Serie A Thread - 2014/15 Season

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Well JMG, you make a good point. Here is my quick season prognostic [

Top 5 and their key performers:

1 - Inter - I think their squad at the moment is incredible, on paper and on the field. Eto'o, imo, is far more useful for Inter than Zlatan. On top of that, they signed Milito - another quality finisher. However I feel that Eto'o will overshadow Milito and will become their star striker for the next few years to come. If they manage to get Sneijder then it will be quite frightening to play Inter - world class players in every position. Star players - Eto'o, Cambiasso and Balotelli (He will shine this year)

2 - Juventus - I think Juve have a very good mentality with Ferrara. Seems like hes trying to build his team around motivation and unity, kind of like English teams and their strong will to win in the recent years. I'm also convinced, as I have been saying since April, that Diego will be a star in the Serie A. Reminds me of Kaka's first pre-season games. I feel that their defense may let them down in Europe though, but will be useful in chasing Inter this year. Star players - Diego, Del Piero and Cannavaro (Just watch him prove himself)

3 - Milan - I can't see us finishing lower than 3rd, even with an awful pre-season. I think Leonardo will pull it off. He has been speaking his mind, and rightly so. We don't need him being a puppet for Berlusconi. I think Abate needs to start on the right midfield, along with Flamini, Seedorf and Gattuso. I'm sorry, but Pirlo seems to have lost all motivation with Milan and in pre-season he seems lost, tired and bored. I think he needs a kick. I think Huntelaar won't be much better than Borriello and that Pippo will be our saviour yet again in key matches. Champions league will be a trial run with a weakened young team. Star players - Thiago Silva, Abate and Flamini.

4 - Lazio - Surprising to some, I know. If not Lazio, I say Roma will pull it off. But of all the Italian teams, Lazio seem the most composed, compact and organized team this summer. In the CL and in the Super Cup too. I think Ballardino is a great manager with a capable team. 1 or 2 more signings and I can see them being the surprise team of the season. Star players - Zarate and Rocchi

5 - Very tough decision ... but I must go with Genoa - Great signings, strong supporters, solid manager and goo football. Started this season well in Europe and have a lot of depth - something these kinds of teams often lack. I think they will fight hard with Palermo, Napoli, Fiorentina and Roma for this spot and succeed. Star players - Palladino and Amelia, surprise season for Figueroa.

Disappointments of the season:

Fiorentina 5-8th - I just don't see it in them. I think they will do very well with what they have, but I really think they needed a 'european' signing to move a step up from the last 2 seasons. They have a great attack but I think they lack cutting edge and a strong leader.

Napoli 6-9th - Great signings, but I can't see Donadoni being the right man to lead Napoli to the top, I consider him to be too conservative for them.

Livorno - Great fans, but I'm disappointed by their transfers. They do however have Tavano and Lucarelli up front - great pair.

Other team predictions

Palermo 6-9th - They will do better than Napoli. I'm willing to bet I am convinced that Pastore will be a hit and that Miccoli will have HIS season. + Zenga is the man.

Atalanta 10-14th - I expect a repeat of last season

Udinese 7-10th - Doing what they do best - sell for triple what they pay for players and focusing on youth. They've brought in some very good young south Americans, I predict a strong finish.

Sampdoria 8-10th - Good signings and PazzoCassa - both fighting for a WC spot. Good signings too, Tissone and Zauri will be strong reinforcements for the already solid squad. I'm also a fan of Del Neri and think he could get a EL spot.

Parma 10-12th - Good signings, strong fans and very good players. I'm expecting a good season for Paloschi and Bojinov. Also think Mariga will shine more in Serie A this season and move to a big club at the end of the season. They also snapped up Lanzafame, Dellafiore and Mirante whom I rate quite well.

Siena 10-14th - Good signings too for them - Ekdal, Terzi,Paolucci, Corvia etc - I think they will be the same as the last 3 years - consistent and tough to break down.


