Serie A Thread - 2014/15 Season

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Man, I've never routed for Juve in all my life It keeps the milanista's quiet and gives Gobbi fans false hope. We've been playing shit of late with a depleted squad and we're still second. So long as we can keep this up til january then we're good

2) Aquilani isn't being the playmaker i expected. Im still giving the benefit of the doubt, yet he should be more active in picking the ball and pass it around like Xavi or Cesc do in their teams.

Aquilani is nothing like the players you mentioned mate.

 

[Neoexodus]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Giovinco is at Parma mate.

Thats why i don't get why they have to use an adapted Marchisio in the left wing when they could use giovinco... Doesn't make sense.

Man, I've never routed for Juve in all my life It keeps the milanista's quiet and gives Gobbi fans false hope. We've been playing shit of late with a depleted squad and we're still second. So long as we can keep this up til january then we're good



Aquilani is nothing like the players you mentioned mate.

Then whats supposed to be his role in the team? A simple passer?

 

[Aboutreika18]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

In big matches like that, it's useful to have someone with Marchisio's versatility and work-rate. Against Inter, he played a similar role, attempting to track Maicon's forward runs.

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

i got stefano's reply, but no one else wrote anything.... so i'll ask again... milanisti, interisti and juventini out there... how do u feel about your new coaches' job so far?

I like Allegri but again I am not satisfied with some of his choices. Surely he lives inside the atmosphere to figure out what to do best but I'll just say what I see. Same as Leonardo, I think he takes long to make substitutions and bold choices and that could be really important. I mean look at Mourinho, I was watching Real Madrid against Hercules who were playing at the same time. Real were 1-1 until the final third of the game (Trezeguet scored a nice goal btw ) and Mourinho was already playing with Ozil,Di Maria,Higuain and Ronaldo. So he took out a CB Pepe and replaced him with Benzema and won 3-1.

Other thing, the midfield is killing him and against Real Madrid it showed greatly. I really thought he was going to give Flamini a chance this year. I mean Flamini is a young,dynamic,and I believe hungry to prove himself midfielder yet he has not played more than a game yet. Gatusso can't candle a fast players all game long anymore and really lacks in the creative part.

I can't really blame him about the full backs as Milan already lack in this department let along the injuries now. In preseason he tried Sokratis as a RB and I thought he did good. Sokratis is not solid enough yet to play a CB(he recently turned 22) but is fast and good enough to cover defensively as a RB. Now Allegri will probably play Abate as a RB against Madrid and seeing how he handled Barcelona's Adriano is preseason, Ronaldo will be too much.

 

[odiboni]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Other thing, the midfield is killing him and against Real Madrid it showed greatly. I really thought he was going to give Flamini a chance this year. I mean Flamini is a young,dynamic,and I believe hungry to prove himself midfielder yet he has not played more than a game yet. Gatusso can't candle a fast players all game long anymore and really lacks in the creative part.

What change in Milan's transfer policy so they keep playing old midfielders?

Milan released their best midfielders when they are at beginning of 30.

Evani left at 30 y.o
Gullit(31), Rijkaard(31), Donadoni(33), Desailly(30), Boban(33), Albertini(31)

I never think of Albertini will leave Milan since he is one of club's legend and that he is going to spend his entire career in Milan along with Maldini and Costacurta.

But, now Milan are still playing Seedorf(34), Ambrosini(33), Gatusso(32) and Pirlo(31)??

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Thats why i don't get why they have to use an adapted Marchisio in the left wing when they could use giovinco... Doesn't make sense.

Marchisio doesn't play as a winger, more a left-side midfielder. Basically Marchisio provides more output, both in the offense and defense and for a full 90 minutes.

Then whats supposed to be his role in the team? A simple passer?

What I mean is he's new to the CMF role. He's an attacking player, similar to Iniesta or Sneiper, who needs two holding mids operating behind. That and he's only recently returned from injury and he's on a new side with several new players. Give him time.

I mean look at Mourinho, I was watching Real Madrid against Hercules who were playing at the same time. Real were 1-1 until the final third of the game (Trezeguet scored a nice goal btw ) and Mourinho was already playing with Ozil,Di Maria,Higuain and Ronaldo. So he took out a CB Pepe and replaced him with Benzema and won 3-1.

