Serie A Thread - 2014/15 Season

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

beboq said:
@ Ben :LOL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8931587.stm ;)
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:LOL: i got to say that was pretty embarassing. can't believe i allowed myself to get involved in that... but hey, what do u know, it looks like there was a 16 millions buyout clause afterall :P

btw, they said on tv his medicals lasted 2 days!! :LOL: juventus doctors turned him upside down... they just couldn't believe he was ok.... longest medicals ever!!
i really hope alberto will eventually be able to play a whole season without any major injuries.... this player is so much talented, it's a real shame he just can't stay fit for more than 2 consecutive months.
goonerlover66 said:
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.
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credit where it's due, this time arsenal played absolutely fair. they have been pretty naughty in the past sometimes, even with palermo (and it was precisely about hernandez)... but this time, arsenal came directly to zamparini and made an official offer, wich was also absolutely fair.
actually i'd say 15 millions for a 19 years old kid with only 1 season in a top league on his CV is even too much (15 millions are really a huge offer for the italian football players market)..... but then again, i guess arsene realised this kid might have really a great future and so made a very generous offer, considering also his potential.

so respect to arsenal for acting properly (this time), but as i said earlier, i'm happy to have abel still here. :))
he was really impressive last season, but he was deployed as a backup (although a luxury backup). this season, with cavani away, he's gonna get much more playtime :))
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

I cannot believe Diego is on the verge of leaving to Wolfsburg if the rumors are true. I'm very upset with our management in letting this happen, he is actually one of the players that makes a difference and has the strength + courage to take on players with his technical ability. He is probably one of the most talented players we've bought since Nedved and that was a long time ago. He is a player that you can separate from the rest and we're letting him go, I'm so damn pissed about this stupid decision.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

matt1288 said:
I cannot believe Diego is on the verge of leaving to Wolfsburg if the rumors are true. I'm very upset with our management in letting this happen, he is actually one of the players that makes a difference and has the strength + courage to take on players with his technical ability. He is probably one of the most talented players we've bought since Nedved
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I know. And I just love it :LOL: No worries though. There's Amauri and Melo still :LOL: and Del Piero's only 36 :LOL: Actually I better shut my mouth after what I witnessed last night...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSudaVLiFB8

Holy Christ :CONFUSE:

Isn't Inzaghi like 40 now? Amazing. And Seedorf must be like 34 now. They say there's "No Country For Old Men" but they must've forgotten about Italy :LOL:. Can't believe Di Natale is already 33. But for 7 million... nah, I wouldn't do it. Let him spend his last few years not rotting on the bench or trying to figure out why Del Piero is starting ahead of him.

In other news...

This really made me laugh my head off, from football-italia.net:

CHAMPIONS – ROMA
They came so close last season, so why not this year? Unlike last term Claudio Ranieri doesn’t need any time to bed in, and Adriano is the centre-forward they have been crying out for. They don’t have Inter’s squad depth, but the core of the first XI have been together for years now and their desire may prove irresistible.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLACES
2nd – INTER
There’s only one man who can stop this Inter side winning...Rafa Benitez. The Nerazzurri could struggle if Rafa relapses into old habits, namely a) letting the pressure get to him b) prioritising Europe over everything else and c) over indulging in a bit too much squad rotation.
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:LOL: Get the fuck outta heeere!! That will never happen. Roma will never win the scudetto. Not in my lift time :)) Did this guy not see the super coppa? After a promising start Roma just fizzled out like bad cola. They even resorted to their old violent ways, Totti leading the way of course. They're just not up to it. I'm not even going to try who will come 2nd (especially after last season) but 1st place is as good as ours. Now its possible Rafa might over think things, but really, you've got to be on that "stuff" to even entertain the idea of us seceding our beloved scudetto. Not when we're 2 championships away from 2 star. Not when Zanetti is spurring us on with his unfailing drive, energy and determination. Plus Branca, Moratti, the players, the fans will not let Benito screw things up for us, we can't, we won't...:)) That Adriano bit though :LOL:
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

I completely agree the list is a joke. I also feel confident that Milan will be the biggest threat to Inter this year. Quote me in a years time. I feel that Roma will underachieve compared to last year.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Looks like Diego's gone then. Krasic and Aquilani offer some creativity in his place although I think Juve should have kept him.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

rfU said:
Isn't Inzaghi like 40 now? Amazing. And Seedorf must be like 34 now. They say there's "No Country For Old Men" but they must've forgotten about Italy :LOL:. Can't believe Di Natale is already 33.
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United have got their oldies too!

