Serie A Thread - 2014/15 Season

Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

Regarding Inter, for once we are actually trying a new project with a young coach, we are trying to offload the old guard who had huge contracts and mixing some youngsters from the primavera with the senior side, from the preseason matches till now I've been impressed by some alot like Mbaye, Longo, Garritano, Duncan and Livaja.
that's the thing mate. this isn't really "a new squad project". starting off with a new squad project means completely revolitionise your starting 11... and that's not the case. sure, the transfer window is still far from over, but it really doesn't look like moratti is feeling in the mood to open his wallet and reshape the squad.
so far inter's only moves were replacing lucio with silvestre (good move, but what about ranocchia?) and signing palacio and mudingay (mudyngay!?! wtf! :SHOCK: ).
yeah, there are a few youngsters coming in from the primavera, but that's just stramaccioni reacting to the fact he hasn't much to work with (he's been coaching those primavera kids, he knows them, and they can come for free, so he's trying to fill the spots on his own.... but let's be honest, those kids aren't there to replace "the starters"... they're only there to give stramaccioni a few options more and some depth on a cheap).

and as for the "offloading old players on heavy contracts", it seems they're doing a pretty shoddy work (as usual). getting rid of lucio was a good move, but why in God's name they gave chivu an extension!?!? that's insane!! and then there's the goalkeeper situation... branca and moratti had the brilliant idea to sign handanovic BEFORE getting rid of julio cesar... they must have thought "if we sign handanovic, julio cesar will realise he won't be a starter anymore and we'll be able to terminate his contract".
LOL! and how did that work out!?! :FAIL: julio cesar got the message loud and clear, but then he realised being a backup isn't so bad, when u got a huge contract. i can almost hear his agent explaining the situation to him.... "listen Julio, inter wanna cut u lose and now that they signed handanovic they're gonna relegate u to the bench if we don't agree to terminate the contract or allow them to sell us. the thing is u still got 2 years left on a 4.5 millions per year contract and, at this stage in your carreer, there's no way we could get such a contract somewhere else.... so it's your call really; u can stay here for 2 more season as a backup and get 9 millions.... or u can accept to leave for a starting place somewhere else, in wich case we'll hardly get more than 2 millions". what would u have done? :D i mean 9 millions for a 2 years holiday.... sounds pretty good to me!
so now, instead of saving a couple of millions in salaries by swapping julio cesar with handanovic, inter have both handanovic (2 millions per year) AND julio cesar (4.5 millions per year) under contract.... :LOL::LOL::LOL: Jesus, they really haven't thought this through :DOH:
Interista said:
While this is all good we need to set a realistic goal this season and Moratti should give Stramaccioni time
sadly moratti won't ever do that mate, as setting a realistic goal and giving time to the coach would imply an admission of guilt. u see when an owner says "we gotta be patient and give this new coach some time" there's always a subtext:
a) ....because this season we'll have a completely new starting 11 and formation (and that's not inter's case).
b) ....because we have a new young and unexperienced team (and again, this is not inter's case).
c) ....because we haven't been able to give the coach a competitive team (and THIS is inter's case!)
moratti has made it very clear over the last 2 seasons that he doesn't wanna spend money on the market anymore (fair enough, that's entirely his call afterall).... but he also doesn't wanna be blamed for it by the media and the fans. so his approach to inter's current situation is something like this: "the club is fine, the team is perfect as it is, we have lots of great players and if we don't deliver it's only because of poor coaching"
so u can easily see why he cannot show any patience towards his coaches; that would expose the contraddiction in his "it's all the coach's fault" logic.

interista said:
Btw Ben, is there anything you could tell me about Matias Silvestre? Would you say he's as good as Ranocchia or they're different types of defenders?
they're actually quite similar... with one big difference though. ranocchia is one for the future, as he has huge margins for improvement, whereas silvestre is already the finished product and already reached his peak. right now silvestre would be picked ahead of ranocchia, but that's only normal, as ranocchia is still developing. ranocchia on the other side, might be a much better player than silvestre in a couple of years.... but that's only gonna happen if he's given playtime and if he's allowed to grow some experience (wich doesn't seem to be the case, as apparenty stramaccioni doesn't like him - we're talking about the same coach who gave chivu an extension coz he believes chivu is a good cb :FAIL: ).