Oh yeah, i remember those good old days, we're down a goal and Mou throws on Suazo and Obina and Arnautovic, and in the dying minutes Materazzi as an emergency CF Can't believe it actually worked though

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

WTF? Walter Sabatini has quit Palermo for personal reasons! Apparently he got into an argument with Zamparini !

 

[cfdh_edmundo]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Anyone else excited about the derby this coming Sunday ? I had the pleasure of going to the last one in April and it certainly is the most unusual one for a while, with Lazio at the summit of the table, 4 points clear and with only one defeat so far, but Roma on the other hand looking a little sluggish.

Lazio have really impressed me this season so far, they've done things in an understated but efficient way. Reja seems like a master tactician (some people think he is a major influence on Capello, its not often talked about both both played youth football for a team called SPAL, from Ferrara near Bologna, it was a fairly good team all those years ago) - he certainly turned them around from the disaster that happened when Ballardini took over from Delio Rossi. He seems to be able to stand up to Lotito (the owner of Lazio) and luckily he stopped Christian Ledesma ending up like Pandev (frozen out then leaving for no fee). Reja seems to be able to alternate tactics and formations depending on if Lazio are at home or away, and has also given fringe or old players (Andre Dias, Cavanda, Biava, even Brocchi) confidence and got them playing as a team. Some say Hernanes is the star but for me all the team is playing really well.

I think the derby will be 2-2, but you never know in these games, form and league position are almost irrelevant.

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

WTF? Walter Sabatini has quit Palermo for personal reasons! Apparently he got into an argument with Zamparini !

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Maicon last night =

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

What do you think of Rafa relying on players like Biabiany? Personally, I don't feel he's ready for Inter.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

I mean look at Mourinho, I was watching Real Madrid against Hercules who were playing at the same time. Real were 1-1 until the final third of the game (Trezeguet scored a nice goal btw ) and Mourinho was already playing with Ozil,Di Maria,Higuain and Ronaldo. So he took out a CB Pepe and replaced him with Benzema and won 3-1.

Oh yeah, i remember those good old days, we're down a goal and Mou throws on Suazo and Obina and Arnautovic, and in the dying minutes Materazzi as an emergency CF Can't believe it actually worked though

well, to be fair, most of the times it didn't work . it must be said though, josè always had very "strong" teams (in terms of phisicality and stamina) so usually the players were able to cope with the complete lack of balance determined by his stupid decisions.
Zeem, imo in that specific department, allegri has absolutely nothing to learn from mourinho (if anything mou could learn something about match-reading from allegri, as josè himself admitted twice in the last 2 years.... basically whenever he faced allegri).

i've already discussed this aspect of mourinho in the past, so i won't repeat myself... but i'll say this. there's a difference between a bold (but correct) move and a plain stupid move. a bold (but correct) move still remains the right thing to do, even when eventually it doesn't pay off. a stupid move, on the other side, might even pay off, but that the fact that u got lucky doesn't change the fact that it was a stupid move.
mourinho is a true top class coach, when it comes to prepare the match. but when it comes to match-reading (namely reacting to what happens on the pitch, trying to change the flow of the game with in-game tactical variation), then his approach is pretty similar to a 14 years old kid playing football manager.
i can recall a few good and bold in-game moves mourinho made during his inter span (like the changes he made during the match against chelsea in Cl last year. that time josè actually showed some very good match reading abilities).....but those cases were just rare exceptions.

Anyone else excited about the derby this coming Sunday ?

i got the feeling it will be a very intense (from the phisycal point of view) and extremely poor (speaking of the quality of the football) match... and i'm absolutely sure it will be a draw.
there's just too much at stake (for both clubs) to have an entertaining match imo.... the pressure will kill the game.

