Italian Football Thread III

necromancer · May 27, 2019

It all depends on Gasperini. If he stays, I wouldn't rule out an Ajax like season. In the last few years, there has been no team from Serie A better equipped to play CL football than the current Atalanta side. Sarri's Napoli would have counted this season had Sarri stayed.

If Gasperini leaves, then they'll probably do nothing in Europe.

SpartanMilan · May 27, 2019

Curupira said:
It kind of feels good knowing that Empoli tried their best and that they had their own relegation to play for and having failed us they are relegated as well.

Absolutely agree with this.

And on a much smaller level since I desperately wanted Champions League, I have always been somewhat fond of Genoa so I'm glad they are staying up

fray · Jun 8, 2019

Watching Turkey v France and Demiral have been one of the best players on the pitch. Seems like he's going to Juventus.

We're too late now, but he would've been perfect with Romagnoli.

fray · Jun 13, 2019

Fiorentina confirmed Montella as their coach today and signed left-back Aleksa Terzic from Red Star Belgrade.

Commisso, what a president :lol:

Goodfella · Jun 18, 2019

Totti continues to be a headache for Roma even after his retirement.

If he actually cared for the club, then he wouldn't be starting fires or adding more fuel to create a massive fire whenever he doesn't get what he feels entitled to.

The club was on a good track. Palotta turned around their results, financially and sporting wise. Then Totti more or less pushed out Spalletti - the coach who revived them.

Palotta's biggest mistake was hiring Monchi.
But the drama of the last months is typical Roma, typical TOTTI'S ROMA, and naturally Pallotta got involved, and stooped down to their level.
I believe Palotta had a hand in the release of the emails that were supposed to turn ultras and Totti against De Rossi and forgive Baldini and Palotta for not renewing with DDR, but it backfired. Hence Totti's strong reaction.
Could Palotta have handled some things better? Obviously, but much of the problems there can be sourced back to Totti's ego and their ultras.

I hope they get an owner they deserve.

necromancer · Jun 18, 2019

The problem is that Baldini’s hold on Roma is the issue here. Even Palotta seems to be under his sway. The entire war being waged is against Baldini.

Goodfella · Jun 18, 2019

necromancer said:
The problem is that Baldini’s hold on Roma is the issue here. Even Palotta seems to be under his sway. The entire war being waged is against Baldini.

“Over the last eight years, since the Americans came in, they tried in every possible way to shove us to one side. As the years went on, they tried everything they could… It’s what they wanted and in the end, they succeeded.”

He's trying to paint Pallotta's reign as one big disaster.

But all was well until Totti forced Spalletti out, and they hired Monchi to replace Sabatini.

And now he's acting like a spoiled child who didn't get the Christmas present he wanted, so he set the whole house on fire.

necromancer · Jun 18, 2019

Totti: "Baldini? We never have and never will have a relationship. In the end, everything was a waste of time because the final word always came from London".

Everything that he says about non Romans and foreigners include both Baldini and Pallotta. Even his one meeting with Pallotta was overseen by Baldini and he didn’t like that.

The club management is clearly a mess and Totti was never given any powers, i appreciate Maldini taking his time to find the right role even more now.

Goodfella · Jun 18, 2019

I'm sure the management structure is far from optimal, and they clearly made lots of bad decisions in the last year(Pastore? Really?), but Totti's frustrations and anger stems from an entitlement to dictate Roma even outside the pitch.
It's about his ego, not love for the club.
Why should he, an ex-player, immediately get more managerial responsibility and power than Baldini, who was the DoF even two decades ago when they won the Scudetto?

Noyon9s · Jun 18, 2019

When do Serie A fixture lists usually go up?

Az. · Jun 18, 2019

Noyon9s said:
When do Serie A fixture lists usually go up?

Sometime towards the end of July, last year they released it on the 20th.

Noyon9s · Jun 18, 2019

That sounds about right. Damn why so late? :fp:

I hope we have some good friendlies lined up

Goodfella · Jun 19, 2019

Fully agree with this Napoli fan on Reddit re: latest Roma drama:

Unpopular opinion which actually isn’t so unpopular in Italy, in fact the majority of the online comments in the Italian media say what I’ll summarize below.

From an outsiders perspective it’s easy to blame the American ownership. But Roma has been rotten to the core far before they came (Sensi presidency, anyone?). If anything, Pallotta has made it a far more modern club - pushing for a stadium, cleaning up the image of the team, pushing away violent fans, not letting the ultras make the rules. This whole “they’re trying to get rid of Romans” diatribe is a rehashed expression of governing classes in Italy (at every level, from government to micro-organizations) reluctant to cease power and get with the times.

Totti was never cut out to be a director or a company man, he loves the spotlight too much. He was never meant to be more than a PR figure. He can barely speak Italian, let alone English but somehow expected to be the man in charge from the get go. He has no qualifications and took no intermediate steps (like courses or classes) to become a successful ex-player manager, like Nedved for example.

Despite his achievements as a player, he has always caused drama on the team, especially in the last few years. Remember when he held a press conference against Spalletti who was running training at the same time? They put up with his bullshit until he was 40 and still gave him a hero’s goodbye.

