen!

Xavi had an excellent game and many other Barca players did well too. But you see, I don't exactly think Xavi is under-rated. He's AMAZING and everybody knows it. It's not like he doesn't get enough credit. Puyol, Pique, him, Iniesta, Dani Alves, and even Victor Valdes who used to be the weak link but has actually improved a lot each get their fair share of credit! And also notice how nobody calls Barca a 1-man team even though Messi single-handedly rapes teams yet there are those who called Man Utd 1-man team bcuz of Ronaldo last year and others who do it this year with Rooney? or some who say that about Fabregas & Arsenal, etc. etc. This is very important evidence. Yet despite all his heroics, you don't really see anyone say Barcelona is a ONE-man team! Only the biggest idiot in the world would, perhaps.

That's because everyone's full of praise for the whole Barca squad and rightly so. They're packed with great players and even backup players all over and they all deserve lots of credit and in my opinion, they all ARE getting their credit. That's why they're happy, and they love Lionel and they're all so tight together and such a great team. It's not like the spotlight in Messi is robbing his team-mates of the attention and praise they deserve. They're getting their fair share. And like I said, if there is ONE person who deserves that much attention, it is him anyway because his performances and level of consistency have been OUT of this world. Super-human! The fact that many defenders try to FOUL him and they CAN'T says it all!

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

i think i gotta put my post into context. i wrote that post after watching in tv 30 minutes of what was supposed to be a post match analisys, but turned out to be a wide range pointless conversation about "how great is messi".
now, maybe it's me, but i honestly can't stand this sort of tv conversations. they're boring, they're obvious. i pay for sky tv... therefore i expect some real post match analisys.... i don't need anyone to tell me how great messi is, coz i already know that. i want them to go through the match, i wanna see if they found out something i missed. that's what i pay them for.
i mean, that was a champions league quarter final! there was so much to talk about the match itself, but they wasted 30 minutes repeating the same obvious things. i would expect that from english football commentators, from the spanish ones, certainly not from an italian.

so i came on the forum for a quick read, and i found Gerd's thread. Now Gerd clearely has got nothing to do with this. he's not a professional football analyst, he's not payed by a tv broadcaster. he's just a guy sharing his views and feelings about a match on a forum, and he's absolutely entitled to express his admiration for a single player.
but i wrote that post out of frustration for that annoying and irritating post match analisys, and Gerd just turned out to be a victim of my frustration..... sorry, my friend, i didn't mean to sound rude

Xavi had an excellent game and many other Barca players did well too. But you see, I don't exactly think Xavi is under-rated. He's AMAZING and everybody knows it. It's not like he doesn't get enough credit. Puyol, Pique, him, Iniesta, Dani Alves, and even Victor Valdes who used to be the weak link but has actually improved a lot each get their fair share of credit! And also notice how nobody calls Barca a 1-man team even though Messi single-handedly rapes teams yet there are those who called Man Utd 1-man team bcuz of Ronaldo last year and others who do it this year with Rooney? or some who say that about Fabregas & Arsenal, etc. etc. This is very important evidence. Yet despite all his heroics, you don't really see anyone say Barcelona is a ONE-man team! Only the biggest idiot in the world would, perhaps.

i see it differently mate. u're right, no one defines barca as a one man team.... but i think they do it JUST because they know that if they would do that, they would make a fool of themselves (and that makes my father's comparison with pirlo pretty appropriate, as andrea had to deal with the same situation).
so to a direct question they'll tell you "no, barca is a top class teams, full of great players, such as dani alves, puyol, xavi, iniesta and so on"
but right after saying that, the very same pundit will gladly spend the next 30 minutes praising a single player's performances. and that's where the contradiction lies. he might even refuse to admit he considers barca a one man team, but by praising messi's performance alone and ignoring those others who had a stand out performance, he's pretty much telling u his REAL opinion.