however silvestre and ranocchia belong to the same species of defenders. they're pretty much the opposite of bonucci and hummels. they aren't as elegant as bonucci and hummels, they're passing isn't as good as theirs and they don't take as many risks..... but they are also much more focused than bonucci and hummels (the ability to mantain your concentration for the whole match is probably the most underrated quality of a good cb) they're also less prone to mistakes (now u're gonna think i'm crazy here, as ranocchia did plenty of mistakes last season, but that wasn't ranocchia, that was inter. on an average day, on an average form, ranocchia is much less mistake-prone than bonucci and hummels, and so is silvestre).

silvestre has been top club material for 3 years now, and, unless he has a terrible form drop, u will fall in love with him immediately. he has a great sense of position and hardly misses a tackle. and although i said his passing isn't as elegant as hummels's or bonucci's, he still got an extremely accurate long pass (i mean a freakishly accurate long pass!).
silvestre and balzaretti have been palermo's entire defensive line last season, as they were the only 2 good defenders in our entire squad. without them we would have definitely been relegated, make no mistake about that.
silvestre is definitely a huge improvement from lucio..... i'm just afraid he's gonna cost ranocchia his starting spot.

.... oh and btw, the way inter are handling the whole ranocchia\destro situation :DOH:... let's just say moratti is making zamparini and liverpool owners look like clever club owners. :P
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

Lucarelli finished his career? :(
hey stranger, where have u been hiding!?! :))
btw i'm still waiting u to drop by here in sicily? do i need to remind u what u're missing out on? :COOL:

anyway regarding your question... i really don't know, and i'm actually quite curious about it. since damjan said he results as a free agent right now, i assume his contract with napoli expired.... but is he really a free agent or did he call it a day? is there anyone here who knows what's his situation right now? :))
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

that's the thing mate. this isn't really "a new squad project". starting off with a new squad project means completely revolitionise your starting 11... and that's not the case. sure, the transfer window is still far from over, but it really doesn't look like moratti is feeling in the mood to open his wallet and reshape the squad.
so far inter's only moves were replacing lucio with silvestre (good move, but what about ranocchia?) and signing palacio and mudingay (mudyngay!?! wtf! :SHOCK: ).
yeah, there are a few youngsters coming in from the primavera, but that's just stramaccioni reacting to the fact he hasn't much to work with (he's been coaching those primavera kids, he knows them, and they can come for free, so he's trying to fill the spots on his own.... but let's be honest, those kids aren't there to replace "the starters"... they're only there to give stramaccioni a few options more and some depth on a cheap).

and as for the "offloading old players on heavy contracts", it seems they're doing a pretty shoddy work (as usual). getting rid of lucio was a good move, but why in God's name they gave chivu an extension!?!? that's insane!! and then there's the goalkeeper situation... branca and moratti had the brilliant idea to sign handanovic BEFORE getting rid of julio cesar... they must have thought "if we sign handanovic, julio cesar will realise he won't be a starter anymore and we'll be able to terminate his contract".
LOL! and how did that work out!?! :FAIL: julio cesar got the message loud and clear, but then he realised being a backup isn't so bad, when u got a huge contract. i can almost hear his agent explaining the situation to him.... "listen Julio, inter wanna cut u lose and now that they signed handanovic they're gonna relegate u to the bench if we don't agree to terminate the contract or allow them to sell us. the thing is u still got 2 years left on a 4.5 millions per year contract and, at this stage in your carreer, there's no way we could get such a contract somewhere else.... so it's your call really; u can stay here for 2 more season as a backup and get 9 millions.... or u can accept to leave for a starting place somewhere else, in wich case we'll hardly get more than 2 millions". what would u have done? :D i mean 9 millions for a 2 years holiday.... sounds pretty good to me!
so now, instead of saving a couple of millions in salaries by swapping julio cesar with handanovic, inter have both handanovic (2 millions per year) AND julio cesar (4.5 millions per year) under contract.... :LOL::LOL::LOL: Jesus, they really haven't thought this through :DOH:

