Serie A Thread - 2014/15 Season

[*aLe]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I'm sure Mourinho would've praised Barcelona for their 'sneakyness'

Well, swap "praised" with "blamed" and more or less you get Mourinho's attitude towards opponents.

Anyway, it looks like everything is telling Inter's gonna win this CL: you know, being strong isn't enough anymore (Manchester United docet).. You also need luck (or maybe a little help) to win the CL..

 

[Leo Bax]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Maybe I was not too clear, but of course I didn't want to associate Totti with those criminals outside the stadium. As I said it was something like a war, and surely it didn't start because of two thumbs down.
It's something like a social problem, some idiots see the stadium like a "frank zone" where they do everything they want. This is the problem. Every year it's the same story. So do we need a roman policeman dead?

you know, being strong isn't enough anymore (Manchester United docet).. You also need luck (or maybe a little help) to win the CL..

Oh no, don't say this otherwise Bayern Munchen will surely win it!

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

oh sorry leo, i guess i misunderstood
the thing is we're looking at this problem from the wrong perspective. we consider this as a "football problem", while this is a social problem. infact as soon as we turned our stadia into safe places, those idiots started creating problems outside the stadium..... this violent people are the same sort of scum of the "black block" people. u think the black block care about politics? of course not. they're just frustrated, uncivilized bastards, who use the G8 meeting to mix up with the "no global" people and cause destruction. if there weren't any G8 meetings those bastards would just find another event to unleash their brutal instincts.

the same way, theese violent people use football matches as a context, a scenario, a background. they use this sort of events, like this very intense derby, coz they know there will be huge crowds, hence it will be hard for the police to catch them.

anyhow, just to cheer us up, here's what the real fans came up with (those who were INSIDE the stadium, watching the game and supporting the teams... and not outside the stadium causing troubles). only the first 5 minutes show the coreografia, the rest of it is just post match interviews.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXvJJC6NfuY

the crowd was so loud yesterday that sky had to turn up the volume of the commentators microphones, coz the commentators couldn't hear their own voice

 

[Aboutreika18]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

When Ranieri made those substitutions at half-time, I thought of the time he made two strange substitutions against Monaco while Chelsea manager back in 2004.

The score was 1-1 and Monaco were down to 10 men by that stage and his substitutions made Chelsea unbalanced and they ended up losing 3-1.

I think the fact both De Rossi and Totti were booked as well probably played into his mind but I was surprised to see them start with such a narrow forward line against a three CB defensive line of Lazio.

You could see the difference when Taddei came on and Vucinic moved out wider on the left side and provided some width to the Roma side.

Menez was a menace playing just off Toni as well and Vucinic was as clinical as ever. There was also that luck that Roma needed with Floccarri fluffing his lines.

Credit to Ranieri for being so brave. Jose's done some gambles in the past with his substitutions but I doubt even he'd have the balls to do that.

 

[Jumbo_]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Paolo Bandini wrote this about Totti

Totti should have seen them coming, of course, since it was he who had refused to be substituted a week earlier, insisting that Menez go off instead as the Frenchman was on a booking. Both he and De Rossi had been shown first-half yellows on this occasion, allowing Ranieri justification beyond the fact neither was playing very well.

I didn't know that happened last week, makes Ranieri's 'victory' even sweeter.

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Well said about Ranieri on last page, Ben!

And yah what a comeback it would be if Roma were to win the league! It'd be amazing! This team got off to a disastrous start and nothing seemed to be going right and there was little sign for optimism. They had barely invested in team and sold player like Aquilani.

Then Spaletti left and things seemed even worse.... but look where they are now. Let's see if they can manage to get the job 'done' though. Somehow I think they will mess it up and Inter will win but I hope I'm wrong because it's a good victory for football if Roma were to win just like it would've been if Arsenal was to for example become champion of England which won't happen anymore.

exactly. this sort of humorism is tipically italian, and it's nice. this sort witty, folkloristic and creative mockeries have always been part of italian football.
i remember years ago during a napoli-verona match, the verona fans made fun of napoli with their chants for the entire match... and napoli fans displayed a huge banner "giulietta era 'na zoccola" (litterally "juliet was a bitch").... Juliet, one of the main characters of romeo and juliet, "was born" in verona. that character represents verona's sweet and romantic soul.
can u imagine a more witty way to make fun of your rivals?