btw, for those who speak italian (better yet, for those who can speak roman dialect ), check out this awesome derby advertising sky made...... romanzo criminale style!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL8iV0GceQw
i gotta say, mauri and vucinic make a pretty good 70's magliana gangsters

as for lazio's first place, i got to say i'm impressed too. but i wouldn't give too much credit to reja..... and i certainly wouldn't call him a master tactician.
lazio's downfall last season wasn't due to tactical reasons. rossi and ballardini just lost their grip on the dressing room (well, rossi lost it, ballardini never had it) because the players were reacting to lotito's crazy decisions. it's pretty obvious the players didn't like the way lotito handled the pandev-ledesma-de silvestri situation.... and since other players in that same dressing room were about to get in the same situation of ledesma, pandev and de silvestri, their "reaction" on the pitch was the obvious and inevitable consequence.
and it's no coincidence that the situation at lazio instantly improved as soon as lotito changed approach and compromised with ledesma (and yeah, probably reja played a role in that situation).
bottom line, lazio's problems last year weren't due to tactical\coaching decisions.... and both rossi and ballardini had absolutely no responsibility whatsoever in what happened. lotito was the cause of that problem... and only lotito could fix it.
having sad that, reja is definitely a good coach (nothing more than that though). rossi and ballardini are on a different level however. especially speaking of tactics, rossi and ballardini actually are masters... reja certainly isn't. still reja is a good tactician, and (and that was mos important for lazio) he's more inclined to compromise than rossi and ballardini.

i was impressed by lazio sunday.... although they were really lucky. even though palermo was all over lazio for pretty much the entire game, they hung on and somhow managed to grab the 3 points.
palermo was clearely the better team sunday. the rosanero had a stunning 61% in ball possession and about 21 shots (11 shots on goal).... yet muslera was pretty much unbeatable.
i think this match told us 2 things. palermo is as naive as beautiful to watch (but i guess we already knew that). and lazio has a top club mentality, beacuse that's what u need to grab the 3 points in theese kinda matches. despite being pretty much outplayed by palermo lazio players never lost their composure and coolness. and that was really impressive. it takes a top club mentality to handle the pressure palermo put on lazio without cracking.
however, it must be said, muslera pretty much saved the day (some of his saves were "buffon-esque")... and if we would replay that match in those very same conditions, palermo would beat lazio 9 times out of 10... but that's just silly pub-talking.
---------------------------------------------------------------
as for the sabatini situation, apparently he left palermo for personal reasons, not for professional reasons.... zamparini himself said sabatini didn't left coz he had a discussion with him.... zampa even said that if sabatini would solve his personal problems, palermo will always wellcome him with open arms. infact the team director position left by sabatini won't be filled by anyone until next summer (precisely to give sabatini a chance to come back).
i just hope the reason he left is not a tumour and that it's not something related to family problems.... but i'm inclined to believe it's one of those 2 things.
for palermo this is a tragedy..... replacing an amazing team director like sabatini is not gonna be easy... at all...... but as long as he's ok, i'm fine. my main concern right now his sabatini's health and his family..... palermo's football team comes after.
--------------------------------------------------------------
finally, concerning the cassano incident, that's the story. last week garrone (samp's president) invited cassano to an award ceremony (don't know what the award was about). not only cassano refused to show up.... but he even insulted garrone.
as a result of that, garrone told cassano to pack his stuff and leave the clubhouse.... for good!!! garrone asked the federation to rescind his contract.
right now cassano is desperate. he apologised in public and said he would even accept a 50% cut on his wage (from 3M to 1.5) if that would help garrone change his mind... so far garrone hasn't even replied.

i gotta say i love the way garrone his handling this situation. i always knew garrone was a class act, but it takes some guts to kick a star like cassano out ot the squad like he did. i have a new hero!!!

right now cassano is out of the squad. samp played without him sunday... and won!

 

[gerd]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Ben, i've heard that Cassano said to Garrone: "shut up old man". He's a class player, but as a human being he still has a lot to learn.

Oh and i think that Palermo had 23 shots on goal. I'm loving this team more and more.

What are your thoughts on Gareth Bale and the way he destryed Maicon yesterday? I'm so happy for this guy. First of all because i love Spurs. Second there was this monkey on his back: Spurs lost all their matches when he was in the team. After his 25th appearance they had a draw. And in january 2010 they finally won with Bale in the team. From then on, it all wnet better and better with Bale. He became an absolute regular in Spurs' team and became really important for Spurs. Against Inter he was great in both matches, the first was important because he showed Spurs that they had a chance in the home leg. In the second match he was decisive...
On top of that he is reputed to be a very down to earth humble guy.