that's what people wants: heroes. individuals who stand out. messi scores 4 goals and that MUST make him the hero of the day. funnily, that wasn't really a stand out performance from messi. he was far mor impressive against saragoza a few days ago.
truth is arsenal defense came out with a very very poor performance. i'm not blaming anyone for this. arsene had to keep the defensive line high, coz he wanted to apply high pressure at midfield over xavi... otherwise there would have been too much distance between midfield and defense.
but, exactly as i can't blame arsene for choosing such a plot, i can't even say messi was the only one who could score +2 goals against that defense, coz that's just not true. most of the supporting strikers in the world would have taken huge advantage of those mistakes in setting the offside trap.

arsene didn't focus his attention on messi. he wanted to make life impossible for xavi, pressing him as high as possible, trying to force him to commit mistakes, trying to prevent any chance for him to have and see a "clean" passing trajectory.
he knew that would have caused problems at the back, on the defensive line, because pressing high at midfield also means defending high. and defensing high against barcelona means exposing yourself to one of the quickests and most techinical players in the world (messi)..... but he thought this was the right call..... and actually i think he's right.... that would be the right call.... but unfortunately arsenal's defence can't handle such a stress and payed a price for it.

so, if everything i said so far makes any sense (i might be wrong of course), the barca player who really faced a tough challenge was xavi, not messi. messi faced a shaky defence and tore it apart. 4 goals are impressive, but seriously that defensive line was hardly a challenge. miccoli would have had a field day against that defence too (maybe he wouldn't have scored 4 goals, but he certainly would have scored 2 of those 4 goals).

xavi had to deal with a double coverage for the entire match. he never had more than 1 second on the ball... and yet i noticed just 1 misplaced pass in the entire match! now THAT is simply unreal! and imo much more impressive than what messi did. for the whole match he never had a simple "discharging pass"... never. dealing with such pressure for 70 minutes and making a single mistake is just beyond imagination. and no analist (at least none i heard) mentioned that. yeah, sure, if u would ask the same analist about xavi, he will tell you he's one of the very best registas in the world (if not the best), but they will talk about xavi only if u ask them. they won't spontaneously praise xavi's performance.... because they have eyes only for messi.
so yeah, they won't tell you barca is a one man team, coz they know that would make them sound stupid... but deep in their heart, that's what they really think...... otherwise they would praise xavi's unbelievable performances even more than messi's.

It's not like the spotlight in Messi is robbing his team-mates of the attention and praise they deserve. They're getting their fair share. And like I said, if there is ONE person who deserves that much attention, it is him anyway because his performances and level of consistency have been OUT of this world. Super-human

that's where we disagree, bro. i think that remarking only messi's performance is robbing his teammates of the attention and praise they deserve. messi is a footballing God.... but he's not the only God in that team. and i don't think he's the only one who deserves that much attention in that team.

and i think that's also what wenger thought. he had to decide who to put under pressure and he made his choice. he thought stopping xavi was even more important than stopping messi (that's what his tactical plot tells us). that stopping xavi was the main priority. unfortunately he failed coz that monster (xavi) had a great performance despite that pressure (and that allowed messi to cause havoc).

and i also believe mourinho will make the same choice. because if u try to contain messi, then u still have to deal with dani alves, iniesta, henry and ibra. but if u manage to contain xavi, then u stop the whole team.

Yep, Inter will be a much tougher test than Arsenal. I still think Barca will come through as they just seem in a different class than all the other teams but if there is ONE team that could give them the most trouble and make it the hardest for them, I think it would be Mourinho's Inter, so I'm looking forward to it.

yep. assuming sacchi's milan as a "perfection benchmark", this barca team is the closest team to that kind of perfection i've ever seen. therefore they should be considered as favourites against any opposition.
but if there's a team which might actually cause some troubles to barca, that team is this inter. too bad this won't be a final.

anyhow Sina, i know u're not a fan of any specific club, but is there a team u feel more "attached" to? just a curiosity

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I hope Toronto FC, I went to their stadium this summer and it appears to me that they are a very well supported and successful club!

 

[gerd]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Oh that outburst was directed at me Ben...i never noticed that...well no problem...you have an enormous amount of credit with me...so i can stand a few other outbursts.

