Serie A Thread - 2014/15 Season

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

it's just august football Matt. no italian team is ever gonna loog good in august (except my mighty PALERMO!!! ). serie a is the last league to begin (in september) and our coaches work to put their players in the best condition by october.
so if your team sucks in august, there's nothing to worry about. its normal for italian teams. have u seen how tired samp looked against werder?

plus i heard del neri was fuming after yesterday's performance, and an angry coach is exactly what u want after a disappointing match in august. he said:

"i really don't like this. i didn't see the tactical improvements i was expecting from my players. that's not my football. the players were too scared. we gotta have more courage. i don't want my players to feel guilty for last year's performance. that's a new season and i want them to start over......
...we were too much wasteful. too many loss of possession. the long ball is just a "last resource" and cannot be the main play in our playbook, coz that's not my football. i know we don't have a regista, but every midfielder in this team can dictate the tempo of the plays"

i gotta be honest, i strongly disagree with del neri's last statement. NONE of juve players can dictate the rhythm precisely because none of em is a regista. this has been juventus' main issue in the last 4 seasons, and i can't see how things could possibly change until they will address this problem by signing a regista.

and honestly, i think del neri himself doesn't really believe what he said about the regista matter. he knows football too well to really believe that. besides he's always deployed a regista in his teams: corini in chievo, cigarini at atalanta, palombo at sampdoria (yeah, palombo isn't really a regista, but like de rossi... and unlike juventus midfielders... he can play in that role when asked).
he's always relied on a regista in his teams, so he certainly understands he can't ask marchisio or sissoko (i'm not even gonna mention melo) to play as a regista.

i think juve did a pretty good job on the market this season. bonucci is an amazing signing and the bonucci-chiellini partnership is gonna become one of the very best cb partnerships in europe (probably the best cb partnership), as chiellini himself will play much more confortably, now that cannavaro is gone.
motta is another fantastic signing. martinez and krasic might be those "wideouts" del neri needs to play his football (del neri's football requires quality along the flanks and a brain in midfield).
the only question mark left (but it's a huge question mark) is the regista's position.

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Who cares about Juve ... did anyone see this new television series called Javier Pastore?

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Don't jinx him now. Yes he played a nice game but I think because the Barca mids stepped off him too much, affording him a lot of space to collect and spray passes. Amazing assist by the way. But best regista under 25... I don't know, let him get more regular football, playing consistently at a high level, and then we can talk, but certainly the potential is there.

i didn't mean to jinx him i just summarized what that spanish journalist wrote in the article
as for the space barca left him, well that's how it goes in la liga. plays' construction is more important than pressing in spain, so luca will have much more freedom he used to have in italy.
as for the "best under 25 regista" label, i don't know, it just came out.... but to be honest i can't really think of a single under 25 regista in europe who is better than him (or even just on par with him).... but hey, maybe i'm forgetting someone.
and i'm not talking about potential. i'm talking about his current skills. i'm talking about what he can already do right now.
coz if we have to talk about potential, then cigarini is "potentially" one of the best european registas in the last 30 years.... and the only regista who can actually tackle.
but then again, talking about potential is always extremely risky, wich is why i don't like to judge players' potential skills.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

btw did any of u guys watched palermo yesterday? pastore, hernandez, cassani and balzaretti were on fire!
i gotta say i'm really amazed at cassani's huge improvement over the last 2 seasons.... i never thought he could become such a nice player!..... goes to show how pointless is to talk about potential sometimes.
balzaretti was a monster as usual. i can't understand why prandelli didn't call him..... i mean, i can understand criscito... but molinaro!?!?! COME ON!! choosing molinaro ahead of balzaretti is just as ridiculous as picking amauri ahead of pazzini!!
oh well...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-Sg9myb5GU

Who cares about Juve ... did anyone see this new television series called Javier Pastore?

i'm not really fond of tv series, but i gotta admit that's really a nice one!
and i got a feeling the second season is gonna be even better than the first one!

anyway there's no much left to say about pastore. at this point it's pretty clear this kid is a legend in the making. not even messi and maradona were that consistant at his age. and when u think that in 4 years argentina will be able to deploy a 27 years old messi and a 25 years old pastore.... Good Lord, who's gonna stop that argentina team!!!

what really impressed me yesterday were the newcomers. i know maccarone improved a lot over the last 2 seasons, but i certainly wasn't expecting that! palermo is not an easy team to fit in for a newcomer. we're a first touch football team and that means u gotta work a lot to harmonize your movements with the rest of the team.... yet he looked like he had been playing for palermo for years!
also pinilla was very very impressive!
the only one who didn't impress me at all was glik, but to be honest, i wasn't expecting much from him. afterall he only played coz goian is injured. anyway i really hope that munoz is as good as people say.

one last note about Sirigu. WOW! it's gonna be hard for marchetti to get the national team spot, if this kid keeps playing like this!