Relegation

Livorno
Chievo
Bologna

Capocannoniere (No order, just players that will be up there)
Eto'o, Tavano, Gilardino, Quagliarella, Rocchi and Pazzini

Flops
Huntelaar, Floccari, Melo and Palacio

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Hey ... But we played decent in the TIM cup which is a good sign, Stanko even did a good job filling in for Cambiasso (who's out injured ). Still we need a playmaker, BADLY.

no harm intended pal ... but i'm sure u'll agree with me inter didn't really play some high quality football last season. infact, football-quality wise, inter was (along with milan and sometimes juve too) one of the poorests team in serie a (i'm just talking about the quality of the football displayed here).
with a proper regista and a mezz'ala or a trequartista the team could do so much better. such a shame u guys sold pizarro. however i hear u're pretty close to snejder... now that would be a very good signing.
oh and of course if moratti would get a different coach (along with the regista and the mezz'ala) that would be the icey on the cake

Napoli's signings - LOVE THEM!! I was very impressed with their off-season, and like the versitility of their roster. The answer to the "who is Hamsik's back up", is either they go to a MF of Blasi, Gargano & Cigarini...or they put Datolo in that spot. Speaking of which, I saw they loaned Vitale out to Livorno. Does that mean that Zuniga and Datolo will compete for the LWB role?

wellcome back, bro
yeah marino is building an amazing squad. but i guess it's gonna take some time to "mould" the team for donadoni. the only weak side is the left wingback (or leftback?) position. zuniga is really good on the right, but will he deliver on the other side too? as for datolo, he doesn't seem to be the kind of player who tracks back that often, so i can't really see him getting mannini's spot.

the same could be said about genoa. amazing squad, but many new players, so it might take a few weeks to see gasperini's magic.

oh btw, i definitely agree with u about fiorentina's desperate need of a backup for gila.

Alright Ben, your descriptions of a summer in Sicily convinced me...that is where I need to be next summer

we don't have as many huge clubs as miami..... but the sea, the beaches, the people and the girls are much much better than miami's ones
there are some small villages in sicily like cefalu or san vito lo capo, wich are the perfect blend of carribbean sea, the spanish nightlife and the italian achitechture and folklore.
and then there are also sicily's minor islands, like favignana or panarea wich are little gems.

Hey guys.

Great news for UK guys ESPN have picked up Serie A coverage

Tonight it's Milan v Siena, it's been a while since Serie A was on tv here, so my knowledge is a bit rusty, I was wondering if someone could pick out some players from Siena to watch out for, or things like formation etc.

who's that idiot who decides wich matches to broadcast at espn?
i mean this week we have palermo-napoli, genoa-roma, lazio-atalanta and udinese-parma....
and they decided to show siena-milan and inter-bari!!! WTF!!
this is unbelievable

however, siena is a bit like fulham. no fancy players but some very tidy and nice football. they lost their best assetts, as jason mentioned, but they still have one hell of a coach (giampaolo).
given all the changes they went through this summer, it's impossible to tell wich starting 11 they will field today.... but giampaolo's favourite system is the 4-4-2, and now that karja is gone, i believe he'll be back to this formation.
anyhow they still have some interesting players. Paolucci is a young striker, on loan from juve... very, very promising. they also got (on loan from roma) aleandro rosi, who is another very promising and versatile youngster (although i'm not sure giampaolo will line him up in the first match of the season, against a big gun like milan).
i know it's not much, but it's first week of the season and siena made many adjustements during the summer, so they're a bit of a mistery to me aswell
such a shame u guys are going to miss palermo-napoli and genoa-roma this week

however Gib, i don't really have high expectations on siena - milan. milan has showed some serious conditioning issues this summer, and i don't think they already fixed this problem.
siena on the other side will have to face a big gun like milan in the worst moment possible. they have many new players, probably a new gaming system... wich means that it's gonna take a few weeks to see the nice siena we saw last season.
i have the feeling this is gonna be the most boring game of this week... siena won't take many risks, at this point of the season, with such a "new team".

edit:
some very interesting predictions ste
i really have no idea how the table will look like at the end of the season... there's just too much competition. the only thing i'm pretty confident about is the scudetto winner (inter).