And maybe i will provoke another outburst. You compare Sacchi's Milan with Barcelona. Well that is indeed not a bad bench mark...Milan were a splendid team (i was mad about Baresi, him and the deceased Juventus libero are the two best defenders i've seen). The only difference between both Milan and Barcelona is that Milan had no Messi...they had Van Basten, Gullit, Rijkaard, Baresi, Donadoni, Maldini and later on Savicevic and Boban...all fantastic players...but all from this world...not like Messi.

I don't want to sound patronising, but the fact that i'm 48 years old has (only) one advantage over most (all) other evo-webbers...i've seen them all, the really big players.

For me there are 4 really outstanding players in the history of football: Pele, Mardonna, Cruijff and maybe (here i hesitate a litle bit) Zidane.

I think Messi at 22 years of age has reached the same level of pure, raw skills...all he needs now is doing this over a long period (and not like George Best, who was the best player in the world for 3 years..).

But yes despite that, football is a team sports...i agree with that. And a player like that, even he is widely acknowledged to be one of the best players, will always be a litle bit underestimated.

Let me tell you something: i coach my son's youth team...and after training i watch parts of big matches with them. When we watch Barcelona, i tell them that if they have to watch one player of the team...it's Xavi, because they can learn most from his passing and his intelligent positioning.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Oh that outburst was directed at me Ben...i never noticed that...well no problem...you have an enormous amount of credit with me...so i can stand a few other outbursts.

oh no mate, it wasn't directed at u (it was directed at those italian pundits i was talking about). but reading my post again, from Sina's quote, i realised it might have looked like it was directed at u. therefore my apologies.

as for sacchi's milan, what made that team perfect, almost unrepeatable is the fact that, despite having world class players in every role (and i really mean each and every role), there was no room in that team for single players to stand out. and that was because of sacchi's huge impact on the team and the way they used to play.
and this barcelona is the closest thing i've ever seen to that milan, in terms of "choral game". the contribution van basten gave to that team is pretty much comparable to the contribution messi provides to barca... and the same could be said about ancelotti and xavi or donadoni and dani alves.

many teams in different eras had world class footballers. what made that milan unique (and what makes this barca almost on par with that team) is that there wasn't a real playmaker, a standing out player. each player was a key asset.

 

[cfdh_edmundo]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

In case anyone was thinking of watching it on TV (or going to it) the Inter v Juventus match for next weekend has now been moved from the Saturday night to the Friday night (16th April) - it seems kick off will be at 20:45 (local time). This is 99% confirmed.

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

They thing is people always appreciate a good dribble and shot much more than a good pass or tackle or even save because the goals and dribbles are the elements that give them joy and victory and therefore championships. That's why the Ballon D'or and best player of the year award always go to strikers, mostly second strikers or wingers because they dribble and score. Cannavaro was an exception in 2006 and it has been a while since a trequartista won it.

People like Xavi, Pirlo,... got their credit and were named as best player contenders but will somehow live in the shadow of the striker of their team. Something like when the strikers scores, most players hug the one who scored and a few go to the one who passed.

If I were to compare to the Milan situationa few years back. Pirlo and Gatusso did an awesome job in the midfield. Actally setting up plays for Kaka and Seedorf to score. They used to take the ball from the opposing team and pass to the strikers. But the thing is it was Kaka who ran the Celtic half to eliminate Celtic, he bumped to Man Utd players into each other to score, he gave the killer pass to Inzaghi to score in the CL final. That's why he got the credit.

Messi is doing an amazing job nowadays so is Xavi and Iniesta and Puyol and Pique and all the others(Actually Barca can make any player look good), but Messi most because he brings joy with his tricks and shots. Let the people enjoy him. But as lo zio said, "experts" should think and analyze beyond that also. Make like a 5-7 minute chat on him max in a 30 minute analyzation. Let the fans know the opposing team better.

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

i think i gotta put my post into context. i wrote that post after watching in tv 30 minutes of what was supposed to be a post match analisys, but turned out to be a wide range pointless conversation about "how great is messi".
now, maybe it's me, but i honestly can't stand this sort of tv conversations. they're boring, they're obvious. i pay for sky tv... therefore i expect some real post match analisys.... i don't need anyone to tell me how great messi is, coz i already know that. i want them to go through the match, i wanna see if they found out something i missed. that's what i pay them for.