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

I for one am not impressed by Eddie Reja despite Lazio being at the summit right now. And I think as the season goes up, they'll start their downward spiral.

I've never been a fan of Reja and don't rate him highly. I actually think he's one of the poorest coaches in Serie A. Most are better than him in my opinion and wouldn't call him a master tactician either but that's just me, and my personal opinion.

@Ben, let us know when you find out more about Sabbatini's situation. Hopefully it's not a tumor or anything serious.

EDIT: P.s. I can't understand it but yah that Roma Derby commercial is original!

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

I've always seen Reja as one of those coaches that has good motivational and personal skills rather than tactical skills. Back at Napoli he was able to get the team forward emotionally and psychologically, especially in big games, but wasn't consistent in terms of getting points.

 

[cfdh_edmundo]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

The thing is when Reja took over Napoli his results were really good, he took them from Serie C, to B and then to Serie A, with 2 consecutive promotions. Even when they made it to Serie A, his first season was very good, they finished something like 7th-8th and lots of their signings like Lavezzi and Zalayeta started to play really well. Even fringe players like Georgy Garacis (Austrian/Hungarian) played well under him - Reja gave a lot of these players confidence to do well and deployed them in systems which suited them. They actually made it to Europe for the first time in almost decades, but lost to Benfica. Even in 08-09 he started well with Napoli but as the injuries mounted up they began to slip to mid-table and he fell out with De Laurentiis (owner of the club).

When Donadoni took over the team after Reja it really struggled. He only won 4 out of 20 games, losing almost half the games. It was only when Mazzari took over that Napoli again managed to look like a good team. In my opinion Reja was able to get Napoli above their normal position, he seemed to manage the team very well - he did (still does) have problems with his temper, he was sent off in two of Lazio's early games, but his ability to get his teams playing well and battling out results is superb.

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

mourinho is a true top class coach, when it comes to prepare the match. but when it comes to match-reading (namely reacting to what happens on the pitch, trying to change the flow of the game with in-game tactical variation), then his approach is pretty similar to a 14 years old kid playing football manager.
i can recall a few good and bold in-game moves mourinho made during his inter span (like the changes he made during the match against chelsea in Cl last year. that time josè actually showed some very good match reading abilities).....but those cases were just rare exceptions.

Yeah well, at least he knows how to give his players a good earful at half time, Benito hasn't shown as too much yet, unfortunately. How do you excuse conceding 3 goals in a single half, twice (vs Milan and vs Spurs)? Totally unacceptable at this level.

And just how bad have italian teams performed in europe over the years? I really hope we take the Europa league seriously this year. It may be a waste of resources but keep this lethargic attitude and there won't be a european spot left. I think Samp have done decently enough, but more is needed.

i gotta say i love the way garrone his handling this situation. i always knew garrone was a class act, but it takes some guts to kick a star like cassano out ot the squad like he did

was it wise though? Won't Samp have to pay Real Madrid 4-5 million if they rescind Cassano's contract. Anyway these guys never grow up. Watch and see Mario over the years. All that talent. Just sad.

What do you think of Rafa relying on players like Biabiany? Personally, I don't feel he's ready for Inter.

What's the alternative? Have you seen our bench, or lack thereof? And our midfield, Muntari (who is now injured) and Zanetti... christ. Mercato 2010 = failure of epic proportions. January can't come soon enough.

 

[gerd]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Haven't you got the same squad that won the treble last year?
I may be mistaken, but i can't remember a single player form that squad, that left Inter...
If that squad was good enough to win the treble, then you should not complain.

 

[Neoexodus]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

So any speculation in Italy about Cassanos future?