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I agree... it took me half an hour to write my predicted positions. I just can't figure out how 4th-12th place will look. Everyone seems pretty competitive!

 

[gib2504]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

who's that idiot who decides wich matches to broadcast at espn?
i mean this week we have palermo-napoli, genoa-roma, lazio-atalanta and udinese-parma....
and they decided to show siena-milan and inter-bari!!! WTF!!
this is unbelievable

I always thought it was the Italian TV that choose what games to put on at certain times, and it's this that will decide what games are on TV I think.
Next week it's Milan v Inter and Juve v Roma, so I think we'll be watching the big name teams only, so will have to wait till they play Genoa, Palermo, Napoli, Genoa to experience those teams

however, siena is a bit like fulham. no fancy players but some very tidy and nice football. they lost their best assetts, as jason mentioned, but they still have one hell of a coach (giampaolo).
given all the changes they went through this summer, it's impossible to tell wich starting 11 they will field today.... but giampaolo's favourite system is the 4-4-2, and now that karja is gone, i believe he'll be back to this formation.
anyhow they still have some interesting players. Paolucci is a young striker, on loan from juve... very, very promising. they also got (on loan from roma) aleandro rosi, who is another very promising and versatile youngster (although i'm not sure giampaolo will line him up in the first match of the season, against a big gun like milan).

I'll watch for Paolucci then, and hopefully see Rosi aswell.

i know it's not much, but it's first week of the season and siena made many adjustements during the summer, so they're a bit of a mistery to me aswell
such a shame u guys are going to miss palermo-napoli and genoa-roma this week

I'm hoping that since they have access to the full games, they should have some kind of highlights show aswell,so i'll catch those matches then.

however Gib, i don't really have high expectations on siena - milan. milan has showed some serious conditioning issues this summer, and i don't think they already fixed this problem.
siena on the other side will have to face a big gun like milan in the worst moment possible. they have many new players, probably a new gaming system... wich means that it's gonna take a few weeks to see the nice siena we saw last season.
i have the feeling this is gonna be the most boring game of this week... siena won't take many risks, at this point of the season, with such a "new team".

Hmm I've been lucky this season with the games I've watched, all been good games so hopefully this game might not be as bad as it could be, a Siena goal would be a good start.

 

[Jumbo_]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Yeah there is a highlights show Gib and also a show on Friday nights with previews of the upcoming games I think.

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

For those that watched games last season... do you have a favourite game? I think mine has to be this:

YouTube - Genoa Sampdoria 3-1 Highlights SKY HD 34a Giornata 03-05-09 720p
Genoa 3-1 Sampdoria

 

[Ernestito]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Livorno - Great fans, but I'm disappointed by their transfers. They do however have Tavano and Lucarelli up front - great pair.

Relegation

Livorno
Chievo
Bologna

there is no way this is gonna happen stef.

mark my words, despite the fact that livornos midfield could (should) be much stronger, the strikers will make them stay in serie a. I cant wait for the game tomorrow.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

i couldn't really pick one single match ste. palermo-milan (3-1) was pretty nice the lazio-roma derby (4-2)... genoa-juve (that was a fantastic match). also samodoria played some great games from jannuary on (since they bought pazzini), while napoli and udinese were absolutely outstanding week in week out from september to jannuary.

as for livorno, i honestly don't think they'll get relegated. they have a pretty average midfield (but watch out for candreva... that kid might become a crack in a couple of seasons)... but they do have a pretty good defensive line.... and an outstanding attack diamanti-lucarelli-tavano. that is really one scary offense.

there are 2 big question marks though. the first one is diamanti; will they eventually hold him? i heard west ham is pretty close to sign him.... if they'll loose diamanti, they're gonna miss him.... a lot!

the other question mark is the coach, who is pretty much a newbie.

 

[rfU]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I was wondering if someone could pick out some players from Siena to watch out for, or things like formation etc.