 

[matt1288]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Sirigu had an awesome game!! I was shocked when I saw that save from the header. But I have to say Maribor were very wasteful at times! I think Maccarone played very well from the highlights that I saw last night and as you said it looks like he's been playing there for years! I hope to him score more long range efforts that he's famous for in the Palermo shirt. (I remember that super goal he scored with Siena just before he left).

And Pastore was fantastic in the game, making great runs, accurate passing and to top it off a beautiful goal created by himself. He certainly has a bright future ahead of him and I hope he stays at Palermo for many seasons.

And any Interisti on here, do you know anything about the rumor with Marchisio? Apparently you were linked with him a few days ago since you guys didn't manage to get hold of Mascherano? From what I read Marchisio immediately snubbed and said that he wants to become a Juventus icon in the future. I'm very contented with this because I love players who play with this kind of passion and he is a product of our youth system.

In other news, Juve are linked on a loan deal for Aquilani? I just hope this doesn't mean Marchisio wont play.

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

as for the "best under 25 regista" label, i don't know, it just came out.... but to be honest i can't really think of a single under 25 regista in europe who is better than him (or even just on par with him).... but hey, maybe i'm forgetting someone.

heck i can't think of anyone either. There's Banega of Valencia but he has consistency issues, on his day though, a truly awesome player especially going forward. I wanted him at Inter when I saw him vs Milan in the world club cup all those years ago. He was on par with Pirlo on that day, if not better. Eh who else... Sahin of Dortmund, Turkish, only 21, quality passer of the ball and good awareness, he always seems to know what to do with the ball and when to release it. Defensive positioning is sound but not sure about his tackling. If you have time...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZrhrNpwBh8&translated=1

Then there's Fabregas, without the doubt the best regista of his generation Thing is there isn't much competition because regista's are pretty much extinct. Nowadays coaches favor hardworking combative DMFs with good passing skills like Ledesma and Gokhan Inler. Oh and Hernanes now with Lazio, not sure if he qualifies as a regista in the classical sense, he's more mobile I think. I don't know too much about him but I think he was excellent signing by Lazio and I look forward to seeing more of him this season.

and the only regista who can actually tackle. but then again, talking about potential is always extremely risky, wich is why i don't like to judge players' potential skills.[/quote]Funny you mentioned that because his tackling was a bit off in that game.

i mean, i can understand criscito... but molinaro!?!?! COME ON!! choosing molinaro ahead of balzaretti is just as ridiculous as picking amauri ahead of pazzini!!
oh well...

yeah, exactly I'm still dumbfounded as to who Amauri managed to squirm is way ahead of Pazzini. Maybe Prandelli needed to seem him play first and guage his abilities along side Cassano. Nevertheless, a complete waste of time. But Molinaro ahead Balzeratti was just inexcusable. There's no way Prandelli can defend that one. About Cassani, I agree with you 100%. Although brief, I liked what I saw vs IvC. About Bonucci and Chellini being the best CB partnership, I have to disagree. They're both great tacklers but positioning.... well I'll keep "schtum" for now until a few months into the season but you cn guess what I'm thinking

And any Interisti on here, do you know anything about the rumor with Marchisio? Apparently you were linked with him a few days ago since you guys didn't manage to get hold of Mascherano? From what I read Marchisio immediately snubbed and said that he wants to become a Juventus icon in the future. I'm very contented with this because I love players who play with this kind of passion and he is a product of our youth system.