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

The thing is when Reja took over Napoli his results were really good, he took them from Serie C, to B and then to Serie A, with 2 consecutive promotions......

yeah, there's no doubt the man knows his job. i do respect reja.... and even though Sina is right when he says there are a lot of coaches who might be better than him in this league.... we should also add (just to put the whole thing in the right perspective) that talking about coaches, this league is just on another "scale" than any other league in europe.
so i kinda agree with both u and Sina and stef. yes, there are a lot of better coaches than him in serie a.... but then again, even though his football isn't the "most sophisticated", u gotta give credit to reja for his carreer. whenever he went, he always delivered.
also there's another interesting thing. this country produces coaches at a crazy ratio.... the competition is crazy... there are some unemployed italian coaches right now who are much better than many foreign top club coaches..... and since serie a coaches always study each others and strategize against each others, if u wanna survive in this league, u always have to reivent yourself. it doesn't matter how brilliant is the "tactical architecture" u built. in 3 years u'll have to dismantle that architecture and start over from scratch with a new plan. that focus, that endless competition, that mental edge that u must mantain to survive in serie a.... those things make it very hard to have a long carreer.... and the fact that coverciano produces new coaching talents every year, makes the competition even tougher for "seasoned coaches".... so if u manage to coach in serie a for as much as edi did, then it means u must be good at your job.
he certainly isn't a tactical genius, but afterall there are so many factors that make a good coach.

Yeah well, at least he knows how to give his players a good earful at half time, Benito hasn't shown as too much yet, unfortunately. How do you excuse conceding 3 goals in a single half, twice (vs Milan and vs Spurs)? Totally unacceptable at this level.

oh but i didn't mean to criticize josè as a coach mate. i mean he's pretty poor in that department, but he's absolutely top class in other departments.... it took me 2 years to figure out that
as for rafa, i think we're gonna have to be very patient with him.... i mean, from one point of view, he got the best job in the world (coaching a fantastic team, with lots of great players, no divas or primadonnas and a pretty good club structure).....
but from another point of view, we also have to admit this is one of the toughest professional challenges for a coach. taking over a club who just won a treble.... from a motivational point of view that's a huge challenge. and then u also have to consider that people will always tend to compare his results with josè's ones.... and as a matter of fact there's no way rafa could possibly do better than jose (at the very best, he can do just as good as him, and even that.... another treble would be an amazing-almost impossible achievement).

and then there's also another factor. it doesn't matter how beautiful the machine josè built was..... rafa will have to dismantle it and start over from scratch.
yes Gerd, the team is the same one wich won the treble just last season..... but that really doesn't matter.... the personnel is the same but the coaching guidance will inevitably change the way this team plays..... coz that's what has to happen. every coach has his way of working, his tactical beliefs, his way of handling the dressing room..
even if rafa would want to mantain the inter team jose built, to have them playing in the same way, to coach in the same way.... even if rafa would want that (and i'm sure he doesn't), he couldn't do it... because rafa is a different coach from mourinho, and, like every coach, he has his own way to do his job.
so even if the personnel is the same, he still will have to create something new.... and it's gonna take some time.
i mean think of what mourinho did at inter. it took 2 seasons to see "his" inter. he spent his first season trying to build the team he wanted, to have the players doing what he wanted. in his second year we actually saw mourinho's inter.... but his first inter (his first season) was just a slightly adjusted version of mancini's inter.
i think we owe rafa the same time.

And just how bad have italian teams performed in europe over the years? I really hope we take the Europa league seriously this year. It may be a waste of resources but keep this lethargic attitude and there won't be a european spot left. I think Samp have done decently enough, but more is needed.

i understand your concern mate, but, for the reason i already explained, that's never gonna happen. no italian midclass team is ever gonna care about europa league.... and that's not gonna change unless the powers to be completely change to format of the competition.

was it wise though? Won't Samp have to pay Real Madrid 4-5 million if they rescind Cassano's contract.

actually no. if samp rescind the contract, real madrid won't get anything.... if samp sells cassano, on the other hand, then real madrid will get a percent of what samp gets.

Anyway these guys never grow up. Watch and see Mario over the years. All that talent. Just sad.