Yeah that's just stupid. I'd be mad too.

that's where we disagree, bro. i think that remarking only messi's performance is robbing his teammates of the attention and praise they deserve.

Yeah I guess this is where we'll disagree with each other.

Because while that dumb analyst may have forgotten to talk about anyone else and spent 30 minutes rambling about how great Messi is instead of post-match analysis, he's not the benchmark.

All I've heard over the past year is continuous praise for everyone in the Barca set-up. Right from the forwards like Messi to upcoming youngsters like Pedro, to the middle for the likes of Iniesta and Xavi who are ALWAYS spoken of SO highly and given their due and to the back where you have the ever-growing Pique, and legendary captain Puyol and even Valdes who nowadays is being more recognized and even talks of going to World cup and then to the bench for all the squad players who each do their fair share and the classy coach himself, Pep Guardiola.

So yeah one man might be creaming his pants over Messi's dazzling skills and forget about rest, but from what I've seen, most pundits and even people in general acknowledge the fact that Dani Alves is arguably the World's best RB, Xavi IS the world's finest at his job, Iniesta is a game-changer, etc. It's not like all the spotlight is on Messi and the other ones are somewhere in the corner. I feel they are all getting their credit and that's one reason, they are such a happy squad.

and i also believe mourinho will make the same choice. because if u try to contain messi, then u still have to deal with dani alves, iniesta, henry and ibra. but if u manage to contain xavi, then u stop the whole team.

Don't agree with this either. For one thing, obviously stopping Xavi is an insurmountable task on its own as many have found out and Mr. Wenger again most recently , and also I actually think that even IF you were to somehow manage this, you still haven't nullified Barca.

In a regular team, yes, you stop the playmaker, the engine, and the team stops. It's the best way. That's why you try to mark the playmaker out of the team. You can't really do that with Barca though. Because it's like a snake with 7 heads! As important as Xavi is and in my opinion, he's THE most important, try stopping him and that means the likes of Iniesta can carry on the playmaking duty except now with much more space and time available to them since you've now double or triple-teamed or pressured Xavi Hernandez.

Not to mention, you can just play quick passes up front or to the wings and the sheer skill, flair and speed of players like Pedro and Messi and Henry and Zlatan will always cause individual players which are just TOO much to handle for most defenders.

So certainly IF you can manage to contain Xavi, which is almost impossible to do anyway, you're better off than not being able to, BUT even then, you haven't really stopped Barca. Only you've managed to provide more space and time to some other equally dangerous players. Cuz one thing that makes Barca so great is their versatility in terms of being able to hurt you in so many different ways through so many different players. This is perhaps why teams find it so hard to play against them. Because they don't really know WHO to stop even if they could.

anyhow Sina, i know u're not a fan of any specific club, but is there a team u feel more "attached" to? just a curiosity

Yeah I have a little bit of an attachment to Ajax because when I was a really young kid, I loved watching them play and some of my early favourite players all came out of there. Kluivert, Bergkamp, Overmars, Seedorf, Davids, etc. etc. I loved the fact that they continuously produced superb young talent and also really liked their kits. In particular I remember this one 'gray-like' jersey they had one year maybe 96 or something that was so gorgeous, either it was an away jersey or I think their CL jersey.. can't remember.

But even then, could never call myself a real Ajax fan cuz I certainly don't have any ill feelings towards Feyenoord. or PSV. But as a child growing up, our memories stay with us and I'd say I'm still maybe a 5% Ajax fan deep down somewhere.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

In a regular team, yes, you stop the playmaker, the engine, and the team stops. It's the best way. That's why you try to mark the playmaker out of the team. You can't really do that with Barca though. Because it's like a snake with 7 heads! As important as Xavi is and in my opinion, he's THE most important, try stopping him and that means the likes of Iniesta can carry on the playmaking duty except now with much more space and time available to them since you've now double or triple-teamed or pressured Xavi Hernandez.

Not to mention, you can just play quick passes up front or to the wings and the sheer skill, flair and speed of players like Pedro and Messi and Henry and Zlatan will always cause individual players which are just TOO much to handle for most defenders.