Nah man, we're not that desperate I like Marchisio but we already had one Juve player (Ibra) and that's bad enough, two in the space of 5 years I really couldn't stomach. Nothing to worry about though. Will never happen. What is happening is that rather than waste 25 million on another DMF, Branca would rather use that on Schweinsteiger who is a much more complete midfielder than Mascherano could ever hope to be. Branca is in Germany right now I think. Fingers crossed

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

oh yeah, banega is definitely a good call, as i thought, i did forget about someone.
as for sahin, he's good, but not on par with cigarini.
and concerning fabregas, i wouldn't really describe him as a regista.... come to think about it, i really wouldn't know how to describe fabregas' role at all! maybe something in between, a bit of a regista, a bit of a mezza ala?.... anyway that's tom's department for sure

Funny you mentioned that because his tackling was a bit off in that game.

yeah, but then again, the whole team was forcing to gain the lead, so they all had to take some risks, talking about positioning (and a good tackle is 50% positioning, 50% timing).

anyway, just to give u an idea of what a tackler luca is, take a look at this vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA39GiDzCW0
u'll never see banega doing such tackles... hell u'll never see any regista tackling with such terrific timing.

In other news, Juve are linked on a loan deal for Aquilani? I just hope this doesn't mean Marchisio wont play.

nah, marchisio and alberto are different players. they don't exclude each others. if anything they complete each others.
apparently the aquilani deal is almost official. a loan with a buy option.

from a tactical point of view, that's not gonna solve juve's issues. aquilani is not a regista, although many people think he might become one, given his great vision and passing skill.... that's what rafa thought... to be honest, i'm not one of those people. i think aquilani is a mezz'ala, an awesome mezz'ala, but not a regista.

besides the problem with aquilani is always the same. given his history, u know he's not going to play more than 20 matches for season.

but then again, we're talking about a loan+ option here, so juventus has absolutely nothing to lose from it. i can see del neri trying to deploy aquilani in the same position he used padoin at atalanta.
in the end, it's a free shot at a very talented (but also very fragile) player.... as long as juve doesn't think aquilani might become their regista, that's a good move.
from liverpool's point of view instead, that's a very stupid move..... it's was already a stupid move by liverpool to sign aquilani in the first place (as i said from day one), but letting him move for a loan+option.... that's even more stupid....
.... not that i expect any sense from liverpool's management theese days.

What is happening is that rather than waste 25 million on another DMF, Branca would rather use that on Schweinsteiger who is a much more complete midfielder than Mascherano could ever hope to be. Branca is in Germany right now I think. Fingers crossed

yeah spending 25 millions for mascherano would be just a stupid move by inter. the thing is rafa seems to want him.... i just hope moratti learned something from the quaresma deal, and won't indulge rafa, as he indulged mourinho (who badly wanted quaresma as soon as he arrived in milano).

as for schweini, i hate to be a killjoy rfu, but that's never gonna happen. bayern won't ever let bastian leave. bayern's management are pretty bad when it comes to buying players, but they're certainly smart enough to hold such an important asset.
however i most certainly agree with u, a schweinsteiger kinda player would certainly be more useful to inter than mascherano.

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

I read Branca was in Germany for Klose which is very weird cause Inter need to sort out Suazo first and maybe Kerlon also. If this is true he will surely push for Bastian but yeah Bayern really hold on to their stars. Lahm and Ribery were fights with both Barcelona and Real.

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

anyway, just to give u an idea of what a tackler luca is, take a look at this vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA39GiDzCW0

Was that for me Ben? C'mon now, you know I follow U21s closely. By the way Ranocchia is the real deal. I suppose he's with the U21s because he was recently injured but definitely he's better than Bonucci and Lucchini and should be in the senior side. Hell why not just get rid of Chellini

u'll never see banega doing such tackles...

its funny because it's true Banega is a lazy shit sometimes but he is better as pure 'regista' I think, Cigarini is more of a complete midfielder.

About Aquilani, it's not a bad signing, but does he fit in this current Juve line-up? His best position is basically as an attacking-mid, with two DMFs operating behind him. He would be perfect for Roma, but I have doubts about him playing alongside Marchisio in the middle, or out wide. It's possible, but you won't get the best out of Aquilani. Why didn't they just keep hold of Candreva, they're playing style is identical. For sure he won't start ahead of Marchisio, not in a 4-4-2 (or 4-4-1). Are they compatible? Marchisio is more of a CMF and Aquilani a mezz'ala. I don't see it working.

And Krasnic for 15 million Jesus what are Jugay doing. What, they thought with the blonde hair he was as good as Nedved

yeah spending 25 millions for mascherano would be just a stupid move by inter.