Van Der Sar (40), Neville (35), Giggs (36), Scholes (36)

All first teamers. If you can still play, no point giving up.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

inler is a very nice player... definitely top club material.... but didn't liverpool throw away aquilani just a few days ago? why burning a 20 millions investment for a mezz'ala (aquilani), just to buy another mezz'ala after a few days... it doesn't make much sense honestly.

besides, just like last season, there are too many players for the same spot..last year it was benayoun, aquilani and gerrard, this season is gerrard, joe cole..... and now inler too??? i don't know, i find it hard to see any logic in this.

anyway, as a player, inler is definitely worthy a shot in a top club like liverpool. he would actually raise the technique level of liverpool's team as a whole (level wich, right now, is pretty low to be honest).

talking about bad business.... what about napoli selling quagliarella for 14 millions :DOH: ..... and what about juve selling diego for 15 millions?
both those moves will cost a 5 millions capital loss in their clubs balance sheets. lots of very weird transfers this season :CONFUSE:
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Weirdest one to come. Milan will pay 40M. :CONFUSE: wtf? Moratti should start including a clause when selling players not to sell them to Milan. I think he already did that with Balotelli. :LOL:

Liverpool just sold one of their best midfielders so they surely need one. They should go for one of Real Madrid's Diarra. Both are wonderful and can be bought under their normal prices.
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Considering he's still 28 and was hot property just a summer ago, I think it's not THAT bad. He signed for something like £40m + Eto'o (worth like £25m). I think he can offer something but I wish we made this sort of investment on a midfielder or defender.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

But it's just weird considering a month ago the holding company said the days of big spending are over. Actually I just read that Milan slashed their wage spending in half from a couple of season ago but getting rid of some players and reducing those of some.

I think Ibra is one of the important things we needed. Borriello is good but c'mon, Ibra is a totally different thing. He is the best player in his position in the world and to actually think we are close to signing him is just insane.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

I'm not too sure about him being the best in his position. I still feel he is very poor in big occasions, and with Inter, it was very clear. But you're right, Borriello is great, but Zlatan's got character.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

lo zio said:
inler is a very nice player... definitely top club material.... but didn't liverpool throw away aquilani just a few days ago? why burning a 20 millions investment for a mezz'ala (aquilani), just to buy another mezz'ala after a few days... it doesn't make much sense honestly.

besides, just like last season, there are too many players for the same spot..last year it was benayoun, aquilani and gerrard, this season is gerrard, joe cole..... and now inler too??? i don't know, i find it hard to see any logic in this.

anyway, as a player, inler is definitely worthy a shot in a top club like liverpool. he would actually raise the technique level of liverpool's team as a whole (level wich, right now, is pretty low to be honest).

talking about bad business.... what about napoli selling quagliarella for 14 millions :DOH: ..... and what about juve selling diego for 15 millions?
both those moves will cost a 5 millions capital loss in their clubs balance sheets. lots of very weird transfers this season :CONFUSE:
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Isn't Inler more of a defensive midfielder?
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

No, he's not a defensive midfielder or more defensive-minded like Mascherano let's say.

He's what I call a "CM". Not Attacking mid, not Defensive Mid. Balanced.

Got a bit of everything and can be a play-maker as well as put tackles in, great long-distance shooting, etc. Quite the package overall.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Hmmm, kinda like Meireles or Gerrard (probably our starting midfielder this season).
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Abhishek said:
Hmmm, kinda like Meireles or Gerrard (probably our starting midfielder this season).
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Nah. He's a better passer than both for one. He's not box-to-box mid although he play as such if required. He reminds me Veron actually but not as authoritative.