So certainly IF you can manage to contain Xavi, which is almost impossible to do anyway, you're better off than not being able to, BUT even then, you haven't really stopped Barca. Only you've managed to provide more space and time to some other equally dangerous players. Cuz one thing that makes Barca so great is their versatility in terms of being able to hurt you in so many different ways through so many different players. This is perhaps why teams find it so hard to play against them. Because they don't really know WHO to stop even if they could.

LOL! after reading that, i don't agree with myself either!
on second thought, you're probably right on this; while containing xavi would definitely complicate things a lot for the blaugrana, it wouldn't really stop the team, for all the reasons u mentioned.
afterall the image u pictured (the snake with 7 heads) is precisely what makes this team similar in some way to that epic sacchi's milan.
i stand corrected

Yeah I have a little bit of an attachment to Ajax because when I was a really young kid, I loved watching them play and some of my early favourite players all came out of there. Kluivert, Bergkamp, Overmars, Seedorf, Davids, etc. etc. I loved the fact that they continuously produced superb young talent

man that 1995 ajax was a hell of a team! litmanen, davids, seedorf and rijkaard at midfield and that awesome trio upfront.

 

[GoonerLover66]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

All I've heard over the past year is continuous praise for everyone in the Barca set-up. Right from the forwards like Messi to upcoming youngsters like Pedro, to the middle for the likes of Iniesta and Xavi who are ALWAYS spoken of SO highly and given their due and to the back where you have the ever-growing Pique, and legendary captain Puyol and even Valdes who nowadays is being more recognized and even talks of going to World cup and then to the bench for all the squad players who each do their fair share and the classy coach himself, Pep Guardiola.

So yeah one man might be creaming his pants over Messi's dazzling skills and forget about rest, but from what I've seen, most pundits and even people in general acknowledge the fact that Dani Alves is arguably the World's best RB, Xavi IS the world's finest at his job, Iniesta is a game-changer, etc. It's not like all the spotlight is on Messi and the other ones are somewhere in the corner. I feel they are all getting their credit and that's one reason, they are such a happy squad.

A year makes a total difference here, Sina. Last season, your analysis would have been wholly correct. This year every pundit has been treating, unjustly I might add, as the Messi show. I'd put this down to the ineffective Thierry Henry, the persistent injuries to Xavi and Iniesta and with most commentators baffled over why €46 million plus Eto'o was a good deal for Ibrahimovic; it has meant that the continual flow of goals from Messi has made him stand out in the spotlight. To sit upon a podium of his own brilliance. Whilst this shouldn't detract the spotlight from any other player, history has shown us time and time again that it does. Brazil's 1982 squad was amazing in all areas, but people will only really remember the likes of Falcao and Socrates and Zico rather than someone like Cerezo or the innovative role that Serginho played. Every pundit has been honing solely on Messi in the Barcelona squad this season, not so much by Spanish commentators but certainly by the vast majority of international pundits - thus getting this horrifically inaccurate picture being portrayed of Barcelona, that they are supposedly a team that have only kept in the title race this year because of Messi.

I would, however, like to point out that punditry in England is like a sluice of sewage being released out of your television and into your home at its very best. An example; Jamie Redknapp kept saying that the reason for Demichelis' questionable positioning in the first leg against Manchester United was because he's naturally a midfielder. Precisely! That's why he's refused to play as a midfielder all these years! Because he is one! Oh what fabulous insight Mr "I fink" Redknapp. Or Gerry Armstrong continually mispronouncing Alberto Lopo as "Diego Colotto".