It's doable though. Think of Brazil this WC, two DMFs, one playing slightly ahead (Cambiasso who is quite good going forward), Motta further forward and Sneiper playing to the left as he usually does. Basically a 4-2-2-2 formation. Good thing about it is all of our attacking players will be relieved of defensive duties, Sneiper, Eto'o, etc, won't have a lick of work to do with Cambiasso and Mascherano patrolling the midfield. I wouldn't even have to worry about playing Barca. It could work, only we would have close to no width, only Maicon on the right. But it's definitely an improvement from last season.

If this is true he will surely push for Bastian but yeah Bayern really hold on to their stars. Lahm and Ribery were fights with both Barcelona and Real.

Damn Germans. So greedy with their stars

Anyway, Supercoppa tmrw. So looking forward to it. Roma were getting to cocky last season, they must be put in their place. Again Sorry I just love fucking Roma over, even more than Milan, BUT not more than Jugay though...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75mmmW2JbCM

Love it

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Have to say I still grin when I see you write "jugay"

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

By the way Ranocchia is the real deal. I suppose he's with the U21s because he was recently injured but definitely he's better than Bonucci and Lucchini and should be in the senior side. Hell why not just get rid of Chellini

ranocchia is another stunning youngster. but it's hard to say wich one will become the best in 4 years. but, unlike ranocchia, bonucci was a surprise. Ranocchia was supposed to become a world class centre back ever since he was 13!... i'm not joking, every fan in italy has been reading about this huge young prospect in the past years... we all knew him even before we could actually see him playing. bonucci instead earned himself the spotlight just 2 seasons ago.
but in the end they're both still very young (bonucci is 23 and ranocchia is 21), so it's impossible to tell how they will develop.
as i said before, i prefere to stick to current ability, rather than risking a judgement over potential skill.... so i'll just say that, so far, they're among the very best young cbs in europe. both of em.

Why didn't they just keep hold of Candreva?

that's actually a very good question. i guess the answer should be "aquilani is coming for free, while candreva would have costed".
at least that's the only possible answer that makes sense to me.
candreva and aquilani play in the same role (mezz'ala), but interpretate that role differently. i think candreva would have been more useful to juve than aquilani (by saying that, i don't necessarily mean candreva is a better player, they're just different).... the thing is candreva is younger and (considering aquilani's injury problems) more reliable.
i think money is the key factor here. aquilani is coming for free, and it's almost sure that, at the end of the season, he's going back to liverpool, unless (and that would be really unexpected) he manages to stay fit for an entire season.

look at it like this. if he doesn't deliver because of his injury (coz a fit aquilani would definitely deliver), then they'll just send him back to liverpool....
if he stays fit for the whole season (wich is unlikely), then juventus will be more than glad to pay those 17 million euros (a fit aquilani for 17 millions would be a great bargain).
it's a win-win situation.... for juventus. (and a lose-lose situation for liverpool).

It's doable though. Think of Brazil this WC, two DMFs, one playing slightly ahead (Cambiasso who is quite good going forward), Motta further forward and Sneiper playing to the left as he usually does. Basically a 4-2-2-2 formation. Good thing about it is all of our attacking players will be relieved of defensive duties, Sneiper, Eto'o, etc, won't have a lick of work to do with Cambiasso and Mascherano patrolling the midfield. I wouldn't even have to worry about playing Barca. It could work, only we would have close to no width, only Maicon on the right. But it's definitely an improvement from last season.

yeah it's doable.... but not for 25 millions. mascherano is a very good player, but if i were branca, having 25 millions to spend, i'd sign a regista, or a metodista. long story short, 25 millions for palombo or schweini make sense, 25 millions for mascherano is way too much, considering u already got cambiasso and thiago motta.

 

[lukas_rod]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Looks like Hernanes did well in his first match, even playing just a half of the game
YouTube - Lazio - Deportivo La Coruna 3-1 Debutto di Hernanes Gol, Assist e Magie

What you guys can say about Lazio in this season? Are they promissing?