PLF said:
Got a bit of everything and can be a play-maker as well as put tackles in, great long-distance shooting, etc. Quite the package overall.
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So why the fuck are we not signing him? We could get for 10-12 million instead we've wasted our time trying to pry Kuyt and Mascherano from Liverpool when we didn't really need neither. How many hardworking, defense-minded players do we need anyway? It's like we think in every game we can play defensive, sit-back and hit our opponents on the counter. But what happens when our opponents striker first, as Atletico did last night or Roma in the Super Coppa? What happens when they have numbers behind the ball, who's going to hold possession on the ball and transition from defence to attack? JZ? Cambiasso? Sneiper is too lightweight? What a mess.

Oh and Palermo last night, that was a close one :LOL:
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

no abhi, he's definitely not a defensive midfielder... and he's not even a metodista. i think Sina got it right here...
PLF said:
He's what I call a "CM". Not Attacking mid, not Defensive Mid. Balanced.
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true. i didn't consider to call him as a CM as we never really use that word in italy... CM is usually a very vague indication, as it doesn't give any real clues about a player's orientation and first instinct, about what kind of player we're talking about. but in this case CM is indeed appropriate.

he's still gonna be a waste at liverpool imo. one of his first instincts whenever he gets the ball is to look for an opening for a shot... or to pass the ball and push forward in order to make himself an avaliable target (that's why i described him as a mezz'ala... coz that's his orientation).
but he's never gonna be able to do that in liverpool, as there's just too much traffic in liverpool's 3\4 (with gerrard and joe cole).

maybe a poulsen-inler midfield couple could make sense... with poulsen taking care of the filtering and inler trying to build plays.... but i can't see that happening, as for some reason i'll never understand, lucas seems to be an untouchable starter in liverpool (wich is just laughable).... and a inler-lucas midfield couple is a disaster waiting to happen.
rfu said:
So why the fuck are we not signing him? We could get for 10-12 million instead we've wasted our time trying to pry Kuyt and Mascherano from Liverpool when we didn't really need neither.
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that u should ask branca or rafa, not Sina :P
anyway u're right on both accounts. u don't really need neither mascherano or kuyt...... and u could really use inler. actually inter would be absolutely perfect for inler. not only he would give much more freedom to snejder (and make himself a serious offensive threat), he would also allow rafa to display a completely different tactical setup. a 3 men midfield, with motta and cambiasso right behind inler and a wide open tridente upfront with pandev, eto'o and milito.... that would be awesome).

infact, why the hell isn't inter going after inler!!! :))
rfu said:
Oh and Palermo last night, that was a close one
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u sure weren't expecting us to travel to maribor to play a football match, did u? we got cagliari to think about now, and after the 3-0 win in the first leg, maribor wasn't exactly a major concern. besides that's just europa league we're talking about... i just hope hernandez and pastore won't be too tired tomorrow against cagliari.

edit:
btw abhi, i don't mean inler is a bad idea or a bad signing. not at all. i just have pretty much the same feelings i had about juve buying diego last season. diego (like inler) is a very nice player (i'm not comparing them, they're different players, i just said they're both very good players), but last season's juve (just like liverpool) had so many major issues, so many problems in so many positions to fix, that diego would have never been able to really make a difference.
i feel the same about inler and liverpool right now. inler is really a nice player. he's very versatile, he's got great technique, sweet feet and a good brain to go along with those feet..... but u got "bigger fishes to fry" right now. u need cbs who can actually play football, u need sidebacks who can actually become an offensive threat (i mean, other than johnson), u need at least another good forward (and that certainly isn't ngog).
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Genoa sold Bocchetti to Rubin Kazan for 11m€! I thought they'd want to keep hold of him? Isn't he one of the most promising young Italian defenders? Or was the money too hard to resist?
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Jumbo_ said:
Genoa sold Bocchetti to Rubin Kazan for 11m€! I thought they'd want to keep hold of him? Isn't he one of the most promising young Italian defenders? Or was the money too hard to resist?
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wtf!!! :SHOCK: that's the first time i hear about bocchetti leaving.. is that already official??
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Not official yet, there isn't anything on the club websites.

And Ben, I was under the impression that Inler played mostly in the centre of midfield and only occasionally played out wide, and that would mean that the mezz'ala definition would only apply to him some of the time.
I've always had the impression that he's kind of a box-to-box kind midfielder and so, like Sina said, a rather balanced player who plays with a lot of energy and athleticism. I'm not sure what the Italian terminology is for this though.