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

This year every pundit has been treating, unjustly I might add, as the Messi show. I'd put this down to the ineffective Thierry Henry, the persistent injuries to Xavi and Iniesta and with most commentators baffled over why €46 million plus Eto'o was a good deal for Ibrahimovic; it has meant that the continual flow of goals from Messi has made him stand out in the spotlight. To sit upon a podium of his own brilliance.

yep. i think it would have happened anyway though, regardless titi's season and xavi's injuries. the thing is, no matter how good the team is, people will always be attracted by the impulse to single out the individual.
and as i said, it's not like anyone would say xavi isn't an awesome player or that barca, as a whole, isn't something soo beautiful to transcend the individual effort of any single player.... they will tell u that... but only if u ask. but most of the times the journalist won't ask the commentator or the pundit this, as he's captivated by the same impulse to put the hero on the spotlight. and that's what leads to those boring, long single player eulogies.

afterall it's happened before. your brazil '82 example is spot on. i might add maradona's napoli or crujff's ajax to the list. most of the fans today will hardly remember half of that napoli team that won 2 scudetti... and as for michel's ajax, the crujff worship got so far that many people (some pundits too) today question michel's role itself in raising that team (i heard many times people implying crujff was the real coach of the team).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
napoli-parma, fiorentina-inter, and the genova derby this week end.... this should be a good one. no need to say i'll be rooting for genoa to win the derby (for obvious reasons)

btw tom, wellcome onboard. i hope that was the first of many posts from u in this thread.

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Ciao from Milano!

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Crazy comeback from Inter within 5 minutes from 75th - 80th minute! And then La Viola equalize!

 

[fishball]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

i think prandelli outwitted mourinho last night. fantastic coach. fiorentina actually plays the carbon-copy of inter football, to a great effect!

but having said that we are still better in finishing chances, and one more. I have NEVER seen cesar played so poor. not in the last three seasons. something's wrong with him this season.

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Roma can take it today!

Anyone see Parma against Napoli? That was a surprise. They are suddenly very close to Europa Leauge.

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I didn't see it but must have been a great game. 3-2!

Genova derby tomorrow!

and one more. I have NEVER seen cesar played so poor. not in the last three seasons. something's wrong with him this season.

He seemed poor with the crosses in this game, but this season?! Are you serious?

 

[GoonerLover66]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Anyone see Parma against Napoli? That was a surprise. They are suddenly very close to Europa Leauge.

When iraqgoals.net started working it certainly seemed like an action packed match.

The match was certainly eventful for Quagliarella. A goal, an assist and a red card for dissent. I think that's what you'd call a mixed bag. But nonetheless, it proved how hotly contended the tie was and highlighted the desire and fight from both sides - when the coach gets sent off, you know it's been a passionate match. It did get scrappy, and it certainly got physical - with a collective total of 42 fouls - but that's the sort of match that a neutral loves to see.

As for the Internazionale match, I was more concerned by the sloppy marking from Lucio that allowed Keirrison free to finish from Comotto's cross. You should never be caught looking at the ball for too long, which Lucio did, and so he seemed to forget his duties. It didn't seem to be the case when Fiorentina conceded; speaking of which, what a gorgeous cross that was from Balotelli for Eto'o. If only Theo Walcott could take a leaf out of Balotelli's book (Not too many, mind! ).

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I thought Montolivo was absolutely amazing in the first half, where as Lucio was sloppy and getting booed by everyone. Well, today Roma can snatch top spot.... let's see what happens.

 

[GoonerLover66]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I thought Montolivo was absolutely amazing in the first half, where as Lucio was sloppy and getting booed by everyone.

Oh definitely, it was a lovely pass and good vision from Montolivo to bring Comotto into the equation. In fact, he made a plethora of decent through balls throughout the game - which you should expect from Montolivo - although he did disappear for a while towards the latter stage of the second half.

You've got to wonder what Mourinho will do if Internazionale do not win the title this year. The media in the UK seems convinced that he'll leave but then again, the media in the UK talk out of their arse (They talk about Aguero like he's a god of the La Liga, seemingly ignoring his fantastic role in keeping the bench warm). But what is the general consensus from Italian fans regarding Mourinho's position come summer?