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Well actually, they had a good squad last year too, but were just so unlucky and their manager just couldn't get results. This year they are still building, and have got some good money from selling Kolarov. I think people aren't expecting much from them, but I think they will fight for Europa League.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

yeah, they just had a bad season last year. it happens every season. some midclass club gets a few tough breaks and gets out of the competition (this season was lazio and udinese, the season before was sampdoria).
the thing is the competition is so tough and there are so many clubs on pretty much the same level that u just can't afford any false steps.

edit:
btw guys, zemanlandia is officially back!!!!
first match of the season, 0-3 win, in a away fixture
the genious is officially back on track!!!
http://www.corrieredellosport.it/calcio/lega_pro_serie_d/lega_pro/2010/08/22-125514/Foggia+torna+Zemanlandia%3A+3-0+alla+Cavese+in+trasferta
i can't wait for a serie a club to hire him

 

[matt1288]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Did anyone manage to watch the Trofeo Berlusconi last night? A pretty good game but Milan had plenty more chances. It was clear though that Del Neri was putting on players to regain fitness for example Grygera, Legrotaglie, Melo, Martinez and Trezeguet. I thought Melo had a good game and was looking more confident than usual, taking on players, making good challenges and switching play but his positioning sometimes is very poor (I remember Ben you were saying something about Melo not being very good at positioning quite a few months ago).

Also Motta said after the game that Juve are not done in the transfer market, that we are looking for another defender and midfielder, I wonder who we could sign.

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

A left back for sure. De Ceglie was good yesterday but looking at the signings they made, they should have gone for a left back. They might go for Bocchetti but looks like Milan are ahead of them in the negotiations. Milan and Genoa seem to have built something.

The midfielder issue is strange, they are already packed in the center and on the sides. Unless they sell Camoranesi and Salihamidzic then no need.

On another note, Genoa president said that if Veloso made a great season he will have to leave like Milito, surely for Inter. Makes more sense now.

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Or Milan, so that Boateng goes to Genoa and Gattuso leaves

 

[matt1288]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

A left back for sure. De Ceglie was good yesterday but looking at the signings they made, they should have gone for a left back. They might go for Bocchetti but looks like Milan are ahead of them in the negotiations. Milan and Genoa seem to have built something.

The midfielder issue is strange, they are already packed in the center and on the sides. Unless they sell Camoranesi and Salihamidzic then no need.

On another note, Genoa president said that if Veloso made a great season he will have to leave like Milito, surely for Inter. Makes more sense now.

De Ceglie is a good player but he's so unconfident! You can see him every time he looks like he's scared to go for the ball or do something. Also a thing I've noticed when playing with De Ceglie is that he leaves a huge gap between the centre back (Chiellini) and this allows the opponents to send long balls or through balls, his positioning is poor and I really wouldn't mind reinforcing at left back.
We were linked with Bastos at one point but I think Lyon were asking for too much, I don't quite remember what happened in the end.

Apparently Preziosi said that Genoa have possibly signed the 'future Messi' his name is Juan Manuel Iturbe and he grew up in Paraguay but will probably play for Argentina.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Did anyone manage to watch the Trofeo Berlusconi last night? .......... I thought Melo had a good game and was looking more confident than usual, taking on players, making good challenges and switching play but his positioning sometimes is very poor (I remember Ben you were saying something about Melo not being very good at positioning quite a few months ago).

yeah, positioning is definitely one of his biggest weaknesses. the melo situation is quite tricky. u absolutely can't sell him, as that would be a disaster from a financial point of view (u could never get even just half the money u spent on him), but u can't even let the fans "boo" him whenever he does a mistake, as that certainly won't help him regain his confidence and coolness on the pitch (although i don't think melo has ever had any coolness at all )
i think u just gotta be very patient with him for now and try to make him feel as confortable as possible on the pitch (fans play a big role in this with their reactions).

as for the midfield, even though, as zeem said, juve is already packed in that department, the bianconeri could certainly use a proper regista (man, we've said this so many times in the last few years )
if u'd sign a regista and if amauri would be back to his palermo's standards, juventus would instantly become a serious title contender imo..... but i'm afraid they think they already covered the regista position with aquilani.

edit:
.... well, maybe "serious title contender" is a bit of a stretch, but a regista would definitely mean an instant improvement of the whole team

 

[bebo]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

what is the rumor about this Riccardo Montolivo ? I heard Arsenal bid on him and why would Wenger want him I`ve seen his name more than twice already any news from your end is much appreciated .Last time I heard a rumor from Serie A league it was Melo n Buffon both supposedly were on the radar.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

arsenal making an offer for montolivo?.... doesn't sound right to me. montolivo is not good enough to be a starter ahead of fabregas (nowadays montolivo plays in pretty much the same role as cesc), but he's way too good (and expensive) to be a backup, even in a top club like arsenal.
i really can't see arsene making an offer for montolivo right now... not with fabregas in london.