He's a class player, but as a human being he still has a lot to learn.

i don't think this is about growing up or learning something guys. i mean cassano certainly improved his attitude over the last few years, but a part of him will always remain the same.
i remember when i studied criminal antropology at the university, my professor held a great lesson on "character and temperament".
life experience, education and environmental factors can change our character. but what we are isn't just about our character..... there's also another factor in control of our behaviour (the temperament) wich is absolutely "change-proof". it's in our dna and our life experience, our previous mistakes our education... those factors will have little to none influence on our temperament.
cassano's character improved a lot since he moved to genova.... but his temperament will never change... coz temperament just doesn't change. ever.

as for mario, imo the situation is different. u see last season i remarked the difference between balotelli and cassano many times. and i got the feeling u guys misunderstood me and thought i was trying to defend mario. that's not the case. mario is an annoying, stupid brat and i'm well aware of that.
but i believe mario's issues are character-related, not temperament-related..... therefore i believe he might actually grow and change his attitude.... but of course that's just my personal opinion.
however this episode of cassano kinda tells u what i was talking about last season.... i mean we're talking about a player saying to his president "zitto tu vecchio di merda" ("shut up you old piece of shit")....... can any of u imagine mario saying something like that to his president or his coach? that's just impossible.
u see what i meant last season when i said mario was a completely different case from antonio?

@ Gerd: i've always been a fan of bale. actually i really like spurs as a team. i think the club has done a very good job over the last 5 years..... i just wish they had a proper coach
@neoexodus: no news on cassano so far mate. we're still waiting for the federation's decision over sampdoria's request (to rescind his contract). and also we gotta consider garrone might also step back and keep cassano. afterall garrone has already proved his point (that he's in charge and that sampdoria can survive pretty well without cassano). we just have to wait and see what happens.

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

i mean think of what mourinho did at inter. it took 2 seasons to see "his" inter. he spent his first season trying to build the team he wanted, to have the players doing what he wanted. in his second year we actually saw mourinho's inter.... but his first inter (his first season) was just a slightly adjusted version of mancini's inter.
i think we owe rafa the same time.

And Mourinho really gets the players attached to him. He seems the master of that. Even Sneijder mentioned going back to Madrid along Maicon,Chivu, and Milito. Benitez is a more conservative Mancini type of coach. Kuyt would have been a good addition to Inter. That is another thing, Mourinho got Moratti to buy Quaresma for a lot of money and a lot of players after that to build what he wanted. I don't think Benitez will get that support from Moratti.

When will the Club World Cup begin? That is another obstacle for Inter. Remember what it did to Milan in 2007 when they thought they had the best squad in the world and didn't reinforce.

 

[The_Special_One]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

The FIFA Club World Cup will begin 8th december in Abu Dhabi.

I was reading the news on the internet and suddenly found an article that intrigued me a lot. Nicola Pozzi, Sampdoria player, will be suspended for a game because of blasphemy (he said "Porco Dio"). Blasphemy! Oh my god, where are we!? Your FA should take actions against racism, violence and so on than waste time with the blasphemy thing.

 

[Aboutreika18]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

So you've finally given in to Mourinho, Ben.

Looks like Frey's done his cruciate as well, Mihajlovic is having a tough time, can't say I feel any sympathy for such a likeable person.

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Haven't you got the same squad that won the treble last year?
I may be mistaken, but i can't remember a single player form that squad, that left Inter...
If that squad was good enough to win the treble, then you should not complain.

au contraire mon ami, true we have the same squad, but this time round they're older (most well in their 30s), slower, not as motivated, playing under a different system, with a new coach... you only need to look at the form of Milito, Cambiasso and Maicon to realize this. We peaked last year. Whatsmore we play a much higher defensive line which means we're often in trouble on the break. Last season we were underdogs for much of the UCL, sitting back and soaking as much pressure. This year, Benito wants us to attack fervently leaving us exposed with our much slower players on the break. What else?... Did I mention we're slower this time round Oh and we sold Mario Balotelli.

If you want to see how bad things are, look at our bench vs Spurs

i understand your concern mate, but, for the reason i already explained, that's never gonna happen. no italian midclass team is ever gonna care about europa league.... and that's not gonna change unless the powers to be completely change to format of the competition.