Ghezzal. Guy was in serie C 2 seasons ago, now Roma are rumored to want him. And midfielder Gallopa, for me Siena's most consistent perfomer alongside Portanova. Fantastic crosser of the ball and very hardworking. I'm surprised no one made a move for him in the mercato. Still, there's about a week left.

@ Milanista: One of my favorites has to be Roma - Milan game for obvious reasons Most if not all the derbies were good last season. Also I enjoyed most Genoa and Napoli games as they were played at incredible tempo. The Samp - Genoa game you mentioned, for example.

who's that idiot who decides wich matches to broadcast at espn?
i mean this week we have palermo-napoli, genoa-roma, lazio-atalanta and udinese-parma....
and they decided to show siena-milan and inter-bari!!! WTF!!
this is unbelievable

I love the bias Inter has been getting. The amount of coverage we get is obscene.

the only thing i'm pretty confident about is the scudetto winner (inter).

such a shame u guys sold pizarro.

I know, he would've been perfect. But at the time Mancini considered him to lightweight to play centrally in a 4-4-2.

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I think Portanova went to Bologna and Galloppa to Parma. Portanova just played against Fiorentina and had an AWESOME game.

I also agree about that MIlan game being entertaining, and I must correct you, it was Milan-Roma , making it even more worthwhile to watch.

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I always thought it was the Italian TV that choose what games to put on at certain times, and it's this that will decide what games are on TV I think.

ouch! if that's the case it's even worse. i could understand some ignorant foreign broadcasters to pick the top teams matches.... but an italian (who is supposed to know the league)... that's really unforgivable.

how are people abroad supposed to get to know (and like) serie a if they miss the best this league has to offer?
i am so looking foward the palermo-napoli game tomorrow

I think Portanova went to Bologna and Galloppa to Parma. Portanova just played against Fiorentina and had an AWESOME game.

yep. that galloppa kid is really a nice football player. about portanova, i can't understand why siena let him go. he was their rock in the past few seasons... but i believe knezevic's return played a role in this.

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

for me, Inter-Roma games are always entertaining.

 

[gib2504]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

poor ESPN coverage, didn't even show the formations of either team

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

 

[gib2504]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

cheers mate

 

[Jumbo_]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

It did show the formations!

It had a 10 minute intro, both formations, subs etc and a bit of chat about the preseasons etc...

1-0 Pato

 

[gib2504]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

It did show the formations!

It had a 10 minute intro, both formations, subs etc and a bit of chat about the preseasons etc...

1-0 Pato

You watching the ESPN coverage, i switched on at 7.45 and didn't see the formations at all, listened to all the stuf about pre-season. hmm

Spoiler

1-1 half time, glad Siena are back in it, been a decent 1st half

 

[Jumbo_]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Yeah i'm watching on ESPN. Maybe you just missed it then as it definitely did show them, the program did start slightly early I think

 

[gib2504]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

ah if i started earlier that will explain it, it said 19:45 which i thought was strange since it was kick off time aswell, and the gf was watching athletics so i set it to record the program so i could catch up, mystery solved

 

[liger05]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

2 killer passes from Ronaldinho on the Pato goals.

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Grande Milan!

Ratings:

Ronaldinho (7/7.5) - set up to goals and in the second half was playing a very good game.

Thiago Silva (7) + Nesta (7) - after an initially nervous first 25 minutes, they both took over and were showing Siena who was boss. Silva looks like he might actually be our long term center back.

Flamini - (7.5) - Involved in many attacking actions and was running like a maniac. I think Leonardo rates him much higher than Ancelotti did.

Pato - (7) - Deadly as ever, could've made it 3 at one point

Gattuso - (6.5) - Seems to be hungry for success. When he got subbed off it showed how passionate the man is.

Storari - (6.5) - I've always rated the guy and today he had a solid game.

Leonardo (7) - Kept telling the team to maintain a high tempo and short passing game. Worked well. Good subs too and I completely agreed with his starting 11.

 

[Zeem]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Every dangerous play Milan had was through Dinho. Bicycle kick was class.

Pato is improving day by day, still needs to grow as a person though and pass more. What a waste yellow card.