besides getting montolivo wouldn't be easy at all, as montolivo is for fiorentina what fabregas represents for arsenal. he's their young leader, their captain, the core of their football and the image of the club. so, as u can imagine, fiorentina wouldn't let him go so easily.

and another reason why i don't think there's any truth in this rumour u heard is because i haven't heard a word about this rumour in italian media... if arsene would have made an offer for montolivo, right now it would all over the news in italy... while it isn't.

on another topic, arsenal just made another offer to palermo for hernandez... 15 millions euros
and zampa refused the offer!! he said in 2 years he'll be worth at least 25 millions......
i gotta say i'm happy he rejected arsenal's offer, not because i think 15 millions isn't enough for abel right now... but because i believe abel might really become 1 hell of a player in 1,2 seasons and his pricetag will raise accordingly.
i just wish zampa would have shown such wisdom regarding wolfsburg offer for kjaer...

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

And another 25 mill for Pastore refused. Palermo must be good financially now after the sales and didn't Palermo sell Cavani to make room for Abel to get more playtime?

Montolivo deal seems impossible. Why wait for till 5 days in the end of the market and Fiorentina already got hit hard with Jovetic being out for long. Bolatti seems to be heading on a loan though. Injure jovetic and go out.

Milan seem to be leading the transfer rumours now a days. Ibra to Milan, Borriello to Barcelona(), Abate to Fiorentina, Bocchetti to Milan,...

We just signed Bruno Montelongo, a 22 year old right midfielder/right back from River Plate of Uruguay. He is a complete unknown.

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

I'm going to wait for the Bruno news to be official. It seems to only be from 1 source. I also don't think Borriello will leave.... but Huntelaar maybe.

 

[bebo]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

arsenal making an offer for montolivo?.... doesn't sound right to me. montolivo is not good enough to be a starter ahead of fabregas (nowadays montolivo plays in pretty much the same role as cesc), but he's way too good (and expensive) to be a backup, even in a top club like arsenal.
i really can't see arsene making an offer for montolivo right now... not with fabregas in london.

besides getting montolivo wouldn't be easy at all, as montolivo is for fiorentina what fabregas represents for arsenal. he's their young leader, their captain, the core of their football and the image of the club. so, as u can imagine, fiorentina wouldn't let him go so easily.

and another reason why i don't think there's any truth in this rumour u heard is because i haven't heard a word about this rumour in italian media... if arsene would have made an offer for montolivo, right now it would all over the news in italy... while it isn't.

on another topic, arsenal just made another offer to palermo for hernandez... 15 millions euros
and zampa refused the offer!! he said in 2 years he'll be worth at least 25 millions......
i gotta say i'm happy he rejected arsenal's offer, not because i think 15 millions isn't enough for abel right now... but because i believe abel might really become 1 hell of a player in 1,2 seasons and his pricetag will raise accordingly.
i just wish zampa would have shown such wisdom regarding wolfsburg offer for kjaer...

cheers It might be Journalism recycling like if Cesc left to Barca already

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Yeah I highly doubt the Montolivo rumours are true. It just doesn't make much sense.

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

As if Ghana losing out in the 1/4 finals was bad enough, now Sampdoria fuck up after going 3-0 up

Maybe the lega calcio should consider commencing serie a ealier because clearly it was a fitness issue.

besides getting montolivo wouldn't be easy at all, as montolivo is for fiorentina what fabregas represents for arsenal. he's their young leader, their captain, the core of their football and the image of the club. so, as u can imagine, fiorentina wouldn't let him go so easily.

but they have D'Ago now so.... i'm not saying he'll go to arsenal, but i don't think viola fans would mind him going, at the right price of course

i gotta say i'm happy he rejected arsenal's offer, not because i think 15 millions isn't enough for abel right now... but because i believe abel might really become 1 hell of a player in 1,2 seasons and his pricetag will raise accordingly.
i just wish zampa would have shown such wisdom regarding wolfsburg offer for kjaer...