Roma just shed some of its most problematic weight.

well, maybe not the last bit. Totti probably caused a lot of damage once again. I wouldn't be surprised to see yet another fan boycott, this time involving more than just ultras.

Fusiproe12 · Jun 21, 2019

Sarry as Ladri coach is so embarassing.. biggest betrayal in the calshio history

fray · Jun 25, 2019

Noyon9s said:
When do Serie A fixture lists usually go up?

Last week of July

Noyon9s · Jun 25, 2019

Giacinti is straight fire, good to see her leading the line for Italy today. :cool:

Massaro94 · Jun 25, 2019

Fusiproe12 said:
Sarry as Ladri coach is so embarassing.. biggest betrayal in the calshio history

He wants cr7 to break Higsys goalscoring record

Also mentioned how he wants to get more out of Costa

For once in my life i'm envious of juve :cry:

This guy got 91 points out of the fodder at Napoli. It's scary thinking what he can do with the juve squad.

fray · Jun 26, 2019

Massaro94 said:
He wants cr7 to break Higsys goalscoring record

Also mentioned how he wants to get more out of Costa

For once in my life i'm envious of juve

This guy got 91 points out of the fodder at Napoli. It's scary thinking what he can do with the juve squad.

Adaption is key. Juventus won't be playing in like Sarri's Napoli did in the first months of the season. Also does he have the Champions League mentality to win it for Juventus?

Will also be interesting to see which regista he will choose (Pjanic?). No Jorginho in Sarri's system for the 1st time since 2015 :fp:

Ronin · Jun 26, 2019

Sarri will fail in CL.

Allegri will remain their most successful manager of the last 20 years.

General · Jun 27, 2019

Ronin said:
Sarri will fail in CL.

Allegri will remain their most successful manager of the last 20 years.

Il grande Milan · Jul 4, 2019

Fusiproe12 said:
Sarry as Ladri coach is so embarassing.. biggest betrayal in the calshio history

That would be Conte to Inter

necromancer · Jul 4, 2019

My team of last season.. kept forgetting to do this, but here we go:

-------Quagliarella--------Cristiano-----

--------------------Papu-----

-----Krunic---Freuler---Fabian---Hateboer--

------------Izzo---Acerbi---Koulibaly---

-------------------Cragno-----------

An ode to Atalanta's style..

Defense and attack kinda picks themselves I think, with Ilicic and Duvan Zapata the only ones who can justifiably complain.

Midfield/offensive wingback was the most difficult bit, with so many players performing very well, but no truly legendary season by anyone. Pjanic, Bennacer, Veretout, Lazzari, Gosens, Zielinski, Sensi, Lirola.. all had great seasons.

Manager - Since it's Atalanta's style, Gasperini. But I still think what Sinisa accomplished in the last few months is extraordinary, and he should be a close 2nd.

Pingu · Jul 4, 2019

necromancer said:
My team of last season.. kept forgetting to do this, but here we go:

-------Quagliarella--------Cristiano-----

--------------------Papu-----

-----Krunic---Freuler---Fabian---Hateboer--

------------Izzo---Acerbi---Koulibaly---

-------------------Cragno-----------

An ode to Atalanta's style..

Defense and attack kinda picks themselves I think, with Ilicic and Duvan Zapata the only ones who can justifiably complain.

Midfield/offensive wingback was the most difficult bit, with so many players performing very well, but no truly legendary season by anyone. Pjanic, Bennacer, Veretout, Lazzari, Gosens, Zielinski, Sensi, Lirola.. all had great seasons.

Manager - Since it's Atalanta's style, Gasperini. But I still think what Sinisa accomplished in the last few months is extraordinary, and he should be a close 2nd.

You left Bakayoko out of mids who had great seasons

NiceGuy123 · Jul 4, 2019

necromancer said:
My team of last season.. kept forgetting to do this, but here we go:

-------Quagliarella--------Cristiano-----

--------------------Papu-----

-----Krunic---Freuler---Fabian---Hateboer--

------------Izzo---Acerbi---Koulibaly---

-------------------Cragno-----------

An ode to Atalanta's style..

Defense and attack kinda picks themselves I think, with Ilicic and Duvan Zapata the only ones who can justifiably complain.

Midfield/offensive wingback was the most difficult bit, with so many players performing very well, but no truly legendary season by anyone. Pjanic, Bennacer, Veretout, Lazzari, Gosens, Zielinski, Sensi, Lirola.. all had great seasons.

Manager - Since it's Atalanta's style, Gasperini. But I still think what Sinisa accomplished in the last few months is extraordinary, and he should be a close 2nd.

Nice list. I prefer Castagne as a player to Hateboer, although he is a good choice too and Castagne spent a number of games on the left.

Can't argue with Quagliarella to be fair, although I really liked the way Zapata played this season.

necromancer · Jul 4, 2019

Pingu said:
You left Bakayoko out of mids who had great seasons

Bakayoko had a few great games, he did not have a great season by any yardstick. Only Milan players who come close are Piatek and Donnarumma. Piatek behind Cristiano, Quags and Zapata. Gigio behind Cragno, Dragowski and then in a crowded field with 3-4 good goalkeepers.