sadly moratti won't ever do that mate, as setting a realistic goal and giving time to the coach would imply an admission of guilt. u see when an owner says "we gotta be patient and give this new coach some time" there's always a subtext:
a) ....because this season we'll have a completely new starting 11 and formation (and that's not inter's case).
b) ....because we have a new young and unexperienced team (and again, this is not inter's case).
c) ....because we haven't been able to give the coach a competitive team (and THIS is inter's case!)
moratti has made it very clear over the last 2 seasons that he doesn't wanna spend money on the market anymore (fair enough, that's entirely his call afterall).... but he also doesn't wanna be blamed for it by the media and the fans. so his approach to inter's current situation is something like this: "the club is fine, the team is perfect as it is, we have lots of great players and if we don't deliver it's only because of poor coaching"
so u can easily see why he cannot show any patience towards his coaches; that would expose the contraddiction in his "it's all the coach's fault" logic.

Yeah that Mudingayi transfer... considering we aren't spending much could be considered a steal :P

Seriously though, even though we wont be having a completely revamped starting 11, it will be almost new. We are going to be playing a new formation - 4-2-3-1. We have Coutinho back who gained really good experience by going on loan to Espanyol last season and Fredy Guarin who barely played last year and wasn't fully fit but is ready now.

----------Handanovic--------
Jonathan--Silvestre---Samuel---Zanetti
-----------Guarin----Cambiasso---------
----Palacio------Sneijder-----Coutinho--
----------------Milito----------------------

Sure some old names are still there but gradually the youngsters will be given experience, atleast that is what I want to beleive :P Strama said last year that the gap between the Primavera and Serie A is soo huge that Primavera is like slow motion compared to Serie A. Maybe Italy should think about having the Primavera playing in Serie B/C.

Anyway what is up with the FFP and is it really going to impact the clubs as suggested? ( They wont enter CL etc etc) Because I don't know if Moratti is just using it as an excuse or he's actually trying to make the club ready for the rule.. I mean sure he may make bad decisions but you cant deny his love for the club and I'm sure he wouldn't want to drag it down. Maybe theres a secret project going.. (like our own stadium :PRAY:)


.... oh and btw, the way inter are handling the whole ranocchia\destro situation :DOH:... let's just say moratti is making zamparini and liverpool owners look like clever club owners. :P
Which situation? I'm sure we don't own Destro anymore :THINK:
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

bradley is a very impressive player and in roma (with zeman) there are all the conditions for him to be a success. palermo were after him and i would have been delighted to see him in a rosanero shirt... but obviously when a bigger club like roma calls.....:(
oh and btw, zeman always displays a 4-3-3. so it should be him, de rossi and pjanic, i guess.
interista said:
Yeah that Mudingayi transfer... considering we aren't spending much could be considered a steal

Seriously though, even though we wont be having a completely revamped starting 11, it will be almost new. We are going to be playing a new formation - 4-2-3-1. We have Coutinho back who gained really good experience by going on loan to Espanyol last season and Fredy Guarin who barely played last year and wasn't fully fit but is ready now.
yep mudingay was quite cheap... but the thing is u didn't need him at all. u already have cambiasso and guarin for that position (not to mention zanetti, who can also play in that role). inter midfield needs passers.... a player like bradley, for instance, would have been much more useful than mudinngay.