Our defence is good. I am really liking Thiago. His long passes are like bullets. They did however let Maccarone slip on 2 deadly occasions. The Siena goal was a midfield problem.

 

[Ernestito]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

there are 2 big question marks though. the first one is diamanti; will they eventually hold him? i heard west ham is pretty close to sign him.... if they'll loose diamanti, they're gonna miss him.... a lot!

the other question mark is the coach, who is pretty much a newbie.

oh dear, this would be suicide. diamanti must stay no matter how much money west ham is offering. diamanti is a player who decides games with his incredible shots and freekicks.

regarding the coach, i really dont understand why they didnt keep ruotolo. he is a great guy and knows the club very well as he played for them a few years ago.

 

[Jumbo_]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I heard they rejected £8m for him.

 

[Ernestito]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

the window will be closed next week so I dont think they will sell him because its hard to get another player who is as great as diamanti.

btw, what do you guys think about tomorrows games?

I have the feeling that genoa will beat roma. I also think that livorno is going to beat cagliari. after all, I think we will mainly see home wins tomorrow. inter and juve should win easily, lazio is also one step ahead of atalanta and udinese has always been good at home especially when they started into a new season (last year they beat palermo in the first game of the season afaik).

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

yeah i also believe genoa is gonna beat roma.

about the livorno coach situation, ernestito, the coach is still Ruotolo. but it's complicated.
to coach in serie a u need an "A class licence", wich u get once, after a 2 years course (the so called university of football), u succesfully pass the final exams.

Ruotolo has just the "b class license", hence he can't coach a serie a team officially... . so Spinelli (livorno president) hired another "official" coach (Russo, who is allowed to guide a serie a team) and turned ruotolo into an assistant coach..... that's on paper.
the thruth is Ruotolo will be calling the shots, while Russo will be nothing but a puppet.....
weird!

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Hey Ben do you know any good Fantacalcio websites?

 

[lo zio]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Hey Ben do you know any good Fantacalcio websites?

sorry Ste, but no, i don't. actually i never played fantacalcio in my life..... i don't even know how the whole game works (i must be the only one in the world who doesn't know how it works)

 

[Milanista]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Don't worry Ben, after the first 3 match days I always lose interest... but there's always the excitement in building the team. They get points based on their performance and team's performance each week, e.g. if Pato, Osvaldo and Mutu were in my teams, I'd have gained loads of points!

Anyway, speaking of Milan again, I'm really impressed by how some Milanisti think of the match, especially Borriello's performance. Here is an interesting response from a Milan blog I've translated:

Borriello is fundamental because a maestro like Gasperini taught him all the movements and runs for an attacking trident. It's impressive how much Borriello has developed with that manager.

He cuts out to the wings to expand play and waits for the fullback overlaps or sends balls to the midfielders that fill the gap he made in the middle, for example to Flamini many times last night.

He also starts many plays out wide by running towards the box and relieving pressure from our trequartista (Ronaldinho), allowing Ronnie to create plays - 2 goals last night.

Borriello also allowed Milan to use effective long balls by Thiago Silva (man he can kick!!!) when the opposing team was compact due to his physical presence and game expansion down the wings.

He also helped the defense many times by going back or deep. Borriello is no world star, but he is Milan's handyman.

 

[Ernestito]

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

yeah i also believe genoa is gonna beat roma.

about the livorno coach situation, ernestito, the coach is still Ruotolo. but it's complicated.
to coach in serie a u need an "A class licence", wich u get once, after a 2 years course (the so called university of football), u succesfully pass the final exams.

Ruotolo has just the "b class license", hence he can't coach a serie a team officially... . so Spinelli (livorno president) hired another "official" coach (Russo, who is allowed to guide a serie a team) and turned ruotolo into an assistant coach..... that's on paper.
the thruth is Ruotolo will be calling the shots, while Russo will be nothing but a puppet.....
weird!

ah, I didnt know that but its the same in Germany, some coaches sill have to get their A licence so on paper they are the assistant coach like you said.