Saw Kjaer on the weekend, didn't look to good. looked out of his depth, making all sorts of mistakes. Barzagli wasn't that much better frankly. still will be interesting to see how quickly he settles. if he settles at all.

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Maybe the lega calcio should consider commencing serie a ealier because clearly it was a fitness issue.

Agree. Italian teams always look so unfit against other teams in friendlies, and it affects our Europa League and CL chances. We don't want to lose our 4th CL spot.

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Italy lost 4 points in the coefficients with Sampdoria out and Germany were already ahead. It's almost definite Serie A will have 3 next year.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

As if Ghana losing out in the 1/4 finals was bad enough, now Sampdoria fuck up after going 3-0 up

Maybe the lega calcio should consider commencing serie a ealier because clearly it was a fitness issue.

Agree. Italian teams always look so unfit against other teams in friendlies, and it affects our Europa League and CL chances. We don't want to lose our 4th CL spot.

u guys are both right... but it's impossible to start the season at the same time as premier league and bundesliga.

italy is one of the best places to be during the summer. u'll hardly find a place where u can have more fun in august and september.....
... but u can't play football here in august... it's too hot. and it's no coincidence if the quality of serie a matches is quite poor early in the season (the real season begins in october, when each teams starts playing at its best). the wheather doesn't allow u to play at your best, even if you're fit.

if anything serie a should begin even later (say mid-september), but obviously that would be impossible for scheduling reasons.

so long story short, italian teams will always have a huge handicap in theese summer matches... especially when we play against germans and english teams (as they already started their seasons, while we're still in the middle of our athletic-fitness trainings schedule)..... but that's just something we have to deal with.

what an awesome game that was btw!!! absolutely fantastic. a fully fit sampdoria would have dismantled werder, and i can't help feeling sorry for them, but in the end, werder played at its best and they deserve the champions league for their effort.

...to be fair, both teams deserved to play in champions league... and obviously is a much bigger blow for samp to miss it (than it would have been for werder) as reaching a champions league spot in serie a is much more difficult than it is in bundesliga, but what can u do, that's the format of this current champions league and we have to accept it as it is.

edit:
rfu, i finally managed to write u that pm u asked about sacchi!! Sorry for being so late, but if u were where i am right now, i'm sure i wouldn't wanna spend your time in front of a pc talking about sacchi either!!!
anyway, it's a huge read... it took 5 pms to write it down, so make sure u have enough free space in your pm box.... and don't ever dare to delete those pms from your pm box!!!... that was 1 hour of my life i dedicated to u!

 

[GoonerLover66]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

arsenal making an offer for montolivo?.... doesn't sound right to me. montolivo is not good enough to be a starter ahead of fabregas (nowadays montolivo plays in pretty much the same role as cesc), but he's way too good (and expensive) to be a backup, even in a top club like arsenal.
i really can't see arsene making an offer for montolivo right now... not with fabregas in london.

besides getting montolivo wouldn't be easy at all, as montolivo is for fiorentina what fabregas represents for arsenal. he's their young leader, their captain, the core of their football and the image of the club. so, as u can imagine, fiorentina wouldn't let him go so easily.

and another reason why i don't think there's any truth in this rumour u heard is because i haven't heard a word about this rumour in italian media... if arsene would have made an offer for montolivo, right now it would all over the news in italy... while it isn't.

You don't even need to ponder the truth of this rumour. It's your standard British tabloid journalism, and it's probably a hangover from when no-one was sure whether Cesc would stay another season at Arsenal. The rumours from that time where hilarious, most British tabloids basically went "Hmm....Fabregas may leave. Right, who can we name that's a good passer of the ball? Will he fit into the side? Nah, that doesn't matter. Is the transfer plausible? Nope? Okay, put it in print!". In this case, the initial source of the nonsense was This Site (which also linked us to Hatem Ben Arfa ) and then the tabloids just copied it.

The only other basis that a Tabloid will need to make an Arsenal transfer rumour is that the player at hand is slightly French.

on another topic, arsenal just made another offer to palermo for hernandez... 15 millions euros
and zampa refused the offer!! he said in 2 years he'll be worth at least 25 millions......

Good for Palermo ! Not only are they refusing to be bullied around by a more wealthy club who have approached the transfer completely unethically and possibly illegally, but they are also ensuring the development and providing a palpable future for Abel Hernandez.

 

[bebo]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

@ Ben http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8931587.stm