Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season
yeah bro,i definitely see your point about bovo and pinzi... also coz i shared the same expectations u had about them. and yes, at this stage of their carreers, we can say they didn't fulfill their real potential. Pinzi became a decent\good player... that kind of player that might come handy for any team....but he's definitely not as good as we (you and me) thought he would have become. Bovo became a pretty good cb, i'd say slightly above the italian average (and considering the standard quality of the italian average cb, that's definitely a good achievement), but he's not that special thing he seemed to be a few years ago (and even though he's still pretty young i don't think he'll get much better than he is right now).
but i don't think we should feel disappointed by their growth and i also don't think we were wrong in rating them as high potential youngsters a few years ago.
because, as a matter of fact, they really were "high potential youngsters". they just didn't fulfill their potential. wich is pretty common afterall.
i mean, for every generation we witness dozens of potential future world class youngsters, as in each and every generation there are usually plenty of extremely talented 19, 20, 22 years old youngsters. but by the time they reach 28 just a few of them actually reached that status, as talent alone isn't gonna bring u that far. it takes a lot more to become a top class players. and i'm not just talking about will, determination and hardwork, which are obviously as important as talent. i'm also talking about your "mental structure", your confidence, your faith in your own skills (i remember we talked about this when we talked about balotelli and montolivo and how mario is more likely to become a top class player than montolivo, precisely because of his "gutsyness").
it's also about having a well-defined personality: being aware of what u are and what u wanna become, having that strong personality and those "mental boundaries" that allow u to remain faithful to yourself, to stay focused on your goals and not get distracted by popularity.
and then there are also many other factors wich are just out of the players themselves's control; we might call it luck. at the end of the day, the most apparently insignificant circumstances can very well change our lives. the right transfer at the right time; having a good coach in the most important phase of your growth as a player, and so on.
so having high potential doesn't mean u will become a top class player (and, knowing u, i'm aware u already know this... much bettter than me probably
).... it doesn't even mean u're more likely to become a top class player than any other less talented player.... it just means u have 1 of those many "features" required to reach that level.
if 5 years ago someone would have told me barzagli would have become nothing more than a decent cb, while chiellini would have turn out to be a top class cb, i would have never believed that.
and the same applies to the current young generation. we have many potential world class cbs out there right now: kjaer, evans, bocchetti, ranocchia and bonucci are the first names that come into my mind. but the only thing we can tell right now is that they seem to be on the right path. some of em are showing huge potential (ranocchia and bonucci), some others are already starting to perform as top class players (kjaer and evans).... but we can't very well say if any of them will actually be a top class player tomorrow. maybe some of em will make it... maybe none.... maybe 3 years from now, a cb we don't really rate right now will be much better than alll of em.... who knows?
that's why i try not to indulge in those "who's the next best thing?" conversations (although it's a strong temptation). coz it's such an aleatory subject. if we always keep in mind that talent is just one of those many factors required to turn a potential world class player into an actual top player, then we won't feel disappointed by those who "didn't make it".
dominic said:
how loquacious!!
oh come on u lazy! u can't pop in for the first time in months and get away with just 3 words... give us some feedback about juve!!
it looks like zac is going for his patented 3 men defensive line. didn't see that coming. it might actually be a good idea, given juventus personnel.... but changing the defensive line setup in the middle of the season is by far the riskiest and deepest revolution a coach can experiment. it's like rebuilding the entire squad from its foundations, and it will definitely take a lot of effort and time.
what are your thoughts on the matter? and please, make it a 2 lines post at least!
... knew Milan wouldn't last. They have zero depth. They should count themselves lucky they're out of the coppa d'italia. Wait 'til Champions League. I guarantee they will drop more points. Shame about Juve but its just so fun too watch 
And Lazio, what a sorry sight. Not even Ledesma can save them at this point. 