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

You've got to wonder what Mourinho will do if Internazionale do not win the title this year. The media in the UK seems convinced that he'll leave but then again, the media in the UK talk out of their arse. But what is the general consensus from Italian fans regarding Mourinho's position come summer?

kinda hard to tell. even the dumbest italian fan knows how crappy josè is sometimes in making adjustments during the game, as every time he makes a major mistake (wich happens almost on a weekly basis) the pundits remark it. plus every time he opens his mouth he does nothing but embarassing himself.
but we also realised he was able to acually give a lot to this inter, and i have the feeling his job is not done yet.
i think what i said last week fits pretty well: when u consider the main features that make a good coach, he's really poor. but nobody could have done a better job at inter. i know it's sounds like a contradiction, but it isn't.

however the main point is not how the italians feel about mourinho, but how mourinho feels about working here. on this concern, he's clearely not happy. he doesn't like the fact that most of the pundits know much more than him about tactics. he also doesn't like the fact that moratti forced him not to talk to the press, coz press conferences for him are AS important as the matches themselves (but then again i can understand why moratti thought it was better to shut him up). i believe he would like to take this inter to the next level, which would require one more season, before leaving for spain.....
but then again, at the end of this season there might be a job opening in madrid, and that would be a great chance for josè...
i really don't know. i think he might stay for another season, but a lot will depend on what will happen in madrid, i guess.
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speaking of this week fixtures, great news for palermo. napoli is pretty much out of the battle at this point (what a crazy match btw!) and genoa might do us a favour tonite (hopefully).
great performance by palermo. i just wish this season would never end. our football is so fluent, so beautiful to watch. it's hard to single out a player really, we're great on both sides (with balzaretti and cassani) we're extremely composed at midfield with liverani. pastore, hernandez and miccoli give our attack such an unpredictability with their first touch "dialogue". every player always pass the ball to a player in movement, no one ever holds the ball for more than 3 touches (usually it's 1, 2 touches and pass)..... and every time a player gets the ball there are always at least 3 teammates in motion ahead of him.
but honestly what's impressing me the most (more than pastore's growth, more than hernandez) is kjaer. this kid is simply unbelievable. today he was a GOD!

oh btw, Roma on top of the table!!! and genova derby tonite! i'm so looking forward to it

wellcome back home ste! were u at the stadium today?

 

[fishball]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

He seemed poor with the crosses in this game, but this season?! Are you serious?

yes i am, he's making more blunders this season than two previous seasons combined. yes he still saved us in many occassions, but you tend to overlook the good quality in someone after youve found the bad ones.

thai being said, he still is very important to inter, probably more important than anyone on the pitch. I rate him rly high.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

yes i am, he's making more blunders this season than two previous seasons combined.

yeah, but that's because he's been absolutely outstanding in the past 3 seasons... let's just say this season he's been more "normal"...
however, we're talking about such a fantastic keeper that, even when he's in a poor form, he still performs better than most of the goalkeepers in the world... i guess that says it all

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

shame about the Inter-Fiore result, that was 3pts for the taking, although, I would have taken 1pt gladly before the match. So, Roma are top and the Hunted has become the Hunter Lets see what Roma can do now that they need to win every game. The pressure is two-fold when you're the league leader. Besides, I'm waiting for their 'luck' to run out because as evidenced by their first goal, 'luck' is clearly what they've been running on for a good long while, not to say they're undeserved league leaders, of course

Anyway, still very, very confident, after all, a lot can happen in 5 matches

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

crap!
this derby was such a let down. the first boring genova derby in years. i sincerely regret not going out for dinner... and why no scenografy (huge banners and all the usual great stuff the fans on both sides come up with)?
and samp even got the win... oh well.
anyhow that's the table after this week matches

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Did you not see the coreografia of Genoa Ben? Was quite a sight!

edit - anyone watch Controcampo last night? Moggi called in! It was quite intense....
YouTube - Telefonata di Luciano Moggi a Controcampo [11-04-2010]

 

[Leo Bax]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

SHOCKING NEWS: Cellino fired Allegri

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

SHOCKING NEWS: Cellino fired Allegri

Great news for Palermo who host Cagliari on the weekend, eh lo zio Any thoughts on Calciopoli II? I think it's interesting that Moggi was once an Inter fan, and then he met Moratti

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Did you not see the coreografia of Genoa Ben? Was quite a sight!