that's what really disappoints me about inter; this randomness, this absolute lack of a plan... the nerazzurri have been crying for a regista ever since motta left for paris.... and yet they keep buying muscular players who add nothing in terms of quality to their midfield. bradley was available, apparently even verratti was available (i can't say i know verratti but everybody seems to believe he's pirlo's second coming) and yet they go fo mudingay.
they need a valid replacement for maicon (who is supposed to leave).... and yet they let isla join juve without even trying to snatch him.
they invest a shitload of money on one of italy's best cf (pazzini) and then they relegate him to a backup role to favour milito (who was a world class forward, but who's also 33).
they make another huge investment on one of the most promising young centerbacks in europe (ranocchia), sacrifying the best product of their youth team in order to get him (destro)..... and then they don't even give him a chance to grow and improve and become the great player he's supposed to become.....
.... and then, to make the whole situation even more ridiculous and grotesque, they start considering the idea of selling ranocchia and buying destro.... that's just pathetic management.
interista said:
Which situation? I'm sure we don't own Destro anymore
indeed. that's what i was referring to before. inter bought ranocchia from genoa for 18.5 millions + destro (first they gave genoa 6 millions for the co-ownership, then they payed other 12.5 millions plus destro to buy the remaining 50% of the player). destro was considered one of the hottests prospect in italy for his role, and yet he was given away as if he was worth nothing.
and after investing so much on ranocchia, they relegated him on the bench as soon as his performances dropped.... and let's also remind that the whole inter team underperformed last season, and that the players who took ranocchia's place (lucio, cordoba and chivu) were absolutely rubbish.... much worse than ranocchia hiimself infact (wich begs the question; why leaving ranocchia on the bench, if his replacements were actually performing worse than him?).
and now, less than 2 years after buying ranocchia (and loosing destro in the process), it appears inter are considering selling ranocchia and trying to buy destro (whose value menawhile grew to 15 millions euros) :SHOCK:
apparently they changed their plans recently, as destro is about to join roma and the rumours about ranocchia leaving disappeared.
still the fact they even considered such a possibility (and we know for sure they did) is just pathetic.
interista said:
Anyway what is up with the FFP and is it really going to impact the clubs as suggested? ( They wont enter CL etc etc) Because I don't know if Moratti is just using it as an excuse or he's actually trying to make the club ready for the rule.. I mean sure he may make bad decisions but you cant deny his love for the club and I'm sure he wouldn't want to drag it down. Maybe theres a secret project going.. (like our own stadium )
yeah, i'd also like to know more about FFP and the consequences of its violation (i never bothered reading anything on this subject, so i know nothing about it....... Edmundo, care to step in here? :)) )..... however make no mistake, moratti is using it as an excuse. if anything the introduction of FFP should force top clubs to overspend (until the rule is in play), not the other way around.

as for moratti himself, i don't question his true passion for inter. he's one of the few real romantic club owners left in italy. he's a true fan of the club and over the last 20 years he certainly spent more than the glazers, abramovich, and man city sheikhs put together.
he belongs to a different time and i believe it's great to still have presidents like him around theese days. he certainly wouldn't wanna drag the club down... infact every summer he spends from 60 to 100 millions (of his own money!) only to restore the budget to balance (italian clubs don't make as many profits as their european conterparts, so if u wanna compete with the other european giants, then u have to either burden the club with debts or pay with your own money).
so i definitely can't blame him for not feeling like spending big money on the signings.......
.... but if that's your decision, than that's all the more reason to be wise about HOW u spend your money.
that's what really pisses me off about moratti; his stupidity. if u're so concerned with the financial situation of the club (wich is absolutely understandable) then u can't make so many stupid calls each and every year.... like investing 18.5 millions + your most valuable youngster on a promising cb, only to leave him on the bench.
i do realise stupidity is a right..... but moratti is seriously abusing of it.
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

Don't even want to talk about Milan's so called 'mercato'.

Beautiful kits by Palermo by the way:

palermo-presentazione-malles.jpg
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

Very beautiful kits indeed. And now they got Dybala who's suppose to be the Argentina's next big thing.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

I think I'm in love with all three of those kits, and even the staff tops are nice. Damn, Zamparini knows how to have nice kits without sponsors.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

Yup, my favourite is the white away kit, well done Puma! :)

Simon Poulsen, the guuy who played left back for Denmark at the Euro's is on his way to Milan. He's a free agent and his agent is in negotiations with Milan.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

Nice kits.

Miccoli getting fatter and fatter each season! He's gonna end up looking like Maradonna! :LOL:
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

Woah - Fabio Simplicio left to Japan, and Sky Italia were showing his goodbye to Roma. Quite a nice goodbye and he was close to being in tears. Didn't he also tear up after leaving Palermo? This guy sure gets attached to his clubs - which I really like.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

Is it legal in Japan to sprint in to the crowd and kiss your wife and kids? :LOL:
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

hey stranger, where have u been hiding!?! :))
btw i'm still waiting u to drop by here in sicily? do i need to remind u what u're missing out on? :COOL:

anyway regarding your question... i really don't know, and i'm actually quite curious about it. since damjan said he results as a free agent right now, i assume his contract with napoli expired.... but is he really a free agent or did he call it a day? is there anyone here who knows what's his situation right now? :))

hey Ben, I had (still have) so much to do. I will have my exams soon so I'm preparing for it like a high school kid. I hope you are all right. :)