NiceGuy123 said:
Nice list. I prefer Castagne as a player to Hateboer, although he is a good choice too and Castagne spent a number of games on the left.

Can't argue with Quagliarella to be fair, although I really liked the way Zapata played this season.

I liked Castagne last season, but I wanted an Empoli midfielder without question. That midfield was great to watch.

fray · Jul 7, 2019

Genoa and Udinese are building some nice teams. Would be my dark horses to reach Europa League next season.

Genoa have:
- Signed Cristian Zapata on a Bosman deal
- Andrea Pinamonti on a permanent deal
- Antonio Barreca on loan
- Signed Sinan Gumus for free
- Redeemed Andrei Radu (GK)
- Romulo returning from his loan at Lazio
- Polish midfielder Filip Jagiello (Piatek 2.0?)
- Reportedly close to sign Marco Benassi from Fiorentina

On top of this, they appointed manager Aurelio Andreazzoli, who did really well with Empoli during his 2 stints last season.

While, Udinese have:
- Confirmed the stay of manager Igor Tudor
- Signed defender Rodrigo Becao for a bargain fee (€6.2m)
- Signed Mato Jajalo for free (from Palermo)
- Despite a poor season, Jakub Jankto will return from his loan at Samp.
- Signed De Maio from Bologna for €1M.
- Could their 2 best players last year, De Paul and Musso (?)

Also, would like mention Bologna, who confirmed Mihajlovic’s stay last season (after he incredibly took them from relegation zone to 10th place just in some weeks. They have so far:

- Signed Jerdy Schouten for €2.5M
- Signed Stefano Denswil for €7M
- Reedemed Orsolini for €15M
- Reportedly close to Andreas Skov Olsen for €5M
- Looks to retain their best players such as Pulgar, Dijks and Orsolini.
- Close to signing Takehiro Tomiyasu for €7M
- The Mihajlovic effect (as i mentioned).

The battle this year for top 6 between Juventus, Napoli, Inter, Milan, Lazio and Roma (Atalanta too?) will be exciting - as always. But I’m solely recommending you to keep an eye out on those teams, who could/will surprise a few next season.

fray · Jul 7, 2019

Comparison between Toreirra, Pulgar, Bennacer and Paredes. [Stats per 90min from last season]

necromancer · Jul 8, 2019

fray said:
Genoa and Udinese are building some nice teams. Would be my dark horses to reach Europa League next season.

Genoa have:
- Signed Cristian Zapata on a Bosman deal
- Andrea Pinamonti on a permanent deal
- Antonio Barreca on loan
- Signed Sinan Gumus for free
- Redeemed Andrei Radu (GK)
- Romulo returning from his loan at Lazio
- Polish midfielder Filip Jagiello (Piatek 2.0?)
- Reportedly close to sign Marco Benassi from Fiorentina

On top of this, they appointed manager Aurelio Andreazzoli, who did really well with Empoli during his 2 stints last season.

While, Udinese have:
- Confirmed the stay of manager Igor Tudor
- Signed defender Rodrigo Becao for a bargain fee (€6.2m)
- Signed Mato Jajalo for free (from Palermo)
- Despite a poor season, Jakub Jankto will return from his loan at Samp.
- Signed De Maio from Bologna for €1M.
- Could their 2 best players last year, De Paul and Musso (?)

Also, would like mention Bologna, who confirmed Mihajlovic’s stay last season (after he incredibly took them from relegation zone to 10th place just in some weeks. They have so far:

- Signed Jerdy Schouten for €2.5M
- Signed Stefano Denswil for €7M
- Reedemed Orsolini for €15M
- Reportedly close to Andreas Skov Olsen for €5M
- Looks to retain their best players such as Pulgar, Dijks and Orsolini.
- Close to signing Takehiro Tomiyasu for €7M
- The Mihajlovic effect (as i mentioned).

The battle this year for top 6 between Juventus, Napoli, Inter, Milan, Lazio and Roma (Atalanta too?) will be exciting - as always. But I’m solely recommending you to keep an eye out on those teams, who could/will surprise a few next season.

Keep an eye out for Samp as well. Already signing some unknown young players from other leagues. They have a history of great scouting in recent years. Di Francesco is a perfect appointment to grow young players and build on Giampaolo's work.

I'd have them as early dark horses for top 7.

Az. · Jul 8, 2019

Man i'm gonna hate seing De Ligt in a Juventus shirt.

Fucking cunts.

fray · Jul 8, 2019

necromancer said:
Keep an eye out for Samp as well. Already signing some unknown young players from other leagues. They have a history of great scouting in recent years. Di Francesco is a perfect appointment to grow young players and build on Giampaolo's work.

I'd have them as early dark horses for top 7.

Definitely Sampdoria, but I feel that they're in the same category as Torino and Fiorentina as they're all almost obligated to fight for Europa League qualification every year.

The teams that I mentioned are teams that heavily struggled during large parts of last season and could make a surprise turn & do well this upcoming season.

Italian Football Thread III

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