Love it!

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Man he is looking old these days...

 

[Leo Bax]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Thanks for ruining this night.

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

YouTube - Mario Balotelli of Inter Milan Appears in Television Comedy With the Shirt of AC Milan

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Thanks for ruining this night.

YouTube - Balotelli tira la camiseta del Inter de Milan - 20 Abril 2010 Vs Barcelona

The worst part was when he was just strolling around the field, leaving Zanetti and Cambiasso to cover his ass. It's no wonder Barca had us pegged back in our own penalty area for 10 minutes. I can't believe there're still inter fans out there defending Mario, with the same old "oh, but he's 19, he's had a hard life" bullshit. Ma basta.... KICK HIS ASS OUT!! Anyway, I won't let this spoil my evening, or week rather. But we should treat next weeks 2nd leg like tonight never happened, like it's 0-0. But our players are very very tired, and it showed when Milito was cramping in the 70th minute.

In other news.... Totti was fined for this 'thumbs down' gesture. It may have been in good spirit, but he knew full well the implications. With Lazio staring relegation in the face, how did he think Lazio fans would take it. Totti is a 30 year old professional. There's a time and a place. Anyway, it's great to see the FIGC is getting their shit together. Finally

 

[Lizarazu77]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

is this Balotelli going to sign to Milan for next year

 

[fishball]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

i really dont know whats on his mind, reports suggest that he had an argument with matrix and being attacked by the fans at the carpark.

 

[Rentalkid]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Hmm, good job getting some undeserved attention.
He should leave the club alright, but ... who would want to buy that idiot?

 

[gerd]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I would buy him immediately.
He's very talented, young and has had a difficult youth.
People deserve a second chance (and i'm not sure he already blew his fisrt chance).

About yesterday's match: Inter were superb. Great job by Thiago Motta, Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti...really fantastic defending. This was no show football like both matches of Barcelona against Arsenal, but in another way i found this match hugely entertaining...good result for Inter and for the second match.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Hmm, good job getting some undeserved attention.
He should leave the club alright, but ... who would want to buy that idiot?

... says the man who supports a club that bought van bommel just a few years ago ..... seriously dude anyone who wouldn't buy a 19 years old purest talent like balotelli, just coz of his problems at inter, would be a much bigger idiot than balotelli himself.... no offense, but there's really no other way to put this.

The worst part was when he was just strolling around the field, leaving Zanetti and Cambiasso to cover his ass.

dude have u ever seen baggio playing? have u ever seen mancini playing? have u ever seen them tracking back as the likes of milito or rooney would do?
seriously all theese complaints about his lack of partecipation in the defensive phase of the game are getting ridiculous.... did u notice milito has missed more sitters in the last month than in his entire season at genoa? i'm sure u did.... and i'm sure u're smart enough to realise also the reason.....the thing is milito is a different kinda player, so it's okay if he loses his coolness, because he gives u a lot in terms of pressing and off the ball movement.
balotelli will never be that way....even in 3,4 years when he'll be a guy ("and not a teenager anymore"), when his work ratio will improve, even then, he will never play like milito....and not because he's worse than milito. because he's different...... he's that kinda player that will litterally disappear from the pitch for 70 minutes... then he turns the lights on and changes the course of the match on his own with a single play. this is what they're supposed to do. and if u think that's not good, if u think inter should have 6 forwards who play exactly the same kinda game, if u think there shouldn't be any balotellis any baggios, any mancinis in the world of football, if u think fantasistas shouldn't be allowed to play coz they don't track back enough, than i'm afraid, that means u can't appreciate one of the most beautiful things in football, my friend.
and btw, speaking of tactics, mario wasn't supposed to chase anybody when he came in. he was supposed to do exactly what he did, stay as deep as possible and try to keep the possession line high as soon as a defender sweeps the box with a long pass. that's what u need when there are 20 minutes to the final whisthle and the opponents are crushing u in your own midfield. and if u don't get what i'm talking about watch the barca-chelsea semifinal again. did drogba track back? did he chase any opponents? NO. he was the only player who spent is game across the midfield line. and not because he was lazy, because that's what he was supposed to do..... drogba did it for 90 minutes in that match (coz chelsea defended for the whole match), but surprisingly i don't remember any chelsea fans booing him for that.