Yes, Sicily is still in my plans and I will definitely visit you. Hopefully as soon as possible. Of course I'll let you know before. :)

According to Lucarelli's official website, he finished his career. Sad, but it was about time I think.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

According to Lucarelli's official website, he finished his career. Sad, but it was about time I think.
yeah it was indeed... still it would have been nice to have a farewell friendly with livorno.
Nice kits.

Miccoli getting fatter and fatter each season! He's gonna end up looking like Maradonna! :LOL:
hey! leave the man alone! if it wasn't for him, silvestre and balzaretti, we would be playing in serie b this season.

as for the kits, they're just stunning. i like them all, but that 3rd white kit is just a thing of beauty. :))
http://store.palermocalcio.it/IT/pl/gara/gara.html

a few years from now, palermo fans are gonna be saying: "hey, do u remember the 2012/2013 season? sure we got relegated, but damn, those kits were absolutely lovely!" :JAY:
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

Isn't the white kit the away one?
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

Thought the black one was the third.

Look how weak Milan's starting eleven is for the Schalke match tonight:
Amelia; De Sciglio, Yepes, Bonera, Antonini; Traoré, Ambrosini, Emanuelson; Boateng; Robinho, El Sharaawy.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

El Sharaawy as a striker will be interesting to see to say the least. Robinho is so bad, he actually annoys me when I see him play. He even took the ball from El Sharaawy last weekend vs Juventus.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

So Juventus have sold all of their season tickets available now which is around 35,000 tickets and Milan barely reached 10,000 and are refunding fans who feel betrayed by displaying Thiago Silva and Ibra on the ad. This figure might actually decrease. :LOL:
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

Was watching Liverpool-Roma last night, and god damn, how slick and good were Roma!? So quick and confident with the ball. I think Lamela will shine this year, and Bradley will be an awesome signing.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

The FIGC are a joke.. 23 players testify that Conte is innocent and one player says Conte is guilty.. so which one sounds more realistic? This is beyond ridiculous.
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

it really is. i honestly can't believe they're still pursuing this thing. any prosecutor in this world would have dropped every charge against conte..... i was amazed at the fact juve decided to settle (why settling when u know u're gonna win in court?!? seriously who does that! agnelli should find some better lawyers :P ).

and now the federation is refusing to settle?!? WTF! nevermind the stupidity of their decision, this shouldn't even be their call in the first place!

i really like the job the federation prosecutor is doing with this betting scandal, and i'm starting to believe that if they keep digging there might actually be some serious shit to be found....
..but come on, how about u focus your energies on something more serious and substantial than this conte bullshit?
this whole situation makes very little sense to me honestly.
and what if this case turns ugly and juventus decides to sue the federation for damages.... that would be hilarious! :P

edit: : oh and btw, if u guys didn't know it yet, palermo sold balzaretti to roma for 4.5 millions.... yes, that wasn't a typo.. 4.5 million euros. for those of u who are more familiar with british pounds, that would be 3.5 millions. that's how much we got for balzaretti. seriously, i'm not even gonna comment on that.
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

Still much better than Nocerino's 800K right?! I think Balzaretti was on his last contract year at Palermo (correct me if am wrong!). Still pretty weird after all the BS that he will only leave Palermo for PSG.

Fiorentina building a really nice midfield after Montolivo. Borja Valero is done and Aquilani will be made official tomorrow. Hope they keep Jovetic. They and Roma are gonna be a joy.
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

The Conte issue is complete bullshit. The player is only saying it so he can get a lower fine for his own actions.

Balzaretti to Roma for 4.5m is a steal, even if he was on his last contract year.

Fiorentina also got Matias Fernandez from Sporting Lisboa Zeem.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2011/12 Season

Forgot about Fernandez. Just had a look at their market so far. They also got El Hamdaoui, Cuadrado, Viviano, and Gonzalo from Villareal. Impressing! Even though they did lose some of their top players, especially in defence.
 
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