But he's certainly not the player that Liverpool need if they want a like-for-like replacement for Mascherano, and neither is Poulsen.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

yeah, the thing is there isn't a word in italian to properly describe inler. there isn't a role wich really encompasses all his features. i went for mezz'ala (given his offensive inclination), but mezz'ala doesn't really fit him either. that's why i said Sina's label (CM) is probably the best one.

a proper mezz'ala usually starts his action on the 3\4, while inler is usually lined up in the centre (behind the 3\4 of the pitch). the thing is, even though he starts from the centre, his first instinct is to move ahead.... he's pretty much like a mezz'ala who starts from behind.... but then again, he also tackles much better than a mezz'ala, covers much better and can also build a play.... so mezz'ala doesn't really fit.

anyway tom, reading your post i realised there might be a little misunderstanding about the position of a mezz'ala.
Tom said:
And Ben, I was under the impression that Inler played mostly in the centre of midfield and only occasionally played out wide, and that would mean that the mezz'ala definition would only apply to him some of the time.
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being a mezz'ala doesn't necessarily imply being lined up out wide. although that's the usual position of most mezz'ali, there are some mezz'ali who play on the centre. hamsik for instance always starts from the centre (but always on the 3\4 of the pitch), yet he's a mezz'ala, as his interpretation of the game is quite different from a trequartista. lampard usually starts from the 3\4 centre position too, and yet he's a mezz'ala rather than a trequartista.
so what really spots a mezz'ala is the fact that he's lined up on the 3\4 of the pitch. wheter he plays on the centre or out wide, that's not necessarily relevant.

what usually confuses people (italian and not italian) is the fact that "mezz'ala" litterally means "half-winger"... so people tends to believe a mezz'ala must necessarily play along the flanks... but that's not always truth. we call em "half-wingers" coz they're lined up "between the wingers and the CM" (namely on the 3\4 of the pitch).

however, concerning inler, his starting spot is usually behind the 3\4 of the pitch. therefore u and sina are right, mezz'ala isn't really an appropriate description :))
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Ah I see. I suppose the original usage of the word must have stemmed from the early days of football and was probably a term used to describe an "Inside Forward", but like all football terms it has evolved over the years. Just a shame that the English translations haven't.

That's something I've also noticed, a lot of English-speaking sites have managed to get the definitions of these positions very wrong, and unfortunately it's resulting in a large audience of internet users trying to "speak football" with spectacular inaccuracy. For example, one Liverpool fan claimed that Steven Gerrard was a fantasista
icon_facepalm2.gif
.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

GoonerLover66 said:
Ah I see. I suppose the original usage of the word must have stemmed from the early days of football and was probably a term used to describe an "Inside Forward", but like all football terms it has evolved over the years.
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exactly ;)
GoonerLover66 said:
That's something I've also noticed, a lot of English-speaking sites have managed to get the definitions of these positions very wrong, and unfortunately it's resulting in a large audience of internet users trying to "speak football" with spectacular inaccuracy. For example, one Liverpool fan claimed that Steven Gerrard was a fantasista .
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LOL!
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

To be honest, talking from my experiences I'd say most English people genuinely think he fits that description. :ROLL:
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Diamanti came back to Serie A after one season in EPL and a good one at that as well unlike some other Italians players in recent memory. Cheap as well! Could be a very good capture for Brescia! I know their president was quite excited and said that with signings like this, they should be aiming higher than just survival.

As for Di Natale, had chance to go to Juve (Though I think Fiorentina needs him more right now) but decided to stay in Udine and finish his career there. Legend! :WORSHIP: Glad to see him reject that move. Didn't have a good ending in my opinion... much better off staying where he is and loved and adored so much.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

PLF said:
Diamanti came back to Serie A after one season in EPL and a good one at that as well unlike some other Italians players in recent memory. Cheap as well! Could be a very good capture for Brescia! I know their president was quite excited and said that with signings like this, they should be aiming higher than just survival.
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yeah, i was surprised by that. he seemed to be doing pretty well for the hammers... why did they sell him? Good news for brescia anyway.
oh and i also agree about di natale :WORSHIP: well done totò! ... although a weaker udinese would have been a good news for palermo :P
 
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