and let me just say one more thing. i find it simply DISGUSTING to keep blaming mario for his REACTION to those inter scumbags in the curva who were booing him FROM THE MOMENT HE STEPPED INTO THE PITCH, pretending to ignore what brought him to react like that. it's impossible u guys didn't notice it. therefore u're ignoring this on purpose. and i would really like to put u guys in mario's place, i would really LOVE to put u in front of a curva packed with 20 thousands fans (who are supposed to be YOUR fans) who are booing u..... and since rfu wants to ignore the fact that mario is still a teenager, a kid who had to face more shit in his "just" 19 years than most of us will face in an entire lifetime..... then i'll do the same. i'll ignore the age factor and also your background. 20 years old, 30 years old, 40 years old..... u can be damn sure if u would find yourself in front of 20 thousand people insulting u would either give them some of their own medicine (like mario did yesterday) or cry like a baby. and please, don't even try to tell me u wouldn't, coz u know that's a lie.

u know what, i really don't know what makes me more sick, roman fans playing with their knives, or milano fans and their verbal abuses.... i still remember inter fans doing the same thing with baggio (and BOY, roberto's carreer after he left inter was such a nice slap on the face of those inter scumbags who booed him).
i also remember milan fans doing the same with gilardino during his last season in milano; just one misplaced pass and the "boo fest" used to begin. yeah sure, gila didn't react like mario... but then again gila was already 26 those days. and besides alberto has always been a very intelligent person, unlike mario.

anyhow that's the last time i write about this, because honestly i don't wanna allow myself to waste my time talking about that huge PILE OF SHIT that was standing in the curva interista yseterday.
besides there's a great match to talk about, so let's not waste our time on this topic anymore.... as nothing we can possibly say will change the future: mario is gonna leave.... and in 4 years, this move will turn into inter's most disgraceful and laughable move (much more than pirlo's move, than seedrof's move, than cannavaro's or ronaldo's ove even more than baggio's move) .... this transfer will become the epitome of inter's market failures.

Totti was fined for this 'thumbs down' gesture. It may have been in good spirit, but he knew full well the implications. With Lazio staring relegation in the face, how did he think Lazio fans would take it. Totti is a 30 year old professional. There's a time and a place

yep. and that was the right time and the right place (after the match in the stadium), as that's what goliardia is about (does any of our italian friends here knows a proper translation for goliardia?). as bergomi said, if lazio would have won, they would have come out with something similar (say, a shirt with a witty line like "scudetto? game over" or something like that)
oh and btw rfu, when totti makes fun of lazio fans the age factor is important (coz he's a 30 years old professional), but when a 19 years old kid says "fuck u" to those bastards who are booeing him, then age factor is not rilevant...... i guess that says a lot doesn't it?

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

About yesterday's match: Inter were superb. Great job by Thiago Motta, Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti...really fantastic defending. This was no show football like both matches of Barcelona against Arsenal, but in another way i found this match hugely entertaining...good result for Inter and for the second match.

to be honest Gerd, i found this game much more entertaining and interesting than the arsenal game. there was much more variety than in the arsenal-barca game. plus we saw 2 teams at their best yesterday, while during the barca-arsenal matchup, both sides were missing so many key players.

Abou, did u get my pm? i accidentaly deleted it right after sending it to u.... could u post it in here? it would be a good way to hijack the conversation, leave this hideous balotelli topic and get back to the post match conversation

 

[gigimarulla]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

the best banner in italian ultras' history is not the wonderful "giulietta sì na zoccola" imho, but one made by messina's fans during a derby against reggina some years ago...they wrote " vi invidiamo il panorama" that means " we envy your landscape"....