I'm getting rather fed up with this haughty attitude. I understand its sometimes an issue of money but if you look at the teams their up against, it really shouldn't be that much bother. Fine, let them care. let Germany leap frog us and get that 4th UCL spot. Inter sure as hell won't save serie a like last season (or can they??).

actually no. if samp rescind the contract, real madrid won't get anything.... if samp sells cassano, on the other hand, then real madrid will get a percent of what samp gets.

ah okay

cassano's character improved a lot since he moved to genova.... but his temperament will never change... coz temperament just doesn't change. ever.

i have to say i don't buy too much into this psycho-babble, no offence. Cassano just needs a swift kick in the ass... he's now groveling on the floor, begging for forgiveness, even saying his willing to take a pay 50% cut I'm reading an article on football-italia saying how Cassano was treated like a king at club, training when felt like, eating whatever he wants... IMO problem was Cassano had too much talent, and he knew it. This is why I was glad we sold Mario, and that inter management stood behind Mourinho throughout, you stamp this shit out early or suffer the consequences later on. In one corner there's Mancini saying he knows how to manage Mario, and in the other Prandelli saying how Cassano is central to his plans... IMO it's just not helpful. Recent quote from Garrone:

Last night I walked the streets of Genoa and not a single Sampdoria fan asked me to make peace with Cassano.

That's quite damning.

can any of u imagine mario saying something like that to his president or his coach? that's just impossible.
u see what i meant last season when i said mario was a completely different case from antonio?

Oh I don't know, throwing your jersey down on the ground in front of millions.... isn't that just as bad if not worse?

 

[PLF]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Looks like Frey's done his cruciate as well, Mihajlovic is having a tough time, can't say I feel any sympathy for such a likeable person.

Hahhah yeah me too.

On the other hand, we all kinda wondered why Boruc would go to La Viola with Frey there! Now that Sebastien is injured, the confident Pole will get his chance I suppose. Let's see how he does...

 

[ilfenomeno]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

read this post, you will explode

 

[ilfenomeno]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

lavezzi (napoli) really played well against liverpool yesterday

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

Abou - Fiorentina's back up GK is Boruc.

Special One - It's a big deal in Italy, very catholic-influenced. A few years ago, someone on Big Brother said it on air, and got eliminated for it.

Ben + rFu - I still believe the poor European performances are down to confidence and a general perception of decline by Italian clubs. Go back 4 years, teams like Udinese, Milan, Juve, Roma and Inter would totally dominate group stages and/or were fearless in CL home games (Udine put up a great fight with Barca). Now, there's no more advantage in playing at home for Italian clubs. We have this stupid conservative mentality and just make excuses for ourselves. Over the years, German clubs have found confidence and motivation to advance their nation in football, and it's paying off. Instead, in Italy, we have all these old-timers claiming that we have no talent and no future - how the frick are players and coaches meant to take that? We have too many managers who are trying so hard to focus on damage limitation rather than being ambitious - we need more Spallettis and Mourinhos back in Italy, and some heavy weights like Ancelotti to restore a sense of control and experience to clubs. There was a time where Ancelotti, Spalletti, Capello, Lippi and Sacchi were managing in the same time - now we have very talented managers who don't have that extra kick. Other leagues are hiring extremely influential managers - we're spending all our money on players and not enough on managers, except Inter.

 

[gerd]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

I really don't understand why Italian teams would not take the Euro League serious. This may not be the CL, but it is after all an European club competition.
I may well be wrong because - obviously - i don't know Italian mentality (culture), but i think this is a wrong attitude. I have the impressio that Italian clubs are behaving rather insular (protectionist?) and that is not good for footaball in that country (Italian had the same mentality in cycling, cyclists like Panatani and now Nibali have changed that). You become stronger by playing against strong foreign team if you take those matches seriously... I think that if Italian teams will continue with that mentality, Italian football will suffer because of it... Clubs like Palermo and Napoli should take the Euro League serious.

PS: Ben will point out that there is a lack of fair competition because of the way wealth is unevenly and unfair divided among European football. I agree with him. Italian clubs are victim of the fact that they have a sensible financial policy sine a couple of years...

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season

I think it's a bit of a weak argument to simply say Italian teams don't care - Napoli have always cared for the Europa League, De Laurentis has always banged on about it. Genoa, in the past, would also play full line ups. Again, when I watch Europa League games, I see Italian teams being scared, nervous and too naive.