i guess i missed it

SHOCKING NEWS: Cellino fired Allegri

oh well, i guess we shouldn't be suriprised... afterall it's cellino we're talking about... he's already done that with ranieri, mazzone, trapattoni, ulivieri, sonetti, reja, giampaolo, ballardini.... and many more i don't remember right now.... infact he's probably the only president in italy who has fired more coaches than zamparini and spinelli
besides i have the feeling allegri wasn't gonna stay in cagliari next year.... he's become too good to stay there, and every club who has "coach issues" is interested in him right now (juve and fiorentina especially)... if prandelli will leave firenze, then allegri will take his place imo.

as for the timing rfu, it couldn't be worse to be honest. cagliari is having a not so brilliant period lately and cellino fired allegri to shake up things and force the players to take responsability for the situation... it's a pretty common thing in italy.... the team is doing bad, the coach will most likely leave in the summer, so the president decides to fire him to force the players to step up.
i reckon cagliari is gonna play their most intense game of the season sunday..... crap!

Any thoughts on Calciopoli II?

there's not much to say really. the word itself "calciopoli 2" is extremely deceptive, as this is not another scandal. it's just the criminal trial on moggi for the 2006 scandal.... i really don't understand why the media call it calciopoli 2.

anyhow, for those who aren't updated.....
most of u will know calciopoli began with 2 inquiries. a sport inquiry (by the federcalcio.... the italian FA) and an ordinary criminal inquiry by italian magistrates.
the federcalcio trial was extremely quick (obviously) and ended with a total revolution that banned all the people involved in the scandal (moggi, giraudo, the referees, the referees selectors bergamo and pairetto and many federcalcio directors too).
the criminal trials were many (a different trial for each and every crime).... one of theese trials is about to end in theese days. it's the appeal trial against moggi. all his "friends" have already been judged and found guilty (just a few months ago); moggi is the only one remaining.

now, since it's pretty obvious he will face the same sentence of his partners in crime (actually his sentence is probably gonna be even harsher), his lawyer is trying to pull off a desperate try. he wants to make all the noise possible, claiming that he wasn't the only one who used his power to influence the referees and the referee selectors.... he says that some of the phone tapes prove his accusations.
he created this "rumour" 2 weeks ago and for 2 weeks everyone in italy was talking about theese misterious phone call tapes that might show the scandal involved also inter.... and since we couldn't hear those conversations till the court hearing (wich was yesterday), all this "buzz" made yesterday's court hearing a most anticipated one.
then yesterday came, and we heard those tapes... and, as expected, there is nothing compromising in those conversations. it's just a few calls between facchetti (inter president) and bergamo (one of the 2 referee selectors). facchetti was complaining for the refs and asking the selector to send some top flight refs to referee inter's upcoming matches. facchetti was mad because inter was being damaged by many consecutives "wrong referees calls"... so he called the referee selector and told him......
facchetti - "hey, who are u going to pick for inter's match this week"
bergamo - "it'll be a top class ref, Giacinto, don't worry"
facchetti - "i really hope so. we need a top class ref coz the our fans are getting really angry with all the mistakes the ref did against us lately"

all the phone calls go pretty much like this. facchetti, poor fella, thought inter was just being "unlucky" with the refs and so took a phone, called bergamo (one of the referee selectors) and showed his complains to him, asking for some top class referees to be sent at inter's matches.
he had no idea that it wasn't a matter of "luck". he didn't know moggi was behind "inter's bad luck". and he also didn't know that bergamo, the referee selector he was talking to, was one of "moggi's partner in crime".

now we all now moggi and his lawyer were just bluffing. there was nothing in those tapes. but still they got what they wanted: media attention.

besides we already knew there couldn't be anything in those tapes. coz those conversations were among the 7000 hours of conversations the magistrates already analised 4 years ago, when they were building the case..... we never heard theese conversations because the magistrates didn't use them as evidences (coz, as we now know, they don't prove anything about anyone).... the magistrates just picked those conversations that could prove a crime and built a case over those tapes (and many other evidences).
so the fact itself that those conversation were barred by the magistrates, was already enough to make us realise there couldn't be anything interesting in it.

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

If Leonardo does indeed leave, which would be a shame because he stands up to the board, then I'm sure Allegri will take his spot.