 

[gerd]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

That is indeed a great, great banner...

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I don't know what really happened on the pitch but it is not about Inter making a stupid move. It seems like Balotelli can't stand it anymore. My god, from the first ball he touched the fans started booing him. What the hell did he do? He apologized and Mourinho started using him but no second chance.

On the bright side, how awesome was Zanetti again...

 

[Aboutreika18]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Yeah, I got it, Ben.

jose is everything but a tactical genious. a good tactician has a specific ability in reading the game (as it unfolds), interpretate it and react by making the most appropriate adjustments.
mourinho is one of the poorests coaches i've erver seen in this department. hence he's not a tactical genius.
tactical genius are adaptable, are versatile, they can easily deny their own tactical beliefs if that's what the situation require. jose can't don that. he can't adapt, he's not versatile at all, as he always plays the same football and he would blame the entire squad for not delivering, rather than going against his tactical beliefs.

what josè is really good at is lining up the startin 11. that doesn't make him a good tactician, that makes him a coach with a great instinct. he's also great in giving the players the right mindset. and indeed that's what he did yesterday.

as for guardiola, i don't think he was outplayed. he chose a valid plot. he wanted to keep the defensive line as high as possible to suffocate inter players where they're most dangerous (on the 3\4 of the pitch). he wanted to keep the team tight, to put pressure on snejder and to stress milito and pandev by putting them constantly offside..... and he actually achieved that result pretty well, as inter has been caught in offside lots of times.

the thing is, offside trap is a bitch. it's a double-edged sword. u can do a great job for an entire match, then u make 1 single solitary mistake and u pay for it.

sure he lost so he should take the blame... but judging a match by its result is always tricky.... i mean what if milito's goal would have been ruled offside (as it was) and dani alves would have been given a penalty kick (that barca deserved aswell).... now we would be talking about a completely different match.

all in all, i think it was a fair result. despite the referee's mistakes that was the most appropriate outcome, given how both teams played.... but i wouldn't say guardiola was outplayed from tha tactical point of view.... keeping the defensive like so high is a risk (and i honestly wouldn't have taken such a decision), but we can't even say that was a tactical mistake.... the point is, sometimes it's less about tactical preparation than it is about execution.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

thanks buddy. so guys, any thoughts on the match?

@ Gigi: man, i completely forgot about that banner that was actually so witty and funny i almost can't believe an ultras could come up with it!
anyhow i guess it deserves a bit of an explanation for non italian speakers as "landscape" doesn't really fit.
a landscape is what u can see in some place (if i got it right) while "panorama" is the view u get from some place.
since reggio calabria and messina are on opposite shores of the messina strait (as u can see from that chart gigi posted)..... what u see from messina's shore.... is reggio calabria itself.
so by saying "the only thing we envy to u is your panorama" the reggini were referring to their own city (wich is messina's panorama)....
in plain words, they basically said "the best thing about messina, is that u can see reggio calabria from there"
"vi invidiamo solo il panorama" is a much more sharp and witty way to express the concept though
LOL!
anyhow gigi, are u sure the messinesi wrote that banner, coz i seem to remember the reggini wrote it (but i might be wrong).

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

and let me just say one more thing. i find it simply DISGUSTING to keep blaming mario for his REACTION to those inter scumbags in the curva who were booing him FROM THE MOMENT HE STEPPED INTO THE PITCH, pretending to ignore what brought him to react like that.

First off, as far as I heard and saw, inter fans did not boo when Mario stepped on the pitch. In fact, he was applauded when he attempted that flick over his head and a Barca player before going on a little run. He was booed when he showed little effort to RUN back after losing possession and then made that audacious attempt from 30+ meters out which went well wide.

Listen, we're playing Barcelona, Balotelli might not be the sort of player who will chase and hound for a full 90 minutes, but for the 10 minutes he was on, it was required. Cambiasso isn't the quickest of players, nor is Motta. Eto'o had been running like a madman throughout. Half of our players were exhausted and cramping. Maicon lost a tooth!! And there was Mario, going on his sunday afternoon stroll through the park

speaking of tactics, mario wasn't supposed to chase anybody when he came in. he was supposed to do exactly what he did, stay as deep as possible and try to keep the possession line high as soon as a defender sweeps the box with a long pass.

That is somewhat true but he didn't even manage that. He rarely made an effort to hold onto possession whenever he received a pass and when he did lose he would stand there with a bemused look on his face, watching as Eto'o went on the chase. You notice how Pique was playing as forward during all this? Because he didn't have to bother defending. In any case Mario could've at least jogged and not dragged his feet around. This was our biggest match of the year (perhaps the decade). He could at least show some interest in helping protect our lead but he has such a lackluster attitude you'd think he just woke up from hibernation

For me this is a sign of a lack of respect to team mates who have been nothing but nice and supportive. And then he goes on to desecrate the Inter jersey after all the club (especially Moratti) has done to nurture his talent... unacceptable.

And you say the inter fans are an ungrateful bunch, but you forget how much patience we showed to the likes of Adriano, Recoba and even Ronaldo. Whats-more, the Inter fans have always stood behind Balotelli, we adored him when he first arrived on the scene, lavished him with praise when he scored versus Juve, came to his defence when he was on the receiving end of racist chantings from Juve and Chievo fans... so don't berate the curva for putting their love for the club before one player

Say its laughable, but I'd much rather an average player who is eager to learn and play, listens to his coach, is willing to work and support his team mates, than some strong headed half-wit who is only interested in what he wants. I wonder, did you laugh when Roma sold Cassano to Real Madrid?

Anyway, lets not allow this idiot ruin what is a monumental occasion for Inter fans and huge positive for italian football... let's dance

 

[YoungGun_UK]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I didn't think it was that bad, yes he was strolling sort of, Just look at the likes of C.Ronaldo, Robben and Ibra. The problem is Mario hasn't proven enough to do that but he has the confidence to believe hes in that bracket to not put in the extra effort.

If he fulfils his potential the further up the field he remains will be a asset as then defenders will think twice to bomb past if leaving him with all that space.

 

[gigimarulla]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

zio , i'm absolutely sure that the banner was messinese, scoreggina's ultras are not able to have such ideas....
by the way i've searched it in some ultras site after your post and they confirm that has been made against reggina.
thanks for the explaination for not italian people (even if you wrote the opposite of the meaning,messina's people envy reggio's people because they can look at messina ), i thought the map was clear enough but maybe i was wrong

i remember during a cosenza-reggina some years ago also "dio non( in english=don't) salvi la reggina" that was funny too...In italy we say "dio salvi la regina" (with just one "g") to say "god save the queen" so...

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

i see gigi. thanks for the info buddy

I didn't think it was that bad, yes he was strolling sort of, Just look at the likes of C.Ronaldo, Robben and Ibra. The problem is Mario hasn't proven enough to do that....

yeah, but given the playtime he got so far, and considering how young he is, he's already proved much more than what ronaldo, ibra and robben did at that age.

First off, as far as I heard and saw, inter fans did not boo when Mario stepped on the pitch.

no buddy, i heard very well. he was booed at his very first touch (wich btw was a fantastic flick).

Listen, we're playing Barcelona, Balotelli might not be the sort of player who will chase and hound for a full 90 minutes, but for the 10 minutes he was on, it was required. Cambiasso isn't the quickest of players, nor is Motta. Eto'o had been running like a madman throughout. Half of our players were exhausted and cramping. Maicon lost a tooth!! And there was Mario, going on his sunday afternoon stroll through the park

i got to admit the picture u're drawing here (wich is also correct) is very funny. especially the contrast between maicon "sacrificing his set of teeth for the greater good of the team" while balotelli takes a stroll around the pitch

the point is that's his game. in a few years he will definitely improve his work ratio a bit (just a bit though). but it won't even matter that much, coz teamwork is not what u should ask to a player like mario.

lots of people and also lots of coaches (especially those who have never played professional football) have a "democratic" idea of football. this is plain wrong. football is not democratic. some players will always be entitled to a special treatment. maradona managed to have his barcelona coach rescheduling the training sessions in the afternoon... coz he wanted to sleep till late morning everyday! now of course balotelli is not maradona.... but then again he's not gone this far either.

what u got to do is establish what a player is worth. cassano has always been a fantastic player, but he tore apart roma's dressing room with his attitude, so it wasn't worth it.
u compare mario to cassano, but believe me, u have no idea how wrong this comparison is. cassano had a fight with his teammates on several occasions.... he skipped weeks of training session without even giving notice to the club.... he called "asshole" his own president, and when pradè (roma's team director) told him to apologise, he replied "i will do that only if u get on your knees and beg me to do it"...
can u imagine balotelli acting like this?

infact what really drives me crazy in this story is exactly this. mourinho pictured mario as "a cassano" (and he brought lots of people aroud the world to think he's like cassano was), while he isn't. mario is an idiot, he has a "lazy-looking" attitude, he's way too confrontational...... but he's not a cunt.
if he wasn't such a special thing, i would agree with u. i'd say let's just get rid of him, why wasting our time trying to educate this little brat.

the point is u had an enourmous luck in finding him.... european clubs spend millions for years just to get a chance to find a kid like mario.... u had this luck.... and u're wasting a chance to raise and hold what will probably become a legendary player, just coz of his ballsy attitude... just coz he doesn't track back...
kids like mario aren't really hard to handle. he's not a cunt. he's confrontational.... he had to become gutsy and confrontational to face the challenges life put on his path..... but since this kinda kids are usually also pretty stupid (and mario is no exception) they're also pretty easy to manipulate. u can have them doing what u want... u just don't have to look overbearing. don't antagonize him, let him understand u wanna help him.
such a tactic would have had no effect on the young cassano, coz he was a real cunt. mario is like a stray dog; show him u're on his side and he'll lower his guard down. that's what mancini did. he understood how to control mario from day one, coz he was actually pretty similar to him when he was a kid.

i repeat, if he wasn't such a special thing, i'd agree it's not worth to waste your time with such a little brat. but what u have in your team right now is a very young player who has the build of a proper CF, the agility of a winger and the touch of a trequartista. u have a guy who could play like mancini and, at the same time, score as many goals as a vieri.
u have a kid who, despite all his dramas and the short playtime he got, managed to score 19 goals in 55 matches... and he's never played a full match either... so minute-wise, those 55 appearances add up to probably less than 30 full matches!!! and he's never even played as a CF.... he's usually lined up quite far from the box, along the sideline (wich makes his goal ratio even more unbelievable)..... AND HE'S STILL 19!!!! he's already by far the most impressive under 20 player in the world in his role.... and he's most likely to become one of the very best players (and also the most complete and versatile forward) on the planet.

u don't give up to such a gem unless he does something really crazy (like this things cassano did in his early years). yeah i know, now u'll mention the time he wore a milan shirt and this last incident...... but this is not the beginning isn't it... this is what happened after (and because of) the antagonizing approach the club had with him... u brought the situation to this point (by "u" i mean both mario and mourinho). it's not like he suddenly woke up one day and decided it was a good idea to wear a milan shirt... he did that after mourinho put him OFF THE SQUAD for 5 weeks..... and for reasons we never knew (as not mourinho, nor the club ever explained us WHY they punished mario this way).

sadly, the situation has gone to far to be solved now. this confrontational attitude mourinho had with him put mario on the defensive.... jose managed to pull the worst out of mario and now also his relationship with the fans is irreparably compromised.
it's such a shame this situation came to this point. and trust me, u have no idea how much inter will regret this in 3\4 years.

anyhow u're right about one thing. this is not the time to talk about this, as that's a great moment for inter and u should just enjoy the great result against barça and focus on the 2nd leg (also because at this point there's nothing that can be done to solve the balotelli situation).
so let's move on and talk about the champions league match... or about the upcoming serie a fixtures

 

[cfdh_edmundo]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Well I got back from Italy last night, I was able to go to the Rome derby and then the Inter - Barca game. I thought the Rome derby was great, a superb atmosphere, and reminded me of what I've been missing for the last 7 or so years since I last watched a match in Italy. Lazio were very good in the first half, Rocchi seemed to role back the years (but he was spent by around 50 mins), and I thought Dias had a good game. Roma didnt really get into their stride and Floccari could and should have won it. You could tell that, mentally, after the miss Lazio were going to struggle. I thought Muslera was a bit sloppy for the free kick, it looked like he wasnt at all ready. Lazio still tried hard and could have made it 2-2 near the end, even when down to 10 men might have equalised. I think they will be ok this season but they have a very hard run in, with their only home game being Inter.

Obviously there was some trouble during the game (in the oppsite stand to me the Laterale Sud / tevere) and the stewarding / policing in the stadium should have been a bit quicker to stop this, but it wasn't the worst I've seen at a match. At then end there was a bit of trouble I think, I saw a load of Roma fans running, but I don't know what exactly happened. In the section I was in, there were Roma and Lazio fans sitting near each other and there were no problems, so I think it's just a violent minority.

The Inter Barca game was great, I managed to get a ticket for the Barca end, which was lucky as I think they're now cross-checking ticket names with ID for home fans. The San Siro is a special stadium, and even up in the top tier the view is great. There was no trouble at the Inter Barca game, and the policing was pretty efficient. I would really recommend going to Italian football if you can, there is a lot of passion at the games of most of the teams and the quality of football is high, even the food at the stadium is much better than over here.

 

[cfdh_edmundo]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

The thing about Balotelli is he seemed to be trying audacios wild shots from around 50-60 yards out (and it wasnt even as if Victor Valdez was off his line and he could lob him) - I think maybe it was his lack of experience, he didn't know that he should have been keeping the ball, running to the corner. Maybe he didn't realise how much difference there is mentally between 3-2 and 3-1 in terms of the second leg. Had Pandev not gone off earlier or had Inter kept Julio Cruz in the summer (and he'd been on the bench) I think Balotelli wouldn't have been brought on.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

oh i forgot about your trip in italy edmundo. happy belated birthday btw
the roma derby and inter-barca... wow u had quite a week!

I would really recommend going to Italian football if you can, there is a lot of passion at the games of most of the teams and the quality of football is high, even the food at the stadium is much better than over here.

what's really sad is that people outside italy tend to get a very deceptive image of italian stadia from the news.
taking as example the roma derby (wich is the most "violent" game in italy), even though it's just about 30, 40, 50 little bastards fighting each others (those scumbags never bother "normal people" they just look for each others in specific places, like ponte milvio and then start their fights), people will always imagine that being in an italian stadium is something dangerous, while that's absolutely not the case.

we have to thank those scumbags for this. a few dozens bastards, destroyed the reputation of all the roman fans (who are honestly very easy going and passionate).

the crowd at the roma derby was awesome.... the italian commentator said he couldn't even hear his own voice while speaking coz the fans chants were just too loud

 

[cfdh_edmundo]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Yeah thanks it was great to be watching it again, even if getting there and back took 5 trains, and a car and a ferry!

The thing is Italian football is 90% safe, if someone as a tourist goes to a match they will be fine. The only problem they will have is actually getting the tickets since there are a lot of regulations now and you need ID to match the name on the ticket. Even at the Rome derby it was fine, there was trouble if you were looking for it, but there was no trouble if you were a normal fan. In sections of the stadium some Lazio and Roma fans were sitting next to each other without any problems. I went to Napoli v West Ham in the summer and there was trouble at this game (in West Ham) but it was all caused by West Ham fans who went running along the street to the tube station looking for "latins" to attack. In some ways England could be as dangerous as Italy to watch football.

For all the talk in the English media about running tracks and delapedated stadiums in Serie A, the Olimpico and San Sero had great views of the pitch and in Rome the track is almost covered over on the Monte Mario side so you're still pretty near the action if you're on a lateral stand.